Good morning, everyone. If I could ask you to turn in your Bibles, please, to the letter of 1 John.
The letter of 1 John, not the Gospel of John, but 1 John, which is further on the New Testament,
towards the end of the New Testament, actually. And it's page 1225, if you're using the red church Bible.
So 1225, 1 John. And we're going to be reading from chapter 2 and verses 3 to 6 this morning.
1 John 2, and reading from verse 3.
We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands.
Whoever says, I know Him, but does not do what He commands, is a liar.
And the truth is not in that person.
But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them.
This is how we know we are in Him.
Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.
And we pray that the Lord will bless the reading of His word through His Spirit.
The book, The Shack, is a phenomenal bestseller.
It has over 200, no, 20 million sales, not 200 million sales, 20 million sales.
And it's also been made into a Hollywood film.
I don't know if anyone saw it when it came out.
For many Christians, and indeed non-Christians, who come across it,
it is like a breath of fresh air,
challenging and changing their idea of what it means to be an authentic Christian.
It's the fictional account, the book is a fictional account of an emotionally broken father
who has a meeting with all three persons of the Trinity in a shack,
which is where the book gets its name.
The meetings with each member of the Trinity transform this father's understanding of faith forever,
as he has helped to heal from his pain by God Himself.
Now, each of these three characters, who represent Father, Son and Spirit,
dispel many supposed misconceptions about who Jesus is,
what the Bible is about and what Christianity looks like.
But the shack does this by separating faith in Jesus from any hint of organized religion.
This is a quote from the shack.
The Bible, and this is one of the members of the Trinity speaking,
the Bible doesn't teach you to follow rules.
It's a picture of Jesus, is how the book puts it.
God doesn't want us to look for rules and principles.
Look for relationship, a way to coming to be with us.
No rules, just relationships.
Religion-free faith is the message.
So in the world of the shack, rules and principles get in the way of knowing God.
Another author, Leonard Sweet, puts it like this,
faith is not ritual, dogma, religion, or spiritual weirdness.
It's authentic experience made personal through our full participation in what God is doing.
So how do we react to such sentiments or ideas or statements?
It does awaken something in us, doesn't it?
Part of us might feel, though, that there's a danger in drawing the line like that.
I think it's reasonable to want to have a clear line between authentic faith on the one hand
and dead religion on the other hand.
And it's certainly much easier in today's culture to emphasise a life of grace
and of being true to yourself over any idea of living by a set of rules or of any kind of ritual.
But as we draw that line to determine authentic Christianity on one side,
do we draw the line in the right place?
Do we put that line in the right place?
Or to put it another way, as we are drawing that line,
are we drawing the same line that Jesus is drawing?
This is a big topic.
And this morning, we want to look at one small but important aspect of it.
That is the place of obedience, good works, and faithfulness
in relation to authentic Christianity.
So whether we've been following Jesus since childhood,
or we're just starting out in our Christian walk,
or simply wondering if following Jesus is for me,
I want us all this morning to see that obeying what Jesus commanded
is a necessary and good part of the Christian life.
Like verse 5 tells us in 1 John chapter 2,
obedience, good works, and faithfulness are an assurance to us
that we are in a complete relationship with Jesus.
And verses 3 and 6, I believe, will show us that
the line, the line that we want to draw between authentic Christianity and dead religion,
it's not faith versus religion,
it's not even law versus grace,
but rather we want to see that true religion,
that is obedience,
is a necessary part of true faith.
Have you ever wondered how long we know what a metre is?
Have you ever thought about that?
I mean, has anyone gone and checked all of the rulers in this school?
Or checked all the rulers in the world?
So we're all using the same metre?
If I order a metre of, you know, material from the UK,
how do I know I'm going to get a metre?
Well, the international standard for the metre was set in the 1890s.
A precision engineering firm in London was tasked with creating metal bars,
and they were 90% platinum and 10% iridium,
because that was the best mix to get a bar that wouldn't change
with temperature or pressure or climate.
So they made these bars with marks on them
that wouldn't alter or change to measure out a metre.
And these standard metal bars, the standard,
were then distributed all over the world
to make sure that each country had the same measure of what a metre was.
Now, the Apostle John isn't interested in measuring distances,
but he is concerned about measuring hearts.
And his letter gives us three standards,
or three measures,
by which we can know what authentic Christianity looks like.
And throughout his letter,
these three things come up again and again.
And if you're any way familiar with 1 John,
some of these will ring a bell.
First thing is,
do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
You can't be a Christian if you don't believe that.
Do you obey the commands of Jesus,
which is what we're looking at this morning?
And do you love the people of God?
The three measures,
the three standards,
the international standards of Christianity.
All three, John says,
are a necessary measure of authentic Christianity.
The place where we should draw the line.
And as much as we intuitively know and think
it should be just about relationships,
and there shouldn't be any rules or religion,
the reality is this.
There is a standard for the rule of faith within the church.
And that's a standard that Jesus himself has laid down.
The Apostle John is well-placed
to help us understand what the measure should be.
He's probably the closest follower of Jesus Christ who ever lived.
He was known in the Bible, in the Gospel,
as the disciple whom Jesus loved.
Imagine being called the disciple whom Jesus loved.
He was one of the first disciples to be called by Jesus,
to leave his job.
He was one of the fishermen with his brother James,
and to come follow Jesus.
And John then is beside Jesus
for all the three years of Jesus' public ministry.
And he's one of the inner circle of three.
Along with his brother James and Peter,
who were brought along by Jesus
to special events and occurrences
that the other disciples weren't at.
So you think of the transfiguration.
John was there.
John, he reclines next to Jesus at the Last Supper.
Jesus, mere hours later,
as he hangs on the cross,
uses his final words
to entrust the care of his own mother Mary
to John,
the disciple whom he loved.
John lived right to the end
of the first century.
And he had the task
as the last living apostle of Jesus
to see out the completion
of the New Testament
that we have with us today.
He had his own eyewitness account of Jesus,
what it was like to be with Jesus,
all that Jesus taught and said,
which we know is the Gospel of John.
He writes Revelation
as a witness to the risen Jesus,
the last book of the New Testament.
And he also gives us
these three short letters,
first, second, and third John.
John is well-placed
to tell us what the measure should be.
And he says in verse 3,
in chapter 2,
we know that we have come to know him,
that is Jesus,
if we keep his commands.
John is clear.
Authentic Christianity must include obedience.
And of course, what John says
isn't an invention of John's.
He didn't come up with the standard.
Listen back to Jesus' own words.
We've read some of them already.
If we go back to the Gospel of John,
so if we flick back in our Bibles,
it's page 108.2.
108.2 to chapter 14.
So John, chapter 14.
And these are the words of Jesus speaking
in verse 15.
If you love me,
keep my commands.
Jesus says,
if you love me, keep my commands.
And then just over the page,
chapter 15,
and verses 9 and 10,
we read these words,
which help us to understand it even further.
As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Now remain in my love.
If you keep my commands,
you will remain in my love.
just as I have kept my Father's commands
and remain in his love.
Excuse me.
Both Jesus and John tell us,
they're in agreement,
that we cannot say that we love Jesus
on one hand,
and on the other hand,
ignore what Jesus says.
You cannot say that you love Jesus
and ignore what Jesus says.
John has made the positive association,
hasn't he,
in verse 3,
between knowing Jesus
and obedience.
And in verse 4,
the question is flipped around for us,
isn't it,
in verse 4.
Whoever says,
I know him,
but does not do what he commands,
is a liar,
and the truth is not in that person.
What about those
who claim to be Christians,
but by their actions
show that they are not?
Well, John uses very strong words.
He calls such a person a liar.
And even more fundamental than that,
the truth,
the truth is not in them,
so they can't do anything else but lie.
Right thinking about Jesus
must be accompanied by right living.
We shouldn't separate the two.
Pastor and author Mark Dever
illustrates it as follows.
This isn't my illustration,
but I think it's really helpful.
Suppose that Bob starts a business,
and he,
wisely or foolishly,
he puts me in charge of it.
Bob then goes off to Asia
for a multi-month trip
to drum up some new business deals.
So he leaves me in charge of the office,
with a very careful set of instructions
for what should happen
while Bob is away.
While he's away,
Bob sends me on a few further emails
with additional instructions
about what should be done
in the office.
Now, after a while,
a couple of months,
Bob returns
to find the office in ruins.
The phone,
the reception,
is not being answered
because the receptionist
has her earphones on
and is listening to Spotify
on her mobile.
Nobody has emptied the bins.
They're just overflowing with rubbish.
There's no office supplies left
when he goes to the cupboard.
People show up when they like,
go to the canteen
and play Jenga
and chat.
Bob's inbox
is full of angry notes
from unhappy customers.
So Bob walks up to me
and he asks,
Ralph,
what happened here?
Didn't you get my emails?
I smile
in a reassuring kind of way
and say,
yes,
I got the emails.
Bob,
not only did I get the emails,
but I had them printed out
and I handed copies
to everyone in the office.
Actually,
some of them were so good
we decided to frame them
and to hang them up
on the walls
for inspiration.
Some of us
were so dedicated, Bob.
We used to meet after work
and gather together
to study these letters.
Some of us
have even memorized
parts of them
with our kids at home.
And we started
putting them into songs
and uploading them
to YouTube
to share with people.
Oh, we can imagine
what Bob would say
at that point.
Ralph,
why didn't you do
what the emails said
to do?
And what do you mean
you love the emails?
Of course you don't.
You see,
despite my efforts
at email study,
memorization
and song creation,
I can hardly say
that I'm an authentic
employee of Bob's.
And likewise,
John is saying
that we may have
all of our doctrine
right about Jesus.
And we might shout loudly
or sing loudly
to all who will listen
that we know him,
we know him,
we know him.
But John says,
then why aren't you
obeying his commands?
If you're not a Christian,
if you're an atheist,
if you don't believe
there is a God,
then you don't get
any email instructions
from the boss.
The only given
in your world
is that we are
all the products
and the whole universe
is a product of time
plus chance
plus energy.
That's it.
They're the only given.
And it's very easy
in many ways
to be authentic
in that situation.
You see,
you get to be
your own boss
when there is no God.
And you can write
your own email instructions.
It's very handy.
So,
if you struggle
with authenticity,
don't worry.
You just get to
send yourself
a new email
and update
who the authentic
you is.
But, of course,
the endless chasing
for authenticity
down the spiral
of self
doesn't ever bring
lasting completeness
or lasting peace.
It's a never-ending
update of emails
to be the authentic
you apart from God.
Now, the alternative
to being our own boss
or being an atheist
isn't to revert
to dead religion.
Okay?
I want to be very clear
in this.
The alternative
isn't to revert
to dead religion.
This is not a call
by John
or by me
to pompous,
self-justifying
and insincere
legalism.
Legalism is
trying to earn
the boss's favor
by obedience.
And John makes it clear
in verses 1 and 2
of chapter 2
that sinless perfection
is not what's in view.
Let's read those verses.
My dear children,
I write this to you
so that you will not sin.
But if anybody does sin,
we have an advocate
with the Father.
Jesus Christ,
the Righteous One.
He is the atoning sacrifice
for our sins.
And not only for ours,
but also for the sins
of the whole world.
Sinless perfection
is not what we're being called to.
That's not what's in view.
Rules-based religion
is not the answer,
according to John.
We cannot,
we cannot earn
our salvation
by our own efforts.
Our salvation,
verse 2,
our forgiveness of sins,
is only because
of the finished work
of Jesus on the cross.
And that is crucial.
That is foundational.
We are not moving
from that rock.
We come to a God
as a sinner
knowing that we cannot
earn His forgiveness
through our obedience.
And we simply ask
for His free forgiveness
at the foot of the cross.
So in terms of a sacrifice
for our sins,
our works,
our obedience,
our faithfulness
count for nothing.
They give no merit
in the great transaction
where Jesus takes
our sin
and gives us
His righteousness.
We are justified,
declared not guilty
in God's court
because of Jesus alone.
This is the good news
of the message
of the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Come today.
Without needing
to bring money
without gifts,
without good works,
without obedience
to the foot of the cross
and find forgiveness
for all of your sins.
Only then
do we also see
from verse 3
to verse 6
that obedience
to the commands
of God
is required.
But again and again
in our lives,
if we've lived
one day
as a Christian,
we know this.
Again and again
we fail
as Christians
to keep those commands
that we are
to obey.
And sin
is still present.
So how do I know,
and this is a struggle
for many of us
as Christians,
how do I know
that I'm not
one of the people
of verse 4?
the liar,
the hypocrite,
the fraud,
the one who is not
authentic
in their Christian walk.
And what place
then do my own efforts
and my own works
have
in this authentic
Christian life?
Well,
John has an answer
for us.
Remember,
our hope
verses 1 and 2
is not in a
sinless
perfection
as a means
of being
an authentic
Christian.
That is not
our hope,
that is not
our measure,
that is not
the line
that we draw.
Verse 5,
but,
but if anyone
obeys
his word,
love for God
or God's love
is truly
made
complete
in
them.
Anyone
obeys
his word,
love for God
is truly
made complete
in them.
You see,
our hope
is in an
ongoing
transformation.
As we
obey
Jesus,
as we
obey,
as it says
here,
his word,
that is,
as we
obey the
scriptures,
the Bible,
then God
is at
work.
God
is at
work.
Completing
his love
in us
and our
love for
him.
That's what
verse 5
is telling
us.
Completeness.
What a
great word,
completeness
or perfection.
And
there's
something
that our
hearts
yearn for
when it
hears a
word like
that,
to be
complete.
My
work,
I work
as a
software
engineer.
And
there's
an
endless
set of
characteristics
and
behaviours
and
skills
to
strive
for.
You
can
always
be
better.
And
it's
probably
the
same
whatever
job
you
are
in
or
whatever
work
you
do.
It's
almost
impossible
to
become
the
complete
engineer.
But
I
want
to
be
better.
Or
being
a
complete
parent.
A
complete
parent.
protector,
provider,
teacher,
comforter,
and mentor.
It's
riddled
with
failures
on an
almost
daily
basis.
But I
want to
get there.
I want
to be
complete.
Completeness
in anything
we do,
it's just
always over
the horizon
as we
sail
towards it.
But we
know,
we know
we must
continue
to work
and to
act
in these
areas.
And yet
here in
verse 5,
we read
that a
love for
God,
if anyone
obeys his
word,
love for
God,
or his
love for
us,
here we
read that
love for
God,
the true
measure of
authentic
Christianity,
can be
made
complete
in
us.
And I
think of
it as a
virtuous
circle.
You know
you can
have vicious
circles that
spiral out of
control and
things go
wrong,
but you
can have
virtuous
circles.
They're a
thing as
well.
It's a
virtuous
circle of
love for
God,
leading to
obedience to
God,
leading to
a love to
God,
leading of
obedience to
God,
towards
completeness
of love
and knowing
him.
It's a
virtuous
circle that
we practice.
And
completeness
and this
virtuous circle
is possible
because it's a
Holy Spirit
enabled work.
Brothers and
sisters,
we have
the Spirit.
God,
who began
this good
work in
us,
it's his
initiative,
promises that
through his
Holy Spirit
that he will
bring that
work to
completion.
Does that
sound familiar?
Are there
verses in the
Bible that
sound like
that?
Because it's
true.
That's what
the Word
says.
He has
began the
good work
in us,
will bring
it to
completion.
We will
be faithful
to the
end,
and we
will indeed,
in the
end,
be perfect
as Christ
is perfect.
God's
work is
made complete
in us
through the
means of
our obedience,
our good
works,
and our
faithfulness.
They are
the means,
or the
path,
or the
plan that
God has
laid out
for us
to follow
in order
to have
a complete
love of
his in
our lives
as we
put off
sin and
put on
love and
obedience.
Now,
legalism
is the
error where
we want
to take
our salvation
and we
want to
build our
own tower
of goodness
upon it,
or we
want to
put our
own tower
of goodness
in place
of what
Jesus has
done.
That's
essentially
legalism.
But a
similar but
opposite claim
is that,
well,
you know,
it's all of
grace,
and therefore
following
Jesus is
free of
any kinds
of demands.
And that
too is a
serious
error,
where we
dishonour
God and
his words
and we
believe that
it does
not matter.
The solution
to both
legalism
and
licentiousness
or living
a life
that doesn't
honour God,
the solution
to both,
both of
those,
is that
Christ wants
to continue
his work
in and
through us.
it doesn't
end when
we come
to faith
in Jesus.
He acts
within us
to empower
us to do
good works
that he
has prepared
in advance
for us
to do.
All so
that love
for God
and love
of God
would be
truly made
complete,
verse 5,
in us.
If anyone
obeys his
word,
love for God
is truly
made complete
in them.
Jesus is
working and
making us
authentic
Christians.
What does
that mean
for us
each day?
What does
it look like
in the
Christian life?
Well,
there's many,
many,
many ways
that we
apply this
every day.
We put
off sin
and we
put on
the fruit
of the
Holy Spirit
in its
place.
We stop
practices
like lying
to each
other when
we hide
behind
poor
excuses
and instead
we practice
speaking the
truth in
love.
That's what
it means
to obey.
We love
God's
people
as much
as God
through
his body
the church.
That's what
it means
to obey.
It means
to love
God's
people.
Prayer,
fellowship,
baptism,
and the
Lord's
table are
all
commanded
by
Jesus.
They're
all
things
that
are
elicited
by
God
and
are
part
of
what
it
means
to be
a
Christian.
You see,
ours is a
grace-based,
entered by
faith,
promise-filled,
relational,
true religion,
with good
practices,
rules,
and rituals
that help
to sustain
and grow
the authentic
Christian
over a
lifetime.
That's what
Christianity
is about.
Thank God
for his
wisdom.
It's not
shallow.
It's shallow
at the shallow
end as we
come to put
our trust
in him.
But as we
walk through
the Christian
life,
there are
depths and
depths that
God has
laid out
for us.
And then
finally,
verse 6,
the end of
verse 5
into verse 6.
this is
how we
know we
are in
him.
And this
is key.
Whoever
claims to
live in
him must
live as
Jesus did.
So we
bring no
merit of
our own
to the
cross.
But from
the cross,
by grace,
God is
changing us
to become
an authentic
and complete
Christian,
an authentic
and complete
human being.
And this
happens through
our union
by faith
with Jesus
as we're
united to
Christ.
And this
is where
John brings
us as a
final confirmation
of our
faith at
the end
of verse
5.
Live as
Jesus did.
And before
we consider
what it means
to live as
Jesus did,
I think we
need to
understand a
little bit
of why
Jesus lived
on earth
at all.
Why did
Jesus come?
Well,
God is
always
related to
people
through
covenants,
through
agreements,
where God
comes and
sets the
rules and
is faithful
to a
people through
a covenant.
And he's
established
gracious
covenants
throughout all
of history
for the
path that
we should
follow to
be in
relationship
with God.
And in
all those
covenants,
they are
graciously
given by
God.
He initiates
them.
We enter
into them
through faith
in God's
promises.
And our
lives are
regulated by
good laws
and good
principles that
God gives
us.
You see,
it's never,
ever,
ever been
throughout
history,
faith versus
religion,
or law
versus grace.
It has
always been
grace,
leading to
faith,
leading to
walking in
the path that
God has
planned out.
That's
always been
the way
it has
been.
So people
in the
Old Testament,
and we
struggle with
this sometimes,
I think,
it was so
different back
then,
and how
they related
to God
was so
different.
How were
they saved?
How were
they saved?
How did
they earn
their salvation?
How were
they saved?
Well,
they were
saved,
like you
and I,
by a
gracious
act of
God.
They were
rescued
from slavery
in Egypt
through the
great Passover
event.
And in
faith,
they were
called to
trust in
the promises
of God
for a
land and
for blessings
and for
salvation and
ultimately for
a king.
So their
covenant was
like ours.
It was
based on
grace,
entered into
by faith,
in the
promises of
God,
and regulated
by good
law that
God gave,
which we
summarize in
the Ten
Commandments.
Now,
it was,
of course,
a temporary
and lesser
covenant,
but it was
founded on
the same
principles,
and was
gracious,
and was
the means
through which
people were
saved.
Only we
have a
better covenant,
and we
only have a
better covenant
because Jesus,
the Son of
God,
the promised
King,
has come in
the flesh.
You see,
where old
Israel failed,
Jesus always
succeeded.
They rebelled
in the desert
against God,
and they
kicked against
God,
and when
Jesus was
in his
desert,
and being
tempted by
Satan for
40 days,
he obeyed
God's word,
and he
passed the
test.
Where old
Israel,
they took
the law of
God,
and they
turned it
almost into
this soulless
rule-keeping
with pointless
extra regulation,
regulations.
Jesus took
the law,
and he
showed its
true meaning
in the
Sermon on
the Mount,
and he
showed a
deeper meaning
to it.
He didn't
add extra
regulations on
the outside,
he put them
on the inside
in the heart,
and he
said,
love your
enemies,
and he
said,
don't lust
in your
heart,
or hate
your brother
in your
heart.
So Jesus
expanded the
law.
He
expanded the
law.
He showed
the true
depth of
it,
and showed
in his
life what
it looks
like to
obey the
law when
you're
spirit-filled,
what obedience
looks like,
what good
works look
like,
what faithfulness
looks like.
This is what
John is saying
in verse 6
this morning.
Whoever
claims to
live in
him must
live as
Jesus did.
Must live
as Jesus
did.
Spirit-empowered,
faithful,
obedient,
doing good
works from
the heart.
Here is our
manna from
heaven.
Here is our
sustenance and
our hope.
Jesus walked a
life of self-denial
and submission to
his heavenly
father.
His perfect
record means
that he is
the ultimate
covenant
keeper.
The ultimate
one.
Unlike the
people of
God who
had gone
before him,
Jesus always
kept the
covenant laws
and regulations.
Christian,
we can never
achieve in
this life the
perfect life
of Jesus.
We are
trying to
image Jesus
and to
become more
like him
in this
life.
But until
he returns
and sin
and death
and Satan
are done
away with
finally,
we will
struggle.
But Jesus
is the
ultimate
covenant
keeper.
Jesus is the
ultimate
covenant
keeper with
a big K.
But the
joy of the
gospel is
this,
that through
our being
united with
Jesus,
our union
with him
and the
forgiveness
of our
sins
and the
gift of
the Holy
Spirit,
we become
like him
through that
virtuous circle.
And we
are becoming
a covenant
keeper with a
small K.
Our works
indeed are
imperfect
and incomplete,
but
nonetheless,
those works,
the things you
do,
honour God.
they are
pleasing to
him,
they are
genuine,
they are
necessary.
Christ is
being formed
in you.
His love
is being
made complete
in you
as you
walk
as Jesus
walked.
What God
has joined
together,
love and
obedience,
let none
of us
separate.
Amen.
Let's
pray.
Our
Father,
we thank
you that
in the
gospel of
Jesus
Christ,
that the
manifold
wisdom of
God is
shown to
all the
powers and
principalities
and rulers
of the
universe.
It's on
display.
Your
wisdom,
God,
is beyond
ours.
We could
not have
imagined
such a
great
salvation.
We
simply
thank you.
Thank you
for the
cross of
Christ.
Thank you
for the
gift of
the
Spirit.
Thank you
for the
love of
the
Father.
Lord,
we need
you.
Help us
each and
every day
to be
faithful,
to be
obedient,
to do
good works,
to love
our brothers
and sisters
and to
become more
complete in
Christ and
his love.
Amen.