January 21, 2018

1 / 2 / 3 john
1 John 3:1-24

1 John 3:1-3
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

This is just pure praise from John. This statement is coming in at the right time for these believers who have been seeing men and women fall away from the faith. It's a reassurance that indeed they are on the right path and walking with Jesus, and they are the children of God.

1 John 3:4-10
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

Sometimes this verse seems like it doesn’t fit, but in reality it’s a part of scripture that is incredibly useful.

1 John 1:8-10
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

John cannot be contradicting himself only two chapters later in this letter.

In 1 John 2:1 he even says “But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning Sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

So we still sin, we have issues. What John is saying here in verse 9, “they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God,” is that there should not be habitual, “self-endorsing” sin in our lives if we are truly having a personal relationship with Jesus.

1 John 3:11-15
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[b] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

Last week we heard a bit about how we SHOULD NOT look like the world. John expounds on this and says that if the world hates you, you are on the right track.

1 John 3:16-18
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

If God is the most merciful loving giving being in the world and He is living inside of you, you will be moved to help. John is encouraging us to serve out of the Love of God, not out of a sense of duty or guilt.

1 John 3:19-24
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Have you ever sinned or messed up or failed at something to the point that you started to wonder if indeed you could even be a Christian? Can God still love me?

God is greater than our hearts. Once you have surrendered to HIS righteousness you have the gift of ETERNAL life with God. ETERNAL starts now. ETERNAL never ends. ETERNAL CANNOT BE LOST.

Communication Card

1. This week I will not let my heart condemn me
2. I will ask God for opportunities to serve
3. This week I WILL trust that God is changing me