How Do I Know
1 John 2:1-11 (NLT)
Intro: How many have seen the new 100 Dollar bill. It looks like monopoly money doesn’t it? In the past few years, it seems that the government is coming out with new designs for our US currency. I have watched for years as the people who take my money at stores take a special pen and mark on the bill; or they would take it and hold it up to the light. When I saw this new 100 dollar bill, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked the teller at the bank what they were looking for when they did this. She gave me a quick lesson on how to tell if a bill is genuine or not. I have forgotten what she told me but as I was reading in first John and studying for this message, it seems to me that in order for you to know if your faith is genuine or not counterfeit, there are some things that you need to examine.
How do you know that you are a Christian.
. Do you know Jesus or do you just know about him. This is a theme that we have been talking about for several months now. Do you really know Jesus.
. How many here this morning have heard of the band The Beatles?
. It seems that everybody here has. If we were having a conversation and I looked at you and said, you know the Beatles, you would probably say that yes you know them.
. My guess is that no one here this morning actually knows Paul Mcartney, or Ringo Starr or knew John Lennon or George Harrison.
. You know about them but you do not know them personally.
. I believe that is the case with many who profess to know Jesus.
. They have heard about him but they have never come to know him personally.
. There is absolutely no evidence in their lives that they have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
. As we look at our scripture this morning, John will help us understand what it is like to truly know Jesus.
. How do I know that I know him.
. Lets read our scripture. 1 John 2:1-11
. 1My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.
2He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
3And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.
4If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
5But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.
6Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
7Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.
8Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
9If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.
10Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
11But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
. The first step in knowing is this.
. You Trust In What Jesus Did For Your Salvation
. Look at verses 1&2 again;
. 1My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.
2He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
. John says that as Christians, remember he is writing to people who claim to have faith, you should try not to sin.
. If you do though, remember what Jesus did for you, he has already died for your sins,
. Don’t spend your life worrying about if you are good enough or if you commit a sin then you are bound for hell.
. John writes that yes, we should endeavor to not sin but; if you do, the penalty for that sin has already been paid.
. Does this then give us the right to do what we want at any time?
. Absolutely not. In Paul’s epistle to the Romans, he explains the concept of grace being needed because of our sin in chapter 5 and then in 6:1 Paul writes this.
. 1Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?
2Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?
4For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
. When we trust in what Jesus did for us, we do the best we can in trying to live this new life that he has given us.
. We are set free from the guilt that will stifle you and paralyze you if you try to live your life with rules and regulations.
. You have an advocate, who is taken care of that so you can move forward with your life in Christ.
. Being the person that God wants you to be.
. In order to know that you are saved, trust in what Jesus did for your salvation.
. Next we see that in order for you to know:
. You Live a Life That Obeys God’s Commands
. Look At verses 3-6 again:
. 3And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.
4If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
5But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.
6Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
. This is where some folks get confused and discombobulated.
. Wait a minute Anthony, you just told me that there were no rules and regulations to follow and in the next point, you tell me that I should obey God’s commands.
. This is how we know that we love him. We obey his commands not because we have to: but because we want to.
. We are going to get to his commands in just a minute but this is important.
. When we confess our sin and truly give our life to God through Jesus Christ, we want to please him.
. It’s like when you were a child and your parents would come to see you in a play or a ball game or in some other function. You wanted to do well but you always wanted to please your parents didn’t you? You did that because you loved them.
. When you are in a proper relationship with Jesus, You want to please him. Not because you have to; but because you love him and want to.
. If we claim to know God but don’t follow his commandments, John says that we are liars.
. John tells us that this is how you truly show that you love God. By living a life that shows these commandments.
. In order to know that you are a child of God, That you have been adopted into the Kingdom family, you will live your life following God’s commandments.
. Next, if we are to follow his commandments in order to know; then:
. YOU MUST HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT GOD”S COMMANDS ARE.
5But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.
6Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
7Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.
8Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
. Thos who say they are Christians, those who claim to know Jesus not know of him, will live their lives as Jesus did.
. John then goes on to tell them and us what the commandment we are to live is.
. Guess what church, Love Each other.
. John says that Jesus was the embodiment of loving other people.
. We are to live like Jesus did.
. Number 1. To do the will of the Father.
. In John 6:38 Jesus is talking to his disciples and he tells them this:
8For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.
. And the second was to love people.
. Jesus came to love us so much that He died for us.
. He gave us these two commands.
. Jesus was in a crowd teaching and the Pharisees, or religious leaders and this is the dialog.
. Matthew 22:35-40
. 35One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:
36“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38This is the first and greatest commandment.
39A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
. Love God, Love Each Other
. I know that you hear me say this over and over and over. That’s because these are the commandments that we are to live under.
. Jesus said that all the laws and rules and regulations that people are trying to live by are encompassed in these two.
. We could go through and list all the ten commandments and look at them individually and they would all be satisfied if we can just love God and love each other.
. That is the essence of how we are to live.
. We have trouble with not having rules and boundaries don’t we?
. I tell you this morning folks, Jesus said all we have to do is keep these two commandments and we can know that we are walking in the light as John calls.
. We can know that we are saved if we can do this.
. We love to tell people what they should and shouldn’t do. The bible has much to say about how people should behave but they are not commands. They are guidelines that we should try and follow.
. This goes back to the freedom that we have in Jesus.
. In 1 Corinthians 6:12 Paul writes this about freedom.
2You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.
. Paul is addressing what people eat and sexual sins but it pertains to everything.
. You may have freedom to do anything but not all things are wise. On over in chapter 10 here he tells them this very thing.
. You are not bound by rules and regulations any more but not all things are wise.
. We can go through scripture finding examples of things that are not wise. Gluttony, drunkenness, things that hurt our bodies, all the taboos that we have in our society.
. I tell you this morning that while these things are unwise, they will not save you. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cover our sins and then we will know that we are saved because we will want to obey the two commands of Jesus Christ.
. We know when our desire is to love God and love each other.
. Lastly, you will know when you:
. Pass The Inspection Process
. Look at 9-11
. 9If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.
10Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
11But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
. If we don’t5 love God and we don’t love each other, John writes that we are still living in darkness,
. Obviously we have heard about Jesus but we don’t truly know Jesus.
. John tells us that if we do, then we will follow these commands of Jesus.
. How do you know?
. Do you pass the test?
. Do you know Jesus or do you just know about him.
. Invitation.
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources: The Holy Bible, NLT
