Abiding Assurance, Part 2

1 John 5:18–21 NKJV

We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Prayer

The book of John has served as one ginormous test for us to see if we really are in the faith.

We have seen the moral test, if our life exudes righteousness.

We have seen the social test, to see if our life brings forth the love that comes from God.

We have seen the truth test, to see if we believe the right things.

This book has been deeply challenging, but it has also been deeply joy filled to know that we are truly children of God if we have passed these tests.

We can know and rest in the fact that we are God’s children if we pass these tests.

And John loves his “little children”

But like any good father figure, he always wants to conclude his thoughts with a warning.

When I was growing up, every time I would go anywhere..

My dad would remind me with “Be careful!”

We could be going to work out at the farm.

Or going on a trip around the world.

And he would always conclude whatever he had to tell me with “be careful”

I think like any good father would do, John who was this spiritual father wants to leave us with some words.

John wants our best.

He wants us to remain in Christ.

He wants us to continue if the faith.

In a world of darkness, and deception; we must guard ourselves against idols.

Our only hope for success is found in God’s promises.

1 John 5:18 ESV

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

Assurance of Spiritual Protection

“Can’t Touch This”

Now we have talked about this a little bit a couple of weeks ago but it is important to mention here.

The Christian, the one who has been born of God cannot be harmed by the evil one.

The Christian is unharmed from the evil one because he has been born from above.

1 John 5:19 ESV

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Assurance of Belonging to God

“In The Family”

John gives two important realities in this verse.

The first is an assurance and the second is a declaration of what the world is like.

The Assurance

“Passing the Test”

The assurance is that we know are from of God because we cling to the Lord Jesus.

The world hates the Lord Jesus and all that He stands for, but we know we are from of God because we cling to Jesus.

A person will ask, “How do I know that I am from God?”

The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary The Second Affirmation (v. 19)

In this case the certainty that “we are children of God” comes from the fact that the tests of righteousness, love, and sound doctrine have been applied and the results discovered to be positive.

When a person has passes the moral test, walking in righteousness.

The social test, loving the brothers.

And the doctrine test, believing the right things.

Then a person can know that they belong to God.

The Declaration

“In his Grasp”

The second aspect of this verse is the declaration that the world lies in the power of the evil one.

The evil one, which can be identified with Satan, has his grip on the entirety of this world.

We should not picture the world struggling against the grips of Satan.

Rather we should view the world as silently laying in the grasp of the curse.

Rather than struggling hard against Satan, they are unconsciously asleep in his embrace.

This can be seen when Satan offers to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in Luke 4:5-7

Luke 4:5–7 ESV

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

Or as Paul says in another place,

Galatians 1:4 ESV

who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

How does Satan go about doing this?

People are enslaved to what they want.

They are enslaved to their own desires.

They are enslaved to their passions which are contrary to Christ.

Simply put: they are habitual idolators.

The blinding of this world is the fact that they are unable to see the Lord Jesus for who He is.

A secular lie is that the world has the ability to be neutral and can be swayed in any direction based upon logic and reason.

We don’t live in a neutral world, we live in a world that is bent in the direction of Satan ruling over it.

We live in a world which lies in the power of the evil one.

Every human institution - Driven by idolators

Every person who is not a believer - Enslaved to their passions

Everything lies in the power of the evil one.

Application

The believer is deeply comforted by the knowledge that they belong to God.

This verse allows the Christian to be grateful for the protection that God gives....

And simultaneously guard them from seeing others living in sin as being “happier”

It also guards us from always agreeing with others.

If the world is under the grips of the evil one, then we must have a posture of wisdom and shrewdness in our thinking.

1 John 5:20 ESV

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Assurance of Knowledge of God

“Know Him”

300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon Christian Language Does Not Make a Christian (John 8:32; 17:3; 2 Timothy 1:12; 1 John 5:20)

“Know thyself,” said the heathen philosopher. That is well, but that knowledge may only lead a man to hell. “Know Christ,” says the Christian philosopher. “Know him, and then you shall know yourself.” This shall certainly lead you to heaven, for the knowledge of Christ Jesus is saving knowledge.

The last assurance in this book is that the Son of God has come and given us understanding.

Notice this: that the Son of God giving understanding proceeds the knowledge.

Our knowledge of Him who is true is based upon the fact that the Son of God has given us this knowledge.

He has revealed to us what the Father is like by the work of the Spirit through His Word.

Just like Jesus did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:44-45

Luke 24:44–45 ESV

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

The act of Jesus opening their minds to the Scriptures is the prerequisite to knowing the Lord.

Application

I want you to notice something, the understanding and insight are not something that we produce.

We are not the one’s who are “smart enough” to come to Jesus.

We are NOT the one’s who are “logical enough” to come to Christ.

NO, it say’s that He has given us this understanding which has produced in us a knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

This should produce in us a deep humility.

We have received nothing that has not been given to us.

And to know the Lord is to know the truth.

The Lord Jesus is the ONE who is the truth.

Now I want you to focus in on this last statement because at it is the core focus of the whole letter.

Knowing and Loving the Son

The knowledge which has been revealed to us

1 John 5:20 (ESV)

He is the true God and eternal life.

John assertion is that the Lord Jesus is the ONE true God and eternal life.

The word for TRUE there is genuine…

It’s not as if John is saying that God is true as opposed to a liar, rather that Jesus is truly God.

John directly links the Lord Jesus with the true God and eternal life.

This is the beauty of the gospel in one sentence.

That the Lord Jesus took on flesh and lived a perfect life.

He died a death that we deserved and then was raised for our justification.

This Jesus is the true God and eternal life for all who turn from their sin and trust Him.

John 17:3 ESV

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

SO to know and love the Lord Jesus is to know and love the only true GOD.

To know and love Christ is to know and love our creator and LORD.

When we know and love the Lord Jesus, we get both the Father and the Holy Spirit.

This brings us to the final warning...

1 John 5:21 ESV

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Warning:

Keep Away from Idols

All throughout the OT, God warned the people from committing idolatry.

An idol is anything which we give ultimate allegiance to.

Idolatry was Israel’s “pet sin” that they were always warned against and showed when they were walking with God and when they were not.

Listen to just a couple of passages from Isaiah 44, talking about the vanity of idolatry.

Isaiah 44:9 ESV

All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.

The person who trusts in an idol is utterly foolish.

“The Heart is an Idol Factory”

John Calvin

Calvin’s point is that the human heart continually crafts idols.

The text goes on to describe what the person is like..Isaiah 44:12-15

Isaiah 44:12–15 ESV

The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.

Now this may seem far removed because we typically don’t make idols in this fashion anymore.

“Whatever rules the heart will exercise inescapable influence over the person’s life and behavior.”

(Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, p. 68)

1 John 5:21 ESV

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

What is striking in this passage though is the way idolatry is applied to New Covenant Christians.

In the previous verse, Jesus is the ONE who is referred to as the “true God and eternal life”

So anything which seeks to take the place of Christ is in view here.

This has been what John has continually warned the people about, by talking about the “Antichrist”

The one who will stand in place of Christ.

Guarding oneself from the opponents teaching would amount to anything that removes Jesus from His primary position of Lord over all.

This is so important for us as we close this book of 1 John.

“What does it mean, then, to allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives? What does it mean that anything is the lord of our life?

Just this: Whatever controls us is lord. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people he or she wants to please.

We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our life. If Jesus is our Lord, then he is the one who controls, he has the ultimate power.”

(Rebecca Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker, p. 53)

There is a very real sense that an idol in our own day can be as simple as the thing we keep in our pocket.

It can be anything which functionally takes the place and position of the Lord Jesus.

When something is your idol, you will try and use Jesus to help you get that thing.

All of a sudden, rather than being on the throne of your life, Jesus is now serving your idol.

For John to say, “keep yourself from idols”..

I would argue that keeping yourself is really made up of four different elements.

Recognize the Idol:

Understand the Desire, Belief, Motivation

Repent:

The Ascendingness of My Desires

Refocus:

Promises & Provisions

Replace:

Trust & Obey

These four elements will always be involved in guarding ourselves from idols.

I think it will be helpful to think through some common idols.

A guy named John Bettler came up with what he called idol clusters, which are common clusters of similar idols.

This may sound strange but I would argue many people’s idols today are almost unrecognizable because they are like fish swimming in water.

Let me just name a few....

1 John 5:21 ESV

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Desire for Approval

“Fear of man”

Fear of man does not sound like it should be an idol, but if you listen to the way the Scriptures describe an idol it makes sense.

Proverbs 29:25 ESV

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

Recognize the Idol: Understand the Desire, Belief, Motivation

The fear of man is like a snare used to catch an animal.

It is like a trap which catch and ultimately destroys people.

Even Solomon acknowledges that the opposite of approval of other people is to trust the Lord.

Galatians 1:10 ESV

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

This could not be said any starker.

Repent: The Ascendingness of My Desires

The ascendingness of the desire is the fact that a desire is taking the place of Christ.

If we are trying to please other people

Or we are seeking their approval

Or we’re trying to be liked and approved

We will not be a servant of Christ.

Do you know how you know this is true of you?

One way if to see what is motivating your actions.

If you find yourself working really hard, but doing it so that others will say, “Look how great you are!”

Another way is that complaint’s of your ruin you.

When someone criticizes you, it makes you feel overwhelmed by your inadequacy.

Or it makes you bubble up inside with hatred while thinking, “How could they say that about me?”

Refocus: Promises & Provisions

The promise and provision for us is the assurances we have just seen.

The promise that we cannot be touched by the evil one.

We don’t have to fear others opinions of us because their opinions are NOT ultimate.

Replace: Trust & Obey

We can trust these promises and obey by believing that God’s opinion of us is ultimate.

Our only hope to be guarded against idols is found in God’s promises.    

1 John 5:21 ESV

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Desire for Success

“Fear of Losing Control”

I want to be clear, it’s not bad or wrong to have success.

Christians are not meant to be losers.

When someone is desiring success above everything else, then everything in life is dispensable for that goal.

People are no longer people, they are objects to be used.

Recognize the Idol: Understand the Desire, Belief, Motivation

We have become normalized to the “American Dream” style Christianity which values success, power, and control above every other thing.

This idol seeks to make you believe that you are indispensible.

That only you can take care of the job or task that you do.

Repent: The Ascendingness of My Desires

When something is your idol, you will try and use Jesus to help you get that thing.

All of a sudden, rather than being on the throne of your life, Jesus is now serving your idol.

Again, success is a good thing, but the problem when the success begins to control you.

Refocus: Promises & Provisions

We refocus on God’s promise of the redefinition of success.

Success is no longer defined by the worlds standards.

Success is defined by Christ and His standards.

1 John 2:15–16 ESV

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

So we have refocused, and now we replace.

Replace: Trust & Obey

1 John 2:17 ESV

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

We replace the desire for success and fear of control loss with the reality of God’s that doing His will is true success.

Our only hope to be guarded against idols is found in God’s promises.    

1 John 5:21 ESV

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Desire for Comfort

“Fear of Lack”

Another subset of the success and control idol is the idol of comfort.

When comfort becomes our source of peace and joy, then we have elevated comfort to a place it ought not to be.

Recognize the Idol: Understand the Desire, Belief, Motivation

It is good for man to be able to take a break and rest, God even made it that way in the beginning.

But when we begin to allow comfort to control us we elevate it about Christ.

Repent: The Ascendingness of My Desires

But when the desire to have comfort begins to impinge on loving my neighbor.

When my desire of comfort and convenience begins to control me, it needs repented of.

1 John 3:1–3 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Refocus: Promises & Provisions

The promise for a person who is demanding comfort over everything else is that Christ is their satisfaction.

That they have been adopted into the family of God and they belong to God.

They no longer need to seek ultimate comfort and pleasure in lesser things.

Replace: Trust & Obey

They can finally replace by trusting and obeying what John has said here that we will one day see Jesus for who He is.

They can be guarded from these lesser comforts as they set their hope fully on the Lord Jesus.

Our only hope to be guarded against idols is found in God’s promises.