Faith is the Victory
Notes
Transcript
How important is faith?
Many people say “you’ve just gotta have faith” when bad things happen. Meaning, you’ve just got to believe that everything will turn out for the best somehow. Or they say the opposite: “I have faith in what I can see!” Meaning that if they can’t touch, see, taste, smell, or hear it, it can’t be real. But that’s not really much of a faith, because faith by definition asks us to trust without always having seeable or touchable proof.
Sometimes faith today seems like something for the birds. Why do we need it, what’s the point? It either feels like ancient folklore or blind optimism.
So, is faith important?
Sermon series slide
P. 745 Brown Bibles
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
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.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
For there are three that testify:
the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.
If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Big Idea: Faith is the Key
John talks a lot in this section about faith. Faith - belief in Jesus Christ is the key. Not to say that this is just mental consent. This believing is continuous, in a lived out sense! This shapes your life as you are convinced that it is not mere talk, it’s the truth, and the only way. Because when you truly know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it will change you.
Today we’re going to take a bit of an around the block approach. John shows us the results of faith, while also discussing what we put our faith in, kind of all together. So to help us understand we’re going to separate it out a bit.
How is faith the key?
Result 1:
Love 1-3
Love 1-3
The first way that we see faith is the key is that it produces love in us. Let’s remember where we’re at. Last week, we discussed how love is a specialty of the Christian. Why? Because we know God’s love - the highest form of love - and now are commanded to love in the way we have been loved. In fact, love is now the defining characteristic of our new nature in Christ.
Now, perhaps you’ve been thinking, “it’s like John goes over the same thing, again, and again, and again…” And you’d be right. I was reminded again this week how John in fact is not writing a letter - though he wrote to many different house churches - so much as he’s writing a sermon. 1 John was borne out of need to address some pretty concerning false teaching that had come up among these mainly Jewish house churches. People claiming that Jesus wasn’t really God, that Christ hadn’t really died on the cross. These were of course serious concerns and so John wrote this sermon to address them. He uses a circular way of working through his thoughts, coming back repeatedly to different themes to drive stuff home.
Again, we just looked at love: but John isn’t finished on this. Instead, he switches to show how faith and love are connected:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
Everyone of faith is born of God.
We just passed mother’s day not that long ago. If you’re a mother here, you probably know just how hard birth is! It is not easy. And it’s on you! Your baby doesn’t pat themselves on the back after being born for a job well done. But if you’re husband’s smart he will certainly thank you for everything you’ve done! You give the gift of life to your baby.
So with us, as believers in Christ, faith is a gift.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
We must understand: Faith is a gift. Now, it is your choice to accept the gift and believe. Yet without the working on the Holy Spirit in someone’s life, faith is impossible. So we see how John starts: those of faith are those who have been born of God. Awesome! They love the Father and are God’s children.
Remember, John ended our last section with:
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
As God’s children, with God’s love at work in them, they also love one another. John’s reiterating what he’s already said: We cannot say we love God, and not love His family. Sure, we might not like His family sometimes, but true faith will lead to a love for brothers and sisters in Christ.
Then John continues:
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.
How is it that we love God’s family by keeping his commands?
John told us earlier:
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.
Last week as well we read:
We love because he first loved us.
So what are the commands of God? That we believe, and then love our fellow believers! Jesus said something similar in Matthew
When John says “these commands are not burdensome” he is not saying that they are not demanding. It is a high calling indeed to love imperfect people! But He is saying that they are not oppressive. This is a high standard, but it is one that God empowers the Christ through the Spirit to live out! (NAC). And indeed, when we follow God’s commands we show that we love Him, and we live out love for others.
So then the first way that faith is the key is in love. Faith - genuine faith in Jesus produces a new person who keeps God’s commands and loves as they have been loved by God!
Now a second result:
Overcoming 4-5
Overcoming 4-5
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
John now turns to the idea of overcoming the world. This is not the first time we’ve seen John talk about the world and overcoming it. But now John specifically states that everyone who has been born of God - those who have come to saving faith in Jesus Christ - overcome the world. Notice, the key factor is not your smarts. It’s not your intuition, or perhaps your knowledge. The key factor is faith in Jesus Christ! The idea of overcoming means “to defeat,” or conquer.
And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
But what is it that is conquered?
We know that when Christ came, His death and ressurection defeated, Satan, sin and death (NAC). If we are born of God too, in that we have been born again with a new nature then we are given the power to overcome sin and as John will show later, eternal life! indeed, this is how we can avoid the
the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life…
So there is overcoming here.
Yet we also know that overcoming looks like discerning the truth, as we read in…
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
How do we overcome false teaching? Through the truth of God’s Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit! So then overcoming is also seen in this way!
Now to ask a question: have you ever had a moment where you have felt especially glad for the people around you? Maybe it’s your church family, and they have helped you in some way. Perhaps it’s your neighbors or the whole community that has been a blessing in your life?
Humans are not built to be solitary creatures. Especially when we are walking through the trying times of life, we need each other. John actually gets at this here.
In v. 5, John emphasizes that individually people conquer the evil of this world through faith in Christ. But in verse 4 he says everyone. In the Greek this is more like “whatever.” It’s a collective term, meaning that whatever is born of God conquers. John does this on purpose to emphasize the body of the church.
From this we see the need for the church. We can’t go at it alone. We cannot fight the enemy in this world alone. We need the Holy Spirit, and we need the support of the church. If you’re here today and you’re grateful for your church family, thank God! If you’ve caught this message online, or perhaps this is your first time in church for a while can I encourage you? You need a church family! They will stick beside you and lift you up when the fight gets tough. They will pray for you and together we move forward as Christ’s body.
So the second result of faith is that it makes us overcomers! We overcome - or defeat - this world (Satan, sin, death, false teaching, our own sinful desires) through being born of God. This comes through faith in Christ Jesus! And it is a together thing.
Now, to a third result:
Eternal Life 11-12
Eternal Life 11-12
We’re going to skip down now to the ending portion of our passage for today, and come back to the other verses in a couple minutes. Because John points out one more result of faith being the key: Eternal life.
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
John has been taking about the testimony concerning Jesus Christ in the verses before this. Again, we’ll see this more in a second. For the moment, recognize the encouragement John gives!
The testimony about Jesus Christ - His life, death, ressurection, and ascension - is not a vague story. It is real, and through it we have eternal life! John has, at many times, made such statements concerning the difference for believers: namely that those who know Christ have this life and those who do not know Christ do not know eternal life!
This is directly pulling from John’s gospel, where John gives the thesis statement for His book; why He’s writing:
but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
When John speaks of life, he’s talking about eternal life. This is the new life in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
When Paul wrote this, he wasn’t thinking about some distant, far-off state of eternal bliss. He was thinking of the right here, and right now. In truth, eternal life begins now. When someone accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are born again. In other words, their old dead heart is done away with and in its place is given a new heart. One that is in right relationship with God, one that is filled with the Holy Spirit, and one that is alive forevermore. One that is filled with joy, with peace, and with hope.
So often we think about eternal life as that thing we’re looking forward to. But life in Christ does not begin down the road. It begins now, at the moment you are saved. And your walk with Christ, - your new life - carries on into eternity. You are alive forevermore.
So then, who has this life?? Those who have the son of God. How do you “get” the Son of God? Through faith! By being born of God!
Talk about victory! The third result John shows us of faith as the key is that we inherit - we possess eternal life! And what amazing life this is! Given God’s Holy Spirit to dwell in and empower us now, we are made alive in God. And that eternal life carries on into eternity.
So now, let’s us turn to a final point: what is it that we do believe?
What Do We Believe? 6-10
What Do We Believe? 6-10
Have you ever had someone ask you this: What do you believe? What do you say to that? We must be absolutely solid upon our understand of who Christ is and what He has done for us.
The question about faith ultimately comes down to this: what do you believe? It’s not enough to say Jesus was just a man, a good teacher, or a friendly guy as many do today. It’s not accurate to say that Jesus was only God but never came in human flesh, as many tried to do in John’s day. So then, what is it that we truly believe?
If you were confused the first time we read v. 6, let’s use the NLT and see if this might help us here:
And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony.
John shows three evidences to back up the testimony about who Christ really is. First the water of baptism:
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus was baptized by John the baptist. The whole point of his baptism was to start his earthly ministry and to reveal who He is. We get a picture of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in these verses. God had sent His Son, with Whom He was well pleased and had given the Spirit to. We - as believers - are also given the Holy Spirit.
Does this mean Jesus was just some man? Not at all! This shows Christ’s oneness with God. He was revealed - he did not become God’s Son or take on god-status in that moment. Rather, Christ showed us who the OT prophets said He was:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Immanuel means, God with us.
Moreover, Jesus was further revealed as God the Son in His death upon the cross. Here, we see Him fulfilled as the suffering servant, the One God would send to pay the price for our sin:
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Remember:
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The word Christ actually means “anointed one,” or Messiah. This is the Savior of the world, the One waited for for so long. Jesus - at both His baptism and his death, is revealed as the Christ - the anointed Son of God come for us.
Yet there is one more witness: The Holy Spirit. He confirms the knowledge of these truths in our hearts.
For there are three that testify:
the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.
When we think of our legal system today, we notice we have a fairly robust way of establishing the truth. I did a little googling and was reminded of all the ways we might obtain and substantiate the truth:
Evidence, such as photos, video, documents, etc.
Witnesses, like key eyewitnesses.
Statements.
We require these things in order to bring proof to the validity of our claims in court.
In the OT, we read this:
On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.
This is part of the law of Moses for establishing crimes commited punishable by death. It couldn’t be a “my word vs. your word” thing. There had to be substantiated, reliable witnesses to back up the truth.
John does the same thing about his claim for who Jesus was. Upon the evidence of His baptism, upon the evidence of His passion, and upon the evidence of the Spirit confirming the truth we know - beyond doubt - that Christ is indeed Lord, God, Savior, and Friend. So then:
If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.
In other words, we can hear the testimony from people. That’s important, and it’s right. But what is even greater than our testimony is the testimony that God has given. And the testimony God has given is this threefold witness of water, blood, and Spirit. They agree, they do not lie.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Big Idea: Faith is the Key
And it has these results:
Love. We love because He first loved us.
Overcoming. We defeat this evil world as a church and individual Christians through faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we are more than overcomers.
Eternal life. We have eternal life - which has begun right now as we have the Holy Spirit in us and live for Christ. And we look with great hope toward the future!
All of this comes through faith. Faith in what? The testimony about Christ. Revealed through His baptism, His passion, and by the Spirit, we see that Jesus is Savior and God.
But where does that leave us? John tells us in v 10:
Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
We have a choice. If God has testified (and His testimony is surely greater than any human testimony) that Jesus Christ really is the Savior, really is God, really is the only one through whom eternal life comes, what are you going to do about it? Whoever believes - whoever has faith is - as we’ve seen - born of God! That person is born again and has the victory!
But, whoever does not believe this essentially is telling God that He is a liar. Why? Because if Jesus Christ isn’t just some man, if He’s really Lord, God and Savior, that means that what He claimed was truth:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If that is true, and you don’t believe, that means you’re not on a path to the Father. You’re not following the truth, and you’re headed straight for the gates of hell. Moreover, all these results of faith we talked about are not your experience. You cannot know God’s love, or truly love others as God did. You cannot overcome the evil of this world, and you certainly are not experiencing eternal life.
If God’s testimony about Jesus is true, and you don’t believe, this is where you find yourself.
So perhaps it’s easier to say that God’s making it up. It’s a story, a tall tale to scare people. To say so, when we get down to it, is to say that God is lying.
Yet Paul reminds us:
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,
in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
God does not lie. But do you know who does? Satan, who is called the father of lies.
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
It is a scary thing to call God a liar, for it is in fact Satan himself who is called the father of lies. Indeed the end of this father of lies and all falsehood is as follows:
and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
It is not God who tells lies, but Satan. So if you refuse to accept the testimony about Christ and call God a liar, it is you who is deceived. It is upon you right now - if you’ve felt God stirring in you - to repent of this and accept the truth about Jesus Christ. You must accept Him as the only means of salvation!
But here’s the great news:
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
All who accept the truth of this are born of God and have the benefits of faith!
And so we come to know that we know that we know that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing [we] may have life in his name.
Friends, faith is the key. And praise God, it is a gift to believe and if you know Jesus here then you share in that gift, and all those benefits!
Communion
Pray.
