Have you ever noticed how confident some people can be about the opinions that they have? With the advent of the Corona virus, it seems everyone has a strong opinion about things like masks and vaccinations. To some they are the mark of the beast to others they are magical talismans. I was at a gathering not long ago where two rather intelligent people held opposing views on the vaccination. One refused to get the vaccination the other was ready to make it a law. Each was adamant that their opinion was the correct opinion. Each was confident that the opposing opinion was wrong. I have to tell you, it struck me how confident these individuals were considering neither one of them was an expert in the science of infectious disease.
The coronavirus is just the most recent occasion for people to adamantly express their opposing opinions, but this practice has become common place in the information age. Over the last 20 years we have seen the rise of the Facebook philosopher. The Facebook philosopher is a truly remarkable person. They tend to be very sure of themselves and are not afraid to present their various opinions as facts, and they seem to have opinions on just about everything. I have often wondered how the Facebook philosopher is able to become expert on global warming, gender studies, and the economy all at the same time. To become masters in so many fields of study, without actually studying, is remarkable. I have been taught the original Hebrew of the Old Testament and the original Greek of the New Testament, I have studied at the feet of some of the greatest theologians of our time, I have spent my adult life examining the scriptures, but I have to say I still don’t have the cocksure confidence of the Facebook philosopher.
No subject is off limits for the Facebook philosopher, not even matters of morality. Indeed, the Facebook philosopher seems exceptionally keen and exceedingly confident when expressing their opinions on matters of morality. The Facebook philosopher expresses their opinion with such confidence that they can confuse the Christian and cause them to reexamine whether or not it is o.k. to be gay, to reconsider whether or not abortion is an option, to reevaluate whether or not marriage is permanent.
Thankfully when it comes to matters of morality saint John reminds us that we don’t have to depend on the opinions of the Facebook philosophers. Today we get to take a closer look at 1 John 1:5-7 to see how the resurrection hope is a guiding light.
In the first four verses of chapter 1 John highlights a big difference between the Facebook philosopher and our God. I didn’t include those verses in your bulletins so let me read to you what John writes in verse 1. John writes, “That… which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim.” John is writing about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on Easter Morning. He wants to make it very clear that he is not expressing an opinion. He has heard the voice of the risen Savior with his own ears, he has seen the body of the risen Savior with his own eyes, he has touched the flesh of the risen Savior with his own hands. John is not expressing an opinion; John is sharing an experience.
As John shares his experience, we can’t help but notice that our God has done something that no Facebook philosopher has ever done. Our God raised His Son from the dead. No talking head among the liberals or conservatives has ever done that. No politician or lobbyist, no influencer or mogul, no athlete or activist has ever raised someone from the dead, but our God has; He raised His Son Jesus from the dead. When you keep that in mind the decision to listen to a Facebook philosopher like Kanye West instead of listening to the risen Savior Jesus Christ seems kind of silly.
With this rather significant difference in mind, John writes in verse 5, “5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” John calls God light. It is an easily understood description. Light reveals. Light illuminates. Light shows. Without light it is easy to become confused and let your imagination run wild. A few years ago, I was making my way to my tree-stand deep in the woods an hour or so before first light. I didn’t want to spook the deer I was hunting so I chose not to turn on my headlamp and instead groped my way through the darkness. I was halfway between my vehicle and tree-stand when I heard something crashing through the woods in my direction. I changed course in the hopes of avoiding whatever creature was making such a ruckus, but every time I changed course it seemed the creature did the same. I felt like I was being hunted and became increasingly unnerved, so I pulled an arrow out of the quiver and loaded my bow. (As the sound grew closer, I started to wonder whether or not my son Eli’s theories on Big Foot might be true.) Finally, I gave in to fear, turned on my headlamp, I pulled back my bow, and prepared for the worst. The creature was maybe ten yards away but somehow it remained concealed in the darkness. It wasn’t until the hideous beast stepped into the light of my headlamp that I discovered that the creature was simply a confused armadillo.
My encounter with the armadillo is an example of how easy it is to become confused and let your imagination run wild when you are in the dark. When it comes to matters of morality, the Facebook philosopher is in the dark, but you are not. You have the light of God shining from the pages of Scripture. If you want to see beyond the opinions of the Facebook philosopher on matters of morality all you have to do is shine a little light on the subject. Open up Romans 1:26-27[1] and allow God to shine a little light on the subject of homosexuality. Open up Psalm 51:5[2] and allow God to shine a light on when life begins. Open up Matthew 19:6[3] and allow God to shine a little light on the institution of marriage. When it comes to matters of morality, you don’t have to group around in the darkness like a Facebook philosopher, you have the light of God’s Word.
Without the light of God’s Word, it is not surprising that the Facebook philosopher groups around in the dark when it comes to matters of morality. It is, however, surprising that you would choose to do the same. It is one thing to mistake an armadillo for a sasquatch when your headlamp is turned off, it’s another thing to make that claim when the armadillo is exposed to the light. We have the light of God’s Word and yet sometimes we choose to walk in the dark, not so much when it comes to matters of morality that other people struggle with, we only choose to walk in the dark when it comes to the matters of morality that we struggle with. Somehow when our sinful nature desires to do something, God’s Word becomes less luminous, and the Facebook philosophers become more enlightened. Again, not all the Facebook philosophers, just the ones whose opinions help us rationalize our individual immorality.
John tells us we can’t have it both ways. In verse 6 John writes, “6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” When it comes to matters of morality, the Facebook philosopher stumbles around in the dark because they are ignorant, but when you who have seen the light of God’s Word stumble around in the dark, you do so because you are a liar.
“But” John continues in verse 7, “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” Thankfully God’s Word does more than illuminate matters of morality. God’s Word also shines a big ole spotlight on our Savior. Notice in this verse John does not instruct us to walk according to the light of God’s Word, rather John instructs us to walk in the light of God’s Word. Here, John is not instructing us to walk according to the law, he is instructing us to walk in the gospel; he is instructing us to walk in the light of Jesus. Jesus may not have had to deal with Facebook philosophers, but He was surrounded by their ancient ancestors the Pharisees who, when it came to matters of morality, were just as cocksure confident of their opinions as anyone. But Jesus never let them cause Him to question God’s Word or lead Him into darkness. Rather, Jesus used God’s Word as His guiding light.
Jesus always walked in the light. But He did not want to walk alone. That is why He also walked to the cross. That is why He allowed His blood to be shed in order to pay for all the times you have chosen to follow a Facebook philosopher into the darkness. Jesus wants you to walk with Him. That is why Jesus walked out of the tomb. That is why He rose from the dead so that you could see the light.
There are a lot of Facebook philosophers who are confident of their opinions. Sadly, when it comes to matters of morality some of them confuse their opinions with fact. But just because some people are content to stumble around in the darkness doesn’t mean you have to. When it comes to matters of morality you have God’s Word as your guiding light. Amen
[1] “26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”
[2] “5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
[3] 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”