WALKING
I John 1:5-2:6
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Pastor Brian Matherlee
What are some of the biggest hoaxes of all time? What claims have been made that were proven false?
The internet is rife with hoaxes. Here are just a few:
• If you mark “Jedi” on your census form under religion it will force the government to grant it official status.
• St. Chad is the patron saint of disputed elections
• Airlines will not put entirely Christian pilot crews on airlines for fear of the Rapture.
• Hair grows back darker and thicker after you shave it.
• Chewing gum takes 7 years to pass through the digestive system.
• You’ll get cramps if you don’t wait an hour before you go swimming.
• John Hancock signed his name larger than all the rest and then proclaimed his defiance. Hancock signed his name in big fancy letters all the time.
Read I John 1:5-2:6
Three claims are made that are not backed up:
1. The claim of fellowship
a. Verse 6, If we claim to have fellowship…
Matthew 7:15-7:23
Mt 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
Mt 7:16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Mt 7:17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
Mt 7:18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Mt 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Mt 7:20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Mt 7:22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Mt 7:23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
i. We’ve done stuff for you, Lord
ii. We drove away the bad things
iii. We did incredible things for you, Lord
b. But the claim to be like Jesus is not validated by hanging around Him (think about Judas) or doing things (because eternal life can’t be earned.
i. They didn’t obey God’s will and were therefore not like Jesus.
ii. Our moral behavior matters to God.
iii. No amount of good works can gloss over our sinfulness.
2. The claim of perfection
a. Verse 8, If we claim to be without sin…
b. The Pharisees (Luke 18:9-12)
Lk 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Lk 18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Lk 18:11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. Lk 18:12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
c. This Pharisee embodies this one that thinks they have become so holy in this life. They base everything on how well they keep in line with the dos and don’ts of life.
d. Jesus pointed out the darkness of this kind of thinking in Matthew 23:23-28:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Mt 23:24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
Mt 23:25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
Mt 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
Mt 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.
Mt 23:28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
--It is a self-evident truth, everybody is sinful!
3. The claim of goodness
a. Verse 10, If we claim we have not sinned…
b. The Rich Young Ruler
Mt 19:16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life ?”
Mt 19:17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
Mt 19:18 “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,
Mt 19:19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’”
Mt 19:20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Mt 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Mt 19:22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
c. This is the person that believes they will be able to go to heaven because they’ve never done anything so bad. “I’m a good person” has kept many people out of Heaven.
d. Romans 3:23 tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
John points out that claims don’t matter if they cannot be backed up with action. 1 John 2:6 is the proof verse, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
Notice the word “must”. It is not an option.
Intro clip-“What are Christians Known For?”
from sermonspice.com
How does that make you feel hearing the descriptions on the video? Do you think they are accurate? Are there any that weren’t valid?
How did Jesus walk? We could list so many things:
• Loved everyone
• Forgave
• Lived with compassion
• Served
• Sacrificed
But we cannot look at a list of things to try to emulate. Our only hope to walk like Jesus walked is to ask Jesus to help us.
Paul wrote to the Galatian church,
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
What is your claim today?
Have you been trying to work your way into heaven?
Have you drifted into living a life of judgmental attitudes and self-righteousness?
Have you figured you didn’t need God?
All any of us can do is based in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Close out with “Come, Just as You Are”.
