As we draw toward the end of 1st John, it is evident John wants us to know certain things. Particularly, John wants us to know for sure that we are saved. 1st John 5:13 says: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
Everything has built up to this great verse, and we’ve said that we can test ourselves to prove whether we are saved or not. Even Paul encouraged us to test ourselves: In 2nd Corinthians 13:5, he told us to, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”
We apply the tests. A genuine believer should be able to come to the conclusion that, “Yes, I know that I am saved. Conclusively, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I know.”
“Well, how can you be so sure?” someone might ask;
And the answer is, “I’ve taken the tests, and I’ve passed.”
What tests? Well, John gives us the tests – he gives them here in this book. That’s what this book consisted of, series of tests so we could do self-examination. It is so you can “know that you have eternal life.”
But, what about after we’ve assured our hearts? Assurance leads to more assurance. We gain assurances of other things. I want you to notice something
1st John 5:18, 19, and 20 each begin the same way – “we know. . . and we know. . . and we know.” This Greek word “know” means with absolute knowledge. It expresses unshakeable certainty – the kind you sink your teeth into.
It’s the same assurance we have toward the entire Bible, which Paul said was God breathed. We can trust the whole Bible completely. 2nd Timothy 3:16 says:
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
Every word in the original manuscripts was God breathed – that’s what inspiration means. Inspire, respiration, blowing breath across vocal chords, making sounds that form words and sentences. That’s what God did when he gave the Bible, and men wrote it down and carefully preserved it. It was given without error in the original manuscripts. It is unchanging, because God never goes back on His Word. It doesn’t change with the times or the culture.
Quoting Eric Ludy, “Jesus is a rock. His truth is a rock. . . rocks don’t adjust to each new generation of hikers; rather each new generation of hikers is forced to adjust to them.”
Now that’s graphic. We stand on the rock that will not be moved. We stand on the unchanging truth of the Word of God.
That kind of assurance isn’t very popular in our day which considers it arrogant to be sure of anything. “That’s too dogmatic,” many would say, and we are told to downplay doctrine - doctrine divides, after all.
For many, harmony among the “professed” believers is most important. So we downplay truth, and we tolerate error. We live and let live. And so many churches would rather lure people into their churches with gimmicks than with the truth of God’s Word. And it works, if your aim is to pack the pews. But it fails miserably if your aim is to change lives. I wonder which God considers most important?
Unfortunately, that philosophy isn’t standing on the outside trying to get into our churches. That philosophy reigns king in way too many churches. And it guides their methodology and practice.
The emergent church movement is built entirely on the Post-Modern philosophy that truth is fluid, so they continually try to reinvent church to make it more relevant to culture. And they present a more pleasing view of Jesus. They offer a Jesus less demanding and less narrow minded – less offensive to our modern sensitivities.
In commenting on that phenomena, Eric Ludy remarked, “Marketing and presentation aside, the fact remains that Jesus died covered in blood hanging naked between two thieves.”
People don’t need slick presentations, they need the cold, hard truth. Everything else is powerless to change a life. It takes truth, energized by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only that can penetrate the veil over our blind eyes . Only that can cut through the calluses over our hardened hearts. Yet, what is offered all too often is a sickly, gray pabulum that’s easily digested but can never satisfy.
No, that’s not right – pabulum can provide nutrition to a baby; but if you leave the Bible out, there’s nothing to nourish our starving souls. We are left to spiritually wither away. Instead of nourishment from the Word, we are offered platitudes and helpful hints for our relationships with one another, but never truth – and never with conviction.
But that simply makes a mockery of the Word of God, and it makes us a laughingstock in front of the world. We must believe and proclaim the truth as the truth.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Sin Leading Unto Death
Look at what it says: 1st John 5:16 - There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. Huh? That part of the verse is a puzzler.
“There is sin leading to death?” What is it?
Well, let’s start with what it’s not. First, it’s not some awful sin that is so bad God can’t or won’t pardon it. Even a Ted Bundy could be saved and forgiven. Even those who nailed Jesus to the cross could be saved and forgiven. No sin is too great for God to forgive if the heart is repentant. The Roman Catholics have this distinction between a mortal and venial sin, but there’s no such distinction in the New Testament.
In the Old Testament certain sins required the death penalty, and it didn’t allow a sacrifice for willful sins; but nothing like that is found in the New. It tells us God can forgive even the most despicable of sins.
Paul, persecutor of the church, is an example: He was searching out Christians to bind them in chains and cast them into dungeons for execution. But Jesus met him on the Damascus Road, and it changed his life.
This is also not talking about apostates. Apostates were never Christians to begin with. They tried out Christianity for awhile, then turned back to the world from which they came.
No, these are genuine believers being referred to here. 1st John 5:16 calls them that – “If anyone sees his brother sinning.” Brothers are our fellow believers. They too are children of God, born again, adopted into God’s family.
Well, what then is this “sin leading to death?” The death must be physical death as a result of persistent, deliberate sin. It’s not a specific sin, or a kind of sin, but an unrelenting, persistent sin the believer won’t give up. So God brings them home early.
But why would a good, loving God do that? Why would God bring death to one of His own? That’s a good question. It could be to protect His reputation. He might if the actions of that professed believer puts a blight on His name or hinders his program. Can you imagine the damage that a professing believer does while he lives a life of sin? Can you imagine the damage he does to God’s reputation? Or, it could be to protect the believer from an ongoing life of sin, a life of ruin and degradation.
Here are some examples of God protecting his reputation or program: In Leviticus 10:1-7, Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, disobeyed God by bringing strange fire to the altar of god, and fire came out of the alter to devour them. In Numbers 16, Korah and his clan opposed Moses’ authority, claiming equal authority. God opened up the ground to swallow them alive. In Joshua 6-7, Achan stole of the bounty at Jericho, and he and his family were stoned and they and all their possessions were burned. In 2nd Samuel 6, Uzzah reached his hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant when the oxen stumbled, and God struck him dead instantly.
There are New Testament examples also. In Acts 5:1-11, Annanias and Saphira lied to the Holy Spirit about their offering, and God struck them dead. In 1st Corinthians 5:1-5, Paul instructs the Corinthians what to do about the man in the church having an affair with his mother in law, and he says to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Then, in 1st Corinthians 11:29-30, Paul talks about those who were taking part in the Lord’s Table unworthily: “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.” That means they are dead. These people’s sin literally caused their death.
Wow! But didn’t we say that say the reason is that God is protecting the believer from himself? This almost sounds like God is getting even or punishing them for their sin. Can this be true?
Well, let’s think about it:
Look at Hebrews 12:5-7, the passage where it talks about God chastening us as a loving parent:
“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
“For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
When God takes us to the woodshed for a lickin’, it proves He love us, not the other way around. And if we respond to His discipline, God instructs us, trains us, and corrects us in love just the way you would with your own child. You don’t spank someone else’s child.
But drop down to Hebrews 12:9
“Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?”
What’s the implication? If you don’t respond to God’s discipline, you just might die - not a spiritual death, but a physical one. It is a child of God, after all, in this passage. But the implications is – physical life is on the line.
I can give you lots of examples of people I knew: There was a new convert in one of our churches who was saved out of alcoholism. He used to run around on his wife and drink up every paycheck, but now, he was on fire for God. For two years, he lived a new, sober life, but then he started having binges. He would be very repentant with tears, and straighten out, for awhile, but then the binges continued with greater and greater frequency. He died of a heart attack at the age of 30.
There was another young man we knew. His parents had split up, neither wanting him, and he shuffled back and forth between them. He got into repeated trouble. He was saved at the age of 20 through the witness of an aunt, and seemed real tender to the Lord. But there was never any real change in his lifestyle. He kept on drinking and died at the age of 21 in a car accident caused by the combination of excessive speed and alcohol.
As a good Father, God might have just called those two young men home to protect them from a life of degrading sin. As a good parent, we want to protect our kids, not let them destroy their lives, their reputation, and their testimony. For a Christian, death is a better alternative by far. They will be safe in heaven. That is much better than allowing them to live a life of sin.
As parents, my wife and I have prayed for our children, “God, if our children are going to reject you, take them before they can dishonor You, and reject You eternally.” We would rather lose them young, than lose them eternally. It is much better that they die before they reach the age of accountability, then live a long life and go to hell.
But, still, this is confusing - especially the part where it says in 1st John 5:16, “There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.” Why shouldn’t we pray about that? Quoting the best commentaries, “Beats me!” Nobody knows. But don’t let that bother you. This is given as an exception.
The preponderance of the teaching in Scripture is for us to pray. Almost never are we told not to pray. It’s more natural for us to skip praying anyway. We are more prone to gossip about someone caught in sin than pray for them. Shame on us!
But we really don’t know when these exceptions are going to occur. We have no idea who will repent and who won’t. We have no idea who will be restored, and who will sin leading to death. So as a general rule, pray. This isn’t a command not to pray as much as a comment that it won’t do any good in some cases. But we don’t know, so we pray - we always pray.
But, let this obscure passage be a warning: Sin has consequences, even in the life of a believer, and one of those consequences for unrelenting sin just might be physical death. Always, repentance is the best plan.
Look at Peter’s example: After following Jesus around for three years of intimate contact, when the crisis came at Jesus’ arrest and trial, Peter denied that he even knew the Lord -Peter denied Him three times. Doesn’t that sound like a sin leading to death? Yet, Jesus restored him, and Peter went on to a life of useful service with phenomenal results.
In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Don’t be too quick to write someone off.
The glorious truth is this, God can restore anyone – God can use anyone. Falling into sin doesn’t have to be the end. But you must repent. If you are caught up in sin, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline. If your conscience torments you, that’s God working on you. Turn back to Him. And know we are praying for you.
And if you see someone else falling into sin, don’t condemn them or gossip about them. Pray! Pray! Pray! Pray that they be restored.
“There is sin leading to death?” What is it?
Well, let’s start with what it’s not. First, it’s not some awful sin that is so bad God can’t or won’t pardon it. Even a Ted Bundy could be saved and forgiven. Even those who nailed Jesus to the cross could be saved and forgiven. No sin is too great for God to forgive if the heart is repentant. The Roman Catholics have this distinction between a mortal and venial sin, but there’s no such distinction in the New Testament.
In the Old Testament certain sins required the death penalty, and it didn’t allow a sacrifice for willful sins; but nothing like that is found in the New. It tells us God can forgive even the most despicable of sins.
Paul, persecutor of the church, is an example: He was searching out Christians to bind them in chains and cast them into dungeons for execution. But Jesus met him on the Damascus Road, and it changed his life.
This is also not talking about apostates. Apostates were never Christians to begin with. They tried out Christianity for awhile, then turned back to the world from which they came.
No, these are genuine believers being referred to here. 1st John 5:16 calls them that – “If anyone sees his brother sinning.” Brothers are our fellow believers. They too are children of God, born again, adopted into God’s family.
Well, what then is this “sin leading to death?” The death must be physical death as a result of persistent, deliberate sin. It’s not a specific sin, or a kind of sin, but an unrelenting, persistent sin the believer won’t give up. So God brings them home early.
But why would a good, loving God do that? Why would God bring death to one of His own? That’s a good question. It could be to protect His reputation. He might if the actions of that professed believer puts a blight on His name or hinders his program. Can you imagine the damage that a professing believer does while he lives a life of sin? Can you imagine the damage he does to God’s reputation? Or, it could be to protect the believer from an ongoing life of sin, a life of ruin and degradation.
Here are some examples of God protecting his reputation or program: In Leviticus 10:1-7, Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, disobeyed God by bringing strange fire to the altar of god, and fire came out of the alter to devour them. In Numbers 16, Korah and his clan opposed Moses’ authority, claiming equal authority. God opened up the ground to swallow them alive. In Joshua 6-7, Achan stole of the bounty at Jericho, and he and his family were stoned and they and all their possessions were burned. In 2nd Samuel 6, Uzzah reached his hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant when the oxen stumbled, and God struck him dead instantly.
There are New Testament examples also. In Acts 5:1-11, Annanias and Saphira lied to the Holy Spirit about their offering, and God struck them dead. In 1st Corinthians 5:1-5, Paul instructs the Corinthians what to do about the man in the church having an affair with his mother in law, and he says to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Then, in 1st Corinthians 11:29-30, Paul talks about those who were taking part in the Lord’s Table unworthily: “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.” That means they are dead. These people’s sin literally caused their death.
Wow! But didn’t we say that say the reason is that God is protecting the believer from himself? This almost sounds like God is getting even or punishing them for their sin. Can this be true?
Well, let’s think about it:
Look at Hebrews 12:5-7, the passage where it talks about God chastening us as a loving parent:
“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
“For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
When God takes us to the woodshed for a lickin’, it proves He love us, not the other way around. And if we respond to His discipline, God instructs us, trains us, and corrects us in love just the way you would with your own child. You don’t spank someone else’s child.
But drop down to Hebrews 12:9
“Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?”
What’s the implication? If you don’t respond to God’s discipline, you just might die - not a spiritual death, but a physical one. It is a child of God, after all, in this passage. But the implications is – physical life is on the line.
I can give you lots of examples of people I knew: There was a new convert in one of our churches who was saved out of alcoholism. He used to run around on his wife and drink up every paycheck, but now, he was on fire for God. For two years, he lived a new, sober life, but then he started having binges. He would be very repentant with tears, and straighten out, for awhile, but then the binges continued with greater and greater frequency. He died of a heart attack at the age of 30.
There was another young man we knew. His parents had split up, neither wanting him, and he shuffled back and forth between them. He got into repeated trouble. He was saved at the age of 20 through the witness of an aunt, and seemed real tender to the Lord. But there was never any real change in his lifestyle. He kept on drinking and died at the age of 21 in a car accident caused by the combination of excessive speed and alcohol.
As a good Father, God might have just called those two young men home to protect them from a life of degrading sin. As a good parent, we want to protect our kids, not let them destroy their lives, their reputation, and their testimony. For a Christian, death is a better alternative by far. They will be safe in heaven. That is much better than allowing them to live a life of sin.
As parents, my wife and I have prayed for our children, “God, if our children are going to reject you, take them before they can dishonor You, and reject You eternally.” We would rather lose them young, than lose them eternally. It is much better that they die before they reach the age of accountability, then live a long life and go to hell.
But, still, this is confusing - especially the part where it says in 1st John 5:16, “There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.” Why shouldn’t we pray about that? Quoting the best commentaries, “Beats me!” Nobody knows. But don’t let that bother you. This is given as an exception.
The preponderance of the teaching in Scripture is for us to pray. Almost never are we told not to pray. It’s more natural for us to skip praying anyway. We are more prone to gossip about someone caught in sin than pray for them. Shame on us!
But we really don’t know when these exceptions are going to occur. We have no idea who will repent and who won’t. We have no idea who will be restored, and who will sin leading to death. So as a general rule, pray. This isn’t a command not to pray as much as a comment that it won’t do any good in some cases. But we don’t know, so we pray - we always pray.
But, let this obscure passage be a warning: Sin has consequences, even in the life of a believer, and one of those consequences for unrelenting sin just might be physical death. Always, repentance is the best plan.
Look at Peter’s example: After following Jesus around for three years of intimate contact, when the crisis came at Jesus’ arrest and trial, Peter denied that he even knew the Lord -Peter denied Him three times. Doesn’t that sound like a sin leading to death? Yet, Jesus restored him, and Peter went on to a life of useful service with phenomenal results.
In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Don’t be too quick to write someone off.
The glorious truth is this, God can restore anyone – God can use anyone. Falling into sin doesn’t have to be the end. But you must repent. If you are caught up in sin, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline. If your conscience torments you, that’s God working on you. Turn back to Him. And know we are praying for you.
And if you see someone else falling into sin, don’t condemn them or gossip about them. Pray! Pray! Pray! Pray that they be restored.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Pray for Sinners
We have been assured in 1st John 5:15 that God has promised us His ear when we pray according to His will. But what is God’s will? What does God want us to pray about? What does He consider important?
John gives us at least a partial answer in 1st John 5:16:
“If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.”
This verse is all about prayer. It’s implying that we have a responsibility to pray. If we see our brother sinning, we have a responsibility to intercede on his behalf trusting that God “will give him life.” This is certainly a prayer within God’s will. If our brother has a problem, we should pray, but especially if his problem is sin.
We’ve examined sin in the life of a believer before. We’ve covered 1st John 3:9, which says: “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” The indwelling Spirit of God prevents us as Christians from engaging in a lifestyle of sin, yet each of still sins some.
Believers do sin – if we say we don’t sin, we lie. But we don’t live in sin. Remember the discussion of the verb tenses in this verse? This isn’t saying a believer doesn’t sin, but that he doesn’t practice sin. He doesn’t live comfortably in sin. Sin isn’t the defining characteristic of his lifestyle. It is out of character for a child of God to live in sin. God won’t let it happen.
But, when sin does get in, we deal with it – we confess it. 1st John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
So, if we see someone falling into sin, it is our responsibility to prayer for them. We will pour out our heart to heaven in fervent, prevailing prayer as we wrestle in prayer for them to repent and confess their sin before God so that the sin doesn’t become a habit, a pattern, a lifestyle.
But what about ongoing sin in a believer’s life? What about the times when a believer becomes so entangled in sin that they don’t want to turn from it; they don’t want to get their life cleaned up; they don’t want to confess it? You can’t talk to them because they shy away from Christian counsel, so what can you do? What access do you have to them? Answer? You can pray!
Should you ignore the situation? Should you leave him alone to suffer the consequences of his sin? NO! You bathe him in prayer And God will hear and respond.
It’s hard to imagine anything more obviously in the will of God than the restoration of a believer who has fallen into sin, so we need to fervently pray.
If they are entrapped in the snares of sin, pray, pray, and pray some more. And trust that in time, God will convict their heart and draw them back.
John gives us at least a partial answer in 1st John 5:16:
“If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.”
This verse is all about prayer. It’s implying that we have a responsibility to pray. If we see our brother sinning, we have a responsibility to intercede on his behalf trusting that God “will give him life.” This is certainly a prayer within God’s will. If our brother has a problem, we should pray, but especially if his problem is sin.
We’ve examined sin in the life of a believer before. We’ve covered 1st John 3:9, which says: “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” The indwelling Spirit of God prevents us as Christians from engaging in a lifestyle of sin, yet each of still sins some.
Believers do sin – if we say we don’t sin, we lie. But we don’t live in sin. Remember the discussion of the verb tenses in this verse? This isn’t saying a believer doesn’t sin, but that he doesn’t practice sin. He doesn’t live comfortably in sin. Sin isn’t the defining characteristic of his lifestyle. It is out of character for a child of God to live in sin. God won’t let it happen.
But, when sin does get in, we deal with it – we confess it. 1st John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
So, if we see someone falling into sin, it is our responsibility to prayer for them. We will pour out our heart to heaven in fervent, prevailing prayer as we wrestle in prayer for them to repent and confess their sin before God so that the sin doesn’t become a habit, a pattern, a lifestyle.
But what about ongoing sin in a believer’s life? What about the times when a believer becomes so entangled in sin that they don’t want to turn from it; they don’t want to get their life cleaned up; they don’t want to confess it? You can’t talk to them because they shy away from Christian counsel, so what can you do? What access do you have to them? Answer? You can pray!
Should you ignore the situation? Should you leave him alone to suffer the consequences of his sin? NO! You bathe him in prayer And God will hear and respond.
It’s hard to imagine anything more obviously in the will of God than the restoration of a believer who has fallen into sin, so we need to fervently pray.
If they are entrapped in the snares of sin, pray, pray, and pray some more. And trust that in time, God will convict their heart and draw them back.
Monday, July 1, 2013
We've Always Got God's Ear
Strictly speaking, John ended the epistle with 1st John 5:13. Everything built up to that Grand Finale verse. The whole epistle led us to gain assurance of our salvation or to know we didn’t have it.
1st John 5:13 says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
But, if that was the climax, why do we have these extra verses? Why didn’t John just stop writing? John seems to be reluctant to leave the matter so he adds some postscripts, some additional assurances, and another warning. John has covered these topics before in greater detail, but these are like last reminders. This section is wrap-up.
The first thing John does is offer assurance in prayer:
1st John 5:14–15
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
Praise God! We always have God’s ear. Day or night, in church and out, whether we have our eyes closed or not, it doesn’t matter. We are never out of God’s earshot. It doesn’t matter if we live in Maine, or darkest Africa. Prayer never becomes inoperative. We can have total confidence that God hears us.
Plus the second confidence is this: We always get an answer from God. Some people say, you either get a “Yes,” or a “No,” or a “Wait;” but this actually says, “We know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
Ah, but the catch, of course there’s a catch. Verse 14 adds, “If we ask anything according to His will.” How obvious! This is only common sense. If a Father says to a son, “Son, I want you to go out and mow the lawn this afternoon.” And the son says, “Great Dad, can I go out and mow the lawn?” The dad is always going to say, “Yes! You can!” – Amazing!
But the opposite is also true. If the Dad says, “Son, I want you to go out and mow the lawn this afternoon.” And the son says, “But Dad, rather than mow lawn, can I play ball with my friends?” The dad will usually always say, “No!” – almost always. The assurance of answered prayer always comes with conditions. The answers have to fit within the will of God, not just fit within our selfish desires.
For instance, look at John 14:13-14”
“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
Do you see? There are conditions: First, it has to be “in My name.” In other words, according to all that Christ is and stands for. And second, so that “the Father may be glorified in the Son.” The requests can never be for our own glory, never for our own selfish desires.
1st John 3:22 says:
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
The conditions here are:
1st– obedience – “because we keep His commandments.” There’s no reward for rebellion. Bad boys don’t get special favors.
2nd – our desire to please God – “and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” Just like with anyone you love, you want to please them. You listen to them and study them to find out their likes and dislikes. We pray for what pleases God.
Aren’t these conditions all wrapped up in the way Jesus taught us how to pray?
Matthew 6:9-10:
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
I’ve quoted this before, but Robert law said: “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but in getting God’s will done on earth.” The issue isn’t getting God to pay attention to our selfish requests, but the issue is getting our requests in line with His will. Do you see the difference? When will we stop looking at prayer as if it were a letter to Santa Claus, and start using it as a tool of ministry as a way to tap into God’s unlimited power to accomplish His will through us?
1st John 5:13 says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
But, if that was the climax, why do we have these extra verses? Why didn’t John just stop writing? John seems to be reluctant to leave the matter so he adds some postscripts, some additional assurances, and another warning. John has covered these topics before in greater detail, but these are like last reminders. This section is wrap-up.
The first thing John does is offer assurance in prayer:
1st John 5:14–15
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
Praise God! We always have God’s ear. Day or night, in church and out, whether we have our eyes closed or not, it doesn’t matter. We are never out of God’s earshot. It doesn’t matter if we live in Maine, or darkest Africa. Prayer never becomes inoperative. We can have total confidence that God hears us.
Plus the second confidence is this: We always get an answer from God. Some people say, you either get a “Yes,” or a “No,” or a “Wait;” but this actually says, “We know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
Ah, but the catch, of course there’s a catch. Verse 14 adds, “If we ask anything according to His will.” How obvious! This is only common sense. If a Father says to a son, “Son, I want you to go out and mow the lawn this afternoon.” And the son says, “Great Dad, can I go out and mow the lawn?” The dad is always going to say, “Yes! You can!” – Amazing!
But the opposite is also true. If the Dad says, “Son, I want you to go out and mow the lawn this afternoon.” And the son says, “But Dad, rather than mow lawn, can I play ball with my friends?” The dad will usually always say, “No!” – almost always. The assurance of answered prayer always comes with conditions. The answers have to fit within the will of God, not just fit within our selfish desires.
For instance, look at John 14:13-14”
“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
Do you see? There are conditions: First, it has to be “in My name.” In other words, according to all that Christ is and stands for. And second, so that “the Father may be glorified in the Son.” The requests can never be for our own glory, never for our own selfish desires.
1st John 3:22 says:
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
The conditions here are:
1st– obedience – “because we keep His commandments.” There’s no reward for rebellion. Bad boys don’t get special favors.
2nd – our desire to please God – “and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” Just like with anyone you love, you want to please them. You listen to them and study them to find out their likes and dislikes. We pray for what pleases God.
Aren’t these conditions all wrapped up in the way Jesus taught us how to pray?
Matthew 6:9-10:
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
I’ve quoted this before, but Robert law said: “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but in getting God’s will done on earth.” The issue isn’t getting God to pay attention to our selfish requests, but the issue is getting our requests in line with His will. Do you see the difference? When will we stop looking at prayer as if it were a letter to Santa Claus, and start using it as a tool of ministry as a way to tap into God’s unlimited power to accomplish His will through us?
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Don't You Dare Call God a Liar
How can people not believe in Jesus Christ? 1st John 5:9-10 says:
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.”
Who can doubt God’s Word? People often say, “I wish I could have faith.” But they really do live by faith daily; they have faith in something. They trust doctors with their lives. They trust pharmacists to mix the right medicines. They eat the food cooked by strangers in restaurants. They take checks by faith. Some people believe everything they read in the newspapers or see on TV. John Q Public swallows hook, line, and sinker what the news commentators say.
Polls indicate that a person’s reputation, popularity, and influence are shaped by the media. Just look at any of our political figures and you can see that. No matter how twisted, biased or slanted the news coverage may be, it is accepted as the gospel truth. People believe practically everything in modern life, except they won’t believe God.
Incredibly, people believe mere men, who lie. Yet, they won’t believe God who cannot lie, whose character and integrity have been proven true countless times. Titus 1:2 tells us flat out, “God, that cannot lie,” so why wouldn’t we believe His testimony about Jesus? There’s no earthly reason not to. Yet, most men don’t believe! Why? It’s rebellion through and through. If they claimed they believed God, they would be expected to obey God. But that’s the one thing they won’t do.
But, if you don’t believe someone, what are you saying about them? You are saying that either that person is mistaken or that person is a liar. Therefore, if you don’t believe God’s witness, you are calling Him mistaken or a liar. If you think God is mistaken, you are denying the Scriptural claim that God is omniscience. Otherwise, you are calling God a liar.
1st John 5:10 says it’s the liar part. The verse says,
“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.”
When I’m called a liar, I react in one of two ways: Either I burn in humiliation if it’s true and I have been caught in a lie (and since I’m not God, I have lied, and I always seem to get caught); but if I’m called a liar when I’m telling the truth, then I burn with anger. “How dare you question my word?”
Well, God always tells the truth. Hebrews 6:18 claims, “It is impossible for God to lie.” So how do you suppose He reacts to being called a liar - specially when the supposed lie is about His Son? Hmm? Do you have any idea how serious this is? Do you realize the enormity of this sin of unbelief?
Hebrews 10:28-29 says this:
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
There was a certainty of judgment in the Old Testament – the sinner would die. But there are worst things than death. There are unbearably hot places in hell, and there are even hotter places. And that worse punishment is reserved for those who treat God’s Son, Jesus Christ, with contempt. How do they do that? Like this: They say, “We don’t need your salvation. You didn’t need to die for me. You were probably crucified for your own sins. I don’t need you.” Plus, they insult the Holy Spirit whose job it is to convict us of our sin and point us to Christ.
Don’t think that God will be more lenient during this age of grace. This says exactly the opposite because we have more truth to reject. Anyone who rejects Christ is doomed.
Hebrews 10:30-31 continues:
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.”
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Yes, God will pour His wrath and judgment out on all unbelievers. If that doesn’t scare you, nothing will. What a terrifying thought. Don’t call God a liar by your unbelief.
John Stott writes:
“Unbelief is not a misfortune to be pitied; it is a sin to be deplored. Its sinfulness lies in the fact that it contradicts the Word of the one true God and thus attributes falsehood to Him.” By your unbelief, you call God a liar. Don’t be an unbeliever. Put your faith in Jesus.
2nd Timothy 1:12 says: “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
Do you know whom you believe today? John’s purpose for writing his first Epistle was so that you would believe. 1st John 5:13 says – “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God.”
This isn’t speculation. This is truth that you can believe. We have God’s Word on it.
Sir James Simpson, the physician who discovered chloroform and a believer, was on his death bed. Someone asked him, “Do you have any speculations?” They meant speculations about death, and about his faith in Jesus.
His response was this: “Speculations? I have no speculations. He’s our lifeboat, our lifeline, our only hope. We’re lost without him.”
Is Jesus that to you?
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.”
Who can doubt God’s Word? People often say, “I wish I could have faith.” But they really do live by faith daily; they have faith in something. They trust doctors with their lives. They trust pharmacists to mix the right medicines. They eat the food cooked by strangers in restaurants. They take checks by faith. Some people believe everything they read in the newspapers or see on TV. John Q Public swallows hook, line, and sinker what the news commentators say.
Polls indicate that a person’s reputation, popularity, and influence are shaped by the media. Just look at any of our political figures and you can see that. No matter how twisted, biased or slanted the news coverage may be, it is accepted as the gospel truth. People believe practically everything in modern life, except they won’t believe God.
Incredibly, people believe mere men, who lie. Yet, they won’t believe God who cannot lie, whose character and integrity have been proven true countless times. Titus 1:2 tells us flat out, “God, that cannot lie,” so why wouldn’t we believe His testimony about Jesus? There’s no earthly reason not to. Yet, most men don’t believe! Why? It’s rebellion through and through. If they claimed they believed God, they would be expected to obey God. But that’s the one thing they won’t do.
But, if you don’t believe someone, what are you saying about them? You are saying that either that person is mistaken or that person is a liar. Therefore, if you don’t believe God’s witness, you are calling Him mistaken or a liar. If you think God is mistaken, you are denying the Scriptural claim that God is omniscience. Otherwise, you are calling God a liar.
1st John 5:10 says it’s the liar part. The verse says,
“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.”
When I’m called a liar, I react in one of two ways: Either I burn in humiliation if it’s true and I have been caught in a lie (and since I’m not God, I have lied, and I always seem to get caught); but if I’m called a liar when I’m telling the truth, then I burn with anger. “How dare you question my word?”
Well, God always tells the truth. Hebrews 6:18 claims, “It is impossible for God to lie.” So how do you suppose He reacts to being called a liar - specially when the supposed lie is about His Son? Hmm? Do you have any idea how serious this is? Do you realize the enormity of this sin of unbelief?
Hebrews 10:28-29 says this:
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
There was a certainty of judgment in the Old Testament – the sinner would die. But there are worst things than death. There are unbearably hot places in hell, and there are even hotter places. And that worse punishment is reserved for those who treat God’s Son, Jesus Christ, with contempt. How do they do that? Like this: They say, “We don’t need your salvation. You didn’t need to die for me. You were probably crucified for your own sins. I don’t need you.” Plus, they insult the Holy Spirit whose job it is to convict us of our sin and point us to Christ.
Don’t think that God will be more lenient during this age of grace. This says exactly the opposite because we have more truth to reject. Anyone who rejects Christ is doomed.
Hebrews 10:30-31 continues:
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.”
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Yes, God will pour His wrath and judgment out on all unbelievers. If that doesn’t scare you, nothing will. What a terrifying thought. Don’t call God a liar by your unbelief.
John Stott writes:
“Unbelief is not a misfortune to be pitied; it is a sin to be deplored. Its sinfulness lies in the fact that it contradicts the Word of the one true God and thus attributes falsehood to Him.” By your unbelief, you call God a liar. Don’t be an unbeliever. Put your faith in Jesus.
2nd Timothy 1:12 says: “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
Do you know whom you believe today? John’s purpose for writing his first Epistle was so that you would believe. 1st John 5:13 says – “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God.”
This isn’t speculation. This is truth that you can believe. We have God’s Word on it.
Sir James Simpson, the physician who discovered chloroform and a believer, was on his death bed. Someone asked him, “Do you have any speculations?” They meant speculations about death, and about his faith in Jesus.
His response was this: “Speculations? I have no speculations. He’s our lifeboat, our lifeline, our only hope. We’re lost without him.”
Is Jesus that to you?
Thursday, June 27, 2013
More Than Enough Evidence to Believe
If faith in Jesus is necessary for salvation, how can we believe Jesus is who He claims to be? John answers that question by giving us all kinds of verification.
1st John 5:6-8 presents this evidence:
“This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”
The proof is simple, John says. We have three witnesses in agreement - the spirit, water, and blood. That’s legal proof in any court.
It is according to Deuteronomy 19:15:
“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.” One witness doesn’t work, two is better, but three establishes the matter. That means, they prove it. And so John is saying that Jesus has three trustworthy witnesses providing irrefutable proof of His claims.
Now, it’s just a matter of figuring out what the three are, and that isn’t such an easy task. As Plummer writes, “This is the most perplexing passage in the epistle and one of the most perplexing in the New Testament.” It’s perplexing trying to figure it out because there are textual problems, as well as the obscurity of the meanings of the water and the blood.
The textual problem is this: The Revised Standard Version (RSV), the New American Standard Version (NASB), and the New International Version (NIV) all leave out verse 7 completely and drop the phrase “on earth” from verse 8.
But why? Verse 7 is the clearest verse in the Bible that speaks of all three members of the Trinity – why leave it out? Were they trying to mutilate the Scripture? No, not at all – they were a much later insertion.
Let me read you the explanation compiled by James Montgomery Boice:
“The idea of the three heavenly witnesses – the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit – occurs first in the treatise written by a Spanish Christian named Priscillian, sometime before his execution on a charge of heresy in A.D. 385. It was written into the margins of some old Latin manuscript and from hence passed into the text, being added to the Vulgate about A.D. 800. At this point, the balancing words, ‘in earth,’ were added to the authentic listing of the witnesses which followed.
But how did the error, present only in Latin manuscripts, get into our English texts which are based upon Greek? It is an interesting story. At the time of the late Renaissance and Reformation, when classical texts were first being edited critically, Erasmus of Rotterdam produced a Greek text in which the words in question were missing. At this time, most of Europe was using the Latin Vulgate as its Bible version, so Erasmus was quickly criticized for omitting the passage. He replied that the words were not in any Greek manuscripts. Somewhat rashly, however, he added that if a Greek manuscript containing the passage could be produced, he would include it. Unfortunately, in time such a manuscript was found. It was written about 1520. Erasmus knew that this was not valid evidence at all, since the manuscript probably included the passage because of the Latin texts. Nevertheless, he had given his word. So he included the words in the third edition of his text, published in 1522. However, he also added a note in which he expressed his belief that the new Greek manuscript had been written on purpose just to embarrass him.
From Erasmus’ text the passage was taken over into German by Luther and into English by Tyndale. Erasmus text became the basis of the great edition of the Greek text by Stephanus in 1550, which in turn became the ‘Textus Receptus,’ or ‘Received Text’ from which most subsequent translation, including the KJV, were made.”
That story is given with more or less detail in all the scholarly commentaries, and it seems clear that verse 7 isn’t part of the Bible as God breathed it. But why did I share this with you? Most of you probably could care less, and were bored out of your minds. But it’s important that you understand. Even though the KJV insertion is theologically defensible – meaning good stuff -we stake our claim on divine inspiration. This passage was apparently not in the original. It was not God breathed, but man added. Now you know why there’s this discrepancy in our various translations
So, now let’s try to identify the witnesses. What is the water? And what is the blood? The Spirit - that one we know at least. But John assumes his readers will know. So it must have been a common part of their theology.
Three reasonable ideas have been offered. Calvin and other Reformers believed the water and blood represented baptism and communion, which sounds good, I suppose. Water is used for baptism, and blood is symbolized by the cup in communion. But blood is only one of the two elements used in communion – there’s also the bread. Both are visible symbols of Christ’s death. So it’s hard to see that this is the correct interpretation.
Here’s a second interpretation. Others have claimed these are the water and blood that flowed form Christ’s side at His death. John 19:33-35 says:
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.
It’s hard to say what kind of witness this would be, accept to prove that Christ died. Perhaps it’s to show the way He died. So I don’t think it’s the correct interpretation.
The third theory is this: The water and the blood represent Christ’s baptism and His death. There’s no real problem with this theory, and I kind of lean toward it. It does counteract the heretical Gnostic claim that the Spirit of God came upon Christ at His Baptism, but left before the Cross. No, Jesus always was, is, and always will be the Christ – the anointed of God.
Here’s how this interpretation fits: John is trying to give factual evidence of the Incarnation and the earthly life of the Divine Christ, and at both His baptism and at the Cross, God intervenes miraculously to give testimony. The Father bears witness at both the beginning and the end of Christ’s ministry.
At the water baptism of Christ, we read Matthew 3:16-17:
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Who can argue with a witness like that? Jesus is the special anointed one – God said.
Then at the Cross when Christ’s blood flowed, Matthew 27:45 says: “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.” Miraculous darkness comes in middle of the day. God is showing the magnitude of their crime of killing their Messiah.
Then in Matthew 27:50-54 we read:
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Wow! What an awesome display of power. What else could the centurion say? The centurion couldn’t help but be convinced when God puts on a display like that. And God did it all to prove who this one was hanging on the cross.
Now, we weren’t present at either His baptism or death, but the Holy Spirit was. And He actively testifies to our hearts today using the other two witnesses.
The whole point is: We’ve been given unquestionable, undeniable proof that Jesus is who He claimed to be. There is no reason in the world we shouldn’t believe. You can’t doubt the witness of the Holy Spirit using these historical facts. John must assume the case is closed - He has made his point. And the point was “that you may believe in the name of the Son of God.”
1st John 5:6-8 presents this evidence:
“This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”
The proof is simple, John says. We have three witnesses in agreement - the spirit, water, and blood. That’s legal proof in any court.
It is according to Deuteronomy 19:15:
“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.” One witness doesn’t work, two is better, but three establishes the matter. That means, they prove it. And so John is saying that Jesus has three trustworthy witnesses providing irrefutable proof of His claims.
Now, it’s just a matter of figuring out what the three are, and that isn’t such an easy task. As Plummer writes, “This is the most perplexing passage in the epistle and one of the most perplexing in the New Testament.” It’s perplexing trying to figure it out because there are textual problems, as well as the obscurity of the meanings of the water and the blood.
The textual problem is this: The Revised Standard Version (RSV), the New American Standard Version (NASB), and the New International Version (NIV) all leave out verse 7 completely and drop the phrase “on earth” from verse 8.
But why? Verse 7 is the clearest verse in the Bible that speaks of all three members of the Trinity – why leave it out? Were they trying to mutilate the Scripture? No, not at all – they were a much later insertion.
Let me read you the explanation compiled by James Montgomery Boice:
“The idea of the three heavenly witnesses – the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit – occurs first in the treatise written by a Spanish Christian named Priscillian, sometime before his execution on a charge of heresy in A.D. 385. It was written into the margins of some old Latin manuscript and from hence passed into the text, being added to the Vulgate about A.D. 800. At this point, the balancing words, ‘in earth,’ were added to the authentic listing of the witnesses which followed.
But how did the error, present only in Latin manuscripts, get into our English texts which are based upon Greek? It is an interesting story. At the time of the late Renaissance and Reformation, when classical texts were first being edited critically, Erasmus of Rotterdam produced a Greek text in which the words in question were missing. At this time, most of Europe was using the Latin Vulgate as its Bible version, so Erasmus was quickly criticized for omitting the passage. He replied that the words were not in any Greek manuscripts. Somewhat rashly, however, he added that if a Greek manuscript containing the passage could be produced, he would include it. Unfortunately, in time such a manuscript was found. It was written about 1520. Erasmus knew that this was not valid evidence at all, since the manuscript probably included the passage because of the Latin texts. Nevertheless, he had given his word. So he included the words in the third edition of his text, published in 1522. However, he also added a note in which he expressed his belief that the new Greek manuscript had been written on purpose just to embarrass him.
From Erasmus’ text the passage was taken over into German by Luther and into English by Tyndale. Erasmus text became the basis of the great edition of the Greek text by Stephanus in 1550, which in turn became the ‘Textus Receptus,’ or ‘Received Text’ from which most subsequent translation, including the KJV, were made.”
That story is given with more or less detail in all the scholarly commentaries, and it seems clear that verse 7 isn’t part of the Bible as God breathed it. But why did I share this with you? Most of you probably could care less, and were bored out of your minds. But it’s important that you understand. Even though the KJV insertion is theologically defensible – meaning good stuff -we stake our claim on divine inspiration. This passage was apparently not in the original. It was not God breathed, but man added. Now you know why there’s this discrepancy in our various translations
So, now let’s try to identify the witnesses. What is the water? And what is the blood? The Spirit - that one we know at least. But John assumes his readers will know. So it must have been a common part of their theology.
Three reasonable ideas have been offered. Calvin and other Reformers believed the water and blood represented baptism and communion, which sounds good, I suppose. Water is used for baptism, and blood is symbolized by the cup in communion. But blood is only one of the two elements used in communion – there’s also the bread. Both are visible symbols of Christ’s death. So it’s hard to see that this is the correct interpretation.
Here’s a second interpretation. Others have claimed these are the water and blood that flowed form Christ’s side at His death. John 19:33-35 says:
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.
It’s hard to say what kind of witness this would be, accept to prove that Christ died. Perhaps it’s to show the way He died. So I don’t think it’s the correct interpretation.
The third theory is this: The water and the blood represent Christ’s baptism and His death. There’s no real problem with this theory, and I kind of lean toward it. It does counteract the heretical Gnostic claim that the Spirit of God came upon Christ at His Baptism, but left before the Cross. No, Jesus always was, is, and always will be the Christ – the anointed of God.
Here’s how this interpretation fits: John is trying to give factual evidence of the Incarnation and the earthly life of the Divine Christ, and at both His baptism and at the Cross, God intervenes miraculously to give testimony. The Father bears witness at both the beginning and the end of Christ’s ministry.
At the water baptism of Christ, we read Matthew 3:16-17:
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Who can argue with a witness like that? Jesus is the special anointed one – God said.
Then at the Cross when Christ’s blood flowed, Matthew 27:45 says: “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.” Miraculous darkness comes in middle of the day. God is showing the magnitude of their crime of killing their Messiah.
Then in Matthew 27:50-54 we read:
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Wow! What an awesome display of power. What else could the centurion say? The centurion couldn’t help but be convinced when God puts on a display like that. And God did it all to prove who this one was hanging on the cross.
Now, we weren’t present at either His baptism or death, but the Holy Spirit was. And He actively testifies to our hearts today using the other two witnesses.
The whole point is: We’ve been given unquestionable, undeniable proof that Jesus is who He claimed to be. There is no reason in the world we shouldn’t believe. You can’t doubt the witness of the Holy Spirit using these historical facts. John must assume the case is closed - He has made his point. And the point was “that you may believe in the name of the Son of God.”
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Making Sure (Of Your Salvation)
Benjamin Franklin said, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” I don’t think John would agree because the purpose for his writing first John was certainty. He wants you to know for certain that you have eternal life.
1st John 5:13 is the purpose statement verse, and it says:
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
To “know that you have eternal life” means assurance – rock solid, steadfast assurance - beyond a shadow of a doubt assurance. The way you can get that assurance has been the overriding topic of John’s book. The way is by passing certain tests.
The three tests John presented were these:
1. Correct Doctrine – believing the right stuff about Jesus.
2. Obedience – keeping the commands of God
3. The love of the brethren – the most important non-God directed commandment.
In First John chapter five, these three commands are all jumbled together into one package. They are so inter-related, so wrapped up together, that all three are necessary for assurance. But, all three are a direct product of our salvation. They are the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. They are all the result of living out our faith.
But this all leads to the natural question: “What if I fail the tests?” The conclusion John wants you to come to is this: “I’m not saved! I’m not really a believer!” But there is a solution – GET SAVED!
And the Bible tells you how: In Acts 16:30, Paul was asked: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
And the answer, from Acts 16:31 - “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Believing is our response to God.
And that is the second reason given for writing this book. 1st John 5:13 says, “. . . . and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” But notice that the “continue to” is in italics, so it wasn’t in the original Greek text. It was added by the translators to make it say what they thought it should say. But John didn’t put it there.
What John wrote was this: “That you may believe in the name of the Son of God.” It’s the same purpose John gave for writing his Gospel.
In John 20:30-31, John wrote:
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
We must believe what the Scriptures tells us about Jesus. We must place our trust in Him. To do that brings eternal life. 1st John 5:1 says: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.”
The tests were given so we could determine whether we are or are not – whether we are “born of God” or not. And if we aren’t? Well, John hopes we’ll begin believing and be saved.
1st John 5:13 is the purpose statement verse, and it says:
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
To “know that you have eternal life” means assurance – rock solid, steadfast assurance - beyond a shadow of a doubt assurance. The way you can get that assurance has been the overriding topic of John’s book. The way is by passing certain tests.
The three tests John presented were these:
1. Correct Doctrine – believing the right stuff about Jesus.
2. Obedience – keeping the commands of God
3. The love of the brethren – the most important non-God directed commandment.
In First John chapter five, these three commands are all jumbled together into one package. They are so inter-related, so wrapped up together, that all three are necessary for assurance. But, all three are a direct product of our salvation. They are the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. They are all the result of living out our faith.
But this all leads to the natural question: “What if I fail the tests?” The conclusion John wants you to come to is this: “I’m not saved! I’m not really a believer!” But there is a solution – GET SAVED!
And the Bible tells you how: In Acts 16:30, Paul was asked: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
And the answer, from Acts 16:31 - “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Believing is our response to God.
And that is the second reason given for writing this book. 1st John 5:13 says, “. . . . and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” But notice that the “continue to” is in italics, so it wasn’t in the original Greek text. It was added by the translators to make it say what they thought it should say. But John didn’t put it there.
What John wrote was this: “That you may believe in the name of the Son of God.” It’s the same purpose John gave for writing his Gospel.
In John 20:30-31, John wrote:
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
We must believe what the Scriptures tells us about Jesus. We must place our trust in Him. To do that brings eternal life. 1st John 5:1 says: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.”
The tests were given so we could determine whether we are or are not – whether we are “born of God” or not. And if we aren’t? Well, John hopes we’ll begin believing and be saved.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
