Walk the Walk
Notes
Transcript
Introduction - Walk through previous passage. Confession, forgiveness that we might be cleansed of unrighteousness.
This forgiveness makes us righteous in the sight of God. The best way to explain it is to use an example from A.B. Simpson’s book the Four Fold Gospel:
Dr. Currie, a brilliant writer connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, has left a beautiful incident in his own life. He was the editor of one of the best journals of his church, and in many ways, he was intricately connected with its work. He dreamed one night, a little before his recent death, that he died and went up to the gate of heaven. There he met an angel and asked to be allowed to enter. The angel asked him who he was. He answered: "I am Dr. Currie, the editor of the Quarterly Review of the Methodist Episcopal Church." The angel answered: "I don't know you, I never heard of you before." Soon he met another angel and told 'him the same story and received the same answer: "I don't know you." At last, one of the angels said: "Let us go to the Judge and see if He will know you." He went before the throne and told the Judge about his life and the 'work he had done for the church but received the answer from the Judge: "I don't know you at all." His heart was beginning to gather the blackness of despair, when suddenly there was One at his side with a crown of thorns upon His head, who said: "Father, I know him. I will answer for him." And instantly all the harps of heaven began to sing: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain," and he was ushered into all the glory of the celestial world.
(Simpson, page 6)
What just happened here is mentioned in this morning’s passage.
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
When we have trouble walking the walk and when we ultimately stand before the judge we have an Advocate to stand with us.
We know we have an Advocate because we are told about Him in Verse 1. And that Advocate helps us walk the walk that He walked.
But what is an Advocate?
Advocate: a person (as a lawyer) who works and argues in support of another’s cause especially in court.
Explain the story about Dr. Currie and his Advocate.
and then verse 2 says:
2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
But what does it mean when it says He is the propitiation for our sins. That’s a mighty big word.
Propitiation: the means of appeasing wrath and gaining the good will of an offended person; especially with respect to sacrifices for appeasing angered deities.
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
In order to make garments of skin God had to shed the blood of an animal. The animal was the propitiation - it appeased His wrath toward Adam and Eve so that they might live.
But what does that have to do with Jesus being our propitiation.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Jesus’ death and spilled blood appeased the wrath of God that we might be saved. Our faith in Him allows us to know Him and to be in a relationship with Him.
Verse 3 goes on to say:
3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
So according to this we know Him by keeping His Commandments.
But what are His commandments?
Well we can start off with the 10 Commandments which can be found in Deuteronomy 5:1-21.
But when you boil it all down there is only two things that really have to happen. First:
5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Second:
34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
If you can manage to do these two things well you will avoid the entire list for the ten commandments because all of these just tell us how to treat others. These two commandments also point to one big thing. Relationships. A relationship with Christ Jesus and with each other.
Verse 4 goes on to say:
4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
To know Him is to follow His commands. So if you don’t follow His commands you are a liar. This is the same type statement that John made in the previous passage 1 John 1:6
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
So knowing Him points to a relationship. You can’t really know someone if you aren’t in a relationship. You could know about someone but not really know them. It is through relationships that we get to know things about someone - intimate things that others who only know the person but aren’t in a relationship do not know.
So, know the Lord Jesus. Be in a relationship with Him, do not break the fellowship that He died to provide to us.
Verse 5 goes on to say:
5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
Whoever - that is each and everyone of us, keeps His word. In other words His commandments and examples that He spoke to His disciples. In other words read the gospels and take His words to heart and do them. When we do this the love of God will be perfected in us. His love certainly won’t be perfected over night, but as we grow more like Christ our love will grow along with us.
And then verse 6 says:
6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
This is where the rubber meets the road. If we abide in Him than it should show in our actions. Our presence in Him should show up through the way we treat others. It should show up in how we talk, do we speak life or death, it should show up in how we steward over the things God has giving us, not just the money but our time and talents as well and it should show up in the things we choose to read, watch and listen to.
Walking the walk means we do what Jesus’ commanded. Walking the walk means we live in fellowship with Jesus. Walking the walk means we live in fellowship with the Children of God. Fellowship is relationship, and a relationship means we know Him and each other. We don’t just know about Him and each other. It means we have Him and the children of God in our hearts and not just in our heads. Walking the walk means that:
we walk in the newness of life as in Romans 6:4, we will walk by the Spirit as in Galatians 5:16, we will walk by faith as in 2 Corinthians 5:7, we will walk in love as in Ephesians 5:2, and finally if we walk the walk we will walk as children of Light as in Ephesians 5:8 “8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light”
Walking the walk doesn’t mean that we have to do a lot of stuff. Walking the walk means that we are in a relationship with the one who made us. It means that we are in a relationship with the one who was a propitiation for our sins. It means we have the Son of God on our side as an Advocate when we stand before God for the final judgement. Our sins demand blood. The blood can be our own which means you will spend eternity separated from God or it can be the blood that was already shed by another. The blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. If you are not in a relationship with Jesus I urge you to do it now. Begin walking the walk today. Confess your sins before God and ask for forgiveness. He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then you too will be a Child of Light walking in the Light of the Lord.