WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.660 Amen. In a post-truth world, times that we live in, how do we tell what is real from what is fake? 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:19.100 You know, we now live in a world that is dominated by artificial intelligence, 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:27.539 and AI is now able very easily to generate those deep fakes. You know, they can take musicians' 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:35.039 images and their voice, and they can create new songs, and it's really hard to spot whether this 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:40.899 is something original, whether this is something computer-generated. More destructively, 00:00:41.899 --> 00:00:49.700 same people with knowledge of how computers work can put words in the mouth of a politician, 00:00:50.239 --> 00:00:56.759 can make a video that would suggest a particular politician is spouting lies and hate in order to 00:00:56.759 --> 00:01:05.759 attack and to discredit. So, how do we know what is real and true or what is fake and a lie? 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:12.560 In some ways, unless we are wise enough to know particular tests to apply, 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:21.019 there's always the chance that we will be fooled. And it might be the case, if we don't know those 00:01:21.019 --> 00:01:30.819 tests to apply, that we might become fearful and indeed skeptical of any claims about truth. 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:45.679 John writes his letter to make clear that there is fake teaching and fake teachers within the Christian 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:57.120 church, and it's important to recognize that. And so, he says that there are tests to apply. 00:01:57.880 --> 00:02:05.840 There are marks to look for, so that you and I can know what is true from what is false. 00:02:06.860 --> 00:02:14.000 We saw one of them last week, the test of morality. How does a Christian or a Christian teacher 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:21.280 view sin? Do they take it seriously and recognize that we need Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice? 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:27.599 Well, this time the test is different. This time the test is about obedience, and particularly 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:36.599 the relationship between love and obedience. So, we're going to think about three really simple 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:41.879 and interrelated things this evening. Here's the first, and it's from verses 3 and 4. 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:49.879 However, Christians obey what Christ commands. Okay, so as John begins this short little section, 00:02:50.219 --> 00:02:55.079 he wants to give assurance, he wants to give encouragement to a true believer. He says, 00:02:55.579 --> 00:03:03.099 you can know that you know Christ. And that's important because it could be easy to be rattled and 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:09.359 to become really uncertain about knowing anything. But John says, you can know that you know Christ, 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:18.380 and here's how. First, he states it positively. We know that we have come to know him if we keep his 00:03:18.380 --> 00:03:25.360 commands. And then he states it negatively. Whoever says, I know him but does not do what he commands 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:31.880 is a liar, and the truth is not in them. If you don't obey, you don't know. If you do obey, 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:38.039 you do know. What's his point? Real knowing of Christ leads to real obeying of Christ. 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:46.039 Or to put it more fully, a true Christian is someone who recognizes the true authority of Jesus 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:54.840 as Lord and lives with true obedience. And so, this test of obedience then becomes really important 00:03:54.840 --> 00:04:02.620 because it allows us to reject certain false teaching and false attitudes around the issue 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:10.240 of obedience. So, you may have come across the suggestion that any time a church speaks about 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:17.300 obedience, uses the language perhaps of holiness, then that church is somehow legalistic, 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:24.740 as if obedience becomes a bad thing. Now, of course, obedience can be followed in a legalistic way, 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:31.979 perhaps we've all had, maybe even in our own lives, thinking, okay, I need to try and earn my salvation. 00:04:32.219 --> 00:04:41.819 And so, obedience can be legalism, but that's not how it's supposed to be, and it's not how Jesus spoke 00:04:41.819 --> 00:04:47.919 about it, and Jesus spoke about it really positively. According to Jesus, the truth is very different. 00:04:48.039 --> 00:04:54.239 Actually, obedience is freedom. You'll know God's truth, and the truth will set you free. 00:04:54.240 --> 00:05:02.360 It's freedom, because as we come to obey God, as we come to obey Christ, we are now living the way 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:09.220 that we were designed to live. This is how life works best. And then, as we heard Jesus himself say, 00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:16.460 true obedience is actually an expression of love. If you love me, you'll obey my commandment. 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:25.979 Obedience is not legalistic. Obedience, from the heart, is love for Jesus. So, the test helps us 00:05:25.979 --> 00:05:32.699 to deal with that error. Another error that we encounter, perhaps in our day for sure, 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:40.859 is the idea that obedience is optional. You know, I'm saved by grace, and so what I do doesn't really 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:46.480 matter. Obedience is optional. Does it make sense? Think about a family situation. If a child was to 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:55.540 say, I love my parents, I just ignore every single rule they give me, is that the way that we show love? 00:05:55.540 --> 00:06:04.560 No, because love in that context with authority includes honor. And so, you cannot separate loving 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:18.980 Jesus from obeying His words. And so, John reminds us that we must know who Jesus truly is, 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:29.639 not some kind of deep, fake, distorted Jesus that a false teacher might try and sell us. If we know 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:39.279 that Jesus is our Creator, then obedience will follow, as we trust that living by the Maker's 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:45.759 instructions is best for us, that those limits that Jesus gives are limits that provide freedom. 00:06:47.459 --> 00:06:56.879 If we know Jesus is Lord and King, then obedience will follow, because we understand the significance of 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:09.040 being loyal to His rule, that we want to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. If we know Him as 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:19.879 Savior, then obedience follows gladly and joyfully. You know, as John reminded us last week, Jesus is 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:26.860 our advocate, represents us, speaks for us. He is our atoning sacrifice. He laid down His life 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:36.420 for us. And so, obedience gladly says, I will live my life directed by Him and for Him. 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:44.540 And so, John, as a pastor, is teaching us here the importance of knowing our God, knowing our Savior, 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:52.540 as He is revealed in the Bible, that we would know what He commands. We'd be governed by, directed by His 00:07:52.540 --> 00:07:58.760 truth, not our feelings, and that would lead us to obedience. That's always something that's supposed 00:07:58.760 --> 00:08:04.240 to have been fundamental to the Christian life. It was there in the Old Testament. God said, 00:08:04.700 --> 00:08:10.820 in Leviticus, be holy, because I am holy. We can go into the New Testament, go to the book of Hebrews, 00:08:11.280 --> 00:08:18.020 strive for holiness, because without it no one will see the Lord. So, holiness, a life of obedience, 00:08:18.019 --> 00:08:27.560 is fundamental to the Christian life. But we can easily forget. We can be tempted to ignore. 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:34.019 We can perhaps even be worried, oh, if I really focus on obedience, will that lead me into legalism? 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:41.899 Perhaps we find ourselves in our, the people around us, and we can find ourselves focused so much on the 00:08:41.899 --> 00:08:46.899 cultural moment that we find ourselves living in. We're always thinking about, how am I going to 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:53.899 defend the truth? That maybe we lose sight of the importance of every day growing in holiness. 00:08:54.519 --> 00:09:01.679 We live in a world that always wants to squeeze us into its mold. Do we understand how important it is 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:11.199 to pursue obedience? Because if we lose track, we will inevitably drift. 00:09:12.959 --> 00:09:17.979 Think about some practical ways that this can happen. You know, think about the whole topic of 00:09:17.979 --> 00:09:23.959 money, just for a moment. God in His Word has particular things to say about money, but our 00:09:23.959 --> 00:09:28.240 culture says something quite different. And if we're not being guided by God's Word into obedience, 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:34.039 then perhaps we'll just sort of thoughtlessly follow our culture into pursuing more and more money. 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:40.659 And we'll forget God's call to sacrificial generosity. We'll forget that we're called to use 00:09:40.659 --> 00:09:42.779 our resources to serve His kingdom. 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:53.539 Maybe in our particular fields, when we think about ethics in our workplace or even in a university 00:09:53.539 --> 00:10:00.399 context, if we lose sight of God's Word and we follow the drift of culture, well, maybe we'll find 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:05.120 ourselves claiming credit for work that's not ours. Perhaps we'll find ourselves cutting corners to make 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:10.120 profits. We lose sight of God's commands about justice and not stealing. 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:21.860 And so what we need as a people is to know our God and to know His Word, that His Word speaks with authority 00:10:21.860 --> 00:10:27.720 and His Word, when it is obeyed, gives freedom. And then we need to obey Him as an act of worship. 00:10:28.539 --> 00:10:31.659 So Christians obey what Christ commands. Secondly, 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:40.100 Christians show love for God by obeying His Word. Again, it's very much interrelated. It's the first part, 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:48.800 of verse 5, but if anyone obeys His Word, love for God is truly made complete in them. So the but there 00:10:48.800 --> 00:10:56.600 shifts attention back towards the positive example, away from the negative with the logic. 00:10:56.600 --> 00:11:02.220 The more obedience that we show, the more love for God we grow. 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:10.120 Perhaps it's helpful to think about some of our common phrases. You know the phrase, 00:11:10.300 --> 00:11:15.639 actions speak louder than words, or talk is cheap or talk is easy. 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:26.279 How is love for God made complete according to John? He says it's not in our talk, in our 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:33.620 theological statements, as correct or as fancy as they might be. It's not in our big talk about how 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:41.019 we will serve and how we will change the world. John says love is made complete by our loving obedience 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:50.620 to God's Word. Jesus taught His disciples that true. We read one example of it, John 14, verse 15, 00:11:50.620 --> 00:11:59.100 and onwards, if you love me, keep my commandments. John 15, verse 10, if you keep my commandments, 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:07.860 you will remain in my love. Love is a way to show, obedience is a way to show love. Obedience is a way 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:16.580 to remain in His love. So for Jesus, love and obedience belong together. And for Jesus, obedience is 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:26.680 always a positive thing for one of His followers. And again, that's not necessarily a popular view today. 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:35.860 Obedience to authority, the authority of Jesus or any authority can often sound, come across as limiting, 00:12:36.540 --> 00:12:43.740 a loss of freedom. This is denying me my right to self-expression. And how do we respond to that 00:12:43.740 --> 00:12:51.320 criticism, that challenge? Well, I think we must first recognize that not everyone who says, 00:12:51.659 --> 00:12:59.580 obey me, has another person's good in view. We understand and we hear it all too often, 00:12:59.680 --> 00:13:06.840 even within the church, that authority can be abused, that power can be used to manipulate, 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:15.980 that obedience can become a weapon to hurt the person who is being asked to do something. But 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:24.899 if we know that we can trust the one who says, obey me, then absolutely love and obedience can and 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:31.480 should go together. Again, to use the analogy of a family, to think about parents, good parents 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:40.060 parents want what's best for their children. Parents have got a perspective and a wisdom that children 00:13:40.060 --> 00:13:48.620 don't have. And sometimes that their obedience and their limits would keep a child from disaster and 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:57.019 danger. And so to obey that kind of parent is good and it's wise. And it's all within a relationship 00:13:57.019 --> 00:14:05.960 of love. Now, how does this apply to Jesus' words, if you love me, obey my command? Well, I would suggest 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:12.759 if we understand the message of the Bible, the message of the gospel, it tells us in Jesus we have an 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:24.399 authority we can trust. And we can trust Him knowing that He loves us. Think about how the gospel comes to us. 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:32.699 We have the truth that the eternal God establishes an eternal plan of salvation. So even before this 00:14:32.699 --> 00:14:38.240 world was made or any of us was made, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit established this plan that in the 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:46.879 fullness of time, the eternal Son of God would come into this earth and become one of us. And as one of us, 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:57.860 He would live in perfect obedience to God's law. He would live a life of perfect love. And He would 00:14:57.860 --> 00:15:03.879 demonstrate that perfect love for God and for sinful humanity by dying on the cross 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:14.980 as a cross. As a substitute, as a sacrifice, taking upon Himself the penalty that our sin deserves, 00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:22.179 bearing in His own body the punishment that our sin deserves, experiencing the wrath of God, 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:31.179 separation from God that we deserve to face. And then Jesus rose again and returned to heaven, 00:15:31.179 --> 00:15:40.519 where He now rules and reigns over all things. And to understand the gospel is to understand who Jesus 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:51.039 is. He is our Creator. And He has come into this world, and He has gone to the cross in order to restore 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:59.599 the relationship that you and I were made for. We were made to live in relationship with God 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:10.659 as image-based, to worship Him, to enjoy Him. He has come as our Savior on a rescue mission, 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:21.639 to rescue us, to redeem us from our sin. And He's come into this world as our Lord, and He comes to reveal 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:28.840 the goodness and glory of our God to us. So, we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:38.139 And John's point is that the more we grow in the knowledge of our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus, 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:49.879 the more we will grow in our love for our God and our Savior. Christians show love for God by obeying 00:16:49.879 --> 00:17:02.939 His Word. One last thing to say, and again, it's very much related. Christians live as Jesus lived. 00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:12.460 End of verse 5, this is how we know, there's assurance again, we are in Him. Whoever claims to live in Him 00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:23.900 must live as Jesus did. Let's just return to a moment to the dangers of those artificial intelligence, 00:17:24.100 --> 00:17:32.039 deep fakes that are being produced, the fake news that is being generated. Because we understand that 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:39.980 what happens with false messages, anger and hate can spread really quickly. 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:52.759 We can see a loss of trust. We can see attacks on public figures' integrity. And so, the public can lose 00:17:52.759 --> 00:18:04.119 confidence that a mob mentality can be stirred up. It's profoundly dangerous if we are exposed to, 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:18.279 and if we listen to, false messages. And so, John is determined to tackle a lie that is spreading, 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:26.819 a distorted, a distorted, a deep fake picture of Jesus that is being presented in the first century. 00:18:28.059 --> 00:18:34.839 People saying of Jesus, He was not who He claimed to be, not truly God and truly man. 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:46.680 Sin in your life doesn't matter to Jesus. Obeying Jesus is optional. These were the lies that were 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:54.080 beginning to spread out of Ephesus where John was writing, and he wants to confront that. Because he 00:18:54.080 --> 00:19:00.900 knows to let this false message spread, well, it will cast doubt on what the apostles are teaching. 00:19:03.019 --> 00:19:11.539 It may well lead people to reject God's rule, God's words, as they turn their back on a life of 00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:20.740 obedience, and it's going to drag Jesus' name through the mud too. Why? Because of verse 6. 00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:30.379 Whoever claims to live in Jesus must live as Jesus did. John is reminding us that Christians are to 00:19:30.379 --> 00:19:36.759 live like Jesus, to walk like Jesus. And for you and I, if we're Christians, to say, I am a Christian 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:47.279 is intended to be an invitation to people to examine our lives in order to discover something of what is 00:19:47.279 --> 00:20:00.099 Jesus like. What difference does Jesus make? What values does Jesus have? Now we understand, I think, 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:07.659 why true obedience is massively important. That Christians are obeying Jesus matters for the 00:20:07.659 --> 00:20:13.899 honor of Jesus. That Christians are obeying also matters for the mission of Jesus' church. 00:20:16.379 --> 00:20:20.319 And so it's a wonderful gift to us that we have this letter of 1 John, because remember, 00:20:20.459 --> 00:20:26.399 John was Jesus' best friend during his three years of earthly ministry. John saw how Jesus lived, 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:34.980 and John is ready to present him at the beginning as the eternal Son of God, as the way into fellowship 00:20:34.980 --> 00:20:44.500 with God, but also to present him as our example and our teacher. How are we to love? How are we to live? 00:20:44.600 --> 00:20:52.660 How are we to obey? John says, look at Jesus, learn from Jesus, walk like Jesus. 00:20:52.660 --> 00:21:02.200 John 15, verse 10. Jesus said this, he said, if you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, 00:21:02.540 --> 00:21:11.100 just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. Jesus' life on earth was one of active 00:21:11.100 --> 00:21:18.480 obedience and remaining in the Father's love, and those two things were connected. Jesus is the Son who 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:26.319 delights to do the Father's will, and he is the Son the Father is delighted with. And we heard the 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:33.420 Father's voice at Jesus' baptism, this is my Son whom I love, with him I am well pleased. 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:42.500 To look at the Gospels, to consider the life of Jesus, is to consider the only one who ever perfectly 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:51.819 kept the two great commands, love for God. Jesus' whole life was one of worship, giving glory to 00:21:51.819 --> 00:21:59.579 his Father. His whole life was one of being concerned for the Father's will, of doing the Father's work. 00:21:59.859 --> 00:22:06.339 He was a true worshiper, showing love for God his Father. And he is the only one who lived with perfect 00:22:06.339 --> 00:22:15.579 love for his neighbor. A life full of compassion. You know, Jesus can look at the crowd on one 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:21.539 particular day and feel compassion for them, so he feeds them because they're hungry. Again, a crowd 00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:27.539 gathers and he feels compassion, and he gives them truth, because they're spiritually in the dark, 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:34.579 and their teachers are not directing them to Jesus as the way of salvation. And of course, we see his love 00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:45.519 for neighbor in his laying down his life for his friends. And John says Christians live as Jesus lived, 00:22:46.919 --> 00:22:55.059 pursuing love for God, pursuing love for our neighbor. How is your walk? How is mine? Becomes a really 00:22:55.059 --> 00:23:03.759 important question to ask. Are our lives heading in the same direction as Jesus? Do we have the same 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:14.680 desires as Jesus? Would we say with Jesus, God's Word is my daily bread? Do we find ourselves so filled 00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:22.759 with the good news that we say, I must preach the good news to other people? Is our desire, like Jesus, 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:30.559 to spend time alone with our Father in prayer? Are we willing to say, 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:38.779 not my will, not my will, but God's be done? Think about the statements that Jesus makes of himself, 00:23:38.879 --> 00:23:44.500 and then apply them to ourselves. It could be a really helpful way to think. Is my walk 00:23:44.500 --> 00:23:51.099 in line with that of Jesus? Of course, not that we will ever do it perfectly. 00:23:51.099 --> 00:24:01.339 John Calvin is really helpful here. He says this is thinking about not those who wholly satisfy the law, 00:24:01.399 --> 00:24:09.099 because that's nobody, but those who strive to form their life in obedience to God. 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:19.339 Are we striving to form our lives in obedience to God? Then we'll want to walk as Jesus did. Do we want 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:31.259 to live in Christ? Enjoying fellowship and love? Then we must live like Christ, walking in his footsteps 00:24:31.259 --> 00:24:41.059 of love and obedience, of love and obedience. So, John here very helpfully applies for us this obedience 00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:49.679 test to help to help us determine what is true from what is fake. Just as AI can generate deep fakes, 00:24:49.919 --> 00:25:00.940 so too can Christian teachers and Christian churches spout a message that is both dangerous and deceptive, 00:25:00.940 --> 00:25:12.240 and what we need. And what we need is the test of truth, a test of what we say. And John supplies a test for us here. 00:25:14.620 --> 00:25:26.080 John's point is simple. True Christians obey Christ. To know that we know God, to know that we know Christ as He truly is, 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:40.799 Jesus. John says we'll obey like Jesus. We will love God's Word like Jesus. We will seek to live like Jesus. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:51.779 Christians obey Christ. Indeed, if we change the grammar, we have it in the form of a command. 00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:57.940 Christians obey Christ. Let's pray and ask for healing.