Who We Are (Part 3)
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Think back to the days of the Blake street bombers. Galaraga, Walker, Castilla, Bichette, and all the monster home runs we were treated to all those years. We saw many a ball launched into the rock piles and the fountains come alive. The grands cheers of the people. Home runs happened so much that I remember one sports commentator even referred to Coors field as Coors canaveral. One of the things about home runs is it shows us something about who we are. When home runs are hit that’s it. Soon as the ball hits the rock pile it is done. Home run… you cannot strike out, you cannot be tagged out by anyone, no one in the field or in the bleachers can get you out. If they throw the ball back into the the field the opposing player cannot throw the ball to home and tag you out. It is done. It is a home run an no one can take it from you. What christ has done for us … When Jesus died on the cross, he put it over the fence, He put it in the rock pile. He declares that We are children of God and our future and salvation is real and nothing can stop it… no one can tag us out.
When Jesus died on the cross, he put it over the fence!
Our salvation is truly like a home run… amazing, fountains and cheers when it happens, it is done. But something still needs to happen after the ball hits the rock pile… its done, but the player still has to run the bases. Understand this is not a catch it is the natural outcome of a home run hitter.
Identity. Yes one of the most important buzz words of today. It is almost foundational to the lives of many today. In a psychological framework, identity encompasses the memories, experiences, relationships, and values that create one’s sense of self. What we should note is that identity, in general, also encompasses political opinions, moral attitudes, and religious beliefs, all of which guide the choices one makes on a daily basis. Our identity also includes the many relationships people cultivate, such as their identity as a child, friend, spouse, and parent. Identity also involves external characteristics over which a person has little or no control, such as height, race, or socioeconomic class.
People who are overly concerned with the impression they make, or who feel a core aspect of themselves is not being expressed, can struggle acutely with their identity. Reflecting on the discrepancy between who one is and who one wants to be can be a powerful catalyst for change and growth. It is purported that external factors decide who we are.
But today family, we got it backwards. We need to see that who we are decide the external factors. Yet again we see the philosophy of Existentialism penetrating the church. Our identity does not come from what we do. What we do does not define us, sorry batman… we are what the Lord decrees.
We do good, not to be a christian, but we do good because we are christians. We do... not to create identity, but we do... according to our identity. Lets look at this further.
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
The grass withers the flower fades but the Word of our God stands forever.
The Phenomena of Defective Belief
Purity
The Gospel of Glory
Every Christian should always live in three arenas: 1) what we are, 2) what we shall be, and 3) what we should be. We find all of this in our scripture today. This week we will look the final arena. The first thing and only thing we will explore is this modern phenomena today of defective belief.
Thesis: Though sin and the pattern if this world cause us to fall into a place of a crisis of identity, it is the love of the Father, work of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit that brings us to the greatest of identities and that is to be a child of God, destined for glory, living a life of purity through Christ and Christ alone.
I. The Phenomena of Defective Belief
- He does not say that they ought to keep themselves pure, but that they do.
A. The Apostle John will not let us dwell in the place of glory. Again what a fantastic declaration that we are children of God destined for glory. Certainty based on the promise of God, the power of God, and the performance of God. This is like we reached the top of the mountain of the mt. of transfiguration and we want to stay there. If you remember Peter, he suggested, that they make three tabernacles and hang out in all the glory. Make sense… why not dwell on the top of the mountain leaving behind, trials and suffering in life, all of our problems. Just dwell in verses 1 and 2.
B. John did take us to the top of the mountain in verses 1 and 2, but he never intended us to remain there. We gotta come down the mountain. We are children, thats what we are, one day we will be like Christ, that is what we will be, but until then, John in verse 3 tells us what we should be.
And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
C. There is no misunderstanding John here. It is clear that those who have that hope, that eager expectation, if you believe that you are a child of God and will be like Christ one glorious day…then you will keep yourself just as he is pure. Purity follows faith period. Just like day follows night, like B follows A, like the coyote follows the road runner. If faith is really there then purity is gonna be there.
Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones - Therefore, this third verse is one which comes to us as a very real and a very sure test, the extent to which I have really grasped the teaching of verse 2 is proved by the extent to which I implement verse 3.
Dr. Colin Kruse - The hope of being like Christ in the future expresses itself in an effort to purify oneself to be like him in the present.
D. But we should not see this as a condition or a catch, but a natural outcome. He is not saying with all those promises its all yours but here is the catch. This is the phenomena of defective belief. This is so common a unbiblical belief in the church that it makes the reality of purity and works as a condition for our salvation and we don’t even know we are doing it.
The hope of being like Christ in the future expresses itself in an effort to purify oneself to be like him in the present.
Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John (p. 116). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
E. It is clear with what seems the most misunderstood scriptures… faith without works is dead. Many see this passage simply as you have to believe and do works if you are to be saved in the end. Man if I’m gonna be a christian and be saved then I better get to work and do good things. If I don’t do good then I’m going to go to hell. Without even knowing it, we are pushing works righteousness which is horrible false teaching.
F. The problem that James wants to address is not the lack of works because it is the condition of our salvation. He wants to address that the lack of works is proving a defective faith. The problem is not lack of works but lack of faith. You aint got works then you aint got faith. A warning today. If you look at your life and you see lack of works… the problem is not motivation, it is your faith.
G. If you are not keeping yourself pure, then you may not be a child of God.
Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones - He does not say he ought to purify himself, he says that he does, and therefore it becomes a very thorough test of what we truly are.
H. That is why we should recognize that much of our failure in what we do is not in the realm of effort or laziness, but in the realm of belief. If we are failing in true Christian practice, then the problem is most likely a defective belief. If we really saw ourselves clearly with all confidence of faith they way John describes us, then the problem of conduct would be solved. That is why we should recognize that the problem with christian conduct failure is not in the realm of effort or practice, but in the realm of faith.
I. For many of us, who have been Christians a while, may have seen and experienced the reality of this problem especially when a church puts a high emphasis on behavior, conduct and ethics… failure becomes even more apparent. Many times we find a push to soften the standards of purity to make it easier to follow or an unloving keeping and expectation of certain laws of the Lord. We get legalism or antinomianism. Some will turn completely away from the Lord or some will become so hardened and bitter that joy is gone and judgement and censoriousness brought upon self and especially others.
J. This is why we have got to use the Scriptures to truly be our directive when it comes to our understanding of Holiness. What happens in the church today is that we study the directives and ethics in the scriptures to find our mark then we use worldly pragmatic practices and psychological methodologies to accomplish the behavior. Therefore, the pulpits in America, if you listen carefully… its all manipulation, coercion, behavior modification, and classical conditioning. Pastors admit to struggling with this… some have even told me that they don’t want to preach the Gospel in its fullness because the people will not be motivated to do anything. That is some of the hell fire brimstone method of preachers in the 19th and 20th century to motivate people to repentance and to good works.
K. The scriptures make it clear that Holiness is always a result of our understanding of our position as Christian people. The NT seems to always present holiness in the back drop of our blessed hope we have in Christ. Scripture never talks about the holiness and sanctification as the good life in and of itself. The scriptures make clear that the reason for being holy is that I am a child of God and I am destined for glory… and family if we do not practice purity and holiness in those terms we will eventually be led astray and not even know it. Again, I am not to live a good and holy life in order that I may become a Christian, I am to live a good and holy life because I am a Christian.
L. Another thing about purity and holiness. We make a terrible mistake when we think of holiness as a kind of next level life that we are meant to enjoy and that we should be entering. Some might say there is so much more to Christianity than what you are living now. There are two types of Christians… the ordinary ones and those who are living in holiness and purity and they have so much more joy and peace in their lives. Sure you can be a christian without purity and holiness, but why would you not want to take advantage of this higher thing is its there for the taking?
M. This is a common teaching and it is utter nonsense. This is foreign to the teaching of scripture. It is the continued pragmatic manipulation of our culture. Holiness and purity is for all Christians and its not a something extra. It is expected of all Christians. If you are a Christian you are living a life of purity and holiness… if not you might want to check what it is that you believe. If the spirit of the Lord is in you… the fruit of the Spirit will be there.
N. Again, works, purity, holiness, obedience, are all a natural expression of what is already there in our belief system. John is making it abundantly clear here. If you have this hope in your life, then you will keep yourself pure, just as he is pure. If it is not there, then before we shake up effort and check laziness, we need to check what it is that we really believe.
O. Sure what pastor Shane talked about last week was super cool, but I’m not so sure that it is really true. If this is the case then it will affect our behavior. Wow I am a child of God and I will be glorified in Christ when I see Him face to face… thats great, if only it was really true. If i forsake all things to live a pure life, I might be missing out on lots the world has to offer if its not true.
P. What really does affect our behavior in life is that little nagging voice in the back of our minds that keeps suggesting that all of this might not be true. It is a great and encouraging thing but maybe too good to be true. These doubts no matter how small have huge ramifications on our purity and holiness. Imagine what we would really be capable of if we really believed that it was all true. Lets not lie to ourselves today.
Q. I have said it time and time again that the clear thread in the scriptures show that mans greatest problem is the wrath of God and our greatest weakness is unbelief. All throughout the scripture… unbelief, unbelief, and unbelief.
Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
R. The reality of sin and its fruit called rebellion continues to plague our human condition personally and socially. Doubt continues to permeate deep down inside and it causes us to function in ways contrary to the will of the Lord. The Word declares we are children of the Lord, and sins affect causes us to think yeah right. The Word declares we will be like Christ in the end and sins affect causes us to think that would be nice if it was really true. Sure I am a Christian, but Shane if i’m honest, I believe that all that the gospel and the scriptures are all true, but I am kinda holding my breath. When I appear in heaven I’m actually gonna let out an exhale of relief.
S. This is how sin works in our lives and many of us don’t want to hear about it. Sins deception tries to convince us that we cannot help but yield to sin. Satan is like crafty Cortes, who when the Spaniards invaded Mexico sought to make the Mexicans believe that a Spaniard cannot die, a deception that utterly unnerved them in battle.
Satan’s deception tries to convince us that we cannot help but yield to sin. Satan is like crafty Cortes, who when the Spaniards invaded Mexico sought to make the Mexicans believe that a Spaniard cannot die, a deception that utterly unnerved them in battle.
T. Sin continues to be a problem and our biggest problem is real. The wrath of God.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 145). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”
U. Eternal darkness, lake of fire, place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, eternal punishment all of these things are real… do not be deceived by sin and the pattern of this world. All have sinned and fallen short… the wages of sin is death.
V. But I do have good news for us today. The wrath of God is real, but for us we will never experience the wrath of God ever, because Christ took the wrath of God for us. Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried… The saying is trust worthy and deserving of full acceptance ...
Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
W. And salvation is here for us today… not because of what we have done of will do, but what we believe. So that might believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God and that by believing you will have life … If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart ...
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