Achieving a Goal of Your Forgiveness: Obedience, in Love
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
You must remember this letter not written to bring you to salvation, but after you’ve received that salvation, get tired, confused, get worn down in the valley of suffering, feel defeated in temptation, doubts and confusion, this last living Apostle, aged, and now about 20 years pastor to these church in and around
Key Truth: Receiving Christ’s forgiveness, Christians shift the trajectory of their daily life from sin to obedience .
This is the ethical text - when you receive Christ as Saviour and Lord, trust in Him truly know him - it is not just a claim by your head, simple joy of my sins cancelled, but you get the truth, the light, the word of God in you, you enter a fellowship with he Father and Son and the Spirit, and with God’s people. You have this fellowship of light, and you are not saved by that fellowship in the light, but you are saved for it. Not saved by how we love and reflect the Person of Christ, but we are saved for that kind of reflecting to be the new aim and habitual trajectory of our lives. Why the starting point for John is God is light - and if you want assurance, want growth in discipleship - the way you will find it - is by examining your position and your participation in that light.
Last week John had to take on the false teachers claims If we say - we have fellowship but walk in darkness - don’t got truth but a lie. If we say we have no sin, If we say after coming to Christ, sin not an issue - make God a liar. But if we are in the light -then in an going way, continue to confess any and all known sin - and we live in this ongoing cleansing. But now with this ethical test for assurance and discipleship, John doesn't want to leave the impression that trusting the forgiveness of sin by Chrst on the Cross, means that we become causal with sin, that forgiveness is a licence to sin. It is just as wrong to say like Rasputin, theme verse Romans, I am going to keep on sinning so grace can abound. John’s goal for your assurance and growth in discipleship - is that we don’t sin, that’s present tense, continuous ongoing action!
A. A Goal in God’s Forgiveness is Stopping Sin for Holiness
Your attitude to sin in your life greatly affects deep assurance before God, and progress in your discipleship, your Christ likeness. John is not upbraiding them: “You’re supposed to be perfect, be perfect, you weakling Christians, why not be more like me!” He with the most tender term for his people - my precious children, whom, I the lasting living apostles, last entrusted with Jesus Words, - Check out your attitude to sin - do you know how terrible it is - breaks fellowship, how it you have to flee it, how you have to mortify it. He is giving us an urgent warning: It is so easy, that like these false teachers to justify and toy with it.
This verse is written to those already saved, Christians, and yet John says, sin is still very much a huge issue in their life that they must address.
1 John 2:1a My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.
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.
Jerry Bridges has pointed out we are really good pointing out the sins of unbelievers and how bad our culture and others are, but for most Christians we have become self-righteous; creeps in that we don’t think category of sin matters to us. I mean how would you even define sin in your life? Whole category disappeared in evangelicalism - don’t judge , all grace… But listen to this definition of sin:
Sin is the skull set amidst life’s banquet, the desert breath that drinks every dew—a madness in the brain, a poison in the heart, an opiate in the will, a frenzy in the imagination. Sin, the disease of the soul, the instrument of everlasting ruin, the midnight blackness that invests man’s whole moral being, subverted the constitutional order of man’s nature. Sin, promising velvet and giving a shroud, promising liberty and giving slavery, promising nectar and giving gall . . . promising perfumed handkerchiefs and giving foul rags, promising silk and giving sackcloth.
And do you see if we want to take these tests for assurance, for discipleship - we’ve got to live participating in God’s light and that means seeing sin for what it is in our lives - not just psychological mess, or hurt to others, but offense to God and derailing of His goodness and wholeness in our lives. So this is the first point - our coming into the light , our receiving the forgiveness at the Cross - does not mean sin is a non-issue in our lives. And in fact coming into the light and receiving that forgiveness has its goal that - sin is addressed and defeated in an ongoing way - not just dealing with its guilt but its power and presence in our lives. And put positively, forgiveness doesn’t just restore you to neutral - it brings you to a place where you can live for holiness unto God!
But look with what care, he follows up this goal - not to sin, He moves to teaching us how to get to that goal - and it doesn’t start with your moral effort to be good.
B. The Power-Source of Ongoing Obedience is Christ’s Atoning Work at the Centre of our Lives
Look at the end of the verse 1 John 2:1b It starts with the ongoing work of Jesus in heaven for you! Do you you know and rely on and feel and experience Jesus work for you today?
1 John 2:1b But if anyone does sin...
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.
Now he has changed the tense. First he said, the goal of the Christian life is that in an ongoing habitual present tense continuous way - you no longer live in sin. But now he says, Christians, while not living in sin in continual way, do fall into specific sin. And its is not really a question of if, but WHEN, when we do sin, past tense. And that isn’t the same thing as continuing to sin, to live in it, continue let it dominate your life and your fine with that - its not continuous action. John has in mind, lapses into a particular sporadic sins. He’s made clear that we are making God a liar to say we have no sin, even after we’re saved. But he is pointing to a way of living that is neither to overly hard on sin to the point of utter despair, obsessed so all we have in ongoing guilt and uncertainty, on the one hand. Remember Satan’s two-pronged strategy - to make saints sinner, and sinners saints. But John doesn’t want you and I to be knocked off the solid grounds of our salvation, not our performance, or our righteousness, not why we are saved. Our own obedience has got to become the result, but the source is Jesus forgiveness from the Cross, God’s pure mercy, the Spirit with Jesus offering up pure gift.
Think of it as if John is saying, you need a three legged stool: Christian is called to idealistic about sin - guilt and punishment and overall dominion broken - so no habitual ongoing sin, striving for real holiness. But at the same time John says you got to be incredibly realistic - we all continue to have lapses into sin, there is indwelling sin in every Christian, , but not only do we have complete forgiveness from all and every sin if we have turned to Christ, but there is also a way for you and I to actually deal with ongoing, indwelling sin in our lives that . And now John is going to spell that out that third leg of the stool is forgiveness. That will be the source of really living in growing progressive obedience, and love and holiness in your lives. Look at the goal at the end, but now in the middle John wants to make sure at the centre of your life - got this third leg of the stool secure and supporting your whole way of living!
i. Receiving Propitiation
Here John uses two powerful pictures that have to be ongoing ways we are experiencing the living Lord Jesus Christ in our lives today: advocate and propitiation.
Let’s take the last one first, because it happened first in Jesus ministry and it is the foundational picture. This picture takes us into the realm of the temple or tabernacle and it is a description of Jesus as not only as your priest, but even more as your sacrifice. 1 John 2:2 This takes us to the day of atonement,
1 John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Leviticus 16 - one goat is sacrificed taking the punishment, guilt and stain away - a blood sacrifice - remember the sacrifices - pure and spotless a picture of perfect life substituting for defiled unclean, guilty life. Expiation in regards to the stain of our sinful nature and sin, not just paid the penalty, but offered perfect life in our place, active righteousness of Christ, no hope without out it! - God isn’t looking for you to offer a better life, in order to accept you - Jesus said my life m y record, love them Father, guilt and stain removed, there record. But this word propitiation, though it includes that taking away of the blot of all your sin, speaks of Jesus as your sacrifice doing more than that. Propitiation, while it includes expiation with that focus of removing your stain, involves more how God now looks at you. You’ve got to feel this. That other goat wasn’t killed in sacrifice, you know what happened to that other goat after the sins of the people confessed over it, he was led away from the centre of the camp, where God and the people dwelt together, he was led where - away into the desert. God’s wrath against our sin is not only removed from us, God’s righteous anger, sent away- don’t you come back again!
Some people reject the wrath of God. They think forgiveness is just forget about it,. But the grounds of forgiveness isn’t divine forgetfulness but satisfaction. God is satisfied, justice is satisfied, wrath, condemnation truly deserved by us, really meted out on the Cross, and Christ really turned it away truly turned away!
And the picture is that presence of sin is no longer accounted, that God’s just anger and wrath against sin is propitiated. God is Pro - for us now and forever! People without Christ’s at the center - always live waiting for God’s other other foot to fall, for the disfavor of God to come on us for our sin. But if you know this picture of propitiation is true for you, God now justly look at us purified in Christ, and there is no disappointment, no unfinished business or lecture to receive , no separation and he says I don’t have to forsake you, send you a way in your sin, because the Mediator in your place , truly sent away for you, - you can live in my presence, you to know and daily have my favour! Now you of us deserves that, earns that - just freely offered in Christ to you, and John says , forgiven like that - you need to know that His sacrifice , the Land of God who takes away the sin of the world, not just for ours here, but for the sins of the whole world. That is the scope of our Saviour sacrifice, for sure sufficient for the sins of anyone in this whole wide world, and indeed as John seems to be emphasizing - you have got to be offering this forgiveness to the whole wide world.
Your understanding of forgiveness and the cross, is to result in this understanding of God’s favour, acceptance, unearned, all in Christ, but look at where it leads, look a the picture and role of Christ that is built on this foundation. And while this second picture is also the role of priest in tabernacle, or temple, the picture is actually that of the court room.
ii. Relying on Christ’s Advocacy
Let’s imagine that you have lapsed into a particular sin, actually caught red handed. Like a professor of mine, pictures dumping his garbage in Dumpster not belonging to him or his apartment. Let’s say skilled in ancient languages, really intensely wrapped up in that, but not in points of law, nor really good speaking gently to people. Hire a lawyer - advocate, a counsellor, who will represent you to the judge. And in this situation you can image a lawyer trying to get my professor off the hook, provide some loop hole, argue an excuse, - My professor needed an Advocate!
1 John 2:1c But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
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.
But the point is that this mediator intervenes - wronged party, the court of law, you as the guilty party . Well in Leviticus 16 we also have the propitiation, expiation in those sacrifices, but the whole last half of the chapter is the priest and the guy who led that goat away, cleansing themselves and then going back to the people- kind of like priest with bell - he coming back - declare God’s favour, celebrate his fellowship.
God and Him have worked it out and you are going to be okay, don’t have to leave the country any more, don’t have to pay any fines. Here live at the center of our camp, our headquarters, participate fully with us as partners in this kingdom of Light! Well who does this for you right now. Not just the sacrifice - that’s Christ on the Cross, but listen his work on the basis of the finished work of the for you goes on. His atonement was finished, the punishment was finished, the payment and - but Jesus Christ’s ministry to you wasn't finished. He rises from the dead, that blood still speaks again and again today and tomorrow into your life and mine. The ongoing ministry of Christ - he in heaven intercedes for you.
Jesus - not the loop hole finder lawyer, Jesus the righteous, Jesus who has full knowledge of your sin, ongoing , weakness, full of sympathy. Jesus who is not ashamed to call sinners like you and me my brother, sister. This Jesus never stops for a minute - advocating for you in heaven. Do you know any of Christ’s ongoing advocacy for you? Not just a cure illustration about what happened on the Cross, but an illustration of the reality of what Christ is doing for you now in heaven day by day!
Hebrews 7:25
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
What does that means for how you rely on Jesus day to day to quit sin and finding his purifying help live for righteousness:
Hebrews 4:14-16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
How many times do we sin, and we don’t want to go to Jesus, say blown it again. How many times do we listen to Satan accuser of God’s people - or just grow numb. John using one his favourite words, paraclete, come along side. Physically he did that with the apostles, word of life, leaving them he says physically not going to be by your side, like send another Paraclete, th Spirit .
But today you need to know Jesus himself hasn’t stopped being your Paraclete, your advocate. You can get up from sin, you can get back into tight fellowship and favour with God, you can because you live in Him, have the Spirit of adoption, you can have Christ and the Father making your home in your heart. Do you know Jesus by this 2 pictures, as you hold the emblem’s of his sacrifice, - holding symbol of his blood propitiation, hold that bread - his body his whole offered up - be your advocate, - in human body and in fullness of his divine being, the Son of God your advocate - stand beside God pleading your life and case, but sands by you!
Well on that basis, John says not only have this joy of forgiveness but get to the goal and purpose of forgiveness. A true experience of God’s forgiveness leads to a real, even if still imperfect, obedience.
C. God’s forgiveness leads to real gospel-obedience.
Now that may turn you off? God wants your obedience. You aren’t going to tell me that God’s commandments are necessary are you? Well actually, even though our obedience isn’t necessary for salvation; I am gong to tell you that your gospel obedience, born out of your faith and union with Christ is necessary for your assurance and your ongoing discipleship. John’s concern is not to tell us how to be saved here, but how to be sure that you are really walking in the light, whether the light of Jesus has transformed your life. And he makes a controversial test of whether that’s happened.
1 John 2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
It was controversial back then. The false teachers, earliest form of gnosticism, special high knowledge for a few, deny body, and - higher way of knowing - didn’t have Christ as advocate ,a s God-man as really come in the flesh, really concerned with daily life in the flesh at the center - just Jesus as inspiration to higher form of spiritual living. Word John uses most in this letter - really knowing isn’t just an intellectual or even spiritual event. There was a Greek word for intellectual and abstract knowledge knowing, but he doesn't use that. 26 times he use the word for personal encounter knowing! It is a personal event - transforms your mind, will, emotions. And in verses 4-6 John is saying, these commandments are Jesus’s commandments, and it is about having the truth of Jesus not just known in your head, but at the core of you being.
1 John 2:4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
You can’t really know Jesus without becoming a new creature, without the Holy Spirit coming to dwell in you strength you - God abiding in your very being: 2 Cor 5:17.
Not just the truth in general - but he truth of jesus commited to words -John summarized them all in
1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
Those were Jesus parting words as he promised to be with every single believer to the end of the age - teaching them to obey all I commanded. So these words treasured up in your life and then reflected in your actions:
1 John 2:5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
Do you see the goal of forgiveness there? John is going to move on to the relationships test of this soon. By Jesus commandment - is love - Love of God, love of those around you. And when Jesus is your advocate in life, not just pleading ongoing forgiveness and acceptance, but fellowship with the Father. Because Israel didn’t have to go out in the wilderness like that scapegoat. Israel could live in God’s presence daily in the camp, in the community of faith in the middle of this world. They could live out the love of God and neighbour!
And do you see it all the commandments Jesus gave, ones he fulfilled, said not one jot or tittle, all those commandments - honouring the Lord in your life, honouring His Day, his ordinances, honoring his word, saying no to sin and yes to holiness - casting out filthiness,s not being casual with sin, but
This isn’t about legalism, this is about love. For instance, if you love a family member - not just a sappy sentimental thing. No you, care and commited enough to act and sacrifice in their life - want the best. And that involves morally doing right for them, help them walk in the right - being loyal. Not fuzzy feelings - but obedience in what is right and good and loving.
Dr. Boris Kornfeld a Jewish Russian doctor in Soviet work camp. Came to Christ, but as doctor now who knew Christ two “blunders” - quit signing health certificates which gave guards the legal basis to murder inmate by working them to death. And he also one day turned in an orderly nurse who was stealing food from the starving prisoners. Conscience. love of Christ couldn’t allow him to go along with this. Knew it would cost him his life, one night someone did break in to his room and beat him to death, but not before he had opportunity to witness his faith in Christ to young inmate with cancer of the intestines. Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
Following Christ in this world is inconvenient., easier to break the Lord’s day, to abandon your elderly parents, this world says more satisfying to destroy an enemy or indulge a lust. But real loving is a rugged commitment to God’s good! But to know Christ, to abide in Him, to know his forgiveness and get to the purpose of that forgiveness is to abide in Christ’s love. and that is costly and it is good, and it causes a person to reflect the life of Christ in their life. His patience, his gentleness, his concern and care for the lowly, his pursuit of justice , his speech honest and purity. And John is saying obedience in all these areas is what illustrates that you are living by mature love for God and not coasting in sin. That word perfected, love is perfected, is passive, it is something God is doing - slowly but surely progressively in us. He is bring the love of God in us to maturation.
Time management folks speak of having a stop doing list, and a start doing list. Spiritually ethically, lovingly what would God put under those two titles in our lives today!
Listen to me. So often we think that God’s word, his law, his commandments and love have nothing to do with each other. But they do. Have you heard the saying “If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life?” It doesn’t feel like work because you love it… It like that ultimately in our battle with sin and for obedience! The answer is not only disciples, just try harder not to sin, Discipline is helpful, but love is always more powerful than discipline. You’ll always do what you love, Abide in Christ, truly - in the end as you are in His Word, as You live in daily fellowship worship - discipline will follow love of Christ and what he stands for
Why Augustine said, you know what if really found Christ, Love, and do what you will! Doing what you your redeemed heart and mind really want - you can love God and do as your heart pleases. Not licence to sin, but to reflect Christ! Oh, John and I know myself, and if your honest, we know that isn’t in fullness yet, steps may be small - but it is now the trajectory of our life, the point of our relationships with God - please Him - obedience to the good and the holy. And so John sums up this ethical test, about whether your walking in the light, whether you’ve got this habit of obedience after forgiveness in you like this: 1 John 2:6
Your New Trajectory: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 1 John 2:6
whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Abide. We had it in our two gospel readings - to abide in God is to be like a branch tapped into a vine. New life in you that produces fruit. That’s a walk in the Bible, not just the manner in which you do things, but way of life and what goods your life produces. And John is saying, as you see the lifestyle, the manner , the fruit of Jesus reproduced in your life - not perfectly yet, but progressively and habitually; you can experience a fullness a joy that assures you and grows you. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. As surely as you take up Christ’s atoning work by faith in bread and wine, as surely as you have His life in you, you go forth from this service, from the Table of the Lord - to bear that fruit!
None of us will vanquish sin this side of eternity, but the one who truly loves and knows God, will keep his word. This is the ethical test. We will lapse and there is an advocate and propitiation we must be turning to, but from that forgiveness John says there is an obedience that is an assurance and testimony that we truly know God and are growing in Him.