Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Good morning, Lafayette Baptist Family, it is very great to be with you all again this Holiday weekend.

Emily and I are very happy to be with you all again this 4th of July weekend and share God’s words with you.

Before I get to far in, I want to thank all of the veterans, military, and military families in this room.

Thank you, your sacrifice is so much greater than I know, and it has been beneficial to us in ways that I don’t even understand.

Thank you.

Our verses today are 1 John 2:12-14, 1 John 2:12-14.

If you will all please go ahead and turn in your bibles there, 1 John 2:12-14.

While you are doing that, I want to paint a picture with you.

Imagine if you will, a small little boy or girl, a newborn.

Imagine this little boy or girl being held by mommy or daddy.

This baby is safe, this baby is precious, this baby is loved.

Imagine them, that a few years have passed, at 4 years old this child is still all of these things, safe, precious, loved but now we see a child that is stronger and more capable than the newborn.

Then, a few more years come and go, and the child is 10, he or she is still a child but is capable of more.

Then, a few more years come and go, and the child is 16, we may start referring to this child as no longer a child, but a young man or woman.

He or she is still all of the things that he/she was before but now is stronger and able to do most things on their own.

Fast forward and the young man or woman is 25 years old.

Still young, still strong but something is changing.

Yes, he/she is safe, precious, loved, strong, independent, but now we are seeing maturity start.

Then, ten more years come by, the young man or woman would no longer be considered “Young” maybe “younger” but no longer young, he or she is (and has been for some time now) a full fledged adult.

He or she is probably at this point a father or mother or at least aspires to be.

He/she makes decisions based off of wisdom now instead of just instinct that the younger self would have; and will find that they make decisions off of wisdom more and more as the years go by this person is mature and is maturing as the years come on.

So, let’s take this idea of life lived and matured and apply it today to our faith lives and walks.

Through all of it though, what did the person have that was true through it all.

It was that this person was safe in Christ, this person is precious to God, this person is loved by the by the creator of all things, loved by the most powerful and important being ever, God.

So, what I’m saying is and what the main point/title of the sermon today is that, In all walks of the Christian life, what we have in common is Christ.

The Text

Now, if you will all please rise for the reading of God’s word together, which is 1 John 2:12-14.

While I am reading, please follow along in your own bibles.

Now, when I am done reading I will say “This is the Word of The Lord” and if you will please respond with “Thanks be to God.” Before we begin though, let’s pray.

Father, we come before you expectantly.

Father, we know that you are going to show us something in Your Word.

Refine us, Father.

Make us come to know and love and understand You all the more.

Help us to take it all in and then go and share it all out with others.

We thank you for this wonderful gift that we are getting to experience together today.

That, we get to come together and worship You.

Help us to make everything we do all about worshiping you….. Help us to put anything in our way of doing that aside.

You are the truth and light and life, thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ who died for us so that we can be redeemed and experience a perfect fellowship with you.

It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy name that I pray, Amen.

1st John 2, starting at verse 12.

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.13

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

14 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

This is the word of the Lord (thanks be to God), thank you, you may please be seated.

Context

Today we begin our sixth expository Installment of the letter of 1st John.

I know it may seem like we have been in this letter for a while, but I want to encourage you that we are all making very good progress in this letter together.

Speaking in general, and especially when reading, understanding, and digesting God’s word, it is so good to finish something that you start.

This is because we seek to know the full council of God’s word and it is saying to us, as opposed to taking out little bits here and their as we please.

I would encourage you all, when you are doing your own bible reading and devotion to dive deep and start a book of the bible and read to completion.

In fact, it is good to read a book several times in row, it really is amazing how the Bible is to us a living writing, whereas different things speak to us different times or even just different days or hours in our lives based upon our spiritual needs at that time.

This is of course because we worship a living God who knows you even better than you know your own self.

Psalm 139 says about him that, O Lord, you have searched me and known me!2

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.3

You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Long story short, he knows you so much because he made you and is all knowing.

Also just a quick side note, if you are ever wondering which text to read to follow along in this sermon series, you can’t go wrong by finishing up the chapter we are in or reading the next chapter if we just finished one up.

Last week, and the week before, we talked at length about the greatest commandments that God has given us.

These are of course to Love God and Love people.

In fact, our love of God should motivate us into loving other people every bit as much (and even greater so) as we love ourselves.

Last week especially, we talked about how these commandments were from all the way in the beginning of the Christian and Hebrew faith, that they were set a long time ago and have always been base level expectations for believers.

We then covered how Christ came and made this commandment new, he renewed it.

He increased it’s importance.

He made it new in emphasis (saying that all of the old law hung on these two commandments), new in quality (that it was to go a greater measurer, emulating up to the point of death like Christ had died for us the cross), and new in extent (that this love extended to EVERYBODY, including your enemies, no longer is the question, “who is my neighbor” a legitimate question).

With those important and building block parts of faith in mind, John then moves into this section which seems to be an address of sorts.

That is, he is saying who this letter he is writing is for.

He makes it pretty clear here, it is for Christians of all levels of maturity and all walks in life.

The theologian Van Neste says of this section that, “John provides a valuable pastoral example in this section.

He has not dodged the challenging truths that needed to be stated in the previous sections.

He has been bold and direct.

But he is not shrill, and he does not stay in confrontation mode.

Here he pauses to encourage his people with the reality of gospel promises.

These truths—and not browbeating—are what will inspire them to persevere and to pursue holiness.[1]

So, let’s move deep into the text together and discover what it is that God is trying to tell us here.

Message

Here is the first point, Christ In Us

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake

The first thing I want you notice is that the word children is used two times in this week’s text.

Both uses of the word are different in who they are addressing and implying, and the original language clearly uses two different words.

Specifically, when John is saying “little children” in this verse, he is using it much like he did in the beginning of this chapter where he says, “My Little Children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”

So, here John is once again tenderly and fatherly referring to his entire audience, not just children.

Rather, he is acting as a father would, using a term of endearment to the entire church then and now as he was a sort of spiritual father.

You might say that John is saying here, “I am writing to you all beloved fellow Christians, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”

Ok, so we got who John is addressing under wraps, let’s look at the rest of the verse.

“Because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

Who then is the “him” here, it is of course Christ Jesus who died on the cross that our sins would be forgiven.

It is in His name and for His sake that our sins are forgiven.

This can be hard, you have heard me say this once but I’ll say it again, your salvation isn’t about you.

It’s about Jesus, it’s about the great work of God who redeems sinners and makes them saints so that God can be glorified through the entire process.

If we begin to believe that our salvation is about us, then we find ourselves in a tricky situation; a working our way down a slippery slope that the world wants us to believe, a lie that says, “Everything at all times is always about me.”

This in and of itself is one of implications of the Gnostic Gospel, that John was writing this letter to guard, protect, and correct about.

In addition, this verse serves as one of blessed assurance to believers everywhere.

That is, everyone who is a child of God can rest at peace knowing that their sins are forgiven.