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Greetings! Welcome to the program today. In our study of 1 John, we have been talking about false teachers. John was adamant in writing to the church in Ephesus that they ought to be wary of any false teaching that might lead them astray; teaching that might present a false view of Christ that would affect their faith, their love, and their holiness in the world.
False Prophecy of Mt. Saint Helens-- Someone once pointed out how [Sadly, those who believe the false teachers will be judged with them. Believing the "experts" can kill you. On March 20, 1980, Mount St. Helens {here} in Washington {not far from where I live}, a supposedly dormant volcano, began to quake and rumble. {Many of you remember it well. And you will remember that} The local population was evacuated to a “safe” distance 8 miles away. Later, the side of the mountain began to bulge. Scientists were not alarmed because past research of volcanoes indicated that they never blew sideways.Then on May 18 the side of Mount St. Helens exploded, shooting tons of debris downhill at the speed of 150 miles per hour. A minute later, the volcano exploded upward with the equivalent power of 500 atomic bombs! Two hundred thirty square miles of forest were devastated and 57 people lost their lives. The scientists had assumed that natural events would continue as before. But they were wrong.] It’s easy to believe the experts, especially when that person is wearing a lab-coat or even a clergy uniform. That is why John says here in verse 1… 1 John 4:1 (ESV)— 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Test— Now here [The word “test” is a metallurgist’s term used for assaying metals to determine their purity and value.] And so [Christians are to be like the Bereans {in the book of Acts} who, as students of the Word, examined the Scriptures to determine truth and error (Acts 17:11, 12).] “Chapter and verse!”-- You and I always need to be cultivating the habit of testing every thought; every idea; every teaching against the Word of God to make sure that whatever is claimed to be true matches up with God’s truth. Don’t be afraid to ask questions like, “Hey, I just want to understand you better. Where exactly does it say that in scripture?” My mentor Roman Miller would always tell me how he always lived by the motto, “Chapter and verse, my friend. Chapter and verse!” And then look it up to see if the Bible does in fact say what they say it says; being sure to look at the context it is in. The context of a verse always determines its meaning; therefore we have to always look at the verse in context. [the spirits…many false prophets. By juxtaposing “spirits” with “false prophets” John reminds his readers that behind human teachers who propagate false doctrine and error are demons inspired by Satan (see notes on 1 Thess. 5:20–22; cf. Acts 20:28–30). Human false prophets and teachers are the physical expressions of demonic, spiritual sources (Matt. 7:15; Mark 13:22).] Measuring Experiences-- Now when we deal with people’s claimed spiritual experiences, we have to always measure those experiences by the Word of God. John Wesley was a master of this. If anybody claimed to have some kind of special revelation or new insight, he always tested that against the Bible. Does it enhance someone’s Christian experience? Is it workable? And, most of all, is it in accord with Scripture? Now that’s not being judgmental in a bad sense, for Jesus tells us in… John 7:24 (ESV)-- 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Mr. Red Pen-- I remember when I was in school I had an English professor named Mr. Redmond. But Mr. Redmond had a nickname; Mr. Red Pen; because whenever you handed in a book report and you got it back there would often be more red ink on it than black. He would show with his red pen your grammatical mistakes and what you should have done instead. Now you might have had the best of intentions, but when you got that paper back you realized that as good as your intentions were, those intentions apparently did not match up with the rules of the English language. But what would have happened if I challenged my teacher one day. Nah, “I’m right; you’re wrong. My sentence here is correct because I have had a special revelation that this is in fact the correct way to use the English language.” What would he do? He’d pull out his own revelation; an English grammar book and dictionary, point me to the chapter on sentence construction, and reveal where and how my sentence had gone astray. Well, the same is true when it comes to how we live our Christian experience. If there is an experience that is unfamiliar (like a sentence that just doesn’t look right), look it up in God’s Word to make sure that it fits with the rules and teaching God has already clearly given us in His Word. God’s revelation in your personal experience will always agree with His written revelation, the Bible. Test The Spirits-- So how do we wade through what is false and find that sure foundation of what is true? [In this section, John gives two doctrinal tests to determine truth from error and false teachers from true teachers.] What About Jesus?-- First and foremost, the most fundamental way to test every spirit to see if you are dealing with an evil spirit or the Holy Spirit is to examine what that spirit/teaching says about Jesus. For Jesus says (as recorded in John’s Gospel): John 15:26 (NIV)-- 26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And in verse 2 of our passage today John tells us what the true Spirit of God will testify… 1 John 4:2-3 (ESV)-- 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Dan Brown De-Bunked-- I am sure most of you have heard of Dan Brown, author of such books as The DaVinci Code, an appalling work of fiction. But someone I read this week pointed out that [Brown is right about one thing (and not much more). In the course of Christian history, few events loom larger than the Council of Nicea in 325. When the newly converted Roman Emperor Constantine called bishops from around the world to present-day Turkey, the church had reached a theological crossroads. An Alexandrian theologian named Arius had argued for a small minority that Jesus had undoubtedly been a remarkable leader, but he was not God in flesh. Arius was enough of a problem and persuasive enough as a false teacher to justify dealing with the issue in this formal fashion. Actually, more specifically, Arius claimed that Jesus was a created being. This effectively denied His divinity. This was a departure from what the church had understood and accepted from the beginning. It was what the martyrs had been willing for three centuries to die for. It is absurd to say that Constantine decided to make Jesus a God. In The Da Vinci Code, Brown apparently adopts Arius as his representative for all pre-Nicene Christianity. Referring to the Council of Nicea, Brown claims that "until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet … a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless."In reality, early Christians overwhelmingly worshipped Jesus Christ as The Son of God, God in the flesh, their risen Savior and Lord. And as for the vote: it was 318-2 – a "real close" vote as Dan Brown claims.] Always Attacking Jesus-- But that is what these heresies always do. This spirit of false teaching; the spirit of the antichrist always attacks the biblical teachings on Jesus. They will either attack His divinity in saying He is not God, or His humanity in saying He is not man. He is and must be both. By contrast, those who are true followers of Christ embrace the truth of Christ revealed in His word. If they are truly Spirit-filled people, then they will agree with what the Holy Spirit has revealed about Christ through the writers of scripture. 1 John 4:4 (ESV)— 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. God is Stronger-- Now that is encouraging to me because, honestly [It is easy to be frightened by the wickedness we see all around us and to be overwhelmed by the problems we face.] [Evil is obviously much stronger than we are. John assures us, however, that God is even stronger {than evil}. He will conquer all evil—and his Spirit and his Word live in our heart!] We don’t have to be afraid because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Now the second test John gives is we fin in verses 5-6. 1 John 4:5-6 (ESV)-- 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Who The World Likes to Hear-- [False teachers are popular with the world because, like the false prophets of the Old Testament, they tell people what they want to hear. John warns that Christians who faithfully teach God’s Word will not win any popularity contests in the world. People don’t want to hear their sins denounced; they don’t want to listen to demands that they change their behavior. A false teacher will be well received by non-Christians.] But we will not always be. And yet when we offer people truth (even when they may not want to hear it at the time), it will often take root and slowly move them closer to Jesus. Now you may have to plant and water for years before you see any fruit. But God will reward your efforts. It is merely up to us to be that voice that is willing to speak truth into a person’s life at the right time and in the right way; let me repeat that: at the right time and in the right way. This week, commit to stand for truth in a deeper way. And let people be changed by the truth they experience in and through you and me. Let us ask the Lord for grace to help us to be revealers of truth to people in order that they might come to know He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen.
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Greetings! Welcome to the program. We’ve been taking a look at the epistle of 1 John. And this epistle centers around helping believers to recognize false teachers and how to be sure that they themselves are in Christ.
Three Tests-- And so John gives three vital tests that can be used to determine whether or not someone is a true believer. First, does the person hold to sound doctrine? Do they believe the essentials regarding Jesus, man, sin, atonement, etc? Secondly, are they living lives that are moral in keeping with God’s commandments? This is a major theme in 1 John; the fact that the Christian is one who lives a life that is holy, demonstrating consistent victory over sin and a death to their old way of life. And thirdly, is the love of Christ manifest in that person’s heart and life? Do they demonstrate a love for God and a love for people that is (like Christ’s) self-sacrificing? Spirals-- Now the outline of 1 John is kind of like a spiral. He touches on each of these topics and then circles back to them multiple times, taking us a little deeper each time. And so in the beginning of chapter 4 he circles back to the importance of doctrine. Let’s go ahead and look together at… 1 John 4:1 (ESV) Test the Spirits-- 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. The Gullible Cop— Not long ago I ran across an interesting story. [A cop pulled a guy over for speeding at which time the following conversation was exchanged: Cop: May I see your driver's license? Driver: Sorry, I don't have one. It was suspended when I got my 5th DUI. Cop: May I see the owner's card for the vehicle? Driver: It's not my vehicle. I stole it. Cop: Are you telling me this is a stolen car? Driver: That's right. Mind you, now that I think of it, I believe I did see the owner's card in the glove box when I was putting my gun in there. Cop: There's a gun in the glove box? Driver: Yep. I put it there after I shot and killed the woman who owns this car. Then I stuffed her in the trunk. Cop: There's a BODY in the TRUNK?!? Driver: Yes, sir. When the cop heard this, he immediately called his captain. Within minutes, the car was surrounded by police and the captain approached the driver so he could handle the tense situation: Captain: Sir, may I see your driver's license? Driver: Certainly. Here it is. (It was a valid license.) Captain: Sir, who owns this car? Driver: I do, officer. Here's the owner's card. (The driver owned the car.) Captain: Sir, slowly open your glove box so I can see if there's a gun in it. Driver: Yes, sir, but there isn't a gun in it. (There was nothing in the glove box.) Captain: Would you mind opening your trunk? I've been informed you said there's a body in it. Driver: No problem, officer. (The trunk is opened and there is no body.) Captain: Sir, I don't understand any of this. The officer who pulled you over said you told him you did not have a license, you had stolen the car, you had a gun in the glove box and there was a dead body in the trunk. Driver: And I'll bet he told you I was speeding too!] Ideas Have Consequences-- The gullibility of others can be used in many devious ways. And the same is true in our day and age; gullibility can be a powerful tool of the enemy. We live in a world that is filled with all kinds of conflicting ideas and different belief systems. False ideologies; false teachings are very dangerous because “Ideas have consequences.” What we think about things matters, because it affects the way we live our lives. John talks a lot about walking in light and walking in love. But he also emphasizes just as much the importance of walking in the Truth. We have to be sure to expel false ideas and adopt the good ideas. But how do we do that? May it involve our having to tell people (at times) that what they believe (although it may be well-intentioned) is false? And if so, isn’t that being judgmental? The Angry Bouncer-- Many years ago I was part of a Christian group that ministered to men and women coming in and out of strip clubs. And from outside the parking lot, we were trying to encourage people to find a better path of fulfillment and were sharing with them the hope of Christ. Now this was difficult to do because the owners were often set against us. And I remember one night in particular; one of the workers came out and began yelling at us; preaching at us irrately, saying “Don’t you know the Bible says ‘Do not judge.’”! You see, we were the hateful, judgmental Christians who were just trying to make people feel guilty. Now we weren’t there to protest (we didn’t have signs or anything like that), but were trying to persuade the men and women going in and out to seek Christ rather than to seek fulfillment in that kind of sinful place. Jesus Mis-quoted-- But let me ask you, “Does the scripture really teach that we are not to confront the evil in other people?” The passage that I hear so often quoted regarding this message is… Luke 6:37 (NIV)-- 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. We Can’t Tell People They are in Sin?-- And many take this to mean that you and I are not in any position to tell anybody they are wrong or that they are going to hell. Why? Well, they quote: Luke 6:41-42a (NIV)-- 41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? Are We All Sinful?-- And they interpret this to mean that we don’t judge because we are all sinful people. But that is not what Jesus is saying at all. In fact, like we’ve said before, the word Christian literally means “little Christ”. Therefore for a Christian to be sinful (full of sin) is a contradiction in terms; because Christ was never full of sin. That is why John argues so strongly in his first epistle about how our victory over sin is one of the chief ways we can know that we are Christians. He says in… 1 John 3:6-7 (ESV)-- 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Called To Be Holy-- You see, we are called to be a holy people; separate from sin; like Christ was. The issue Christ is talking about here isn’t with our telling sinful people what they are doing is wrong; the issue is condemning people for the very sins we ourselves are guilty of. Notice how Romans 2:1 supports that interpretation… Romans 2:1 (NIV)– 1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Hypocrisy the Real Issue-- So the issue, we see, is really with hypocrisy, not recognizing sin in another person. The last part of Jesus’ teaching here (about the plank), which is often overlooked, makes this abundantly clear. Jesus says… Luke 6:41-42b (NIV)-- You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. We Are to Remove the Speck-- You see, we are called to help remove the speck, but we must be careful not to be guilty of committing the very sins we are pointing out in the lives of others. But we are supposed to correct somebody when we see that they are going astray. You need to tell them when and how they are wrong so that they can correct their ways, repent, and get right with God. We are to be ambassadors of truth, yet always in a respectful way. Adrian Rogers Quote-- [Listen to Adrian Rogers: “It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills. It is not love and it is not friendship if we fail to declare the whole counsel of God. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie. It is impossible to find anyone in the Bible who was a power for God who did not have enemies and was not hated. It’s better to stand alone with the truth than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better to ultimately succeed with truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie.”] Now John is very careful to connect in this epistle the concepts of truth and love. You have to stand for truth unequivocally, but it is not because you simply want to impose your ideology on somebody else in order to show them that you are right and they are wrong. No, it is because you know the barren wasteland that sin produces in the human heart. The emptiness; the brokenness. You know where the false paths lead. As a pastor, all throughout my ministry in EVERY church I have pastored, there have always been at least one or two people that I knew who were on the path to utter destruction. One young man I remember in particular had been strung out on drugs for an extended period of time; and I remember sitting with him in an institution one day, telling him if he ever wanted to be free (which he did) he had to surrender to Jesus and receive his help if ever he was to conquer his addiction. And that would mean a change of environment; a change of friends; a complete forsaking of all those things that continually led him astray. I had to confront and lead HIM to confront those areas in his life that were causing him to fall. And he eventually did and completely turned his life around. The reason we stand for truth is because we stand for Jesus; knowing that when surrender to Him comes into the lives of people, their lives are going to explode with the joy of experiencing liberation from sin as they are literally going to be brought from death to life. I have seen it over and over again. To stand for truth is not to be a bigot, but to be an agent of change in somebody’s life; not condemning, but coming alongside of them to help empower them to choose life over death. You will not always succeed in that, as not everyone is willing to make that choice. But if you are willing to speak truth in love, God can use you in amazing way. And so let us commit to be those voices that carry that hope found in surrender to Jesus Christ. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to Lechem Panim. We come in our study of 1 John to chapter 3. In this chapter John writes about that relationship we have with God (IN Christ) as His children and how that contrasts with those who are not IN Christ; who are called children of the devil (v.10). And we will see in this chapter an interesting comparison between those children of God and the children of the devil and how we can easily tell the difference between them. Look with me at…
1 John 3:1a (ESV)— 1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. Children of God— Now I love how John opens chapter 3. He opens with a call for us to ponder what an amazing thing it is that the God of the Cosmos; the Creator of the Universe; the One who is Holy; the One who is Transcendent; cares about each and every one of us, formed from the dust of the earth as His children. We talked not long ago about Logos (meaning Word), the Greek concept of a divine force-like ordering principle of the Universe. But what John enjoys pointing out, especially in the prologue of his Gospel, is that that Logos (that Word) became flesh and dwelt among us so that He might bring us into the family of God. Clearly John had a very clear understanding that Jesus is the divine ordering principle of the universe. And I don’t think John ever could get over that; that he broke bread; ate and drank and walked with his Creator. And John, in all of His writings it seems, wants to point us to the amazing glory of Christ and to the amazing reality that we have been invited by God into His family. Now John says in… 1 John 3:1b-3 (ESV)— The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. William Seeks to Emulate Me-- When my son William was very young, I remember one time he got up from his nap. And he wanted me to hold him. And I tried to put him down, but he wouldn’t have it. He wanted to be held, so I held him. But I am finding that in everything I do, my son wants to be right there with me and be a part of it. I can hardly go anywhere without him tagging very close behind, eager to share in whatever I’m doing. But he always wants to do what I’m doing. Once I remember doing a handstand against a wall just to entertain him. But seeing me do it was not enough. Immediately afterwards he put his head on the floor and attempted to himself perform a handstand. John and Us Seek to Emulate Christ-- Well that is what John is talking about in verse 3. If we are children of God, then we will want to be like Christ. He says: 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. For John, holiness became not just doing the right thing because that is what God wanted, but because he saw his Lord live a life of holiness and he saw the benefit. And he wanted to live that kind of life too as a child of God. But then you have this contrast with those who are not children of God. John says… 1 John 3:4-9 (ESV)— 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. (Now keep in mind the man of lawlessness we talked about last week.) 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's[a] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. Bearing the Characteristics of Our Father-- Now that is a pretty powerful statement: cannot keep on sinning,. Why? for God’s seed abides in him; Now seed here does not mean plant seed. Rather [The picture is of human reproduction, in which the sperm (the Greek for “seed is sperma) bears the life principle and transfers the paternal characteristics.] Just as our children bear much of the characteristics from their fathers (and mothers too), so also we bear the characteristics of our Heavenly Father. In Our Likeness-- Now my son looks and acts very much like me. Sometimes it drives my wife crazy because of how much people say he looks like me. In many ways he is almost a carbon copy. His feistiness and stubbornness he gets from her, but the rest is from me. But he is like me because he is my child. And you can really see a parent in many ways by watching their child. Now there are certain characteristics we look for in those who claim to be children of God. And John focuses on of course holiness, but even more specifically on how that holiness is lived out in perfect love of one another… 1 John 3:10-11 (ESV)— 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Cain and Abel— So love and hatred is what distinguishes the true child of God from the false one. And John gives us a specific example in the first example of hatred in all of scripture; the story of Cain and Abel… 1 John 3:12 (ESV)— 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Why the World Hates Us-- Now John’s point here is to show why we ourselves are hated by the world. Just like Abel and Cain (though they shared the same physical parents) did not share the same spiritual parent. Abel was a child of God and Cain was a child of Satan. So while we love our brothers (and especially those lost in sin), they, the hateful brothers (the World) rejects us. Why? Because their deeds are evil. 1 John 3:13-15 (ESV)— 13 Do not be surprised, brothers,[a] that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. So we understand that it is love that separates the believer from the unbeliever, the Child of God from the child of the devil; but how do we recognize that kind of love? If that is the single most important defining characteristic of a child of God, then it is important we have a definition; an explanation of what that kind of love is and looks like. John tells us in verse… 1 John 3:16-18 (ESV)-- 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. Laying Our Lives Down For Each Other-- Wow, talk about application; a very practical laying out of what Jesus had taught in John 15 and how to apply it. And what John is talking about here is compassionate ministry; providing for the needs of another person. But the standard John sets isn’t to just give of your possessions. No, we are to emulate the love of Christ. What does that love look like? Verse 16: 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us,… You and I are called to lay down our lives for one another; to live lives of sacrificial love that mirrors the same kind of love Christ first showed us. My Doubt-- When I was younger I always wrestled with the issue of whether or not I was saved. Some people have a healthy understanding of guilt; mine was a bit unhealthy and in many ways I had an over-sensitive conscience. Not to say I never did anything wrong, but I was always worried about my salvation. And that worry is not foreign to many believers. And John here wants to lay some of that worry to rest. And he does so by pointing back to whether we bear the likeness of the One we have received, Jesus Christ; if we bear the marks of being true children of God: whether we are living lives free of sin and whether or not we have manifested in our lives the sacrificial love of God. If those things are there, then we are truly His children. 1 John 3:19-24 (ESV)-- 19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. (In other words, God is greater than our anxiety and has the complete perspective on our lives. Holiness of heart and life and an active love of others is strong evidence that we are in fact His children.) 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. “by the Spirit”-- And by the Spirit doesn’t mean we just somehow feel saved in our spirit. Rather, it means that because we see God’s work of transformation being worked out in our lives that we know God’s Spirit dwells with us. We know He is there because there is evidence He is there. We are being made more like Christ. Like a child is growing more and more into the likeness of it’s parent, so we are growing more and more into the likeness of our Heavenly Father. And so in our day to day lives we need to ask ourselves, “Do we bear the characteristics of our Father in heaven? Are we like Christ? Are we holy like Him? Are we loving like He is loving? Do we live sacrificially?” It is that kind of love that John says identifies us as Children of God. Let us live in that love and commit to reflect that love we have been given upon a world that needs to be touched by it. Amen. Lechem Panim Episode #77 "The Fruit of An Abiding Life" (1 John 2:28-29) Pastor Cameron Ury12/8/2019 Greetings! Welcome to Lechem Panim. We’ve been taking a look at the epistle of 1 John. And last week we were in the middle of chapter two, where John warns about the coming anti-Christ; the man of Lawlessness; that great enemy of Christ, but also about the anti-Christ’s who are already in the world, even at that time, infiltrating the Church and spreading false teaching. And so John wants to show his readers how to spot the false teacher; the false Christian.
PAWN STARS— One of my favorite shows I used to like to watch is a show on History Channel called Pawn (that's P.A.W.N) stars. This show centers around four individuals who run a pawn shop in Las Vegas. Now customers come into this pawn shop bringing all kinds of memorabilia to sell and these four individuals reveal a little about the history of each artifact and tell you if it is authentic or not. If it is authentic they will try to buy the artifact at a cheaper cost and sell it in their Pawn shop. But the failure or success of their business rests on their ability to decipher what is authentic and what is not; what has value and what does not. Bike made to look old— Some time ago I was watching and this lady brought in this old, beat up bicycle from the 30's or 40's. She said it was authentic and it seemed to be so. But on closer inspection Rick (one these managers) began to see some things that did not seem right. A couple of pieces on the bike weren't in use until decades after that time period. Also, while the pedals turned, there were no chains or even a place for chains. It turns out that the bike was a replica (never meant to be ridden) that had been artificially aged to look like a rare, older bicycle. It was next to worthless. Diamonds sold on the street-- Perhaps one of the most fascinating segments of the show when Rick was talking about diamonds and how to tell the real ones from the fakes: (1) First of all, a man is not going to sell you a genuine diamond on the street for $50 if he can go down the street and sell it for $2000 at a diamond store where they can verify its authenticity. (2) Secondly, Real diamonds do not have that cotton shape to them that many of the imitation ones do. (3) Thirdly, They reflect the light better than imitation diamonds. (4) Fourthly, if you take a piece of fine sandpaper and rub it on the diamond, it will scratch and crumble a fake diamond, but will not touch a real one. (5) Lastly, feel the rim around the diamond. Because diamonds cannot be cut smoothly, but must rather be cut jaggedly, if the rim of the diamond is smooth, it is a fake. Now in addition to helping his readers to understand how to know when a teacher is not of the true faith; not in Christ, John also wants to help them to know and have assurance that they themselves are in Christ. And to do that we must examine ourselves. 2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)-- 5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! And so that is what much of chapter 3 centers on. Now chapter 2 ends with John’s saying… 1 John 2:28a (ESV)— 28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. Now I want you to turn to John 15 with me for a moment; because John isn’t pulling this word “abide” out of a vacuum, but is rather reminding his readers of something Jesus Himself had said. Jesus had said in… John 15:4-11 (ESV)-- 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Abide— One scholar I read explained, saying […this word abide means "live." We live in Christ and Christ lives in us. This relationship is often called "mutual indwelling." Christ lives in us and we live in Christ, so life flows from one to the other. One is to abide in him where his presence permeates my life and somehow he includes me in him. The best example we have of this kind of relationship is the relationship of marriage. Once two have "become one flesh" you can't separate the two. When you talk about one you have to talk about the other. As marriage is the grafting of two people together, so being a true disciple of Christ means we are to be grafted into Him. Only THEN can we be fruitful. The life apart from Him will bear nothing. If there is anything in our lives outside of our abiding in Him, it will come to nothing. Is there anything in you outside of Christ's abiding presence in your life? Is it your attitude; your anger; your lust; your greed; your jealousy? If we have any of these things in our lives, our ministries will not just be smaller or less affective. Jesus says "NO, YOU WILL HAVE NO MINISTRY! .......Apart from me there is nothing!!!!!!)] Now this word, "abide," is a dominant word in the Gospel of John and is repeated often. 17 of the 18 times the word "abide" occurs in the New Testament are from either the Gospel or Epistles of John. Where do we abide? Jesus says abide "in me." Many scholars think that the heart of Johannine theology (a fancy way of saying "The Theology of John" are the words "in me" or "in him." Within the Gospel of John alone there are 23 uses of "in me" and 21 uses of "in him. You Must Abide— So what is Jesus trying to say here? He is trying to say that "without me you can do NOTHING” I am the source of your salvation! I am the source of your transformation (your pruning, as it were, as we see in verse 2)! If you want to bear fruit both in your life and in the lives of others, you must remain IN ME!!!............you MUST remain....in me.” What Does It Mean to Abide?— Now I read this passage numerous times over the years, but never quite understood what Jesus was talking about. I read the words "abide in me" but didn't really understand what Jesus meant. I wondered, is it my making use of the spiritual disciplines?, such as scripture reading and memorization, prayer, fasting, and going to church? What does Jesus mean by abiding in him? I found myself wondering to Jesus, "I WANT to be that branch that is firmly grafted into you, but what does that mean?" But then I kept reading. Look at verse 9: John 15:9-10 (ESV)-- 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. {And John says a similar thing in…} 1 John 2:29 (ESV)-- 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. Obedience-- Ah, suddenly the passage began to make sense to me. So it is OBEDIENCE that Jesus is looking for. "Without obedience there is no abiding, without abiding there is no fruit.” Well, that sounds good, but obedience to what specifically? What kind of obedience is Jesus looking for in this passage? It is interesting that in my mind I immediately started to think legalistically, wondering what Law it was that I needed to follow. But then Jesus goes on in verse 12: 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Ok, Jesus, I can do that. I mean I love my family; I love my wife. But Jesus says, "But Cameron, not just any kind of love. Listen..." 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Whoa...this may not seem too serious, but remember that Jesus never once, anywhere in scripture asks His disciples to do anything which He is not first willing to do Himself. You see....just a few chapters later HE lays his life down for THEM. Sacrificial Love-- So we see here that this is not some kind of wishy-washy, merely emotional kind of love that our culture is trying to shove down our throats. No it is the kind of love that is only symbolized by the sacrifice manifested on the cross; a pure and perfect love that says "I love you Jesus, and because I love you, I am willing to lay my life down for you, your kingdom, and your people. That is what it means to abide in Christ. And John is very careful to keep this concept central in His writings because our salvation is IN Jesus Christ. To know Christ; to abide in Him is to know and abide in your salvation. And what shields us from hell is not a decision we made one time at an altar, but a continual abiding IN His presence. Because He IS our salvation. You can’t talk about heaven without salvation; and you can’t talk about salvation apart from Jesus Christ; because that is who He is. He IS life. He IS love. That is why salvation and love are never (for the Christian) abstract theological or emotional concepts. No, they are intimately personal because they are wrapped up in and defined by the personhood of Jesus. And just like a husband may take on some of the character traits of his wife and vice versa, so also we (when we abide in Christ) we become like Him in His character. We become more loving, we become filled with truth. That is what comes from fellowship with Jesus. And so I want to encourage you today to embrace the abiding life. Don’t settle for simply knowing about Jesus; transformation doesn’t happen at that level. They key to a transformed, vibrant life is one in which we abide in a continual communion with our Savior. Apart from that there is nothing. Everything begins in that life-giving relationship. And if you don’t have that relationship, I encourage you to start one today. Say to Jesus, “Jesus, please help me to belong to you in that kind of relationship.” And He will honor that requests. Let us do that today. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to Lechem Panim. Last week, in our study of 1 John, we talked about what John means by his saying that we are living in the last hour, and what the nature is of the Antichrist who is to come and the many antichrists he says are already in the world. These antichrists (he says) are false teachers who lead people astray by teaching false doctrine; and so we talked about the importance of knowing the Word of God so that we might recognize when somebody (however well-intentioned) might be twisting it. And so we come to verse 19, which we will look at in a moment.
Overwhelming Heresies-- But first I must say that for anybody who has ever studied all the various heresies of the church, you know how complicated and confusing many of them can be. And then you have the religious cults like Jehovah's Witness and Mormonism, which are mind-boggling in their complexity and how they subtly take giant leaps away from scripture. Even my uncle, who taught systematic theology for about two decades, said on his radio show that sometimes he has to go back and look at those cults once in a while to remind himself of particular details because of just how complicated some of them can be. But how do you and I best protect ourselves against falling into any of these heresies? Good Theology vs. No Theology-- Now some people say that because bad theology can lead you astray, it's better not to deal with all that theology stuff. But, as a wise person once said, the answer to bad theology isn’t no theology, but good theology. It is only good theology that can keep bad knowledge at bay. And that means that you and must be students of the Word. The Loss of Bible Studies-- But one of the Great victories of Satan in our churches in America today is the loss of the spiritual education of the members of the Church; where they are being taught sound doctrine and how to get in to and study the Word of God for themselves. Therefore, the church in America is largely Biblically illiterate. I remember a conversation with a Christian young man that had grown up in Church. I began talking with him about the book of Ruth and he didn’t know who Ruth was. And I remember just how dumbfounded I was. And I want to say that that is why we are seeing more and more sin and heresy entering into the church. The Church is forgetting more and more of God’s Word because it is not being taught to our people. And because of that we are becoming more and more vulnerable to the Antichrist who is coming and the antichrists that are already here (as John says here in verse 2). “The Man of Lawlessness” and “The Beast”— Now that is interesting to me because the antichrist is given a different name in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, where he is called "the man of lawlessness”. In other words, he is a man who has disregarded the Law of God. And therefore, the more we know the Law of God; His Word; the more easily we will be able to spot him and other false teachers and protect our churches from falling into sin. Many antichrists— Now (as we have said before) in addition to the Antichrist, John also mentions the "many antichrists” who have already come. And these are false teachers who were leading God’s people astray. And John gives us some of their characteristics by which they can be recognized: They Leave— First, we see that they leave the Church. 1 John 2:19 (ESV)-- 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. Light & Darkness Mutually Exclusive-- And as we talked about recently light cannot abide with darkness; they are mutually exclusive; one must expel the other. And, in this case we see that these false teachers leave the church. [In John’s day they left the church because they had nothing in common with believers (v. 19).] 1 John 2:20-21 (ESV)-- 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. They Deny Jesus is the Christ— Secondly, we see that they deny the incarnation (that God became flesh) and that Jesus is the divine Christ. And in that they are revealed to be liars and deceivers. 1 John 2:22-23 (ESV)-- 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. The Gnostics— [The antichrists referred to in John’s letter were the early Gnostics.] And the fundamental teaching of Gnosticism is that our bodies of flesh and all that is physical, is evil; it is sinful. Only that which is entirely spirit is good. That is why they argue that God is completely good; for the very reason that He is entirely spirit. Now we know this teaching of all flesh being sinful and all that is spiritual being good is false because God created a physical world and called it good and also because Jesus himself had a physical body; but that didn’t make Him sinful. Also, what about demons? They are completely spirit and yet could you possibly consider them good? Obviously not. Salvation is the escape from the body by special knowledge— But because of this whole flesh vs. spirit dualism they believe in, they believe that salvation is not a transformation or regeneration of the spirit, but an escape of our spirits (which are good) from our bodies (which, because they are physical, are said to be evil). So [Salvation is the escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ but by special knowledge (the Greek word for “knowledge” is gnosis, hence Gnosticism).] And one branch of this heresy (the Epicureans) taught that [since matter—and not the breaking of God’s law (1Jn 3:4)—was considered evil, breaking his law was of no moral consequence.] They taught that what is done in the flesh doesn’t really matter because the spirit is going to leave the flesh anyway. And that is a teaching that obviously goes against the clear teaching of scripture. Christ’s Humanity Denied-- Now we believe that Jesus was both fully God and fully man. However, the Gnostics (because of their belief that flesh was evil and spirit good) found it necessary to deny Jesus’ humanity. And they did this in either one of two ways. [(1) Some said that Christ only seemed to have a body, a view called Docetism, from the Greek dokeo (“to seem”), and (2) others said that the divine Christ joined the man Jesus at baptism and left him before he died, a view called Cerinthianism, after its most prominent spokesman, Cerinthus. This view is the background of much of 1 John (see 1:1; 2:22; 4:2-3).] So we can see why John wants to make sure that they hold fast to the foundational doctrine that Jesus was both fully God and fully man, that He became incarnate and remains incarnate, and that He died and rose again. This is why John says in… 1 John 2:24-25 (ESV)-- 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. The Gnostic Background-- Now we may talk about Gnosticism more as we move through this epistle, but for now we just need to understand that this heresy was in the background of much of the early church and (particularly) this epistle of 1 John. And this will help to shed light on how we interpret certain verses. For example, look at the next one, which can be really confusing if we don’t understand the context… 1 John 2:26-27 (ESV)-- 26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. Now this verse says that we do not need teachers or pastors or any form of education? Is that what John is saying? Being a pastor and a teacher, obviously not. You do not need anyone to teach you— … [Since the Bible constantly advocates teaching…, John is not ruling out human teachers. At the time when he wrote, however, Gnostic teachers were insisting that the teaching of the apostles was to be supplemented with the “higher knowledge” that they (the Gnostics) claimed to possess. John’s response was that what the readers were taught under the Spirit’s ministry through the apostles not only was adequate but was the only reliable truth.] [The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit (what is commonly called illumination) does not involve revelation of new truth or the explanation of all difficult passages of Scripture to our satisfaction. Rather, it is the development of the capacity to appreciate and appropriate God’s truth already revealed—making the Bible meaningful in thought and daily living.] So the Holy Spirit helps you to understand what has already been revealed. And if you ever meet somebody who says they have had a revelation of some new truth, you better watch out for them, because they’re lying to you; or are deceived. Now what does this all mean for you and for me? It means we have to value truth; know truth; and walk in truth. Well, how do we do that? By getting our theology right? That’s part of it. Knowing the Word of God, which means spending time in the Word of God and prayerfully seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance to help you to understand it. But I also want to remind you that truth is not an abstraction. Truth is person. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6). And therefore if you want a life that makes sense; a life that is solid; it has to begin with a relationship with Jesus and culminate in a constant communion with Him in which He is teaching and growing you into a Christ-filled (and therefore Truth-filled person). And that is why I want to encourage you today to start an ongoing conversation with Him today. Draw near to the He who is the Truth this week. And let Him draw you near to Him. May you commune with Him day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute. And may He in every way be your solid foundation. Amen. |
Rev. Cameron Ury graduated from Asbury University in 2007 with a B.A. in Bible and Theology. From there he continued his studies at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. It was there that he met his wife Tanya, who graduated from WBS with her M.A. and M.Div. degrees. Cameron and Tanya got married in 2009. Cameron then graduated with his M.Div. degree with a pastoral concentration in 2011.
After shepherding churches in both Mississippi and Ohio, they joined the ministry team at Renton Park Chapel in January of 2018, where Cameron serves as Senior Pastor and Teacher. Cameron is also the founder and host of Lechem Panim, a weekly radio show that airs on KGNW 820AM "The Word Seattle". The ministry of Lechem Panim is centered around leading people into the life-giving presence of God in and through Bible study, prayer, and active discipleship with the aim of ministering to a world that is in desperate need of the healing touch of Jesus Christ. Archives
April 2021
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