Authentic Christianity Part 1
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Please turn in your Bible to 1 John 2:3-6 as we look at Authentic Christianity Part 1.
So far, in our study of this epistle, written by John the son of Zebedee, who was an Apostle of Christ, we have learned that the people to whom John was writing were being attacked by false teachers. These claimed that a person had to join their ranks in order to have true knowledge — apparently this knowledge was only available to the elite.
Some of these false teachers taught that the Christ was a spiritual being, and not a physical or material being. They believed that all material things were inherently evil, and only spiritual things had the capacity for being good. And the only way for spiritual things to be good was to receive this higher knowledge which they possessed. One such false teacher taught that Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary, and that the Christ descended on him at his baptism. The Christ also left him before his crucifixion, so that it was only the man Jesus ,and not the Christ, who died.
But John taught (in passages that we will look at in the coming weeks) that all true believers have knowledge because they have been anointed by the Holy One. Therefore, they do not need this new teaching which is trying to lead them astray.
But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
Further, John knew the truth about Jesus because he had been with Him day and night for three years. He had heard what Jesus said and taught. He had seen him perform miracles which demonstrated that He was the Only Begotten of God. He had observed how Christ lived, and had touched Him with his hands. Jesus was real, and He was empowered by the Holy Spirit to perform His many miracles. John had encountered the resurrected Jesus, and had seen Him perform miracles after His resurrection as well, proving that Jesus and the Christ were one inseparable person.
These false teachers taught that it was possible to have fellowship with God while living a sinful, reprobate live. But John taught that any such teaching was a lie and devoid of truth. Further, he taught that we can only have fellowship with God when our lives reflect that we belong to Him.
These teacher taught that there was no need for confessing sin since they neither had a sin nature nor committed specific acts of sin. But John taught that we should acknowledge and confess our sins.
While John wanted his readers to stop sinning, he also acknowledged that they would sin. But God has made a provision for that sin by sending Jesus Christ to be both our Advocate, and our propitiation. When Satan the accuser stands before the court of God and accuses the believer of sin, then Jesus, our Advocate comes to our defense and points out that His death satisfied God’s demand for justice in regards to our sin.
Because these believers had been under constant attack by these false teachers, they had lost their subjective assurance of faith. They wondered if they were truly Christians since they did not have this so-called higher knowledge which these false teachers were talking about. But John was writing to help them prove the authenticity of their faith.
Over the course of the next several verses, John gives three tests by which it can be determine if a person’s profession of faith is genuine or false: the test of obedience, the test of conduct, and the test of love. We will look at the first two tests this morning, and look at the third test next week, Lord willing.
Let’s read our passage for this morning.
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.
Let’s begin by looking at
The Test of Obedience
The Test of Obedience
John continues in the format of using revealed truth to combat false claims.
False Claim #1 – We can have a right relationship to Christ without obeying His commands.
One of my favorite songs states regarding salvation that its
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are
And that is all very true in regards to salvation. It is completely the work of God from beginning to end. But that doesn’t mean that the believer has no responsibility. We are created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
We often talk about being in a right relationship with Jesus. By that we usually mean that we are not saved based on the good work which we perform. Rather, we are saved based on our relationship to Christ. And this is all very true.
But what is a right relationship to Jesus? First of all it is a recognition of who He is. Who is Jesus? He is the Eternal God who became man to save His people from their sins. He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. But there is more to it than that. He is the King of Glory.
What is our relationship to the King of Glory? We are His vassals — we are His slaves. He owns us and has the right to make demands of us. That is the essence of what the Ten Commandments are. Yahweh delivered Israel out of bondage in Egypt, and therefore, they are now His vassals — His slaves. And as their God and Deliverer, He gave a list of ten things which they must keep. Eight of the ten are stated in the negative: “You shall not ...” And two are stated in the positive: “Remember the Sabbath; honor your parents.”
Note that,
Obedience to the Commands of Christ Demonstrates an Authentic Relationship with Him
In the epistle of James, our Lord’s half-brother taught that our works validate our profession of faith. And that is the same thing which John is teaching here.
Look at verse 3.
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
Let me make it clear — we do not come to know Christ by keeping His commands. We keep His commands because we have come to know Him.
The term translated “know” is ginosko, which means to continually perceive something by experience. This is a natural outfall of walking in the light — that is living in fellowship with God.
James Boice wrote, “John says, ‘We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.’ The reason is immediately apparent, for since the Gnostics made so much of the matter of knowledge, it is as if John is saying, ‘So you want to speak about knowledge; all right, then. What is it that characterizes the one who truly knows God?’ The answer, as we have already seen and as he says here, is ‘righteousness.’”(James Montgomery Boice, The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2004), 45.)
What is righteousness? On the one hand, righteousness is something that we do not have on our own. Scripture is clear that there is none righteous, no not one. But Jesus was righteous. And when a repentant sinner places their faith in the person and work of Christ, which includes His deity, His perfect life, His substitutionary death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead, then that person is justified by God. To be justified, in a legal sense, means to be declared righteous. So, our positional standing before God is that we are righteous and blameless before Him. Paul’s driving desire was for this righteousness.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
But that isn’t the end of the story. Because we have this righteous standing before God, we are to live our lives in such a way as to reflect that standing. And John will argue that anyone whose life does not reflect a righteous standing before God is a liar and void of truth. Look at verse 4.
Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
This statement could be taken in one of two ways. First, it could simply be a restatement of the truth that the man claiming to know God, but who lives in disobedience to God is a liar. Second, it could be taken as a warning that since truth is not found in these false teachers, believers should not be looking to them to learn the ways of God. Rather than learning from an man who is merely an intellectual, we should be learning from someone whose knowledge of spiritual things is backed up by godly conduct. (Boice, pg. 47-48)
MacArthur pointed out that the word in our text which is translated “Commandments (both in verse 3 & 4) is from entolē (“injunction,” “order,” or “command”), not nomos (“law”). The term refers not to the Mosaic law, but to the precepts and directives of Christ (cf. Matt. 28:19–20). But of course the moral and spiritual precepts the Lord taught were consistent with those revealed to Moses (cf. Matt. 5:17–18; John 5:46), all reflective of God’s immutable nature.”(John MacArthur, 1, 2, 3 John, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2007), 57.)
So, what are Christ’s commands that we should keep? On the night of His betrayal, Jesus told the eleven faithful apostles:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
And a little later He said:
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
A little later in our epistle John wrote:
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
These commands are all focused on love. But there are others in which love is not mentioned, although it would seem that it is still at least inferred.
For instance, we are commanded to go and make disciples. We are further commanded to teach them to observe everything that Christ has commanded.
So, the false claim is that we can have a right relationship to Christ without obeying His commands. And the truth which John used to combat this claim is that true believers will keep the commands of Christ.
Friend, perhaps you are here, but you are not a believer in Jesus Christ at all. Or perhaps you think you are a believer, but God thinks otherwise. In order to be a believer in Jesus Christ you first have to be a believer in the God who revealed Himself in the Bible. It is not enough to give mental assent to God since, as James wrote, the demons believe in God and shudder. But true faith begins with such a belief. But you also must recognize that you have sinned against God, and that you deserve nothing but to spend eternity in hell. You must also recognize that you cannot appease God’s wrath against your sin. Since you cannot appease God, God put forward Jesus Christ to pay the just reward for your sin. Jesus, the Eternal Son of God had to become man so that He could die to pay the penalty for the sins of all who embrace Him as their Lord and Savior. Only those who call upon His name will be saved. If you have not done so, won’t you call upon Him today?
Look the first part of verse 5.
but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.
Notice first that John equated Christ’s word with His commandments. The term for “word” is logos which is the same term which John used of Jesus in the prologue to his gospel narrative. Albert Barnes noted that “The term “word” here will include all that he has made known to us as his will in regard to our conduct.”
What happens to the person who habitually keeps Christ’s word? The love of God is perfected in him. That phrase, the love of God, is vague. There are at least possibilities as to what is intended by John.
First, John could be referring to God’s love for us? Does the Scripture testify to God’s love for us? It certainly does.
For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Christ substitutionary death on the cross is a testament to God’s love for repentant sinners. If this is John’s intended meaning then he was probably saying something like, “God’s love, which was demonstrated at the cross, comes to its completion when believers walk in a worthy way by having a lifestyle in which they keep Christ’s commands.”
The second way this phrase regarding the love of God could be understood is in reference to the believers love for Christ. We have already looked at several passages in which Christ said that if we love Him we will keep His commandments. If this John’s intended meaning then the phrase may be interpreted something like this: “Our love for God comes to maturity when our lifestyle is in keeping with the commands of Christ.”
The third possibility is that John’s intention was for us to understand it both ways — that it is a reference to God’s love for us, and a reference of our love for Him.
The commentators I have been using for this series all take this as a reference to our love for Christ. John Stott wrote, “True love for God is expressed not in sentimental language or mystical experience but in moral obedience. The proof of love is loyalty.” (John R. W. Stott, The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 95.)
We have been looking at the test of obedience. Let’s look now at
The Test of Conduct
The Test of Conduct
I will begin by saying that there is a very fine line between obedience and conduct. It might be better to consider conduct as a sub-point to obedience. The second thing I will say is that, I believe the last phrase of verse 5 properly belongs with verse 6. Let’s look at them.
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.
The second false claim which John is addressing is that we don’t need to live like Jesus in order to have a right relationship with Him.
Again, I want to stress that we do not earn our salvation by imitating Christ. Rather, we are to imitate Christ out of gratitude for His accomplished work which purchased our salvation. Shouldn’t we all have a burning desire to show our gratitude for the work of Christ?
As you get to know me better you will come to realize that I am enamored by the term “in Him.” Paul uses the term to indicate the believers union with Christ.
This past Tuesday (the day in which I was writing these words) was the four year anniversary of my mother-in-law’s promotion to glory. Her favorite verse was
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
That verse speaks to our union with Christ. Elsewhere Paul wrote that we were buried with Him through baptism into His death, and raised with Him in His resurrection from the dead. We were raised with Him for the purpose of walking in newness of life!
While John may have a slightly different emphasis than Paul, his understanding is essentially the same. The key word for John seems to be abide. Look at our text again.
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.
Jesus told the apostles:
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
If a person truly abides in Christ they will bear fruit which indicates that they are abiding in Him. But these false teachers were saying that this was not important. That abiding in Christ was merely a mental or perhaps transcendental exercise, and that it did not have any physical ramifications. Can you understand why John was so upset, and why he used such strong language as to call these people liars?
Note that,
Imitation of Christ DemonstratesUnion with Christ
Look again at verses 5-6.
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.
When I was a senior in high school I went to our local Christian Bookstore, which did not have a lot to offer. But I selected a book to give out to some of my graduating classmates as graduation gifts. And since I had never read the book myself, I purchased a copy for me to read as well — I know, it was kind of backwards, but what can I say — I was 18! Anyway, this book was titled IN HIS STEPS and it was written by a man named Charles Sheldon. It has been over 40 years since I’ve read it, but I will never forget the challenge that this fictitious small town pastor gave to his fictitious congregation in that book. He challenged them for the next year to not do anything without first asking “what would Jesus do?” In the 1990’s this book, which was written in the 1890’s, had a resurgence of popularity. And people started wearing bracelets with these letters printed on them: WWJD — which stood for what would Jesus do? I’d like to think that I inspired this resurgence of the book — but I actually wonder if any of my friends every actually read it!
Today, instead of asking ourselves “what would Jesus do?” We are going to ask “how did Jesus walk?” Or “What did Jesus do?” The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about how Jesus walked, is that He walked in humility. And so should we. A couple weeks ago on Wednesday night, Vic led a Bible Study on one of my favorite passages.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
If the Eternal Son of God could humble himself for the benefit of others, then we can and should also. He is our example. But humility is often the thing which is most lacking in a local church, or an individual believer for that matter. Why is humility so hard? Because the world pushes pride rather than humility. I will argue that Satan played to Eve’s pride when he tempted her in the Garden of Eden. Pride is related to selfishness, and we, by virtue of our sinful nature are selfish to the core.
How else did Jesus walk? He walked in compassion. Over and over again in the gospel narratives we read about Him having compassion on a certain individual or group. One time Matthew tells us:
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Another time was after Jesus learned that John the Baptist had been killed. Since there was a close connection between John and Jesus — remember they were somehow related to one another — and many of Jesus’ disciples had been disciples of John’s first — Jesus took the twelve away to a solitary spot where they could process the news of John’s death. But then crowds of people found them and interrupted their time of solitude. And the text tells us:
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
If Jesus had such compassion on weary people, should’t His followers too?
These are just two of the many traits that His followers should have. And if we don’t have these traits then we need to do some soul searching to ask why? Remember, John recognizes that believers will sin. And when we do we have One who pleads with the Father on our behalf. So, I don’t believe John is looking at certain instances where we lack humility or compassion. I believe that he is looking for a pattern or lifestyle. Does the pattern of your life, and of my life show a lacking in these areas? If so, we need to deal with it.
Let’s not forget that Jesus boldly proclaimed the gospel. Back in November when I was a candidate for pastor I mentioned four words that we should memorize to help us remember the gospel message. I wonder if anyone remembers these four words? The deacons should since we discussed them at our latest meeting — so guys, let’s see if others can remember.
God
Man
Christ
Response
The deacons and I are presently studying a book written by Mark Dever, who is the Pastor of the Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. It is from Dever’s work that I have borrowed these four words. He wrote, “God is our holy Creator and righteous Judge. He created us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. But mankind has rebelled against God by sinning against His holy character and law. We’ve all participated in this sinful rebellion, both in Adam as our representative head and in our own individual actions. As as result, we have alienated ourselves from God and have exposed ourselves to His righteous wrath, which will banish us eternally to hell if we are not forgiven. But God sent Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, to die the death that we deserved for our sins — the righteous for the unrighteous — so that God might both punish our sin in Christ and forgive it in us. The only saving response to this good news is repentance and belief. We must repent of our sins (turn from them and to God) and believe in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation to God.” (How to Build a Healthy Church, pg. 64).
If we, as believers, are going to walk in the same way as Jesus walked, then we need to be sharing the gospel with those who so desperately need to hear it.
This morning, we have considered two tests which John gave by which we can be assured that we truly belong to Jesus. These tests are subjective in nature. By that, I mean that they are experiential, or as some of my British commentators put it, they are experimental. The objective truth is that if we repent and believe the gospel we will be saved. That is the message which Christ preached in the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. But if a person is unsure of their profession of faith, then these subjective tests help us to determine if our profession was genuine or false. If we keep the commands of Christ, not as the basis for our salvation, but as a result of our salvation, and pattern our lives after the life of Jesus, then we can have assurance of our salvation. Or in the words of John the Baptist, we are bearing fruit in keeping with repentance.
Some people teach that it is wrong to ever question ones salvation. I wonder if they have ever read these words from Paul?
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
Let’s pray.
Holy Father,
We, who are believers, bow before You confessing once again that You are the Creator of this world, and that You have the right to set the standards for this world. And we confess that Your standard is to be perfect as You are perfect. We confess that we fall short of this perfection so often for we are imperfect beings. We struggle against our old sin nature. And we often fall flat on our faces because we fail. We thank You that we have an Advocate in heaven who speaks to You on our behalf. We thank You for His propitious work on our behalf. We thank You that, though we struggle with sin, we are considered blameless because we are in Christ. But Lord, help us in our striving against sin. Help us to put off the old man, and put on the new man which is being renewed in the image of Christ.
Lord, I pray for any here who are not believers; I pray that Your Holy Spirit will open the eyes of their hearts so that they can perceive the truth of Your gospel and be saved.
I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
