If It's True, It's Not New

Mike Thorburn

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It’s good to be back in the pulpit of Vertical Church San Jose.

There is an old saying with respect to what we hold to as the truths of Christianity that is the basis of this morning’s message: “If it’s true it’s not knew; if it’s new it’s not true”

By the end of this morning’s message I want you to be able to understand why it’s important to believe that Jesus is God come in the flesh and that he is the only savior of the world, the savior who died for you. I want you to believe what it means to be a follower of Christ and that how you live is more important than what you know. Finally, I want you to begin to look around and realize that not everyone who says that they are a Christian is a Christian, I especially want you to understand that groups or individuals who say that they have a new word from God or a truer form of Christianity are most likely false teachers.

In other words, this morning’s message is about believing in the true Savior, living like a true believer, and learning to recognize false teachers.

How many kinds of “True Christianity” are there?

It’s a silly question but if you look around there seem to be several versions of what it means to be a follower of Christ. And even that is a form of Christianity because many people people would call themselves a Christian but the thought of following Jesus has never even crossed their mind.

And so we have a man who writes to a group of believers approximately 60 years after Jesus has been crucified, has risen from the dead and then has ascended into heaven and he needs to explain what it means to be a true follower of the true Christ in order to have a true salvation. Now we want to emphasize the word “true” because it was Jesus himself who said that he was the way and the truth and the life. He was the true way to God. But 60 years later there are a group of teachers within this church who have started to teach “new truth” about Jesus and about how to live the Christian life.

The man John

1 John is named after its writer. John was more than a disciple of Jesus. He was Jesus’ cousin. Jesus’ mother Mary and John’s mother Salome were sisters. This was not John the Baptist. John the Baptist was the son of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth and Zechariah. John the Baptist ends up eating locusts and honey in the dessert. Jesus’ father Joseph dies and so Jesus grows up in humble circumstances. But John and His brother James grow up in a home that appears to be well off. His parents Zebedee and Salome have servants, his mother is able to financially support the ministry of Jesus, Salome bought the spices for Jesus’ body, John was a personal friend of the high priest and high priests were usually part of the upper class. He became a follower of John the Baptist and then became a follower of Jesus.

His brother James was the leader of the Jerusalem church and was arrested and executed by Herod in .

Jesus gave John and his brother James the nickname Sons of Thunder, most likely because of their fiery personalities.

John lived in Jerusalem and left due to Roman persecution just before the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD. He moved to the city of Ephesus and became a leader of the church in Ephesus. He became known as John the Elder. He was arrested and imprisoned on the Island of Patmos and after his release he returned to Ephesus where he died at the age of 100. He was the only apostle to die of natural causes.

Chronologically, John wrote the last 5 books of the NT from 85 (John), 90 (1-3 John), 96 (Revelation)

The message of John

John is not wishy washy. John is calling his readers back to the radical response Jesus required of his listeners

John is explaining to his readers the true Christian faith. He wants them to know:

About Jesus: This is what we call the doctrine of Christology

Jesus the Christ came in human flesh

Jesus lived a human life

Jesus died in the flesh

About salvation: This is what we call the doctrine of soteriology

“the evidence of true faith is measured by the genuineness of one’s Christian lifestyle, not by what one “knows””

John is challenging the false teachings of leaders who had left the church in order to promote their own version of Christianity. In 1 John we can see that they denied 11 key truths:

John

The Christ had come in the flesh (4:2)

Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God (2:22; 5:1,5)

Jesus’ commands had no authority (2:4)

The responsibility to live as Jesus had lived (2:4,6; 3:7)

They denied their own sinfulness (1:8,10)

Salvation through the work of Christ (2:2)

Jesus’ command that believers love one another (2:9)

Righteous conduct was a requirement of fellowship with God (1:6; 2:29; 3:6,10)

The necessity of church and the necessity of fellowship with other believers in order to have a deepening relationship with the Father and His Son (1:3; 2:11)

The authority of John as an elder and the message he was given by Jesus. a message that had been proclaimed “from the beginning” (1:5)

That those who did not follow the false teachers were in the truth (2:20-21)

There are some amazing similarities between the false teachers in John’s day and false teachers today.

But we also need to point out that they also mixed truth with their error. This is the way that false teachers work. They believed:

God is light (1:5)

The gospel released them from the power of sin (1:8)

Christ as a philosophical concept (4:2)

The anointing of the Spirit (2:27)

The devil as the anti-God (3:8-10; 4:2-3)

Now remember, John is saying to the readers of his letter that false teachers can call themselves believers, they can even believe a certain amount of truth; they can even claim to have a special message, a new message from God BUT in reality they are false teachers, they are not believers, they are not teaching truth.

And he’s not just writing in order to warn them; he’s also writing as a pastor to encourage them.

They are believing in the true Savior, they are right to walk in obedience to Jesus, it is right to live a moral and righteous life, true believers do love and forgive and care for one another. They do have the anointing of the Holy Spirit (2:20), God has not left them (4:13), the promises of God are still true (3:1), Jesus is the epitome and supreme example of love (3:16-18).

Some important words

John speaks in big pictures. He uses words dramatically to make his point. Here are some examples:

From the beginning

- That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— - 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. - I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. - I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. - Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. - Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. - For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

2. if anyone

- My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But ifanyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. - Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. - But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? - If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. - If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

3. everyone

- If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. - And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. - Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. - Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. - Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and Everyonewho loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. - For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. - We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

4. if we say

- If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. - If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. - If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

5. whoever says

- Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, - whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. - Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.

6. whoever as opposed to whoever says

- 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. - Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. - But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. - And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. - No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. - Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. - Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. - By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. - We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. - 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. - We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; Whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. - Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. - So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. - There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. - And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. - 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. - 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. - Whoever has the Son has life; Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

7. no one

- No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. - No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. - Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. - No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. - No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

8. by this we know

- My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. - Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, - 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. - 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. - I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. - I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. - I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. - 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. - If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. - I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. - If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

9. by this we know

- And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. - but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this wemay know that we are in him: - By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. - By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; - Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this weknow that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. - We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this We know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. - By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

9. I - John begins with “we” but uses I to shout loud and clear

Doctrines

1. Christology - who is Jesus? Not just a man. Not a spirit. Not a sinful man. God in the flesh, the perfect, sinless savior.

2. Soteriology - What is salvation? How do I become a Christian? What does it mean to be a Christian? Salvation is a gift. Salvation involves imputation - our sins placed upon Jesus and his righteousness given to us through the new birth.

- Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for not only our sins but for the sin of the entire world. But to receive this salvation you must personally receive him and follow him.

3. Bibliology - what do we believe about the Bible. The entire Bible is the word of God. John tells us that “from the beginning” this message has been true. tells us that all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. This is what John is doing.

tells us that we are not following cleverly devised myths. John is reminding us of this. God’s word is truth and we are to build our faith upon these truths.

Lessons for the church today

You need to understand that what you “know” is not as important as what you “do”

What you know in part may be true but if you neglect the essential commands of Jesus you are lost

It is always about Jesus - who he is, what he has done

John gives us the big picture of true Christianity:

The message has not changed, Jesus has not changed, how to live the Christian life has not changed.

However, the world, your flesh, and the devil will always want to change this message.

SO, here is how you can know that you are a true follower of the true Savior and have the true salvation. Here is what I want you to leave with this morning. Here are three truths that will keep you in true fellowship with Jesus:

Three truths that will keep you in true fellowship with Jesus

There is no secret message - God is light. He has clearly and publicly His truth through the coming of his son Jesus

There is no sensual message - God is righteous. He demands true followers to walk in holiness. If you are mingling your faith with anything you know to be against God’s commands then you need to stop, you need to repent, you need to confess and you to need start doing what is right.

There is no sinister message - God is love. By this will all people know that we are his disciples, by loving one another. There is no place in the true church of Jesus for petty division, gossip, broken relationships, grudges or jealousy.

Conclusion

Jesus was a radical, he called his followers to embrace a radical lifestyle of sacrifice and commitment. He called his followers to take up their crosses daily, to die to self, to love him with everything. John says us, true faith doesn’t change in order to make us happy. True faith calls us to change in order to bring glory to the Father and to receive from Him the well done good and faithful servant.

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