1 John 2:28-3:10
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Introduction
Introduction
This sermon will go nowhere, if we do not lay the ground work. We are going to be in 1 John tonight, but before I can cover this. I think I need to go over how a person is actually saved.
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Repent! Turn away from your sin. Do this in the name and in belief in Jesus Christ. You will be saved. Most sugar coat this as an easy thing. However, to get to the level of humility to trust in Jesus’ righteousness to save your soul from eternal damnation is not an easy thing. To recognize that you are a sinner, that you have broken God’s law, and that nothing you can do will change that, is a level of humility that many will fail to reach. That’s why Jesus says this to His discples:
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
If that’s the case, then how do we know that we are saved? Now, for most of our lives, we have heard or it has been implied that to question ones salvation was not really a good thing. However, if we are going to take the Bible seriously in all of its ideas and commands, this command should ring in every believer’s ear.
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (or “unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” ESV)
There are actually several other passages that preach the same idea. It is extremely biblical to do self evaluation, to determine if we are saved or not, and if we are saved, if we are walking with and growing closer to the God that made us. Now, a question that might have popped into your head is “shouldn’t we be confident in the promises of God?”. The answer to this is absolutely! However, human confidence, and godly confidence are not always the same thing. Godly confidence comes from examining His word, and ensuring we are aligned with the Holy God of the universe. Hence, the whole point of 1 John is summed up in this verse.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
This examination, this working out your salvation with fear and trembling, is to bring the Godly confidence that we are indeed saved by Christ. Let’s dive into our text then, and let His Word bring us to right conclusions on this matter.
Exposition (Examining the Text)
Exposition (Examining the Text)
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
little children: I love that John refers to recipients of his letter, and by proxy, us, as little children. I feel like this is in reference to earlier in chapter 2: 1 Jn 2:12–13.
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
Little children are baby Christians. Believe it or not, most of us are in the stage. I would say that I am still in the little child stage that 1 John lays out. Humble yourself to know, that John called the entire church of Ephesus at the time… baby Christians.
Abide in Him: this is the command (coming here and from the preceding verses) that actually seems to set the tone for the next set of verses. The question to ask is, how? How do we abide in God. How to remain in God, how do we stay with Him? 2:29-3:10 give us an answer to this question, as well of the larger context within first John.
Confidence and Not be ashamed at His coming: This is a sheep vs goats type passage in my mind. What is this confidence that is had? 1 Jn 4:17.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
How we get this confidence will be answered in the verses that follow, but ultimately, it comes from the love and saving brought to us through Jesus Christ.
The other part is the shrinking in shame. On that day, we will know which side of the fence we sit on, are we in sin, or are we in Christ? We will know, and those in Christ will have confidence, and those that are not will cower, knowing they cannot withstand the Son. Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
I think this passage was given to bring confidence, and to bring shame. To show us before judgement, how we stand in Christ.
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
He is righteous: if there is one thing in scripture that we are taught is that not only is God good and blameless, but that He is the very standard by which we judge ourselves and others on the basis of whether we are good and blameless or not. I do also want to take note of the very confident language and contrast it with the next phrase. God is righteous, we however:
Doeth righteousness: in contrast to God being righteous, the saved practice righteousness. I love the difference in the language. It is interesting how God inspired this to be written. We still have sin, even when we are saved. We are practicing in this present age to be like Christ. It is like it is said in these verses:
But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
Born of Him: What does this mean? This language is similar to the language used in John 3 during Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus. However, I think Ephesians 2:10 has more concise language to really help understand what this means.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Now, what have we studied so far, God is righteous, so those who follow Him will practice righteousness, which is how we remain in Him and have confidence of eternal life. We will continue working through this passage, these first two verses we studied give the introduction to the idea, the next 10 verses fully flesh out the idea.
The Righteous
The Righteous
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
kind of love: the kind of love given to us by God is that He calls us children of God. Now, modern culture has softened the meaning of exactly what this is, but the gravity of this statement is beyond comprehension. I am struggling myself to truly grasp it. We are given the right to become children of God if we accept Him (John 1:12). This means that God, the infinite, eternal, omniscient creator of the universe, calls me prince, heir to the inheritance of eternal life, son… verse 2 actually dives into this mystery a little bit more.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
This truly is crazy to ponder. We know the gravity of being an heir, but we have no idea what exactly this entails. However, John notes, that in someway, we will be like Him. Sinless and perfect, because we shall see God, as He truly is. Not just in ideas, in finite descriptions and mysteries, but the true God of the Universe, in all His radiant glory.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Now here is an idea that begins to answer the question, “Am I really saved?” Also, “how can I tell if that person is really my brother or sister in Christ?” Everyone who hopes in Christ, works towards making themselves pure, because Christ is pure. Now this is an important point. Notice the believer is not pure yet, but actively disciplines himself to become pure. This is an important distinction.
This also is not preaching works based salvation. The verse literally says everyone who hopes in him. (Ephesians 2:8). However, this is helping the reader to begin to understand what a real Christian looks like. How do you make yourself pure? Or in simpler terms, how do you start to look like Christ after you are saved? 2 Corinthians 7:1
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Now that we have this understanding, another way to know you are saved is not only to know what you should look like, but also what you shouldn’t look like.
The Sinners or the Fakes (Fake Christians)
The Sinners or the Fakes (Fake Christians)
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
This set of verses now directly contrasts the verses above. They build on each other and the idea grows to the conclusion in verse 6. Let’s build out the idea and uncover the deep meaning of these three verses. for starters, the previous verse says that those in Christ actively purify themselves to be more like Him. These three verses show the other side of this by starting by boldly proclaiming that people who “committeth” which also means to practice or actively and constantly participate in sin, are guilty of practicing no law at all. Now, this is worth thinking about. Lawlessness = disorder and chaos, no guidance, and everyone doing whatever they want. (Proverbs 14:12) This is death, we know that death is the wage of sin (Romans 6:23). Therefore it makes sense that John would say lawlessness = sin.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
But the end thereof are the ways of death.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Verse 5 dives into Christ’s role, the one who takes away sin. He never sinned, in Him is no sin (2 Cor 5:21). So if Christ takes away sin, and there is no sin in Him, what does that mean for our verse 4 people who practice sin. Verse 6 answers this question.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
NO ONE! who abides in Christ keeps on sinning… now for proper context, we see in 1 John 2:1, that a believer can still sin, we also see this all throughout new testament scripture. So what does verse 6 actually mean? The next series of verses answer this question rather clearly and conclude John’s test between saved and unsaved.
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
How to Tell the Saved from the Unsaved
How to Tell the Saved from the Unsaved
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
There is how we know, if a person that is practicing righteous works, following the Bible’s teachings on how to be a good husband or wife, how to treat others, evangelizing and discipling others, working to remove sin from their daily lives, even the little ones, that person is in Christ, and is saved and should have confidence before God in Christ.
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Again it is restated, everyone who does the opposite, who practices and constantly commits sin, with no evidence of trying to remove this from their life is not saved. Let me really hurt your feelings, in an effort to help you clarify if you are really a child of God. Are you treating your spouse or your parents, or your children the way the bible says? Do you care? Are you trying to be better, if your answer is no to any of those questions, TREMBLE. Are you treating others how you should, with forgiveness and love? Or with hate and malice? Are you holding someone to a standard that you yourself do not meet, and have no conviction over this? If you know you are doing wrong in this area, do you have conviction or are you trying to fix it with God’s help? If no, FEAR. Do you care for the walk of other Christians? Are you working towards talking about Jesus to your unbelieving friends and family? Are you discipling your kids or other relatives kids to walk in the discipline and instruction of the Lord? If not, TREMBLE. Are you at all working to remove sin from your life? Are you trying to stop the little white lies? Are you working to stop looking at women that are not your wife, or men that aren’t your husband? Are you cutting off things that actively lead you to sinning like your phone that leads you to pornography or coveting other peoples lives, like that friend who you love, but has totally rejected Christ and keeps causing you to sin? Are you working towards slowing the gossip that you feed off of or that feeds your friends? Do any of things convict you? If no, you should fear and you should tremble. Why?
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
If you are actively practicing sin in your life and you care nothing about stopping it then YOU ARE NOT SAVED! It is evident you are not as it says in verse 10.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
Jumping back to verse 9, which is this true?! Because God lives inside those who are saved. The saved and redeemed are born of God. Remade in Christ. There will be evidence of that! This is beyond urgent. If you have used Christ as a get out of hell free card, or got saved because “someone told me I needed to”, then you are not saved. Jesus sums up this idea in words better than I ever could.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Examine yourself now, with the word, ponder this greatly, let it seep in, let it keep you up at night. There is nothing more important than being reconciled to the Holy Father. There is nothing more important than coming to God in full repentance, Jesus Christ made this possible for you. Accept this gift, repent, and constantly examine yourself to make sure your repentance was true.
