"3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."
Perhaps you've heard the old saying, "What you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you are saying."
If we aren't willing to demonstrate the traits of biblical Christianity ourselves, then, we are hypocrites. Furthermore, people will know it. Even if they don't say a word, they will know.
How can we call ourselves a "follower of Jesus," when we've taught the unbelieving world how as Christians, it's OK for us to do wrong as long as we don't get caught. Perhaps, we have failed to realize that God has established some pretty high
standards for us, more importantly, He knows exactly what we are doing. Perhaps, we shouldn't be surprised when statistics reveal that 43 percent of the
youth in evangelical churches are sexually active by the age of
18. Even though 65 percent of these teens acknowledge that they know that the Bible says that premarital sex is wrong. They've been watching us!
From all over the world, and all throughout history, bears witness to the fact, we are fascinated with sex.Y ou can find it in Sculpture, in photographs, in books and magazines, on television and in movies and on the internet. If you own a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, you'll find more porn than you’ll ever have time to look at. Internet pornography has become the new crack cocaine. In fact, this issue has become a major problem in every country and for every culture.
What's even more disturbing, it is not any different within churches. According to a study by Covenant Eyes, a Christian internet filtering company, approximately half of
all professing Christian men and one-fifth of all professing Christian
women admit that they are addicted to porn. In fact, there are more people compulsively looking at pornography than ever before!
In our culture today, the assumption is that pornography is viewing porn is normal and harmless. If you think your husband, your wife, or your child has never viewed porn, you are likely only fooling yourself. This is a very real issue in many homes, including many Christian homes!
I want you to know today, that if you will place your trust in Jesus Christ, He can change you! And, for those who feel addicted to porn, all me to remind you that your relationship with Jesus Christ is bigger than your struggle with pornography.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we are so thankful for Your Word, so rich, such powerful truth. Thank You for reminding us and clarifying to us, that we do not need to live as the world lives, that we don't have to live in fear of condemnation and eternal judgement.
We thank You for this precious time we've been blessed with to worship and study Your Word, for the blessed fellowship with You and each other. Lord, we knowing the truth, we are responsible to be obey it, may we pursue obedience with a joyful and rejoicing heart.
In Christ's name
Amen
Today's Message: By This We Know
The church is loaded with great imposters, people pretending to be something other than what they are. I've heard parents yelling and screaming at their children in the parking lot, then, once they walk through the doors, suddenly, they're Ozzie and Harriet. It’s important to be able to discern who is a true Christian, and who is not, so that we
know how to deal with those people, and we can be a help to them. However, it is especially important to know your own spiritual condition before God.
People are always asking me all kinds of questions, but I believe the most painful question by far has been, "I'm not sure if I’m really saved. I don't know if I'm going to heaven or not. Can you help me?"
Not only does the Bible teach that assurance of salvation is possible, the Bible actually commands us to pursue the path where that assurance lies. To know that you're salvation is secure, is part of your birthright as a Christian.
Yet, in the modern contemporary church, it's a subject that often ignored. And, because it's ignored, people who assume that if they pray a prayer, make some simple confession or have a few drops of water sprinkled over them, they go to church, they're saved. I mean, they did what they’re supposed to do, of course they're saved, right? Why wouldn't they be? Tragically, this is the sort of shallow message of salvation being taught from the pulpits today. Therefore, people don’t want to talk about assurance.
I believe that there are literally millions of people one who believe they’re saved, but they’re not. Christians are not even interested in examining themselves as the Bible instructs us to do.
Paul says in II Corinthians 13:5, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?"
Open your Bibles with me to I John 2, verses 3 through 6. As we continue our study of this wonderful epistle, we discover there are some things in life that you want to be really sure about, your salvation is certainly one, that is because there is much riding on the outcome. Believe me, you don’t want to take risks concerning your eternal destiny. In fact, the Bible clearly warns that many are deceived. Christianity is not just knowing about God, it is essential to know God and have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That's basic, it is foundational. It’s easy to claim that you know Him, however, it’s also easy to be mistaken.
In Matthew 7, Jesus taught that "Not
everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."
I cannot stress enough, that this is a very crucial matter! In Titus 2:12, "instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age."
You can know that you truly belong Christ, if you walk in obedience to His Word. In John 14:15, Jesus said "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
I John 2:4, reminds us that "The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
I invite you to follow along with me as I read to you to set the text in our minds, I encourage you to prepare your hearts as we listen for what the Spirit of God has to say to each of us. I John 2:3-6.
"By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."
I cannot even remember the last message I heard where somebody preach on the assurance of salvation. I suppose, really, why would they, when everybody's saved. The trend now, is even people who don’t believe in Jesus ought to be sure they’re saved. In fact, anybody who believes in some sort of god at all, however they imagine him to be, they’re saved. Given that criteria, I'm pretty sure that people who have never heard of Jesus but believe in their imaginary god are probably saved too. I must say, that's very dangerous to your spiritual well-being to believe any of that.
When you put your trust in Jesus Christ, you experience that, you know you’re doing that. Previously, you didn’t believe and now you do. Faith, is something that you personally experience. You confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You understand that.
Justification is an act of God, it awakens your spiritually dead heart to your sinful condition, you repent of your
sin, you reach out in faith, you embrace Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. You begin to understand the gospel, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That’s faith.
If you believe the Bible enough to change your perspective, to see yourself as a sinner, you believe what God's Word says about your spiritual condition, you see yourself as evil, wretched and condemned, cut off from God. You've come to the conviction, that understanding because you believe the Bible’s diagnosis of your spiritual condition.
Faith, then, is a response to the truth. That's why Paul says in Romans 10:17, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
You embraced Christ because the Bible said He’s your only hope. And, if you believe that and you receive Him, there is assurance in that faith,
based upon the same Scripture that caused you to respond in faith. The Bible says when you do that, inherent to your faith is the component of assurance. That is what you should expect, that when you embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, you will be saved.
John 3:16 teaches us that "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." That’s what the Bible says, that if you believe in Him, you’re going to have eternal life. You understand that. Based upon what Scripture says is true, there is the essential assurance in the act of faith.
However, that's not without limitations, it's a cognitive assurance, that's not perfect assurance. Hebrews 10:22 says "Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."
There’s that subjective element of assurance that comes by the witness of the Holy Spirit. Then, there is a third element of assurance, a behavioral assurance. Which is the manifestation of the life of God in us, the way by which we live our lives.
What we have in the church today, is a superficial assurance, a is less than genuine faith, because they've prayed the prayer. There's is no affirmation of the second and third element of assurance. And, so they believe they can live any way they want to live, and still claim salvation.
You know, the Reformers grappled with this issue. Some of the Reformed theologians felt that there was no real assurance in faith. Because of the threat of antinomianism, which by the way, "nomos," is the old Greek word for the law. In other words, they were concerned that people who made some profession of faith in Christ, if they were reinforced to have assurance about their salvation, strictly on the cognitive basis, they would engage in lawless living. Therefore, they were trying to find some balance, and so the Westminster Confession of Faith, which articulated Reformed theology in 1646, which read
"This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, it
does but not to the degree that a true believer may wait long and
conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it." They were saying it doesn’t give you the full assurance, it's only the first step. I believe that was an appropriate measure. Calvin thought it was essentially in faith, which was cognitive assurance. And, they felt to have full assurance, that’s not all there is to it.
The seventeenth century English Reformers, the Puritans, took that idea of the Westminster Confession, and got absolutely carried away. In fact, they demanded, actually, that preachers preach to produce widespread lack of assurance, to make people feel insecure. People were living in such fear, that they became obsessed, caught up between believing the doctrine of election and not knowing whether or not they were saved.
No preacher today, would dare do that, in fact, they attempt to minimize the gospel. There's no call to holiness. There is no emphasis on dealing with the sin in your life. They don’t ever want to talk about that. Rather, it's you prayed the prayer, you're saved, don't question it. The good news is that the Bible encourages true believers with the promise of a secure and eternal salvation. To pursue the path that makes their calling and election sure.
On the other hand, the Bible makes the false Christian insecure by demanding that they examine themselves, by never settling for salvation without genuine transformation. By the way, the Word of God intends to make false Christians uncomfortable by attacking their deceptive sense of security. I believe that it is vital for pastor to teach about the assurance of salvation, because if we don't, there will be multitudes of people who are going to expect to enter into heaven, only to hear, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."
So, I want to say this as clearly as I can, because you need to get this, there is no assurance of salvation without sanctification. There is no assurance of salvation without sanctification. It's not enough to possess an entry-level assurance. Where there is a lack of holiness, a lack of obedience, a lack of sanctification in your life, there will be with it a lack of assurance.
Paul says in Romans 8, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."
One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is the ministry of conviction. When you feel horrible about dishonoring the Lord, when you feel filthy and disgusted about your sin, when we feel the guilt and the weight of our sin, that's the work of the Holy Spirit. That's affirmation that you are a child of God. Another way that you know the Holy Spirit is at work in your life, is when chastening comes, in connection with sin.
In the parable of the soil, Jesus said there were people who received
the gospel and their hearts were like stony ground, rock bed somewhere
down under the surface, and the seed of the gospel went in. And they
responded, and there was a reaction and a plant grew up, but it had no
root because there was rock underneath and so the roots couldn’t go down
and find any water to survive, and when the sun came out it scorched
the plant and it died. That parable shows that if a person truly believes, he will endure trials and root out the weeds of the world that choke the gospel message.
There are some people who may be acting like a Christian outwardly, who inwardly isn’t one, there is no genuine transformation. Scripture is very clear, what may look to be the real thing, may in fact, may not be. People can be hypocritical. John says if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you.To be completely honest, sometimes it’s very hard to tell who’s a Christian.The test comes when we are given enough time, enough pressure and enough exposure to the things of this world. That's when you’re really going to find out.
What I find to be astonishing, is the reaction to this kind of teaching from evangelicals. Even in the church, it is a very unpopular message. There is a real despising of the true gospel.Christians do not want to be confronted with their sin. Instead, they want to made to feel better about it, reassured, that they're "not that bad." They actually turn the grace of God into licentiousness. Profess what they will, the bottomline is, they’re unsaved.
In our text today, John sums this up with a very important behavioral test. "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments."
Then, the internal witness of the Holy Spirit who witnesses with us that we are the children of God. But the most important affirmation of your salvation is manifest in your life by obedience If we don’t keep His commandments, then we know we haven’t come to know Him. He's talking about the moral precepts, and the spiritual precepts that Christ taught. For the true believer, Christ''s Word would be not only be manifest in the heart, but in the conduct. That is affirmation that a person has truly come to the knowledge of God and Christ.
When Jesus Christ is truly Lord and Savior, His authority is gladly embraced, His Lordship becomes precious. Obedience flows out of the heart of a true believer.
In Closing..
A child obeys because he has to. If he doesn't obey he knows that will be punished. An employee obeys because he needs to. He needs to obey because he has a family to provide for. But a Christian obeys his Heavenly Father because he wants to, our obedience to God's Word is proof of our love for Him. When we truly know Christ and strive to abide in His Word we will become like Him.
As Christians, our behavior should make other want to get to know our Savior, not turn away from Him.
You are not free to pick and choose the commands of Jesus that fit your agenda, or that suit your lifestyle. He is the Lord of lords, King of kings, who speaks the words of God the Father. His
commandments are authoritative. Knowing Christ and keeping His commandments are inseparable, they are inextricably linked.
If we claim to know Christ, our lives should have the same focus and direction, therefore, we must not act in rebellion, or behave independently from God. But in total dependence on Him. Our lives are no longer about pleasing ourselves, but a life that is pleasing to Him.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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