A HEALTHY HEART

Please turn to 1 John 3:19-24 as we consider A HEALTHY HEART.

The medical world constantly emphasizes the importance of having a healthy heart. Because of this you can often see labels on food packages which make the claim that their product is heart healthy. In some restaurant menus you can find a heart healthy section as well. The diet industry is ripe with various eating plans which are supposed to be heart healthy. There is the Nutra system diet, the Golo diet, the Noom diet, the low-fat diet, the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, the Keto diet, the Mediterranean diet, and the one I’ve been on for over eight months, the Carnivore diet. I’m pretty sure that some people are making a lot of money on these plans.

Why is there such a strong emphasis on having a healthy heart? Because if your heart stops working you will physically die. The emphasis in today’s medical world is to be proactive in preventing heart disease. And healthy diets along with cardio exercise are the main methods employed to keep a person from having an unhealthy heart.

When God created man, His intention was for mankind to do work which required physical activity. God told man to cultivate the ground, and He didn’t provide a John Deer tractor to do it with. But with the advances of the industrial age man has created easier ways of doing things — things which do not require a strong body to perform. And in our nation we have become more and more overweight. And that creates a problem for our hearts.

So, young people, if you want to stay healthy all of your life, I encourage to buy enough land so that you can grow your own food! But realistically, in our day and age, just make sure that if you have a job like mine where you sit most of the day, that you get enough exercise to make up for all of the sitting you do.

Our physical heart, however, is not the focus of today’s message. We are looking at our spiritual hearts this morning.

In the Bible, the heart is not merely the physical organ but rather the core of a person's being, encompassing their thoughts, emotions, will, and moral compass. It's considered the "control center" of a person, where decisions are made and where one's relationship with God is cultivated. 

The question comes up as to whether we can trust our hearts. I recently listened to a conversation with actress, Candace Cameron Bure. Candace was one of the childhood stars of the show Full House. Her brother, Kirk Cameron, was a childhood star as well. Both of these came to the saving knowledge of Jesus while they were working in Hollywood. As an adult, Candace has starred in a lot of Hallmark Channel movies. A few years ago she left that network and joined the Great American Family/Pure Flicks channel. One of the lines I frequently heard her, as well as most all other Hallmark actors say, was that they needed to follow their hearts. Now Candace has publicly stated that she will not use that phrase any longer. And the reason she gave for this change was because of what Jeremiah wrote:

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

I was so glad to hear this Christian actor publicly state this in an interview. We cannot always trust our hearts. So often our hearts will lead us astray. Sometimes our hearts will condemn us by telling us that we are no good, that we are nothing but filthy trash. Other times our hearts will tell us that we’ve done nothing wrong, when in fact we have done something wrong. Believers in Jesus Christ need to maintain a healthy relationship with Christ in order to keep their hearts under the control of the Holy Spirit. We need to be walking in the light as He is in the light. But sometimes sin comes in and causes us to momentarily walk in the darkness. But if we confess our sin, God is just to forgive us our sins and bring about spiritual cleansing and renewal.

In my mind, our passage for today focuses on having a spiritually healthy heart. As we go through this passage we will look at a convicted heart, as confident heart, and a controlled heart.

Let’s read our passage together.

1 John 3:19–24 ESV

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Let’s begin by looking at

A CONVICTED HEART (vs. 19-20)

Have you ever been discourage spiritually speaking? Sometimes we get discouraged because of the plight of our local church — maybe it is not growing as fast as we would like it to grow. Or maybe they aren’t doing things the way you would like them to do them. Or maybe there’s someone within the church with whom we can’t seem to get along with. Sometimes we get discourage because of the direction our society is taking. And, yes sometimes we get discouraged because of our own doing. Have you ever thought: “Why did I do that? Why can’t I seem to keep from falling into the same thing over and over again? Why, why, why.”

In the early years of our marriage I was struggling with this. I even wrote a song about it.

Lord, I’ve failed You, I’ve given in again;

When will I learn to trust You to help me escape from sin.

And, Lord, I am weak within myself and my flesh makes provision for sin;

I need to walk in Your Spirit, be filled with Your Spirit,

But when will all this begin?

Help me, I pray to be more like You

To live ev’ry day according to Your will;

Give me the strength to say not to sin,

Help me be, Lord, more like You.

Sometimes our discouragement with ourselves can cause us to question the authenticity of our faith in Christ. The church to whom John was addressing in this epistle had become a battle zone. It is quite possible that there were fractions within the church — hence John’s continuous emphasis on loving one another. But they were also being harassed by false teachers who were causing them to question the authenticity of their faith. The majority of the people within this church did not belong to this spiritually elite group who has a special knowledge of God and His ways (or so they thought).

The believer in Jesus Christ has been forgiven for sins past, present, and future. Even though we continue to struggle with sin, there is no condemnation for us because we are in Jesus Christ. But still, we sin. And when we do so, the Holy Spirit works with our conscience to convict us of our sin so that we can restore our fellowship with God.

Note that,

A Convicted Heart is a Sign that God is doing a Work Within You

Look at verse 19.

1 John 3:19 ESV

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;

What is John referring to when he says “by this?” The phrase could be looking forward to what is about to be stated. Or it could look backward at what was previously stated. I believe in this instance it looks backward. Look at verses 18-19 together.

1 John 3:18–19 ESV

18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;

So, John is saying that when we love one another in a tangible way our hearts are reassured that we belong to Jesus. This is a subjective assurance rather than an objective assurance. Sometimes I think we are afraid of acknowledging that there is a place for subjective truths. It is true that there are some out there who over emphasize subjective truth at the expense of objective truth. The common phrase to follow one’s heart is a subjective suggestion. And as already stated, it can be a really dangerous suggestion. There are others who emphasize the objective at the expense of the subjective. We need to be able to discern the difference between the two. And the Holy Spirit is the One who helps us to discern.

The word translated reassure carries the idea of being at rest, or tranquil.

Spurgeon noted, “This is the very evidence that God gives, that by our love to others our hearts will be assured before Him, and we shall have confidence concerning our own relationship toward God. That is still the test. Truthful love proves that “we are of the truth,” and so assures and tranquilizes our hearts before Him. Our hearts shall be calm, confident, and happy before God when we know that true love flows within them.” (Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: 1 John, ed. Elliot Ritzema, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 1 Jn 3:19.)

Look at verses 19-20 once again.

1 John 3:19–20 ESV

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

Spurgeon wrote, “If your heart condemns you, remember the verdict is not final; there is still a higher court. I love the way Peter put it once. He had denied his Master, denied Him repeatedly with oaths, but he had bitterly repented. When his Lord said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:16) his heart did not condemn him on the question of loving his Master. But his heart did condemn him sorely for having denied his Lord; so, after pleading, “Lord, I do love you,” he takes his case into the higher court, and says, “Lord, you know everything! You know that I love you” (John 21:17). In moments of soul conflict it will be wise for you to carry this question beyond yourself up to the Omniscient One.” (Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: 1 John, ed. Elliot Ritzema, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 1 Jn 3:20.)

A convicted heart is not always a bad thing, because it drives the believer to keep a short account before God. But being hampered by past actions from which we have already been cleansed can cause doubt to grow, and to question the validity of our faith in Christ. I believe that the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to someone to devour uses our sense of conviction to keep us from being productive in our walk with Christ. When that happens we need to remind ourselves (and perhaps our spiritual tormentors as well) that we belong to Christ. Paul’s words to the Roman church are so helpful for when our heart condemns us.

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have been looking at a convicted heart. Let’s turn our attention to

A CONFIDENT HEART (vs. 21-23)

Note that,

When Believers are Walking in the Light of God’s Love They Have Great Confidence Before Him

Look at verse 21.

1 John 3:21 ESV

21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

MacArthur noted, “The word rendered confidence (parrēsia) means “boldness” and “freedom of speech.” It describes the privilege of coming before someone of importance, power, and authority and feeling free to express whatever is on one’s mind. For believers it means coming into the presence of our loving heavenly Father without fear and with full assurance that whatever we ask we receive from Him (cf. 5:14; John 14:13–14; 15:7, 16; 16:23–24).” (John MacArthur, 1, 2, 3 John, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2007), 145.)

While there are times when Satan uses our remembrance of past sins to discourage us and keep us from being fruitful in our walk with Christ, there are other times in which we have great confidence before God. To have such confidence before God is a very wonderful thing. This thought pattern reminds of what the first psalm had to say.

Psalm 1:1–3 ESV

1 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; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 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.

When we have confessed our sin before God and been cleansed, then our fellowship with Him is restored. And we find ourselves walking in the light as He is in the light. It is at times like these that we are like the tree which the psalmist wrote about.

I once wrote a song based on this psalm, and the coda of that song states:

Let me be like the tree by the rivers of what which brings forth its fruit in it season,

Let my leaf also not wither;

Let me be a blessed man!

Regarding this confidence we can have before God, Spurgeon noted, “These words are full of comfort. The man who has a clear conscience has confidence toward God in this way. He knows that he is the Lord’s, and that God loves him. He knows that God will not do him any hurt, and will not allow the devil or anyone else really to harm him. He knows that God is blessing him and will continue to bless him. He knows that God is his Father and his Friend, and he therefore goes to God in great confidence about his troubles and tells them all to Him. He has much confidence in prayer, and he may talk to God in prayer in a way that other people may think too familiar, but it will not be so. His heart is right with God, and therefore he has confidence toward God. He does not doubt God’s faithfulness, or God’s truth, or God’s power, or God’s veracity. He simply confides in God and lets things go as they will, for he knows that God is ruling over all.” (Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: 1 John, ed. Elliot Ritzema, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 1 Jn 3:21.)

What happens when we have such confidence before God? Look at verse 22.

1 John 3:22 ESV

22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

Note that,

Obedience is the Condition and not the Cause of Answered Prayer

We do not persuade God to answer our prayer because of our obedience to Him. It’s not like God listens to our request and then looks at His list and checks it twice to see if we’ve been naughty or nice. God is not a divine form of Santa Claus. When we are walking in fellowship with God — walking in the light — we will not ask of God for something that goes against His will. In fact we will always seek to pray according to His will. And doing so is very pleasing to Him.

When we walk in the light we will keep God’s commands as revealed in His Word. These are the objective commandments as mentioned in the Bible. John further states that we do what pleases Him. James Boice compared this to a child being obedient to his father, and then going the extra mile and doing special things to bring his father great pleasure.

So, what commandments does John have in mind? Look at verse 23.

1 John 3:23 ESV

23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

John has emphasized the importance of keeping the commandments of Christ on many occasions throughout this epistle. (2.3-4; 2.7-8; 3.22; 4.21; 5.2-3)

The following verses we have already studied.

1 John 2:3–4 ESV

3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,

1 John 2:7–8 ESV

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

These verses we will look at in the weeks to come.

1 John 4:21 ESV

21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 5:2–3 ESV

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Obviously, keeping the commandments of God and Christ are important in John’s mind — and they should be important in our mind as well. We need to understand that we do not earn God’s favor because we keep His commandments. That would be a works-based salvation. But the Bible is clear that salvation is by grace alone, and through faith alone. But because of God’s marvelous, wonderful grace, we obey His commands as an act of love and submission to Him.

In verse 23 John connects obedience to the commandments to faith and love.

Glen Barker wrote, “‘Belief,’ which occurs here for the first time in 1 John, will be seen more and more as the issue between John and the ‘heretics.’ The “false teachers” do not ‘love’—that is clear—but the reason they do not love is that God’s love is not in them, for they have not truly believed in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. To believe in Jesus Christ means in this context to believe the gospel about Jesus—that he is God’s Son, that he came to save men and women from their sins, and that by believing in him they can have eternal life John 3:16–18). The joining of belief and love in a single command shows how inextricably connected the two are in John’s mind. Belief comes first because it is the basis for love (cf. 3:16), but love is the only expression of true faith.” (Glenn W. Barker, “1 John,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 338.)

So far, we have looked at a convicted and a confident heart. Let’s turn now to

A CONTROLLED HEART (vs. 24)

Note that,

Believers in Jesus Christ are to be Controlled by the Holy Spirit who Dwells within Them

Galatians 5:16 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

He went on to contrast the fruit of the flesh as opposed to the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:19–25 ESV

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

If our life is characterized by the deeds of darkness then we either are not truly a follower of Christ, or we have not been obedient to the directive to put to death the things which belong to our old life. If we are a true believer in Jesus Christ then the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in our lives. While John states it in a different way, that seems to be the idea he is presenting in our final verse for today.

Look at verse 24.

1 John 3:24 ESV

24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

John Stott wrote, “The Spirit whose presence is the test of Christ’s living in us, manifests himself objectively in our life and conduct. It is he who inspires us to confess Jesus as the Christ come in the flesh, as John immediately proceeds to show (4:1ff.; cf. 2:20, 27). It is also he who empowers us to live righteously and to love our brothers and sisters (cf. 4:13; Gal. 5:16, 22). So if we would set our hearts at rest, when they accuse and condemn us, we must look for evidence of the Spirit’s working, and particularly whether he is enabling us to believe in Christ, to obey God’s commands and to love our brothers; for the condition of Christ dwelling in us and of our dwelling in him is this comprehensive obedience (24a), and the evidence of the indwelling is the gift of the Spirit (24b).” (John R. W. Stott, The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 152.)

This morning we have looked at have a healthy spiritual heart. As we have done so we have considered a convicted heart, a confident heart, and a controlled heart. Where is your heart in all of this?

Is your heart convicting you because of some present sin which is hampering your fellowship with God? If so, deal with your sin — confess it, and ask the Lord to help you forsake it and to restore your fellowship with Him.

Is your heart convicting you of a past sin which has already been dealt with? If so, appeal to court of God who is greater than our hearts and He knows everything. Don’t allow Satan to hamper you in your Christian walk due to the guilt over past — resolved — issues.

Is your heart confident before God? That is the greatest place to be in. If so, relish the time you have in fellowship with God. And you should be seeking to help others enjoy such fellowship as well. Perhaps there is a person whom you can help with carrying their burdens and fulfilling the law of Christ.

Is your heart a controlled heart? Are you constantly walking in the Spirit?

Perhaps there is someone here today who has not yet come to what I call the crisis of faith. You may have all of the right answers, and yet never have truly embraced Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If so, I encourage you to believe in the name of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God; by believing you will have life in His name.

Let’s pray.

Dear Father,

Help us to walk before You in a worthy way. Help us confess our sins before You so that we can be cleansed from all unrighteousness. Bring us to the place where we will have a confident heart before you. Help us to express our faith in Christ by loving our brothers and sisters in Christ as He has commanded us to do.

Lord, I pray for any who are not yet believers in Jesus, that this would be the day in which Your Spirit awakens them from the dead, and breathes spiritual life into their spiritual nostrils and they become alive in Christ.

It is in Jesus’ precious name I pray. Amen.

Closing Song: #516

In the stars His handiwork I see,

On the wind He speaks with majesty,

Tho He ruleth over land and sea,

What is that to me?

I will celebrate Nativity,

For it has a place in history;

Sure, He came to set His people free —

What is that to me?

Till by faith I met Him face to face

And I felt the wonder of His grace —

Then I knew that He was more than just a God who didn’t care, that lived away out there and

Now He walks beside me day by day,

Ever watching o’er me lest I stray,

Helping me to find that narrow way —

He’s ev’rything to me.

Till by faith I met Him face to face

And I felt the wonder of His grace —

Then I knew that He was more than just a God who didn’t care, that lived away out there and

Now He walks beside me day by day,

Ever watching o’er me lest I stray,

Helping me to find that narrow way —

He’s ev’rything to me.

Jude 24–25 “24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”