Evidence of our Faith

1 John 5:1–5 NRSV

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Introduction

I feel really bad for students today. Not only are they having to wear masks all day and observe social distancing guidelines, but life is so different for them now. Kids missed prom, their senior year for playing sports or doing band or chorus performances, and even graduation. Right now students are feeling the effects of a world that is responding to a global pandemic.

Much is different, but there is one important difference that I’ve been thinking about, the sick day. School can now be done from home. It used to be that if you were sick you would stay home and do nothing all day, but now school can be accessed from home, so if you stay home sick you may be expected to still get your work done.

You see, when I was a kid, the “sick day” was a safe haven. If I didn’t feel good, or feel like going to school, I’d just say “mom, I don’t feel good.” She’d ask what was wrong, I’d come up with a good excuse, and she’d let me stay home.

Sometimes, it was awesome. I had the whole day to myself while all of my friends were stuck in their classrooms. However I think my mom caught on quickly to my antics.

It got to the point that when I was home sick I wasn’t allowed to stay in my room, I had to lay on the couch, which was fine because that was where the TV was. But, quickly, I lost control of the TV. My mom would come out, sit on the other couch, and turn on whatever shows she wanted to watch.

My sick days went from a vacation day to one filled with Maury, Jerry Springer, and Judge Judy. Actually, I remember how scared I was of Judge Judy. She was one lady that I didn’t want to mess with. She was strong, fierce, and was a no nonsense person.

One episode I watched had a man who was trying to sue his ex-girlfriend for something. It got to the point where he gave his testimony. He threw out all of these accusations against her, dragged her through the mud, and stood there feeling like he had one the case. Needless to say, he had a very compelling story.

Judge Judy listened intently and responded with only this, “Where is the evidence that she did any of that?”

The man stood there, frozen. He had no evidence. He was making things up and wasn’t able to support his claims.

Judge Judy said, “clearly you’re lying, the case is dismissed.”

At that the gavel struck, the courtroom cleared out, and they interviewed the people in the back.

The lesson that I learned that day, after watching Judge Judy, was that evidence is an important thing to have.

Without it, it’s hard to be believed. evidence is an essential and pretty important thing to have.

It shows the people around us that what is being said is either true or false.

And, believe it or not, our faith in Christ, our identity as Christians, it has proof that can be seen.

Our Identity in Christ

Our Scripture this morning shows us what the evidence of our faith is. We are told that the evidence of our faith is our love of God and of one another, our obedience to God’s commands, and lastly it is victory that conquers the world.

It’s important for us to explore what these things are to better understand them. It may help us to gauge our faith, and how effectively we are giving proof of our faith.

Love

The first evidence for our faith in Jesus is love. First of all it is love for God. Meaning, we place nothing above Him. We find ourselves in awe of Him, honoring and worshiping Him. Moreover, our Scripture tells us that if we love our father, we must love his children. 1 John 5:1 says,

1 John 5:1 NRSV

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.

Everyone who loves God must also love the child. And we have learned that believing that Jesus is the Christ makes us a child of God. So, all who have faith in Christ are our brothers and sisters. We must not only love God, but them as well.

What this means is that we show our faith in God by loving our brothers and sisters in Christ, even when we don’t like them or if we disagree with them.

We are all aware that this is an election year. Things are tense now more than ever. It’s very easy to look at the news or on social media and see people spewing hate and division over politics. What’s more disturbing to me is seeing people who profess Jesus as Lord not showing love to their fellow believers.

If a piece of evidence for our faith is love for God and one another, that needs to be reflected in every interaction we have, whether that’s in person, on the phone, or on the internet. Just because someone votes differently than you does not remove them as being a child of God, your brother or sister. Our faith in God is displayed so much more when we remain loving even while everyone around us spews hate. It separates us for the good.

Keep in mind what 1 John 4:20-21 says,

1 John 4:20–21 NRSV

Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

Loving God and his children are as inseparable as the two sides of a coin.

Obedience

The next piece of evidence that shows the world our faith in Jesus is obedience. This means that we are willing to listen to what God has to say and then do what He says.

1 John 5:3 says,

1 John 5:3 NRSV

For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,

Our obedience of God’s commandments are evidence of our faith in Jesus. When we obey God we are showing him love and faith. Now, this doesn’t mean we are to be legalistic like the Pharisees and scrutinize everyone around us, but it means something much deeper. The center of our discipleship is no longer the moral duty of obeying the Mosaic Law, but it is now pleasing a dearly loved Father by listening to what He says.

It’s easy for us to walk around and say that we are Christians, to say that we love God, but it’s often difficult for us to show obedience to God. The world looks at us differently, like we are weird or brainwashed, but in fact we are displaying our faith. We must show our emotional love for God through our moral obedience to His commands. For us to say that we love God and then to fail to even try and obey His commands is nonsense, misleading, and a false testimony.

The good news though is that God’s commands are not burdensome. This means that they are not chores, nor boring, nor painful. Sure, they may be hard, they will challenge us, they will make the world look at us differently, but, as Christ says, his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

What this means is that we cannot simply wear a cross around our necks or put a Bible verse on Facebook every once in a while and have that be proof enough of our faith. We must enter into this world as faithful and obedient people. The more that we obey God, the greater our faith shines to dark world. It is evidence of our faith in Jesus Christ.

Victory

Finally, we are told that a piece of evidence for our faith in Jesus is victory. What this means is that we are not squandered by the wickedness in this world, we overcome it. Not through our own power or strength, but through Jesus.

1 John 5:4-5 says this,

1 John 5:4–5 NRSV

for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Our faith in Jesus gives us victory over the world, and that victory is evidence of our faith. As we have discovered, this world is a wicked place. It is full of corruption, pain, agony, evil, and deceit. This is the work of our enemy. It’s the work of the serpent in the garden of Eden.

This is why we feel temptation, why it’s so easy to fall into our sins. It’s because we are surrounded by it. Ultimately, when we profess Jesus as Lord, we are conquering that evil. We conquer the enemy.

But, this victory, as I said before, is not a product of our own doing, but one of Jesus. It was his life, death, and resurrection that defeated evil and death.

What that means for us is that wherever and whenever our faith is the central part of our lives, there is victory. Victory over the evil of this world is not only a testimony to the goodness of God, but it is a display of Jesus in the world.

Now, this victory doesn’t mean things will be hard, it doesn’t mean that conflicts will never arise, but what it does mean is that we have a certainty of the outcome. While we struggle we know that Christ will be always be the victor!

The victory that Christ gained for us on the cross helps us to realize that the wickedness, pain, evil, and sin in this world is passing away and that Jesus will be coming again.

Conclusion

So, everyday, we must be sure that we are giving the evidence of our faith. As believers we are always on trial, always being tested, always being examined, so we must give them the evidence.

That evidence, the evidence of our faith in Jesus, is love of God and his people, obedience to God, and victory because of God.

Make sure, brothers and sisters, that your daily lives are evidence of your faith in Jesus. This is how we win, this is how God wins, and this is how we rid the world of its wickedness.

Let us pray.