When Words Are Not Enough - 1 John 2:3-6 - June 16, 2013
Series: That We May Know – Life With Jesus - #5
Today is, of course, Father’s Day – a day when we’re encouraged to honour our fathers. And there’s nothing wrong with doing that whatsoever. A good and godly father is most definitely a gift from God. It is right to give them thanks and to express our appreciation for all they’ve done to build into our lives.
My focus this morning though is not going to be on those of you who are fathers. It’s going to be a message for each and every one of us who has come together to worship, in this place and at this time. But I guarantee you, if you came hoping for a message meant for fathers, or one meant for men in general, it would be hard to find a more practical passage then the one we find ourselves in this morning.
We’ve been working our way through the book of 1 John and we’re going to continue doing that today too. We’re going to pick up where we left off last time at 1 John, chapter 2, beginning in verse 3. You can go ahead and turn there now, and as you do so, I just want to say, that I’ve called this series, “That We May Know – Life With Jesus.” And I’ve called it that because again and again in this letter we find these words, “This is how we know …” John has written this letter that we may know that we have life with Jesus. And we need to take that to heart because Jesus says this – and to me these are some of the most troubling words that you will ever find in the pages of Scripture – Jesus says this …
““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. 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?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21–23, NIV84)
There is going to be a day, when each and every one of us stands before the Lord. That’s why Paul exhorts us to examine ourselves to see if we are really in the faith because the Scriptures tell us that …
““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ …
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ …
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”” (Matthew 25:31–46, NIV84)
And as they’re being sent away into that eternal fire, some of them are going to be protesting that they’re innocent, that somehow they ended up amongst the goats when in reality they are sheep. “Jesus!” they will cry, “Jesus, what about me? You’ve got it all wrong! Don’t you remember all these things I did in your name? I went to church, I read the Bible, I gave financially – don’t you remember all I gave, Jesus? I mean, I prophesied in your name, I even performed miracles and drove out demons – and I did it for you, Jesus! What do you mean I’m one of the goats? There must be some mistake …”
But friends, Jesus doesn’t make mistakes. And the truth is, that in that day, there will be some, who have been utterly convinced that they are Christians, who will enter into eternal punishment, rather than into eternal life.
Now how could this happen? How is that someone who seems to do all the right things, who goes to all the right places, who, appears to be a good, upright, clean living person, how is that they can end up in Hell rather than in Heaven?
According to God’s word the heart of it is this: Jesus never knew them, and they never knew Him. They may have known about Him, but they did not know Him, and in that day, that distinction, is going to make all the difference. Friends you want to know that you have eternal life. And that’s why John’s written this letter – so that we may know.
So let’s see what John says beginning in verse 3 … “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:3–6, NIV84)
“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” (1 John 2:3, NIV84) This is the test of obedience and it is the second test that John gives us to help us see if we really are in the faith, or if we have just been deceiving ourselves, by thinking we are in the faith.
The first test is found in verses 5-10 of chapter 1. It’s a test that examines our attitude towards sin. If our lives are filled with habitual, on-going sin, that is, things that we know to be sinful, to be wrong in God’s sight, but in the hardness of our hearts we persist in living in them just the same, then God’s truth is not in us. In a similar way we’re told that if claim to be without sin, or claim that we have not sinned, then we have deceived ourselves. Again, the truth is not in us and we do not have fellowship with God. In other words our attitude towards sin is a very real indication of whether or not we are in the faith, whether or not we are saved, whether or not we have fellowship with the Father. If we are not broken by sin, running from sin, repenting of sin, but calling ourselves Christians just the same while continuing in sin, we are going to find ourselves in the place of those to whom Jesus will one day say, “Away from me you evildoers – I never knew you!”
Because when a person truly becomes a Christian something changes. In fact the testimony of this whole book, is that when people come to know Jesus, it changes them. You’ve probably heard the saying that, “Jesus loves you just as you are.” And it’s true – He does. But it’s also true that He loves you too much to leave you there. He died so that you could be set free and find new life in Him. There is an inner transformation – Scripture calls it the “new creation” – that is formed within us at the moment of salvation. A spiritual birth takes place and we move from death to life. We call it being “saved” or being “born again.” That movement from death to life results in a change in the way we both understand the world in which we live, and the manner in which we do life in it. If there is no change, chances are, that there is no salvation.
To the Corinthian church Paul writes these words saying … “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, NIV84) The implication is, that while those things might once have been true of them, they are no longer true of them today, since they have now entered into new life with Jesus. It’s not that belief in Jesus makes it alright for them to continue in those things they once lived. That’s not it at all. To the woman caught in adultery Jesus says, “Go and sin no more.” We are called to a new way of living and are given the Spirit of God that we may enter into that life to which we are called.
And what happens is this: that sin we once reveled in, that lifestyle we once lived, loses its appeal to us. We become convicted by the Spirit of God which dwells in us of the sinfulness of the way we’ve been living. We begin to see sin as God sees sin. We’re broken by it, we’re moved to confess it, we repent of it. Instead of continuing in sin, we turn to God to be delivered from it, because we don’t want to live that way anymore. We want to please God; we want to do what is right in His eyes.
What we’re doing is responding to God’s grace. In Romans 12:1 Paul writes these words … “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NIV84) In view of what God has done for us, we offer our bodies as living sacrifices – that is we give our life wholly over to God, surrendering our desires to His will, submitting the days of our lives, to His care. We respond to God, not as the old nature, but in light of the new creation.
So the first test of faith is our response to sin. The second test is the test of obedience. In the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus, praying to His Father in Heaven, says this, … “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3, NIV84) Eternal life is to know God and to know His Son. How do we know if we know Him, rather than just knowing about Him? Well we’re given the answer in these verses in 1 John. Chapter 2, verse 3 … “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” (1 John 2:3, NIV84)
If we truly know God, it is going to result in a moving towards obedience to the word of God. See, the Christian life is one of submission to Christ. And maybe that makes it sound to you like to be a Christian then is to be a pansy, to be a wuss, to be a sissy, because it’s only those without a backbone who will submit their will, their desires, their hopes, their very life, to someone else.
Not true at all! Think of all those who have been martyred for their faith. Does it not take tremendous courage, to stand firm in your salvation, even though it means your very life? History is full of the testimonies of men and women of faith, who, at the moment of decision could have saved their lives by recanting their faith and denying God, but who chose to stand firm in the face of opposition, to stand firm when confronted with their very imminent death.
In this instance, submission is not a sign of weakness, and our wills, our priorities, our values, our hopes, our very lives, are meant to be lived in submission to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. “Living sacrifices,” as we’ve already heard.
See, as Christians we have a desire to please God. When we understand what He has done on our behalf, when we comprehend the extent of His love for us, our obedience becomes a response to that same love. Let me give you an example. I love my wife. I don’t love cutting the grass. However, I cut the grass because I love my wife and I know it’s a blessing for her. My cutting of the grass flows out of my love for my wife. It’s in a similar way that obedience flows from our love for God and His love for us. We want to know how we can live our lives in such a way to be pleasing and honoring to one who has loved us so well.
Here’s the thing - let me ask you this: What place have you given the word of God in your life? Is this just a book of stories to you? [Hold up Bible] Is it something that bores the living daylights out of you? Is it something you read at night when you can’t sleep and want to drop off quickly? Is it something that’s good for someone else but really has no place in your life? Do you see it as a list of commands that will steal your joy and rob you of fun? Do you dread the thought of reading God’s word and so resist it and put it off to another day? Do you have such a low regard for God’s word that you can’t be bothered to get into it on a regular basis?
See the world doesn’t want to hear what God’s word has to say, does it? I mean, when we share what God’s word has to same on the subject of marriage, or sexuality, or any number of other topics, the world really doesn’t want to hear it, am I right? Some of you, are responding to the word of God, just like the world does. You don’t want to hear what it has to say. So you don’t open it up. You don’t spend time in it. Or if you do, you don’t want to do what it says. You resist the word of God. You know what that is? Usually that’s pride. Pride wells up in us and says, “Hey, I know better than God. That doesn’t apply to me. I’m the exception. God’s word is out of date, He doesn’t understand the society in which we live.”
If that’s you, you’ve got a big problem. Look at what it says in verse 4 … “The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4, NIV84) Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV84) Jesus is the truth. If Jesus is in us we are going to be walking in a life of obedience because we’ve got the truth within us. But if we say we’re Christians, that we know Jesus, but don’t do what God’s word commands, we make ourselves out to be liars and show that the truth – that Jesus – is not in us. We deceive ourselves.
Turn to the book of James with me for a moment. James, chapter 2, beginning in verse 14. As you’re turning there I’m going to read to you another verse from James that sets the stage for this one. In chapter 1, James says this, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22, NIV84) It’s not enough to come to church week after week and hear preachers proclaim the word of God. Lots of people hear God’s word; far fewer respond to it. James says, “Don’t think merely listening to God’s word is enough. You need to respond to it because belief, that is really belief, acts on what it knows to be true.”
And then James goes on to write these words in chapter 2, beginning in verse 14 …
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. … As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:14–26, NIV84)
James is not saying that salvation is by faith + works. What he is saying, is that genuine faith, responds with good deeds. Words are not enough. Genuine faith responds to God’s word in obedience. And just as our attitude towards sin serves to reveal the reality of our faith, so too does our response to God’s word.
Here’s the difference. The non-Christian is going to be concerned with the answer to this question: “What do I want out of my life?” That’s the question the world is asking. It centers on me – my wants, my hopes, my desires, my pleasure. It’s all about me. The Christian though is going to be more concerned with the answer to this question: “What does God want for my life?” What is God calling me to? How is it that He desires I should be living my life? What does God desire for me?
Let me give you an example. A husband and wife are having a rocky time. The marriage is in tatters. Hearts are hardened. A worldly husband looks at the situation and says “What do I want? I want out, so I’m going to leave. It’s the easier thing to do because I’m tired of all the fighting, all the hurt, all the disappointment.” A godly husband looks at the same situation and says “What does God want? God wants for my marriage to be better, to reflect His love and grace and mercy. And so with his help, I’m going to do what I can to love my wife and build into a better future together. I’m going to fight for my marriage.” Do you see the difference?
Sometimes people struggle to obey God because they don’t really know Him at all. They may have gone through the last five, ten, twenty years, with an appearance of godliness, but without any of the reality of the new creation. They may have served as Sunday School teachers, elders and deacons and even pastors, and yet the truth may be that they are not walking in obedience to God, because they do not know God, and therefore they do not have salvation.
The better we know God – His character, His heart, His love - the more we want to walk in obedience. Verse 5 … “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.” We know that we have begun to recognize the reality and the depth of God’s love, when we begin to respond in obedience to Him, and that’s because we begin to believe that that which God calls us to, is for our own good. We understand that a loving God, desires those things for His children, which are good, and true, and right and beneficial for them.
As a dad, I understand that. When I tell my kids not to touch the hot stove, it’s because I love them and I know that their not touching that stove, is for their good. God is good. He’s loving. He’s kind. He’s generous. He’s caring. He’s concerned for you. He’s got your best interests at heart. And if you know God, you know that about Him. And if you know that about Him, you’re not going to resist the things that He’s asking of you because you believe, even if you don’t fully understand everything He’s asking of you, that in some way, shape, or form, that those same things are for your own good. And so you’re going to take a step of faith and respond in obedience.
So maybe you’re reading the word of God and it tells you to believe and be baptized. And you believe, but have never been baptized. What’s happening? You’re not walking in obedience. There’s something that you’re allowing to keep you from following God’s word. Maybe it’s pride. Maybe you don’t see the point. Maybe you’re scared the pastor is going hold you under the water a little too long. Maybe you don’t want that feeling of vulnerability. Maybe you don’t think you look good enough in a bathing suit – who knows? But the truth is, that when we’re confronted with the truth of God’s word, we are to respond in obedience. That’s how Jesus lived his life.
Look at verse 6 … This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:5–6, NIV84) How did Jesus live? He walked in obedience to His Father. Philippians 2:5-8 … “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5–8, NIV84)
And again, from the Gospel of John, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34, NIV84) See, it wasn’t about Jesus in Jesus’ mind. It was about God. And it’s not supposed to be about you and me either – it’s meant to be about God. That’s why Jesus can also say this … “Blessed … are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”” (Luke 11:28, NIV84) And “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23, NIV84)c z
I began this morning with that passage from Matthew where Jesus is telling the people that words are not enough … “Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven,” He says. And then He goes on to say this …““Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”” (Matthew 7:24–27, NIV84)
The question you need to answer today is, “Am I building on the rock or on the sand?”
Let’s pray.
