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This is the manuscript for the sermon I preached at West Bradenton Baptist Southside on Sunday Sept. 22nd, 2019.
INTRODUCTION Last week we began our series in the epistle I John entitled “Love Letter”. Throughout the next couple of months, we will go through this short epistle and look closely at the purpose of John in writing this letter. In the introduction last week, I gave some background as to why John had written this letter. He was writing to a church that had recently split as a result of bad doctrine and false teaching. Apparently, some influential leaders were teaching a false Gospel and refuting John’s Gospel he preached. These false teachings were an early form of what became popularized in the second century as Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a system of false teachings that existed during the early centuries of Christianity. Its name came from gnosis, the Greek word for knowledge. The Gnostics believed that knowledge was the way to salvation. For this reason, Gnosticism was condemned as false and heretical by several writers of the New Testament.[1] These leaders arose and introduced doctrines that were unbiblical and went against the true teachings of Jesus Christ. According to the Gnostics, the aim of salvation is for the spirit to be awakened by knowledge so the inner person can be released from the earthly dungeon and return to the realm of light where the soul becomes reunited with God. As the soul ascends, however, it needs to penetrate the cosmic spheres that separate it from its heavenly destiny. This is accomplished by knowledge. One must understand certain formulas that are revealed only to the initiated.[2] In a nutshell, Gnostic teachings are based on knowledge. They believe that salvation is attained by acquiring knowledge of God. They often taught that actions or outward words didn’t matter because a true relationship with Jesus is attained by knowledge. Today, we will continue to look at chapter 2, starting with verse 3. Most of this chapter talks about the Christian walk and how obedience is reflective of the Christian life. He writes concerning the lifestyle a believer in Christ will live if he is truly a believer. This chapter is a great introduction to how a believer should conduct his/her life for the glory of God. This passage gets to the core question we must all ask ourselves, “What is the motivating factor in your relationship with God?” Is it…?
1 JOHN 2:3 - 11 In chapter 1 John spends a lot of time establishing the fact that all humans have the common denominator of sin. However, since Jesus Christ came as the manifested Word of God and willingly laid his life down for you and me, we can be cleansed from our sins and made right with God, if only we confess our sins and believe in faith. This does not mean we are no longer subject to sin, it simply means we now have the power and the will to say “no” to sin and it no longer has dominion in our lives. Verse 3 – So how does one know if they are truly a believer? How does one have assurance that he/she has a relationship with God? Simple, the fruit (or life) we bear. Jesus says in Matthew 7:15 – 20: “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit. If you keep his commandments (or we are obedient to him), then you will know you are known by Him. This becomes a little sticky for some people because they can take this to mean that all one must do is follow the rules and this will reserve a spot in heaven for them. This isn’t what John is writing at all. He is writing that the life you live will be the evidence of your relationship with Jesus. I know of some people who are Christians, but they model their lives based upon “doing what is right” so they don’t get punished in the end. This is a fear-based relationship. Now I believe a little healthy fear is needed in the presence of a holy God; but your relationship cannot be based on fear. Fear-based Christians remind me of the kid in school who was always good and pleasant to be around when the teacher was in the room, but as soon as the teacher turned their back or left the room… WATCH OUT! All pandemonium breaks out. These people aren’t model students, nor do they respect the teacher, they just don’t want to get in trouble because if they do then they will be punished, and they don’t like punishment. John is not talking about having this kind of relationship with God. He is talking about keeping the commandments of the Father because you love, respect, and honor the Father. Your obedience is motivated by love for Him, not consequences. Verse 4 – 5 - Your actions need to match your profession of faith. If you call yourself a believer in Jesus Christ, but do not live your life in obedience to the Father, then there really is no relationship and you are living a lie. You are living a life of hypocrisy. But if we live our lives fully committed and obedient to the teachings of Jesus Christ, then God’s love is complete in us. Ultimately, our knowledge (not just intellectual) of God and who He is should lead us to a life of obedience. Jesus says in John 13:34 – 35, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” Verse 6 – 8 - If you say you are a believer in Jesus Christ then you must walk in the ways He walked. According to Gary Burge, “To (abide) in him’ goes beyond merely imitating Christ in lifestyle or ‘living as Jesus lived.’ The verb generally describes the indwelling of the Christian in God. It may even depict God dwelling in us.”[3] Verse 9 -11 – This new/old commandment John speaks of in verse 7 deals with Jesus’ great commandment to love God and to love others. Anyone who calls himself a believer should be clothed in love. If one claims Christ and harbors hatred toward anyone then this person is still walking in the darkness. When we love one another, we are fulfilling God’s commandment by shining the light of Jesus’ love for all to see. When we love we do not give others permission to call us hypocrites or cause others to stumble. Love and hatred cannot co-exist. We cannot truly love if we harbor hatred, bitterness and darkness in our hearts. One of the number one problems people have with Christians is that we promote love, but we do not necessarily practice it. Unfortunately, there are many who profess Christ yet when they are away from their place of worship or other Christian friends their life and conduct is no different from the rest of the worlds. One of the key indicators of being a Christian is shown in how we love one another and how we love those who are unlovely. Burge writes, “Love becomes a genuine value only when it is tested, only when we must reach beyond ourselves and love someone we do not wish to love. This is the caliber of love John has in mind.”[4] What does this kind of love look like? Goes against Gnostic teaching (it is more than intellectual… It is spiritual and physical.
1.Patient 2.Kind 3.Does not envy 4.Is not boastful 5.Is not arrogant 6.Is not rude 7.Not self-seeking 8.Is not irritable 9.Does not keep records of wrong doings 10.Rejoices in truth 11.Bears all things, believes all things, hopes in all things, endures in all things. CONCLUSION So, in these 8 verses we see the characteristics or qualities of a Christian life. The evidence of our faith is rooted our obedience to commands of the Father. Our obedience does not save us, tour obedience reflects our commitment to Jesus Christ. We are introduced the three claims found in verses 4, 6, 9. We can sum up Verse 4, 6, 9 as follows.
The whole idea of Christian love verses the worlds love is amazing to me. I feel bad for people who have not experienced true love in the way God intended. So many of us think of love as this feeling we get when we have this overwhelming emotion that overtakes us. Yet the love Jesus displays, and shows is far greater than a feeling. Love is truly an action. This action is the evidence of affection we have towards something or someone (in this case it is God). When we truly love God, we will want to live our lives in obedience and not in fear. Our obedience is not our salvation. Obedience and love are the end result of our salvation. Take some time today and this week and reflect on the love God has shown to humanity. I leave you with a question this morning…, “What is the motivation behind your relationship with God?” Is it fear or is it love? Are you obedient only because you do not want to spend an eternity is torment, hellfire and brimstone? Or, are you obedient because you love Jesus, and His Word and you want to live your life for Him because He is your everything? Stephen Smalley writes, “To obey God necessarily involves Christlikeness and also love, which is the summation of God’ moral law.”[5] [1] Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., & Harrison, R. K., Thomas Nelson Publishers (Eds.). (1995). In Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. [2] Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., & Harrison, R. K., Thomas Nelson Publishers (Eds.). (1995). In Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. [3] Burge, Gary M. The NIV Application Commentary: The Letters of John. Zondervan Books, Grand Rapids. 1996. Page 99 [4] Burge, Gary M. The NIV Application Commentary: The Letters of John. Zondervan Books, Grand Rapids. 1996. Page 101 [5] Smalley, Stephen S. WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: Volume 5 – 1, 2, 3 John. Word Books, Waco, Texas. 1984. Page 46
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Jeff has been in full-time ministry for thirty years. He currently serves as Executive Director at Anchor House Ministry at SeaPort Manatee in Palmetto, FL and he is a part-time Campus Pastor at West Bradenton Southside in Bradenton, Florida.
Jeff Has authored A Lent Devotional (A Spiritual Journey to Lent) an Advent Devotional (The Advent of Jesus) and a devotional on the book of James (James: Where Faith and Life Meet). All three are available on Amazon. He is married to Carrie and they have four children, Micaiah, Gabe, Simon, and Berea. Preview or purchase Jeff's Books
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