Being Bold in Your Faith!

(NIV)

9We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 16If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. 17All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. 18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. 19We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Goal: For the Hearer to Understand that being Bold in our faith is the only way to reach the lost!

Good Evening Sons & Daughters of St. Paul’s … May the Grace & Peace of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all … Let Us Pray.

We, as human beings, have a deep desire for certainty, don’t we? In 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote this famous statement, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” These past months we have witnessed the certainty of both. Just days ago, we lost former President George Bush. We have been preparing for this service for quite a few months … and it was definitely an exercise in faith. But sometimes our faith is truly challenged. Having authentic faith is sometimes

challenging when we are surrounded by a world of disbelief is it not? Ironically, Post-modern “prophets” seem to say that uncertainty is the only thing we can be sure about.

I want to give you some examples of how that uncertainty bombards us every day … Now, many of you know that I work out 5 days a week and I am in a constant struggle when it comes to putting certain foods in this “finely tuned machine.” And those of us who are interested in living and eating in healthier ways regularly continually hear conflicting and contradictory information. Just when we understand something to be a proven fact … it changes. That’s why I really used to like that show “Mythbusters”. They used scientific and non-scientific ways to exploit myths and people’s opinions from actual provable facts. But because of these inconsistencies….

We are left completely confused about what’s good and bad for us.

· One day we hear how bad sugary soft drinks are for us, but then next day we hear that artificial sweeteners are unhealthy, so we are better off drinking the sugared ones.

· We hear chocolate is bad for us, then we hear that some chocolate is good for us. (That’s my idea of a great diet – chocolate!)

· We hear that vitamin supplements are necessary, then we hear that a different study shows that they make no difference at all.

· We hear coffee is good, then coffee is bad.

· One day the experts are singing the praises of low fat, high fiber, then the next day it is high fat, low carb.

· So, many Americans just give up and eat their “Big Mac and Fries” and just don’t worry about it.

So, in this world of confusion and false information, when scientists are constantly changing their theories and politicians change their stances, John assures us that there are some things we, as Christians, can know for certain …

· As we look at this last section of 1 John, we see that it is overflowing with confidence and assurance.

· In these latter 8 verses, John uses the word “know”, no less than 7 times.

· He wants us to know that there are several very important things that we can know.

· John points us to some truths that cannot be denied and will never change.

· These are things we can be confident of; things of which we can be sure.

· There is a boldness that goes along with our faith as we take God at His Word.

Certainty #1: We can have Confidence in Eternal Life.

John wrote, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (vs. 13) This is our promise from God – we can know that we have eternal life. But, so many people over the centuries have been told just the opposite. They have been left with the impression that having eternal life was the one thing that a person can never know for sure. But I tell you today, God does not want us living with that kind of insecurity. God wants us to know that we have eternal life. Those of us who believe in Jesus and have been washed in the blood of the Lamb have been added to the church, and therefore know that we have eternal

life. We need to be just as bold in claiming that life for ourselves as we are in following our favorite Sports Team or our favorite musician.

Listen to a few other verses in Scripture that tell us that we can count on this promise.

· , “that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

· , “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

· , “Whoever puts his faith in the Son has eternal life…”

· Let me give you one more for good measure: , “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Did you catch that? Eternal life is a gift. It is not something we earn, achieve, or deserve. This gift is ultimately a person – Jesus Christ. John has already told us in this letter, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (5:11-12) As Christians, we never need to doubt or be confused about this issue. If we are in Christ, then we can say with confidence that we know that we have eternal life. And so, in times of confusion, loss or desperation, the first truth of which we can be certain is God’s promise of eternal life.

When I am struggling in my life, it is that promise that I hold onto to know that everything will be all right. We all will fail, (I have failed) in our efforts to follow Christ as He outlines in His words, but the key to come back to that word

and count on his promises to help us transform our lives into ones that would be pleasing to him. Without the promise of eternal life through Christ, what would make life worth living? This eternal life is just another gift of Grace that (I) we don’t deserve.

Certainty #2: We can have Confidence in Prayer.

We can be certain that God hears and answers our prayers. Listen again as I read verses 14-17, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.” (NIV)

Now, I don’t want us to get lost in the many questions that come when the subject of prayer is discussed. We must keep in mind that John is trying to give these folks and us assurance. To read the passage any other way is to miss the point. So, what is the simple, straightforward point? We can have confidence knowing that God hears and answers our prayers. This is a simple truth that is often repeated in Scripture.

That being said, we must remember that prayer is not a blank check. The promises of prayer are always given with conditions. We must never think that a well-worded and heartfelt prayer will get us anything we want. Prayer is not a means for deploying God’s unlimited resources to our limited understanding or to our selfishness. We misunderstand prayer when we think of it was a chance to cash in on God. The primary purpose of prayer is for us to draw closer to God

and to become more obedient to His will. And so, an important aspect of prayer is submitting my will to God’s rather than trying to get God to submit His will to mine. So, John says, “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” (vs. 14-15) John would say that those who walk in the light as He is in the light, don’t make a habit of praying to God for things that obviously are not according to his will.

Another thing we note is that John envisions us praying for the needs of others. The subject of prayer should not be me, myself, and I. Specifically, John has in mind prayers for another person that we see wrestling with sin. John distinguishes Christian sinners from those Christians whose sins are intentional, whose lives have separated them from the community, and who no longer have divine life in them. Therefore, the sin which ultimately leads to death is the denial that Jesus is the Son of God who came in the flesh. As John tries to give assurance, he declares that we can know that God hears and responds to our prayers. Of that we can be sure. And that can give us comfort and confidence.

Certainty #3: We can have Confidence in our Victory over Sin and Satan.

Let’s go back to verse 18 which says, “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.” What John wants us to be sure about is that God provides us with the power to overcome sin and Satan. When John talks about not “continuing in sin,” he is not talking about being tempted to sin or having occasional sin. You remember earlier, John said things like, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive

ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1:8) And, “I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (2:1) So, John is not saying that God expects sinless perfection from us.

The good news in all of this is that the help that God gives us enables us to overcome Satan and sin. We who have been born of God are set free from sin. Paul wrote, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed. You have been set free from sin and have becomes slaves of righteousness.” () And even though Satan can still tempt us, God promises to give us a measure of safety so that the evil one cannot harm us. Paul gave us that wonderful promise in , “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” We can be confident that despite the trials and temptations of life, we have the power to overcome sin and Satan through Him who keeps us. Although we may get discouraged and frustrated at times when we give in to temptation, we must not give up and give ourselves over to sin.

Certainty #4: We can have Confidence in Belonging to God.

This is a promise about our position in Christ … that we are a child of God. Verse 19 reminds us … “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”

As we look at this verse, we can actually see two truths in this verse:

1. That we are children of God

2. That the world is under the control of the evil one.

In other words, we know to whom we belong, and we know where we belong. We are God’s, and since this world is presently under the control of Satan, we really don’t belong here. As Christians we must realize that we reside in enemy territory … but we don’t have to be afraid because we are God’s children, and he is with us wherever we are. We belong to God, and our place is with Him. We know that He hears our prayers, and that He keeps us and provides for us, just as any good parent does for their child. Even when we doubt that He is listening, He is there. The problem is that we just aren’t patient enough to wait on his response. We live in an instant gratification world where we are always looking for a faster way to get the things that we want. We refuse to wait on much. We want it now … I mean immediately. We constantly wonder How long things are going to take. Can you imagine if our Lord had the same attitude towards us as we do towards the immediate gratification we insist on in our lives?

Certainty #5: We can have Belief in Belonging to God.

We sometimes struggle with this belief, don’t we? You could believe that Jesus is God’s Son and do nothing about it. In fact, a recent poll concluded that 84% of Americans believe that Jesus is God’s Son, but nowhere near that number

believes “in” him. How sad is this statistic? To believe in someone is to trust them. It is not enough to just give your opinion on the truth about him. It is to place the whole weight of your life on him. Giving everything to him. In doing this we will rest assured that he will do a better job with our lives than we currently are.

Certainty #6: We can have Confidence in Christ.

What do we know so far? We know that the Son of God has come and that He is the true God and eternal life. Look at verse 20, “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” How fitting is it that John’s letter ends this way. Throughout his letter he has promoted and defended the full divinity of Christ.” Our faith must be in nothing or no one other than Jesus. He is the true God and eternal life. My beloved … we must remember that Everyone and everything else falls short. In John’s gospel he says that Jesus is the true light. That’s why he cautions us at the end of this passage …to keep ourselves from idols. In John’s day there were multitudes of physical idols that people worshiped. The idols that were built back then are really no different than the things we have made idols in our lives today. Idolatry, in general, is simply replacing God and faith in His Son with something or someone else as the source of meaning and purpose in life. Just as it was in John’s day, idolatry continues to be a great challenge to our assurance of eternal life. So, John urges the people of

his day and us as well, to watch out for anything that may become a substitute for God. We know that Jesus is the real deal, we must not deal or trade for anything else. To do so is to lose it all. So let’s review what Johns has said that we should know, and can be certain and confident about …

· We can know that we have eternal life.

· We can know that God hears and answers our prayers.

· We can know that we have victory over sin and Satan.

· We can know that we are God’s children, and that the world is under Satan’s control.

· We can Know how Believing in God leads to Belonging to God.

· We can know that the Son of God has come and that he is the true God and offers us eternal life.

· We can also know that unlike the foods of today…Jesus is just as good for us today just as he will be tomorrow

· Those are things worth knowing and believing!

Let me end with this illustration … The next time you’re in an airport, observe the difference between passengers who hold confirmed tickets and those who are on standby. The ones with confirmed tickets read newspapers, surf on their phones, chat with their friends or take a nap. The ones on standby hang around the ticket counter, look worried and they pace. The difference is caused by the confidence factor. If you knew that in fifteen minutes you would have to stand in judgment before the Holy God and learn your eternal destiny, what would your reaction be? Would you look worried and pace? Would you say to

yourself, “I don’t know what God’s going to say--will it be ‘Welcome home, child,’ or will it be ‘Depart from me; I never knew you’”?

John’s point is that we don’t have to live with that kind of uncertainty. We can know if we are right with God. And we should know.

John wrote:

· “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…” (5:1)

· “He who has the Son has life…” (5:12)

Paul wrote:

· “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” ()

Once we are in Christ, then all we must do is remain in Christ. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” ()

So, where are you today? Are you in Christ? Are you remaining in Christ? If so, enjoy the comfort and confidence of knowing that you have eternal life. But if you know that you are not in Christ, or not remaining in Christ, then please recognize how serious your situation is. We have a forgiving God, but he should not be tested. Understand that He will welcome you back, no matter how far away you think you are … It’s called Grace. But, don’t use that as a crutch and don’t delay in believing or obeying the fact that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior, because you never know when your time will come to be judged. Be like

those sleeping passengers at the gate, knowing that you already have a ride to see him face to face. Be Bold, and count on Him…because he is counting on you. Amen?

Let Us Pray … Father help us to not take Your grace for granted. Help us to stand for the Gospel and worship the only true Savior of the world … Your Son Jesus Christ. Let us never replace You in worship with something that is of this world. Give us the strength to live for an eternity with you. We ask this in your son’s precious name. AMEN