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1 John 2:1-17 "How Do We Know?"
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)
John's letter invites us to join in the fellowship of knowing God. We know that Jesus Christ is the source of light and life because of this fellowship and the joy in our hearts that it produces. Last week John taught us how it is impossible for sin to keep us out of this fellowship with God. Sin cannot separate us from God any longer because Jesus forgives every sin that we confess to Him. The only way that sin can keep us out of fellowship with God is if we hide it in the darkness. John, of course, does not want anyone to sin. He says it very clearly that he is writing, "so that you may not sin." Just because Jesus forgives does not mean that sin should be taken lightly. Sin is always a serious matter. It is so serious that it is taken up at God's throne. At God's throne Satan is busy accusing us and every time that we sin Satan's case against us is strengthened. But we also have a lawyer for the defense. John calls Him our Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Every time that we sin Jesus Christ must step between and take up our case. With what evidence? How can he prove us innocent when we truly have done wrong? He can't! Instead Jesus Christ points back to the cross where He bore the punishment for all of our sins. He is the propitiation, justice is satisfied. The price has been paid, not just for our sins, but for the sins of the entire world. Let me make the invitation one more time. If you want to have all your sins forgiven, if you want to live forever with God in the light, all you have to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has died on the cross to pay the price for all of your sins so that you can have fellowship with God.
How Do We Know That We Know?
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His
commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep
His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever
keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we
know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself
also to walk just as He walked. (1John 2:3-6)
One of the most frustrating things about being a pastor is that it is
impossible to tell if someone is really a Christian. I cannot look into
someone else's heart and see if they really know God. A few years ago
a couple of African men were introduced to me as brothers in Christ
who had come to serve the Lord in Japan. I rejoiced to meet them and
invited them to come to my home and gave them many things to help them
get established here in Japan. I gave them a ride to church and introduced
them to everyone else as Christian brothers. They sang the songs, prayed
with us, heard the word and joined in our fellowship. Imagine my surprise
when a few weeks later I found out that they had disappeared from the
mission, and had only pretended to be missionaries so that they could
come to Japan to find work. They had cheated the churches out of money,
tricked the mission agency and made it much more difficult for future
missionaries to be able to come from their country to Japan. How difficult
it is to tell if someone is really a Christian. I am so glad that it
is not my job. The Bible does not tell me to judge my brothers and sisters
and examine whether they are Christian or not. Instead the Bible tells
each one of us to examine ourselves.
John tells us how to do our self-examination in this part of the letter.
He says, "we may know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."
My religious life started out when I was a little child. I attended
church with my family every Sunday, went to Sunday school and later
on in my teens I went regularly to the church youth group in the neighboring
town because our church did not have enough youth to have its own. Through
all of this I learned quite a bit of knowledge about Jesus Christ. I
knew all the pertinent details about His life and the claims that He
made to be the Son of God. When I became 13 years old I was baptized
with the other kids my own age after learning the "Ten Commandments"
and the books of the Bible. Because I was interested in philosophy from
a young age I was even able to discuss some of the doctrines of the
church. However, I did not find any of this very satisfying. I knew
a lot about Jesus and God, but I did not know Him personally. After
turning mostly away from Christianity and looking in other places for
something I didn't really understand, I ended up attending a youth meeting
at a wholly different kind of church. About half of the meeting was
spent in worship and then a good part in prayer and then we studied
the Bible much more seriously than I ever had before. It was exactly
what I needed. It is not enough just to know who Jesus is. It is not
even enough to know what His commandments are. If you truly know Jesus
then you will want to keep His commandments. I really knew that I knew
Jesus when I could turn my back on all the other things that I had been
trying and commit myself to Him. I really knew that I knew Jesus because
I could see myself changing to be more like Him. I could see plainly
that the baptism that I had received before was absolutely meaningless.
I didn't know Jesus then because I had no desire to keep His word. I
was just fooling myself. I waited one year to see if it would keep going,
or if this was just something that I was excited about but would soon
change. After that one year I went to the river to be baptized, because
I knew that Jesus was truly alive in me and my life was changed forever.
The Commandment of Love
Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in the darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1John 2:7-11)
What are the commandments of Jesus? Some critics of the faith have pointed
out that Jesus really did not teach anything new. His commands to love
God with all your heart and soul and strength and love your neighbor
as yourself come straight from the Old Testament and they are echoed
in most of the religious writings around the world. These critics are
right! God has put His truth in men's heart around the world. The command
to love is not something new. What is new about the commandment of Jesus
to love is that Jesus not only said it, He did it. Jesus told His disciples,
"A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another,
as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34)
What is new about this commandment is that we are not just told to love,
but we are given a model of what love truly looks like. Jesus shows
us the height and the width and the depth of God's love. No love is
greater than that a man should lay down his life for his friend. Jesus
loves us so much that He laid down his life for us on the cross. No
one expects anyone to love a mere acquaintance or a stranger or least
of all an enemy. But Jesus forgave even those who put Him on the cross
and died for the sins of the whole world. We are not just told to love,
but this love that Jesus commands is true in Him. And if we know Him
it becomes true in us. The darkness in our lives passes away because
Jesus is already shining in us. His love becomes the source for our
love. His love flows through us.
Now does this mean that if you sin and act in an unloving way that you
don't know Christ? Not at all. That is why John starts out saying that
Jesus is our Advocate. We need an Advocate. I am constantly confessing
my lack of love to the Lord and receiving His forgiveness. In fact I
have found that the more I know Jesus, the more light is poured into
my heart and the more I can see just how unloving I really am. But praise
God that as each new thing is exposed Jesus forgives it and starts to
replace it with His love. But let me ask you, do you persist in hate?
Is there a person that you cannot bear to pray for, that you know you
hate but cannot confess because you don't really want to change? If
so, the darkness in your heart is great. Repent and ask Jesus to forgive
your sins. He will. If you know a lot about God but have never experienced
His love. If you can't imagine loving others because you are so starved
for love yourself. The invitation is for you. If you would know Jesus
and experience the love of God for yourself all you have to do is believe
that Jesus Christ is alive today, raised from the dead and confess with
your mouth that He is the Lord, the Son of God. If you do this Jesus
Christ will forgive all of your sins and lead you into eternal life.
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