Status and Responsibility

Introduction

We are all born with an innate knowledge of God. It is a general knowledge one that is only there to condemn us. But because God is rich in mercy He saves sinners, and gives them specific knowledge of Himself. This morning we will draw distinct lines between 2 core and foundational doctrines of scripture. Last week Pastor Philip kicked us off into a sermon series in 1 John. In this short letter we are seeing what it means to be a Christian. John helps us to outline and define true faith, and true obedience. There is an apparent tension to what John says in our text today, but I want to assure you that it is only perceived, and as we will see there is some theological content that we are going to be covering because it is in the text and needs to be explained.

At the onset, I want you to know that John loves the Church of Christ. This letter is written with familial warmth and it should be an encouragement to us. I want us to know that the church is a family that has much more in common than we have differences. There are primary things that to be a Christian we have to confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts, and there are certain theological truths that are very helpful for us to understand because they give us a more full orbed understanding of the true thing that has happened to us. That true thing is that the saving grace and mercy of God has changed us in such a way that we are now righteous in His sight, and nothing could ever change that for a true born again Christian.

So, I would ask that you would turn in your Bibles to 1 John 2:1-6

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

Today I have three main takeaways from our text. The first of which I have already somewhat touched on, and that is:

The Church as Family:

John wants to take these believers he is writing to under his wings, he wants them to understand their salvation in wonderful and beautiful ways. He wants them to love God and he wants them to love one another. He speaks to them as their spiritual father. He is gentle, and caring yet he shows his masterful understanding of the gospel, and he is not timid in leading and shepherding his spiritual children. He wants them to be encourage and to fight their sin with obedience to God.

Corinth this is something that I want to see in this church. I know that you dont know me well, and you dont know Pastor Philip that well yet, but I want you to know that we want the best for you. We want to foster a deep love of Christ and for your fellow brothers and sisters in you. We want to see you grow and be sanctified together. I know that is a big theological word and we are going to unpack that term in a few minutes. But the point is that the church is a community. A tight knit community that cares for one another, encourages one another, teaches, and disciples one another, eats with one another, prays with one another, shares the gospel with one another. We are called to be unified as the family of God. We see the utmost, and perfect unity in the Trinity, as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all live in perfect harmony with one another. We are actually grafted in to this perfect harmony and we are welcomed into the mansion fully. There are no asterisks to God’s grace. There is no fine print to our salvation. You and I Christian, will fully enjoy being full members of the family of God.

This is leading me to my second main takeaway, we are grafted in and enjoy the eternal perfect quality of life because of:

Forgiveness:

Look with me at v. 1-2

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

John is writing these things to the church so they may not sin. So, that they may be presented holy and blameless to the Lord. But then he gives a caveat, that if anyone does sin they have an advocate in Jesus Christ the righteous. Then he uses a big theological word propitiation, which means atonement. In other words Jesus Christ the Righteous, our atonement, our sacrifice, or imputed righteousness is our advocate with the Father in Heaven! He is advocating for us even though we may sin! He has already forgiven the sins of His people, and not just His people in this specific context that John is writing about, but the sins of all His people throughout the whole world and throughout time itself.

Now if I may for a moment, before I get into a theological doctrine we need to know, i want to go on a mini rabbit hunt. I need for us to understand that when John says the whole world, he does not mean the whole human race enjoys the salvation of the Lord. He does not mean that every person on earth is going to be saved. We know from other passages of scripture that speak of the judgement of God that this is not the case and we know that this is not the case because of our perception and experience. We know that unfortunately people die without Christ daily. What John is saying is that salvation is now open to the whole world. Jesus is King over the nations. Israel rejected Him, and now He has gone out to the gentile nations. That is a whole other sermon in itself though so I want to keep us where we are.

One of the doctrines that I want us to talk about this morning is “justification”. I am sure that many of you have heard of this word and probably know what it means and I want you to know that it is very important to understanding your status before a Holy and Righteous God that is a consuming fire. This is that propitiation or atonement aspect. Jesus Christ the Righteous paid for your sins on a Roman cross. He took our place and took the full wrath of God for the sins of His people. He was crushed for our iniquities, and by His stripes we are healed.

You see church, justification is a legal term. It is used to declare innocence. This is what Christ has done for us. He has taken the place of the guilty (you and me) and declared us justified. Now some of you may have heard a helpful little breakdown of the word justified to aid with understanding what the term means. I hope you have heard this and if you haven’t the breakdown is “just as if I’d never sinned”.

I think this is helpful in remembering what the term means. However, I dont think that little phrase gets us all the way to a full understanding of this beautiful doctrine. Jesus Christ the Righteous, our advocate in Heaven with the Father, has not only wiped your sinful slate clean. He has not only said that it is just as if you had never sinned. It is not that you have some neutral standing now before the judge. Church it is much more glorious than that! You are now declared righteous! Jesus has clothed you in His righteousness! When the Father looks at the Christian who is bought and paid for by the blood of Christ He sees the same righteousness as His Son! Christian, you will never be more righteous in the sight of God as you are right now! You stood condemned to eternal wrath and punishment, and now because of Christ you stand forgiven, righteous and you are now counted as a son or daughter in the heavenly household. And sons and daughters inherit the Kingdom. Amen?

Now, This is the perceived tension I was telling you about. John is saying that if we sin we have an advocate in Christ, but then in the following verses he is heavy on the obedience aspect. What is happening in this text? Well, lets move down and read through v. 6.

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

How can we sin if we have to follow the commandments? We are liars if we say we know him but we sin. How does this work? Well, this is due to another theological word called sanctification. My last main takeaway in this sermon is:

Following the Law:

It is clear in what John says that believers in the Lord Jesus, or those who have been justified, are called to obedience. They are called to obedience to the law. This is a must for us. We must mortify or kill our sin. Keep your place in 1 John and go to the gospel of John in chapter 15. In verses 9-11 Jesus says,

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Unlike justification which happens in a moment, sanctification is a life long process. This is what John and Jesus are talking about here. Following the commandments, and following the Laws of God is something that is the Christian’s duty. John is telling us that the good fruit that is produced by the Spirit of God is our obedience. Now look yall, I have to tell you. Justification is the easy part. Because we dont have anything to do with it. God does the justifying. Sanctification is the hard part. This is where we do have responsibility. We have the responsibility to obey the law, and that goes contrary to the way that our flesh pulls us. It goes contrary to the pull of our desires. Just know Christian that when you are facing adversity and hardship God is sanctifying you and calling you to obey Him no matter what.

Now something that I need to make clear and make sure we all understand. Our obedience does not save us. What it does is prove that we are a children of God. It is also a matter of assurance of our salvation. Knowing the Law and desiring to follow it. It isn’t that you dont sin, dont get me wrong the goal is not to sin, but it is that you want to conform yourself to the image of Christ, and walk the way he walked. You want to glorify God in your obedience. And because your obedience earns you nothing, because your obedience is broken and shattered, incomplete, and imperfect Your obedience is out of love for your maker and your savior. Your obedience is done with joy and it produces joy. Jesus even says that He has told us these things so that His joy may be in us and that our joy may be full.

So, if I am saved, why do I need to follow the law? Can’t I just live however I want? Of course not! That would make a mockery of the grace of God! You can also go to far in the other direction and say that you are earning your salvation through good works. That is also making a mockery of God’s grace. We have to understand grace for what it is and that is a free gift from the Lord that we could not earn. But God saves us out of our former lives of sin so that we may obey him and so that we may know true peace. That we may bear good fruit and be faithful witnesses to the King of Kings as we glorify Him through word and deed.

You see God doesn’t want you to obey His law because He is a control freak. He doesn’t command you to obey because He is out to ruin your fun or make your life harder. This is how many who do not know the Lord view the Law. They see it as cumbersome and something to be cast off. In reality The Law serves three different purposes. This is often referred to as the threefold use of the Law.

1st Use: It shows us that we cannot live up to the holiness and perfection of God, as it shows us where we fall short daily and where we have sinned. It outlines how righteous and perfect God is and how sinful we are. The law shows us that it is a harsh teacher, and it drives us to Christ.

2nd Use: The Law of God can not itself change the heart of man, however it can restrain the evil in sinful man. The Law acts as his moral boundaries through his conscience. It holds him back from being as evil as he could be.

3rd Use: This use reveals to us what is pleasing to God. If God’s law prohibits or encourages something then that thing pleases him or displeases him. We can know how to please God by knowing the Law.

So, in this sermon we see the 1st and 3rd use of the law heavily, but I dont necessarily want us to get bogged down in 1st 2nd and 3rd use of the law, I want us to see that our obedience is now commanded because God has redeemed us and because he has justified us. I want us to go to a passage of scripture that is very similar to our text in our call to worship. Its actually so similar that its almost the same thing but with a little more clarity. Go to Ezekiel 36:24-27 God says to His people:

“I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

So, I want you to notice the order in this, and also the One Who Is performing all the work in salvation and restoration. God is the one who is performing all these mighty works. He is bringing His people back to their land. He is sprinkling clean water to wash away sins. Then He will give the people a new heart, and a new spirit or conscience. Then, and this is the extremely important aspect of this sanctification piece, He gives us His Spirit. Why does He do all this, well first of all there is the familial love aspect, but there is also the obedience aspect.

God knows our frailty. He knows that we are inclined to do evil. We are actually described as being dead in our trespasses and sins. Spiritually dead in our sins we are only brought to life as the Spirit of God wakes us from the dead and calls us to obedience. We can only obey, and love the Lord if we have the Holy Spirit of God guiding us and living within us. Without Him there is no justification, and without Him there is no sanctification.

Now, this actually leads us to a really important point of application. How do I obey? Do I have to follow the 10 commandments? How do I best glorify my Father in heaven? To answer that we need to understand how the Spirit works in us. He works through the means of His word. Meaning that if we need guidance, correction, encouragement, or admonishing we go to the word of God. We also know that Jesus sums up the Law in Matthew 22:34-40

“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””

So, we seek to love God, and love our neighbor, and the Spirit of God helps us to do that, and as we mature in the word of God, and in our understanding of His love, and as we experience his love we are perfected, as our text in 1 John says. but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. We learn to hate our sin more and more. As we come closer to God and as we are taught by the Holy Spirit we are sanctified into the image of Christ.

So, in this area of application I want to talk about the ordinary means of grace (X2). There are three means of grace and they are means by which our faith is fortified, and it is also how we are sanctified. I have already talked about 1 and that is the word of God. Reading it, hearing it read, hearing it preached, and praying through the word. Those who were here Wednesday night know about the blessed man who delights in the law of God and that he meditates on it day and night. the second means of grace is:

Baptism: When is the last time you have thought about your Baptism? Are you Baptized? For those who are baptized have you thought about what it means to have died with Christ in the baptismal waters and have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life? That this newness of life is walking in the same way He has walked? If there are those in the room who have not taken the sign of baptism have you come to an understanding that the Lord Jesus is in fact Lord of all and that there is no other way to be saved than through Him? I would encourage and implore you that if you do not have this understanding of Jesus Christ, that the day of salvation is today. Call on Him and throw yourself at the feet of a God who is rich in mercy and not only that but is the only God who is able to save you. Lastly, the third means of grace, which is the:

Lords Table:

The table is where we are reminded of the Lords death. His blood that was spilled and His body that was broken. It is important for a healthy church to participate in the Lords supper as it gives us perspective that our Lord suffered for us, and died for us. It is important that we have this solemn reminder and that it actually nourishes our souls as we participate in the Lords supper.

Conclusion:

I know that I have really thrown a lot at you today, and I know that some of it was deep and challenging. I want you to know Christian and be encourage that you are saved and justified by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are now a new creation and when God looks at you He sees the perfection of His Son. You are Justified.

God has also started a work in you, Christian. He has made you new and now he is conforming you to His sons image. He is making you hunger and thirst for righteousness. He is making you yearn for His word and to be with him in prayer. He is in the process of sanctifying you and completing your joy in Christ. Christian if none of those things sounds appealing to you I would be cautious and tell you not to grieve the Spirit of God or sear your conscience.

Those of you in this room who are not Christians, and do not know the Lord Jesus as savior, I implore you repent. Know that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, know that the Lord’s wrath is upon you, and that if you call upon His mercy and repent of your sin He is faithful and just to forgive. And in him is peace, joy, community, and life everlasting. That doesnt mean your life will be easy though. But it means we can have hope.