The Proof of Fellowship
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
We are making our way through the wonderful book of 1 John. This book is all about fellowship and as we have looked at in the past couple weeks, we have seen the Foundation of Fellowship, and the Hindrance of Fellowship…Tonight, as we make our way into chapter 2, we are going to look at the Proof of Fellowship.
When we are saved, we are born again. There is such a radical transformation that takes place in our lives and when we are born again, there are some BIRTHMARKS, just like there are with our physical birth. In other words, there are some TRAITS of the twice-born. There is PROOF that we have been born again.
What this portion of Scripture teaches us is that not everybody that is talking about Heaven is going there.
Not everyone who says they are saved, is saved.
Pay attention to three statements we have in this text:
Vs. 4, “He that saith I know him...”
Vs. 6, “He that saith he abideth in him...”
Vs. 9, “He that saith he is in the light...”
So, what we are finding here, is some people are saying one thing and living another. They are not what they claim to be. Their walk doesn’t match their talk. They don’t have the proof of fellowship.
People have all sorts of ideas about Christianity...Some believe that Christianity is a matter of behavior modification…trying to BE better; trying to DO better. Others believe Christianity is all negative… don’t do this and don’t do that. So they have a negative religion. Some think that all we are interested in is going to Heaven when we die. That we have a little fire insurance and that’s it.
John takes what people say and shows us what God’s Word says about what a real Christian is. What proof there is of fellowship.
1-Submission to Jesus
1-Submission to Jesus
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
The evidence of someone knowing God, and fellowship with Him is that he does keep His commandments. A simple, loving obedience is a natural result of fellowship with God.
People love having a Saviour, but they have a problem having a Sovereign…What do I mean by that? People don’t like to be told what to do.
Now, Jesus is LORD and He has a right to command us! We have been purchased,
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
We don’t belong to ourselves, we are called the servants of Christ!
This has been a problem since Jesus walked the earth…He said,
46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Not only does Jesus say that, but He says here in verse 4 that if you say you know Him and you don’t keep His commandments, you’re a liar and the truth is not in you!
Now, it’s important for me to be clear about this…we aren’t saved by keeping the commandments. We keep the commandments because we are saved. Faith always comes before works!
Let me be clear about something else here…does keep mean that if I’ve ever broken one of His commandments that I’m not saved?
The answer is no. None of us are perfect, we all struggle between the flesh and the spirit every single day. That’s why 1 John 1:9 is there, which we looked at last week.
The word “keep” in verse 4 means, “to guard, watch, protect.” It has the idea of valuing something as you would value a treasure.
47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments,
Which I have loved.
127 Therefore I love thy commandments
Above gold; yea, above fine gold.
That’s the idea here…Do you value, do you love? If you truly love Jesus, you’ll value and love His commandments.
In verse 5, John makes this connection…There is a link between our obedience and our love for God.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
A perfected love for God will show itself in obedience, and the presence of this obedience and love gives us assurance that we are in Jesus.
Submission to Jesus is one of the proofs of fellowship, another one we find in this text is:
2-Seeking the Walk of Jesus
2-Seeking the Walk of Jesus
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
When a person becomes a Christian, there is a change in his relationship with sin. Sin is not eliminated in the believer until he comes to glory, but his relationship to sin is changed when he truly become a Christian.
· A Christian no longer loves sin as he once did.
· A Christian no longer brags about his sin as he once did.
· A Christian no longer plans to sin as he once did.
· A Christian no longer fondly remembers his sin as he once did.
· A Christian never fully enjoys his sin as he once did.
· A Christian no longer is comfortable in habitual sin as he once was.
No, the Christian has a new walk!
The word “walk” here is referring to lifestyle!
Do you know what my life is to be like? I am to walk as Jesus walked.
Again, just to be clear; I don’t walk as Jesus walked to be saved. I walk as Jesus walked because I abide in Him. His life is in me. His life is reproduced in me.
The thought is brought around to a full circle. When we are abiding in Jesus, we will walk, even as He walked – that is - live lives of obedience and love.
By the way; this doesn’t mean you can walk on water because Jesus did…It’s, again, having that life of obedience and love…That life of fellowship with the Father.
Boice wrote, “The point here is that the one who knows God will increasingly lead a righteous life, for God is righteous. It does not mean that he will be sinless; John has already shown that anyone who claims this is lying. It simply means that he will be moving in a direction marked out by the righteousness of God. If he does not do this, if he is not increasingly dissatisfied with and distressed by sin, he is not God’s child.”
So, we find that submission to Jesus, and seeking the walk of Jesus are proofs of fellowship, let’s look on and find a third proof of fellowship:
3-Showing the Love of Jesus
3-Showing the Love of Jesus
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
The old commandment, which they had received, was to love the Lord and love one another.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
In verse 8, John reminds the people of God that the new commandment is the old commandment with a new dynamic.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Lehman Strauss said, “Here is a paradox, but a truth nevertheless. But how can this precept be both old and new? It is old in fact, but new in freshness; old in principle, but new in practice.”
Now, you think about this…This is a trait only someone with the Holy Spirit living within them can show...where previously they had the principle void of power to perform it, now they have the principle filled with the power to perform it.
One of the most important reasons was that Jesus displayed a kind of love never seen before, a love we were to imitate.
The cross points in four directions to show that the love of Jesus is:
· Wide enough to include every human being.
· Long enough to last through all eternity.
· Deep enough to reach the most guilty sinner.
· High enough to take us to heaven.
This is a new love, a love the world had never really seen before the work of Jesus on the cross.
What does all this mean?
It means God is love and when I am born again His nature is in me.
If His love is in me I am going to love others. If my heart is headquarters for hate, I am not saved.
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
John is saying that if we say that we are in the light, then we need to show that we are in the light. Those who hate their brother are not in the light. They are in darkness and walk in darkness.
Question: Do we say one thing with our lips and show another thing with our lives? Jerry Vines wrote, “If you claim you are in the light, if you claim you are a child of God, and if you hate anyone because of face, place, or race, the Bible says you are walking in darkness. You cannot have hate and love in your heart at the same time.”
We can be sure that John himself lived this life of love, but he wasn’t always this way. John himself learned love at this point, for early in his life he was known as one of the “sons of thunder.”
At one time, he wanted to call down fire from heaven upon those who rejected Jesus (Luke 9:54).
Conclusion
Conclusion
Are you in the fellowship tonight?
Look at your lives, do you see the proof of fellowship in them?
Do you submit to Jesus, Do you seek the walk of Jesus, Do you show the love of Jesus?