Born of God

Introduction

1 John 3:9–10 ESV

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Psalm 19:14 (BCP2019)

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be always acceptable in your sight, * O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Today is the third Sunday in Eastertide. Importantly for this parish, it is Good Shepherd Sunday, what we would consider our patronal feast day. This is the Sunday once a year we remember Jesus’s I AM statement from which our parish receives her name.

We hear about God’s judgment on the false shepherds of the Kingdom of Judah from Ezekiel. We meditate on a picture of what David means by calling God his shepherd in the psalm. We enjoy the revelation of the Good and True Shepherd, Jesus Christ, in John’s account of the Gospel story.

The epistle reading for this morning might seem a little off in tone for Easter, with its emphasis on the stark black and white contrast between sinners and Christians. It seems almost like it might be better placed in Lent. Also, how does it connect to the rest of the readings for Good Shepherd Sunday?

It is not always true that the readings have direct connections to each other. When there is a reading that is most disconnected from the rest of the lessons, it is usually the epistle. We could be forgiven a minor offense if we did assume that the epistle reading stood on its own today. Making that assumption, however, robs us of valuable insight connected to Jesus’s statements about what it means to be the Good Shepherd.

Good Shepherdly Leaders

Specifically, I’m thinking of Jesus’s statement that “I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father...” (John 10:14-15). In his first epistle, John is deliberate in his work of exposing false teaching. He is writing to Christians who have been left questioning and uncertain because of the work of false teachers, whom John directly calls antichrists (1 John 2:18-19).

Not only that, but the evidence throughout the letter shows the tender heart of the Apostle to his charges - he is not primarily writing to some generic idea of Christians that he has, either in that time or disconnected by time as we are from his day. Instead, he is writing to a community of believers that he most likely knows well. John’s letter is the epitome of pastoral, and so he has deep care for making sure these disciples do not get carried away by false teachings.

In short, John is providing a picture of what it is for the Apostles, and later bishops, priests, and other leaders in the church to continue acting in a Good Shepherdly way. As Jesus is shown to have compassion on the crowds throughout the Gospels, whom the evangelists often compare to sheep without a shepherd, John depicts a care and compassion for the flock put in his charge. Just as the Good Shepherd does not flee from the wolf coming to kill and destroy, neither does John shrink from the challenge of facing the false teachers and antichrists.

He is able to reassure these people because he knows them, and is in turn known by them. The ink spilled in this modestly sized letter may have been an utter waste if the churches he sent it to didn’t know him from Adam. Because these churches do know him, and know that he knows them, he is able to reassure, repair, and rebuke against the damage done by the false teachers.

As we dive into verses 9 and 10 of the third chapter, keep this connection to the Good Shepherd in view.

Those Born of God

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning...” This is a summation of the earlier statements in chapter 3 along the same line. Where some have twisted the earlier verses to try to say that the true Christian is morally perfect and incapable of sin, this verse makes plain that what John has in view is the ongoing or enduring choice to run after sin. If another interpretation were meant, these statements would be at odds with his words in the first chapter at the eighth verse: “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Why is it that John says those born of God don’t make a practice of sinning? He says “…for God’s seed abides in [the one born of God]...” This seed is the seed of New Life from God given at our baptism. As I preached at the Easter Vigil, baptism is the Christ-ordained means by which the old, sinful man is put to death with Our Lord Jesus and raised into New Life with Christ in his resurrection. Because this seed abides, lives, dwells within us, the false life of sin finds no place to root.

It is like an inversion of the picture of the seed sown among the thorns - in that parable, the new growth from the word is choked out because of the over abundance of the thorns and briars rooted in the cares of the world. But for the new creation in Christ, it is sin that finds the soil incompatible. The seed of sin may pop out quick shoots, but the roots don’t go anywhere, and its growth is stunted.

Therefore, John says that “[the child of God] cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.” Again, this is a summation of the earlier verses. John is teaching us that living a life bent towards sin is incompatible with the Christian life. If we say we are Christians, the truth of that claim is seen in the ongoing movement toward the moral perfection we see in Christ. Like a tree growing toward the sun of righteousness, the Christian follows after the holy and divine example of Jesus, as well as the good and godly examples of the Apostles, and all of the saints of God.

It is this way because of the inner nature of Christians, a consequence of conversion. Trees and other plant life grow towards the sun. Things that thrive in the dark or die in the sun are not plants or trees. Often they feed on death and decay, and the sun kills them because they cannot withstand the energy the light brings on them. The person who has the New Life thrives in the light and reaches towards the sun, even if, before they received the seed of God in baptism, they previously shunned the light and craved darkness.

Knowing the Children of God

Continuing on, John makes the connection that we can see ties back to Jesus’s teaching about the Good Shepherd. “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

The Good Shepherd knows his sheep, and his sheep know him. The Good Shepherd has also given us means to know those shepherds sent in his Name, whom he has truly given authority, and who receive his favor. These shepherds in turn are given discernment, by the same teaching, to see which of the sheep need correction, which need encouragement, and which are wolves that have slunk in under the corpses of the sheep they’ve killed.

Just as a healthy tree grows towards the sun, a child of God thrives under the care of godly pastors and leaders - the light of God is reflected from them onto the one under their care and teaching. But if the leaders do not reflect the light, if they are themselves not godly, the children of God do well to leave and find those who do reflect the true light. Trees will twist themselves to find light if they are in shade and deprived of light, and the faithful will seek out true shepherds if the shepherds they know are false or fall into error.

Those children of God who are themselves given an office of responsibility to care for the people of God as a shepherd under Christ use this same discernment to identify the needs of those they serve. It is evident who is walking faithfully with Christ, who is wounded in spirit and needs attention, who is moving forward with great difficulty, and who is wearing the Name of Christ as a mask.

The hope is that through the grace and mercy of God all of these would be healed in their spirit and be made whole in Christ. Therefore, the shepherd walks along side everyone who is placed in their care, from the most faithful even to the least. As the Good Shepherd continually calls his sheep to him, the shepherds under him follow his example and give every opportunity for the person struggling with sin and darkness to seek wholeness and light. It is unfortunate that sometimes a person is so dedicated to their own selfishness, has so much care for the concerns of the world, and has imbibed the lies of the devil so deeply to the extent that godly correction is lost on them and they either remove themselves from the flock or must be removed for the sake of protecting the rest of the church.

Application for Today

John’s purpose for writing this first letter to those he calls “beloved children” was so that they would be better able to discern between true teachers and false teachers who came among them. Just as John’s people were exposed to erroneous and harmful doctrines, we see the same playing out today as it has often been in the Church Age.

The Enemy, already defeated by the cross of Christ and his resurrection, seeks to make that defeat as painful and costly for God as he is able. This is a foolish aim, because the infinite goodness of God easily overshadows whatever evil the devil can do - but if the devil were wise he would not have rebelled. And so we see his action to try to deceive even the elect of God throughout the centuries and millennia since Pentecost around A.D. 30.

The Church in America is faced with multiple false doctrines. So-called “radical inclusivism” seeks to invalidate the teachings against sin and towards a holy life lived to God. Progressivism seeks to remake the Church into merely a vehicle for earthly peace and utopia borne out through human advancement in technology and learning. Nationalism prioritizes political power and a particular view of traditional morality to bring about a different view of perfection, without seeking the heart change promised and required in the Gospel.

Perhaps the most insidious of the false doctrines we are faced with today is the doctrine of materialism. This prioritizes the world we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Materialism, in my opinion, undergirds the false doctrines most prevalent in our day. Materialism convinces us to live for the moment, for our comfort, for our security. Materialism convinces us that only the here and now matter, and causes us to discount eternity. Materialism causes us to scorn the notion of miracles and wondrous works for the sake of Christ and his Church, and lulls us into ignorance of the very real enemies seeking to devour us. In its purest state, it is obviously and naturally opposed to the Christian faith.

Each of these false teachings in some way leads the adherent away from righteousness. In some way they cause a failure to love brothers and sisters in Christ. The “radical inclusivist” necessarily shuns the person who puts up guards against wickedness and chides them for not being inclusive enough. The Progressive scorns the Gospel-centered Christian for adhering to the truth as revealed in Scripture, the Creeds, and the teachings of the Spirit through the lives of the saints. The Nationalist rebuilds the wall of hostility between himself and everyone in any way different from him or outside his comfort zone. The Christian under the sway of materialism questions in his heart whether there really is a God, whether true faith is necessary, and believes that the only real devil is the darkest part of his fellow humans.

If any of these describe a belief you are troubled by or have been tempted toward, I ask you now to pray for the Lord to show you his face, that you can discern where he is and see that he is not in these false teachings. Doing so can heal a spiritual hurt dealt you by someone claiming the Name of Christ while walking in profound error. It can protect you from sins of heart and mind while wrestling needlessly with these empty and worthless ideas.

For years, I fell under the sway of materialism with Progressive leanings. I know the difficulty in realizing and admitting that humans cannot achieve perfection on our own when you have been steeped in that view for years and years. I know how hard it is to turn away from trust in the tangible reality around us and see past the physical into the spiritual. I know that it is only by the grace of God that I was repeatedly warned and steered towards a full knowledge of the Gospel. When I saw my Shepherd as he truly is, I left behind those lies and clung to the truth.

Our Gospel hope is that no matter where we have come from, no matter the lies we have bought into, believed, and even taught, Our Good Shepherd is powerful to cleanse our hearts and minds. He gathers rebellious sheep back to him. He heals the lambs who are hurt by their walk in the world. He comforts and leads the faithful through trials and difficult paths. He placed himself in the way of death so that we could be given New Life in him and would not die as prey for the wolves surrounding us.

May we always follow our Good Shepherd, trusting in his goodness wherever he leads. Amen.