Thank you.
And then we'll start reading God's word together.
1 John 2, verses 1-6.
1 John 3, verses 1-6.
1 John 3, verses 2-6.
1 John 3, verses 1-6.
1 John 3, verses 2-6.
1 John 3, verses 1-7.
Amen. This week, we kind of had a big week as a family. We welcomed a new baby into our family.
And yeah, yeah. And as we did, yep, not clapping for me. I did nothing.
I did drive to the hospital. So that was a big achievement, driving to the hospital.
But as I was welcoming this new baby into our family, I was reflecting on what I've done well
as a parent and what I've done poorly as a parent. And I'll let you choose which column this falls in.
I was reflecting on the fact that I taught my youngest or my oldest to drive before he was three.
Now, before anyone gets really nervous, I taught him to drive in Alabama, where the road in front
of our house wasn't paved, had very little traffic. And as I was teaching him to drive, sitting on my
lap, I told him two things. Just keep it out of the ditches. Don't fall into the ditch on the right.
Don't fall into the ditch on the left. You might have heard something very similar when you learned
how to drive, whether that was at two or 12 or 16. Keep it in between the lines is another famous phrase.
But as I was teaching him how to drive, I wanted him to focus on what was ahead
and not worry about what was on the left and what was on the right.
First John has that same singular focus.
But when you enter into the conversation, what do you do with this thing that is sin?
Oftentimes, Christians can deviate and fall and slide into the ditch on the right
or slide in the ditch on the left.
And John knows this. And he's saying to these Christians, hey, sin is a big deal.
But don't think that you have no sin. He talked about that in 1 John.
And don't think that as you slide into the ditch on the right, that sin doesn't matter at all.
So as a Christian, that message is still pertinent to us today.
We need to be concerned about sin.
But we can't slide into either of those ditches.
And as we look at the Christian life this morning, let's be mindful of those two ditches.
And as we do, John's going to tell us a couple things.
The first one is what Jesus does.
And the other is what we do.
That's not to make them equitable or even.
But we do something.
But Jesus does something.
So first, we're going to look at what Jesus does in this passage.
Let's look back at verse 1.
He starts out with this phrase, my little children.
Now, I'm sure nobody remembers this past summer, the last time you looked at 1 John.
But John has a very different tone to start out for the first chapter of 1 John.
He's kind of railing against them.
He's giving them the business.
And then he comes back and he says, my little children.
Imagine going from yelling to speaking tenderly.
Or whisper yelling is probably more accurate.
To speaking very tenderly and calling them my little children.
It represents a shift in his tone.
Because he's addressing, if you remember, all these bad ideas that are in the church,
are floating around in the day,
or even had invaded some of the hearts of some of the people he's writing to.
And it was this idea that sin doesn't matter.
If you're a Christian, you don't have any sin at all.
Now, let that sink in.
If you're a Christian, you don't have any sin at all.
And John says, no.
That's not the case at all.
I mean, can you imagine if we said that if you're a Christian,
you don't have sin anymore at all?
The wheels in your mind might start turning and saying,
uh-oh, I'm in trouble.
Because I realize, even though if I put my faith in Jesus,
I'm still struggling with sin myself.
So what do I do?
If they're saying I shouldn't have sin anymore at all,
what do I do?
And then the next step is, oh yeah, man.
If that's the case, I'm just so discouraged I'm going to give up.
John's saying something different.
He's saying this, that Jesus is not only an advocate before the Father because you do sin,
but Jesus has paid the penalty for your sin,
for the sin of anybody that's going to believe in him.
So we're going to look at that in kind of two headings.
Jesus as an advocate and Jesus as the atonement.
That second part of verse one, right after my little children,
he says, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin.
Now that's even more confusing if we're saying,
hey, if you're a Christian, you should flee from sin,
but you're still going to have it.
John's saying very clearly that Jesus is this advocate before the Father.
He says that, but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father,
Jesus Christ, the righteous.
Jesus Christ, I think we all have a good idea of what an advocate is,
but let's just review that for a second.
It's a little bit more than being really, really interested in something.
I can be really, really interested in astronomy.
If I get out my telescope and look at the night sky,
I can be really, really interested at baseball.
If I follow all the baseball games in the playoffs,
I can be really, really interested in dogs or Legos or Pokemon or whatever.
But an advocate is somebody who has a big interest
and then takes action on behalf of that interest.
So Jesus is not just interested in us as people,
as an academic exercise or even compassion.
He takes steps for our good
because he's not just simply interested in our outcome.
That's why John calls him an advocate.
An advocate, not just generally, but before the Father.
That's not the only picture that we have of Jesus as an advocate before the Father.
Listen to this.
Paul describes Jesus as an advocate interceding for us in Romans 8.
He says this,
Who will bring a charge against God's elect?
God is the one who justifies and asks again,
Who shall condemn the Christian?
It is Christ Jesus.
It is he who died, yes, rather raised,
who is at the right hand of God the Father,
who also intercedes for us.
So here we have this picture of a courtroom,
interceding on behalf of the person that's the defendant.
The charge is coming against that person,
and he's interceding before someone who's an authority.
That's not the only picture we have of Jesus as an advocate.
Think of Hebrews.
It's Jesus who's interceding,
bringing the cares and concerns of his people before the Father.
That's who Jesus is,
and that's what he does on our behalf.
He's an advocate interceding for us.
But why does he do that?
How does he have standing to intercede before the Father for us?
It's because he is the atonement.
He is the one who's doing the atoning work on our behalf.
Now that's just a really fancy word,
and John uses an even fancier word, propitiation,
for canceling the debt of our sin.
Look in verse 2 with me.
He is the propitiation for our sins,
and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the world.
He has canceled the debt for our sin.
He has paid it with his own blood
by giving up his life,
the righteous for us, the unrighteous.
And so that charge stands no more.
That's how Jesus can intercede.
That's how he can advocate before the Father for us.
There's a French theologian who described it this way.
It's kind of wordy, but he says this.
There's great force in this word, propitiation.
For in a manner which cannot be expressed,
God at the very time when he loved us
was hostile to us
until we were reconciled in Christ.
Now that word is so interconnected in all of the Bible,
atonement.
When we hear it,
it might not jog our memories.
It might not cause us to have flashbacks.
But for an audience like this,
for people that heard this,
read this,
it did.
And this is what it looked like.
It's kind of like in those Marvel movies
where you see those flashbacks,
and you see the whole timeline come to fruition.
And that timeline looks like this.
It looks like the temple.
It looks like sacrifices.
All of those things
are jogging the memories of these readers.
It's things that were once dirty,
made clean,
made right before God.
It's pictures of Abraham,
and at the last second,
not his son being sacrificed,
but a lamb.
It's sheep being led to the slaughter.
Not because the sheep are guilty,
but because of another.
All the way to Christ,
the one who is righteous,
dying for the unrighteous.
When we hear that word,
that's what we should think of,
because that's what the readers thought of.
It's a word with baggage.
It's coming in with all these other meanings,
but finding their fulfillment
in what Jesus has done.
That's what atonement means.
That's what the sacrifice,
or John uses the shorthand version,
of the blood,
to mean all of that.
Jesus.
Jesus' blood means all of that.
All right.
There's an interesting phrase in here, though,
that probably a lot of our minds
go straight to in verse two.
But also for the sins of the whole world.
Okay.
Let's buckle up.
Let's put our big boy pants on
as we kind of like try to figure out
what's going on here.
Because some people can come to this text
and say,
surely that means everyone at all time
forever is forgiven.
And it could mean that.
But if you look at the context
most specifically,
and then more broadly what John does,
we're going to try to see if that's right.
Now, some have come to that text
and said,
hey, based on that,
everyone is saved.
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter whether you have faith in Christ.
It doesn't matter whether you believe the gospel.
That Christ has died for that.
And that is applied to you
whether you believe it or not.
Whether you trust in it or not.
If you look at the context of what John is saying,
remember, he's calling them his children.
He's talking to those who have faith in Christ.
He says something a little bit different than that.
He's saying,
even if you think,
you skip down a couple chapters
or even a couple verses,
he's really concerned with what?
Walking in holiness
and believing the gospel.
If he's so concerned with those things,
it surely cannot mean that.
John will even say later
that some will not have eternal life
because they do not have the Father
because they deny the Son.
Think about that immediate context.
That if we keep his word,
we walk in him,
we abide in him,
that wouldn't matter
if we took the former.
So what is John saying?
John is saying this,
that it matters if you have faith in Jesus,
but it doesn't matter what you look like,
where you come from.
It doesn't matter if you're a Jew or Gentile,
male, female, or a child.
All types of people can come to him.
All types of people.
Jew or Greek.
The blood of Christ is for you.
The blood of Christ is for Rahab and Abraham.
It's for the judges,
even the really bad judges.
The blood of Christ is for them.
There's power in the blood
for the mighty kings and peasant girls,
for fishermen,
for those that would walk with Jesus
and those of us that come after him.
The blood is there for all of them.
It means the whole world,
all kinds of people during all times
can come to Christ.
The gospel is not just for them
and it's not just for us.
It's for all kinds of people.
That's what he means.
That's a good reminder for us
that the gospel is not just for us
at Shine Mountain.
It's not for us just in the springs.
It's not just for those of us
that are Americans.
It's not even for those of us
who have good theology
and think all the right things.
The gospel is for all people.
The power is not in our right thinking,
in our right living.
The power is in what Christ has done
and it applies to all of us
at all times.
That's a good reminder to us,
especially as Presbyterians,
because we can sometimes think,
if I think this way,
even if it is biblical,
even if it is right,
that's what saves me.
No.
Christ is what saves you
because you don't bring anything
to the table
except your own sin.
That's what John is talking about.
We are pardoned
by blood that does not discriminate.
We are pardoned
by blood
that is bought.
We are bought
by Christ.
We must be reminded of that.
I've spent a lot of time
over the last couple months
in courtrooms,
which is an interesting comparison
because I'm not a lawyer.
I don't know if you are,
but I've seen
some TV shows about lawyers.
And the thing
that makes lawyers powerful
is not what they look like,
although that can be a factor,
but I've spent a lot of time
with some people
that I work with
in courtrooms.
And as I have,
I've gotten to watch
different lawyers
and their different tactics.
What happens
at different kind of hearing?
I'm not even going to act
like I know everything
that happens,
but it's fascinating nonetheless,
especially when you come
to this idea in Scripture
that Jesus is interceding
before a judge.
on our behalf.
And the most interesting one
was when a man
who was in an orange jumpsuit,
so clearly not a lawyer,
interceded on his own behalf.
And he was powerful,
not because he was wearing
the orange Crocs
and orange jumpsuit,
and not because he was wearing
a fine suit.
He was powerful
because of his argument.
It's the same thing
with Jesus here.
The argument that Jesus makes
is powerful
before the Father
because of what Jesus
has done on our behalf.
And we should rest in that.
Because all of us
face this question
of what to do
with our sin.
If we believe
the ideas
that are swirling around
in John's time
that says,
we don't sin at all,
we err.
If we believe
some of the lies
that we hear
in our modern day
that say,
yeah, it's okay.
It's okay if you sin.
We err in another way.
We all have to deal
with our own sin,
but the gospel
gives us good
and gracious news.
It gives us confidence
because we have
an advocate
before the Father
who pleads
on our behalf
because of what
he has done.
That's what John
is telling us.
So what do we do
in response to that?
One,
we should worship him.
We should be thankful
for what Christ has done.
We should go to him
again and again
with our cares
because our temptation
is to shrink back
and say,
Jesus surely
can't understand
what I'm thinking
or going through.
But the irony in that
is Christ has
and he's come out
the other side perfect,
but he's still
compassionate towards us.
So we must worship him
and go to him
so that he can intercede
and advocate
before the Father
on our behalf.
What else?
We should be prompted
to tell others about this.
If there is truly goodness
in what has happened,
what has been done
on our behalf,
we should be prompted
to tell others,
the people that we work with,
the people in our homes,
even small children,
those awkward
family relationships
where there's a cost
to be lost.
Something that's surely
not going to be gained
by me telling others
about Christ.
I have to use my words.
I have to point to him
and say,
my life is better
because of Christ.
Not simply that,
my life has been changed
that I have confidence
as I walk
because of what Christ has done.
That should be our response
to Jesus
and what he has done
in our lives.
But what do we do?
We talked about
what Jesus does,
but what do we do?
Look with me at the text.
Look at verse 3.
And by this,
we know that we have
come to know him
if we keep his commandments.
Knowing him
is not some secret formula
or secret handshake
or a secret knowledge,
but it's a relationship
with Christ.
A relationship,
and John talked about
this earlier,
that if we have fellowship
with him,
if we have fellowship
with God,
we know that if we have fellowship,
and he kind of circles back
to this idea.
Thankfully,
we've had some time off
from 1 John
because 1 John
has a couple themes,
and all he does
is just repeat them
over and over,
which kind of seems boring
if you think about it.
But then,
if you realize
that as humans,
how many times,
even in the Gospel of Mark,
have we seen the same thing
over and over again,
just packaged in a different way
with different people?
And one of those themes
is having fellowship
with God.
And John returns
to it again.
He says,
if we have fellowship
with God,
we can know that.
How?
If we know
that we keep
his commandments.
It's important
that we remind ourselves
when we talk about this
that it's not prescriptive,
but it's instead descriptive.
I don't know God
because I keep
his commandments.
I know God
and in response,
I keep his commandments.
Those might seem
very similar,
but they're very different.
And as we approach
Reformation Day,
that's something
that Luther reminds us of.
John's not saying
keep the commandments
and you'll have
a relationship with God.
He's saying,
if you have a heart
that's changed
by what God has done,
what Christ has done
on your behalf,
then we will live
out of that.
And joyful obedience
will keep his commandments.
Jesus says this
another way,
that a tree
is known
by its fruit
or even another.
John says that
obedience
or somebody
writing about,
paraphrasing what
John has said,
he said,
obedience contributes
to our assurance
that we know
that we are in Christ
because my heart
is changed
and I want to
follow after him.
I want to do
what he loves
and I want to do
what he's told me
to do.
I don't know
about you
but when I hear that,
when I see this
in this text,
I go,
uh oh.
What about me?
Because I don't
obey perfectly.
What am I to do now
when I see
that I don't
keep his commandments?
Not even
for a nanosecond.
Does that mean
I'm truly a Christian?
Let's revisit
something that
John's told us
in chapter one.
He said,
if you say
that you have no sin,
you deceive yourself.
Okay,
I got that part.
I got sin.
So,
how do I know
that I'm a Christian?
There's evidence
of knowing
and loving God
and desiring
and having
some success
year after year,
week after week,
maybe even
day after day
in growing
of my ability
to keep the commandments,
of my joyful obedience
to his word.
Yes,
there will be mountains
and valleys in that.
Yes,
there will be times
when I fail
and fail big.
But,
year after year,
that's what it looks like.
Remember,
John is writing
to this group
of Christians
that's interacting
with these ideas
that say,
there is no sin
or sin doesn't matter.
And those keep coming up.
They're kind of lies
from the first chapter.
And John
re-kind of packages
one of those lies
here in verse four.
He says,
whoever says,
I know him
but does not
keep his commandments
is a liar
and the truth
is not in him.
He says,
if you have no care
for bringing honor
to Christ,
you need to question
if you actually
have faith in Christ.
He goes
on to correct
this way of thinking
in verse five.
He says,
but whoever keeps
his word
in him,
truly,
the love of God
is perfected.
And by this,
we may know
that we are in him.
He's reframing
what we've already heard
in verse three.
He says,
what does a Christian do?
It looks like this.
He keeps his commandments
and in doing so
demonstrates the love
that we have for Christ.
The love that we have
for the gospel
and that God
is working in our hearts.
That he is at work
in our lives.
Jesus says this
another way.
What does he say
to his disciples?
If you love me,
keep my commandments.
John's re-addressing
some of these challenges
that this church
was facing
in a number of churches.
Instead of knowing God,
they were saying
they abided with him,
that they lived in him,
but they had no concern
for what God
has concern for.
Instead,
one who is a follower
of Christ
has a relationship
with him,
lives with him,
loves what he loves.
Today,
if you love
the good news of Jesus,
our lives
should look
like what God
has called us to.
A concern for his commandments,
a love for his word,
a love for what is holy.
Why?
Because it brings honor
to God
and it shows
that there's a transforming
power at work.
the only reason
that we would love
those things
that are lovely to him
is because we see
with new eyes
because of our faith
in Christ.
That that message
has changed our heart
from the inside out.
It's not a rote obedience,
but instead,
a love for God
that begins internally.
That's really hard
to see the difference
sometimes.
It might look
a little different.
My obedience
to God's word
because of a transformed life
might look the same
as somebody
who just follows
this list of rules.
In Colorado Springs,
every September,
we have this event,
the hot air balloon launch.
It's pretty magical.
I hate to use that word,
but it's really cool.
And when you see
all those balloons lift off,
especially at nighttime,
what makes that hot air balloon
different though
than if I put a turkey fryer
underneath a plastic bag.
It has heat,
has a little bit of fire
sometimes,
and it has something
that can provide
some amount of lift.
Now that seems ridiculous,
right?
When we approach God's word,
when we approach his call
to obey his commandments,
it can seem
like those
are the same thing.
But in fact,
the world's apart.
A transformed heart
that lives in obedience
to the commandments
because of the gospel
looks fundamentally different.
It feels fundamentally different
internally
than one that says,
I'm doing these things
because I'm earning
the Lord's favor.
We have to stay away.
We have to be on guard
against that.
But Christ,
but the Lord,
nonetheless,
has called us
to love him
and obey his commandments.
And that's the challenge
for us as Christians.
So we are called
to examine our own hearts
and to see
if we're following
after Christ
because of a transformed life?
Or do I think
in the deep recesses
of my mind
and heart
that in fact,
I am making myself
more lovely
to Christ
because brothers and sisters,
that can never happen.
You are altogether lovely
because of what Christ has done,
not because
of anything that you do
or fail to do.
We are lovely
because Christ
has seen us as lovely
because Christ
has given
of his own life.
So we are called
to look inwardly,
look in our own hearts
and see
if that has happened.
To see if we live
out of that
or do we live
out of just
a mere obedience
because we view
the Lord
as a taskmaster
instead of
a joyful father
who looks on us
as we are clothed
with Christ.
Look today
at your own heart.
Do I follow
after Christ?
Do I love him?
And do I love him
and do I share
that love with others?
Is my heart
overflowing
because of what
he has done?
Am I seeking
out opportunities
to advance
his kingdom?
Whether that's
in my own home,
my own neighborhood,
or where I work?
Sadly,
too often,
the answer is no.
But today,
look to Christ.
Look
to share
that love
with others
because of what
he has done
for you
and those around you.
No matter
what your life
looks like,
no matter
where you've
come from
or where you're
going,
Christ calls
you to himself
and calls
others to himself.
Let's pray.
Lord,
we're thankful
this day
of the good news
of Christ.
We're thankful
that if we walk
in the way
that you have
called us,
we pray
that you might
fit us
for the task
because without
your spirit,
without your
transforming power,
it's impossible.
We pray
that you would
allow us
to look
in our hearts
and confirm
that it's true.
And Father,
that we would
be assured
of your work
in our lives,
that we'd be
encouraged
by what Christ
has done.
And Father,
that we would
be prompted
to go out
and share that
with others.
Father,
we pray
that as we
follow Christ,
that we would
flee from sin
and that
we would
be reminded
that our sin
is remembered
no more.
We pray
this in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
Let's stand
as we sing
our closing hymn
this morning.