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Archives For Bible – 1 John

Go Ahead and Squish It

October 8, 2012 — Leave a comment

Sin, the flesh, death, and the devil are the enemies of God, and therefore they are the great enemies of the Church and every believing Christian. God has not made peace with those enemies, and therefore, we dare not either. But we do not wage our warfare against these enemies in the dark. In the dark, the shadows of sin and failure and sickness and temptation loom large. In the dark, they are unknown; they are mysterious; they are scary. In the dark, you may scuffle, you may try to step around them, but you can’t see where you are going. You can’t see where the enemies are. You can’t see to avoid the next pitfall.

But Jesus has come to bring light. Jesus has come to expose the works of darkness. Jesus has come to turn the lights on so that we can see our enemies clearly. John says that if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Walking in the light means confessing the sin right in front of us. It means confessing the sin you know about. When we confess the real, actual sin right in front of us, Jesus forgives us and turns the lights on. And when He turns the lights on, you find that the big, bad, dark shadows of sin and death, the flesh, and the devil are not nearly as big and foreboding as you thought. In fact, because Jesus is risen from the dead, they are weak and little and shrinking. Jesus already died for all of your sins, for all of the sins you know about, and all of the sins you don’t know about. Jesus already died for them all. They are already taken care of, already paid for, already dealt with. Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 John, Exhortations, Grace, Wisdom

You Know the Punch Line

October 1, 2012 — 4 Comments

At the beginning of our worship service, we have a confession of sin every week: we pray a prayer of confession together and then there is a moment of silence for you to confess your individual sins. But it’s important to point out that if you’re walking with Jesus, regularly confessing your sins as they arise, you may routinely come to this part of the service and have a completely clean conscience. You might not know of anything you need to confess. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. You shouldn’t feel guilty for not feeling guilty. You shouldn’t rummage around in the deep recesses of your memory trying to drudge up something you might have, sort of, kind of, maybe, possibly needed to confess. We don’t confess vague generalities; we don’t confess possibilities. So don’t confess things like: “I could be nicer to my wife, nicer to my kids, nicer to my husband, more generous with my time or money.” Sins are disobedience to God. If you blatantly disobeyed Him, then confess it and be forgiven. But don’t confess stuff just to confess stuff. Jesus didn’t bleed and die for vague guilty feelings. Jesus bled and died for all your particular sins. And so some of you may need to confess the sin of not believing you are actually forgiven and completely clean, for thinking you need to feel sorrier or suffer a little more. If Jesus makes you clean, you are clean indeed. Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 John, Exhortations, Grace, Worship

How Confession of Sin Can Make Things Worse

September 26, 2012 — 6 Comments

So I tweeted a couple days ago that there’s a way to do a weekly confession of sin that actually makes things worse rather than better. And there were a few questions. So here are a few thoughts on the matter.

First, the Bible verse: “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (2 Cor. 7:10). In other words, you can have two different guys come into your office (say you’re a pastor) or two different kids sit down to talk to you (say you’re a parent), and they might both be sorrowful, sad, in tears and make confession to you about some particular sin in their life and ask for forgiveness. And on the surface both situations may look entirely identical, but Paul says that one guy will be forgiven, cleansed, saved, while the other guy is actually closer to death. Now that’s the principle, and I believe worldly sorrow is even more likely to creep in whenever you schedule repentance, like say, a weekly confession at the beginning of the service. Now I happen to believe that the dangers inherent in the planned weekly confession are to be preferred to not planning it at all. There are other dangers on the other side, and given the full biblical witness, I’m convinced that weekly, corporate worship should normally include a confession of sin and assurance of forgiveness. But, the Bible says to watch out for worldly sorrow, a kind of false repentance that actually produces death. There’s a way to do confession of sin that actually makes everything worse.

Second, there’s a deep down human nature sin problem that people have that wants all the glory. This is the self-god problem. I want to be my own god, my own lord, the master of my own fate. And this translates into being your own savior, your own deliverer. And we are so sophisticated with this idolatry that we can twist perfectly good things into a moments of self-worship. And confession of sin is just as good as any other, if not better. So there we are called to remember sin, called to remember our sinfulness, and the self-god doesn’t mind lots of vague guilty feelings. Lots of vague guilty feelings are an opportunity to be magnanimous, to bear up under it. And the advantage is that vague guilty feelings are completely worthless as far as getting rid of them. Jesus died for particular sins, particular offenses, specific transgressions, but guilty feelings hover and cloud and remain ambiguous. And if you have a fairly distorted picture of God as the great angry Zeus in the sky, then you have vague, generalized guilt coupled with a vaguely angry God, always rather annoyed with all the stupid people and all their stupid sins. So what a weekly confession serves up is a big pile of mud and invites all these false, distorted versions of confession and who God is to lumber into the room. This doesn’t mean that everyone just gets morbid and depressed (they might), they might actually have some kind of false version of joy. But what the absolution, the declaration of forgiveness becomes isn’t a release, a promise of free grace, it becomes, rather, a sort of pep-talk. Of course that’s not what the words mean. But if sin is vague, and God is vaguely mad, then when the pastor says joyful words, the only way to grab joy is to assume that you’re just supposed to feel joyful and try your best to force it. And this is just old fashioned self-righteousness, the surest way to Hell. Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 John, Bible - 2 Corinthians, Bible - Psalms, Church, Grace, Justice & Mercy, Lent, Pastoral Theology, Wisdom, Worship

Knowing God is Hearing God

August 15, 2012 — Leave a comment

“We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1 Jn. 4:6) John says to first century Christians that they could tell who their friends should be based on who they listen to. People who hear the apostles know God.

John is paraphrasing what Jesus had told the Jews in John 8: “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to my word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do… He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” (Jn. 8:43-44, 47)

Throughout the history of the world there is this fundamental divide, and it runs through nations, families, communities, and even churches. We preach the covenant, we preach the objective claim of God upon every baptized individual: you belong to Jesus. But we insist with Jesus and John and all the apostles: you must know God. God must be your Father. You must hear His words, love His words, feed on His words, grow up into His words. Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 John, bible - John, Exhortations

Two Measuring Tapes for the 4th of July

July 4, 2012 — 1 Comment

OK, since it’s the 4th of July, and everyone is hovering over their phones and computer screens hunting for something else to read, I’ll toss out one more thought and send you back out to your patriotic shenanigans.

I’m fully convinced that lots of the “regeneration,” “rebirth” language in the Bible is way cosmic, political, global, talking about the beginning of the New Heavens and Earth, the New World reborn through the work of the Spirit, the New Eon, the New Era of King Jesus. Yay, and double yay.

The redemption accomplished in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is global, cosmic, universal. It’s bigger and more thorough than anything our little brains can even begin to imagine. It extends to economics and foreign policies, science and nutrition, technology and space exploration and much more. So when we zoom in on the question of individual salvation and perseverance, don’t think for a moment that we’re leaving the big picture behind. In fact, we’re talking about the same thing. And double in fact, that’s the way the New Testament talks. The gift of the Holy Spirit to men and women and children is the down payment, the first fruits, a miniature of what will become of the nations, the world, the universe.

And that’s precisely why it’s worth jumping up and down on a bit. And it really comes down to the topics of sanctification and postmillennialism, two measuring tapes that every Christian ought to keep close at hand. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave us our marching orders. He plainly stated that the ends of the earth had been given to Him as His possession and sent us to announce that to every creature, every nation, every president, every slave, every sleazy politician, every blue collar worker. And Jesus told us to make them all disciples by baptizing them in the Triune Name and teaching them to submit to the words of King Jesus in everything. Continue Reading…

In Against Christianity, Bible - 1 Corinthians, Bible - 1 John, Bible - Romans, Creation, History, Pentecost, Theology - Christology, Theology - Pneumatology

Assurances of Salvation

June 6, 2012 — 1 Comment

Pastor Jim Wilson has a great little booklet entitled Assurances of Salvation, available here in Kindle format and available here for free download, along with a few other goodies.

The booklet lists 8 ways to have assurance of salvation but begins with the recommendation to read 1 John which is written “so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 Jn. 5:13).

Pastor Wilson continues with the following assurances:

1. The Holy Spirit seals, guarantees, and assures us (1 Jn. 4:13, Rom. 8:16-17, Eph. 1:13-14, 2 Cor. 5:5, 1 Cor. 2:11-16).
2. Change of Character: read the lists of the works of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:19-25. Which list characterizes you? Jesus saves out of the first list into the second.
3. Confessing Jesus as Lord (1 Cor. 12:3, Rom. 10:9-10, Lk. 6:45).
4. Obedience: People who are saved obey Jesus (1 Jn. 3:6, 3:9-10, 5:18, 2:3).
5. Discipline: If you are getting away with disobedience, you are not a child of God. If you are being disciplined, pay attention and repent (Heb. 12:5-11). Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 Corinthians, Bible - 1 John, Bible - 2 Corinthians, Bible - Colossians, Bible - Ephesians, Bible - Galatians, Bible - Hebrews, bible - John, Bible - Luke, Federal Vision, Pastoral Theology, Theology - Pneumatology, Theology - Soteriology

Second Sunday in Lent: Fifth Commandment II: Gen. 17:1-11, 1 Jn. 2:1-17, Jn. 8:28-59

March 5, 2012 — Leave a comment

Introduction
Looking out over the congregation at TRC, we must recognize the enormous blessing that is being bestowed upon us in our children (Ps. 127:3). But this should also be a regular reminder of the high calling and responsibility that comes along with these gifts. Some of you are tempted to despair constantly, and some of you are tempted to presume. But Jesus is the answer to both of these.

The Father who Frees
Jesus is the only perfect son, who perfectly honors His Father. Therefore, our only hope of living the fifth commandment is knowing and walking with Jesus and being filled with His Spirit. Jesus identifies Himself as the one who obeys His Father (Jn. 8:28-29), who speaks what He has seen with His Father (8:38), who has come from the Father (8:42), who honors His Father (8:49). Jesus says that His word is what makes known the truth, and the truth is what sets people free (8:31-32). And since this word is from the Father (8:28), to obey those words is to act as free sons (8:34-36). The controversy arises between Jesus and the Jews because He implies that they may need freeing from slavery, about which they are a bit touchy (8:33). Which is either a highly selective memory, a creative interpretive style which some moderns would probably like to get their hands on, or (what is most likely) a straight up lie (Jn. 8:44). Jesus says that the Jews are in bondage to sin (8:34), and this is clearly attested by the fact that they want to kill him (8:37). This is because His word is not in them (which means they are slaves), and they are listening to the voice of another father (8:37-38). Children have a family resemblance, and they learn their lives from their dads (8:39-41). Children love what their fathers love (8:42, 44), and they recognize and understand the speech of their father (8:43). The Jews understand that Jesus is implying that they must be illegitimate sons, bastards born of fornication (8:41). But because the Jews reject the word of Jesus and want to kill him, they prove that God is not their father and that the devil is (8:44-47). The Jews denounce Jesus, and He points out that while He is honoring God His Father, they are dishonoring Him (8:48-50). But Jesus insists that His word is an unshakable fortress; the Father sets slaves free as His sons, making them invincible, even to death (8:51-56). Here, Jesus speaks as the new Moses come to a Jewish Egypt, come to free slaves from their sin, from the heavy burdens of their false father, the devil-pharaoh and his task masters (Jewish leaders) and their murderous ways, even from death itself. Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 John, Bible - Genesis, bible - John, Evangelism, Family, Sermon Outlines

Seeing, Dying, Proclaiming

October 25, 2011 — Leave a comment

1 Jn. 1:2 has a neat little chiasm:

Life manifested

We have seen

We have witnessed

We have proclaimed

Life (eternal with the Father) manifested

The center of the verse is the word “witnessed” or “martyred.” This suggests a progression: first there is seeing, then there is dying, then there is proclaiming. Jesus has come and manifested life, but it is not until He has been seen, crucified, and announced that the life of the Father is manifested in its fullness. Likewise, our evangelism, our proclamation must consist of the same: we are only able to manifest life as we see, die, and proclaim this life.

Having seen the truth, we must be tested, tried, persecuted, die to sin, die to the flesh, suffer with and for Christ, and only then will our proclamation go forth as a full manifestation of the eternal life of the Father.

In Bible - 1 John, Evangelism

How God Responds to our Sin

March 21, 2011 — Leave a comment

We have considered this morning how the good news of Jesus is the declaration that God is light, and that this Light has begun to shine in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and continues to shine in our life in the church for the world. And this light is getting brighter. This table is central to our declaration of this light and life. At this table, we hear the words of Life as we speak them to one another, we see this Word of Life in one another as we partake together, our hands handle this Life as we pass bread and wine to one another. This meal is a central way that God continues to manifest this Life in this world, and as we partake together, we are that fellowship, that joy, that Light for the world. But there countless churches that celebrate this sacrament who effectively cover the light by the inconsistency in their lives. And this is not the inconsistency of sin, this is the refusal to believe the gospel about that sin. One way to run a litmus test on this is to ask how you respond to sin. What do you do when the three year old throws a fit? What do you do when your wife makes a biting comment? What do you do when your husband is late coming home from work and the kids have run you ragged? What do you do when your coworker insults you in front of everyone? How do you respond when you are passed over for a promotion? Or you don’t get the bid? How do you respond to sin, to friction, to correction, to hardship? How do you respond? Walking in the light means refusing to freak out, refusing to be frazzled, refusing to be shaken, refusing to think that the world is crashing down. Walking in the light means remembering that Jesus is King, you are His beloved son or daughter, and there is absolutely nothing that can change that. But in that context, we can offer the other cheek, we can forgive again, we can let love cover it, we are free not to respond with evil. God knows our weakness and failures, and He is not worried. He invites us to dinner. We sin against Him, and He says, I love you. My life for yours. Go and do likewise.

In Bible - 1 John, Eucharistic Meditations

Second Sunday in Lent: Repentance for Life 1 Jn. 1-2:2

March 21, 2011 — Leave a comment

Introduction
John begins his first epistle insisting that life has entered the world, and that life means fellowship and joy and light (1 Jn. 1:1-5). Confessing sin is the life breath of Christian life. When you begin to live the Christian life, you repent and believe, and the only way to keep breathing is to repent and believe. And if you stop breathing, there is only darkness and death and separation.

Repentance unto Life
Repentance is preaching the gospel to yourself every day in every situation: the good news that Jesus is the Christ, our King who has come to set us free from sin, death, and Satan. And in the death and resurrection of Jesus, those powers were thrown down, we were forgiven, cleansed, and set free. We have been adopted as beloved sons and daughters, and therefore are united to Christ by His Spirit and share in His glory and righteousness and power. Repentance means turning away, turning around. Repentance means that if you were going left, you go right. If you were going upstairs, you go downstairs. If you were lying, you tell the truth (Eph. 4:25). If you were stealing, you cease, get a job, and save to have extra to give to those in need (Eph. 4:28). If there were corrupt and bitter words coming out of your mouth, you begin to speak words of kindness and edification and forgiveness (Eph. 4:29-32). Repentance means hating your sin from the bottom of your heart. If you are constantly apologizing for the same things with no measurable improvement, you are not repenting, you are just feeling sorry for yourself in front of other people. Godly sorrow is desperate for freedom and leads to salvation and joy (2 Cor. 7:9-11). People who are forgiven are set free. To go from darkness to light is to go from dead to alive. This is miraculous and it fills people with joy (1 Jn. 1:4). And if you’re going through the actions of repenting and asking forgiveness, and that is not resulting in fullness of joy, then you are not repenting. You are lying to yourself and others. And people who know the power of forgiveness are quick to extend that love and forgiveness to others (1 Jn. 2:2).

Lenten Joy
This is why a season like Lent should be both a profoundly joyful season and naturally evangelistic. If you are fasting in order to cover up your guilt, you are lying to God, and God hates your fasting. If your soul is hallow, and you are not walking in the joy of the Holy Spirit and you think giving up Facebook or Coke is going to help you, you are liar. Propitiation is a big word that means covering; it was the place where the blood was sprinkled once a year in the Most Holy Place. When we confess our sins, the promise of God is that our sins are forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus (1 Jn. 1:7-9). And it is God’s faithfulness and justice that does this cleansing, and this necessarily results in profound freedom and fearlessness and relief. Worrying about whether you will fall again or whether this will really work is another sign that you don’t really want out. Forgiveness makes you say crazy things like the Apostle John: “these things I write to you, so that you may not sin” (1 Jn. 2:1). Forgiveness and repentance is a turning away from darkness and guilt and confusion toward light and fellowship and joy. Your days should be growing lighter, your fellowship should be growing tighter, and your joy should be filling up not draining out. If that is not happening, then you are walking in darkness and that is because you are not really confessing your sins, including the sin of not believing the promise of forgiveness. Confessing sin is how we wage war with the world, the flesh, and the devil. When people cease to confess their sins, they are refusing to fight. Being nice to sin is to already admit defeat.

The Fellowship of Repentance
The end of confession is fellowship. But fellowship doesn’t make all differences evaporate. Some differences can be worked out rather quickly (days or weeks), others can take longer (years, resurrection), and still others are not necessarily bad. In fact the body of Christ is full of glorious differences. But without fellowship, differences will collide and clash. But when our differences are woven together in love, they create a harmony instead of a dissonance.

Our great temptation in a sermon like this is to hope that someone else is listening carefully. But Jesus calls that hypocrisy. You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye (Mt. 7:3-5). The principle is that if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. But the flesh loves to blame shift and try to insist that the other guy walk in the light first. Confessing our own sins first, removing the log from our own eye first means taking responsibility, bearing the shame, claiming the fault. This shouldn’t be a fake show of piety, but Christ-like love and compassion, gladly suffering for the sake of others.

Taking responsibility for our own sins and weakness teaches us humility and compassion for the weaknesses and sins of others. When you know how unlovely your own heart is, you can love the unlovely around you, even those closest to you in all of their weakness and shame. This is what the body of Christ is supposed to do more broadly anyway (1 Cor. 12:23). This means helping one another obey, supporting one another where we are weak. Individualism teaches us to hold back and let our brothers crash and burn, but love teaches us to reach out and gently bring our brothers in for a safe landing. Because we have an Advocate, we can be advocates (1 Jn. 2:1); He is the propitiation for our sins and the sins of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:2).

In Bible - 1 John, Bible - Ephesians, Sermon Outlines