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“The Battle For My Heart” 1 John 2:15-17

by Pastor Pete • on 7:03 PM • in 1 John, Sermon Notes

¹⁵Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world.
¹⁷And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

A. John now beings with this statement:

1. “Do not love the World or the things in the world.”

B. In the N.T., the word ‘WORLD’ has at least 3 different meanings:

‘World’

Physical World: the earth, Cosmos (Acts 17:24)
- God, who made the world and everything in it…
Human world: mankind (John 3:16)
- For God so loved the world
World’s system (1 John 2:15)
- “Do not love the world…”

¹“The word ‘world’ here is not the planet on which we live, or the natural creation about us. Rather it is the system which man has built up in an effort to make himself happy without Christ. It may include the world of culture, the world of opera, art, education; in short, any sphere in which the Lord Jesus is not loved & welcomed. Someone has defined it as ‘human society insofar as it is organized on wrong principles, & characterized by base desire, false values, & egoism.’”

B. We often use the word ‘WORLD’ in the sense of system in our daily conversation

1. “The Wide World of Sports”

a. Which is obviously not another planet or universe

“World of Sports”

It’s an organized system
- Constructed of ideas, people, activities, purposes, etc.

“World of Finance”

Again, it’s an ‘organized system’
- Constructed of investors, principles, laws, regulations, rules, etc.

“World of Politics”

‘The Political World’

C. Behind each of these ‘Worlds’ are rules, regulations and laws that we cannot see

1. There is a SYSTEM or a STRUCTURE that CONTROLS each ‘World’

2. Like the FRAMEWORK of a building – can’t see it, but holds it all together

²“The ‘world’ is Satan’s system for opposing the work of Christ on earth. It is the very opposite of what is godly and holy and spiritual.^”

1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

D. In Ephesians 6:10, Paul teaches us that -

1. Satan has an organization of evil spirits

Ephesians 6:12.
¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

E. This is an ORGANIZED WORLD SYSTEM –

1. Constructed, organized and run by Satan, whom the Bible calls

a. “The prince of the power of the air”

I. It is a ‘World system’ that attempts to take the place of God

1. It is really everything in life that becomes an idol…

a. Something that is substituted for God in our hearts;

b. In search of happiness

J. Just as the Holy Spirit uses people to accomplish God’s will on earth;

1. So too Stan uses people to fulfill his evil purposes

L. As God is working out His plans;

1. Satan is working out his plans, seeking to thwart the will of God

M. Unsaved people belong to “this world.” (Eph. 2:1-2)

1. In Luke 16:8, Jesus calls them “the children of this world”

N. As Christians, we are a part of this PHYSICAL WORLD;

1. Yet we are NOT a part of the WORLD SPIRITUALLY

“This World is Not My Home”

This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Chorus
O Lord you know I have no friend like you; If Heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door; And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

(15b) If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

²“Worldliness is not so much a matter of activity as of: attitude OR focus.”

I can be living w/ the appearance of a real godly life
- But yet have a very WORLDLY HEART

‘Worldliness’ – “Materialistic; much more interested in everyday materialistic concerns than in the spiritual side of life.”

This does not necessarily mean that a person is consumed with what they want to buy;
- Gucci hand bag; Armani Suit; Million dollar home; Job on Wall Street
Worldliness can simply be, being worried about paying bills, eating, shelter, work, etc…
- “My mind is so consumed by the temporal, I’ve lost focus on the eternal
  - This is a Trap of the Devil
    - “As soon as I get caught up on my bills Lord, I’ll be back”

Matthew 6:19-21; 24-34¹⁹“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also….²⁴“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. ²⁵“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁸So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

A. If you notice there in V17:

1. Worldliness will not only affect your response to the LOVE of God;

2; It will also affect your response to the WILL of God

C. If we are in love with God, it will be a joy to do His Will

1. But if we love the World, we will find it hard to obey God’s will

D. Ultimately, a love for the world, and the things in the world will develop:

1. Worldliness

E. Worldliness is anything that draws our hearts away from God;

1. And keeps us from doing His will

F. Anything that keeps us from:

1. Our daily devotions

2. Our prayer closets

3. Keeps us out of church, especially on Sunday mornings

H. It’s this WORLD SYSTEM that draws our hearts away from Christ

1. Whatever we allow to come between us and our LOVE FOR GOD

a. Is of the WORLD SYSTEM

“Sometimes if we are not careful, even a good thing may rob us of our enjoyment of God’s love and his desire to do God’s will.”

ILLUSTRATION:

A senior student in a Christian college was known for his excellent grades and his effective Christian service. He was out preaching each weekend and God was using him to win the souls and challenge Christians.

Then something happened: his testimony was no longer effective, his grades began to drop, and even his personality seemed to change. The president called him in.

“There’s been a change in your life and your work,” the president said, “and I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong.”

The student was evasive for a time, but then he told the story. He was engaged to a lovely Christian girl and was planning to get married after graduation. He had been called to a fine church and was anxious to move his new bride into the parsonage and get started in the pastorate.

“I’ve been so excited about it that I’ve even come to the place where I don’t want the Lord to come back!” he confessed. “And then the power dropped out of my life.”

His plans—good and beautiful as they were—came between him and the Father. He lost his enjoyment of the Father’s love. He was worldly!

ILLUSTRATION:

A. Today the MN Vikings are playing the NY Giants

1. And let’s say that the GIANTS only had 3 plays

2. And the VIKINGS knew all 3 PLAYS…

a. WHO do you think would WIN the game?

i. The VIKINGS, right?

B. This is really what JOHN is telling us here in V16:

1. We’re the Vikings, and God is REVEALING to us –

a. ALL 3 OF SATAN’S plays, they are:

#1. The lust (desire) of the flesh

A. Refers to the debased, ignoble cravings of evil hearts

1. Which includes, but is not limited to sexual immorality

B. God has given us all NORMAL / HEALTHY desires, such as:

1. Hunger, thirst, weariness and sex

C. None of these things in and of themselves are bad or wrong;

1. But when the old nature controls them, they become sinful “lusts”

D. Hunger is not wrong, but GLUTTONY is sinful

1. THIRST is not evil, but DRUNKENNESS is a SIN

2. SLEEP is a gift of God, but LAZINESS is shameful

3. SEX is a wonderful gift from God WHEN USED RIGHTLY;

a. But when it is used UNLAWFULLY, it becomes IMMORALITY

³“This sort of lust is usually called LUXURY.”

#2. The lust of the eyes

A. This is the lust of COVETOUSNESS

1. We forget that our eyes have an appetite

B. This really has to do with-

1. SOPHISTICATED and INTELLECTUAL PLEASURES

C. Back in the days of the Apostle John, the Greeks & Romans lived for –

1. ENTERTAINMENTS & ACTIVITIES that excited the eyes

Psalms 119:37
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.

D. In Joshua 7, the soldier Achan brought defeat to Joshua’s army because of the lust of his eyes

1. God had warned Israel NOT to TAKE any spoils from the condemned city of Jericho

a. But ACHAN did NOT obey

E. When his sin found him out and he was called before Joshua, this is what he said:

Joshua 7:21 (NKJV)
²¹“When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them.”

F. THE LUST OF THE EYES led him into sin

1. And his sin led the army into defeat

#3. The pride of life

A. This has to do with personal AMBITION

B. The Greek word for “pride” was used to describe a braggart who was –

1. Trying to impress people with his importance

C. People have always tried to OUTDO others in their SPENDING & their GETTING

1. This has to do with the PRIDE OF LIFE

D. Why is it that so many people today BUY:

1. Houses, Cars, Clothing, Possession…

a. That they REALLY CANT AFFORD?

E. Why do so many people succumb to the ‘BUY NOW, PAY LATER’?

1. In many cases it is because they want to IMPRESS OTHER PEOPLE-

a. Because of the PRIDE of LIFE

b. They want others to notice how AFFLUENT / SUCCESSFUL they are

F. Some people will even sacrifice honesty and integrity –

1. In return for notoriety and a feeling of importance

H. These are the 3 gates of appeal that Satan will always try to trip us into

1. A LOVE FOR THE WORLD & the THINGS of the WORLD

I. If he can stumble us into a LOVE for the WORLD and its ways;

1. He knows that will CROWD OUT our LOVE for our HEAVENLY FATHER!

J. If we FALL IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD & it’s SYSTEM;

1. We will LOSE our enjoyment of our Father’s LOVE

2. And our DESIRE to DO His will

SYMPTOMS of WORLDLY LOVE:

Bible becomes boring, hard to read
- Prayer life becomes difficult, laborious
  - Church becomes empty and disappointing
    - SERMON’S TOO LONG; Worship needs more Hymns
    - Amazing how people can spend 3 hrs in a movie theater watching garbage, but they can’t endure 45-60 minute bible study – Carnality; Worldliness.
    - Easy to spend time doing the things we love; even after a full day, we wish the day wasn’t over!
    - Lose interest in Christian Fellowship
      - Rather be hanging out w/ non-believers, participating in worldly activities

K. It’s not that there is something wrong with others

1. What’s wrong is that our Christian hearts have become worldly;

2. And we’ve become carnal-calloused to the love of God and desire to do His will

L. It is also very important that we understand that –

1. No Christian becomes worldly all of a sudden

2. Worldliness creeps up on a believer; it is a gradual process

The Process of Worldliness:

First is the friendship of the world (James 4:4)
Second we become “spotted by the world” (James 1:27)
The world leaves its dirty marks on one or two areas of his life. This means that gradually the believer accepts and adopts the ways of the world
When this happens, the world ceases to hate the Christian and starts to love him! So John warns us, “Love not the world!”—but too often our friendship with the world leads to love.
Third, the believer becomes conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2) and you can hardly tell the two apart

Fleshing out Worldliness (what it looks like in many Christians)

Idolization of an athlete, TV / MOVIE star, Political leaders who profess to be Christians
- News flash! “Even if Sarah Palin gets elected President, she can’t save USA!”
- Only JESUS SAVES!
- Many Christians today have fallen prey to trusting in the World’s system
Catering to the wealthy & influential person
- “We need to figure out how to get more people to come to CCB! We’ve lost a bunch, and now God is concerned how we’ll pay our bills!
- WORLDLINESS seeks to build a ministry, when only God is able to!
Many forms of worldliness do not involve:
- reading the wrong book, indulging in carnal amusements
  - Worldliness can simply be to love/trust anything more than God

¹⁷And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

A. John gives another wonderful reason here, why NOT TO LOVE THE WORLD;

1. It’s passing away!

B. The world is like a PARADE;

1. And we’re the CHURCH standing on the CORNER –

a. Watching the PARADE as it is PASSING AWAY

“To put your trust in the world that is passing away, would be like arranging the lawn chairs on the deck of the Titanic!” (Hopeless!)

C. The world is SIMPLY NOT PERMANENT;

1. The only sure thing about the WORLD SYSTEM is that is PASSING AWAY

2. One day, it’ll all be gone:

a. The World system and the things of this world

D. So what’ll last?

1. Only he who does the will of God abides forever!

E. Although we are to live in this world;

1. We are not to let this world LIVE IN US!

2. We are to live LOOSELY ATTACHED to this world –

a. Our ETERNAL TREASURES are coming

F. John is contrasting 2 ways of life:

1. A life lived for ETERNITY

2. A life lived for TIME

²“The WORLDLY PERSON lives for PLEASURES of the FLESH. But a DEDICATED Christian lives for the JOYS OF THE SPIRIT!”

G. Do you realize that there is a DIFFERENCE between being:

1. A CHRISTIAN; and being a DEDICATED CHRISTIAN?

H. A dedicated Christian does NOT love the World or the things in the world;

1. And he is the one who LOVES GOD and is DEDICATED to DOING His will

I. Whereas the Worldly Christians LOVE THE WORLD,

1. They are DRAWN AWAY from being DEDICATED to God because of:

a. The LUST of their flesh

b. The Lust of their eyes

c. The Pride of life

J. And they have little to no interest in –

1. Bible reading/prayer/fellowship/ doing God’s will

K. But a dedicated Christian lives for the joys of the Spirit

1. A spiritual believer lives for the unseen realities of God (2 Cor. 4:8–18)

2. A Christian who does the will of God lives for God’s approval, he “abideth forever”

Very Soon, the entire WORLD SYSTEM will be OVER:

Vaunted culture
- Proud Philosophies
  - Egocentric intellectualism
    - godless materialism

Long after this world system has been forgotten & replace by the new heavens & the new earth:

God’s faithful servants will remain forever
- Sharing the glory of God for all eternity

²“A Christian who loves the world will never have peace or security because he has linked his life with that which is in a state of flux.”

Jim Elliot once stated:

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

L. The N. T. is full of scripture teaching on ‘The Will of God’

²“The will of God is not something that we consult occasionally like an encyclopedia. It is something that completely controls our lives. The issue for a dedicated Christian is not simply, “Is it right or wrong?” or “Is it good or bad?” The key issue is, “Is this the will of God for me?”

M. God wants us to understand His will for our lives

1. It is important that we understand God’s will for our lives

2. And see the purposes He is fulfilling

N. Once God reveals His will to us;

1. Then we should DO IT from the HEART

O. We don’t fulfill God’s will by TALKING ABOUT IT;

1. But by DOING what He TELLS us to do;

a. GOING where He sends

b. YIELDING to whatever CALL He puts upon our lives

P. The more we obey God

1. The more proficient we become in knowing what He wants us to do

2. God’s goal for us is that we will “stand … complete in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12)

Q. This means to be mature in God’s will

1. An immature Christian is always asking his friends what they think God’s will is for him

2. A mature Christian stands complete in the will of God

3. He knows what the Lord wants him to do

How to discover the will of God for my life:

Process begins with Surrender
- God’s will is not a “spiritual cafeteria” where a Christian takes what he wants and rejects the rest!
- No, the will of God must be accepted in its entirety
- This involves a personal surrender to God of one’s entire life
God reveals His will to us through His Word
- “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105)
- A worldly believer has no appetite for the Bible
- When he reads it, he gets little or nothing from it
- But a spiritual believer, who spends time daily reading the Bible and meditating on it, finds God’s will there and applies it to his everyday life
We may also learn God’s will through circumstances
- God moves in wonderful ways to open and close doors
- We must test this kind of leading by the Word of God—and not test the Bible’s clear teaching by circumstances!
Finally God leads us into His will through prayer & the working of His Spirit in our hearts
- As we pray about a decision, the Spirit speaks to us
- An “inner voice” may agree with the leading of circumstances
- We are never to follow this “inner voice” alone: we must always test it by the Bible, for it is possible for the flesh (or for Satan) to use circumstances—or “feelings”—to lead us completely astray.

CONCLUSION:

A. We are in this world physically;

1. But we are not of this world SPIRITUALLY

B. We can’t help being in this world;

1. But we must guard our hearts from the World

C. HOW DOES THE WORLD get INTO the Christian?

1. Through his heart

a. “Love not the world!”

D. Anything that robs a Christian of his enjoyment of the Father’s love,

1. Or of his desire to do the Father’s will, is worldly and must be avoided

2. Every believer, on the basis of God’s Word, must identify those things for himself

E. Each of us have to decide for ourselves:

1. “Will I live for the present only, or will I live for the will of God and abide forever?”

²“Love for the world is the love God hates. It is the love a Christian must shun at all costs!”

¹The Believer’s Bible Commentary; William MacDonald

²The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Vol. 2

³The New Matthew Henry Commentary, 2010; Zondervan

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Pastor Pete’s Study Notes 11/28/10

by Pastor Pete • on 4:19 AM • in 1 John

“True Love”

1 John 2:8-11

⁸Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

A. John now adds a ‘NEW COMMANDMENT’

1. This was a command given by Jesus to His disciples in -

John 15:9-17

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹²This is My commandment, (now here it is) that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. ¹⁴You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. ¹⁵No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. ¹⁷These things I command you, that you love one another.

B. In John 13:34-35, Jesus Himself called this a ‘NEW COMMANDMENT’

John 13:34-35A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

C. The Apostle John had seen Jesus with his own eyes

1. He’d seen Jesus offer up His own life, for the sake of others

“Jesus’ Love is true Love”

D. And John says that the TRUE LOVE is not only seen in Christ, but in His followers

1. That is, those who BELIEVE in Christ, will also display His love

“If the true light of Jesus is shining in our hearts, then His love will be in us, and darkness will be gone.” -Thomas Hale

E. When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior;

1. The darkness is passing away

2. And the TRUE LIGHT of God’s LOVE begins to shine

F. Sort of interesting to note here that the ‘darkness is PASSING AWAY’

1. Just as it takes time for our eyes to ADJUST to light when we come out of the dark;

2. So too, it takes time to adjust to the LIGHT of GOD’S LOVE

a. As we’re ADJUSTING, we’re actually GROWING IN HIS LOVE!

G. In Verses 9-11, John now CONTRASTS between:

1. LOVE that is FALSE;

2. And LOVE that is TRUE

3. Sort of a BAROMETER TEST

⁹He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.

A. In other words:

1. The person who claims to be a CHRISTIAN;

a. Yet HATES HIS BROTHER…Is still in DARKNESS

b. They are NOT REALLY SAVED

B. Now some people might say:

1. “Well, I DON’T HATE my brother/sister/spouse/neighbor…”

2. “I just don’t like them”

C. Maybe that was you RIGHT NOW?

1. May just now in your mind, God put somebody’s face in front of you…

a. And you just JUSTIFIED your HATRED by calling it something else?

D. We’ll let’s see if that’s true, based on what the word ‘HATE’ here means:

‘HATE’ : “To detest or despise, especially to persecute.”

Withholding of LOVE – (Can be INWARD or OUTWARD)

Refusing to TALK to them

Desire for HARM

Bitterness/ resentment / anger

Flying off the handle at the mention of the person’s name –“I’m not angry at….!!!!”

***OFTEN Hatred may display itself in strong emotion, but not necessarily

Malicious, un-justifiable feelings towards others

Whether towards the INNOCENT, or by mutual animosity

Ever been HATED by someone & you didn’t even know they were mad at you?

Opposed to both the love of NATURAL AFFECTION & Godly love

Webster’s New World Dictionary:

“To have strong feeling of dislike or ill will for or towards; To loath; To despise; To dislike; wish to avoid; shrink from. To look down upon with great contempt; feelings of malice; to detest; disgust; abhorrence.”

The opposite of LOVE – diametrically opposed

Look up LOVE and you see the ANT. Of HATE

Look up HATE and you see the ant. Of LOVE

E. Reminds me of what Jesus said in –

Luke 16:13No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

F. “You can’t say that you LOVE GOD;

1. And yet HATE your BROTHER

G. LOVE and HATE cannot CO-EXIST w/in the SAME HEART

1. You’ll either be given to LOVE

2. Or you will be DOMINATED by HATE

H. Jesus talks about a man HATING his brother in -

Matthew 5:21-26²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. ²³Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

I. A lot of times, HATRED – CONTEMPT – RESENTMENT is:

1. The DIRECT CONSEQUENCE of UN-FORGIVENESS

J. At one point, a person FEELS as though they were WRONGED by SOMEBODY: (maybe)

1. Maybe a PARENT,

a. “You weren’t there for ME”

b. “you never showed any interest in my life”

c. “You always seemed to FAVOR my brother…sister…”

i. And it’s produced RESENTMENT, bitterness, un-forgiveness in you

K. Maybe you were WRONGED by SIBLING,

1. “Mom and dad always paid more attention to you, than any of us!”

2. “You stole my boy friend / girl friend”

3. She/he was always better at something

L. Maybe its resentment towards a FRIEND / another CHURCH member

1. They treated you WRONG/ UN-FAIR

2. Un-kind

3. Disliked by them

M. Maybe the REASON this morning you CAN’T BE FILLED with GOD’S LOVE is because;

1. You are BITTER towards you SPOUSE…

a. “You never loved me, you’re never kind, you always treat me so bad”

N. What about BITTERNESS or RESENTMENT towards GOD!

a. “My life is such a joke”

b. “Why didn’t God give me better looks, better health, better spouse”

c. “My life is so hard, God must get a real charge out of my problems”

O. TRUE or NOT, when a PERSON feels that they’ve BEEN WRONGED…

1. WITHOUT the LOVE of CHRIST in their HEART…

2. They FIRST WONT FORGIVE the WRONG DOER (even a perceived wrong)

“Then what happens is that UN-FORGIVENESS produces BITTERNESS; Which ultimately ends up DEFILING their RELATIONSHIP with GOD.”

P. Some of you may be STRUGGLING TREMENDOUSLY SPIRITUALLY;

1. And it all REVOLVES back to HARBORING UN-FORGIVENESS

Q. When we COME INTO THE LIGHT;

1. We KNOW that we are in the LIGHT –

a. When God enables us to FORGIVE those who sin against us

R. MANY PEOPLE claim that at one point in their life they CAME INTO THE LIGHT;

1. There was a time when they PRAYED A PRAYER…

2. But they NEVER REALLY GOT SAVED

a. They NEVER really CAME INTO the LIGHT

S. They may have had an INTELLECTUAL EXPERIENCE with God:

1. Heard the Gospel and intellectually received Christ

2. But they never TRULY CAME INTO a personal RELATIONSHIP with Christ

T. And as John says here, the MANIFESTATION or EVIDENCE of a FALSE CONVERT is:

1. The PERSON who HATES/ person who CANNOT / WILL NOT FORGIVE

U. And the EVIDENCE that they are NOT in the LIGHT;

1. Is DEMONSTRATED by their HATRED for their BROTHER

V. HATRED for your BROTHER/SISTER is:

1. NOT an indication of BACK SLIDING;

2. But rather of NO SALVATION AT ALL

W. John says that person was born in darkness, and remains in darkness even until now

1. They simply never were saved at ANY POINT in their life

X. UN-FORGIVENESS IS A CRUEL TASKMASTER!

1. Concerning UN-FORGIVENESS, somebody once said:

“Un-forgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die.”

“I refuse to give any control over my life by harboring un-forgiveness in my heart towards them!”

THE MODEL PRAYER

Matthew 6:9-15
⁹In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.
¹²And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
¹³And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
¹⁴“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Y. Pretty serious REQUIREMENTS from God!

1. He who CANNOT FORGIVE their DEBTORS

2. God promises that NEITHER will HE FORGIVE their DEBTS

Z. As John is describing here in 1 John 2 –

1. The ABILITY/WILLINGNESS to forgive other people is a –

2. DECLARATION that you are WALKING in the LIGHT

a. And the TRUTH IS IN YOU!

Z1. However on the CONTRAST;

1. He who HATES his BROTHER (evidence that you hate is in your un-forgiveness)

2. And REFUSES to FORGIVE him his DEBT…is walking proof that…

a. That he is UNSAVED

Matthew 7:13-27¹³“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. ¹⁵“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Therefore by their fruits you will know them. ²¹“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²²Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ²⁴“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

“Not everyone who talking about heaven is going there.”

Z2. That’s why I’m lingering on this point…(REMEMBER I’m talking to more than CCB)

1. I’m pressing you by the power of God’s Holy Word—

a. Search your heart & be assured that you really are saved -

Z3. You really have NOTHING TO LOSE, but EVERYTHING to GAIN;

1. If you search your heart and find HATRED –

a. You could get SAVED TODAY

2. If you search your heart and find LOVE;

a. Well then you have the ASSURANCE of ETERNAL LIFE!!!

¹⁰He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

A. If you are a living, breathing, walking display of GOD’S LOVE;

1. Then you will have no occasion to STUMBLE yourself

2. And NEITHER will you STUMBLE ANYONE else

B. He who ABIDES in the LIGHT will ACTIVELY SEEK to keep from STUMBLING others

1. The man who abides in GOD’S LOVE…

2. Will NOT use his LIBERTY to give an OCCASION to STUMBLE others

1 Corinthians 6:12

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

1 Corinthians 10:23

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.

1 Corinthians 8:9-13

But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. ¹⁰For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? ¹¹And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? ¹²But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. ¹³Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

C. Now that’s TRUE LOVE;

1. Even though we may feel that we have the PERSONAL LIBERTY to

a. Partake in various areas…

b. If we know that it will stumble a brother…

i. LOVE says – “Then I will never do that again”

ILLUSTRATION:

Charles Spurgeon used to smoke tobacco during his years of preaching and he thought nothing of it until one day he walked past his favorite tobacco shop and saw a sign posted stating “Players Cigarettes…the choice of C. H. Spurgeon”. After that, Spurgeon gave up smoking so that he would never again stumble anyone.”

B. That’s what LOVE looks like

1. “I’m not going to use my liberties to stumble someone w/ a weak conscience”

C. Let me ADD….

1. That INCLUDES what you POST of FACEBOOK & TWITTER & emails

Romans 14:12-23

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. ¹³Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. ¹⁴I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ¹⁵Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. ¹⁶Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; ¹⁷for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. ²⁰Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. ²¹It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. ²²Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. ²³But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

¹¹But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

“The darkness of sin, always makes men blind. Satan wants to blind you. He doesn’t want you to see his schemes. Above all, he doesn’t want you to see Jesus.”

Conclusion:

1. But you FACE A DECISION now, Will you RESPOND?

a. Are you walking in LOVE?

b. Or have you been SECRETLY HATING your brother?

2. I’m going to give you time this morning to deal with this issue before God;

1. You may need to get up and confess your attitude towards someone here

2. You may need to come forward and kneel at the altar & confess your sin

3. Or maybe this morning God has CONVICTED your heart & you now realize that-

1. You aren’t saved

2. “Behold today is the day of salvation”

4. If God has convicted you of an area of your life;

1. I’m going to encourage you to deal with it right now

5. Don’t let this GIFT of GOD’S CONVICTION pass you by!

1. You have a CHOICE…

a. RESPOND, or grow HARDER

“Repent of your bitterness & let Him fill you with HIS LOVE!”

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1 John 2:7 – “Love One Another”

by Pastor Pete • on 11:12 PM • in 1 John

“Love One Another”

1 John 2:7

INTRO:

(1 Cor. 13)

A. Last week, the Apostle John taught on:

1. the exhortation to ‘NOT LIVE IN SIN’

2. If we do sin, we have an ADVOCATE

3. He Himself, is our PROPITIATION for our sins – for entire world

B. John also gave the TEST of KNOWING HIM—-EXPERIENTIALLY-

1. We demonstrate that we EXPERIENTIALLY KNOW HIM by –

a. KEEPING His COMMANDMENTS –

b. Keeping God’s PRECEPTS

c. All the PRECEPTS/COMMANDMENTS given to us by Christ & epistles

C. In V4 then, John said that anyone who CLAIMS TO BE SAVED;

1. Yet DOES NOT OBEY God’s Word is a LIAR

2. And they REALLY AREN’T SAVED

D. They may have an INTELLECTUAL SALVATION

1. But they REALLY AREN’T SAVED EXPERIENTIALLY

E. The Word of God declares that those who are TRULY SAVED, will:

1. KEEP God’s commandments

2. And they will also –

F. ABIDE

1. More than to just DWELL in the PRESENCE

2. The idea of FAMILY, interaction, LOVE, participation, Working through problems

G. The true believer will also WALK, even as CHRIST WALKED

1. We will live like CHRIST

H. The TRUE BELIEVER:

1. Keeps God’s Commandments

2. Abides in Christ

3. Walks like Christ

I. And NOW TODAY;

1. John CONTINUES this THOUGHT on EXPERIENTIAL FAITH

J. The TRUE believer will also-

1. EXPERIENTIALLY demonstrate the LOVE OF GOD

“Love is the preeminent mark of a genuine believer. Love for God is the benchmark of one’s relationship to Him, and love for other people is the epitome of human relationships. Because love is the saint’s highest moral duty toward others, it is not only the ultimate mark of genuine salvation, but also provides the supreme assurance of that reality.” – John MacArthur

K. And this is the very thing that the APOSTLE JOHN now continues to teach us

1. As we continue in Verse 7

⁷ Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.

A. The Word ‘BRETHREN’ is better translated ‘BELOVED ONES’

1. It refers to ‘GOD’S DIVINE LOVE’

2. It is, ‘DIVINELY-LOVED ONES’

3. This is the same word for LOVE as used in:

John 3:16For God so loved (Divinely-loved) the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

1 John 4:7-8
⁷Beloved, let us (divinely…) love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸He who does not love does not know God, for God is (Divine…) love.

The Word ‘COMMANDMENT’ here is ‘A PRECEPT’

1. Again, not in the sense of the MOSAIC LAW

2. But as an EXHORTATION to the CHRISTIAN, it’s an INJUNCTION

“Which you have had from the beginning”

1. Refers to the BEGINNING of their SALVATION

A. John no doubt here could remember back to the time when Jesus had just silenced the —

Matthew 22:34-40
³⁴But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced…… the Sadducees, they gathered together.
³⁵Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ³⁶“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” ³⁷Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

B. At this point historically, the rabbis had long since started on that vast work of-

1. Elaboration of the Law that ultimately evolved into the TALMUD

C. Already their commentaries and rulings and binding traditions-

1. Had begun to replace the Torah in authority

D. The scribes divided all 613 commandments of the Mosaic Law;

1. Into 248 Do’s (the number of the members of the body, as they counted them)

2. And 365 Don’ts (One negative commandment for each day of the year)

E. They also saw great significance, too, in there being –

1. Not only 613 commandments in the Law

2. But also 613 letters in the Decalogue (The 10 Commandments)

F. They greatly elaborated the Law

1. Expanding to the point of absurdity

2. For instance, the commandments concerning keeping the Sabbath—

G. According to a 1987 Associated Press story;

1. Here is how an ultra Orthodox Jew observes the Sabbath:

“Before the Jerusalem Sabbath siren wails at sundown Friday night, Orthodox Jews unscrew the light bulbs in their refrigerators so as not to inadvertently turn them on and violate the Sabbath. They turn off their water heaters. They hide money because it is a reminder of daily labor instead of divine rest. They cut their toilet paper in advance because ripping it would violate religious regulations. They light tall white candles moments before sundown because striking a match is banned during the Sabbath. These are some of the acts prohibited during the Sabbath: taking a bath, opening an umbrella, touching a pen (because they feel writing is work). Strict but complicated “carrying laws” govern what objects may be lifted and how far they may be moved.

Much of the Sabbath is spent in three long ritual meals, usually shared with friends who arrive on foot and interrupted frequently by blessings and ancient Hebrew songs. Each meal begins with bread seasoned heavily with salt, which all must eat to remind them of coming out of Egypt with Moses. Cooking is forbidden. Pre-cooked food is kept warm by turning a burner on low before the Sabbath and covering it with a copper plate that stays hot. Games are permitted during the Sabbath but restricted. “Fish” a card game of making pairs, is preferable to “Monopoly” which requires use of play money. Even conversation is regulated (I think that’s a good idea, even at church). Topics of work, politics or commerce are banned. Orthodox Jews strictly limit travel on the Sabbath. Unless one lives within the prescribed allowed walking distance, he cannot attend synagogue services. Many of these regulations are well intentioned but carried to the extreme

H. Many other O.T. laws were elaborated on, and contained in the Talmud, such as

1. Ceremonially washing before a meal

2. Mixing of materials in a garment (Bra / blended materials – braking the law)

3. Turning on a light (kindling a fire)

4. Distance – got around that by tying ropes to their property to extend travel area

5. Drinking – sift the drink through their teeth, so as to not swallow a gnat

6. Dietary laws; Circumcision; Ritual Sacrifices; Feast days; Fasting days

I. The Jews became CONSUMED by EXTERNAL KEEPING of the LAWS;

1. While they overlooked their HEARTS

Matthew 23:23-28
²³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ²⁴Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! ²⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. ²⁶Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. ²⁷Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

J. In all forms of RELIGION, man is CONCERNED with APPEARANCE;

1. While GOD IS CONSUMED on the HEART

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

K. And this is really what JOHN is stating here in his EPISTLE;

1. ‘Those who EXPERIENTIALLY KNOW GOD…will LOVE from their HEARTS’

L. It’s EASY to PRETEND to LOVE your BROTHER or SISTER;

1. And you may be able to PRESENT a FACADE, but GOD SEES the HEART

M. That’s why CHRIST REBUKED the PHARISEES;

1. They were HYPOCRITES

2. They APPEARED to be one way…

a. But in their HEARTS, they were another person

‘HYPOCRITE’

1. The term used of GREEK ACTORS who stood on stage

2. Wearing a LARGE MASK, to indicate HAPPY/SAD/ FEAR etc…

HYPOCRITE

1. A person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion

2. A person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

Examples of HYPOCRITE

A HYPOCRITE might be one who criticize other people for not voting

a. But who don’t always vote themselves

2. Or, as John says here, a HYPOCRITE is one who

a. Says they LOVE GOD, but yet they HATE their NEIGHBOR

N. So the Jews has elaborated the LAW, to the point of absurdity

1. They’d become so focused on EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE

2. And the Jewish leaders laid LOADS on the PEOPLE that they could not bear

Matthew 23:1-7¹Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, ²saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. ⁴For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. ⁵But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. ⁶They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’

James 2:10¹⁰For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

K. The Rabbis had even made provisions for adultery, divorce, murder & even HATRED!

1. It’s OK to COMMIT ADULTERY, DIVORCE, MURDER, HATE

2. You just must abide by the ORAL TRADITIONS of the TALMUD

3. And they BEGAN to ELEVATE the TALMUD above GOD’S WORD!

Matthew 5:27-48“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³¹“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. ³³“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. ³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴²Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. ⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

L. Some commandments they rated as great,

1. Some as small, or lesser significant

M. So the lawyers asked Jesus:

1. “What was the GREATEST COMMANDMENT of all the 613 laws”

N. Jesus took His questioner back to the great creedal statements of:

Deuteronomy 6:5You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 10:12“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

Deuteronomy 30:6And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

O. Jesus then summarized all man’s duty to God and all man’s duty to man in –

1. Two comprehensive statements that were already embedded in the Pentateuch

Leviticus 19:17-18‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. ¹⁸You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

P. This is exactly how Jesus responded to the lawyer who tried to trap Him –

Matthew 22:36-40“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” ³⁷Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Q. The Apostle Paul said much the same thing in Romans 13:8-10

Romans 13:8-10⁸Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
⁹For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

R. Such was the OLD COMMANDMENT

1. And such was the GREAT COMMANDMENT

“Love God supremely, love all men sincerely.”

S. All the other laws are expositions of these 2 rudimentary & revolutionary principles

1. If everyone loved God and other people like that…

2. Then we would not need the countless laws that tie us up in knots to this day

T. The 1^st 4 COMMANDMENTS deal w/ mans relationship to GOD

1. The last 6 Commandments deal w/ mans relationship to MAN

U. And here JOHN is teaching that if our RELATIONSHIP to GOD is CORRECT;

1. Then it will be EVIDENCED by our RELATIONSHIP to MAN being CORRECT!

V. Essentially, God is saying:

1. “Don’t tell me you have CORRECT LOVE for ME, if you DON’T love your brother”

W. I think of even what the Lord stated in MATT. 5

1. Concerning our INTERACTIVE relationship with HIM & our NEIGHBOR:

Matthew 5:21-24“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. ²³Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

X. This whole idea then brings into play the BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE of FORGIVENESS

1. “Well, WHY DON’T you LOVE your brother?”

2. “Well, you just have no idea what he / she did to me”

a. “Therefore I can NEVER FORGIVE THEM”

Y. Many Christians today are going through life;

1. Wondering why they DON’T GROW, or why they have a broken fellowship w/ God?

2. And the ANSWER MAY JUST LIE in UN-FORGIVENESS…

a. Either towards your BROTHER / SISTER / NEIGHBOR

b. Or in some cases, (bitterness) even TOWARDS GOD

Z. “I’m NOT bitter TOWARDS GOD, I’m bitter towards what happened to me”

1. When in reality, your bitterness is against God & hindering your walk w/ Him

Exodus 16:4-8Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. ⁵And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” ⁶Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are we, that you complain against us?” ⁸Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”

A. We may see our COMPLAINING as being directed against our circumstances;

1. Yet, because GOD is SOVEREIGNLY directing the circumstances of our lives;

a. When we complain, it is really against the Hand of the Lord

B. Grumbling & Complaining, left unchecked –

1. Will EVENTUALLY develop into BITTERNESS

2. Which will BREAK DOWN our FELLOWSHIP with GOD & BRETHREN

C. Our RELATIONSHIP with GOD and ONE ANOTHER is INTERTWINED

1. If I’m right with God;

2. Then I am in POSITION to be RIGHT with my NEIGHBOR

D. But if I’m NOT RIGHT with my NEIGHBOR;

1. Then I CAN’T be right with GOD

E. This is the BASE PRINCIPLE that John is TEACHING us here in his EPISTLE

1. “Do you want to know if you are right with God?”

2. “You will know if you DIVINELY-LOVE your NEIGHBOR”

F. Because GOD IS LOVE

1. It stands to REASON that if I’m in FELLOWSHIP with GOD…

2. Then I am in fellowship WITH DIVINE LOVE

3. UN-CONDITIONAL LOVE

4. LOVE that is MERCY FILLED

5. Love that is GRACE CENTERED

6. Love that DELIGHTS in FORGIVING the TRESPASSES of a BROTHER

G. But as Paul said in Gal. 5:13 -

Galatians 5:13-15For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

H. And finally, I leave you with this same commandment from our Lord Himself:

John 13:33-35Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. ³⁴A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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1 John 2:1-6

by Pastor Pete • on 8:30 PM • in 1 John

“The Test of Knowing Him”

1 John 2:1-6

Intro:

A. In Chapter 1, beginning in verse 5, John began this thought that he continues into chapter 2

^1aMy little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.

A. “Little children” is the Greek word ‘teknia’

1. This is a very loving term

2. As a grandfather speaking to his grandchildren

3. John was in his 90’s now, and with age he grew in his tenderness

4. Some elderly people grow in bitterness, but John grew in his LOVE

a. For God and His children

B. And John is stating that this is God’s ideal for His children;

1. That we sin not

C. Back in 1:9, John said “If we confess…”

1. And so you have you always have those who think:

a. “Well, I’ll just go out and sin, and when I’m done & have had my fun…”

b. “I’ll just go ask God to forgive me, and all is well”

D. But here John in a very TENDER, GRANDFATHERLY way is saying:

1. “Please don’t misunderstand me…”

E. He sees the possibility of a 2-fold perversion of his teaching:

#1. ‘If we can never in this life be done away with sin, why strive after holiness?

a. “It’s useless”

b. “If you can’t beat it, join it”

#2. ‘If escape is so easy, why dread falling into sin?’

a. “It’s easy to sin, knowing that we have the blood of Jesus to cleanse us”

F. John is saying “No I am not writing these things to you either to discourage you in the pursuit of holiness or to embolden you in sin, but on the contrary, in order that you may sin not.”

Augustine put it this way:

“Lest perchance he should seem to have given impunity to sins, and men should now say to themselves, ‘let us sin, let us do securely what we will, Christ cleanses us; He is faithful and righteous, He cleanses us from all iniquity’; ‘he takes from thee evil security and implants useful fear. It is an evil wish of thine to be secure; be anxious. For He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, if thou art always displeasing to thyself and being changed until thou be perfect.’ As a physician might say to his patient: ‘your trouble is obstinate; the poison is in your blood, and it will take a long time to eradicate it. But I do not tell you this to discourage you or make you careless; no, on the contrary, to make you watchful and diligent in the use of the remedy’.

H. So the Apostle John, in a very tender way is lovingly warning them -

¹My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. ^1bAnd if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

A. In this expression:

“if anyone sins”

Speaks not of a habitual action, but of a SINGLE ACT
Could be better translated:
- “If any man commit an act of sin”

“John regards sin in the believer’s life, not as habitual, but as extraordinary, as infrequent.” – Kenneth S. Wuest

B. Our objective as God’s Children is to LIVE FREE FROM SIN;

1. But IF WE DO SIN.. THEN we have an ADVOCATE WITH the Father

‘WITH’ is ‘pros’ “facing” the Father

“Our Advocate is always in fellowship with the Father in order that if the saint loses fellowship with Him through cherished and unconfessed sin, He might plead our cause on the basis of His precious blood, and bring us back into fellowship again.”

‘FACING’ (with)

Brings us to this solemn thought, that when we saints sin, the Lord Jesus must face the Father with us and our sin.

“The saint has been saved in His precious blood so that he may be able to keep from sinning, and when he does sin, he wounds the tender heart of the Saviour, and forces Him to face God the Father with that saint whom He has saved in His precious blood. How that should deter us from committing acts of sin!”

‘Advocate’ is actually the word ‘paraklētos’

“One called to your side”

C. In the SECULAR world of that day, an ‘ADVOCATE’ was referred to as –

“A friend of the accused person, called to speak to his character, or otherwise enlist the sympathy of the judges.”

D. This speaks directly of the Holy Spirit, where in John 14: Jesus said:

John 14:15-17¹⁵“If you love Me, keep My commandments. ¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever– ¹⁷the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you (Para) and will be in (en) you.

C. It is the Holy Spirit who comes alongside of you to help you

1. The One who stands up for you

D. In this case, the ADVOCATE;

1. One who will speak up for you or one who stands on your side

2. JESUS, OUR ADVOCATE with the FATHER

E. So the goal is to live FREE OF SIN;

1. But IF WE DO SIN…

a. Then we have an ADVOCATE with the Father

^1c ‘Jesus Christ the Righteous.”

“Only the guiltless, the One that is separate from sin, can be the Advocate with God for sinners, in general, the Mediator of salvation, and makes His friendship for us prevalent with God, because only such a one has access to God and fellowship with God. What better advocate could we have for us, than He that is appointed to be our judge.” – Wuest, Word Studies p. 110

²And He Himself (Jesus Christ) is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

‘Propitiation’

“Signifying that He Himself, through Him alone, the violated holiness and righteousness of God by man’s sin has been propitiated (satisfied).”
“This is a personal means through which God shows MERCY to the sinner who believers on the Lord Jesus Christ as the One thus provided.”
In a NUT SHELL:
- ‘Christ Himself provided a way for us to be reconciled to God – Not of works lest anyone should boast’
- Because Jesus Christ is the PROPITIATION for ALL who BELIEVE, we have (and experience) the MERCY of God
- The Death of Christ has satisfied the HOLINESS of God, so that we might be RECONCILED to Him

A. In CONTRAST to the N.T. definition, the PAGAN USAGE meant:

‘Propitiation’ – “To Appease, to conciliate to one’s self, to make a god propitious to one – the offering of gifts.”

“The scriptural conception of the verb is not that of appeasing one who is angry with a personal feeling against the offender; but of altering the character of that which, from without, occasions a necessary alienation, and interposes an inevitable obstacle to fellowship.” - Canon Westcott

A. Jesus Christ Himself became the propitiation for all our sins

1. When Christ died on the cross of Calvary…

2. He assumed all our guilt and paid our penalty in His own blood

3. Thereby removing our alienation from God

B. Now as believers, we can experience God’s MERCY

1. On the basis of JUSTICE SATISFIED

C. Who did Christ die for? The Whole World

1. So that WHOSOEVER BELIEVES in Him should not perish,

2. But will have ETERNAL LIFE

D. Hyper Calvinism teaches that Christ only died for the ELECT;

1. But here John tells us that He died for the sin the of WHOLE WORLD

2. I’ll stick with what Scripture teaches

E. The Precious blood of Jesus Christ was shed to pay for every sin a man may commit

1. Except for the sin of rejecting Christ as Saviour

Matthew 12:31-32“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

F. So Praise God!

1. Jesus Christ Himself has become the PROPITIATION for our sins;

2. And NOT ONLY OUR, but for ALL WHO will put their faith in Him!

³Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

A. John now sort of addresses this question:

1. “How can I be assured that Christ is all this to me?”

2. MY:

a. Propitiation; Advocate

“How can I be sure that I have an abiding interest in Him?”

B. John gives us several assurances here and in the next few verses:

#1. We know that we know Him, or have a personal relationship with Him because we –

1. KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS

“We don’t keep His commandments in order to be saved, but rather, we keep His commandments as proof that He has become our propitiation, our Advocate.”

The Evidence of my salvation is demonstrated in my obedience to Christ

‘BY (in) THIS’… (the proof that we know Christ, is seen…)

If we keep His commandments

‘We KNOW Him…’ – “To know by EXPERIENCE”

This is a knowledge that is experienced day to day, in walking with Him and keeping His commandments

“To know Him refers to a past complete act having present results.”

“If we are keeping His commandments, we know that we have in time past come to know Him with the present result that that state of knowing Him is true of us in the present time.” -Wuest

C. In other words, we PROVE that we KNOW the LORD based on HOW we LIVE

1. My life DEMONSTRATES this REALITY

2. We DON’T just ‘TALK the TALK’, but we ‘LIVE THE LIFE’

D. People should be able to look upon our lives and say:

1. “Based on how they live, I can see that they KNOW the LORD – experientially”

E. This word ‘KEEP’ (keep His commandments)

‘KEEP’ – “to attend to carefully, to guard, observe.”

“The word [keep], does not merely speak of the act of obeying His commands, but of a solicitous desire that we do not disobey any of them but on the other hand, that we obey them perfectly. It is a holy fear of disobeying God as expressed in the word phobos (fear) 1 Peter. It is tenderness of conscience; it is vigilance against temptation; it is the fear which inspiration opposes high-mindedness in the admonition, ‘be not high-minded but fear’. It is taking heed lest we fall; it is a constant apprehension of the deceitfulness of heart, and of the insidiousness and power of inward corruption. It is the caution and circumspection which timidly shrinks from whatever would offend and dishonor God and the Savior. It is the saint’s love for God’s Word and His guardianship of that Word lest it be dishonored. To ‘keep’ is a continuous action. It is the habitual, moment by moment safeguarding of the Word by the saint lest he violate its precepts.” – Alford / Robertson

‘COMMANDMENTS’ – does not refer to the ‘MOSAIC LAW’ but rather: “An order, command, charge, precept.”

F. The ‘PRECEPTS’ or ‘COMMANDMENTS’ are –

1. Those given by our Lord either PERSONALLY

2. Or through His Apostles in the N.T. books

Thus EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE looks like:

A Solicitous guarding of the precepts of Christ (paying careful attention to details)
- A Consuming desire they be honored
  - A passionate determination that they always be kept
    - (This is proof gained from experience that a person has come to an experiential knowledge of the Lord Jesus is at present in that state of knowing Him.)

“Experiential knowledge is in contrast with and opposed to a mere theoretical knowledge of His Person.” -W. S. Wuest

⁴He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

A. The literal expanded translation of this verse actually reads:

“He who keeps on saying, I have come to know Him experientially with the present result that I am in that state, and His precepts is not habitually guarding with solicitous care, is a liar, and in this one the truth does not exist.”

B. This verse really describes the UNBELIEVER, or the FALSE CONVERT

1. A lot of people say that they have made a “PROFESSION OF FAITH”

2. “Yet those who do not keep His Commandments is a liar”

a. And the Holy Spirit does not DWELL within him

C. Now somebody might say “WELL, YOU’RE JUDGING ME!”

1. No, I’m not, the BIBLE is telling you what your SALVATION will look like

D. If you are truly saved, you will live in a HOLY FEAR of God, as DEMONSTRATED by

1. KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS

E. The Word of God tells what the Christian life will look like:

“He who claims to be a Christian (know God), yet doesn’t keep God’s Commandments is a liar, and he is living in self-deception.”

F. These are really those who will stand before Christ one day, only to hear Him say:

1. “Depart from Me you workers of iniquity, for I never knew you.”

G. I’m so thankful for the WORD OF GOD that spells it out before we get there!

1. “If we would judge ourselves now, we will not be judged one day before Christ.”

H. I’d much rather find out NOW, that:

1. I really didn’t have an EXPERIENTIAL RELATIONSHIP w/ God

2. Than one day DIE and find out

a. How much better to know today

“The true believer, as a habit of life obeys the Word of God.”

I. So John describes the FALSE CONVERT in Verse 4, and now in V5, the TRUE convert—

1. He who can walk in the confidence of EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE —-

⁵But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

A. To OBEY GOD’S WORD is to DEMONSTRATE our LOVE for HIM;

1. To say that ‘I LOVE GOD’ yet live in DISOBEDIENCE is to live a LIE; w/o truth

B. I can make up all kinds of wonderful songs and statements / plaques, about my love for God;

1. But TRUE LOVE for God is DISPLAYED in BIBLICAL OBEDIENCE

C. Unfortunately, too many people equate their love for GOD as an EMOTION;

1. And as LONG as they are EXPERIENCING this EMOTION or FEELING of (love)

2. They feel that they truly love God

3. Yet, as John declares here, TRUE love for God is demonstrated through our obedience

1 Samuel 15:22-23So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. ²³For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”

D. A lot of people in our age, going through life self-deceived;

1. Living in Sin, telling themselves that they LOVE GOD –

a. Yet living in DISOBEDIENCE to His Word

E. It’s very important to REMEMBER that –

1. The HOLY SPIRIT will NEVER contradict God’s Written Word

F. If you chose to LIVE IN SIN, in a life of DISOBEDIENCE;

1. You really DON’T LOVE GOD,

a. No matter how EMOTIONAL you might FEEL when you’re high / IN SIN

‘KEEP’ speaks of “habitual, continuous action.”

“Thus whoever keeps on continually keeping the Word. This is the one who has a solicitous, watchful care for the Word so as to guard it from being disobeyed but on the other hand, obeyed.” – K. S. Wuest

“He who claims to love God, yet lives in [perpetual] disobedience is a liar; and he who keeps God’s commandments, lives in truth and the truth is in him.” – Vincent

G. In KEEPING God’s Commandments, His LOVE is PERFECTED in us

“God’s love is perfected in us in that it accomplishes that for which it is intended, namely to cause the saint to obey God’s Word.”

H. NOT because he SHOULD

1. NOT because it’s the RIGHT THING to do

2. NOT in order to ESCAPE chastening…

I. BUT RATHER, we OBEY the Word of God because:

1. We LOVE the LORD JESUS CHRIST

“We don’t obey the Word of God because we HAVE TO; we obey because the LOVE OF GOD has been shed abroad upon our hearts, and it is our life’s desire to please our Master!”

J. It is simply NATURAL to want to PLEASE the ONE you LOVE!

1. So if the Love of God has been perfected w/in my heart, it will be my desire to Obey

His Commandments & be PLEASING to my LORD

K. Paul tells us in Gal. 5:1-26, that we’re NOT UNDER the LAW;

1. I don’t have a LEGAL RELATIONSHIP with my LORD

2. I have a LOVING RELATIONSHIP with my LORD

a. And the EVIDENCE of that LOVE is seen in my OBEDIENCE! J
⁶He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

‘Abide’ – “To remain, to sojourn, tarry. More than merely to position.”

A. It is used very often of PERSON’S ABIDING IN A HOME;

1. Which IMPLIES more than MERE POSITION

2. But RATHER:

‘Abide’

FELLOWSHIP
- COMMUNION
  - DEPENDENCE
    - HARMONY
      - FRIENDSHIP

B. To ABIDE in the LORD JESUS therefore implies NOT ONLY POSITION;

1. But RELATIONSHIP

Fellowship; Communion; Dependence; Harmony; Friendship

* 3 GREEK WORDS which gives the 3 aspects of a BELIEVER’S LIFE

#1. ‘Eimi’ – “Refers to the saint’s position in Christ

1. When we were BAPTIZED by the HOLY SPIRIT into Christ — 1 Cor. 12:13

#2. ‘Meno’ – (present use of ‘abide’) “Refers to the saint’s fellowship with and dependence upon Him, communion, closeness of union.”

#3. ‘Peripateo’ – To order one’s behavior to conduct one’s self”

1. This speaks of the saint’s manner of live

Position
- Fellowship/Dependence/Communion
  - Order of Behavior

C. In Verse 6 here, also notice this word ‘OUGHT’

‘Ought’ – “To owe money, be in debt for, to be under obligation, bound by duty or necessity to do something, it behooves one, one ought.”

D. If you are ABIDING in Christ;

1. Then you are OBLIGATED to ‘walk just as He walked”

‘Walk’ – “Emphasizing habitual, continuous action.”

“The Christ-like life here admonished must be the continuous, habitual, moment by moment experience of the believer, no spasmodic, infrequent sort of thing.”

CONCLUSION:

John 15:1-17

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1 John 1:1-10

by Pastor Pete • on 8:16 PM • in 1 John

“Family Traits”

1 John 1:1-10

Introduction

A. John’s 1^st Epistle is like a family photograph album

1. It describes those who are members of the FAMILY OF GOD

B. Just as children resemble their parents;

1. So God’s children have His likeness too

C. This letter describes the similarities

1. When a person becomes a child of God;

a. He receives the LIFE of GOD—-ETERNAL LIFE

D. And one of the things that John is going to teach on is that;

1. All who have received ETERNAL LIFE…

a. Will SHOW IT in very DEFINITE ways

Evidences of ETERNAL LIFE:

The acknowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
They LOVE GOD
They LOVE the CHILDREN of God
They OBEY His COMMANDMENTS
And they DO NOT go on SINNING

E. These are some of the HALL MARKS of ETERNAL LIFE

1. John wrote this Epistle so that all who have these family TRAITS…

a. May KNOW that they have ETERNAL LIFE (1 John 5:13)

F. The book of 1 John is UNUSUAL in many ways in that:

1. Neither the AUTHOR, nor the RECIPIENTS are named

a. Doubtless, they knew each other well

G. One of the other traits that we will notice as we study this Epistle is that:

“Extremely deep spiritual truths are expressed in such short, simple sentences, with a vocabulary to match.”

H. Too often I think that what some people FOOLISHLY PRAISE as ‘deep preaching’

1. Is really just UNCLEAR or MUDDY preaching

“A MIST in the PULPIT, results in a FOG in the PEW.”

I. I have a very SIMPLE mind;

1. I need to have things SIMPLY, THOROUGHLY explained to me

a. In SIMPLE TERMS

J. And that is what JOHN does here in his 1^ST LETTER

1. He ‘puts the FOOD on the BOTTOM SHELF!’

K. Somebody once wisely stated that the Pastor should always remember that –

1. He is FEEDING SHEEP, not GIRAFFES

2. So keep your TEACHING SIMPLE

Background and Theme

A. The Epistle of John was written probably sometime between A.D. 80-95

1. John also wrote the GOSPEL of JOHN

2. And the book of REVELATION when he was on the ISLAND of PATMOS

B. At the time John was writing this letter;

1. A FALSE SECT had ARISEN which became known at ‘GNOSTICISM’

2. Gk. Gnosis = knowledge

C. These GNOSTICS professed to be CHRISTIANS;

1. But they claimed to have ADDITIONAL knowledge…

a. Superior to that of what the Apostles taught

D. They claimed that a person could not be COMPLETELY FULFILLED;

1. Until he had been initiated into their deeper “truths”

E. Some taught that MATTER WAS EVIL;

1. And that THEREFORE the MAN JESUS…

a. could NOT be GOD

“Gnostics made a distinction between Jesus and Christ.”

“The Christ”

Was a divine emanation which came upon Jesus at His baptism and left before His death
- Perhaps at the Garden of Gethsamane
According to the Gnostics, JESUS DID DIE;
- But the CHRIST did NOT DIE

F. There doctrinal position taught that:

“The heavenly Christ was too holy and spiritual to be soiled by permanent contact with human flesh.” – Gnosticism

G. In short, they DENIED the INCARNATION

1. That JESUS is the CHRIST

H. And that JESUS CHRIST is both:

1. GOD and MAN

I. John realized that these people, though PROFESSING to have ETERNAL LIFE;

1. Were not TRUE CHRISTIANS

J. So he WARNED his READERS against them;

1. By showing that the Gnostics did NOT HAVE…

a. The MARKS of TRUE CHILDREN of God

K. According to John…

1. A person either is a CHILD OF GOD or he is NOT

2. There is NO IN-BETWEEN ground – NOT — ‘a little bit saved/ almost saved’

L. That is why this Epistle is filled with such EXTREME OPPOSITES –

1. LIGHT and DARKNESS

2. LOVE and HATRED

3. TRUTH and LIE

4. DEATH and LIFE

5. GOD and the DEVIL

M. At the same time;

1. John also liked to DESCRIBE people by their HABITUAL BEHAVIOR

N. In discerning between CHRISTIANS and NON-CHRISTIANS;

1. He does not BASE his CONCLUSION on A SINGLE ACT…

a. But rather on what CHARACTERIZES a PERSON

“Even a BROKEN clock tells the correct time twice in every 24 hours; -But a GOOD clock tells the correct time regularly!” -William McDonald

O. So too the GENERAL, DAY-TO-DAY behavior of a Christian is HOLY & RIGHTEOUS

1. And BY THIS he is KNOWN as a CHILD of GOD

P. While John often uses SIMPLE WORDS, the THOUGHTS are often DEEP

1. And therefore sometimes DIFFICULT to UNDERSTAND

Q. As we study this book, therefore we should pray that

1. The Lord will give us UNDERSTAND of His Word

2. And to OBEY the TRUTH as He reveals it to us

¹That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—

A. John begins now in stating that Jesus Christ is –

1. The TRUE FOUNDATION for all FELLOWSHIP

B. There can be NO TRUE FELLOWSHIP –

1. With those who hold FALSE VIEWS about Him

C. VV 1-2 teach His ETERNITY and –

1. The REALITY of His INCARNATION

D. The SAME ONE who EXISTED from all ETERNITY with GOD the FATHER…

1. CAME DOWN into this world as a REAL MAN

E. The reality of His Incarnation is indicated by the fact that the Apostles:

1. HEARD Him

2. SAW Him with their eyes

3. They actually HANDLED Him

F. The ‘WORD of LIFE’ — Jesus Christ—

1. Was not merely a PASSING ILLUSION

2. But was a REAL PERSON in a BODY of FLESH

²the life (Christ) was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life (Christ) which was with the Father and (Christ) was manifested to us—

A. Here John confirms that the ONE who was with the FATHER;

1. The ONE John calls ‘THAT ETERNAL LIFE’

a. Became FLESH & dwelt among us

b. And was SEEN by the APOSTLES

“I am glad that my knowledge of eternal life is not built on the speculations of philosophers or even theologians but on the unimpeachable testimony of those who heard, saw, gazed at, and handled Him in whom it was incarnate. It is not merely a lovely dream, but solid fact, carefully observed and an accurately recorded fact.” – Unknown

³that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

A. John and the other Apostles did not keep this wonderful news a SECRET

1. And NEITHER should we—

B. They realized that the BASIS of all FELLOWSHIP is found here

1. And so they declared it FREELY and FULLY

C. John states here that all who receive the testimony of the apostles have –

“Fellowship with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ!”

D. Notice that God’s Son is JESUS CHRIST;

1. They are ONE in the SAME person

2. And that Person is the SON OF GOD!

“Jesus”

Is the name given to Him at Birth
And therefore speaks of His HUMANITY

“Christ”

Is the name that speaks of Him as GOD’S ANOINTED ONE, the MESSIAH

E. Therefore in the name of JESUS CHRIST-

1. We have a WITNESS to His HUMANITY and to His DEITY

“Jesus Christ is very God of very God.” – Nicene Creed

⁴And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

A. John now declares why he is writing concerning the subject of FELLOWSHIP

1. That reason is so that ‘Our JOY may be FULL’

B. John REALIZED that the WORLD is NOT CAPABLE of providing-

1. TRUE and LASTING —–JOY———

“This JOY can only come through a PROPER relationship with the LORD”

C. When a person is in FELLOWSHIP with the FATHER and the SON;

1. He will have a DEEP-SEATED JOY —

a. That CANNOT be disturbed by EARTHLY circumstances

D. As one Poet once stated:

“The source of all his singing is high in heaven above.”

E. The JOY OF THE LORD produces an ABILITY to LIVE ABOVE our circumstances –

1. Even though we may not be able to ESCAPE them

F. Life is often VERY DISCOURAGING;

1. Yet as we WALK in FELLOWSHIP with God

2. It RESULTS in JOY that SUPERSEDES our ENVIRONMENT
⁵This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

A. ‘FELLOWSHIP’ describes A SITUATION where 2 or MORE people –

1. SHARE things in COMMON

“Fellowship” is a communion or a partnership

B. John is INSTRUCTING his readers as to the REQUIREMENTS for fellowship with God

1. And if you notice here (v. 5), John APPEALS to the TEACHINGS of CHRIST

a. Now remember that John walked & lived with Christ

b. He knew & experienced 1^st hand what Jesus taught –

c. And what it took to break his fellowship with God

C. What did Jesus Christ teach? He taught that -

1. ‘God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.’

D. By this John MEANT that GOD IS ABSOLUTELY HOLY

1. He is absolutely RIGHTEOUS

2. He is absolutely PURE

“GOD CANNOT LOOK WITH FAVOR ON ANY FORM OF SIN.”

Hebrews 4:13And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

⁶If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

A. So since God is HOLY and PURE;

1. Then in order for us to have FELLOWSHIP with HIM;

2. We CANNOT WALK in DARKNESS

a. There can be NO HIDING of SIN

B. LIGHT and DARKNESS ———CANNOT exist w/in a person’s life at the same time

1. Any more than they can EXIST TOGETHER in the SAME ROOM of a home

C. If a man is WALKING in DARKNESS

1. Then he is NOT in FELLOWSHIP with GOD

“A man who says he has fellowship with God and habitually walks in darkness was never saved at all.” – William McDonald

⁷But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

A. On the OTHER HAND;

1. If one WALKS in the LIGHT-

2. THEN he CAN have FELLOWSHIP with the Lord Jesus Christ & with other Believers

B. As far as John is concerned, a man is either in the LIGHT or in DARKNESS

1. If he is IN LIGHT…then he is a MEMBER of the FAMILY of God

C. If he is LIVING in DARKNESS;

1. He does not have ANYTHING in COMMON with GOD because

a. There is NO DARKNESS in GOD at all

D. The only way Christians can have true fellowship with one another is to WALK in LIGHT

1. “And the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin”

E. And it is the SHED BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST that PROVIDED God with a –

1. RIGHTEOUS basis on which He can FORGIVE SINS

⁸If we say that we have no sin (corrupt, evil nature; ‘old man’- sin nature), we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

A. So FELLOWSHIP with God REQUIRES that we –

1. ACKNOWLEDGE the TRUTH concerning ourselves

B. If we DENY that we have a SINFUL NATURE;

1. Then we are living in SELF-DECEPTION and UNTRUTHFULNESS

C. Notice that John makes a DISTINCTION between ‘SIN’ (v.

1. And ‘SINS’ (v. 9)

“SIN”

Refers to our corrupt, evil nature

“SINS”

Refers to evils that we have done

D. We have a SIN NATURE;

1. But as BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANS, we are no longer to be mastered by our FLESH

2. We are not to be CONTROLLED by the LUSTS of our FLESH

Romans 6:1-14
¹What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ²Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷For he who has died has been freed from sin. ⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. ¹³And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

E. So though we still have a SIN NATURE;

1. We are NOT to be REGULATED by our sin nature

F. By the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT through our NEW IMPLANTED nature;

1. God has given us VICTORY over our SIN NATURE, to NOT LIVE in SIN

“Conversion does not mean the eradication of the sin nature. Rather it means the implanting of the new, divine nature, with power to live victoriously over indwelling sin.” -W. McDonald

ILLUSTRATION:

Indian Chief and the 2 dogs “which one wins? The one I feed the most.”

⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

A. In order for us to be in fellowship with God and our fellow BELIEVERS, we must be saved;

1. In order to REMAIN in fellowship with God and our fellow BELIEVERS…

a. We must confess our sins

Types of Sins:

Sins of commission (A Sin of Commission is to know something is wrong… and do it anyway.)
- Sins of omission (failure to do something one can and ought to do.)
  - Sins of thought (stuff that takes place in our minds)
    - Sins of act (Actions)
      - Secret sins (only God sees these)
        
        Public sins (visible/ known to all)

B. We must drag OUR SINS into the OPEN before God

Call sin what it is—SIN
- Agree with God over them – (can’t walk in darkness & expect fellowship w/ Him)
  - Forsake them – (Genuine REPENTANCE, not just clean out GUILT)

“True confession involves forsaking of sins”

Proverbs 28:13He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

C. When we do that, we can claim the promise that-

“God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”

D. The FORGIVENESS that John is talking about here is PARENTAL;

1. NOT —-JUDICIAL

“Judicial Forgiveness”

Judicial forgiveness means forgiveness from the penalty of sins –
- Which the SINNER receives when he trusts Christ to be his Savior
It is called ‘JUDICIAL’ because it is GRANTED by GOD, acting as JUDGE

E. BUT WHAT ABOUT SINS a person commits AFTER CONVERSION?

1. As far as the PENALTY is concerned-

2. The price has already been paid by the LORD JESUS on the cross of CALVARY

“Parental Forgiveness”

As far as fellowship in the Family of God is concerned, the SINNING SAINT needs PARENTAL FORGIVENESS; the forgiveness of His Father
We obtain parental forgiveness by confessing our sins

“We need judicial forgiveness only once; that takes care of the penalty of all our sins-past, present, and future. But we need parental forgiveness throughout our Christian life.”

F. When we ‘CONFESS our SINS’;

1. We must BELIEVE on the authority of God’s Word-

a. That HE FORGIVES US!

“If God forgives us, then we must be willing to forgive ourselves.”

¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

A. The Holy Bible tells us that ‘ALL HAVE SINNED’

1. To DENY THIS, would make God a liar

B. If a person refuses to AGREE with God that they are a SINNER;

1. Then they really have NO NEED for a SAVIOR

Luke 19:10“for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

CONCLUSION:

#1. In order to have fellowship with God, one must be SAVED / ETERNAL LIFE

#2. To have fellowship with God, does NOT REQUIRE lives of SINLESSNESS

#3. When we have SINNED, we must CONFESS it to God, and FORSAKE it

“And He will be faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness!”

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Job 1:1-2:10

by Pastor Pete • on 6:47 PM • in 1 John, Uncategorized

“Dueling with the Devil”

Job 1:1-2:10

Introduction

When we have hard times we all want to know why. More important is the question, Who? What we need to know is not whether the universe is friendly but whether there is a friend in the universe.

Group Discussion

Why do you think some people who have experienced multiple hardships seem remarkably positive while others whose lives have been uncommonly blessed feel cheated.

Personal Reflection

Consider your own walk with God to this point. Was it easy or hard to believe God was for you when things went well or when you faced personal disaster?

Is it possible to love God for God’s sake, and not merely for the benefits of being faithful, even when there are benefits?

And what if these benefits are removed and one is left with no benefit but God alone?

Snap Shot Summary

The “upstairs-downstairs” drama of the book of Job starts with a contest, probably in heaven, between Satan-the Accuser-and God concerning the purity of Job’s spirituality. God and Satan make an agreement, less like spiritual warfare and more like a duel-with honor at stake and equivalency of weapons. “Downstairs,” in Job’s world, our hero goes through the loss of everything except the ultimate treasure, and even that seems threatened. Read Job 1:1-22

Questions

1. What indications are there that God’s evaluation of Job-“blameless and upright”-was correct even though he was initially blessed with prosperity?

2. In this very ancient document, Satan appears as an angelic adversary with free access to God’s presence, unlike the devil in the New Testament. What does Satan accuse Job of (vv. 9-11)?

3. For what good reasons could God agree to a contest that would affect Job and his family so painfully?

4. How would you respond to someone who charges that religion is only for those who can’t make it on their own?

5. Though Job apparently is unaware of God’s approval, what signs indicate that this is important for Job?

6. How does Job react to the first test (vv. 20-22)?

7. In what ways is Job’s response (v. 22) different from responses people make today to life’s hard blows?

8. As will be apparent later, Job’s response included questioning God about the apparent injustice of his situation. What would have been seen as sinful behavior in Job’s reaction?

Read Job 2:1-10

9. Why do you think God agreed to this second test?

10. God did not allow Satan to take Job’s life. The Adversary attacked Job’s possessions, his family and his health. What further attack did Job sustain from his wife (vv. 9-10)?

Why would her suggestion be especially dangerous to Job’s faith?

11. Suffering is a mystery, and the opening scenes of this book deepen the mystery by showing how inadequate are our “reasons” for misfortune. What have you already learned about “accepting trouble from God” (v. 10)?

What difference will this make to your own attitude toward hard times?

Prayer

Ask God to give you a picture of the wonderful pleasure and approval God has for you so that you might grow in confidence that God is your friend.

Now or Later

Job’s prosperity is sometimes presented as a reward for his righteousness, a matter promoted by the “health and wealth gospel.” Abraham, Job and Solomon-all wealthy people-depended on God rather than their wealth (Genesis 13:8-18; Job 1:21) in contrast to those who praised God because they were rich (Zechariah 11:5) but were soon to lose it all.

Study the Bible’s message on wealth as (1) a blessing (Deuteronomy 30:9; Proverbs 22:4), (2) a sacrament, as God gives wealth (Proverbs 3:16; 1 Samuel 2:7-8; Ecclesiastes 5:19; Hosea 2:8) freely and generously but also scandalously even to the wicked (Psalm 73:12-13; 62:10; Job 21:7-21) and (3) a temptation, as it provides illusionary security (Proverbs 18:11; Ecclesiastes 5:10; Psalm 49:6-7) as exemplified by the Aramaic word for money, “Mammon,” from the same root as “Amen” (see Luke 6:24, 30; 12:15, 33; 16:13; Matthew 6:19, 24).

The heath and wealth gospel encourages perverted motives, misrepresents God’s deepest concerns for us and misinterprets God’s promises to Israel as immediately applicable to Christians (see 1 Timothy 6:3-10).

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1 John 2:1-6

by Pastor Pete • on 4:43 PM • in 1 John, Uncategorized

Join us this morning as we celebrate our King!

Acts 2:42 “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers.”

May the Lord bless you today as you seek to bring Him honor and glory and praise!

Pastor Pete

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Preach the Word Radio

“The Battle For My Heart” 1 John 2:15-17

Pastor Pete’s Study Notes 11/28/10

“True Love”

1 John 2:7 – “Love One Another”

1 John 2:1-6

1 John 1:1-10

Job 1:1-2:10

Introduction

Group Discussion

Personal Reflection

Snap Shot Summary

Questions

Read Job 2:1-10

Prayer

Now or Later

1 John 2:1-6

Pastor Pete

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“True Love”

Introduction

Group Discussion

Personal Reflection

Snap Shot Summary

Questions

Read Job 2:1-10

Prayer

Now or Later

Pastor Pete

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