Sermon Tone Analysis

BACK TO THE BASICS: AN EXPOSITION OF 1 JOHN

With the new year comes a new study.

As I prayed and sought for advice on what passage of Scripture to begin my time as pastor, this letter came up several times.

It contains important truths for the Christian life.

Some would even say they are basic.

Like athletes who master the basics, we, as Christians, need to master the basics of the faith.

Vince Lombardi is famous for beginning each practice season by holding up a football and saying, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”

We, as young and mature Christians, would do well to follow Mr. Lombardi’s example.

Thus, it is my goal that we begin with the basics for the year 2020.

Perhaps one of the most basic thoughts to the Christian Life is fellowship.

We see this between Christians, but also between the Christian and God.

Our first section of Scripture focuses on the basics of fellowship.

FELLOWSHIP WITH THE GODHEAD-

Doctrine is simply belief.

It is a teaching upon a subject.

But doctrine is important because belief affects how we live.

For example, if I believe this chair will support my weight, then I will sit in it without hesitation.

If, on the other hand, I have doubts, I may test it out prior to sitting.

What I believe about the chair affects how I respond to it.

The same goes for our beliefs about God.

If I believe He is a holy God then my life, my thoughts, and my speech will look different.

If I believe there are multiple gods and goddesses, then that too will change how I live.

Shortly after Creation, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin against their Creator.

The first question in the sacred Scriptures appears as a doubt to God’s Word.

In , the Serpent asks Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’”

(ESV) The Serpent questioned doctrine communicated by God.

This question, and the resulting fall, has brought about various misrepresentations of monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, and all other -isms.

The most significant ramification of this rebellion against their Creator, however, was the severed relationship between God and the ones who bear His image.

We lost fellowship with God.

Rather than walking with God in the cool of the day, we refuse to acknowledge Him as our Creator.

We fail to give thanks for His goodness.

We seek false idols rather than worshipping the One, True God.

Fellowship, a prominent theme in John’s letter, is an interesting word.

It is interesting because it is absolutely packed with meaning.

The main thought behind this word, however, is one of commonality between individuals.

This word is used to describe churches.

People of different backgrounds, races, upbringing, and financial status can fellowship because of the commonality of the family of God.

One of John’s goals in this letter is for us to have fellowship with each other and with the Triune God.

And this is the goal of the entire Scripture.

God’s glorious purpose of redemption, that is, the restoration of His creation and the reestablishment of fellowship with His fallen creatures, is the theme of the Bible.

We will look at the four verses with these three points: 1) The Requirement for Fellowship, in other words, what did restoring the fellowship with God require, 2) The Ring of Fellowship, that is, who enjoys the fellowship, and finally, 3) The Results of Fellowship, that is, what does fellowship do?

I trust that God will open our eyes to the glorious truth that we can have fellowship with Him.

It is a basic truth of the Bible, but one that we often forget.

I. THE REQUIREMENT FOR FELLOWSHIP- vss.

1-2

The Bible is clear that when God created everything, He tailored it to the needs of human beings.

We will be covering this on Sunday evenings, but if you go back and read through the book of Genesis you will see that God wanted to have fellowship with mankind.

He desired to enjoy our company, to share His universe with us.

Through the fall man died, that is, his life with God ended.

His very nature was marred, forever and irrevocably if left to his own.

But God in His marvelous grace, knowing what humanity would do, planned redemption before the foundation of the world (see ).

His plan was to send His own Son to die for the sins of the world.

He would take our place, and take God’s wrath, so that we might have life.

These thoughts are lofty thoughts, incredible and powerful.

But I want to break them down into two main thoughts which will help us understand John’s description here.

A. There is a requirement for forgiveness

Because you and I, with the rest of humanity, have broken God’s commandments, we are now guilty.

Like the prison inmate awaiting sentencing, already found guilty, you and I stand guilty in God’s courtroom.

We have sinned against the infinitely holy God.

The only way that we can enjoy fellowship is to have forgiveness.

While John will discuss this in more detail in time to come, look briefly at verses 5-10.

It is only through forgiveness that we can enjoy fellowship.

Think about a family member who has done you great harm.

Perhaps they committed a crime against you or a loved one, and now your fellowship is severed.

Until you forgive them, the relationship will never be healed.

That communality will never be enjoyed.

There will be no sense of shared responsibilities because there is sin that has severed that relationship.

Only forgiveness can bridge that gap.

On an infinitely greater scale, our relationship with God has been severed.

We need forgiveness.

And as the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to the coming One who’s once-and-for-all sacrifice would restore that relationship, someone had to pay for our sins.

That is the whole reason we celebrate Advent.

God sent His Son to die for our sins.

There is, however, another requirement.

B. There is a requirement for righteousness

Just as we need forgiveness, we also need righteousness.

In forgiveness, our slate is wiped clean, but we are still far from restored.

You may wonder, like I did, why is righteousness required?

Were we not forgiven?

The answer is that when we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, we are truly forgiven.

However, what the Old Testament sacrifices could not do is impute, or deposit, righteousness to our accounts.

They merely covered our sins, awaiting the day in which the Lamb of God would be slain.

But more than simply forgiving our sins, Christ’s righteousness is applied to us.

We stand before the thrice-holy God, not on our own, but on the basis of Christ’s righteousness.

Which leads us to the conclusion.

C.

There is a requirement for the incarnation

Because we stand in eternally-desperate need for forgiveness and righteousness, Christ had to become a human being.

Animals were unable, as the author of Hebrews tells us, “take away sins” (, ESV).

That is why John highlights the physicalness of Jesus.

Notice the concrete language he uses.

It is something they looked at, they heard, they touched with their hands.

Christ truly came to earth as a man.

The false teaching of Docetism, that Christ only appeared to be human, is here demolished.

Jesus was truly and completely human.

John says in his gospel account, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (, NASB).

There need for forgiveness necessitated a substitute and for the deposit of righteous, a task fit for, and completely only by, the Son of God.

This is why John calls Jesus “eternal life” in verse 2.

So, there requirement of fellowship is forgiveness of sins and righteouesness, only accomplishable through the incarnation of God the Son.

This brings us to the Ring of Fellowship.

II.