We discovered that anyone can say that they know the Lord...anyone! All one has to say is, “I know the Lord.”
John used the word, “saith,” numerous times. He referred to it in:
• 1 John 2:4. He said, “HE THAT SAITH, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
• 1 John 2:6. He said, “HE THAT SAITH he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
• 1 John 2:9. He said, “HE THAT SAITH he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.”
Again, John says a person can say he KNOWS the Lord, but that does not mean he REALLY KNOWS the Lord.
The Lord makes us aware of the possibility of this deception in Matthew 7:21-23. He said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
The Lord was saying what John said -- that is that a person can say all day long that he knows the Lord, but that does not mean that person really knows the Lord. John gave us a test to take to be sure that we really know the Lord.
If we can not pass these seven tests, John says our profession is built on a lie. Three of the tests we have already taken are:
I. THE ATTITUDE TEST
That is, if we say we are Christians, John said that the proof was that we would KEEP GOD’S COMMANDMENTS. A lot of folks who claim to be saved can not pass this test.
II. THE ACTION TEST
That is, if we say we are Christians, we will walk even as He walked. A lot of folks who claim to be saved do not walk as he walked.
III. THE AFFECTION TEST
That is, if we say we are Christians, we love the brethren. A lot of folks claim to be saved, yet many of these hate, envy, and back-stab the brethren. In fact, the way some gossip and back-stab, you can not find they have an ounce of love for the brethren.
John said if you could not get past these THREE tests, your profession of faith in Christ is no more than a pack of lies.
We are not saved by doing these things, but John said IF ONE WAS SAVED HE WOULD DO THESE THINGS.
Today we want to take the John’s fourth test.
IV. THE ACTUALITY TEST
That is, if our profession is true; if we truly repented of our sins, something marvelous had taken place in our lives -- we have become BORN-AGAIN. This is not something we wished would happen, it is something that ACTUALLY happened. One actually becomes a “new creature.”
2 Cor. 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
This verse is teaching simply that anytime you have BIRTH, you SHOULD ALSO HAVE GROWTH. When we are saved we have ACTUALLY BECOME NEW CREATURES!
When this birth occurs we then go through THREE stages of growth. They are:
• The infancy stage.
• The youth stage.
• The adulthood stage.
Let us look at these THREE stages of growth that all born-again believers should go through.
A. THE INFANCY STAGE
Look at verse 12. John said, “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.”
Notice, again, the reason he was writing to the children of God was because... “...your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.”
The thing that makes those who have accepted Christ as Savior God’s children is the fact we have been forgiven.
Illus: I like the bumper sticker, that we occasionally see on the bumpers of cars, that states, “Not perfect, just forgiven!”
That is what we are, as children of God. We do not claim to be perfect, but we do claim to be forgiven.
The thing that makes us different from the lost world is that the Holy Spirit of God has enlightened us about our sins and we recognized the way we were living was sinful and we wept before the Lord in repentance.
NOTICE, I SAID THAT WE WEPT BEFORE GOD IN REPENTANCE.
Now I know that nowhere in the Bible does it say that we must weep when we repent of our sins, but dry-eyed professions of salvation make us wonder if these people have genuinely repented of their sins.
Many today have messed up their lives in sin and are sorry that they have gotten caught, but they are not sorry that they have sinned. For example...
Illus: When Bill Clinton was caught committing immoral acts with a twenty-one-year-old intern he finally admitted he did something “improper.” He more than likely would never have admitted to that had it not been for the DNA test ran on Monica’s dress which produced undeniable evidence that he was guilty. Finally, August 17, 1998, he appeared on national television and confessed the affair. Weeks went by and people all over were talking about what he had done. Finally, his supporters began to get brave and appeal, on national television to those who were upset with him, saying, “Why can’t you forgive him?”
The response was, “We cannot forgive him because he has never asked us to forgive him. All he did was confess that he had done something improper.”
“Improper,” is not a correct term for Mr. Clinton to have used to describe his conduct. For example:
• It is improper to talk when someone else is talking.
• It is improper to eat with your fingers, in most situations.
• It is improper to use foul language any time, but especially in the presence of women and children.
When Mr. Clinton said he had an “improper” relationship, that does not carry with it the stigma it should that goes along with what this man did.
This is the way it is with many in our churches today, people in them do not know the Lord. They have never confessed that what they have done was evil and rotten to the core.
• They have confessed they made some mistakes.
• They have confessed they have made some bad judgments.
• They have confessed to goofing up.
• They have confessed that they have hurt others.
But they have never confessed they have sinned against God.
They will admit they are not perfect and they will admit they have done some things they wished they had not done, but when they get through, you do not know if you should CONGRATULATE THEM or PRAY FOR THEM.
They have never confessed to God that what they did was so bad that the Lord Jesus had to die on the cross for it. They have never cried out in repentance and said, “God, forgive me for the terrible things I have thought and I have done.”
John said, “My little children,” I am writing to you because, “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.” That is, you have confessed your sins and God has forgiven you.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A LOST PERSON DOES THIS? When a lost person does this, HE BECOMES BORN AGAIN! But, BIRTH is not the end; BIRTH IS THE BEGINNING point in our Christian life.
Children are not born to stay infants; they are born to grow. It is during this stage that growth manifests itself more than any other stage. That is, we can recognize growth in an infant more than at any other time in a person’s life.
Illus: Anyone here who has children, or grandchildren, knows how fast children grow. We are holding them one day, and it seems that only a few weeks later they are running all over the place.
The same things is true in the life of a new convert. When a person is truly born-again you can just see him growing spiritually. He is been born-again and is discovering things that he never knew existed, and he is having a time.
John referred to SPIRITUAL INFANTS as “Little children....” We all begin our Christian at this stage. Something the church needs to recognize is that everyone may be adults PHYSICALLY, but SPIRITUALLY many are still “little children.”
John addressed those who were at this stage spiritually as little children because they were known for several childish traits.
1. CHILDREN HAVE AN OVERWHELMING DESIRE TO SPLASH IN MUD HOLES.
John already said, in 1 John 2:1, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.” Little children are known for something else.
2. THEY ARE VERY EASILY DECEIVED AND LED ASTRAY.
One of the mistakes we make in our churches today is that we expect everyone to act the way we act. Well, that is not fair! Some have not been born-again very long. We have to give them time to grow up just as we have to give people time to grow up.
When you force a child to grow too fast, you do him a great injustice. Why? Because he is going through a stage of life he will never go through again, and God made him to go through that time. But, if you force him to grow up too fast you deprive him of something he may look back at and resent you for it.
Once we confess our sins, we all begin at the same place -- as INFANTS. But, we then grow into the next stage, which is...
B. THE YOUTH STAGE
Look at verse 13b. We read, “...I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.” Then look at the last part of verse 14. We read, “I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.”
Notice, there is a difference between the INFANT and the YOUTH.
The INFANT Christian has had everything given to him, or her. Infants have no problems that are too bit go run to their parents with, knowing their parents will work them out.
But, teens have been through some things in life. They have to deal with some of the realities of life and solve some problems themselves. They have not yet reached full maturity although often they think they have. Teens still have a long time yet to go. It is while people are teens they discover something that becomes the most important thing in their lives...THEY DISCOVER RELATIONSHIPS.
Especially, they DISCOVER LOVE! All of a sudden, almost overnight, they think they have become experts in the field of love. If you need to know anything at all about love, just ask a teen, they are experts.
What is ironic is what you see when you watch the “experts” at work. For example...
Illus: A teen will meet someone that is special, he thinks. He is convinced THIS IS THE ONE -- this is the one I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, the one I WAS BORN FOR. But if you ask him about that SPECIAL one after about three to six weeks he will not even be able to remember her name.
Yet, eventually teens do grow up. People discover REAL LOVE at this stage.
This is the stage God wants all of us to reach...not a phony baloney love, but REAL LOVE.
Notice, the temptations of life that the spiritual youths face. Once they have come to know the Lord they lay aside everything and everyone for the one they have come to truly love.
John said three things about the youth in verse 14.
1. “...ye are strong...”
When we are young we can do things we could not do when we were infants. Also we can do things we will not be able to do later in life. That is, when we reach this stage of our Christian life, we should do all that we can for Christ because down the road there may not be so many opportunities available to us.
2. “...the word of God abideth in you...”
That is, the reason we have this spiritual strength is due to the fact, as we have read, studied, and heard It taught, that the Word of God abideth in us.
3. “...ye have overcome the wicked one.”
When the Word of God abideth in us we are able to overcome all our enemies. In our spiritual “youth” stage, after we have come to know the Lord, we are able to serve the Lord and get things done for Him.
C. THE ADULT STAGE
Look at verse 13. We read, “I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.” Notice, when he speaks of the adult stage he says of them, “...ye have known him that is from the beginning.”
Is that significant? Yes. It certainly is!
Notice, this is not a person who just “SAITH,” “I know Him.” It is a person of whom the Bible says, “...ye have KNOWN HIM...”
The spiritually mature person is one who can look back over his spiritual life and he knows that he knows the Lord, Who has existed “from the beginning,” through many stages of spiritual growth.
Conclusion:
Someone has said, “Youth is a blunder, maturity is a struggle and old age is a regret.” While that may be true for some, for those who are truly born-again, “Youth will NOT be a blunder, maturity will NOT be a struggle and old age WILL NOT be a regret!”
Some have compared salvation to the game of baseball. That is, the object of the game is not just to get to the first base. The object is to touch three bases and go to home plate.
That is, there is no need to go to any of the other bases if you do not first tag first base. Most liken this to salvation. Once you tag first base you head for second base. Some have compared this to church membership and water baptism. But one does not just get saved, join the church and get baptized and stay there. He goes on to third base which represents Christian service. All three of these bases should be tagged before a person heads home.
Again, touching first base is essential. If you do not get there, you do not get to the other bases and to home plate.
When we call upon the Lord Jesus, accepting him as Savior, we become the children of God and then we go through the three stages of Christian growth.
Provoking...#4
I. THE ATTITUDE TEST
II. THE ACTION TEST
III. THE AFFECTION TEST
PROVOKING...#5
IV. THE ACTUALITY TEST
