“Considerations Concerning Christianity”
(1 John 2:3-11)
Series: A Word for the Church [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
September 5, 2021
The Passage
1 John 2:3-11
3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the word you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother or sister remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Introductory Comments:
Do you ever see an animal, bug, or plant and wish that you could identify what it was? Well, I have an app on my phone called, Seek. [show picture on screen] This app is helpful to identify certain things. You can take a picture of a bug, a plant, or an animal and it will help identify the species of that living thing. Pretty cool, huh?
Here’s a question for you: how do you identify if someone is really a follower of Jesus? Don’t you wish there was an app where you could point your phone at someone and it would tell you if that person were really a Christian? Perhaps you want to know whether or not you are really a Christian?
Today, John is going to talk to us about how we can know whether or not we know God. In fact, the very first words from this passage are: This is how we know that we know him . . .
Today’s sermon is entitled: “Considerations Concerning Christianity.” [on screen]
Before we consider these considerations, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us as individuals and as a church.
(prayer)
We are, indeed, continuing our series in 1 John. Thus far, we have heard that there is something special about Jesus, John experienced it, and he wants us to know about it. Then, we learned that fellowship with God is found and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Jesus is found when we walk with God in the light.
Today, we’re going to consider a few things concerning Christianity.
First, let us consider . . .
I. Truth and lies (verses 3-6)[on screen]
Let’s look at the passage and let us discover what is true and what is a lie.
Look at verses 3-6:
3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.
Ok, first of all, pay attention to this: John answers the question of how we can know if we truly know God. This is how we know if we know God: if we keep his commands! [on screen]
That’s pretty straightforward, right? If you keep the commands of God, that indicates that there is a change in your life; it indicates that you have a new heart and a new mind; it indicates that the Holy Spirit of God dwells inside of you.
So, do you keep the commands of God? Just think about that for a second.
Listen: we don’t keep the commands of God in order to be changed by God (only Jesus can change us)! However, once we are changed by God, John says that we should keep the commands of God.
By the way, it’s not only John who says this; Jesus says this, Paul says this, James says this, Peter says this, Moses says this, Joshua says this, Ezra says this, and many others.
Ok, so that’s the big statement that John starts off with. Then, John gets into the truth and lies. He talks about the lies first.
Look at verse 4 again: The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
If someone claims to know God, yet they don’t follow the commands of God, there’s a problem. In fact, John says they are a liar.
I don’t really like to call people liars because it’s a pretty serious charge. I heard something the other day that involved me that was totally untrue. My temptation was to say that someone was a liar. However, I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to people: perhaps they were mistaken.
John’s not messing around about this: he says that if someone claims to know God yet doesn’t follow His commands, that person is a LIAR!
Then John talks about the truth. John says in verse 5: But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete.
John is pretty much saying that knowing God is more than knowing about God! (repeat)
Then, John helps us understand what knowing God involves: knowing God means keeping God’s word.
I don’t know about you, but I’d love to see the love of God made complete in me. I’d love to experience the full force of someone who is walking in the love of God.
John says that if we keep God’s word, then God’s love will truly be made complete in us.
John is essentially saying, “You show me someone who follows God’s ways and I’ll show you someone who truly has the love of God.”
John then concludes this section by repeating in verses 5-6 how we know if someone really knows God. He says, “This is how we know we are in him: The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.”
Church, if you want to know if you are truly in the love of God, just look at your life. How does it look? It’s like pointing your phone at yourself and using an app to determine if you’re a follower of God: how does your life look?
Next, we consider . . .
II. New and old (verses 7-8)[on screen]
John speaks of a new command and an old command. Let’s see what’s going on. Look at verses 7 and 8:
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the word you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
Now, let’s just admit that this is a little confusing at first. However, here’s what John is saying: I’m not saying anything that you haven’t heard before, but it’s different now.
That clears everything up, doesn’t it?
John is saying that this idea of following God, obeying His ways, and walking in the light, is an old command. God has always wanted His people to obey His commands. God has always wanted His people to love Him and love others.
However, there’s something different now about the way God’s people love and serve Him and the way they love and serve other people: now they are doing so by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of God’s Holy Spirit inside them.
God’s people now have supernatural help to live the way God is calling them to live.
The old command is to love God; the new command is to love God with the power of Jesus!
The old command is to obey God’s commands; the new command is to obey God’s commands while equipped with God’s Holy Spirit.
The old command is to love your neighbor as yourself; the new command is to love other people with a supernatural godly love that is inside you because of the work of the Gospel!
John goes on to speak about this in verse 8. He says, “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.”
The light about which John is speaking is present in John’s time and in our time because of the work that Jesus did on the cross, that John experienced, and by the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, which John also experienced in the book of Acts.
When you think that you just don’t have it in you to obey the ways of God, be challenged and encouraged by the words of John: this is a new way! In your life, by the power of Jesus, the darkness is passing away!
The new command is to live in the power of Jesus! The light is shining, church! We have a new command and that is to live a life of godliness, in the power of God!
Finally, let us consider . . .
III. Love and hate (verses 9-11)[on screen]
The Bible has a lot to say about loving people and John is certainly no exception. Let’s see what he has to say here in verses 9-11.
9 The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother or sister remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
John goes back to his discussion about darkness and light, which we encountered last week. Remember, light represents the goodness of God, whereas darkness represents the absence of God. There is no darkness in God!
John says, no matter what you say, if you hate your brother or sister in Christ, then you are in darkness.
You can say that you are in the light all day, but that doesn’t mean that you’re actually in the light. I can say that I’m the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but that doesn’t make me Tom Brady. I can say that I’m perfect, but that doesn’t hide the fact that I can’t even text on my phone and hear someone talking to me at the same time.
Well, how are we truly in the light? John says that when we love our brother or sister, then we remain in the light.
John even goes on to speak of the dangers of hating our brother or sister.
John says that it can cause us to stumble, it’s like walking in the darkness, we don’t know where we are going, and our eyes are blinded.
Have you ever tried to walk in complete darkness? Sometimes I’ll cross our church campus when I’m one of the only ones here. I’m just saying some of the areas of our church get quite dark. I try to save electricity and not turn on the lights sometimes, but that can get kind of dangerous, can’t it?
John is telling us that when we hate our brother or sister, we are walking in the darkness and it can get dangerous for us and for others. Listen, church: it’s not good for anyone when we walk in the darkness.
John says when we hate our brother or sister, we are in darkness.
Now, you might ask, “How do I know if I hate someone?”
I looked at a few counseling sources and here’s what I came up with to help determine if you hate someone:
1. Are you jealous of that person?
2. Do you think that you are better than that person?
3. Do you feel that you have been mistreated by that person?
4. Do you get worked up when the person is around?
5. Do you wish harm would come upon the person?
6. Are you angry about the person rather than the action they did?
7. Are you unwilling to forgive that person?
Let me just tell you, church: beware of hatred. It will destroy you and it will cause you to walk in darkness.
Also, don’t justify your hatred. You might say, “Pastor, you don’t know what that person did.” Well, you’re right. However, God does, and He’s the One who told us to love others. Here’s another thing: that person has never offended you as much as you’ve offended God. (repeat) Yet, God will forgive you totally in the work of Jesus and you can forgive others as well.
Concluding Thoughts:
Church, we should want to be in the light as He is in the light. We should want to truly know God, we should want to follow the new command of living for God by the Spirit of God, and we should want to love our brothers and sisters.
So, how do you match up? Are you living in the truth or are you living a lie? Are you trying to please God with the old way of things or are you living by the power of Jesus, in the new way? Do you love others or do you hate others?
Consider this bottom line as we bring this to a conclusion:
Bottom Line: Consider if you’re a Christian by considering your concern for the commands of Christ. [on screen]
(repeat)
Obviously, none of us in this room is perfect. The question is not to ask if you are perfect. The questions to ask are: Do you love the ways of God? Do you pursue the ways of God? Do you live out what you say you believe?
Church, are you walking in the truth, not just believing it? Are you walking in a new way of following God’s commands? Are you walking in love? Are you walking in the light?
Do you want to know if you know God? Consider your concern for the commands of Christ.
Challenge yourself to live out this passage in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Consider your obedience. [on screen]
How well do you obey the ways of God?
Take some time this week to think about your obedience. Where does the evidence point?
A lack of obedience in your life indicates that there is an issue between you and God; it indicates that you may be in darkness, and that’s not good.
2. Consider your blind spots. [on screen]
You may think that everything is good with you. You might say, “Pastor, I’m always in the light!” Well, not so fast super Christian. You might have some blind spots.
Maybe there’s something in your life that is a matter of disobedience and you haven’t even thought of it because it’s a blind spot.
Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and show you where you may still be in darkness. Read God’s Word so you know more about His ways and how you can walk in them.
Consider your blind spots.
Closing:
God loves us, He is full of love, and John will tell us later that God Himself is love. So, how are you doing with walking in love?
Have you been changed by God’s love?
Romans 5:8 says this: But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [on screen]
The love of God will change you. The death of Jesus in your place will change you. Have you been changed?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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