Confidence in The Fellowship

1 John 3:4 CSB

Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

INTRO—

[[WUV: “A Mighty Fortress” - Tommy Bailey & Gettys]]

This is an important truth! God is our fortress, our shelter, our foundation, our security, our stability…our all-in-all. [CONFIDENCE!]

[“Have you read this part of John’s letter?”] At this point in John’s letter, we also find some difficulty in understanding what John is saying…but challenging words are not an excuse to dismiss, ignore, or reject. We must dig!

I am convinced that all of us seek to be confident in our beliefs…to be strong in knowing and living the truth. BUT—we can be shaken (why else would God inspire this part of Scripture?)…shaken by our own, self-stirred doubts; AND shaken by others who make claims to call what we’ve been taught into question (remember, this is a significant reason for John writing this letter).

WHAT DO WE NEED? WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US WHEN OUR CONFIDENCE IS SHAKEN?

The Fellowship—**TOGETHER…We gain and grow in confidence to…

BEAT SIN (1 John 3.4-10)

Parallel between vv. 3-6 & vv. 7-10—

The Culprit

4- Everyone who commits sin; 8- The one who commits sin

The Condition

4- Sin is lawlessness; 8- Devil has sinned from the beginning

Christ’s Purpose

5- He was revealed so that he might take away sins; 8- The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works.

The Conclusion (Contrast)

6- Everyone who remains in him does not sin; 9- Everyone who has been born of God does not sin

There is no contradiction between 3.6, 9… &…

1 John 1.8 “If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

(In fact, this balance is healthy = neither justification/complacency of sin…nor self-aggrandizing perfectionsim.)

LIVE LOVE (1 John 3.11-18)

Because… “John looks to exemplify his previous point and to encourage an obvious action of biblical righteousness…by appealing to love.” In this case, loving of our brothers and sisters…loving one another.

Because… The world is going to hate us, SOOO we need each other.

Who wants the option of being a murder among those for whom we should be caring, etc.

Because… Jesus has shown us the depth of true love.

More than words… action and truth.

Which looks like…

STRUGGLE SECURELY (1 John 3.19-24)

Seeking to live faithfully as Christ followers…we look for reassurance. How can we know we genuinely belong—are truly a Christian? (The sentence of 3.19-20 looks back to 3.17-18 [at least] before moving forward.)

When we fail or fall short…SIN, we feel the conviction, the guilt. BUUUT—What God says about our salvation is more durable than our sin (1 John 1.9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — It’s not an ‘anything goes,’ ‘God is good with whatever I do because he won’t ever condemn me now.’)

CONFIDENCE (3.21) = our hearts don’t condemn us, becaaauuse: we keep God’s commands, doing what is pleasing in his sight. [[ANNND among others living according to God’s word—builds and strengthens our confidence!]]

A significant focus of living faithfully is to believe in the name of Jesus AND love one another.

Keeps — Remains — (Testimony of) the Spirit (the Spirit’s witness is always consistent with biblical doctrine, love, & obedience…more about which John will share later)

CONCL—

**CONFIDENCE [1 John 3.21 “Dear friends, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have confidence before God”]…Brings boldness, courage, joy,…

being in a consistent relationship with others in the pursuit of faithfulness to Jesus…ENCOURAGES confidence. When we see that others are pursuing, and can live, a faithful life of commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord—we come to understand that we can, too!

1 John 3:24 CSB

The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us.