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The Promise Is Eternal Life
The Promise Is Eternal Life
Illustration A. Benny’s math problem
Illustration B. My problem building gables.
Big Idea: As God’s anointed ambassadors, we know the truth and bear witness to it. We can stand with confidence at Christ’s coming because we have been cleansed from our sin and united to Christ by Spirit wrought faith.
I. The promise of Eternal Life is given and guaranteed by the Lord Jesus Christ.
i. John again reminds us of his purpose for writing this letter; to combat false teaching! He writes to the church because of these Docetists who are trying to pull the wool over their eyes. But John is quick to remind his hearers that they cannot be so easily led astray. We are sheep and we know our shepherds voice.
We have been anointed by God and that anointing remains on us. But what exactly is an anointing?
In a word: to consecrate or set a person or thing apart for an intended purpose.
examples:
Moses, Joshua, Aaron, Saul, David, Cyrus of Persia, Zerubbabel
Under the Old Covenant only particular people had the anointing of the Holy Spirit, but under the New, all of the saints have been given an anointing and a commission;
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
II. The anointing of the saints
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
i. what is an anointing?
ii. with what are we anointed?
iii. How is it that our anointing teaches us everything we need to know?
iv. our anointing by the Holy Spirit encourages us and instructs us to remain faithful to Christ and to place our hope in Him.
Through the help and encouragement of the Spirit we know the truth. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of the truth. We have been anointed as witnesses to the Good News of King Jesus; The forgiveness of sins and everlasting life.
III. How do I “abide” in Christ?
i. why would I shrink from the Lord at His coming? For the same reason that Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden. they knew their guilt and expected judgment and punishment. They were afraid of God and could not confidently stand in His presence.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
ii. Our union with Christ should be a comfort and assurance for us that we are His and that our sins are forgiven and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. It is a reminder that we are children of God and as God’s children we do what our Father does; that is, we do what is right.
iii. We ought not assume that John is warning of judgment for those Christians who have slacked off or have not done enough. None of us has done enough good or right things to be able to stand in confidence before God and be judged righteous. Our confidence comes from our identity as Christ’s people and children of God. my only hope in life and in death is that I belong, body and soul, in life and in death to God the Father and to the Lord Jesus Christ. I can stand in the judgment because the Lord has clothed me with his righteousness. He has blotted out the record of my transgressions and made me holy and blameless in the sight of God.
IV. How do I practice righteousness? What is righteousness? Micah 6.8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” “But”, you will say, “I am not just! I have dealt unfairly or falsely with others! I do not love steadfast lovingkindness. In fact, I have hated my brother or sister in my soul. I have not walked humbly before the Lord, but have lived presumptuously and with pride and self-righteousness. What hope then do I have?” Perhaps, however, you would say the opposite; “I am just” you say, “I have never dealt falsely or withheld from anyone what is due to them, nor have I treated anyone unfairly!” “what’s more, I am known by all for my kindness and generosity. I speak ill of no-one and treat all men with honor and dignity. Moreover, I am a humble person. I do not think more highly of myself than I ought to. I know that I am not perfect, but my measure of myself is realistic.” To which I reply to you, You are a liar. If you have broken even one commandment of God then you have broken them all! Scripture tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, therefore your own claim of righteousness, justice, and humility condemns you in light of the testimony of God’s perfect Word. You know what is good, but you do not carry it out as you should. Nor do I for that matter! We are all of us in a most miserable and pitiable state! How hopeless our situation would be were we left to defend ourselves at the final judgment! But God has had pity on us and shown us mercy. moreover, he has lavished upon us, grace upon grace. The sin which clings so tightly to your soul and weighs down your conscience has been atoned for. The Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified, suffered and died for you has made satisfaction for the sins of all people. But how can I know this to be true? I ask you only one question: Do you believe it? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
But, you say, “I cannot believe! I want to believe, but my heart is hard!” I tell you, that you are closer to the Kingdom of God than the man who believes himself righteous because of his own decency and morality! You desire to believe, so pray to God that He might give you the strength of faith to trust Him. He will not fail to do all that you ask and more! He will produce the faith in you which you desire. You do not need great faith, but faith the size of a mustard seed will do as a start. Because it will grow, just as the mustard seed grows into a plant that far exceeds its initial size, so to your faith in the Son of God will grow as He shows himself faithful. What seems impossible to you can be accomplished with the little faith that you possess. God can and will save you by such faith. But He will not leave your faith so small. He will cause it to grow and blossom and bear good fruit that will last.
