"28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."
There is little doubt, that the rapture is the most discussed prophesy in the Bible, when it will happen, in both absolute and relative terms.For centuries, there has been the endless debate over the rapture's timing relative to the Great Tribulation. I imagine this debate will not likely end until it actually happens. To say that Christians disagree on it's timing, is probably an understatement.
I believe that the timing of the rapture is not a problem. We have already been assured that it will happen. I believe that the far greater issue is, who will be included in the rapture. Not surprisingly, many Christians think the answer to that question has already been settled. Tragically, many think that simply by believing in Christ is enough to ensure their place in line. There is the prevailing notion is that all "believers" will make it.
In my study of Bible prophesy over the last decade or so, I am convinced that this will not be the case. There are many passages found in the New Testament, that indicate to me that many believers will receive the ultimate disappointment when Jesus comes back. Believing in Jesus is not enough to be rapture ready. For even the demons believe.
James tells us in chapter 2 verse 19, "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder."
And Luke tells us in chapter 4 verse 41, "Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ."
In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus Himself said "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."
Those described in the passage in Matthew, are clearly sincere, genuine Christians. Yet they are still rejected by Jesus. There is obviously some flaw that Jesus refers to as "lawlessness," that makes them unacceptable to inherit the kingdom of God.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your Word for us today. We are so grateful that we should be called Your children. Though it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him. We are so overwhelmed with joy that we have this precious hope. This incredible hope of eternal life, which we do not deserve. We thank You that we have an inheritance laid up for us in heaven, that fades not. Help us to be faithful, as we live the in the light of that hope. Lord, we pray for those who do believe they are secure in the faith, who are deceived, awaken them to see themselves as You see them, that they might not think more highly of themselves than they ought. May they turn to You in repentance and cry out for forgiveness. Lord, we pray that You might use this message today, mightily, powerfully, to speak someone’s heart.
In Jesus' name we pray
Amen
Today's Message: Fix Your Hope
Open with me your Bibles to I John chapter 2. As we continue in our
study, we come to the end of the second chapter. This section of the text actually flows into the third chapter verse three. John is sometimes hard to figure out, because they put breaks in the chapter where they thought it should be when they put the Scriptures together.
I believe that it would have better if they had not put a chapter heading between verse 29 and the
next verse because there’s one section, which runs from verse
28 to verse 3. I hope that you have been enjoying our study of I John as much as I have, I believe I often benefit from each of these messages as much as anyone else, because they really refresh my spirit.
As you know, this is a larger passage that I like to deal with at one time, because I don't like feeling rushed, so we'll see just how far we’ll actually get.
I invite you to follow along with me as I again read to you the entire passage to set the text in our minds, while we prepare our hearts for what the Spirit of God has is saying to each of us. Listen for the voice of our Lord. I John 2:28-3:3.
"Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."
John begins in verse 28, by referring to the appearing of Jesus Christ. "Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming."
John says that if we abide in Christ, that we will have confidence when we stand before Him at His second coming. Being born again has to do with our relationship, being a member of the family
of God. Abiding in Him has to do with our fellowship, our daily walk
with the Lord. It is possible to be saved and not abide in Jesus, not walking in fellowship with Him.
The word coming is the Greek word "parousía," which means literally "the being beside, the personal presence." In the New Testament, it is a standard term denoting the second coming of Christ. The spectacular event of the Lord's appearing is certain, the time of that event however, is not.
Paul says in I Thessalonians 5:2-3, "For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape."
This entire section is about our hope in the appearing of Jesus Christ, for those who are His beloved children. The word "hope," is the Greek word "elpís," which means the expectation of what is sure, certain. The word hope gives life, it lifts us up, it encourages us, it produces joy, it brightens. Hope is like turning a light on in the darkness. However, life without hope, is dark, depressing and bleak. I believe that one of the greatest tragedies is when your hope is only in this life, when you don't have anything to hope for beyond this life. When you have no sure hope of the life to come.
James tells us in James 4:14, "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."
But that's life for the vast majority of people in this world. A life filled with no real hope, just some wishes, fantasies and false promises. Death brings with it the realization that any hope outside of God is indeed, a false hope.
And Job 27:8 says "For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, When God requires his life?"
Then, at the end of verse 28, John says "And not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." Those who have made Jesus out to be less than He is, will be ashamed at His coming. The idea is that we should so live that when Jesus returns, we will not have a sense of guilt, but will welcome Him in confidence.
There is a sense of hopelessness without God. Today, many people drown themselves in alcohol, they drown their misery in random sexual encounters, in meaningless relationships, trying to make some sense of this life without hope. This is a very different reality than for those who are in Christ. The true benefits of our salvation are yet to be realized. We eagerly await our adoption as sons and that which God has prepared for us. To receive the new body which God has prepared to go with our redeemed soul, when we are made into the image of Christ. Everything else pales in comparison to that glorious hope! Until then, we live in hope. That is why death for believer is not an ending. Our hope is in heaven.
Jesus said in John 8:51, "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death."
Satan's goal is to crush us with doubt and insecurity. As a Christian, I assume that I’m going to be attacked by Satan. Doubt is a sin. But doubt, like all other sin, it's forgivable. To be clear, doubt is not an indication that you're not saved. Our minds is where the battle is waged. Our hope is our defense against Satan when he slams us with doubt. Our hope is the source of our joy. When your hope is anchored in Christ, that is your purist sense of joy.
When you became saved, you should have immediately lost your fear of death. I Corinthians 15:55-57 says "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.
For those who abide in Christ, we will be in confidence when He comes. As a footnote, one of John's favorite words is abide. He uses it more than any of the other New Testament writers, 24 times in I John. Expecting Christ to return at any moment to receive us to Himself should be a tremendously purifying force in our daily lives. How we live demonstrates to what degree we esteem Jesus. We prove who we are by what we do.
Verse 29, "If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him."
We must not make the mistake in thinking John is saying that righteous behavior is the cause or condition of the new birth, actually it's just the opposite. The Greek verb is literally, "has been born of Him." A righteous life is the evidence of new birth. Because God is righteous, those who are truly born of Him, will be righteous in the pattern of their lives, growing in obedience to God's Word. Practicing righteousness causes us to change our actions. Most people whose lives go adrift, do so because they are not abiding in a relationship with Christ, no longer holding firmly to the truth. I believe that John's words are just as wise for our generation as they were for those living in his day.
In I John 3:1, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him."
John's point is powerful, although simple; the Father’s great love has made us His children and it distinguishes us from the world. Children are not strong in themselves, they seek refuge in their parents for protection and to provide for them. This is implicit in the relationship between a father and his children John is absolutely astonished, and thrilled with the reality that we are the children of God. When John says "How great a love," he is saying it is beyond the human experience, it is something that is beyond us. It is a love that can only come from heaven, because there’s nothing like it in this world!
It is only when we’re aware of our own weakness, that we begin to truly rely on Him for our strength When someone loves you, it gives you hope and strength. Therefore, love is one of the greatest motivators in the world. Love, then, is the most life changing force in the universe. God's great love for us should both amaze us and motive us to live righteously. We live in hope, because we have been made the children of God. We were born of God because He chose to love us with a saving love. This is glorious truth is very comforting to me.
We have a God who loves us with a love that is beyond anything this world has ever known. In
John 15:13, Jesus said "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
God is lovingly gracious, He is also lovingly just and lovingly chastening. God loves the world, but His love for us is different than that. It is an unbreakable love, a complete love. It is a truly amazing love! His love for the world is universal, it is indiscriminate. it results in a compassion for the lost. It results in the gospel presentation, a warning and the call to repent.
Because we are the children of God, having been transformed, we are new creations in Christ Jesus, and the world does not know us. The unregenerate cannot comprehend. Because of this divide, if you know God’s love in Jesus Christ, you are an alien in this evil world that has rejected Christ. God’s great love should instruct us about our relationships with one another. By the way, your excuses won’t hold up, because unloving behavior does not reflect God’s great love for you in any way. God has legitimate reasons why you and I do not deserve His love! But, instead, He so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son to bear the penalty that we justly deserved.
Then, John says, "For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." They didn’t know Him. You know, when people in the world look at us, they have no idea, that inside of us is the Spirit of God, the Creator of the universe. They have no idea that we are fitted for eternal life in the kingdom of God. They have no clue that they are looking at heirs to the throne of God. They had no idea who Jesus was either. All the riches of Christ are yours for time and eternity! If they didn’t know Him, they surely won’t know you and I. We should not seek to gain the world’s approval, you should not go into the world, trying to join them in their depravity.
God lavished His love and grace on us in Jesus Christ, I believe that a lot of Christian parents fall short in the realm of love. As fathers, we especially need to lavish grace and love on our children.I'm certainly not implying that the need for rules and discipline is greatly diminished, children need to be disciplined. But we should love our children as the heavenly Father loves us.
In verse 2, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is."
In verse 1, John tells us that we are actually the children of God. Now, he repeats it again in verse 2. I believe that John wants us to know that it ought to dominate every aspect of our daily lives. Like it or not, they families we grow up in have a huge impact on how we live our lives. Many grow up in unloving, abusive and violent homes. Homes where God's Word is never read, family is more of a burden than a gift. Moral guidelines, if they exist at all, consists of, "Be sure that you have safe sex."
Being in the family of God, where children are instructed in the ways of the Lord and they see it modeled
in front of them every day. Where the family reads the Bible often and prays
together. Where there is love, gentleness and respect. It has a very different impact on children, how they think and live. As followers of Jesus Christ, we need see the reality of this truth and allow it to shape our families and our identities. When we are tempted to act or speak a certain way, we must remind ourselves that "I’m a child of God. I can’t do that any longer! I cannot behave in ways that will disgrace the name of my heavenly Father."
Maybe it's lustful thoughts, or putting others down, lying to cover up things you shouldn't have done, or even an ungrateful attitude. Our conduct is evidence of our understanding of our true position as children of God. When Jesus appears, we will be like Him. We will be free from all the impurity of sin, this is not a present reality, because in this life, we live in the flesh.
Our future state of glorified perfection, has not yet completely revealed. The world will see who we are in resurrection glory. But until then, they just have to take what they get. Right now, we’re God’s children even though the world doesn’t know it. They do not know it any more than they knew Christ was the Son of God. That is the hope that I live in, that when I get to heaven, I’m going to be like Jesus Christ. I must tell you, I cannot even imagine what it would be like, because it's actually quite difficult for me to comprehend, but I know it will be glorious!
That brings us to verse 3, "And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."
If Jesus Christ is your Lord, if He’s your Savior, and your model, if that’s your heavenly hope, then that will become your passion. I know when most Christians think about heaven, they think of pearly gates, clouds and gold streets. That is not God’s ultimate purpose for my salvation, that’s why He predestined me. He justified me to conform me into the image of His Son Jesus Christ. When I look at the purity and righteousness of Christ, I long to be like Him. That’s my hope. So that I can perfectly serve and worship and praise God as He does.
I do not believe that I have a passionate longing to be like Christ in the life to come without it having a profound affect on the life I live. Of course, I need to be clear here, this only applies to those who are His children in this life.
Unbelievers, the unregenerate will see Jesus as He is, but that sight will not
transform them into His likeness. Rather, they will be in terror from His absolute holiness and the splendor of His glory.
In Closing..
Though we may not know all of the details of what awaits us in heaven, we can rest in this hopeful promise. Christians, of all people, should be people of hope. There is not a 50 percent chance that this will happen, it's 100% sure! Therefore, we must we progressively be purify ourselves daily. Our hope is characterized by purity.
I encourage you when you think of heaven, don't focus on a place or activity, fix your hope on the person of Jesus Christ. We must consider the long-term consequences of our conduct in this life, as we continue to sin, living in the filth of this life, we are bringing shame on the name of our heavenly Father. We must be motivated to clean up our act, to purify our lives now. Take every necessary step to avoid sin.
Beloved, Jesus Christ is coming! Living in the hope of who we are in the present, and in the hope of our future reality, that we will be like Him will completely and utterly life transforming.
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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