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Here are my raw notes for message 5 of our 1 John series
INTRODUCTION
- John - one of Jesus' best friends - John's Gospel, Revelation, three letters.
- John is writing to a church that has somehow been infiltrated by false teachers and teaching.
- These false teachers claim they could give people special knowledge about God.
- John has been strongly reminding the church that you can only "know" God through the gospel; the good news that God's son died on the cross and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins.
- He knows this because he (and others) *knew* Jesus personally and witnessed all this.
- And so he has been saying that some extra, special knowledge does not prove salvation. It is seen by genuine spiritual growth.
- Are we growing in our love for God? That is, are we increasingly obeying His Word? Are we increasingly living like Jesus? Are we increasingly loving like Jesus?
- And John says if you are, then these are signs that God lives in you, But if these things are not present, then you should be very concerned because you may not be a Christian at all.
- After all that, it's not hard to imagine that there are some very concerned people in the church.
- Am I a real Christian? Am I really saved? I still sin, so does that mean God is not in me?
- I think pastor John knows this and so this next passage seeks to bring us some reassurance and comfort. But also some advice on how to keep on growing.
- Read 1 John 2:12-17
EXPLANATION
- It's as though John feels he needs to take a breath and remind everyone *who they are in Christ* just in case they were being tempted to feel condemned or discouraged.
- Don't let the titles disqualify you (God's children, mature in the faith, young in the faith).
- The truths are true for everyone who follows Jesus. Whether you've been following for many years or have just begun your walk with Jesus.
- So I'm going to pick out the three truths, not the groups.
What we all have in Christ
- Before you start worrying that you are a dirty no good sinner, remember this:
- If you have put your trust in Jesus. If you believe that God's Son Jesus died in your place for your sins and rose from the dead. If you have confessed to God that you have lived your life in rebellion to His ways and are now living differently. Living for God, not against him.
- Then you can be certain of three things.
- First, All your sins are forgiven.
- Why? Because you now consistently walk in the light, you (and others) can see evidence in your life of God's transforming power.
>1 John 1:7
- You can be certain that **you know the Eternal Christ** (have a genuine relationship with him).
- How? Because you consistently demonstrate love and knowledge by obeying God's commandments.
>1Jn2:4
- And you can be confident that **you have won the battle with the evil one**.
- And here's a great verse we haven't got to yet!
>1Jn3:8
- So not only are our sins forgiven, and we're obeying God. We also see that the power of sin is broken in our lives.
- We have the power to stop ourselves from sinning because Jesus has defeated satan, so his victory over sin becomes our victory too. 🙌
- Remember - Progress, not perfection!
John's Application - Don't Love the World
- So John now gives some application.
- If you belong to the sins forgiven, obeying God, victorious lives category then he has a command for us.
- It's a simple command, which he unpacks in the next verse.
>1Jn2:15-16
- If you don't love the world, then God's love isn't in you.
- Contradiction with John 3:16?
- No, because John uses the Greek word for world (*kosmos*) in different ways throughout his letters.
- Positively, it means the human race and all His creation (All this He loves)
- Negatively, it refers to everything that is under the influence of the devil because of sin.
- So John says don't fall in love with the things of this world that have been corrupted by sin.
- You can't love both God while craving physical pleasure and material things.
- And you can't love God when you are too busy showing off what you have built for yourself.
- When your focus is on the world, God gets pushed out.
>[!Illustration]
>Recently heard about a friend who no longer goes to church
>Very successful in business - leadership
- Now, we need to be careful here because all these things, in their right place, are not necessarily bad in themselves.
- The key word here is *craving*. It's desiring these things, going after them in ways that are spiritually unhealthy.
Invest In the Eternal
- And the big problem with all this is that these things are not of God and they will not last, so it is completely pointless to crave/ chase after them.
>1Jn2:17
>[!Illustration - Investing in my new CD business]
>- It would be pointless because CDs are fading out.
>- Of course, they may last a while longer, but in a few years, they will be completely gone.
- To chase after that which isn't going to last can only end in disappointment and heartbreak.
- There is a bigger point to make. You become like that which you love.
>1 John 2:17
- If you crave the temporary, you, too, are temporary. When you crave the eternal, you become eternal!
- As John 3:16 reminds us.
- Everything that is not of God is temporary. Even the physical pleasures, material things, wealth, and achievements.
- All of it will mean nothing, so it's completely pointless to chase after it.
- And the big danger is that if all we do is chase this stuff, then we demonstrate that we do not have the love of the Father in us. And we, too will vanish with it.
- But again, just in case you are starting to have a meltdown. Pastor John reminds genuine Christians they need not panic.
anyone who does what pleases God will live forever
(1 John 2:17b)
- The opposite of loving the world is not only loving the Father but also doing the will of the Father.
- And that connection is not hard to understand.
- Jesus said,
>John 14:15
- and 1 John 5:3
>*Loving God means keeping his commandments*
- So, loving the Father in verse 15 and doing the will of God in verse 17 are not really separate things.
- If you love God, you will love what he wants.
- It is lying talk to say I love God, but I don't love what God loves.
- So John is saying in verse 17, “If you love the world, you will vanish with the world, but if you don't love the world but love God, you will do his will and live with him forever."
APPLICATION
- So as we always ask ourselves when we do Bible study: If this is God's Word to us then what should we do in response?
- I think you ask yourselves these questions?
- Am I living day to day in the enjoyment of knowing that my sins are forgiven?
- Am I seeing genuine progress in my walk with God? Am I growing in my love and understanding of God?
- Am I seeing sin consistently being defeated in my life?
- Remember *progress*, not *perfection*
- And what's my attitude towards the things of the world?
- Am I spending my time trying to become more comfortable, more wealthy, more popular, and more satisfied?
- It's impossible to escape the world if God is not in us.
- You get God in you by receiving His free gift. You thank God that he sent Jesus to die for you when you were his enemy and you accept him as your Lord and Saviour.
- And then you change.
- Let's pray.