Life In The Son (2)
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And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 1:12 1 John 5:9–12
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Introduction
Introduction
The words of this song by Bill Gaither confidently express the basis of our Christian hope:
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.
After the spiritual high of Resurrection Sunday, some might ask, “Where do we go from here?” Because Christ lives, we can be sure of several truths that change our lives into a daily experience worth living. The key word in John’s first letter is know—the word is found thirty times in 105 verses. John was certain of the gifts that came with Christ. One of these gifts is life in the Son—
And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
I. God gives life.
I. God gives life.
A. Life in the Son. It is not God’s will for anyone to perish; he wants each person to live. But we can find fulfillment only in Jesus, who said,
John 11:25–26 (NKJV)
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Jesus’ resurrection assures us of life.
No “resurrection spirit” can give us victory over death. Paul asked,
“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lofton Hudson wrote that “death, for many, if not most modern Western men and women, is a four-letter word—obscene, vulgar, nasty, not to be used on stage or in polite society” (R. Lofton Hudson, Persons in Crises [Nashville: Broadman, 1969], 110).
Jesus’ death and resurrection have changed the face of death. Death need not be the grim reaper but the doorway to eternal life—life in the Son.
B. New quality of life. The life God gives in Jesus is more than living forever. He imparts a new quality of life. The words eternal life refer to the very life of God at work within us now. Jesus said,
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
extraordinary quality of life is available in Jesus Christ. But those without Jesus are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) Jesus promised, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
Jesus promised,
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
Life in the Son is more than just living—it is life with quality.
II. Do you have life?
II. Do you have life?
A. Received through faith. The gift of life comes to those who have the Son, and the Son must be received through faith.
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Faith was the essential element to which Jesus responded.
Four men lowered a paralytic through the roof into the house where Jesus was teaching.
When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
Faith is a common ingredient of daily existence, yet many claim they cannot have faith in Christ.
Aldous Huxley once wrote, “Theology claims the just shall live by faith. Science says the just shall live by verification.” Yet the scientist believes in a logical universe. He believes in principles used to verify presumptions. What is a theory?
It is something believed to be true but unproven. We believe in education, democracy, ourselves. Belief is common; why not believe the best and have life in the Son?
B. Lost because of unbelief. If this uncommon life comes to those who believe in Jesus, those who refuse to believe are lost—“whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12 NIV).
Cana good person really be lost? Yes.
Can a churchgoer be lost? Yes.
Can the lovable, generous neighbor who has simply delayed her commitment to Christ be lost? Yes.
Faith in Christ is the crucial test:
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Brethren, see poor sinners round you
Slumbering on the brink of woe,
Death is coming, hell is moving,
Can you bear to let them go? . . .
Tell them all about the Saviour,
Tell them that He will be found.
—George Atkins
Realizing that life is only in the Son should motivate us to “rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave.”
III. Life—for keeps!
III. Life—for keeps!
A. Trust God’s testimony. Maybe as a child you responded to a person’s gift by saying, “Is this mine, for keeps?” Life in the Son is a permanent possession. God is the basis of this security. A personal testimony about new life is great, but “God’s testimony is greater. . . .
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.
B. God keeps us. Paul’s confident word to Timothy included a testimony of God’s keeping power. “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Tim. 1:12 The word keep means “guard”
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
The word keep means “guard” and evokes the image of a garrison of heavenly troops protecting the individual. Christ is able to keep us and present us one day at the throne of glory. Because he was able to defeat death, he is adequate for everything in this life and the next.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I share the sense of mystery about which Daniel Whittle wrote:
I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
I do know I believe Christ. Life in the Son is real. Life is worth the living
because he lives