In today's study John is going to tell us how we will know whether those around us belong to the Lord or not. His words should challenge us to examine our own hearts as well. If our behavior doesn't line up with who we say we are in Christ, this problem needs to be addressed.
"Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin." (1 John 3:4-5) I think we may have gotten so used to the word "sin" that sometimes we forget that the definition of sin is "lawlessness". We don't tend to think of ourselves as lawless, do we? We think we are upstanding citizens. But even by the world's standards this isn't true. How many of us have broken traffic laws? Have you ever driven above the speed limit? Have you ever failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign? Have you ever rushed to get through a traffic light before it turns red only to have it turn red while you're going under it? Even by the world's standards we're lawbreakers. How much more are we lawbreakers by God's standards? The Lord Jesus pointed out that keeping the letter of the law isn't enough, for even when we don't literally break the law, we often figuratively break it in our hearts. To back up His statement, He equated lustful thoughts with the act of adultery. (Matthew 5:27-28) Even if the person didn't physically commit the act of adultery, he was committing it in his heart, and therefore he was a lawbreaker.
Because our carnal nature tends to lead us into lawlessness, Christ came to take away our sins. No one else could perform this act of mercy for us. It had to be someone who was sinless and, as John says in verse 5 above, Christ was sinless. Because He was sinless, we who belong to Him shouldn't live in lawlessness. This is why John makes his next remark, and we are going to take a little time to discuss what he means when he tells us not to sin anymore. "No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him." (1 John 3:6)
Of course John knows that we are still going to make mistakes from time to time after coming to know Christ as Savior. John was a human being just like us and he made mistakes himself. What he's saying is that a person who has made Christ the Lord of his life should display the evidence of a transformed life. Let's make up an example to illustrate John's point. Let's say we have a neighbor down the street who has been living in all sorts of dishonesty and immorality. Then one day he tells us he's accepted Christ as his Savior. That's good news, right? But then we don't see any change in our neighbor's behavior. He goes straight back to doing all the same things he's always done. He's able to live comfortably in the same old lawlessness he's always lived in. This tells us something is wrong with his conversion story. Either he lied about it or he had some sort of emotional experience that led him to think he had given his life to Christ, but once the emotion wore off so did any inclination to know and serve the Lord. This is what John means when he says "no one who lives in Him keeps on sinning". If our lives are no different after coming to Christ than they were before, we need to examine our hearts to see whether we really accepted Christ in the first place. If we are just as comfortable living in sin as we ever were, then clearly we have made no effort to know the Lord so that we can honor Him with our lives.
In John's day, and also in our own day, there were false teachers who were teaching a watered down version of the gospel. These teachers didn't place much emphasis on holy living. Some of them (the Gnostics for example) had the attitude that nothing a person did in his body really mattered as long as his spirit was redeemed. But we are made of both flesh and spirit, and the state of our spirit is revealed by the things we do in the body, and we can't separate one from the other. John issues a warning about listening to anyone who downplays the seriousness of sin. "Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." (1 John 3:7-8)
If you are in Christ, and if you are trying to honor Him with your life, then Christ is destroying the devil's work through you. The devil wanted to have you. He thought he did have you. But then Christ transformed you from the inside out and destroyed the devil's wicked plans for you. Not only did Christ dash Satan's hopes for consigning you to an eternity separated from God, but through you Christ can be displayed to others, and they may give their hearts to Him and escape the snares of the devil.
We who are in Christ should be in the habit of examining our hearts daily to see whether we've allowed ourselves to become too comfortable with a particular wrong attitude or wrong action. Although I don't think a real Christian can wallow cozily with sin in the way he or she did before coming to Christ, it is possible to become a bit blind to our own faults. We are quick to notice the bad behavior of others, but sometimes when we observe bad behavior in ourselves we give ourselves a pass. John is going to tell us not to do that. If we have become comfortable with something we're doing wrong, we need to repent and draw closer to the Lord. We need to hand that particular thing over to Him so He can help us with it. "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." (1 John 3:9) He's saying, "The one who belongs to the Lord will be bothered by sins he commits. He may toss and turn at night. He may feel uncomfortable when praying or when reading the Bible. He may feel unsettled and sad because of the distance he's placed between himself and the Lord by not repenting of something he knows he's done wrong."
Christians aren't perfect. I don't think even unbelievers expect us to be perfect. But they do expect us to be honest. When we mess up, we need to confess it to the Lord and we need to confess it to anyone we sinned against. They may or may not accept our apology, but they can't help respecting the effort we've made to make things right. At least they'll know that we aren't just "talking the talk" of being a Christian. John tells us that the evidence that someone is "walking the walk" is that they want to be right with God and with their fellow man. "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister." (1 John 3:10)
Friday, June 7, 2019
Thursday, June 6, 2019
The Letters Of The Apostle John. Day 8, The Children Of God Versus The Children Of The Devil, Part One
The title of today's blog post may seem a little odd, but John's purpose is to tell us how to know the difference between those who sincerely belong to the Lord and those who do not. He was living in a time when deceivers were busy trying to turn people astray. They were in the deception business for various reasons. Some were doing it for financial gain by charging people to hear their lectures. Others were doing it to satisfy a longing for attention and acceptance. Some were angry and rebellious toward God and wanted to prevent as many people as possible from worshiping Him. We could think of many different reasons why a person might want to entice others into following false doctrine, but sin is at the root of all these reasons.
False teachers weren't present only in John's day. They are present in our day also. The most dangerous ones are not those who openly promote traditional forms of idolatry (the type that involves bowing to an image), or those who are cult leaders (since most people who possess a normal amount of self-esteem and who function well in society will not be attracted to cults). No, the most dangerous false teachers are those who pose as Christian teachers and evangelists.
Why do so many people tune in to TV programs to listen to "prosperity gospels"? They want to believe (contrary to Scripture) that following the Lord is a guarantee of financial gain. Why do so many people want to hear what I like to call "feel-good gospels"? Because they want someone to tell them they are okay just as they are. They want to hear someone say, "You're basically a good person. God loves you. He created you and that makes you His child. He's not going to allow you to spend eternity separated from Him. You just need to do good works and give money to the church, and everything will be alright." You'll notice that in these "feel-good gospels" there's no mention of the fact that we are sinners who desperately need redemption. You'll notice that there's no mention of the blood of Christ. These teachers claim to love the Lord Jesus Christ, but they never honor Him by speaking of the things He did to secure salvation for all who will give their hearts to Him. They won't talk about the way He was rejected, or about how He was beaten mercilessly, or about how He suffered a torturous death on the cross. Talking about these things would require the false teachers to admit that we are all sinners, for if we aren't sinners then there was no need for Christ to come, and if we aren't sinners there was certainly no need for Him to suffer in our place. The next time you listen to a teacher or preacher on the radio or on TV, take note whether they make any mention of the sinful nature of man. Notice whether they talk about the cross and about the blood Jesus shed for mankind. Listen to see whether they tell their listeners how to obtain redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ.
John begins by reminding us who we are---the children of God through Christ Jesus the Lord. Keeping this in mind will keep us from falling into a number of hurtful sins. John has been telling us this week that if we belong to Christ we will do and say the things Christ would do and say. Not only should we resemble Him in this life, but we who are faithful to Him will look like Him for eternity. "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure." (1 John 3:2-3)
We know that Christ rose from the dead in an immortal body. He did not rise from the dead in spirit form, but in bodily form. He made this very evident by inviting the disciples to touch Him after the resurrection so they could see for themselves that He was still made of flesh and bone like human beings. (Luke 24:39) He ate in front of the disciples so they would know that His resurrected body was capable of eating food like human beings. (Luke 24:41, John 21:5) But His resurrected body was capable of doing things no human body can do, for He could appear and disappear at will. (Luke 24:36, John 20:19) We don't understand what kind of body this is, but we have been promised one just like it. So John says, "It's not clear to us exactly what our bodies will be like in eternity. But we know they will be like Christ's. We know that the Lord is going to take these mortal bodies we presently have and change them into immortal bodies like Christ's. Knowing this, we have a duty to keep our mortal bodies pure in reverence to Him."
Today we've taken a look at the first half of John's message in Chapter 3 regarding those who belong to the Lord and those who do not. Today's portion was about those who are in Christ---the children of God. In tomorrow's study we will look at those whom John calls "the children of the devil".
False teachers weren't present only in John's day. They are present in our day also. The most dangerous ones are not those who openly promote traditional forms of idolatry (the type that involves bowing to an image), or those who are cult leaders (since most people who possess a normal amount of self-esteem and who function well in society will not be attracted to cults). No, the most dangerous false teachers are those who pose as Christian teachers and evangelists.
Why do so many people tune in to TV programs to listen to "prosperity gospels"? They want to believe (contrary to Scripture) that following the Lord is a guarantee of financial gain. Why do so many people want to hear what I like to call "feel-good gospels"? Because they want someone to tell them they are okay just as they are. They want to hear someone say, "You're basically a good person. God loves you. He created you and that makes you His child. He's not going to allow you to spend eternity separated from Him. You just need to do good works and give money to the church, and everything will be alright." You'll notice that in these "feel-good gospels" there's no mention of the fact that we are sinners who desperately need redemption. You'll notice that there's no mention of the blood of Christ. These teachers claim to love the Lord Jesus Christ, but they never honor Him by speaking of the things He did to secure salvation for all who will give their hearts to Him. They won't talk about the way He was rejected, or about how He was beaten mercilessly, or about how He suffered a torturous death on the cross. Talking about these things would require the false teachers to admit that we are all sinners, for if we aren't sinners then there was no need for Christ to come, and if we aren't sinners there was certainly no need for Him to suffer in our place. The next time you listen to a teacher or preacher on the radio or on TV, take note whether they make any mention of the sinful nature of man. Notice whether they talk about the cross and about the blood Jesus shed for mankind. Listen to see whether they tell their listeners how to obtain redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ.
John begins by reminding us who we are---the children of God through Christ Jesus the Lord. Keeping this in mind will keep us from falling into a number of hurtful sins. John has been telling us this week that if we belong to Christ we will do and say the things Christ would do and say. Not only should we resemble Him in this life, but we who are faithful to Him will look like Him for eternity. "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure." (1 John 3:2-3)
We know that Christ rose from the dead in an immortal body. He did not rise from the dead in spirit form, but in bodily form. He made this very evident by inviting the disciples to touch Him after the resurrection so they could see for themselves that He was still made of flesh and bone like human beings. (Luke 24:39) He ate in front of the disciples so they would know that His resurrected body was capable of eating food like human beings. (Luke 24:41, John 21:5) But His resurrected body was capable of doing things no human body can do, for He could appear and disappear at will. (Luke 24:36, John 20:19) We don't understand what kind of body this is, but we have been promised one just like it. So John says, "It's not clear to us exactly what our bodies will be like in eternity. But we know they will be like Christ's. We know that the Lord is going to take these mortal bodies we presently have and change them into immortal bodies like Christ's. Knowing this, we have a duty to keep our mortal bodies pure in reverence to Him."
Today we've taken a look at the first half of John's message in Chapter 3 regarding those who belong to the Lord and those who do not. Today's portion was about those who are in Christ---the children of God. In tomorrow's study we will look at those whom John calls "the children of the devil".
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
The Letters Of The Apostle John. Day 7, The Great Love Of The Father
In our passage today John talks about the fact that, in Christ, we have been made the children of God. Sometimes we may hear people refer to the whole human race as the "children of God", but this isn't Scriptural. God does not claim as His children those who do not sincerely claim Him as their Father, and we can't rightfully claim Him as Father if we have rejected His testimony that Jesus is His Son.
John said in yesterday's study that the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ does not have the Father, but that whoever accepts the Son has the Father also. He told his readers that, now that they have accepted Christ and now that they can call God "Father", they must live godly lives so that when Christ comes for His church they will not feel ashamed of how they are living when He appears. John picks up at that point today by reminding us that godly living is the proof that our hearts are right with God. Then he rejoices in the great love the Father bestows on His children.
"If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him." (1 John 2:29) Those who belong to the Lord Jesus should look like Him. I'll use an example from my own family to make my point. If you took a picture of my husband and put it beside a picture of his father at the same age, you'd think you were looking at twins. We've often joked that there's no way his dad could deny being his father. There's no need for a DNA test; just one glance at them would tell you they are father and son. This is how much we should look like Jesus! People ought to be able to tell by the things we say and do (and by the things we don't say and do) that we belong to the Lord. When out in public together, did my husband and his dad ever have to tell anyone that they were father and son? No, because it was obvious that they were. We should be so much like Jesus that we don't even have to say, "I'm a Christian." It should be obvious that we are.
We must never forget what an honor it is to be elevated to the status of children of God. This is not something to be taken lightly. When John thinks about this, he breaks into rejoicing. "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1a) We didn't earn or deserve the privilege of being called the children of God. This is an honor that God, because of His great love for us, conferred upon us when we bowed our knees to Christ and confessed our sinful nature and accepted His offer of salvation. God didn't owe us anything. We had earned nothing but the sentence of death for our sin and rebellion. We must never make the mistake of thinking God will have to let us into heaven because we are pretty good guys and girls. As the prophet Isaiah said, even at our best we fall far short of godliness: "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6)
This proves that living a "moral" life is not the same as living a godly life. When John says in verse 29 above that "everyone who does right has been born of Him", we need to understand there's a difference between morality and righteousness. If we are right with God then naturally we will do things that are morally correct, but living a morally correct life doesn't make us right with God. Many atheists, agnostics, and pagans do their best to live morally correct lives. But they deny the Lord in their hearts and therefore cannot be considered righteous by Him. So when John says that everyone who does right is born of Christ, he's talking about those who have accepted Christ and who are striving to live lives that give Him honor. He's saying that if a person has accepted Christ, the person's way of living should be all the proof that's necessary to back up the claim of belonging to Christ.
Belonging to Christ will not necessary win us friends, popularity, or prosperity. Jesus never said it would. Instead He said, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first." (John 15:18) John reminds his readers of what Christ said by saying, "The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him." (1 John 3:1b) The Christians of the first century AD were enduring all sorts of persecution. Sometimes persecution merely took the form of ridicule and exclusion. Other times it meant losing their property, freedom, or life. This is why the Lord Jesus tells us to count the cost before deciding to be His disciple. (Luke 14:25-34) He tells us we have to value Him above all else in this world---even above what we want for our lives and above our very lives themselves. It will cost us something to follow Jesus. It may only cost us the pain of denying our worldly inclinations. It may cost us inclusion, promotion, or popularity. And in some time periods, and in some places in the world, it can cost people their lives to proclaim Christ as Lord. Does He mean that much to us? Does everything He offers us outweigh any temporary hardships we experience in this short life?
Jesus knew what it would cost Him to do the work that would make us the children of the living God. He decided that His love for us made it worth any price He had to pay to offer us salvation. How then can we conclude that He is not worth whatever it costs us to follow Him?
John said in yesterday's study that the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ does not have the Father, but that whoever accepts the Son has the Father also. He told his readers that, now that they have accepted Christ and now that they can call God "Father", they must live godly lives so that when Christ comes for His church they will not feel ashamed of how they are living when He appears. John picks up at that point today by reminding us that godly living is the proof that our hearts are right with God. Then he rejoices in the great love the Father bestows on His children.
"If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him." (1 John 2:29) Those who belong to the Lord Jesus should look like Him. I'll use an example from my own family to make my point. If you took a picture of my husband and put it beside a picture of his father at the same age, you'd think you were looking at twins. We've often joked that there's no way his dad could deny being his father. There's no need for a DNA test; just one glance at them would tell you they are father and son. This is how much we should look like Jesus! People ought to be able to tell by the things we say and do (and by the things we don't say and do) that we belong to the Lord. When out in public together, did my husband and his dad ever have to tell anyone that they were father and son? No, because it was obvious that they were. We should be so much like Jesus that we don't even have to say, "I'm a Christian." It should be obvious that we are.
We must never forget what an honor it is to be elevated to the status of children of God. This is not something to be taken lightly. When John thinks about this, he breaks into rejoicing. "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1a) We didn't earn or deserve the privilege of being called the children of God. This is an honor that God, because of His great love for us, conferred upon us when we bowed our knees to Christ and confessed our sinful nature and accepted His offer of salvation. God didn't owe us anything. We had earned nothing but the sentence of death for our sin and rebellion. We must never make the mistake of thinking God will have to let us into heaven because we are pretty good guys and girls. As the prophet Isaiah said, even at our best we fall far short of godliness: "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6)
This proves that living a "moral" life is not the same as living a godly life. When John says in verse 29 above that "everyone who does right has been born of Him", we need to understand there's a difference between morality and righteousness. If we are right with God then naturally we will do things that are morally correct, but living a morally correct life doesn't make us right with God. Many atheists, agnostics, and pagans do their best to live morally correct lives. But they deny the Lord in their hearts and therefore cannot be considered righteous by Him. So when John says that everyone who does right is born of Christ, he's talking about those who have accepted Christ and who are striving to live lives that give Him honor. He's saying that if a person has accepted Christ, the person's way of living should be all the proof that's necessary to back up the claim of belonging to Christ.
Belonging to Christ will not necessary win us friends, popularity, or prosperity. Jesus never said it would. Instead He said, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first." (John 15:18) John reminds his readers of what Christ said by saying, "The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him." (1 John 3:1b) The Christians of the first century AD were enduring all sorts of persecution. Sometimes persecution merely took the form of ridicule and exclusion. Other times it meant losing their property, freedom, or life. This is why the Lord Jesus tells us to count the cost before deciding to be His disciple. (Luke 14:25-34) He tells us we have to value Him above all else in this world---even above what we want for our lives and above our very lives themselves. It will cost us something to follow Jesus. It may only cost us the pain of denying our worldly inclinations. It may cost us inclusion, promotion, or popularity. And in some time periods, and in some places in the world, it can cost people their lives to proclaim Christ as Lord. Does He mean that much to us? Does everything He offers us outweigh any temporary hardships we experience in this short life?
Jesus knew what it would cost Him to do the work that would make us the children of the living God. He decided that His love for us made it worth any price He had to pay to offer us salvation. How then can we conclude that He is not worth whatever it costs us to follow Him?
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
The Letters Of The Apostle John. Day 6, Living Confidently In Christ
In yesterday's study we found John warning his readers about false teachers. He told them how to recognize lies, but he also stated his confidence in them that they know the truth and will continue to live in the truth. Today he urges everyone to live their lives in such a way that, if Christ comes for His church today, we won't be ashamed of whatever He finds us doing.
"As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you." (1 John 2:24a) As early in church history as John's day, there were already teachers who were perverting the gospel message. John tells his readers to hold fast to the gospel message that they originally heard and accepted. The gospel doesn't change, and neither does Christ. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
The true message of the gospel has saving power. It transforms hearts and lives. Christians must hold to the truth without wavering so that we will remain in close fellowship with our Lord. If we start leaning toward what the world calls a "new and improved" gospel, we are deviating from the truth. We will not be able to have a satisfying relationship with the Lord because we are going to be outside of the Lord's will. John says to allow the truth to remain in us, for, "If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He promised us---eternal life." (1 John 2:24b-25)
Why have so many offshoots of the Christian religion emerged that teach an altered version of the gospel? Because the gospel contains things that some people don't want to hear. I would assume that pretty much everyone wants eternal life, and surely they want that eternal life to be one of peace and happiness. But not everyone wants to submit themselves to Christ---or to anyone or anything else for that matter. Not everyone wants to live in the way Christ commands us to live. So they've altered the gospel in a way that suits them. They've changed the message so that it says what they want it to say. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy that a day was coming when, instead of simply rejecting Christ outright, people would begin following perverted forms of the gospel which tells them what they want to hear. "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Timothy 4:3) That day had already begun in John's lifetime and we are seeing this happen more and more as time goes on.
The apostle is worried that some of these false teachers might have a bad influence on those to whom he is writing. He wants them to be on guard. These believers were saved by the true gospel message, and this means they have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. They are to be sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who will warn them in their spirit whenever they encounter deceptive teachers and false doctrine. "I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit---just as it has taught you, remain in Him." (1 John 2:26-27)
The "anointing" he speaks of is the Holy Spirit whom they received when they accepted Christ. The Holy Spirit is their teacher. The Lord Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would teach us when He said, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come." (John 16:13) Whenever we pray or study the Bible, we need to do so in an attitude of submission to the Holy Spirit. We need to be actively listening for whatever He wants to say to us, for what He says to us is what Christ tells Him to say. In the same way, whenever we are listening to a preacher or teacher, or whenever we are reading religious materials outside of the Bible, we must test whatever we're hearing or reading against what the word of God says and against whether or not the Holy Spirit is in agreement with what we're reading or hearing.
"And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming." (1 John 2:28) If we hold fast to the truth, and if we live our lives by it, we won't be ashamed if Christ comes for His church this very day. I'm reminded of something funny that happened many years ago when my husband's maternal grandmother was still alive. We had taken her sightseeing and had stopped for lunch at a Sagebrush Steakhouse. She had never eaten there before and was interested to see what the food was like. After we were seated, she gazed around and saw that there was a bar in the back of the restaurant with a sign that said "saloon" over it. (We were not drinking alcohol.) She said, "I've never been in a saloon before." Then, after thinking about this for a minute, she leaned forward and whispered to us, "What if Jesus comes back today and finds me in a saloon?" She had never been in anything but fast food restaurants and it made her a little uncomfortable to be eating in a restaurant where alcohol was available even though we weren't drinking any of it. But her point, and the point John is making in our passage today, is that we should be living our lives every day in such a way that if Jesus does come, we won't be ashamed. A number of times during the years since she passed, I've found myself saying things or doing things that made me stop and ask myself, "What if Jesus came right now and found me doing or saying this?" If that question makes us uncomfortable, then the Holy Spirit is telling us that whatever we're doing or saying is inappropriate for a Christian.
There are those who never feel uncomfortable about anything. There are those who live their lives defiantly, declaring that no one (not even the Lord) has the right to tell them what to do or to judge them. They feel unashamed of everything they've ever done and they believe they will always feel unashamed of any choice they make in the future. But believe me, when someday they stand before a holy God and see Him as He is, they will see themselves as they are...and they will feel ashamed. In the light of His righteousness, their own unrighteousness will be painfully apparent. But it doesn't have to be that way. Christ became sin (took the penalty of our sins upon Himself) so that we could become righteous. (2 Corinthians 5:21) If we accept the gospel message just as it is, and if we submit our lives to Christ, and if we live our lives in a way that honors Him. we won't have to be ashamed when we stand before our God and Judge. We won't have to cower in fear when Christ calls His church out of the world. We won't, figuratively speaking, be caught in a "saloon" of rebellion and filth when He appears. Instead, knowing we've been faithful to Him, when He calls for us we will confidently say, "Here I am, Lord!"
"As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you." (1 John 2:24a) As early in church history as John's day, there were already teachers who were perverting the gospel message. John tells his readers to hold fast to the gospel message that they originally heard and accepted. The gospel doesn't change, and neither does Christ. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
The true message of the gospel has saving power. It transforms hearts and lives. Christians must hold to the truth without wavering so that we will remain in close fellowship with our Lord. If we start leaning toward what the world calls a "new and improved" gospel, we are deviating from the truth. We will not be able to have a satisfying relationship with the Lord because we are going to be outside of the Lord's will. John says to allow the truth to remain in us, for, "If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He promised us---eternal life." (1 John 2:24b-25)
Why have so many offshoots of the Christian religion emerged that teach an altered version of the gospel? Because the gospel contains things that some people don't want to hear. I would assume that pretty much everyone wants eternal life, and surely they want that eternal life to be one of peace and happiness. But not everyone wants to submit themselves to Christ---or to anyone or anything else for that matter. Not everyone wants to live in the way Christ commands us to live. So they've altered the gospel in a way that suits them. They've changed the message so that it says what they want it to say. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy that a day was coming when, instead of simply rejecting Christ outright, people would begin following perverted forms of the gospel which tells them what they want to hear. "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Timothy 4:3) That day had already begun in John's lifetime and we are seeing this happen more and more as time goes on.
The apostle is worried that some of these false teachers might have a bad influence on those to whom he is writing. He wants them to be on guard. These believers were saved by the true gospel message, and this means they have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. They are to be sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who will warn them in their spirit whenever they encounter deceptive teachers and false doctrine. "I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit---just as it has taught you, remain in Him." (1 John 2:26-27)
The "anointing" he speaks of is the Holy Spirit whom they received when they accepted Christ. The Holy Spirit is their teacher. The Lord Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would teach us when He said, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come." (John 16:13) Whenever we pray or study the Bible, we need to do so in an attitude of submission to the Holy Spirit. We need to be actively listening for whatever He wants to say to us, for what He says to us is what Christ tells Him to say. In the same way, whenever we are listening to a preacher or teacher, or whenever we are reading religious materials outside of the Bible, we must test whatever we're hearing or reading against what the word of God says and against whether or not the Holy Spirit is in agreement with what we're reading or hearing.
"And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming." (1 John 2:28) If we hold fast to the truth, and if we live our lives by it, we won't be ashamed if Christ comes for His church this very day. I'm reminded of something funny that happened many years ago when my husband's maternal grandmother was still alive. We had taken her sightseeing and had stopped for lunch at a Sagebrush Steakhouse. She had never eaten there before and was interested to see what the food was like. After we were seated, she gazed around and saw that there was a bar in the back of the restaurant with a sign that said "saloon" over it. (We were not drinking alcohol.) She said, "I've never been in a saloon before." Then, after thinking about this for a minute, she leaned forward and whispered to us, "What if Jesus comes back today and finds me in a saloon?" She had never been in anything but fast food restaurants and it made her a little uncomfortable to be eating in a restaurant where alcohol was available even though we weren't drinking any of it. But her point, and the point John is making in our passage today, is that we should be living our lives every day in such a way that if Jesus does come, we won't be ashamed. A number of times during the years since she passed, I've found myself saying things or doing things that made me stop and ask myself, "What if Jesus came right now and found me doing or saying this?" If that question makes us uncomfortable, then the Holy Spirit is telling us that whatever we're doing or saying is inappropriate for a Christian.
There are those who never feel uncomfortable about anything. There are those who live their lives defiantly, declaring that no one (not even the Lord) has the right to tell them what to do or to judge them. They feel unashamed of everything they've ever done and they believe they will always feel unashamed of any choice they make in the future. But believe me, when someday they stand before a holy God and see Him as He is, they will see themselves as they are...and they will feel ashamed. In the light of His righteousness, their own unrighteousness will be painfully apparent. But it doesn't have to be that way. Christ became sin (took the penalty of our sins upon Himself) so that we could become righteous. (2 Corinthians 5:21) If we accept the gospel message just as it is, and if we submit our lives to Christ, and if we live our lives in a way that honors Him. we won't have to be ashamed when we stand before our God and Judge. We won't have to cower in fear when Christ calls His church out of the world. We won't, figuratively speaking, be caught in a "saloon" of rebellion and filth when He appears. Instead, knowing we've been faithful to Him, when He calls for us we will confidently say, "Here I am, Lord!"
Monday, June 3, 2019
The Letters Of The Apostle John. Day 5, The Spirit Of Antichrist/How To Recognize False Doctrine
John talks today about what he calls "the spirit of antichrist" and he tells us how to recognize false teaching so that we won't fall for lies. He will later speak of the actual person known as the Antichrist when he writes the book of Revelation. But today he tells us that the spirit of antichrist is already in the world. This is because, even in the first century AD, heresies and false teachings had arisen that taught things that were in direct opposition to the true message of the gospel. As soon as there was a gospel message, Satan was at work trying to pervert it. The devil was unable to stop the advent of Christ. The devil couldn't hold Christ in the grave. So now he's working as hard as he can to prevent as many souls as possible from coming to salvation in Christ. Satan hates God, but there's nothing he can really do to hurt God except by hurting the human beings God values so much that He gave the very best He had (His Son) to rescue them.
John begins by warning us not to value the things of the world more than we value the Lord. This is a form of idolatry. If Satan can't entice us to worship him, he considers it the next best thing to cause us to worship anything or anyone but God. When John warns us about loving the world, he's not saying there's anything wrong with being grateful for our lives on earth, or with enjoying the beauty of God's creation, or with caring about our fellow man. He's using the term "the world" to mean the things that are on the outside---outside of God's will and outside of God's grace. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them." (1 John 2:15)
John is talking about a spirit of rebellion. If we don't place more value on our relationship with the Lord than we place on temporary things, we can't say we truly love Him. If we don't live our lives with eternity in mind, we are allowing ourselves to be led by the flesh and not by the Holy Spirit. "For everything in the world---the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life---comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:16-17) King Solomon spoke of man's tendency to follow after worldly things, saying, "Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes." (Proverbs 27:30) Solomon knew what he was talking about. He may well have been the wealthiest man who ever lived. In today's dollars, he would be at or very near the top of the Forbes 500 list. He spoke in the book of Ecclesiastes about how he had used his wealth to live a life of debauchery and excess. He said, "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure." (Ecclesiastes 2:10) Did any of this satisfy the soul that was created for fellowship with God? No, and that's why we find Solomon so clinically depressed in the book of Ecclesiastes that he no longer wants to live. This is where following anything or anyone but God leads us: to discouragement, to depression, and eventually to destruction.
While he is on the subject of personal rebellion against God, John points out that there is a spirit of rebellion at work in the world. This spirit comes straight from the wicked one, who would love to lead every human being to destruction. The rebellion we feel in our hearts on a personal level is part of a far bigger picture. We have to be constantly on guard against anything that tries to seduce our hearts from total commitment to the Lord. We need to be wise to those around us (false teachers) whom Satan is using to entice us to leave our first love (Christ). (See Revelation 2:4 for an example of an entire church that has become so worldly that it has left its first love.)
"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour." (1 John 2:18) We have been living in the last days ever since Christ ascended to the Father. Nothing remains to be fulfilled before Christ takes the church out of the world, so Satan is working as hard as he can to prevent as many people as possible from coming to salvation in Christ. While it's true that Satan will embody a man who will be known as the Antichrist during the seven years of the Great Tribulation, the spirit of antichrist has been in the world ever since the Lord Jesus fulfilled God's plan of salvation. You know and I know that Christ could call believers out at any moment. The devil knows this too, and this is why he's trying so hard to pervert the gospel of Christ. If he can introduce false doctrine to the world, he can prevent some souls from ever hearing or accepting the truth. He will introduce doctrine that appeals to the carnal side of man. He will bring in false teaching that allows man to keep back a part of himself from God. False teaching appeals to the spirit of rebellion in man, so that man does not bow the knee, the heart, or the soul to God.
Some of the false teachers whom Satan is using were originally attending the true church. They heard the gospel message, but something in them didn't accept it. Something in them didn't want to submit fully to the Lord, so they left the church and are now teaching a perverted gospel. They are teaching doctrine that is worldly and that allows man to live according to his own sinful desires. "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." (1 John 2:19) These false teachers were active in the church for a time, but their hearts were never really right with the Lord. If they had truly belonged to Christ, they would never have cut themselves off from the body of Christ (the church). These are the type of people the author of Hebrews spoke of when he said, "The message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it." (Hebrews 4:2b) Those who left the church heard the same message that everyone else heard, but they didn't allow the message to transform them. It's not that they didn't understand what they heard; it's that they didn't accept what they heard. They didn't accept it because it didn't say what they wanted it to say. They didn't accept it because it didn't give them permission to live how they wanted to live.
If we know what to look for, we will be able to recognize false doctrine and false teachers right off the bat. Knowing what to look for means knowing the truth so we can recognize lies. As we said yesterday, the only way to combat lies is with the truth, so it's of vital importance that we study the word of God daily. John's readers are the type of people who study the word of God daily, so he has confidence that they will recognize lies when they hear them. "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth." (1 John 2:20-21)
Any doctrine which denies Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ is a lie. Any doctrine which contradicts anything Jesus said is a lie. Jesus told us who He is. Jesus told us that salvation is only through Him. Any teaching which contradicts these things is a lie and is prompted by the spirit of antichrist and is coming straight from the evil one. "Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist---denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." (1 John 2:22-23) If we don't accept that Jesus is who He says He is, we are denying the very word of Almighty God who testified that Jesus is His Son. (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 3:22, Luke 9:35) We are rebelling against God when we refuse to accept what He said about the Lord Jesus. But if we accept the Son, we are by extension accepting the Father also, for we can't have the Son without the Father. As the Lord Jesus Himself said, "If you knew Me, you would know My Father also," (John 8:19) and, "If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him." (John 14:7) We know the Father because we see Him in the Son, for the Son is "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being". (Hebrews 1:3)
We know everything we need to know about God by studying the life, the works, and the words of His Son. This is why we need to know the word of God. We need to study what God the Father has said and what God the Son has said. Then we won't become confused when we hear false doctrine. We won't accept any teaching that perverts the gospel of Christ.
John begins by warning us not to value the things of the world more than we value the Lord. This is a form of idolatry. If Satan can't entice us to worship him, he considers it the next best thing to cause us to worship anything or anyone but God. When John warns us about loving the world, he's not saying there's anything wrong with being grateful for our lives on earth, or with enjoying the beauty of God's creation, or with caring about our fellow man. He's using the term "the world" to mean the things that are on the outside---outside of God's will and outside of God's grace. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them." (1 John 2:15)
John is talking about a spirit of rebellion. If we don't place more value on our relationship with the Lord than we place on temporary things, we can't say we truly love Him. If we don't live our lives with eternity in mind, we are allowing ourselves to be led by the flesh and not by the Holy Spirit. "For everything in the world---the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life---comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:16-17) King Solomon spoke of man's tendency to follow after worldly things, saying, "Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes." (Proverbs 27:30) Solomon knew what he was talking about. He may well have been the wealthiest man who ever lived. In today's dollars, he would be at or very near the top of the Forbes 500 list. He spoke in the book of Ecclesiastes about how he had used his wealth to live a life of debauchery and excess. He said, "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure." (Ecclesiastes 2:10) Did any of this satisfy the soul that was created for fellowship with God? No, and that's why we find Solomon so clinically depressed in the book of Ecclesiastes that he no longer wants to live. This is where following anything or anyone but God leads us: to discouragement, to depression, and eventually to destruction.
While he is on the subject of personal rebellion against God, John points out that there is a spirit of rebellion at work in the world. This spirit comes straight from the wicked one, who would love to lead every human being to destruction. The rebellion we feel in our hearts on a personal level is part of a far bigger picture. We have to be constantly on guard against anything that tries to seduce our hearts from total commitment to the Lord. We need to be wise to those around us (false teachers) whom Satan is using to entice us to leave our first love (Christ). (See Revelation 2:4 for an example of an entire church that has become so worldly that it has left its first love.)
"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour." (1 John 2:18) We have been living in the last days ever since Christ ascended to the Father. Nothing remains to be fulfilled before Christ takes the church out of the world, so Satan is working as hard as he can to prevent as many people as possible from coming to salvation in Christ. While it's true that Satan will embody a man who will be known as the Antichrist during the seven years of the Great Tribulation, the spirit of antichrist has been in the world ever since the Lord Jesus fulfilled God's plan of salvation. You know and I know that Christ could call believers out at any moment. The devil knows this too, and this is why he's trying so hard to pervert the gospel of Christ. If he can introduce false doctrine to the world, he can prevent some souls from ever hearing or accepting the truth. He will introduce doctrine that appeals to the carnal side of man. He will bring in false teaching that allows man to keep back a part of himself from God. False teaching appeals to the spirit of rebellion in man, so that man does not bow the knee, the heart, or the soul to God.
Some of the false teachers whom Satan is using were originally attending the true church. They heard the gospel message, but something in them didn't accept it. Something in them didn't want to submit fully to the Lord, so they left the church and are now teaching a perverted gospel. They are teaching doctrine that is worldly and that allows man to live according to his own sinful desires. "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." (1 John 2:19) These false teachers were active in the church for a time, but their hearts were never really right with the Lord. If they had truly belonged to Christ, they would never have cut themselves off from the body of Christ (the church). These are the type of people the author of Hebrews spoke of when he said, "The message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it." (Hebrews 4:2b) Those who left the church heard the same message that everyone else heard, but they didn't allow the message to transform them. It's not that they didn't understand what they heard; it's that they didn't accept what they heard. They didn't accept it because it didn't say what they wanted it to say. They didn't accept it because it didn't give them permission to live how they wanted to live.
If we know what to look for, we will be able to recognize false doctrine and false teachers right off the bat. Knowing what to look for means knowing the truth so we can recognize lies. As we said yesterday, the only way to combat lies is with the truth, so it's of vital importance that we study the word of God daily. John's readers are the type of people who study the word of God daily, so he has confidence that they will recognize lies when they hear them. "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth." (1 John 2:20-21)
Any doctrine which denies Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ is a lie. Any doctrine which contradicts anything Jesus said is a lie. Jesus told us who He is. Jesus told us that salvation is only through Him. Any teaching which contradicts these things is a lie and is prompted by the spirit of antichrist and is coming straight from the evil one. "Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist---denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." (1 John 2:22-23) If we don't accept that Jesus is who He says He is, we are denying the very word of Almighty God who testified that Jesus is His Son. (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 3:22, Luke 9:35) We are rebelling against God when we refuse to accept what He said about the Lord Jesus. But if we accept the Son, we are by extension accepting the Father also, for we can't have the Son without the Father. As the Lord Jesus Himself said, "If you knew Me, you would know My Father also," (John 8:19) and, "If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him." (John 14:7) We know the Father because we see Him in the Son, for the Son is "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being". (Hebrews 1:3)
We know everything we need to know about God by studying the life, the works, and the words of His Son. This is why we need to know the word of God. We need to study what God the Father has said and what God the Son has said. Then we won't become confused when we hear false doctrine. We won't accept any teaching that perverts the gospel of Christ.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
The Letters Of The Apostle John. Day 4, How To Live In Victory In All Stages Of Life
John addresses believers who are in all different stages of life and stages of faith. He addresses new believers as "dear children", and believers who have a fair amount of experience as "young men", and believers who have been in the faith a long time as "fathers". We need to keep in mind that in John's day it was mainly the men who led worship services, so he's addressing the males of the congregation. But the principles we will study today also apply to female believers. I am a woman and I believe God can use me for His kingdom work just as much as He can use a man. He has given different gifts and different jobs to each of us, but we can take John's words and apply them to women as well as to men. John could just as easily address new female believers as "little children", and female believers who have been in the faith a while as "young women", and females who have been in the faith a long time as "mothers". What we need to take away from our study today is that no matter how short or how long we've been in the faith, we all have something to learn. And no matter how long or how short we've been in the faith, we all have something to contribute.
"I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name." (1 John 2:12) When we first accept Christ as Savior, about the only thing we know for sure at that point is that He has forgiven our sins. I was raised in the church and could quote some Scripture from memory, but it wasn't until I was twenty-two years old that I gave my heart to Christ, and on that day I literally knew nothing else but that Christ had forgiven me for my sins. I couldn't even call to mind the little Scripture that I knew by heart; all I could do was bask in the joy of my salvation. That was all I needed to do right at first. The relief of turning my life over to Christ was overwhelming. I'd been experiencing an intense feeling of dread every night during that summer of 1992 and suddenly all my terrible fear was gone and my sleep at night was sweet. During those first few days it simply wasn't possible for me to take in much information because all I could think about was the sense of "cleanness" I felt. This is why, when John addresses new believers, he speaks only of the forgiveness they now have in Christ. They aren't able yet to do much more for the kingdom of Christ than rejoice in their newfound salvation.
John speaks next to the men who have been in the faith long enough to be able to lead others to Christ and to help fellow believers live godly lives. "I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning." (1 John 2:13a) These believers have been in the faith so long that they've developed a deep relationship with the Lord. They have studied the word of God for many years and they have committed to memory a great deal of Scripture. They understand how everything in the Old Testament pointed to the advent of Christ. They understand how Christ's life, death, burial, and resurrection fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about Him. They are in a position to explain the Scriptures in a way that leads unbelievers to Christ, and they are in a position to help believers grow in their relationship to the Lord. People can come to these elders and receive advice that's based on godly principles. They can come to the elders for encouragement that's based on experience.
Next John addresses the young men. "I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one." (1 John 2:13b) These are believers who have enough experience under their belts to be able to lead others to Christ, and they are young enough (both physically and spiritually) to go out into various parts of the world and share the gospel with an enormous amount of energy and enthusiasm. This is often the group that Satan hits the hardest. They are so "on fire" for the Lord and are so busy being about the Lord's business that Satan wants nothing more than to cause them to veer off course. John's words are meant to encourage this group. He doesn't say, "You have to overcome the evil one," but instead he says, "You have overcome the evil one." Why does he speak of this overcoming as if it's as good as done and as if it isn't a daily struggle? Because in Christ it is as good as done! They belong to Christ---to the One who has overcome the world---and through Him they already have the victory. Even though they are deep in the trenches of war every day, their victory is assured. They are on the winning side.
John starts over and addresses all these believers in various stages of faith. He begins again with those new in the faith. "I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father." (1 John 2:14a) We see he's changed it up a bit. These who are young in the faith know little else yet except that their sins have been forgiven. But they are already beginning to know the Father because they know Christ. Christ said, "Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) So although they don't know much yet, they know enough about Christ that they've trusted Him as their Savior. Christ, through the way He interacted with His fellow human beings, has shown them the loving heart of the Father. Knowing about this love sets a good, solid foundation upon which to build a strong life of faith.
John speaks next to the fathers and he says to them exactly the same thing he said before. I think he says the same thing because nothing new needs to be said to them. They are doing what they are supposed to be doing, so he just encourages them to keep up the good work. "I write to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning." (1 John 2:14b) The Christian church is still in its early stages in John's day, which means that believers who have been in the faith long enough to be called "fathers" are the older men. Many of them are no longer physically able to go on missionary journeys. They are considered elders, and the elders of the church can best use their experience to help their local churches grow.
When addressing the young men, John repeats the statement that they have overcome the evil one, but this time he reminds them that they are strong. He knows Satan buffets them every day with lies. Satan tells them that they don't have what it takes to take the gospel to the world. The best way to fight lies is with the truth, so John reminds them to stay in the word of God. God is going to give them everything they need to successfully complete their mission, for the Lord thoroughly equips His soldiers. They have the "whole armor of God", as the Apostle Paul would say. (Ephesians 6:11-18) "I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one." (1 John 2:14c) We can't fight the lies of the devil if we don't know the truth. It's imperative that we study the word of God and memorize Scripture to use in battle with the enemy. This is how Christ successfully fought Satan in the wilderness. This is how we can successfully fight Satan while we live in this fallen world. If we don't know the truth of God's word, we are going to fall for lies. But if we commit the word of God to heart, we are going to be able to refute those lies and keep on being faithful soldiers of the Lord.
We are overcomers. Don't let Satan, or the doubts that so often beset the mortal human mind, tell you otherwise. Christ will never ask you to do anything that He's not going to equip you to do.
"I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name." (1 John 2:12) When we first accept Christ as Savior, about the only thing we know for sure at that point is that He has forgiven our sins. I was raised in the church and could quote some Scripture from memory, but it wasn't until I was twenty-two years old that I gave my heart to Christ, and on that day I literally knew nothing else but that Christ had forgiven me for my sins. I couldn't even call to mind the little Scripture that I knew by heart; all I could do was bask in the joy of my salvation. That was all I needed to do right at first. The relief of turning my life over to Christ was overwhelming. I'd been experiencing an intense feeling of dread every night during that summer of 1992 and suddenly all my terrible fear was gone and my sleep at night was sweet. During those first few days it simply wasn't possible for me to take in much information because all I could think about was the sense of "cleanness" I felt. This is why, when John addresses new believers, he speaks only of the forgiveness they now have in Christ. They aren't able yet to do much more for the kingdom of Christ than rejoice in their newfound salvation.
John speaks next to the men who have been in the faith long enough to be able to lead others to Christ and to help fellow believers live godly lives. "I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning." (1 John 2:13a) These believers have been in the faith so long that they've developed a deep relationship with the Lord. They have studied the word of God for many years and they have committed to memory a great deal of Scripture. They understand how everything in the Old Testament pointed to the advent of Christ. They understand how Christ's life, death, burial, and resurrection fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about Him. They are in a position to explain the Scriptures in a way that leads unbelievers to Christ, and they are in a position to help believers grow in their relationship to the Lord. People can come to these elders and receive advice that's based on godly principles. They can come to the elders for encouragement that's based on experience.
Next John addresses the young men. "I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one." (1 John 2:13b) These are believers who have enough experience under their belts to be able to lead others to Christ, and they are young enough (both physically and spiritually) to go out into various parts of the world and share the gospel with an enormous amount of energy and enthusiasm. This is often the group that Satan hits the hardest. They are so "on fire" for the Lord and are so busy being about the Lord's business that Satan wants nothing more than to cause them to veer off course. John's words are meant to encourage this group. He doesn't say, "You have to overcome the evil one," but instead he says, "You have overcome the evil one." Why does he speak of this overcoming as if it's as good as done and as if it isn't a daily struggle? Because in Christ it is as good as done! They belong to Christ---to the One who has overcome the world---and through Him they already have the victory. Even though they are deep in the trenches of war every day, their victory is assured. They are on the winning side.
John starts over and addresses all these believers in various stages of faith. He begins again with those new in the faith. "I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father." (1 John 2:14a) We see he's changed it up a bit. These who are young in the faith know little else yet except that their sins have been forgiven. But they are already beginning to know the Father because they know Christ. Christ said, "Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) So although they don't know much yet, they know enough about Christ that they've trusted Him as their Savior. Christ, through the way He interacted with His fellow human beings, has shown them the loving heart of the Father. Knowing about this love sets a good, solid foundation upon which to build a strong life of faith.
John speaks next to the fathers and he says to them exactly the same thing he said before. I think he says the same thing because nothing new needs to be said to them. They are doing what they are supposed to be doing, so he just encourages them to keep up the good work. "I write to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning." (1 John 2:14b) The Christian church is still in its early stages in John's day, which means that believers who have been in the faith long enough to be called "fathers" are the older men. Many of them are no longer physically able to go on missionary journeys. They are considered elders, and the elders of the church can best use their experience to help their local churches grow.
When addressing the young men, John repeats the statement that they have overcome the evil one, but this time he reminds them that they are strong. He knows Satan buffets them every day with lies. Satan tells them that they don't have what it takes to take the gospel to the world. The best way to fight lies is with the truth, so John reminds them to stay in the word of God. God is going to give them everything they need to successfully complete their mission, for the Lord thoroughly equips His soldiers. They have the "whole armor of God", as the Apostle Paul would say. (Ephesians 6:11-18) "I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one." (1 John 2:14c) We can't fight the lies of the devil if we don't know the truth. It's imperative that we study the word of God and memorize Scripture to use in battle with the enemy. This is how Christ successfully fought Satan in the wilderness. This is how we can successfully fight Satan while we live in this fallen world. If we don't know the truth of God's word, we are going to fall for lies. But if we commit the word of God to heart, we are going to be able to refute those lies and keep on being faithful soldiers of the Lord.
We are overcomers. Don't let Satan, or the doubts that so often beset the mortal human mind, tell you otherwise. Christ will never ask you to do anything that He's not going to equip you to do.
Saturday, June 1, 2019
The Letters Of The Apostle John. Day 3, Love One Another
Yesterday John reminded us that if we claim to be sinless, we are denying what the word of God says. If we don't acknowledge our sins and repent of them, we are living in darkness. Today he points out that if we don't love our fellow man, we are living in darkness. We must question whether we truly belong to Christ at all if we don't have the love of Christ in our hearts for those around us.
John wants his readers to live godly lives. He is an aging apostle now and he has the experience to help others in their walk of faith. He wants to show his fellow believers how to live successful, victorious lives. "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father---Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2) John says something like, "I want to keep you from making as many mistakes as possible. But when you do mess up, there is Someone who will intercede for you with the Father. You can come to the Father in repentance and ask forgiveness on the basis of your relationship with the Son."
The apostle isn't teaching a "universal salvation" when he says Christ is the atoning sacrifice for the whole world. The sacrifice Christ made is great enough to save the whole world, but each person must accept Christ as his or her Savior. Each person must make the choice to commit his or her life to Christ in order to have Christ as their advocate with the Father.
If we belong to Christ, we ought to look like Him. We ought to say the things He would say and we ought to do the things He would do. "We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands." (1 John 2:3) The Lord Jesus said the same thing: "If you love Me, keep My commands." (John 14:15) We aren't being honest with ourselves if we claim to love Christ and yet have no desire to do what He says to do.
"Whoever says, 'I know Him,' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did." (1 John 2:4-6) Have you ever known anyone who said they were a Christian but there was no evidence in their life to back up their claim? In most of those cases I think they have either deceived themselves or they have been deceived by false doctrine. Of course I realize some people may be lying in order to gain something by claiming to be a Christian, but most of the people I've known who said they were Christians and obviously weren't had been fooled by doctrine that contradicts the gospel or else they had fooled themselves into thinking that because they were raised up in church, or because their whole family was Christian, that this automatically made them Christians too. They don't understand that being a Christian means having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Without a personal relationship with Him they can't possibly be like Him. This is where we who are in Christ have an opportunity to help them to understand what being "in Christ" really means. We need to do this with a loving attitude, not with an accusatory or condemnatory attitude. We could easily have found ourselves in their shoes if we had been taught false information about the Christian faith or if we had things in our background that caused us to want to tell ourselves we are okay when we are not okay.
When John asks his readers to examine their lives, he says it with love in his heart for them. He has their best interests at heart. "Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining." (1 John 2:7-8) Each of the ten commandments deals with how to relate to God or how to relate to others. So in that sense, these commandments are not new. But in another sense they are new, because in Christ we are able to love God in a new and personal way. The Lord Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) We no longer have to wonder what God is really like because His holy character and His love were openly displayed for us through the Son. We are able to relate to Him in His form as a human being and not as an invisible, unknowable being. We are able to follow the example Christ set, and Christ set a perfect example of how to love our fellow man. So although the commandment to love God and to love others is not new, we are able to follow it with a fresh new understanding of it.
"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble." (1 John 2:9-10) We naturally want to do good toward those we love, don't we? As the Apostle Paul said, "Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:10) This is why love helps to keep us from stumbling in the form of sinning against our fellow man. When we love someone, we do our best not to hurt them.
The person who doesn't love others must (if he honestly examines his heart) conclude that he does not love Christ. There is hope and help for the person who is willing to be honest with himself. The real danger is when someone doesn't know and doesn't care that his heart isn't right with the Lord and with his fellow man. "But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them." (1 John 2:11)
Jesus said if we love Him we will keep His commandments. (John 14:15) Jesus commanded us to love one another as He has loved us. (John 13:34, John 15:12) Jesus said that our love for one another is how the world will know that we are His disciples. (John 13:35) These words ought to prompt us to examine our hearts. If we don't love the Lord and our fellow man, we have to question whether we have given our hearts to Christ at all. If we know we have given our hearts to Christ, but lately we have found ourselves being more impatient with others than normal, or if we have felt less compassion for others than usual, we need to repent of our bad attitudes and draw closer to Christ. We need to spend more time with Him in prayer and in Bible study so He can have His way with our hearts. His way is always the way of love.
John wants his readers to live godly lives. He is an aging apostle now and he has the experience to help others in their walk of faith. He wants to show his fellow believers how to live successful, victorious lives. "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father---Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2) John says something like, "I want to keep you from making as many mistakes as possible. But when you do mess up, there is Someone who will intercede for you with the Father. You can come to the Father in repentance and ask forgiveness on the basis of your relationship with the Son."
The apostle isn't teaching a "universal salvation" when he says Christ is the atoning sacrifice for the whole world. The sacrifice Christ made is great enough to save the whole world, but each person must accept Christ as his or her Savior. Each person must make the choice to commit his or her life to Christ in order to have Christ as their advocate with the Father.
If we belong to Christ, we ought to look like Him. We ought to say the things He would say and we ought to do the things He would do. "We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands." (1 John 2:3) The Lord Jesus said the same thing: "If you love Me, keep My commands." (John 14:15) We aren't being honest with ourselves if we claim to love Christ and yet have no desire to do what He says to do.
"Whoever says, 'I know Him,' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did." (1 John 2:4-6) Have you ever known anyone who said they were a Christian but there was no evidence in their life to back up their claim? In most of those cases I think they have either deceived themselves or they have been deceived by false doctrine. Of course I realize some people may be lying in order to gain something by claiming to be a Christian, but most of the people I've known who said they were Christians and obviously weren't had been fooled by doctrine that contradicts the gospel or else they had fooled themselves into thinking that because they were raised up in church, or because their whole family was Christian, that this automatically made them Christians too. They don't understand that being a Christian means having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Without a personal relationship with Him they can't possibly be like Him. This is where we who are in Christ have an opportunity to help them to understand what being "in Christ" really means. We need to do this with a loving attitude, not with an accusatory or condemnatory attitude. We could easily have found ourselves in their shoes if we had been taught false information about the Christian faith or if we had things in our background that caused us to want to tell ourselves we are okay when we are not okay.
When John asks his readers to examine their lives, he says it with love in his heart for them. He has their best interests at heart. "Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining." (1 John 2:7-8) Each of the ten commandments deals with how to relate to God or how to relate to others. So in that sense, these commandments are not new. But in another sense they are new, because in Christ we are able to love God in a new and personal way. The Lord Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) We no longer have to wonder what God is really like because His holy character and His love were openly displayed for us through the Son. We are able to relate to Him in His form as a human being and not as an invisible, unknowable being. We are able to follow the example Christ set, and Christ set a perfect example of how to love our fellow man. So although the commandment to love God and to love others is not new, we are able to follow it with a fresh new understanding of it.
"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble." (1 John 2:9-10) We naturally want to do good toward those we love, don't we? As the Apostle Paul said, "Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:10) This is why love helps to keep us from stumbling in the form of sinning against our fellow man. When we love someone, we do our best not to hurt them.
The person who doesn't love others must (if he honestly examines his heart) conclude that he does not love Christ. There is hope and help for the person who is willing to be honest with himself. The real danger is when someone doesn't know and doesn't care that his heart isn't right with the Lord and with his fellow man. "But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them." (1 John 2:11)
Jesus said if we love Him we will keep His commandments. (John 14:15) Jesus commanded us to love one another as He has loved us. (John 13:34, John 15:12) Jesus said that our love for one another is how the world will know that we are His disciples. (John 13:35) These words ought to prompt us to examine our hearts. If we don't love the Lord and our fellow man, we have to question whether we have given our hearts to Christ at all. If we know we have given our hearts to Christ, but lately we have found ourselves being more impatient with others than normal, or if we have felt less compassion for others than usual, we need to repent of our bad attitudes and draw closer to Christ. We need to spend more time with Him in prayer and in Bible study so He can have His way with our hearts. His way is always the way of love.
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