Practicing What We Preach

1 John 2:29–3:10 NASB95

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

INTRO: Are you a Christian? Do you profess that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe that this bible is His revealed word to us?

We begin today somewhat in the middle of the book of 1 John. Over the past several weeks, we have seen the Apostle John point us to tests of our authenticity as a follower of Christ. We have seen that a true believer understands the true Gospel, embraces the real Jesus, lives in humble surrender to Christ, and loves God’s law and obeys it.

There is an urgency in John’s message as he addresses the church in Ephesus… an urgency that I pray you and I will adopt. You see, there were false teachers in John’s day who undermined the Gospel. Specifically, they taught that you could be a Christian, but since God is spirit, you need not subject your body to any spiritual laws.

They taught that holiness was unnecessary and that whatever we did in the body was natural and therefore not sin. But John says, “Wait- the sin in our bodies is real and mortifying and thus we do struggle” - “if we say that we have no sin, then we are deceiving ourselves” but instead if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us.

This false teaching is actually common even today.

There are preachers and evangelists who are preaching a false gospel of what I call easy believe-ism or cheap grace. This is the idea that all God desires from His followers is a confession. These false teachers have made the Gospel into something that is easy on the pallet - it’s not offensive or demanding. You don’t have to change your habits or lifestyle because, they claim, that’s legalism. Perhaps that’s why people do not feel the need or desire to engage in a church- because they do not see it as important in their faith.

John makes clear the reality that sin is an ongoing struggle for Christians. But, Jesus didn’t come just to forgive us of our sins, He came to transform us, to take away our sins - to restore us into the image of God intended in Creation. When we become Christians, we begin a journey of sanctification as the Holy Spirit works in accordance with grace and one day, that transformation will be complete.

So, in our time together this morning, we are going to try to answer just one question: Why Should Christians Pursue Holiness? We will see in this passage that what John is arguing for in the Ephesian church is a life that testifies of authentic Christianity.

I have tried to organize John’s argument for us in a way that we can apply this to our lives. I do want to make a disclaimer: This message is intended for those who profess to be Christians. This is not a message of how you become a Christian, but rather a message of Christian pursuit. If you are not a follower of Christ, it is my prayer that your curiosity will be peaked about Jesus and the life He has invited us into. I’ll be glad to speak with you privately concerning any questions you may have.

The sermon is titled, Practicing What We Preach - a case for pursuing holiness. If you picked up a bulletin, please make use of the sermon guide. By the way, that sermon guide is a handy tool being used in our Life Groups to take a closer look at this passage and what it means for us today.

Let us begin: Why Should Christians Pursue Holiness?

Christians Should Pursue Holiness Because of Our Identity (29-2)

Allow me to read again v. 29 (READ)

John is saying that Christ is holy and righteous, therefore anyone who is born of Him will pursue the holiness reflected by Christ. We spoke about this a couple weeks ago: If you really know Jesus, then you know that He is the visible image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15, Col. 2:9). As John said (1 John 1:5 ), He is Light and in Him is no darkness at all. He is perfect- HOLY.

So if we know that He is Holy, and you’ve been born of Him, then Paul says in Romans 6:

Romans 6:4–7 NASB95

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

John builds on this in v. 1 (READ)

What a privilege to be God’s Children! God has adopted us into His family, given us His name, and demonstrated His love by making us co-heirs with Christ! I could linger here for hours…

We often take God’s love for us for granted- Folks, we are by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3), but God has taken us in, cleansed us of our filth and given us a new name, Child of God! He didn’t have to, but He chose to. And because He has changed our identity, we are strangers to the world - they don’t understand our identity. “Why would you pursue holiness when sin is so much fun?”, they say.

Look now at v. 2 (READ)

John is saying that because we are children of God, we will one day be like Him - sinless and perfectly reflecting His glory. Now, we are imperfect, but as we pursue holiness, we reflect His image in little ways to the world around us.

ILL: Do you realize how much like your parents you are? Some of you look just like your dad or mom. But beyond that, you know how your kids will say something that makes you think: “You sound just like your mama”? Or maybe you find yourself doing something and you stop and go, “Whoa- I see my dad coming out in me.”

That’s the idea here- as we pursue holiness, we are reflecting the identity that God has given us in Christ! Don’t you want to look like Jesus? Christians should pursue holiness because of our identity as holy children of God.

Next,

Christians Should Pursue Holiness Because of Our Aspirations (3-6)

When I was a kid, I wanted to be like my dad. My dad was good at fixing things, so I worked hard to be able to help fix things… sometimes that meant that I broke things, but we won’t get into that.

Look at v. 3 (READ)

We know that we will one day be like Him, and so this motivates us to try to be like Him now. IOW, IF we truly desire to be like Him in eternity, then the yearning of our souls manifests in our pursuit.

We want to love the things that He loves,

Want the things that He wants,

Do the things He has done,

Avoid and hate the things He avoided and hates.

Our desire to be like Him is evident through our actions.

In fact, in v. 4, John makes the same argument in the negative - (READ v. 4)

If we do not pursue holiness, but instead live a life of sin, this is evidence that we do not know God nor have we experienced His grace and love. To pursue sin is to reject God’s Word and to do things your own way as opposed to God’s. This is not only a rejection of God’s Law, but it’s a rejection of Christ who Himself is the Word of God.

As we walk through v. 5-6, we can see this clearly. (READ v. 5-6)

It was John the Baptist who proclaimed to his followers, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” What a life changing revelation! Jesus modeled holiness perfectly and called believers to “follow Him”. If we are going to be followers of Jesus, we actually have to follow Him! This should be our ambition.

If you live a life that is bent towards sin- the thing that Christ came to take away, then you do not desire to be like Him, and in fact, that you do not know Him. But, if you are His, you are abiding in Him- that is, you are in fellowship with Him, learning from Him, surrendering to Him, and thus have died to your desires and have taken up your cross to follow Him (Luke 9:23)

Jesus taught that His kingdom was not like the world- it’s upside-down! Christians should pursue holiness because our identity and our aspiration is to be like Him.

Finally,

Christians Should Pursue Holiness Because of Our Testimony (7-10)

Let me read these verses again (READ)

The word ‘practice’ is key in this passage. This can be understood as ‘make a habit of’.

ILL: When we are trying to make ourselves better - a better athlete, a better musician, a better parent, etc., it requires that we practice, or make a habit of new skills, new lessons, boundaries, etc.

In this passage, we see that what is a habit in your life is a reflection of your testimony.

There is a simple principle here: You are what you do. Your actions reveal your heart and character.

Jesus taught the Pharisees that what came out of their mouths was a reflection of their heart- food is not what makes you unclean, its a sinful, rebellious heart. That’s what John is saying- the one who is righteous does righteous; the one who does righteous does so out of a righteous heart.

The opposite is also true (8) - the one who lives a life bent towards sin, is a life characterized by a rejection of God’s Word, a life which bears the mark of the devil.

Let me step back and clarify something here: John is not saying that you do righteous things in order to become a child of God or that you must or can live a sinless as a Christian. Nor is he saying that if a Christian sins, he is no longer a Christian. John has already dealt with that in Chapter 1.

What John is dealing with here is the issue of one who claims to be a Christian, but the characteristics or bent of his/ her life is not in accordance with God’s Word. This person is not following God’s Word nor reflecting Christ, but rather is reflecting the deceiver, Satan who has knowledge of God, but rejects His authority.

Do Christians sin? Yes- many times. But, the life of a Christian is one in pursuit of holiness because we are testifying that Christ is LORD and KING. We are saved by grace through faith alone, which is our being. Our doing is borne out of that being, revealing our true identity.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil in the lives of those who would follow Him. Our lives are the testimonies that reveal who we really are.

In fact, in v. 10, John says that because of this, it is obvious who belongs to God and who belongs to Satan. If we are called to be a light in this dark and sinful world, Church it is our testimony that shines, but only if it reflects Christ, the true Light.

We should pursue holiness so that when others see our lives, they are enticed by the glorious picture of Christ’s Kingdom. Oh that unbelievers would look at you and me and say, “I want what they have. I want to be a child of God.”

May we be inclined by God’ grace to pursue holiness as we gather, grow, and go because of our identity, our aspirations, and our testimony.

[PRAY]

Discuss: What does it mean to pursue holiness?

Discuss: How do we describe a pursuit of holiness without losing our understanding of grace?

Discuss: What steps will you take to pursue holiness and practice righteousness this week?