Prove It-Week 6

Introduction

It’s crazy that we are on WEEK 6 of our Prove It Series. So far John has encouraged us to find full joy in fellowship with the Father and the Son, he calls us to walk in the light of God and stay close to Christ, obey the Lord’s commands by loving others, know our spiritual status and not be seduced by the world, and beware of the enemies of the faith who deny Jesus is the Messiah. Now tonight we are going to be diving into God’s Word in 1 John 2:28-3:3. John encourages us to pursue a righteous life as we live in the hope of the coming of Christ.

Let me put today’s sermon in summary. What we are going to be at Christ’s coming will transform the way we live today! Because I am going to be like Him in the FUTURE and for all eternity, this promise has transforming power for the PRESENT. My FUTURE impacts TODAY. Let’s dive into these four spiritual blessings that are promised to everyone who keeps on abiding in Christ.

Confidence in Christ’s Coming

John continues the theme of remaining in Christ. Remember that the word “remain” calls for consistent action. Remain in union and communion with Christ. SOAK IN THE SAVIOR and the gospel message that you heard at the beginning of your Christian experience.

I believe both salvation and sanctification are on John’s radar screen as he encourages us to stay with Jesus. Abiding brings with it a wonderful companion: Assurance, which is confidence in the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Here’s the point: Christ is coming again. He will appear on this earth again officially and in full public display as the King of Kings and Lord of lords.

So when He appears, will you have boldness or will you be ashamed of Him? Reflect on your reaction to seeing Jesus at His second coming. It can be very revealing in terms of your spiritual status and health. This much I do know: He wants you to have the confidence of a child jumping into the arms of your dad. Not running to hide in shame.

Certainty of Adoption

In Revelation 19:11-21 there is a full and majestic description of Christ’s second coming. In verse 11 it says “He judges and makes war in righteousness.” The coming King is also a righteous King, and because He is righteous, one thing is certain: “Everyone who does what is right has been born of Him”. Here John uses the root/fruit argument. He tells us that the fruit of doing what is right reveals that in our roots (our hearts) we have been born again.

The new birth precedes new behavior. Being born of God has definite and abiding results. So, children of God will grow to look like God their Father. Our practice is proof of our parent. The righteous Savior produces righteous saints.

John takes it another step in verse 1. He explains how the love of God the Father is the source of our privilege to be His children. Calling attention to the fact that God has given us the love that we give and we are called His children! The love of the Father is a forever love.

The fact that we are His children means that we bear His name. (Ex.Playing for a school team. You represent that team. The way that you act reflects good or bad on the coach.) Once I was a slave to sin but now I am a child of God. What an amazing truth to grasp. What a beautiful balance this bring to my self-awareness. There is no place for either inferiority or superiority. Humble balance. I am a child of God because of gracious adoption and new life. Another example of this is through dating and marriage. When I was dating Aubree I was dating God’s daughter. Whatever her earthly father thought of my treatment of her pales in comparison to what her heavenly Father thought! Today, I am MARRIED to God’s daughter. Although the status of our relationship changed at marriage, He remains vitally interested in how I take care of His little girl! This should affect the way I love and serve her as my wife!

John continues to say this: The world doesn’t understand this remarkable relationship. This truth shouldn’t surprise us though because “It didn’t know Him.” Therefore, it will not know, understand, or appreciate those who know Him and are increasingly becoming like Him. Jesus told us to expect all of this in John 15:18-19.

Conformed to Christ

Our salvation through the gospel of Jesus is more than a rescue. It is a complete and total renovation-or better, transformation-that transcends what any human words can describe. This becomes evident in what we can know and what we cannot know in verse 2. First, we can know we are loved and that we are God’s sons and daughters right now. I am in the fullest sense the one God created me to be and the one He redeemed me to be through the new birth. Second, what we will ultimately be is not completely known to us at this time.

There is a tension in the Christian experience called the “already/not yet.” We are already children of God. However, we do not yet realize or experience all the benefits that salvation promises for God’s children. We are still in process, a work under construction, a divine work of art that isn’t complete. We cannot even imagine the glory in store for us. 1 Cor. 2:9 puts it like this: “What eye did not see and ear did not hear, and what never entered the human mind-God prepared this for those who love Him.” 1 Cor. 13:12 says “For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.”

One of the most amazing truths in the whole Bible is this: “We know that when He appears, we will be like him because we will see Him as He is.” PRAISE GOD!! Jonathan Edwards said this “Grace is glory begun, and glory is grace completed.” The perfection of God’s grace will be realized in our full, complete, total, and permanent glorification. We will see Him face to face, and we will be conformed to His image. We don’t know all that being made like Jesus means. What we do know is it will be better than we could ever hope or imagine, and it will be the occasion for an eternal lifetime of praise, worship, and adoration.

Consistent in Consecration

1 John 3:2 is the definition of the Christian hope, and 1 John 3:3 is the natural response to that hope. Every one of us who has this hope in us, the hope of someday being like Jesus, cannot help but respond in a very specific manner. In fact we are delighted to do so. This hope is the confident certainty that God is going to conform me to the exact image of His Son, and consequently it motivates me to continually pursue a life of purity and holiness, just as Jesus is pure and holy.

The word PURE means “free from contamination” and is used of ceremonial cleansings, cleansing of the heart, and even cleansing of the soul. Here it’s used in reference to one’s total life. My hope for the future enables me to pursue holiness in the present. (Say that twice) Being heavenly minded actually makes me fit for earthly good. Paul said the same thing in Colossians 3:1-4 “SIf then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Just as the vision of Christ in the future will sanctify us wholly, the vision of Christ in the present, in Scripture, sanctifies us progressively. It is our experience of Christ that sanctifies. Isn’t it great to know, as Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6 “He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Application

I want to close out tonight with reading a song to you. But first I want to tell you a little bit about the writer. Her name is Frances Jane “Fanny” Crosby. She was an American rescue mission worker and songwriter who penned more than 8,000 hymns. AND SHE WAS BLIND. That is why one of her most popular songs is all the more amazing. It is called “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine.” In the context of our passage today, stanza 1 and 3 really stand out:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,

I in my Savior am happy and blessed:

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

So, how do you think you will react when you first see Jesus revealed in all His glory? Will you be excited to see your Savior or will you be ashamed of how you’ve lived your life?

The truth is this: If you know Christ you will be excited. If you don’t you will be ashamed.

Salvation is always on the table for you if you don’t know Christ. The reality is that God wants to have a relationship with you. God wants you to experience life to the fullest and what that REALLY means, not what the world is telling you it means. You can be forgiven of your sin tonight and changed for the rest of your life if you surrender your life to Jesus.

If you’re a believer in the room and you feel like you would be scared if Christ came back right now…it’s because you’ve got something you’re ashamed of. The good news is you can get right with God right now. You can repent right now. I want to challenge you to do so. God has you here for a reason and He is calling you to step out in faith in some way tonight. When we encounter God’s Word we will always be challenged.