The Best Is Yet To Come.

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. – 1 John 3:2 ESV

John went out of his way to let his readers know that they were God's children. It wasn't some future hope reserved for them in heaven, but a present reality that was to set them apart from the rest of the world. John could think of no greater expression of God's love than that He would call people who had once been His enemy, His children. And that new relationship had been made possible by Him sending His own Son to take on human flesh and die for the sins of mankind. John puts it this way a little bit later in his letter: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9 ESV). And John's statement, “that we might live through him” is not just a reference to the eternal life reserved for us after Jesus returns. John had heard Jesus Himself say, “ I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV). So as believers, we have the amazing privilege of being children of God. Which means we are loved by God. Not only that, we have the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, living within us, providing us with an abiding awareness and constant proof that Jesus was exactly who He claimed to be and that all He promised and that the apostles taught was true. Which includes the promise of Jesus, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 ESV). He is with us now. John referred to Him as our “advocate with the Father” (1 John 2:1 ESV). He intercedes on our behalf before the very throne of God. And the Spirit of God lives within us, providing us with divine insight and incentive to live godly lives in the midst of a godless world.

But a big part of our motivation to live righteously in this life has to do with the life to come. At this point, we have residing within us our new nature, our sinless nature, given to us by Jesus. Because of His death, we were given His righteousness. We received new natures, that like His, are sinless. Our new natures are incapable of sin. John says, “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5 ESV). “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning; for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:8-9 ESV). Jesus died in order to put an end to sin, to destroy the works of the devil, and to eliminate the spirit of the antichrist that pervades this world. And while we still struggle with the ever-present reality of sin, we must never forget that Jesus Christ has already done all that needs to be done to put an end to sin and death. His crucifixion settled it. His death paid the price for man's sins and satisfied the wrath of God. His resurrection was proof that His death was worthy and that His Father was satisfied. It also proved His power over death. The apostle Paul said it so well. “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV).

John wants us to know that there is a day coming when our sinless nature will be our only nature. Right now, we struggle with our residual, clinging, hard-to-kill sin nature that is constantly doing battle with our new nature. But there is a day coming when He will return, and “when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2 ESV). His sanctifying work in us will be completed once and for all. Our old natures will be eliminated and we will be like Him. Which is why John says, “everyone who thus hopes in him, purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:3 ESV). It is our hope of future holiness that motivates our desire for present holiness. Because we are children of God NOW, and our future inheritance is reserved for us, we should want to live like who we are. We should desire to see our new nature increasingly become our only nature. Our future hope should instill in us a present passion to be sinless and righteous even now. The best is yet to come, but Jesus provides abundant, overflowing, righteous life even now. No one states this reality better than the apostle Paul. “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:6-11).

The Sinless Sin Less.

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. – 1 John 3:8 ESV

When one accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, they receive a new nature. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:4 ESV). Nicodemus was a bit confused by this statement and wondered out loud about just how ridiculous and impossible it sounded. But Jesus responded, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 ESV). Jesus was letting Nicodemus in on the exciting news that men were going to be able to receive new natures – spiritual natures – made possible when His atoning work on the cross had been completed. To drive home his point, Jesus used an event from the history of the Israelites. Having sinned and rebelled against God, the people of God found themselves under His wrath. They were being attacked by serpents and many were dying as a result. God instructed Moses to create a bronze serpent, put it on a staff and command the people to look at it – when they did, they would be healed. In essence, they had to look at their sin and their punishment in order to receive healing. And Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15 ESV). This statement is followed by the familiar words of Jesus: “For God so loved the world,i that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). When an individual looks on the crucified Christ, bearing his sins on the cross and suffering the punishment for his rebellion against God, and believes that His sacrifice satisfied God, he is born again. He receives new life and a new nature. At that point he becomes a child of God. He not only receives healing from and forgiveness for his sins, he receives the righteousness of Christ. His new nature is a sinless nature. But the problem is that he also maintains his old nature – his sin nature. These two natures are at war within us. But the apostle Paul gives us the key to “making our sinless nature our dominant nature. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:16-17 ESV). Walk by the Spirit. John tells us the very same thing. “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him” (1 John 2:27 ESV). We not only have new natures, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. And the key to sinning less is abiding more.

John reminds us that we are children of God – NOW! It is who we are. And as children of God, we have been given the very nature of God that allows us to live righteously and rightly. But the key is abiding or remaining in Him. We must walk in the light. We must stay attached to and dependent upon the source of our righteousness. Jesus' analogy of the vine and the branches teaches us the undeniable necessity of living constantly attached to and reliant upon Him. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV). Our sin nature sins. That is what it does. But our sinless nature, the one we inherited from Christ, cannot sin. John puts it this way: “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning” (1 John 3:5-6 ESV). Jesus died so that we might become righteous, as He is righteous. But we must remain or abide in Him. We must become increasingly more dependent upon the Spirit of God within us if we want to sin less. Every time we sin, it is a reminder that we are living according to our sin nature. We are not abiding. That should drive us back to the cross where our old nature was crucified with Christ. “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6 NLT). We can sin less, but only if we abide in Him more. Sinlessness is not the result of sinning less. It is the other way around. We sin less because our new nature is sinless. Paul tells us, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13 NLT). We have new life and a new nature. We have a new capacity to sin less because our new nature is from God and is sinless. We sin when we give in to our old nature. We sin when we stop abiding in and relying on the Spirit within us. We are children of God and we can live like children of God. But we must rely on the power of God.

Practice Does NOT Make Perfect.

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. – 1 John 3:7 ESV

There is a dangerous misconception within the church today that seems to believe that if we can increase the amount of good things we do while we eliminate our bad behaviors, we will become more holy. It works out something like this:

More good behavior – bad behavior = Holiness

It sounds so logical. It seems to make sense. But is it biblical? There is no doubt that believers in Jesus Christ are expected to live lives that are markedly different than those of the lost. The writer of Hebrews tells us to “Strive for … the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 ESV). Paul told Timothy to “flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness” (2 Timothy 2:22 ESV). This was a recurring theme for Paul. “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11 ESV). Peter wrote: “be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish” (2 Peter 3:14 ESV). He also said, regarding himself, “ I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me” (2 Peter 3:12 NLT). Paul encouraged the believers in Philippi, “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear” (Philippians 2:12 NLT). But the danger comes when we think that our growth in spiritual maturity is somehow up to us. Yes, we have a role to play, but ultimately, our holiness is the work of God, just as our salvation was.

The key is dependence. John writes, “And now, little children, abide in him” (1 John 2:28 ESV). That word “abide” means to remain or be kept. John is echoing the words of Jesus Himself. Over in his gospel, John recorded a lesson from the lips of Jesus where he taught about the vine and the branches. He used horticultural imagery to drive home a point about our need for dependency on Him. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5 ESV). A branch abide in or remains attached to the vine. It is kept by or maintained by the vine. In and of itself, the branch can do nothing. Apart from the vine, the branch is useless and, ultimately, fruitless. The same thing is true of us. We can do nothing apart from Jesus. He is the one who produces fruit in us and through us. The branch cannot bear fruit apart from the vine. We cannot bear fruit apart from Jesus and the Spirit that lives within us. When Jesus says, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8 ESV), He is letting us know that fruitfulness is a sign that we belong to Him. The very fact that our lives produce fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – is evidence of our abiding relationship with God. John puts it this way: “everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him” (1 John 2:29 ESV). We are children of God, therefore, we should act like children of God. It is part of our spiritual DNA. We have His Spirit within us. And while “what we will be has not yet appeared” (1 John 3:2 ESV), we are His children right here, right now. That's why we don't practice sinning. That's why John wrote, “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:6 ESV). Continual, habitual sinning is anti-Christ. It is abnormal for someone who claims to be a child of God and has the Spirit of God living inside him. Which is why John says, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9 ESV). He doesn't say we DON’T sin. He says we can't keep on sinning. It is against our nature. But the key is abiding. It is an attitude and lifestyle of constant dependence upon God. Our future perfection has nothing to do with self-effort. But it has everything to do with Spirit-dependence. Peter reminds us, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT). Our very ability to “practice” or do righteousness is proof that we are children of God. Our good deeds are like a spiritual paternity test that reveals who our true Father really is. Jesus said of the Pharisees, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44 NLT). Their actions revealed their real father. And the same thing will be true of us. But we must abide. We must remain attached to and dependent upon Christ for all that we need. He not only saved us, He is sanctifying us, and “we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him like he is” (1 John 3:2 ESV).

When Love Gets Lost.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. – 1 John 2:19 ESV

They had left, vacated the premises, taken their football and gone home. An undetermined number of members of the local church there in Ephesus had walked out and their departure had left those who remained behind confused and hurt. But John wanted them to know that these so-called brothers and sisters in Christ were not what they had appeared to be. There was one very important ingredient missing: Love. Oh, they loved their opinions and had a strong affection for their beliefs about Jesus. So much so, that they were willing to walk out on the rest of the fellowship when they refused to see things their way. John made it very clear that they had never really been a part of the body of Christ there in Ephesus. But no one had known it until they finally decided to part ways. Their departure had been the thing that exposed their true nature. By leaving they had exposed their lack of love. There is no doubt that their doctrinal beliefs concerning the deity of Christ, their refusal to accept that He was the Son of God, and their denial of their own personal sins were major factors in the split, but it was their willingness to walk away from the family of God that exposed their real problem. They did not have the love of God within them. John made this point perfectly clear when he raised the issue regarding the new commandment. This was a not-so-subtle reminder of the words of Jesus Himself. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34 ESV). But John accused the recently departed faction of failing to keep this commandment. “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” (1 John 2:9 ESV). “But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11 ESV). These people had allowed their false doctrine to turn into hate. It wasn't enough to claim to know God and have a relationship with Him. “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:4-5 ESV). They had failed to love one another. But their problem was that they did not have the capacity to love. The love of God could not be perfected or completed in them because it did not reside in them. By rejecting the deity of Jesus and refusing to accept Him as God in human flesh and their Savior from sin, they had rejected the love of God altogether. God's love for the world had been expressed through the giving of His own Son as the sacrifice for the sins of man (John 3:16). But that love must be accepted by receiving His Son as Savior. By denying that Jesus was the Christ, they had refused God's gift of love. And without it, they were incapable of keeping Jesus' command to love others as He had loved them.

John had made it clear that “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 ESV). God is light, and to walk in the light is to walk in His presence. To walk in His presence we must have accepted the gift of His Son, which is the only means by which sinful man can gain access into the presence of a holy and righteous God. “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:21-22 ESV). One of the benefits of being able to walk in the light of God is a new capacity to live in fellowship with one another. Our capacity to get along with one another and express love to one another comes from God. His love is perfected in us and through us. But it all begins with our acceptance of His love for us. Which requires that we believe His Son was who he claimed to be. John will make this point again a little bit further into his letter. “We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:19-21 ESV). How do you love God and not accept the gift of love He gave? How do you love others unless you have allowed His love to permeate your life by accepting the gift of His Son? Our ability to love one another comes from God. It is His love being expressed through us.

By walking out, the individuals of whom John is referring, revealed their true nature. They didn't love because they had never experienced the love of God by accepting His Son as their Savior. And the absence of that love within their lives had left a vacuum of hate. They loved their false doctrine more than they loved God or others. Jesus had said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 NLT). And it all begins with accepting God's love as expressed through the gift of His Son's incarnation, death, and resurrection.

Staying Power.

So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. – 1 John 2:24 NLT

There are always going to be reasons for believers to lose hope and doubt their faith. The enemy is real, his attacks are relentless and the pressure to doubt God is ever-present. John knew that those to whom he wrote were faced with all kinds of questions regarding their beliefs. They were having the very foundation of their faith shaken by those who claimed to be their brothers and sisters in Christ. Their fellowship had been rocked by the recent departure of a group who no longer believed what they believed. They had a different view about Jesus. At first glance, their perspective probably hadn't sounded all that different, but over time it became clear that they were espousing a radically different doctrine regarding the identity and role of Jesus. Evidently, they had come to believe that Jesus was nothing more than a man. He was not the Son of God. He was not God in human flesh. In other words, they were rejecting the very idea of the incarnation. And it seems clear from John's letter, that they were even doubting their need for a Savior, because they were denying their own sinfulness. John called this “the spirit of the antichrist” (1 John 4:3 ESV). Their views regarding Jesus were more than just opinions, they were heresy, dangerous and destructive teachings that undermined the very foundation of the faith and denied the Word of God. John called them what they were: liars. “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” (1 John 2:22 ESV). To deny that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah and Savior of the world, was to deny that He was God. It was to disagree with what God said about Jesus and what Jesus claimed about Himself. It was to reject the teaching of the apostles, like John, who had been eye-witnesses of not only His earthly ministry, but His death and resurrection.

So John gives his struggling flock two ways for staying strong in the face of unrelenting attacks on their faith. The first was that they must remain faithful to what they had been taught. They must consider the source. John wrote, “So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father” (1 John 2:24 NLT). The Message paraphrase puts it this way: “Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father.” Where did that original message come from? The apostles. They had been the messengers sent by Jesus to spread the good news regarding the gift of eternal life made possible by His death on the cross. They had brought the message of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God that Jesus’ death and resurrection had made possible. And their message hinged on the reality of Jesus being the sinless Son of God. He was NOT just a man who lived a good life and died a martyr’s death. He was God's own Son, and He had taken on human flesh, lived a sinless life, died a sinner’s death, as a payment to satisfy the just penalty required by a righteous and holy God. That is what the apostles had been taught. That is what they had shared. That is what the recipients of John's letter had originally believed, and it had radically changed their lives. So John was encouraging them to remain faithful to what they had heard. There would be plenty of other opinions about God. There would be other views regarding Jesus and the way of salvation. But Jesus had said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). He had boldly claimed, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25 ESV). And John, who had personally seen Jesus in His post-crucifixion, resurrected state, had written, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 ESV).

But there was one more thing John told his readers to remember. “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you” (1 John 2:27 NLT). They had experienced the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had promised. When they had believed what the apostles had taught, it had been confirmed by the filling of the Spirit. John reminded them that because the Spirit of God lived or remained within them, they could know that what they had been taught by the apostles had been true. They didn't need any “new” teaching. “…so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ” (1 John 2:27 NLT). This did not mean that they were omniscient or all-knowing. It simply meant that they already knew the truth regarding Jesus and His claim to be the Son of God. The very presence of the Holy Spirit within them was the proof. Just like those to whom John was writing, we have the Word of God and the Spirit of God. We have the testimony of the apostles and the presence of the Spirit. We know the truth. We know Jesus – the way, the truth, and the life. He is who He who claimed to be. The Word of God declares it. The apostles gave their lives to defend it. And the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God makes it impossible to deny it.

Our Spiritual Lie Detector.

But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. – 1 John 2:27 NLT

Jesus called Satan the father of lies. Paul, when confronting a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, called him “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10 ESV). In the days immediately after Pentecost, Peter had to confront one of the new converts for falsely claiming to have sold land and given all the proceeds to the church. “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” (Acts 5:3 ESV). Paul had to warn the Colossian believers, “Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:8 NLT). Peter made it clear that false teachers would be a constant threat to the church. “But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered” (2 Peter 2:1-2 NLT). The reality is that, as Christians, we are surrounded by lies and constantly tempted to buy into the subtle deceptions of the enemy. It can become increasingly more difficult to tell the difference between what is true and what is false. But we have been given a reliable resource for determining right from wrong and truth from fiction. Jesus promised that when He left, He would not leave us alone, but would send the very Spirit of God to fill us and help us. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13 NLT). John reminds us that the Holy Spirit lives within us, and He is not only our comforter and helper, He is our source of all truth. He can help discern what is a lie of the enemy and what we can trust as a word from God. We have not been left defenseless. We have been given the Spirit of God and therefore, we can understand the will and the mind of God. “For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:10-12 NLT). 

John reminds us that we have the very Spirit of God living within us. He indwells us. He is our resident lie detector, providing us with the ability to know what is true and what is false. But we have to listen to Him. We have to seek His help and want to hear what He has to say. But the temptation is to ignore His promptings and to refuse to listen to His voice. One of the primary tools the Spirit uses to speak to us is the Word of God, the Bible. As we read it, He helps us understand it and apply it to our lives. He gives us the capacity to hear the voice of God through the written Word of God. But if we don't read it, He can't speak to us through it. It is impossible for Him to apply the truth of God's Word if we refuse to take it in. The temptation we all face as Christians is to allow the philosophies of this world to fill our minds and deceive us with a reasonable sounding variation of the truth. Our sinful flesh, always at battle with the Spirit within us, constantly urges us to listen to its selfish demands and give in to its subtle suggestions. And unless we are filling our minds with the Word and listening to the voice of the Spirit, we will find ourselves deceived and distracted by the lies of the enemy. So Paul tells us, “let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions” (Galatians 5:16-17 NLT). As John warned earlier, we are constantly faced with the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of our possessions and accomplishments. We need the Holy Spirit to see the danger we face and to give us the strength we need to stay in step with the truth. Left to our own devices, we will fail. But with the Spirit's help, we can live discerning and disciplined lives. “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Galatians 5:25 NLT). God didn't leave us defenseless. But we must learn to live dependent upon the Spirit if we are going to live powerfully and profitably in this life.

When Christians Become Anti-Christ.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. – 1 John 2:19 ESV

There was a group of former church members who had recently left the fellowship there in Ephesus. Evidently, they had stirred up a bit of controversy with their beliefs regarding Jesus. For whatever reason, they had either had a change of heart regarding the deity of Jesus, or had never fully believed it from the beginning. These people were denying that Jesus was the Son of God and rejecting His claim to have been the Messiah. In essence, they were refusing to accept Him as Savior. They even denied their own sinfulness. As you can imagine, these beliefs caused quite a bit of trouble for the church there in Ephesus. John even referred to the recently departed ones as antichrists. That's a pretty serious accusation. But his basis for that charge was sound. They were anti-Christ. They were denying the centrality of Christ as God in human form and as the Savior of the world. They were refusing to admit their own sinfulness and, therefore, their need for salvation. All the while, they were claiming to have a right relationship with God. So John called them out and called them what they were: anti-Christ.

But this incident got me thinking. While those who had left the Ephesian church were probably not believers in Jesus Christ to begin with, I began to wonder if it is possible for Christians to be anti-Christ. Can we stand opposed to Christ even if we still fully accept His deity and rest in His role as our Savior and Lord? And the somewhat surprising and disturbing answer is yes. And it is easier to do than you might think. I am reminded of an exchange between Peter and Jesus recorded in the gospel of Matthew. What is amazing about this story is that Jesus had just recently commended Peter for his answer to Jesus' question: “What do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15 NLT). Peter's response had been, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 NLT). And Jesus had been extremely pleased with what Peter had said. And yet, not long after this exchange, Jesus began to break the news to His disciples that He was going to be going to Jerusalem where He “would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead” (Matthew 16:21 NLT). But when Peter heard this news, he “took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. ‘Heaven forbid, Lord,’ he said. ‘This will never happen to you!’” (Matthew 16:22 NLT). And amazingly, Jesus lit Peter up, saying, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s” (Matthew 16:23 NLT). At that moment, Peter had become anti-Christ. He had chosen to stand opposed to what Jesus had clearly communicated as God's will and His own intention to follow it. Peter had not liked what he had heard and so he rejected it. He even called on God Himself to forbid it from happening. What struck me in this story is how easy it is for even a believer to become anti-Christ in his or her outlook. Peter's problem was that he was seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's. He had lacked a divine, eternal perspective. He didn't like what he was hearing. He didn't agree with what Jesus was saying. It was disagreeable to his way of thinking, so he disagreed with Jesus. How often to we do the very same thing? We don't like our circumstances. We don't agree with God regarding our lot in life. We begin to see everything from our own view point, rather than God's and, at that moment, we become anti-Christ. We refuse to accept His will for our lives. We refuse to accept His sufficiency for any and all situations. We refuse to accept that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). Whether we want to admit it or not, we can become anti-Christ, and even anti-Gospel. We can refuse to believe that the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus Christ, also includes our sanctification, our ongoing transformation into His likeness. And sanctification is a process that takes time and is based on faith just as much as our salvation was. When we begin to think that our spiritual maturity is up to us, we become anti-Christ and anti-Gospel. We make it about works and not grace. That does not mean we don't play a role in the process, but at the end of the day, it is a work of the Spirit, not the flesh. As soon as I think I can make myself more holy, I stand opposed to Jesus' all-sufficient sacrifice and the Spirit's indwelling, empowering role in my life. Paul put it this way, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT). He lived by trusting in the Son of God. As soon as I stop doing that, I become anti-Christ. I become self-sufficient rather than Christ-dependent. I begin seeing things from my own perspective rather than God's. And at that moment, I become an ally of the enemy and opposed to the very one in whom I trusted for my salvation. Any time we become pro-self, we become anti-Christ. Which is why Jesus told His disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24 NLT).

The Last Hour.

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. – 1 John 2;18 ESV

What a foreboding statement. At this point in his letter, John seems to take on a tone of seriousness and soberness. He addresses his audience as children, exposing his pastor's heart and his feelings of compassion and responsibility for them. He wanted them to know the reality of their circumstances and understand the seriousness of what they saw happening around them. What they were experiencing was NOT to be unexpected or surprising, because of the times in which they were living. It was the last hour. How does John know that? Because “many antichrists have come” (1 John 2:18 ESV). As the gospel advanced, the opposition increased and it continues to this day. And it is not just an opposition to Christians. It is an anti-Christ sentiment. It isn't even an opposition to God. There are many who, like the individual referred to in chapter one, claim to have fellowship with God. They claim to know Him. But they deny Jesus as Christ. They are anti-Christ, and therefore opposed to the good news as preached by Jesus Himself and carried on by His disciples. Like the original recipients of John's letter, we are living in the last hour, the last days. This was a common designation for the days that followed Jesus incarnation and resurrection. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:2 ESV). Paul warned Timothy, “that in the last days there will come times of difficulty” (2 Timothy 3:1 ESV). Peter tells us, “that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires” (2 Peter 3:3 ESV). But Peter also knew that the last days would also be accompanied by a great movement of God. He had seen it and experienced it. On the day of Pentecost, he had been part of the small band of disciples who had been dramatically and miraculously transformed by the coming of the Holy Spirit. And he knew that their experience had been promised by God many years earlier through the prophet Joel. “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17 ESV). Peter worked this Old Testament prophesy into the message that he gave to the crowd of people who had gathered as a result of the disciples speaking in languages they didn't know. It was the last days. God was at work. He had sent His Son. He had died, was raised again and now His disciples were spreading the good news regarding the salvation made available through Him. But there was going to be opposition. There was going to be an anti-Christ sentiment rise up and spread. The world would oppose their message. Satan would stand against the gospel and its offer of a restored relationship with God. We are living in a war zone. Satan, the god of this world, has blinded the eyes of the lost. He wants to keep them in the dark regarding the hope available to them through Jesus Christ. So he offers them alternatives and seemingly viable options. But they are all anti-Christ, other than Christ. They provide options that leave out Christ.

But like the believers to whom John was writing, we have hope and we have help. We have the Holy Spirit. John wrote, “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ” (1 John 2:27 NLT). What we have to realize is that virtually everything around us is anti-Christ. The world and the things it offers us provide a constant temptation to turn from Christ to something else. Satan wants us to find our hope in the things of this world. He wants us to find our satisfaction from the things of this world. He wants us to seek our joy from the things of this world. He wants us to find our significance from the things of this world. But these things are all lies and illusions. They are poor imitations of the real thing. John reminds us, “And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life” (1 John 2:25 ESV). That should be our focus. Everything here is temporal, not eternal. It is fading away. But our hope is sure. Our salvation is secure. Our eternal future assured. And we know that the last days will have a last day. There is an ending to this story. There is a final chapter to God's story of redemption. Jesus Himself told us, “And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven” (Matthew 24:30-31 NLT). These are difficult days, but we serve a great God. We have His Spirit within us and His promise of eternal life to motivate us. We can not only survive, we can thrive. We have already overcome the evil one because of what Christ has done for us.

Truth Is NOT Relative.

I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. – 1 John 2:21 ESV

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). That's a rather exclusive, intolerant and non-subjective statement. Jesus claims to be THE way, THE truth, and THE life – not just one of many options or alternatives. Nobody gets to the Father without going through Jesus. And when John tells his readers that they know the truth, He is referring not only to the teaching concerning Jesus, but to the person of Jesus Himself. They know Him personally. They know Him as He who is from the beginning. He is the life. He is eternal life. He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. He is the propitiation for their sins and their advocate before the Father. They know THE truth. And anyone who teaches anything other than that is a liar. No matter how reasonable what they say may sound. There are not variations of the truth. There is only THE truth – Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul had to deal with this problem in the early days of the church. He wrote to the believers in Galatia, warning them, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7 ESV). There were those who were presenting a different version of the truth. They were selling a variation of the truth which was really just a lie. And Paul was very blunt in his assessment of these individuals. “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9 ESV). A contrary or contradictory gospel is a false gospel. Any good news that does not present Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life is ultimately bad news. And yet, we are so susceptible to subjective truth. So were the believers in Corinth. Paul had to reprimand them for their unhealthy tolerance of alternative truth narratives. “You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed” (2 Corinthians 11:4 NLT). Paul feared that their “pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent” (2 Corinthians 11:3 NLT). Rather than keep their focus on the truth about Jesus, they would allow themselves to be distracted and deceived by the lies of the enemy. If you recall, when Satan tempted Eve, he didn't totally contradict the word of God, he simply twisted the truth and turned it into a subtly deceptive lie. He got Eve to doubt God's word, not reject it. And that is what the enemy does with us regarding the truth. His goal is not to get us to reject it outright, but to simply distort it or dilute it by creating a more acceptable version. But if it denies Jesus as the way, the truth and the life, it is unacceptable. If it presents Jesus as one of many ways to God, it is a lie. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). So either He was a liar or He was telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And John has gone out of his way to remind his readers that they know the truth. They know Jesus. They know Him who is from the beginning. As a result, they know the Father. They have a relationship with God because of what Jesus has done. And their sins have been forgiven. They are strong. The word abides in them. And they have overcome the evil one. The lies are all around us. The enemy is constantly attempting to get us to accept false versions of the truth – distorted variations on the theme. But we know THE truth. It is Jesus. Jesus the Son of God. Jesus, God in human flesh. Jesus the sinless sacrifice. Jesus the payment for our penalty. Jesus the resurrected Christ. Jesus our advocate. Jesus our coming King. He alone is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes into a right relationship with God the Father but through Him. There is no other truth. There is no other way.

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. – 1 John 2:22-23 ESV

The world in which we live is diametrically opposed to God. Although it was created by Him, it vehemently resists His sovereign right to rule and reign. It rejects His Son as King and denies in any way that men are subjects of His Kingdom. In his letter, John goes out of his way to present Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. But he wants his readers to know that Jesus was far more than just a man who lived a good life and taught strong moral truths. He was “that which was from the beginning” (1 John 1:1 ESV). He was the eternal word of life and was made manifest, made visible, so that men could see Him. Not only that, He was the propitiation for the sins of man. His death satisfied the just demands of a holy God. And now He sits at the right hand of God the Father where He intercedes on our behalf, acting as our advocate or mediator. But the world would have us believe it is all a lie. The god of this world is doing everything in his power to dissuade us of any notion as to Jesus being the Son of God or the Savior of the world. He wants us to reject the very idea that we even need a Savior. To do that, he gets us to doubt the reality of our own sin. Sinless people don't need salvation or a Savior. Rather than confess our sins, Satan would have us deny them. Rather than recognize God's holiness our own sinfulness, Satan would prefer that we measure our righteousness by a more subjective standard. Morality becomes relative and unenforceable. Goodness becomes a personal matter. Right and wrong become totally subjective and subject to interpretation. Isaiah warned about this kind of attitude. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21 ESV). This is the spirit of the antichrist. It is the antithesis of everything for which God stands. No rules. No law. No judgment. No sin. No savior. No hell. And it is all a lie.

John tells his readers, “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth” (1 John 2:21 ESV). Those to whom he was writing knew the truth regarding Jesus. He was the Son of God. He had come to die on the cross on their behalf. His death had provided them with justification before God. They had enjoyed forgiveness for their sins, a restored relationship with God the Father, and were assured on eternal life. Just hours before His trials and crucifixion, while alone in the garden, Jesus had prayed, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3 ESV). This is at the heart of eternal life. An intimate knowledge of and belief in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world, and the Father as the loving source of that invaluable gift. Anyone who teaches anything other than that is not only sorely mistaken, they are deadly wrong. Jesus Himself boldly and categorically claimed, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). There is no other way. There is no other path. There is no other option. Case closed. End of discussion.

A belief in Jesus that is accompanied by a rejection of sin is nothing less than a lie. A belief in God that does not include His Son as Savior is close, but not good enough. “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23 ESV). One of the most important questions Jesus ever asked His disciples is recorded in the gospels. He started out by asking them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13 ESV). They provided a number of options, clarifying the range of perceptions held by the common people of the day. But then Jesus posed a question for which the answer remains the most significant one any man or woman will ever have to give. He asked, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15 ESV). Forget about everybody else. Don't worry about what everyone else is saying. What do you say? Who is Jesus to you? And we know by Jesus response that Peter gave the right answer. He simply stated, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mathew 16:16 ESV). Which is why John could say that anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. To deny Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, is to deny that He was God. It is to deny that He was sinless. It is to deny that we are sinners. It is to deny that we need saving. It is to deny that God is holy. It is to deny that punishment for sin is possible or even probable. It is to deny the resurrection. It is to deny eternal life and the reality of heaven. And it is to deny the existence of hell. That is the spirit of antichrist. And it is all around us. But we know better. We know Him. We know the truth. We have the light. And we have the life. Let us live like it and love like it. Let us walk as Jesus walked. In the truth of who He is and what He has done.

The Folly of What Is Fading.

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. – 1 John 2:17 ESV

This world is temporary and transient. But for most of us, it has become our only perception of what is real. Here in this world we can see, touch, smell and experience what appears to be reality. We can enjoy a good meal, watch a beautiful sunset, feel the love of another human being, and experience a thousand other moments of legitimate joy and pleasure. And there is nothing wrong with any of those things, until we allow them to replace or distract us from what is truly real. John's whole point in this passage has been to warn believers of the danger of the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride we get from our possessions or positions. When we turn to those things in order to find our sense of worth and value or to feed our need for self-importance and self-indulgence, we have lost sight of reality. Those things we lust after, long for, and find satisfaction in are temporary and not timeless. John says they are fading away. Not only that, he indicates that our desire for them should be diminishing as well. As believers, we should have a growing sense of eternity, that our destiny is out ahead of us. This world is not our true home. We truly are just passing through on our way to somewhere else.

The writer of Hebrews spoke of this very attitude when he wrote about the saints of the Old Testament. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10 ESV). Abraham never got to live in a city with foundations – on this earth. But he does now. His faith was in something he couldn't see. He trusted the promises of God in spite of the fact that those promises so often appeared to be unfulfilled. The writer of Hebrews goes on to say, “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV). Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Abel, Isaac, and Jacob – they all lived by faith, setting their hopes on things they could not see. “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT).

The danger we all face is to confuse our present circumstances with future reality. Nothing here lasts. New cars become old ones. They lose their value as soon as you drive them off the lot. New outfits become outdated in no time at all. New homes slowly fall apart. New toys lose their novelty and appeal. Even the bodies we live in are growing old and giving out on us. But Paul would remind us that these bodies are indeed temporary. They are not built to last. But we are. We are eternal creatures. Our souls are eternal and not temporary. Paul refers to these bodies as tents – much like what Abraham lived in. They are not our permanent home. “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” (2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT). We are to live in this world with a sense of expectation in what is to come. Like Abraham, we are to see ourselves as temporary residents here. Our home is elsewhere. “So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:6-9 NLT).

Our goal is to please Him. That is exactly John's point when he says, “whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17 ESV). We are to live in this world with a determination to do what is pleasing to God, not ourselves. We are eternal creatures. We have an eternal destiny. This world is fading along with its desires. Which is why Paul warns us to live our time here wisely and carefully, with a full awareness that how we live our life in the here and now directly is directly tied to our view of the hereafter. “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT).

Self-glorification.

For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. – 1 John 2:16 NLT

John provides us with a third and final symptom of someone who is having a love affair with the world or, better yet, a love affair with self. Each of the three reflect an unhealthy infatuation with self that simply uses the world as a means to feed our sin nature. The world, while more than willing to accommodate our self-infatuation, doesn't do so because it loves us, but because it hates us. In this case, it willingly feeds our ego and helps create in us a false sense of inflated self-worth and pride based on what we own or what we have accomplished. What we have achieved or accumulated in life become the measuring rods of our success. The old adage, “clothes make the man” becomes true in our life. The cars we drive becomes a symbols of our success. Our homes become not just places of shelter, but visible representations of our status in society. As with the second one, the desires of the eyes, this one can be subtle because God does not forbid us from having nice things. He does not say, “You shalt not buy a new car.” He has not made material possessions off limits. But the issue here is pride or self-glorification. It is about making much of self. And when we begin to use position or possessions to determine our self-worth, we are treading on dangerous ground. Self-glorification is a subtle, yet dangerous pursuit, and the enemy has been feeding man's built-in tendency towards it since the beginning. When Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, he used the phrase, “you will be like God.” The fruit wasn't the real temptation. It was the possibility of possessing what God possessed. He was tempting them to become their own gods. At the heart of John's warning regarding the pride of life is self-glorification – wanting what only God should have. It is about seeking glory for yourself. It is about seeing yourself as the center of your own universe. And Satan feeds this desire by telling us lies about ourselves. His goal is our independence from God. Self-sufficiency is his objective. He wants us to live as if we don't need God. And he uses the things of this world to convince us that we are something special. We end up wanting what only God should have: glory. And Satan whispers in our ears that we deserve it. We have earned it.

It is interesting to note that King Solomon took seven years to build the Temple, the house of God. But he took 13 years to build his own palace. Some time later, when he was visited by the Queen of Sheba, she was blown away by all that she saw. “And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her. And she said to the king, ‘The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness’” (1 Kings 10:4-9 ESV). Do you notice that the queen seems to be worshiping Solomon and not God? She is blown away by Solomon, not Solomon's God. She is impressed with Solomon's wisdom and wealth. In reality, she seems to saying that God was fortunate to have someone like Solomon to lead His people.

When the people of Israel were getting ready to enter into the land of Canaan, God gave them a warning. He had already promised that He would give them the land, but He wanted them to be extremely careful. So He said, “when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you – with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord…” (Deuteronomy 6:10-12 ESV). Interestingly enough, God's warning ultimately had to do with worshiping false gods. And it would begin as soon as they began to forget the Lord their God. When they began to believe that their houses, vineyards, cities, and material possessions were their own doing and had not been provided by God, they would forget Him. Self-worship always leads to false worship. We end up making much of the things God has provided rather than making much of Him. The glorification of self is a dangerous pursuit. Our confidence is to be in God, not self. Our hope is to be in God, not things. Our sense of worth is to be found in God, not material possessions. May we share the perspective of the apostle Paul: “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12-13 ESV).

Self-indulgence.

For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. – 1 John 2:16 NLT

Self-indulgence: indulging one's own desires, passions, whims, etc., especially without restraint. The second description John gives us to let us know if we are having a love affair with the world is a craving for everything we see or, as the ESV puts it, “the desires of the eyes.” But as I stated in my last post, this is really all about love of self. While it appears to be a reciprocal in nature, it is really one-directional. The world, under the control of its Satan, is only more than happy to oblige our obsession with self and give us what we think we want, need or deserve. It gladly feeds our insatiable appetite for more, like a drug dealer supplies the fix for a junkie. No love is involved. And in the end, a love of self becomes self-destructive. Which is why Jesus warned us that the world would hate us. It seeks our destruction, not our delight. So when we turn to the world to help us fulfill our craving for all we see, it is more than willing to play its part. In fact, it feeds the monster inside us through a steady diet of images and messages designed to tease us and tempt us to have what we don't really need. Having spent 29 years in the advertising business, I am quite familiar with an old adage that says, “advertising is designed to get people to buy things they don't need with money they don't have to impress people they don't like.” Sadly, there is a lot of truth to that claim. Ads for products and services are designed to get us to become dissatisfied with what we DO have and desire something we DON’T have. A newer car. A bigger home in a better neighborhood. A different perfume that will make us more attractive or a new outfit that will make us more popular. In longing for these things, we make them little gods, expecting them to deliver to us and for us the contentment, joy, satisfaction and sense of self-worth we long for. And it is not that these things are bad. In fact, this symptom of worldly love is quite different than the desire of the flesh we talked about yesterday. That is when we desire or crave something God has forbidden. We say yes to what God has no to. But the desire of the eyes is when we say yes to what God has NOT said yes to. In other words, we indulge our desires without including God in the decision. And for most of us, we do it quite often. Just think about all the purchases you make without giving God's input a second thought. Would He want you to have that new car? What would He think about your purchase of a new outfit or a new set of golf clubs. It is not that these things are evil or wrong. It is a question of whether they are truly needed. They are typically wants and desires, not necessities.

Over in the gospel of Matthew, we have the words of Jesus warning us to avoid the love of money, because as believers, it is impossible for us to serve two masters. We will end up loving one and hating the other. Then Jesus says, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25 NLT). Then He uses the birds and the flowers as examples of God's ability to feed and care for His creation. It is all a matter of faith. Do we trust God to provide what we really need or are we going to give in to our natural desire to purchase our satisfaction and contentment from the temporary things this world offers. Jesus would tell us, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT). There is nothing wrong with buying a new dress, a new flat screen TV, a more reliable car, a more comfortable home or new carpet for the living room. It is a matter of motivation. So often, we are driven by our sin nature and we don't even know it. We are struggling with discontentment and dissatisfaction with life, so we become easy targets for the advertising messages designed to feed our ego, stroke our pride, and make us the center of our world. The danger is that we are to keep God at the center of our world. We are to seek His Kingdom, not our own. We are to fulfill His desires, not our own. Self-indulgence is self-love without restraint, without oversight. It would be like a child let free in a candy store without their parents and with free access to all the treats on the shelves. The outlook, from the child's perspective would be bright, but the outcome would be less than happy. God longs to be involved in every area of our lives. He wants to be included in our decisions. He wants to be consulted in what we do and how we spend our money. Because He cares. He knows our hearts. He can see the inward motivation and help us steer clear of self-indulgent behavior that is ultimately self-destructive.

Self-gratification.

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world. – 1 John 2:16 ESV

John has just issued a command: Do not love the world. Simple. Direct. Straight forward. But for most of us, it is easier said than done. Loving the world comes naturally to us. It is part of our nature – our sin nature. And the world is more than willing to accommodate and return our love. But at the end of the day, our love of or for the world is really self-love. It is motivated not by what we can give the world, but by what we can get from it. Yes, it is a reciprocal relationship. It is give-and-take. We give and we get. But for the most part, we give TO get. And John gives us three evidences of that give-to-get nature of our love affair with the world. The New Living Translation provides a very up-to-date and in-your-face interpretation of verse 16. “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” I think this gives us a very clear idea of what John is attempting to say. He is providing us with three distinct characteristics that mark a love affair of the world or, better yet, a love of self. The first is “a craving for physical pleasure.” The NASB translates it as “the lust of the flesh.” The NIV reads, “the cravings of sinful man.” The ESV has “the desires of the flesh.” The word John uses that gives us any insight into what he is talking about is the Greek word sarx. It can refer to the human body, but in this case, John is using it to refer to “the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God.” It is our sin nature and even though we have been redeemed and renewed by Christ, it remains alive and well within us. Paul puts it this way: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17 ESV). He goes on to describe the very dark side of our flesh or sin nature. “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19-21 ESV). So when John refers to the craving of sinful man, the desires of the flesh, this is what he is talking about. The real issue here is self-gratification. What I like to refer to is saying yes to what God has said no to. Self-gratification is the act of pleasing or satisfying oneself, especially the gratifying of one's own impulses, needs, or desires. If you look at the list given by Paul, it provides a comprehensive catalog of sinful actions and attitudes that have been forbidden by God. They are aptly summed up in the Ten Commandments. God has forbidden us to do these things. But self-gratification causes us to say yes to what God has said no to. Rather than obey him, we give in to our sinful desires. And the world is more than willing to accommodate us. It gives us exactly what we crave, but not because it loves us, but because it hates us. Jesus warned His disciples, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19 ESV). Self-gratification is ultimately self-destructive. Paul tells us the only way to protect ourselves from this dangerous human tendency is by living in the light, by listening to and obeying the wisdom of the indwelling Holy Spirit. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16 ESV).

The Spirit gives us the strength to say no to what God has said no to. He provides us with the capacity to turn away from self-love and self-gratification so that we can love others. The problem with a life of self-gratification is that it not only destroys us, it damages all those around us. Every one of the characteristics listed by Paul has a negative relational aspect to it. Jealousy, anger, immorality, impurity, strife, envy, and rivalries – they all involve a form of hatred toward others. They use and abuse others. But we have been called to love one another – as Christ has loved us. Yet the enemy is out to get us to say yes to what God has said no to and to say no to what God has said yes to. God had told Adam and Eve that one tree in the garden was a “no” for them. But Satan caused them to doubt God's word. He tempted them to say yes to what God had said no to, and they gave in to their fleshly desires. What looked good to them ended up being highly destructive. The same is true for us today. Living a life of self-gratification appears to seductive and alluring. And the world whispers in our ear that what we desire is good and right. But God has said, “No!” He has something far greater in store for us. Whether we believe it or not, He is telling us that a life of selflessness is the key to fulfillment and satisfaction. A life of sacrifice is the path to joy and contentment. A life marked by a love for others will leave us feeling loved by God and more gratified than we could ever imagine.

Misplaced Love.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. – 1 John 2:10 ESV

John has made it perfectly clear that, as children of God who enjoy the love of God, we are expected to share that love with one another. We are to love as we have been loved. When we allow the love of God to flow through us, His love is perfected or completed in us. We become conduits of His love to those around us. Paul tells us, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). Jesus was the expression of God's love. He made God's love visible, tangible, touchable and knowable. In the garden on the night He would be betrayed, Jesus prayed to His Father, “I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them” (John 17:26 NLT). Jesus revealed God. That was an act of love. He shared God's love with those who desperately needed it. And we are to do the same thing. But the problem is, we can easily misplace and misuse our love.

John warned his readers that love for their brothers and sisters was going to have competition. There was going to be the temptation to share their love in the wrong ways and in the wrong places. He wrote, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world” (1 John 2:15-16 NLT). In reality, he warns them, love of the world is not really misplaced love, it is an altogether different kind of love. It isn't God's love flowing through us. It is a self-centered, self-absorbed kind of love that uses and abuses. It is a love of self, not a love for others. And it is the greatest danger we face as believers. It is why Jesus prayed, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one” (John 17:15 NLT). Jesus knew that we would be under constant attack and face the unrelenting temptation to love this world and the things it has to offer. The enemy wants to keep our focus on ourselves, on our personal pleasures, rights, and needs, all the while feeding our sense of self-importance. While God wants us to learn to die to self, Satan wants to keep us self-obsessed. The three areas John warns us about all have to do with self – “a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions” (1 John 2:16 NLT). In essence, it isn't really a love of the world as much as it is a love of self. It is all about self-gratification, feeding our sinful desires; self-indulgence, fulfilling our insatiable appetite for more; and self-glorification, making more of ourselves than we do of others, or even God.

When we love the world, we get something in return. It feeds our appetites. It fuels our desire for more. It makes us feel important, significant, and somehow accepted. But as John says, these things “are not from the Father, but are from this world” (1 John 2:16 NLT). This isn't the love of God flowing through us. This is the love of self sucking anything and everything back into itself like a black hole. That kind of love becomes deadly and destructive. The Dead Sea is a beautiful body of water, but it is a beauty that is deceptive. It is a sea with fresh, clean water flowing in, but no outlet for the water to flow out. So it sits and stagnates, absorbing all the minerals and salts from the surrounding soil, creating a deadly environment where nothing grows. the water is undrinkable and incapable of sustaining life. What an apt illustration of the Christian who allows the life-giving love of God to flow into his life, but never shares it with those around him. His love of self motivates him to keep it to himself, and his desire for self-gratification, self-indulgence and self-glorification causes him to seek from the world a false kind of love that has no outlet and leads to death. We were meant to love. We were intended to share the love we have received with those around us. Jesus told the woman at the well, “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14 ESV). Springs give life. They are fresh and refreshing to those around them. They restore and renew. They flow out, never becoming stale or stagnant, receiving a never-ending supply from a source that remains hidden from view. That is the life we have been called to live. But when we fall in love with self and allow ourselves to believe that the world loves us because it feeds our basest appetites, we misplace our love and run the risk of becoming life-robbing, rather than life-sustaining.

A Timely Reminder.

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. – 1 John 2:12-13 ESV

This section in the book of First John is a fascinating and somewhat perplexing one. Even the commentaries seem to struggle with exactly what John seems to be saying and to whom he is trying to say it. He appears to be addressing three groups of people: Little children, fathers, and young men. There are those who believe there three groups simply represent the various age segments within the local church. Like any fellowship, it would have had children, young adults and older individuals. There is another school of thought that believes these three groups represent levels or degrees of spiritual maturity. The term “children” would simple be a designation for those who were new in Christ. “Young men” would represent those in the church whose lives exhibit a degree of spiritual growth. “Fathers” would be those who were the more spiritually mature. The problem with either of these views is that John complicates any conclusions we may reach by what he has to say to each of the three groups he mentions. Our tendency is to focus on the three audiences addressed rather than the message being conveyed. It is not exactly clear who John is addressing, but it is crystal clear what he is saying to them.

Your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

You know him who is from the beginning.

You have overcome the evil one.

Because you know the father.

Because you know him who is from the beginning.

Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

If you notice, virtually every one of these statements is a review of what John has covered in his letter up until this point. Forgiveness of sins, knowledge of the Father, spiritual victory, the abiding presence of God, and a knowledge of Jesus Christ – each of these was to be real in their lives and not speculative. These truths were not to be in doubt. Regardless of who is talking to, John is reassuring them that everything he has been telling them is “true in him and in you” (1 John 2:8). Your sins are forgiven. What a remarkable statement that most of us take for granted or for to grasp its significance. We have forgiveness of our sins – for His name's sake. Not because we have earned it or deserved it. Not because we have lived righteous and sinless lives. Not because we have paid the debt for our sins. But because of His name. God came up with a way to protect the integrity of His name, His very character, by providing His Son as the sacrifice for our sins. His sinless Son took our place and paid our debt, propitiating or satisfying the just demands of a holy, righteous God. And we are forgiven. Our sins are forgiven. “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins” (Ephesians 1:7 NLT). Done deal. Case closed. Sins forgiven. Past. Present. Future. For all time.

Not only that, we know Him who was from the beginning. We know Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the creator of the universe. We have a relationship with the God-man, who left the throne of heaven and took on human flesh so that He might die as a substitute for our sins. And it is that relationship with Him that gives us access to the Father. We know the Father. We have an intimate and personal relationship with Him. We can come into His presence without fear of condemnation. We can have fellowship with Him and enjoy all the blessings and benefits that come with being a child of God. ^“This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:19-20 NLT).

And if all that was not enough, John reminds his audience that they are overcomers. He doesn't tell them they WILL be overcomers some day. No, he tells them they have already overcome the evil one. They have experienced victory over the enemy. They have conquered sin and death, because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Yes, they were still living on this earth and were faced with the prospect battling their own sin natures and a very real spiritual enemy in the form of Satan, but John wanted them to know that they were already victorious and strong, because the word of God was abiding in them. They had the promise of forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life with God. “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless” (1 Corinthians 15:57-58 NLT).

In a way, these words are for all of us who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. They are true of us whatever our chronological age or level of spiritual maturity. We are forgiven. We know God. We are strong. We are overcomers. And we will be victorious. Timely words. A much-needed reminder. Now let's live like we believe it.

You Have Overcome.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. – 1 John 2:14 ESV

Life can be filled with setbacks and disappointments – even for those who believe in Christ and have a relationship with Him. in fact, difficulties can and are a regular part of the average Christian's life. Which should come as no surprise to us, because Jesus Himself told us it would be that way. “In the world you will have tribulation.…” (John 16:33 ESV). But He also went on to say, “But take heart; I have overcome the world.” The Greek word for overcome is nikaō and it means “to conquer, to carry off the victory.” Jesus has overcome or conquered this world order, the domain that lies under the influence of Satan. Paul describes Satan very plainly and simply. “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV). But the darkness has been penetrated by the light of Christ. And John would remind us that “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8 ESV). The light of God, in the form of Christ's righteousness, made available to those who have accepted His offer of salvation, shines in our lives. As a result, the light dwells in us, not just around us. God inhabits us, in the form of His Holy Spirit. And the reality is that we have already overcome the evil one, because Christ has defeated him. Our victory is assured because Christ's death conquered sin and death once and for all time. Which is why Paul could so boldly declare, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-58 ESV). As believers, we don't have to fear death. It is not terminal. It does not lead to a dead end. The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “Because God's children are human beings – made of flesh and blood – the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14 NLT). There was a day when death would have brought us judgment and an eternity separated from God as a punishment for our sins. But because of Christ's death on the cross, our sins have been paid for, our judgment reversed, our condemnation eliminated, and our death sentence has not only been commuted, but completely eradicated.

Twice in his epistle, John refers to young men who have overcome the evil one. They are young, but they are victorious. He does not address this statement to grey-haired saints who have lived long and battle-hardened lives. He confidently calls these young men overcomers. Why? Because their victory was achieved through Christ – on their behalf. Therefore, they can love unconditionally, as Christ loved. They can “walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6 ESV). They can live in obedience, humility, selflessness and sacrifice. Their lives, regardless of their young age, can exhibit strength that comes from the Lord. And as a result, they can model what it means to live in victory even in the midst of a world under the control and influence of the evil one. One of the greatest evidences of this victory is their willingness to do the will of God, rather than fulfill the desires of their own flesh. A love affair with the world no longer marks their lives. The things this world offers – “a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions” (1 John 2:16 NLT) – no longer holds them captive. Doing God's will means more to them than succumbing to the world's ways. God's love shows up in a love for others rather than in a love for the world. Life becomes other-focused rather than self-centered. Sacrifice becomes the norm, not self-satisfaction. Humility becomes more attractive than hubris or pride. These kinds of people live with an eternal perspective that reminds them that “the world is passing away along with its desires” (1 John 2:17 ESV), but they will live forever. The darkness is passing because the true light is already shining. The world is passing away as well, because its days are numbered. And yet we underestimate the reality that we have overcome. Our victory is not only sure, it has already been accomplished. So we can live victorious, confident, and radically different lives. “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:1-6 ESV).

I Know That I Know.

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. – 1 John 2:3 ESV

The knowledge of God is far more than an academic or cognitive kind of knowledge. You can know details and even personal information about the Prime Minister of England or the President of the United States, but that doesn't mean you know them. You simply know something about them. You have no personal knowledge of them and cannot claim to have a close relationship with them. Sadly, this describes the relationship that many have who claim to know God. Their knowledge is Book-knowledge, fed to them from the pulpit or Sunday School classroom, or passed on to them by their parents. If you were to ask them if they know God, they would say, “Of course, I know Him.” They could probably tell you facts and details about God, concerning His character, His creation of the world, His miracles recorded in the Bible, and even His offer of salvation made available through belief in His Son. But according to the apostle John, the proof of their knowledge of God would be far more simple and conclusive. “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3 ESV). In other words, obedience is the true test of our knowledge of God. But we must be careful here. John is not telling us that obedience is the way to come to know God. He is not saying that you have to obey God in order to know Him. No, John is telling us that obedience is a proof of our knowledge of God. It is how we can know that we truly do know Him. The kind of knowledge John speaks of is intimate and experiential, not academic. He uses the Greek word, ginōskō, which was a Jewish idiom referring to sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. This isn't some kind of a head-knowledge. It is an intimate awareness of God's involvement in one's life. Because the only way we can keep His commandments is IF we know Him. It is His power, made available to us through the presence of His Spirit, that makes it possible for us to live in obedience to His will. It is our relationship with God's Son, Jesus Christ, that makes a life of obedience, a life of righteousness, possible. So when John states, “whoever says he abides in him [Christ], ought to walk in the same way in which he [Christ] walked” (1 John 3:6 ESV), We can and should live our lives as Jesus lived His – humbly, sacrificially, and in complete obedience to the Father's will. No, we cannot live our lives completely without sin, as He did, but we can live in obedience. Because we know God, we can put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13). Paul tells us, “So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). We can live differently and distinctively. We can say yes to God and no to sin. Again, Paul writes, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13 NLT).

We can know that we know God, that we have a relationship with Him, when we see the remarkable change take place in our character that is only possible through the redemptive work of His Son. When we come to know Christ as our Savior, we receive a new nature, a new capacity to live in obedience to the will of God. He sets us free from slavery to sin and provides us with the freedom to live in willing obedience to God. “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life” (Romans 6:20-22 NLT). When we obey God, we don't get the credit, He does. What we get is the assurance that we know Him. “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT). I know Him. He knows me. Not only that, He loves me. And He empowers me to live righteously, even when surrounded by unrighteousness. He has given me His Spirit to help me do battle with my own sin nature. I don't have to give in to sinful desires. I don't have to fall for every temptation that comes my way. I can walk like Jesus walked. And when I do, I can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I know God. Over in his gospel, John recorded a fascinating statement from the lips of Jesus. It was part of His prayer that He prayed to the Father not long before His trials and crucifixion. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3 ESV). Eternal life is NOT simply heaven. It is not an opulent residence reserved for us somewhere in the future. It is the knowledge of God and His Son. It is a relationship with the Creator of the Universe and the King of kings and Lord of lords. And I can know that I know them because I can see their life-transforming power at work in my life – right here, right now. And THAT is eternal life.

No Cause For Stumbling.

Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. – 1 John 2:10 ESV

When it comes to this one verse, it seems the commentators are somewhat divided. It seems simple enough, but the last phrase is interpreted a variety of ways. For instance, the New Living Translation paraphrases verse 10 this way: “Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.” It puts the emphasis on those with whom we interact. The person who walks in the light loves as Jesus loved, and his life provides no reason for those around him to stumble or fall. But there is also the sense that the stumbling being referred to here is aimed at the one who loves his brother. When we love as Jesus loved, sacrificially and selflessly, it is a byproduct of abiding in the light of Christ's love. And His light illuminates our path so that we can see where we are going. It would seem that this view is the most accurate, because the very next verse reads, “But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walk in the darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11 ESV). When we hate or, better yet, fail to love, we are NOT abiding in the light. As a result, we find ourselves walking in the dark, unable to see the obstructions, the sins, of our own lives. We can't see our pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, and selfishness. The whole idea of the light is that it reveals or exposes the darkness. It is what David was asking God to do in his life when he wrote Psalm 139. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24 ESV).

But while the second interpretation may appear to be the most accurate, I believe they both have relevance. An individual who lives his or her life in the dark, outside the influence of the light of Christ, will inevitably stumble. Because they fail to spend adequate time in the Word, allowing it to penetrate their lives and expose their sin, they will grow comfortable with the darkness in their life. As they walk outside the influence of the light, they will find their hearts increasingly darkened by unrepentant, unconfessed sin. But when these kinds of individuals stumble and fall, their actions have a ripple effect. If one person walking in the dark falls, all those behind him are likely to fall as well. When he goes down, he takes others with him. The same is true of our walk with the Lord. When we fail to abide in Christ, we will inevitably find ourselves in the dark. John reminds us “whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:5 ESV). We must know the word and obey it. We must read it and apply it. We must allow it to penetrate our lives and expose those hidden areas of sin to which we are blind. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV). The word of God is one of the primary tools He uses to guide and direct us. David expressed it quite succinctly. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105 ESV). Without it, we will find ourselves stumbling and falling. When we fall, we will take others down with us. When David lusted after Bathsheba, he was not living in the light. He stumbled and not only caused Bathsheba to sin, but eventually took the life of her husband so that he could have her as his wife. His fall was far from personal. It had wide-sweeping ramifications. One of the lies of the enemy is that our stumbles are of no importance. They don't hurt anyone else. Our sins are harmless and of no consequence. But God would have us know that a life lived in the dark is far from isolated. It will have an influence on those around us. Our sins have consequences. Our choices impact others. 

Paul told Timothy, “Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity” (1 Timothy 4:12 NLT). Our lives are to be an example to those around us. When we abide in the light, walking as Jesus walked, loving as He loved, we will not fall. Our sins will be exposed, not hidden, allowing us to confess them. We will enjoy the benefits and blessings of walking with God in the light of His Word, under the direction of His Spirit and with His Son interceding on our behalf every step of the way. The goal is that we would “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10 ESV).

Something Old, Something New.

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. – 1 John 2:7 ESV

John has gone out of his way to stress to his readers that they could know if their relationship with God was healthy and secure. He has stressed the need for them to understand that their right relationship with God was based on a firm belief in the deity of Jesus. He alone is the key to eternal life. And like His Father, Jesus is light and “in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). And those that truly know God and His Son, Jesus Christ, should be marked by certain characteristics and behaviors. They should have a recognition of their sins and a willingness to confess them. They should walk in the same way in which Jesus walked – in the light. They should keep His commandments. In other words, John is not talking about a cognitive knowledge of God alone, but a practical, experiential knowledge that shows up in everyday life.

But in verse seven, John becomes even more specific, focusing in on a particular command that he feels is needed at that moment in the lives of his readers. He refers to it as both an old and a new commandment. He reminds them that they have had this commandment “from the beginning” (1 John 2:7 ESV). “The old commandment is the word that you have heard” (1 John 2:7 ESV). John is basically telling them that this is something they should already know. It was part of the original message they had heard when they came to faith in Christ. In fact, it was part of the message of Christ that had been taught to them. No doubt, they had heard the story of Jesus and His encounter with the lawyer. He had been put up by the Pharisees in an attempt by them to trick Jesus into saying something for which they could condemn Him. So the lawyer asked Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36 ESV). And Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39 ESV). Love God. Love others. For Jesus, it was as simple as that. And now John is reminding his readers of this “old” command. He was attempting to give it new life by applying it to their immediate context. He tells his readers, “At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you…” (1 John 2:8 ESV). In other words, love for God and love for others was true in Jesus’ life, but it should also be true in their lives. John remembered well the words of Jesus, having recorded them in his gospel. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 ESV). Jesus didn't leave the definition of love up for grabs. He didn't open it up for interpretation or debate. He said that we were to love others in the same way that He loved us – selflessly and sacrificially.

Like John's audience, most of us know this commandment all too well. We have heard it and, more than likely, memorized it. But do we keep it? When John writes, “we ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6 ESV), he has this commandment in mind. Jesus referred to it as the greatest commandment. To love God and to love others. Two commands, but in Jesus' mind, they were one and the same, inseparable and indistinguishable. Which is why John could write, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20 NIV). Pretty strong words. But John isn't done. He goes on to say, “Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:14-15 ESV). And then he adds, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7 ESV).

Our love for God is expressed through our love for others. God's love for us is evidenced in our capacity to love others. It is proof that we have a relationship with Him. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7 ESV). Just as God is light, God is love. It is His very essence. It is not a characteristic of God, but the very nature of God. And as His children, we are to live in the light and walk in His love. We are to spread His light and love through our lives to those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ – both locally and globally. The apostle Paul puts it this way: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4 ESV). Then he goes on to tell us to have the mind of Christ. We are to share His same attitude of selflessness, sacrifice, and humble service to others. We are to walk in the same way in which He walked. We are to love as He loved. And when we do, the world will know that we are His disciples.