The Perfect Picture

Introduction

I don’t know about you but I love pictures or photographs. Do you realize that this generation that is rising up will never really know the experience of putting the film into a camera, taking a specific number of pictures, having them developed, and waiting patiently to see how it turned out? I know that they do still make disposable cameras, but as a rule, it is not an everyday experience. It wasn’t that long ago that when you took a picture with your camera you had no idea how it turned out. You may get the pictures back and realize that they are blurry, or there is a finger in the way or worse yet, some clicked while the cover was on. In some ways, it made you even more careful to take the right picture because you didn’t have a chance to fix it! What I love about pictures is that they are snapshots in time of something that you can always go back and look at. A picture is a reservoir of memories that come rolling down when you look at and experience the details in the photograph. Pictures are also reminders of what life was like at a certain time. We laugh at the hairstyles and fashion of time gone by, don’t we? I believe that in this passage, John is giving us a sort of verbal photograph of what a Christian looks like. He wants us to look at this photograph and be reminded of what life in Chris is supposed to look like. Sometimes we forget and a good picture is a great reminder. Let us read 1 John 5:1-5.

The victorious Christian life is marked by Faith, Love and Obedience.

Throughout the letter of 1 John, John has shown the trifecta of Christian living: Faith, Love, and Obedience. Throughout this letter, John has been answering the question that has been asked through the ages, how can I know that I am a believer? Or, what does a believer look like? John has shown how each of these, Faith, love, and obedience are the marks of a believer. In this passage, he brings them all together for a much fuller picture of a follower of Christ. I want you to just simply imagine today that John has pulled out a photograph and he is going name the different elements of a believer. The structure that we will use to go through this text is very similar to what one commentator, Daniel Akin, used in his commentary.

The believer has the right beliefs

This passage likely uses a literary device called an inclusion. What is meant by that is that the beginning and the end of a passage have a similar theme, phrase, or idea at the beginning in the end. For John that revolves around faith. He is going to point out that the believer has the right set of beliefs about Jesus. This is something that we have discussed at length as we have worked our way through 1 John. Listen, what you and I believe about Jesus matters greatly. Faith is not some sort of cloudy thing, where everyone gets to decide on what they want to believe. I know that we are not accustomed to hearing this in our world today but there are right beliefs and wrong beliefs. The context here is that believers have the right beliefs about Jesus. One, Jesus is the Christ, and two, Jesus is the Son of God. In many ways, he is using these two phrases interchangeably. However, as a whole, they may have different nuances. He is the Messiah and He is God in the flesh. He has come to redeem and He truly is Immanuel, God with us. Do you believe this? Some people who sit in church pews don’t always believe this. Some might say, “I don’t believe Jesus is God,” or “I’m not sure Jesus was really human.” The believer has the right beliefs.

The believer has had a new birth

Of all things in life, new experiences, natural beauty, love, there is nothing that compares to the miracle of birth. When a child is conceived and grows for nine months and then is born… there is nothing in this world that compares to that. Nothing. If natural birth is miraculous, the spiritual new birth is even far more amazing. The new birth language is very prominent in John’s writings. You might recall Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in John 3 when he says, “Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The initial description of a Christian is one who has been made new through the new birth. A very similar idea is found in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when Paul says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” How is one born again? For one, it goes back to that right belief in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the standard for being born again. Think about it. There is no other way for the spiritual new birth than belief in Jesus Christ. No other way! John 1:12-13 is another description of the new birth, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God.” Faith in Christ both the entryway to salvation and it is the evidence of salvation. Faith is always the work of God in a believer’s life. When we are born again, we have a new family. There is only one way to be in God’s family: Jesus Christ.

The believer loves his family

John makes it clear that the other mark of a Christian is their love. Now, we are not surprised by this, are we? John has spoken about love in several different passages in 1 John. John is going to connect love and the family of God. John says this: one of the ways that you know someone loves the father is that they love father’s children. Let me say that negatively, you can’t say you love the Father and hate all his other children. Why is that? When you truly love the Father, I mean a real, authentic love, you love everything and everyone that the father loves. If you hate something the Father loves, then you don’t really know the Father. I think there is something lost in today’s world. In a world of mass consumerism and materialism, we are tempted to view one another as fellow consumers. For some people, they simply look at the people that are in this room, or people that fill other churches, as fellow consumers or fellow participants, or even fellow club members. We are tempted to view each other as dispensable. Think about it: when I go to the movies and I am sitting in a room full of people, I have no real duty to those people, other than the basic rights we afford to all people. Why? Because they are simply fellow consumers. The point of the family of God is that the people that makeup churches if they trust in Christ, are more than simply consumers, they are brothers and sisters in Christ. They have been born again by God, therefore I love them because God dearly loves them.

Regarding love, he goes a step further and says, “by this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” Now, this seems strange at first. John is essentially saying,

“You can’t love God’s children correctly if you don’t love God.” The larger point is this, I can be the most caring and compassionate person on the planet but if that kindness is not undergirded by a love for God, then it is ultimately an unsatisfactory love. I appreciate how one particular commentator stated it, “Only someone who is on fire with the love of his Maker can be said to love his fellow humans in the right way.”[1] Love is a hallmark of a Christian.

The believer obeys God

However, did you catch that other part of Love? We are only loving to the children of God and for God himself when we obey him. That’s an interesting point: when I don’t obey God, I don’t love in the way that I should. Obedience to God in all areas of my life. No area is off-limits to God. God’s Word has shown us how to live in the way that He has designed it. In the matter of Love, if I am hating someone I cannot say that I love God. If I am living in some sort of sexual immorality, how can I say that I love God? If I am gossiping and slandering someone, does love for God fit? If I am living a lifestyle that does not fit into God’s standards, I am a lover of self and not a lover of God. If I am indifferent to the needs of others, I am not a lover of God. God has a lot to say about these things! Obedience is love! Remember, when I love God I want to love what he values and is important to Him. Therefore, his commandments are important to Him. Here’s the problem though, obedience that does not come from love is not the type of obedience that God is looking for and it will not last. Some people try to obey every one of God’s commands because they are afraid of going to hell. Others are afraid of some sort of retribution from God. Other’s keep the commandments because they are a part of some group that twists God’s word to compel others. Listen, obedience that stems from these things will not last and it will not lead to joyful living. I want to obey God because I love Him! I know that He has the best interest for me. They aren’t a burden.

In Jesus’ time, the religious leaders of the day had burdened the people with rules. The Pharisees are famous for their law-keeping and their extensive oral law traditions that guided their behavior. The people were suffocated by laws and rules and obedience. In some ways, many people are still burdened like this. Legalism is alive and well in our world today. Legalism becomes about rules but not true holiness. It is about obedience without love. Those are burdens. Legalism cares more about what people can see, than what they can’t see. Obedience is not a burden. In this context, Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [2] Obeying God is not a burden! Is it easy always? No. Will we have to press on to do so? Yes! Obedience is not joyless but joy-filled because of the Holy Spirit with us! In legalism, it’s all me. In Biblical Christianity, I am never alone! Now listen, we aren’t perfect and we will fall at times but we keep pressing on toward Christ. When we say that obedience is the mark of a Christian, I am not saying perfect obedience but rather a lifestyle of obedience. A trajectory of obedience. Are you aiming at the target?

The believer is an overcomer

John also tells us that the Christian lives in victory. Did you know that the words used here for overcoming and victory stem from the Greek word Nike? Nike also is the name of the Greek Goddess who represented victory, speed, and strength. Of course, we know Nike as an athletic brand that is used by many champions of all different sports. One of the things that John has made clear to us is that there does exist a sinful world that is filled with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. John so beautifully reminds us that we have victory over the world. While we struggle against the world and temptation seems so great, John is shouting to us, “The battle has been won! Just keep fighting.” And what is the victory? Our Faith. I love what John Piper says here:

“Faith sees that Jesus is better. That is why faith conquers the world. The world held us in bondage by the power of its desires. But now our eyes have been opened by the new birth to see the superior desirability of Jesus. Jesus is better than the desires of the flesh, and better than the desires of the eyes, and better than the riches that strangle us with greed and pride.”[3]

Conclusion

John is reminding us that faith, love, and obedience are the qualities of a Christian. There are other things, of course, but they fit in these categories. Let me ask you a question? Does your life look like this? Do you have the right faith? Are you known for your love? Do you obey God? The truth is, you can never be considered a child of God until you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. You and I deserve to be punished for our sins but Jesus Christ has given his life so that we can experience forgiveness and redemption and have eternal life. Jesus has taken our place. The only way we can be forgiven of our sins is through faith in Christ. There is no amount of obedience that can wash away our sins. Have you trusted in Jesus Christ for forgiveness? If not, I encourage you to do so. If you are watching online and you want to know more about Christ, my email will appear at the end of the broadcast.

For those that have trusted Christ, in what area do you need to grow? Maybe your faith is weak right now. Perhaps you aren’t as loving as you should be. There could be some element of disobedience in your life. Whatever it is, turn to the Lord and let Him work in your life.

[1]Quoting Bede: Yarbrough, Robert, “1,2,and 3 John,” Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (2008), p.273

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 11:28–30.

[3]Quoting John Piper: Akin, Daniel. “Exalting Jesus in 1,2,&3 John,” Christ-Centered Exposition, ( 2014), p. 126