Well, good morning, church. Let me invite you to turn with me to the book of 1 John.
Our sermon text today is 1 John, chapter 2, verses 3 through 11.
1 John, chapter 2, verses 3 through 11.
I'm going to read that first, and then I'll pray for us.
1 John, chapter 2, verses 3 through 11.
Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Beloved, I am writing to you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning.
The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you,
because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.
But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going,
because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
All right, let's pray together.
Father, we just sang that our soul might be satisfied in you alone.
Lord, that is a mighty prayer.
And we ask now that as we come to your word, your Holy Spirit would give us clarity and understanding and grace
as we come to understand what the Apostle John has written here,
not just for his time, but for the church of all time.
And Lord, we pray that as a result, our obedience to you would grow,
and our soul would indeed be satisfied in you alone.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So what is the great evidence or sign that someone truly knows God?
That's what John is getting at in this section,
and really that's what he's getting at in this whole book.
How can we tell if we genuinely know God?
Notice John has a few ways of talking about what it means to know God,
and we see right away that we're not talking about merely intellectual knowledge about God.
No, John has in mind an intimate, saving relationship with God.
In verse 5, he speaks of the love of God,
which in this context means the love that believers have for God.
And in verse 6, he talks about abiding in God,
abiding like the roots of a tree, abiding in the rich soil of a garden.
And in verse 9, he talks about being in the light,
basking in the warmth of God's presence.
So John's talking about an intimate relationship with God, knowing God.
Friends, this is the heart of Christianity,
that humans, you and I, can have this sort of relationship with God, our Creator.
A relationship that at the start of the book, John describes as fellowship.
And what is fellowship in the Bible?
Fellowship is sharing something in common,
that we can actually share something in common with God.
But the message of Christianity is not just that humans as creatures can have this sort of
intimate relationship with God, their Creator,
but even that humans as sinners can have this sort of intimate relationship with God.
Remember the passage that we looked at last week?
John says,
If anyone says they have no sin, they deceive themselves.
We've all disobeyed God's perfect and good commands.
And we all stand condemned before God's perfect justice.
Yet the heart of Christianity is that sinners like you and me,
who deserve condemnation, can be welcomed into intimate, loving fellowship with God.
We can know God.
But how can that be?
Well, you know, it's easy to think that surely the way into this kind of relationship with God is that we have to reform our lives
and work hard to be moral and good,
and then perhaps God will turn around and accept us.
But that's not how it's done.
It couldn't be that way, because our good works could never be good enough.
And besides, how could our good works cover over the wrongs that we've done?
You know, imagine that I were to rob a bank.
I'd probably be a really bad bank robber,
but just imagine that I were to go and rob a bank,
and there I go, I head running out of the doors,
and as I escape the scene of the crime,
I see an elderly person crossing the street,
and they look like they're having a tough time.
So I pause, and I let them cross, you know,
because I'm that kind of guy after robbing a bank.
Well, a few blocks later, the police catch up with me,
and they arrest me, and they bring me before the judge.
And imagine my defense.
Judge, I know I've committed this great crime robbing this bank,
and you've caught me, but you see, I did some good deeds, actually.
I even helped an elderly person cross the street
right outside the bank that I robbed.
Surely that should cover over my crimes, right?
And you'll let me go.
Well, obviously, this is a silly illustration, right?
But you get the point.
Good deeds, no matter how good,
don't erase the very real wrong that's been done.
And that's true for us before God.
Thinking that we can simply reform our lives,
and that that will get us into a relationship with God
is like thinking that helping the elderly person cross the street
will cancel out our crimes of robbery.
It won't.
And the sad reality, as friends,
is that we've robbed God of His glory.
We've disobeyed Him.
We've ignored Him.
We've lived our lives without any reference to Him,
even though we depend on God for everything, every second.
What could possibly cancel that debt?
And the truth is, it can't come from our side.
There's nothing we can offer as humans to get back into God's favor.
But here is the stunning message of Christianity,
that in love, God makes a way.
He sees us in our sin, buried under a debt we can't pay,
and in mercy, He comes to pay it.
And since death is the punishment for sin,
Christ dies willingly in our place
to deliver us from the penalty of sin
and bring us back to God.
He's the propitiation for our sins,
as John has just written a couple verses ago in verse 2.
And if you understand that word, propitiation,
you are staring right at the heart of the most glorious thing
that has ever happened in human history,
that Christ has died to turn away
the just wrath of God against human sin
and bring us back into God's favor.
And this is how Christianity is so different
than all the old pagan religions of John's day
and even every other religion down to our day.
Because you see, Christ, the sacrifice,
is God the Son, one with the Father.
So that means Christ is not some helpless victim,
unwillingly sacrificed to appease a capricious God,
like, you know, the Greeks sacrificing
before they go storm Troy, you know,
trying to appease the capricious gods.
No, Christ is fully God.
In Christ, God himself makes the payment.
God himself provides the sacrifice.
God himself bears the penalty
and bears it away once and for all,
for everyone who admits their sin and trusts in Christ.
And because of what Christ has done,
it's as if the doors of heaven have been flung open wide
for all to enter.
Come to me, Christ says,
and I will give you rest.
Sinners can now come into an intimate relationship
with the holy God, their creator,
on the basis of sheer grace
and live in fellowship with him forever,
starting right now.
But how do you know?
How do you know that you really know God?
Is there any sign that this grace of God in Jesus Christ
is alive in a person's heart,
really uniting them to Father and Son and fellowship?
Because you know it's possible, of course,
to say you know God,
but not really know him.
It's possible to have these things up here in your head,
but not really possess them in your heart.
It's possible to know about God.
It's possible to know about the good news of Jesus Christ,
to know about the gospel.
It's possible to know about God,
but not really know God.
So what is it?
What's the sign, or at least one good sign,
that we really have come to know God in Christ?
Well, for John, the answer is simple and profound.
And in fact, it might even seem a little mundane at first,
a little too simple.
But for John, here it is.
Verse 3,
By this we know that we have come to know him.
How?
If we keep his commandments.
Not if we have mountaintop spiritual experiences, right?
Although there's nothing wrong with those when they come.
Not if we experience miraculous gifts in our life,
although God certainly does miraculous things.
Not if we have a deep knowledge of systematic theology,
although every Christian should seek a deep grasp of biblical truths.
No, the criteria, the evidence,
that someone really knows God through the gospel of grace
is that they keep his commandments.
Now, John unpacks this in three ways in the rest of this section.
Notice there are three times where the phrase,
whoever says, appears in our text.
Whoever says.
You find that in verse 4, and in verse 6, and in verse 9.
And we'll take those as the markers of the outline of the passage.
And basically what John says in summary is that
keeping God's commands is the evidence of really knowing God.
Because one, it's the natural overflow of loving the Father,
and two, of abiding in God the Son,
and three, of walking in the light.
Keeping God's commands really is the evidence of knowing God.
Because it's the natural overflow of loving God the Father,
and abiding in God the Son,
and of walking in the light.
So let's look at the first of those together.
Loving God the Father.
Look again at verse 4 and 5.
Whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments,
is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps his word in him,
truly the love of God is perfected.
Now, John's pretty blunt, isn't he?
He's maybe a little more blunt than some of us care to be.
If you say you know God, but you don't keep his commandments,
you're a liar, and the truth is not in you.
Ouch.
Now, let's be sure we understand what John means here.
Let's be precise.
Just a few verses earlier at the end of chapter 1,
John said,
If we say we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
In other words, everyone, even Christians,
will continue to sin.
We will break God's commands.
We'll never reach sinless perfection in this life.
Though all our sins have been forgiven through the cross of Christ,
sin still remains.
And this indwelling sin will at times get the upper hand,
and we will fall.
And when we do, we run back to the cross
and find God's mercy to be fresh and new.
Right after John says,
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us,
he says,
If we confess our sins,
he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Now, John isn't saying that we lose our salvation
when we sin as Christians.
God's sovereign grace that made you a child of God
cannot be overturned.
But we certainly can lose our assurance
and our sense of peace before God.
And many of us who have followed Christ for a long time
know what that feels like when we fall into sin.
And so we continue to confess our sins,
and we continue to be amazed by God's abundant grace.
So when John writes,
Whoever says I know him
but does not keep his commandments is a liar,
he's not talking about a Christian
who fights against indwelling sin
and at times loses the fight
and who gets back up and keeps fighting.
No, he's talking about a person who says
they know God,
but they don't care about keeping his commandments.
Or they pick or choose which commandments
they want to abide by.
Or maybe they even actively reject
some of the clear commandments of Scripture.
If someone says they know God
but actively rejects what God's Word says about
generosity and money, for example,
or sex and marriage,
or truthfulness and integrity,
or forgiveness and reconciliation,
if someone actively rejects
or just doesn't care about God's clear commands,
then John says their profession to know God
is empty and hollow.
Now, of course, people who profess to know God
but reject or ignore his commands
can be very nice
and very knowledgeable
and very socially concerned and aware.
That's true.
But friends, niceness
and knowledge
and social awareness
are not
sure and certain criteria
of genuinely knowing
the God of the Bible.
It's keeping his commands.
But why?
Why that one?
Well, look at verse 5.
Whoever keeps his word,
in him truly,
the love of God is perfected.
Now, it's not immediately clear
when John says the love of God
if he's talking about
God's love for us
or our love for God.
That phrase,
the love of God,
grammatically could mean either.
Either God's love for us
or our love for God.
And either could make sense.
If John means God's love for us
is perfect or completed
when we obey his commands,
then it would seem that John
is reminding us of a beautiful truth
about God's love and grace.
Which is this.
That God accepts us
as we are.
But he doesn't leave us
as we are.
His love accepts us
and immediately begins
to transform and change us.
Change us more and more
into people who delight
to keep his commands
even when it's costly
or unpopular.
The love of God, you see,
is like a swift river.
When you step into it,
you don't stay in the same place.
It picks you up
and it carries you downstream.
It's a love that changes you
and transports you
and transforms you.
It's a love that picks you up
in its current
and sweeps you along
and it makes the hard-hearted
and unforgiving,
it makes them soft
and compassionate.
It makes the heart
that's desperate for approval
safe and secure.
And it makes the heart
that clings to worldly goods
for control and for power
generous and open-handed.
This is God the Father's love
for us in Christ.
Changes us.
But in verse 5,
John could also mean
our love for God.
And that's probably
what he means.
A little later in this letter,
John will write
pretty much the same thing
in chapter 5, verse 3.
For this is the love of God,
meaning our love for God,
this is the love of God,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments
are not burdensome.
In other words,
what it means,
this is what it means
for us to love God.
That our love for God
naturally leads
to keeping his commands.
Jesus said the same thing
in John chapter 14
that Nick read for us
earlier in the service.
If anyone loves me,
Jesus says,
he will keep my word.
Pretty straightforward.
You see, friends,
here's the secret
of Christian obedience.
It's not done begrudgingly
or out of sheer duty
as if we just sort of
white-knuckle it
and begrudgingly obey.
No, it's done
because we love
the one who tells us
these things.
True obedience
doesn't flow
from a heart
that's afraid
we'll lose God's favor
and acceptance
if we fail.
It flows from a heart
that's so enraptured
and in awe
of the one
who would love us
so much
that he sent
his only son
to die for our sins.
We see how good
and how trustworthy
this God is
in the gospel
and we delight then
to listen to his words
and obey
because they must be
for our good.
How could they not
be for our good?
How could this God,
the God who gave
his only son,
not want
our absolute best?
So in love,
we keep his commands
and they aren't burdensome.
If you've ever been in love,
you know exactly
what John's talking about,
don't you?
When you're madly
in love with someone,
they could tell you
to drive to Milwaukee
for their favorite sandwich
and you'd start Googling
the best route, right?
How do I get there?
You like the sandwich
from Milwaukee?
Let's go.
Let's do it.
Why?
Because that's just
what love does.
It delights to do
the will of the beloved.
In fact,
if love doesn't result
in that sort of action,
then we'd question
if it's really love,
wouldn't we?
If your spouse
asks you to do something,
hey, do this thing for me.
It's really important.
And you say,
you know,
I'm busy right now
playing some video games.
I've got to find
the next geoglyph
to make sure Zelda's okay.
You know,
you switch players,
you know what I'm talking about.
Well,
anyone would begin
to question your love
after a time, right?
Do you really love this person
if you're not eager
to listen and keep their word?
John's making the same point
about our relationship
with God.
The reason why
keeping his commands
is a surefire evidence
that we've really come
to know God
in the gospel of grace
is because it's
the natural result
of genuinely loving God
who loves us so much.
love is perfected,
John writes.
That is,
it's brought to completion
in delighting
to do his will.
It doesn't just stay
in the conceptual,
emotional,
feeling realm.
It expresses itself
in action.
Now, before we go
to John's next point,
there's a practical
application here.
If you're a Christian
and you're struggling
to obey
in a certain area,
one of the best things
you can do
is work to rekindle
your love for God.
And really,
the most certain way
to do that
is to return
to the gospel itself,
Christ crucified for you,
to set your mind
on those things
until it gets down
into your heart.
And begins to kindle
your love for God again.
Perhaps, for example,
you're struggling
with what God says
about marriage
and sexuality, perhaps.
Maybe you can't understand
why God would limit
something like sex
to marriage
or why God would limit
marriage to a man
and a woman.
It all seems so confusing
and so hard
and you're just struggling.
And friend, I get it.
We all wrestle
with those questions.
And you know,
there are really good
theological answers
to those questions
and there are really good
practical answers
to those questions too.
But the place to start
is with God Himself.
Do you see that this God
is good
and trustworthy?
Do you see how
He took on flesh
to become your true lover,
your true spouse,
faithful to the end?
That He came
and He loved you
at the greatest cost
to Himself
so that He might
take you to Himself
and make you
His eternal bride.
And He even bled
and died
to make sure
that you'd never be alone,
never be rejected
for all eternity.
And when your heart
starts to kindle
in love
for this God
who loved you
so well,
then you can begin
to trust Him.
Trust Him
that His limits,
for example,
around marriage
and sexuality
might be confusing,
might be countercultural,
but they're good.
They're good
because He is good.
And so the path
of obedience
is walked
along the path
of love.
Kindle a heart
of love for God
through worship,
through meditation
on Scripture,
through prayer
and communion
with God,
through fellowship
with other believers.
The road of obedience
will still be hard
at times,
it's true,
but underneath
you'll feel
that swift current
that river
of God's love
that carries you along
even when it's hard.
Now,
for the sake of time,
we're going to move quickly
through John's
next two points,
but, you know,
the good news is
is that John
weaves his themes
throughout this book,
so we'll be returning
to these themes
again and again
and we'll be able
to go much deeper,
but let's see
how John finishes up
here in our passage.
In our next verse,
we have John's
second point,
that keeping God's commands
is evidence
of truly knowing God
because it's the natural
overflow,
not just of love
for God the Father,
but of abiding
in God the Son.
Let's pick up
at the end of verse 5.
By this we know
that we are in Him.
Whoever says
he abides in Him
ought to walk
in the same way
in which He walked.
Now,
John is talking
about Jesus here.
Remember John 15
where Jesus talks
about abiding in Him
like a branch
abides in the vine.
Well,
John says,
if we say
we abide in Jesus,
then surely
we ought to walk
in the same way
in which He walked.
And how was that?
How did Jesus walk?
Well,
if you read
the four Gospels,
especially the Gospel of John,
you see that Jesus' life
was animated
by one central,
overriding desire.
The thing that drove Him
and guided Him,
His aim
and His mission
was to fulfill
His Father's will.
There's lots of verses
we could cite,
but perhaps the most poignant
is when Jesus is praying
in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And there in the Garden,
Jesus says
in His hour
of greatest trial
and distress,
Father,
not my will,
but Your will be done.
And John's point
in verse 6
of our text
is very simple.
If you say
you're a follower
of Jesus,
then you should have
that same attitude
as well.
not my will,
but Your will be done.
A desire to delight
and to fulfill
the commands of the Father.
That's the evidence
that Christ is dwelling
in your heart through faith.
That's the evidence
that you're united
to Christ by the Spirit.
That more and more
you walk
in the same way
Christ walked,
keeping the Father's commands.
Friends,
this is a sad state of affairs
that there are many churches
with the name of Christ
on their sign,
but they seem
to have little interest
in keeping God's commands
the way Christ did.
Is that not a great tragedy?
But friends,
may it not be so with us.
As a church,
may we not fall
into the same trap
of talking about Christ,
but never actually living
like Christ.
don't think that we aren't
immune
from the same danger.
Let us not be so proud
that we don't think
that we too could slip
and turn a deaf ear
to God's Word.
We must humble ourselves
before God,
ask for His mercy,
and ask for His help,
and continue to pray,
not our will,
but Yours be done.
And in that pursuit,
friend,
are we willing
to be confronted
or challenged even?
You know,
one of the great gifts
of being involved
in a small group,
for example,
is that you'll
begin to be known
by a group
of fellow Christians
who can encourage you
and support you
and rejoice with you,
but who can also
lovingly hold
a mirror up to you
when your life
doesn't match
your profession.
Oh,
how we need
brothers and sisters
in Christ
who are humble
and gentle
and courageous enough
to hold up that mirror
when the time is right
and show us
our shortcomings.
Do you have
that sort of fellowship
with other Christians?
If not,
you need it.
Seek it out.
Join a small group
if you're not involved
in one.
This is one of the means
whereby you can continue
to walk in the same way
as Jesus walked.
None of us can do it alone.
We need each other
to go on abiding in Him.
Now,
John's third and last point
takes us from
loving God the Father
and abiding in Christ the Son
to walking in the light.
If we walk in the light,
we will keep God's commands.
But in these last verses,
picking up in verse 7,
John pinpoints
one particular aspect
of keeping God's commands,
loving our fellow Christians.
Loving our fellow Christians.
As John begins this part
of this section
in verses 7 and 8,
John seems to be
contradicting himself,
doesn't he?
He says,
I'm not writing to you
a new command,
but an old command,
and yet it is a new command.
Well, what does he mean by that?
Well, he's referencing here
the command
to love one another.
And for Christians,
that's not a new command, right?
It's something
that Jesus himself taught.
Remember the Gospel of John,
chapter 15,
verses 12 through 13.
Jesus said,
This is my commandment,
that you love one another
as I have loved you.
Greater love
has no one than this,
that someone lay down
his life for his friends.
So John here
is kind of reminding
his readers
that he's not adding
anything new
to the message
when he says
that obedience
and loving one another
is essential
to knowing
whether you're truly a Christian.
In fact, he's saying
this is the command
Jesus gave us
from the very beginning,
and it's the command
you receive
from the very beginning
of your walk with Christ.
And yet,
lest this command
lose its wonder
and power,
John reminds us
that in a manner of speaking,
it is a new command.
And it will always be new.
Why?
Well, when Jesus gave
this command
to his disciples,
do you remember
what he said?
In John 13,
he says,
A new command I give you
that you love one another
just as I have loved you.
You also are to love
one another.
By this,
all people will know
that you are my disciples
if you have love
for one another.
It's a new command
because Jesus made it new.
And he made it new
when he defined love
by his own life and actions.
Just as I have loved you,
you also are to love one another.
The self-giving love of Jesus,
that's what love is.
And that's how our lives
as Christians
are meant to be lived.
And as we do so,
we aren't just following
a new command.
John even says,
We're living in a new age.
It's a new commandment
that I'm writing to you
which is true in him
and in you
because the darkness
is passing away
and the true light
is already shining.
Jesus,
the light of the world
is shining,
John says.
The risen Lord Jesus
sits at the Father's right hand,
ascended in glory.
The church gathers in his name,
filled with his spirit.
The gospel message
is proclaimed,
the power of God
for salvation
to all who believe.
And as the church
gathers in the power
of the spirit
of the risen Lord
and as the gospel
is proclaimed,
as this new age
breaks in upon us,
John says,
the darkness is passing away.
That old age of sin
and death
and decay,
the old age
of self-centeredness
and the desires
of the world
is passing away
and the true light
is shining.
And what does it mean
to walk
in this heavenly light
of the risen Lord Jesus?
John says,
it means to love
those whom
the Father loves.
It means to love
those for whom
Christ laid down
his life.
The genuine mark
of obedience
for the true Christian
will be love
for the church.
Love
for the brothers,
John says,
by which he means
the brothers and sisters
in the spiritual family
of the church.
It's almost as if
John is saying,
okay,
how do you know
you know God
through the gospel?
What's the sign
that that's really
taking place?
Well,
if you keep
his commandments.
And what's the key way
to know
if you're keeping
the commandments?
If you love
your brothers and sisters
in Christ.
A loveless Christian
is no Christian
at all.
Such a person
is still stumbling
about in the darkness,
John says.
Friends,
when the world
looks at our church,
what do they see
if they care to look?
Let's pray
that they see
a community
that loves one another.
And let's pray
that they see
a community
that loves one another
not because
we all share
the same socioeconomic
background.
We don't.
Not because we all
share the same
ethnic or racial background.
We don't.
Not because we all
share the same hobbies
or interests
or taste in music
or vocational pursuits.
We don't.
None of these things
are why we love each other.
We love each other.
because we share
a common Savior.
When I look at you,
fellow Christian,
I see someone
loved by the Lord Jesus
just as I have been loved.
He shed His blood
for you.
He rose again
for your justification.
The same Spirit
that lives in me
lives in you.
And if I don't see that,
if I don't live
like that's true,
then I'm still
in darkness
stumbling about.
But friends,
as John says here,
there's good reason
for hope
and assurance.
As John writes,
this commandment
to love one another
is true.
It's true in Him
and it's true in you.
So let's live
what's true.
let's live this love
for one another
that is true in Christ
and yes,
is true in us.
And let's do so
more and more
because the true light
is shining.
The kingdom
has dawned.
And let us know
we are Christians
by our love.
Love for God
and love for one another.
Let's pray.
Amen.
Father,
as we pause
in light of what
the Apostle John
is saying in this passage,
God,
perhaps
there are some of us
who have realized
that
we've not really
been taking
your commandments
as seriously
as we ought.
And Father,
if that is true,
we thank you
for the conviction
of your Holy Spirit
who shows us
these things
so that we might
turn and be saved.
So, Father,
if there are any here
who are sensing
that perhaps
I don't really know God
because I don't
really care
about His commandments,
that they would not
stay there,
but, Father,
you would open
their eyes
to see Christ
crucified for them,
loved by Him,
and would they
trust in you.
And, God,
as we think
about this passage
about keeping
your commands
and loving
one another,
Lord,
how much
we know
we need your help.
Jesus,
you promised
you would send
another helper,
the Holy Spirit,
who would allow us
to live these things
out in community.
Oh,
help us
to keep in step
with Him.
Would His love
be shed abroad
in our hearts?
Would His power
be at work
in our lives
and in our relationships
so that what John
writes about here
might be true
of us today
and that we might
live in the light?
We pray this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.