We shall be like HIm

 

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.- 1 John 3.1-3

 

When He appears. Three marvellous words.

 

When, not if

He, Jesus, our Jesus

Appears, we are going to see Him.

 

That’s amazing enough. But know we read that when He appears we will be like Him.

 

Wait? We shall be like Him?

 

The key here is the first part of this verse. God has loved us so much that He calls us His children. We are the children of God! We don’t know yet what the full impact of this is yet, but when He does appear we will finally be like Him. Children are like their parents.

 

All through life we Christians are told to follow Jesus’ steps and follow Him and to walk as He walked. It’s tough in this broken world, but one day sin’s  if we will be broken and I will finally be like Him.

 

O what a day!

Not ashamed

 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. – 1 John 2.28-29

 

How is it possible that I as a sinner can live my life in confidence that when Jesus comes everything will be okay? I can I be sure that I won’t need to be ashamed when He comes back? How can I be sure that I won’t be caught with my hand in the biscuit barrel?

 

I remember in about 1968  my dad phoned to  let us know that he was in Nashville a would be home in a couple of hours. We were stunned because he was serving in Vietnam at the time. Mom thought the house was a mess, so she set us to work. It was a madhouse because she not want the place to be a disaster when he got home. She would have been embarrassed for him to the house in that state.

 

So we had to rush around getting ready.

 

Jesus is coming again. We are not going to get that two hour notice. It will happen in the blink of an eye.

 

We want to be ready. When He returns I want to be sure that I am living in such a way that pleases Him. The only way to do that is to practice godly living. I want to live in such away that there is nothing but sheer joy in my life when He returns. I want to be loving people and caring and meeting needs and telling others about Him

Constantly abiding

 

Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. – 1 John 2.24-25

 

I love the old hymn ‘Constantly Abiding’ by Anne S Murphy. It expresses the thoughts of this verse so clearly.

 

There’s a peace in my heart that the world never gave,

A peace it cannot take away;

Though the trials of life may surround like a cloud,

I’ve a peace that has come here to stay!

 

Constantly abiding, Jesus is mine;

Constantly abiding, rapture divine;

He never leaves me lonely, whispers, oh, so kind:

“I will never leave thee”—Jesus is mine.

 

All the world seemed to sing of a Saviour and King,

When peace sweetly came to my heart;

Troubles all fled away and my night turned to day,

Blessed Jesus, how glorious Thou art!

 

This treasure I have in a temple of clay,

While here on His footstool I roam;

But He’s coming to take me some glorious day,

Over there to my heavenly home!

 

I also like the hymn ‘Abide With Me’ by Audrey Assad. I’ll just put the first stanza here:

 

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide

The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide

When other helpers fail and comforts flee

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me

 

There is something special about abiding in Jesus, isn’t there? When we abide with Him we have strength for whatever comes our way. Abiding with Him means that we are doing more than just passing by. We are pilgrims in the world but we are abiding in Jesus.

 

Our abiding in Him helps us get through the troubles and travails of this world. We know that we have a home with Him.

Who is the liar?

 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. – 1 John 2.22-23

 

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

 

That’s sad, but what is really sad is that the vast majority of the world denies that Jesus is the Christ. The longer we go and the worse things get the more determined the world seems to deny Jesus.

 

Why then are we so often so consumed with the liars instead of the truth? We know the world is full of lies and liars but we can act like we are all surprised that liars lie – it is their nature. It is what they do.

 

We hear a lot about fake news and false stories and we have fact checkers, but is there anyone we can really trust? If they deny Christ they are in fact liars and the world certainly wants us, expects, and now demands that we listen to their lies. The lies of a Christ denying world only become more and more absurd. I am not going to post publicly but think about all the lies that we hear every day. God’s plans for His creation and perfect design are mocked and laughed at an in some places one can go to jail even for expressing them. And still, despite that, too many of us are enamoured of the world.

 

We have no hope there with the lies of the world. Our only hope is in God’s truth. 

Those who are of us

 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. – 1 John 2.18-19

 

In these last times we need to be aware that the spirit of Antichrist will be active and many antichrists will come. James and Jude warn us that they are going to quietly creep in among us.

 

Eventually they are found out and people wonder what happened. They seemed so good but turned out so bad. God’s true saints stick. Obviously we can’t judge each case because there are some like Lot longer away from God.

 

But the truth is that this passage does teach that our eternity is secure. Those who are of Jesus will not go from Him or us.

 

We are not in charge though. We don’t how God is working. We can’t know those who are gone out from us from those who linger and being vexed by the world. It is not my call to make.

 

One thing is certain – eternity is secure. Those who are of us will be of us to the end

Last Days

 

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. – 1 John 2.18-19

 

Tonight, we are finishing an amazing study of the doctrine of last things. We spent most our time in the book of Revelation. I have learned a lot and I hope everyone else did as well.

 

It speaks of the end times. God is outside of time. The last times John writes about are the last times before Jesus comes to judge and reward and to set up His kingdom. He also makes us very aware that there will always be false teachers in the spirit of Antichrist trying to deceive us and turn us away from the truth.

 

As we see the day getting closer and closer there is going to be more and more a spirit of Antichrist in the world. Any love for or appreciation for the things of God are going to be more and more diminished. The world is getting more and more ready for the great apostasy and the horrors of the tribulation.

 

Our choice is to just give up or to get busy to warn as many as can before it is too late.

What is in the world?

 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever – 1 John 2.15-17

 

So what are we not supposed to love? What is the world system based on?

 

There are three pretty basic things to watch out for.

 

The lust of the flesh

The lust of the world

The pride of life

 

And that pretty much wraps up the cause for sin.

 

These three areas are the same things that Satan use to tempt Eve. They are same things he used to tempt Jesus.

 

Satan tempts us with the thing that catch our eyes. The seemingly beautiful things and the shiny lights and the things that catch our attention. Its all around us in the world and on the telly and on the internet. It’s the things we see and grab before we really pay any attention. The lust of the world is just general worldliness around us. It is the things that draw us away from the things of God. It is setting our affection on things in the earth instead of things above.

 

The pride of life is just what it sounds like. It is anything that feeds our egos. It is the stuff that makes us forget humility.

 

These are the things we can’t love. When we do this we prove the world more than we love God.

 

Who do we really love

Don't love the world

 

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. - 1 John 2:15-17

 

Don’t love the world, John writes. This clearly can’t mean that we are not to love the people of the world because God so loved the world that He sent His Son to die for the world. We must love the people of the world and show them God’s love. The world system is doomed for destruction so why would we keep loving it?

 

How can we possibly hope to love the world and love God at the same time?

 

The word is passing away. It will all be gone one day.

 

On the other hand the word of the Lord will abide forever. We are faced with the eternal choice of live for now or live for forever.  If we are saved we are top set our affections on things above. We are to look at the invisible instead of the visible temporal things of this rotten old world.

 

Don’t waste your love on stuff that is not going to last. Moth and rust are going to rot all those things. They are nothing more than word, hay and stubble.

 

Let’s not let that stuff get in the way of following Jesus. Let’s deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus instead.

 

Young men

 

I write to you, little children,

Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

I write to you, fathers,

Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

Because you have overcome the wicked one.

I write to you, little children,

Because you have known the Father.

I have written to you, fathers,

Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I have written to you, young men,

Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,

And you have overcome the wicked one. -  John 2:12-14

 

The biggest challenge is the young men. John writes to them because this is where the bulk of the work is to be done. The children are young, the fathers are meant to pass on their experience.

 

In between are the young men who John writes to because they

Have overcome the wicked one

Because they are strong

Because the word of God abides with them

 

These guys should be at the peak of their strength and ability. To these John writes of all that they have and all that they can do. They have been though the trials and have been strengthened by them. That have God’s word alive and living in them. They have no excuse not be busy serving God.

 

Just the time that so many people are pursuing the world and its ways far too many are distracted by the baubles of this world. Too many think they can get around to it eventually and it will be okay.

 

That youthful strength and confidence and the living word ought to propel them to the forefront of the fight.

Fathers

 

I write to you, little children,

Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

I write to you, fathers,

Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

Because you have overcome the wicked one.

I write to you, little children,

Because you have known the Father.

I have written to you, fathers,

Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I have written to you, young men,

Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,

And you have overcome the wicked one. -  John 2:12-14

 

I write to you Fathers because you have known Him from who is from the beginning.

 

That’s all that John writes to the fathers. He writes its twice. He writes to remind the fathers of their special role. They have been around a while. By the time they reach this point they should know the Father well and they should be able to encourage the others by their knowledge and experience.

 

That doesn’t mean that they can retire from the work. It means that they know what it is like because they have been there and can now encourage others.

 

By this time the fathers should be teachers to help the young men and the children grow in their faith. Their knowledge of God and their time with God and all the life lessons they have learned need to be passed on.

 

Us older folks should know what we right and wrong. We should a deeper knowledge of His who was from the beginning. We should be able to pass it on.

Children

 I write to you, little children,

Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

I write to you, fathers,

Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

Because you have overcome the wicked one.

I write to you, little children,

Because you have known the Father.

I have written to you, fathers,

Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I have written to you, young men,

Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,

And you have overcome the wicked one. -  John 2:12-14

 

John addresses three groups in the next few verses. He write to children, to young men, and to older men. There are reasons why he writes them.

 

He addresses each group twice here. To the children John writes for two basic reasons.

 

Their sins have been forgiven

They know that God is their father.

 

And that’s all the spiritual children really need to know. They need to make sure that those basics are secure.

 

So John writes this letter so that they can get those foundations right, so that those truths allow them to have fellowship with God and fellowship with each other.

 

There is nothing wrong with being children in the faith, but you can’t stay there.

Hate and darkness

 

He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in 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. 1 John 2.9-11

 

One of my great concerns of the church is a growing spirit toward others in the church. Many have seemed to forgotten that the hallmark of the church ought to be our love for each other.

 

And yet it seems like there is fighting on every side. We can find all sorts of reasons to fight. I’ve seen Christian marriages break down because of hate. I’ve seen friendships fall apart and churches split over hatred. Wars have been fought between those who call themselves Christians.

 

If hatred is a part of our lives we are walking in darkness. If we are walking in darkness indicates that we are not in the Light because light dispels darkness.

 

Simple enough. If we are in the light we don’t hate. If we do hate we are so blinded that we can’t even see the reality of it.

Walk as He walked

 

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. - 1 John 2:3-6

 

He who says he is in Christ should have a goal. We should have a target to show us how to live. We need to have a pattern.

 

While it is clear what our pattern is we have to admit that it is a pretty high standard.

 

We ought to walk as Jesus walked.

 

That’s a pretty powerful thought and a pretty challenging target. How are we supposed to walk as He walked? 

 

Fortunately, He  came to earth as a man so that we could see His pattern. We can see His love and concern and compassion and kindness and grace and humility. We see His selflessness and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for us.

 

We call ourselves Christian, but how often do we really walk like Him? When people see us do they even see that there is a difference between us and the rest of the world?

 

First impressions are lasting. When I meet someone for the first time what do they think of me? Do they see a Christlike man? As others watch my walk over the years do they see a continual Christlike walk?

We know we are in Him

 

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. - 1 John 2:3-6

We are free from the Law. We can’t do anything to be converted. Jesus has paid the price for eternity.

 

How do we know though that we are truly in Him? How do we have the confidence to know we are in Him.

 

It’s pretty clear here.  We know that we are in Him when we keep His commandments. His love is perfected in us when we keep His commandments.

 

And what are His commandments? We are to love Him and love others. We keep His word in our lives. It’s not really that complicated.

 

But it is also not easy. It takes effort and it takes the grace of God and His power working in us, but there is great comfort in knowing we are in Him. If we are in Him we are never going to really fit in with those who are in the world.

 

I want the love of God to be perfected in me so that the world can see His love and come to Him.

A propitiation

 

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

 

Jesus is the propitiation for our sins?

 

A propitiation is a term for a satisfaction of a debt. It is an appeasement.

 

Great, but what does that mean?

 

This is an amazing truth. A propitiation is a satisfaction or an appeasement. In His atonement for us Jesus is both the priest who offers up the propitiation and the sacrifice itself.

 

Jesus satisfied divine justice when He gave His life on the cross. It is something we simply could not have done.

 

It is a tough concept to grasp. The whole Law system of sacrifices was done to provide a temporary satisfaction for the sin penalty. One a year the high priest went into the Holy of Holies to cover the sins of the nation.

 

But, when Jesus came He paid the debt once and for all who put their faith in Him.

 

We have an advocate who is also the satisfaction. Our High Priest is also the sacrifice.

 

It’s a kind boggling truth.

 

An advocate

 

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

 

Can you imagine standing before God in sin and guilt and trying to justify why you are good enough to be let into heaven? Imagine listing all the wonderful things you think you have done, but remembering all the bad that you have and trying to weigh them up against each other and realizing that even one sin violates God’s rules and cancels all the good?

 

Without an advocate we would be without any hope. Our sin is I’d a deal breaker. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. If we break one point of the Law we break the whole law and we have no case.

 

But praise God we do have an advocate with the Father. Our advocate is Jesus Christ the righteous and because He advocates for us God is going to rule in our favour. Jesus says in essence that though we are guilty the penalty has been paid. He is the advocate – the One who makes an appeal on our behalf.

 

Even now He continues to advocate and intercede for us before God the Father. Only Jesus could offer the perfect sacrifice.

Sin

 

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. - 1 John 1:8-10

 

Sin. What a mess.

 

There is a problem with all this fellowship with God and fellowship with each other and fullness of joy.

 

Sin is always going to get in the way. We are born sinners and we keep that sin nature. If we think we don’t sin we are fooling ourselves. If we say that we don’t sin, we lie. We are born into sin. It is our nature. It is our practice.

 

The great truth is though that we have an answer.

 

If we agree with God on our sins and confess them Jesus will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. Sin is always going to be there.  Even after salvation we still have to deal with sin, but Jesus is always there for us. He is waiting to forgive us over and over again and to allow us to live righteous lives.

 

When we sin Jesus remains faithful and just and we can rest assured that He will forgive.

 

Light and darkness

 

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. - 1 John 1:5-7

 

God is light.  Sin is darkness. The two are mutually exclusive. Where light is darkness is dispelled. It is the very nature of light and darkness.

 

If we say that we are in fellowship with God and our daily walk is a walk in darkness God says that our lives are lies and we do not practice the truth.  We must reflect His light in our lives.

 

It is impossible for us to being in the light and be in the darkness at the same time. Even the tiniest bit of light dispels darkness to some extent.

 

Obviously, John is not waying that anyone who is in the light will not sin – that comes next. What he is talking about here is a walk, a lifestyle. Those who live in light cannot live in darkness, There may be dark days and dark places, but he cannot live his life in the darkness of sin.

 

We are reminded to walk in the light and to live in the light and to shine as lights and to let our light shine before men the darker the world the more important it is that we shine our light.

 

We simply can’t join in the darkness.

Full of joy

 

that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. – 1 John 1.3-4

 

The second reason John writes this letter is that they all might be full of the joy that comes in true fellowship. Fellowship and joy go hand I hand. Sure, we are to rejoice in the Lord but also need to rejoice in each other. We really need both for full joy.

 

John says he wrote this letter to give them full joy.  That ought to be our goal. The joy of the Lord should be our strength.

 

Christians should have this underlying joy that carries us through. Our joy should make us different from the world. It ought to be one of the things that draws others to Christ.

 

True joy is the joy of the Lord which gives us strength.

 

John’s first letter is written that we may have joy.  Our joy comes in fellowship, in dealing with sin, in walking in the love of God, and in loving each other.

Fellowship

 

that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. – 1 John 1.3-4

 

The things that John had heard and seen from Jesus he declared to his readers.

 

Why?

 

That they might have fellowship with each other and fellowship with God.

 

In love that word fellowship. It is something that we have far too little of in the last year or so. Our human fellowship is so precious. On Easter Sunday we had a very small, very informal sonrise serve. Only a few people showed up but it was such a precious time. We couldn’t even hang around long, but it was wonderful.

Why was it so special? Because it was fellowship with each other and with God. That is what real fellowship and that is why John wrote this book.

 

Man was made for fellowship. You can see it with all this social distancing. It is obviously not natural. People want to be close. We desire to shake hands and hug and put an arm around a shoulder. We want togetherness without distance or time restraints. We just want to be together.

 

All that is true, but fellowship is all that much better when it is focused on God. He is the common factor among Christians.

 

Fellowship. How precious it is.

Manifested

 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — 1 John 1.1-2

 

Shortly after my salvation, probably too shortly after my salvation, someone asked to me lead a Bible study. I am not sure why I chose 1 John. I am guessing that it was the book that God used to lead me to salvation.

 

Anyway, in my first preparation for my first Bible study, I fell in love with Bible study and I fell in love with teaching.

 

This very first preparation was eye opening. I read about how the disciples got to know Jesus as a man. I remember all those years ago thinking about what this meant. I could picture Jesus and the disciples sitting together by a fire eating and drinking and talking about their days and joking and enjoying each other’s presence. I picture them having fellowship with each other.

 

I think that was the first time that Jesus as a man became real to me. I knew it as a vague thought, but not till I read this verse for the first time did I see Him as a real man on my mind’s eye. It helped me to see the gospels in a whole new light. All God, yes, but also all man, who do what it was like to get tired and hungry and hurt and what it was like to get dirty and sweat and go through all the travails that we go through.

 

It was then, for the first time, I grasped the truth that He knew what It was like to be one of us. That opened a whole new sense of knowing Him. What a comfort that was and what a comfort it still is. 

Be aware. and keep growing

 

You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 3.17-18

 

Sometimes it gets easy to just coast along in our Christian lives. Everything seems to be going okay and we think we can just take it easy for a while. Surely, a little relaxing can’t hurt?

 

Nothing could be farther from the truth. We must always be on guard of the dangers that are out there. Satan is walking about like a roaring lion trying to devour us. Don’t fall away from steadfastness but keep on growing.

 

For a long time now it has been easy to take it easy in the West. Laws have been on our side and popular notions of society have favoured.

 

That’s not the way anymore. Everything has turned against us and we act surprised.

 

Why?

 

Because we have let down our guard. We have taken it easy and things have slowly slipped away. We became part of the in group and we liked it there.

 

We stopped being aware and we stopped growing.

 

And now we are bearing the fruit.

 

What can we do?  We need to wake up again. We need to fire up our loin and gear up in the armour and pick up where we left off and get into the word of God and grow him grace and in the knowledge of God.

 

It’s not too late to get back in the fight.

Twisting scripture

 

as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. – 2 Peter 3.16

 

One of the great problems with the false teachers is that they do try to use the Bible. The problem is that they twist the scriptures to suit their agenda.

 

Preachers do this when they have something in mind that they want to preach on or an agenda they want to push so they set out to find a proof text.

 

I have come across a lot of scripture twisting in my life. I hate to admit but I am afraid looking back that I too may have been guilty of using scripture to support my own point of view or to make a point. We do that when we purposefully adapt is to our agenda or when we grab it and take it out of context.

 

This is truly heinous because it uses God’s word deceitfully for our own purpose. People will listen to God’s word so if we find things to try and price what we are trying to push we can get people.

 

I’ve heard preachers use an out of context verse to support their opinion or their pet issue to get people to go agree with them. 

 

I don’t think there is a worse thing a preacher can do. When it happens God’s word is corrupted and we give a false view of Him. We think we benefit us but the cause of Christ is always damaged.