Provoking Thoughts From 1 John (2 Of 16)

Because this is essential, I would like to refresh your memory before we get into the heart of this sermon.

We dealt with these FOUR things about the Ephesian Christians:

(1) THEIR HERITAGE. They were second and third generation Christians. Their parents and grandparents had been in the church at Ephesus when Paul came along and preached and was used of God in a mighty way. But, that had been some years ago. Now they were being told by false teachers that the things Paul had taught their parents and grandparents were not right.

Then we talked about...

(2) THEIR COMPROMISE. After Paul, and some of the other great preachers, had died, the false teachers began to teach, for one thing, that God does not care what we do with these physical bodies that are evil, and, they said, would not be resurrected. They said that GOD ONLY CARES ABOUT THE SPIRIT OF MAN.

John dealt with that specific false teaching in his letters. Then, John had to deal with...

(3) THEIR OPPOSITION. The “perverted teachers,” who had come in among them, tried to draw the Christians away from the teachings of Christ which was their rich heritage, to follow them. In this we see the truth that the devil can, and does, attack the church from WITHIN, often more than from WITHOUT! At that time their opposition was not so much from WITHOUT as from WITHIN the church.

Illus: This makes us think of a method used often today to destroy large buildings. They have found that the best way to take a large building down is by planting dynamite charges in strategic locations inside the building and setting the charges to go of in a certain sequence. This causes the building to fall in on itself. Thus the building is destroyed, in a matter of minutes, with no effort from without.

John dealt with the OPPOSITION COMING FROM WITHIN churches. John also dealt with...

(4) THEIR HERESY. The false teachers were called Gnostics. They taught the Lord was no more than a DIVINE GHOST.

John was quick to respond and assure them Jesus was not a divine ghost. He told them HE HAD SEEN, HEARD, AND TOUCHED JESUS. JESUS WAS NO DIVINE GHOST!

John was the spiritual statesman who not only SAW, HEARD, and TOUCHED JESUS, but in verse 5, he revealed the kind of Savior Jesus was. John said, “...God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

Illus: Members from cults will come to your door and tell you they believe in the same Jesus we believe in, but the Jesus they talk about and teach about is not Jesus, God’s Son that this Bible reveals.

Then John refutes their teaching that we can be children of God and walk in darkness.

Look at verse 6. He said, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, WE LIE, and do not the truth.”

Then John, the elder statesman, continued to tell them about Jesus, whom HE HAD SEEN, HEARD, AND TOUCHED!

Look at verses 7 through 9. We see several things, such as...

I. THE COURSE

Look at verse 7. We read, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Again, some would be quick to remind us that you find sin in the lives of SAINTS and SINNERS. AGAIN, THAT IS THE UNDENIABLE TRUTH!

But, I remind you again that there is a vast difference in the lives of SAINTS and SINNERS.

• SINNERS LUST AFTER SIN. That is, they often plan to sin weeks in advance of sinning. They plot and plan how they can have more and more sin in their lives.

• SAINTS FALL INTO SIN. They do not lust after sin, and even if they do plan for it, this is something they fall into. When they realize what they have done, they confess the sin to God and stop their sinning.

However, it is true that many people in churches around the world believe they can have fellowship with God and walk in darkness at the same time.

John made it clear this could not be the case. In verse 6, he said, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and WALK in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”

Look at the word “walk.” This is translated from the Greek, “peripateo,” which means: “To follow, to tread all around, be occupied with.”

Every day each Christian’s life is built around Christ. Christ lives within us. We are occupied by Him.

Salvation is the greatest thing that can happen to a person.

I know some folks make it sound as if there is not much to it! But, when we get saved, the LORD OCCUPIES OUR LIFE! We are never again the same.