1 John 2
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 7 viewsNotes
Transcript
Obedience what thoughts does that word bring to mind? At my current stage in life. When I hear obedience I think children and lack of obedience. If you remember last week, that is what we are called to as believers right? It is easy for us “to say the right thing, but it is a lot harder to do the right thing. God calls for us to hear His voice and what? Obey it right? So as I prepared, I was think of the adults, it is easy to look at children and clearly see disobedience but where is there an area us adults like to maybe disobey? So I came up with a little test this morning. Let’s look at some driving signs. Have you ever disobeyed this sign?
Obedience what thoughts does that word bring to mind? At my current stage in life. When I hear obedience I think children and lack of obedience. If you remember last week, that is what we are called to as believers right? It is easy for us “to say the right thing, but it is a lot harder to do the right thing. God calls for us to hear His voice and what? Obey it right? So as I prepared, I was think of the adults, it is easy to look at children and clearly see disobedience but where is there an area us adults like to maybe disobey? So I came up with a little test this morning. Let’s look at some driving signs. Have you ever disobeyed this sign?
This morning we are going to look at three reasons you must obey God.
First, you must obey God or you remain under His wrath. We don’t hear a lot about the wrath of God much in our modern culture We like to focus on the love of God. But I would argue you can not fully grasp the Love of God until you understand the wrath of God. I have a pastor friend who got into a discussion with a fellow pastor who said they like to focus on the New Testament God of love not the Old testament God of wrath. Is that accurate? Did God change? Of course not, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So why would someone come to that conclusion? That pastor did not know their Bible is the short answer. The Old Testament is full of the love and patience of God and the New Testament is full of the wrath of God. But when people don’t really know the Bible, I think they focus on this command
Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
This seems pretty harsh right? Does it seem unjust that God command children to be slaughtered? Where is the love of God in this command? We need to look at this in the full context. Look at Genesis 15:16 with me.
And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
God is speaking to Abraham and tells him that his descendants will go into slavery in Egypt for 400 years or as our text put it four generations. Why? because the iniquity of the Amorites is not complete. These people were very wicked they were blood thirsty, they scarified there children to false gods. And what was God’s response? God gave the Amorites 400 years to repent. So before we see the wrath of God poured out on the Amorites, God patiently waits 400 years for them to repent. Let’s look at another example from the Old Testament that speaks of the wrath of God.
Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.
Once again we see disobedience stirring up the wrath of God. Do you remember some of the ways they were disobedient? The were discontent constantly right? They weren’t happy with the manna, they weren’t happy they had no water. They were inpatient when Moses went up Mount Sinai to get the 10 commandments so they made a golden calf to worship which is idolatry. They allowed fear to win out over faith when God originally gave them the promise land. Do you remember that? God said He would drive out the inhabitants. Do you remember the Israelites sent 10 spies into the promise land? How many reported favorably? How many of the spies said let us enter the promise land God has given us? Only two right? Joshua and Caleb. The other eight saw the men as giants and were afraid and persuaded the rest of Israel to chose fear over faith. The were trusting in their own strength or lack of over the promises of God. Remember God said He would go before them He would fight their battles. Do we still struggle with discontentment? Do we still struggle with impatience? God’s timing is not our timing. Do we still struggle with idolatry? I doubt any of us have little gods we made out of silver or gold but what are you treasuring over God in your heart? What is more important to you than God? Ask God and He will reveal it. Do you allow fear to overcome faith in your life? If you are honest this morning you would have answer yes to at least one of the above. Some might argue yes but that is the God of the Old Testament. Once Jesus came He satisfied that wrath and God is only a God of love now. Is that true? Is God only a God of love now? Let’s look at some New Testament passages now.
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.
So does the New Testament God still a God of wrath? I think the answer is pretty obvious. But that is where we get to the gospel right? The Gospel or Good News! Look at verse
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 2:2 (NIV)
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Jesus is a vicarious sacrifice: which is defined as a sacrifice performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the benefit or advantage of another : substitutionary sacrifice
Propitiation is a sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God. This past week the Jewish people celebrated Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur means “Day of Atonement” it is the one day of the year, that the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies, after make an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people and his own. Not only was Jesus a propitiation for our sins but He was a covering so that by His blood we can enter the very presence of God. He also is our advocate before the Father. When you stand before The righteous judge and He compares your life to His perfect law what is the verdict? Guilty but then your advocate speaks up. And agrees with the righteous judge that yes you are guilty But… This is a huge but… But Jesus says I paid for that sin. I stood in his place and i died for that. How awesome is that!!! We all have sinned and fallen short
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And Jesus paid for that He took the full wrath of God in our place. How awesome is that!
Listen to this quote
And Jesus was executed on a cross. He was counted as among the worst offenders. His death was real, and it was really terrible. He was an object of wrath. But not just of Roman and Jewish wrath; in fact, not mainly of Roman and Jewish wrath (John 19:11). Jesus was primarily the object of his Father’s wrath — the most just, righteous, and terrible wrath there is. And he became that object willingly, even when his every human impulse longed for escape (Mark 14:36). It’s the very reason he came. ~ Jon Bloom
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.
Did you hear the heart of God in this verse?
My little children… You have been adopted, you are now a son. The wrath of God has been satisfied. You are now a loved little child of God. How awesome is that?
This leads to the second reason you must obey God, so you know you are saved.
Your first response to that statement but be “Hold on wait a minute!” We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and I would say amen” That is absolutely true.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
So how do you know if you really mean it? It says believe in your heart, how do you know you genuinely believe? Jesus says,
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not 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: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Remember from last week it is so easy to say the right thing. I believe in Jesus. Yes, that is the correct answer but how do you know you truly believe??? How do you go from just saying the right thing to actually doing the right thing? The Spirit of God… What do I mean by that?
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
How do you go from death to life? It is a gift from God. If you are dead this morning in your sins and transgressions. Cry out to God only He can save you. And when the Holy Spirit breathes life into your dead soul, you will desire the things of God.
This leads to our final reason to obey God we see in our test this morning. You must obey God because in doing so the love of God is perfected. What does that mean. What did Jesus say about us, that is His follows and the love of God?
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
When you obey God, you look different than the world.
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
We are called to a much higher standard than the world.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Wow, this is a lot easier to say than actual do isn’t it? We know the right thing to say is “I don’t hate anyone” but what is truly in our heart. You are not just called to not hate, you are called to love your enemy. What would that look like? If you took this verse to heart and honestly loved you enemy. When you call yourself a Christian, the world is watching! It is easy to say I have no enemies but seek The Lord, ask Him to reveal to your heart anyone that would fit in this category. We all know as Christians we aren’t suppose to have enemies but genuinely ask the Lord to examine your heart this morning. Is there anyone in your life that you are treating like an enemy?
I want to leave you with this quote from author Dane Ortlund from his book “Deeper”
The living God is so glorious and kind, he cannot be known without being adored. Those who truly know him will love him, and without that heartfelt delight in God, we are nothing but hollow hypocrites. That adoration of God necessarily works itself out in a desire to grow in Christlikeness. It also fuels a love for Christ’s precious bride, the church, and a desire humbly to serve—rather than use—her. And, lastly, loving God brings us to share his concerns, especially to see his life-giving glory fill the earth.