The Evidence of Christ
1 John 2:1-6
May 27, 2018
Having completed our study of the SOLAS
We are sort of in an appendix section to the study.
I didn’t feel it wise to move on from that study
Until we took at least a moment to examine
The expectations of those SOLAS in our lives.
Thus far we have looked at the practical expectations
Of SOLA GRATIA and of SOLA FIDE in our lives.
I think we can sum up those expectations or evidences like this.
GRACE IS NOT INDIFFERENT
• Grace isn’t some blanket emotion that doesn’t care how you live.
• It is not some sentiment that simply removes the penalty of sin while
allowing you to stay in it.
Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,”
It is true that grace by definition is given to those who do not deserve it,
But it is also true that once grace is given it expects a change.
Ephesians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Grace most certainly is given to the vilest of sinners,
But grace is given with the expectation
That those vile sinners will then pursue godliness.
If your understanding of grace allowed you
To become more comfortable in your sin
Because you thought it merely eliminate the consequences
Then you have not understood SOLA GRATIA
Grace is not indifferent
Regarding SOLA FIDE we would say.
FAITH IS NOT INVISIBLE
And we remember the cry of James
James 2:18 “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
And of course the point of James is that genuine faith is verifiable.
• It shows up in our compassion
• It gives weight to our confession
• It powers our convictions
IT’S NEITHER USELESS NOR DEAD
In short, the faith of SOLA FIDE is not just some intellectual assent
To a series of doctrinal statements.
The faith that SOLA FIDE spoke of
Is the type of belief that changes your life.
And that’s the point we’ve been making.
• Those SOLAS are not merely educational.
• Those SOLAS are meant to transform your life.
• Your understanding of grace should lead you to pursue godliness.
• Your understanding of faith should lead you to change your behavior.
Well tonight I want to look at SOLUS CHRISTUS
And if you’ll remember the doctrine of SOLUS CHRISTUS simply reminds us that salvation is found “in Christ alone”
• It is the doctrine that reminds us of Christ’s active obedience which speaks to how He lived a righteous life and perfectly fulfilled God’s righteous expectations.
• It is the doctrine that reminds of Christ’s passive obedience which speaks to how He died on a cross to suffer the punishment for sins He did not commit.
• It is the doctrine that reminds of the actual atonement of Christ whereby He perfectly satisfied God’s wrath on the elect.
• It is the doctrine that reminds of the miracle of imputation. Whereby our sin was imputed to Christ and He was treated as a sinner, and His righteousness was imputed to us and we are treated as righteous people.
All of that is contained in our understanding of SOLUS CHRISTUS
And of course the beauty of it is that we stand before God “in Christ”.
• That is to say we are clothed in His righteousness.
• He is the Rock of Ages and we hide ourselves in Him.
And in Him we are saved from the wrath which is to come
And we are made pleasing to the Father.
That is SOLUS CHRISTUS in a nutshell.
But tonight I would remind you that
SOLUS CHRISTUS IS NOT INDEMONSTRABLE
That means it is not that which cannot be demonstrated.
Again, a major fallacy which has swept over Christianity is that
It is not possible to tell who is really a believer and who is not.
The church has bowed to the cries of “Don’t Judge Me!” and “May Faith is Private!” And the sad thing is we have believed them.
BUT THAT ISN’T TRUE.
Salvation; being in Christ, is absolutely verifiable.
And honestly there are so many passages to this regard
That we could probably about a yearlong study on it.
In fact, I tend to think that proving this point and enforcing it is the main thrust behind both the book of James and the book of 1 John.
So if tonight feels like we are cramming a little I do apologize,
But really the goal is just to make the absolute point that
IF YOU CLAIM TO BE IN CHRIST THAT IT SHOULD BE EVIDENT.
We are going to look at this passage in 1 John, but I first want to give a couple of other important passages just for you to sort of place in your memory bank.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”
The very fact that Paul calls for a test here should settle the debate
About whether Christianity is verifiable.
If it cannot be verified, then a test is pointless.
But since Paul tells us to test ourselves that should indicate
That we most certainly can tell if a person is in Christ.
Another important passage here is:
Colossians 2:6-7 “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
This doesn’t speak so much to the verification of salvation
As it does to the EXPECTATION of it.
If you have received Christ then should walk in Christ.
And really you’d do good to spend some time in Colossians 3
(we almost studied that one instead)
Continually there we are told to “lay aside the old self” and “put on the new self” which is a reference to the expectation of Christ-likeness.
And the chapter is filled with practical expectations for the person who claims to be in Christ.
Things like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, gratitude, wisdom, praise, submission, obedience, justice and fairness.
The idea being that if you claim to be in Christ
Then you ought to live like Christ.
And those are just two passages I wanted to drop on you
Just to put in your storage bank.
But tonight we’re going to settle in on 1 John 2:1-6
Because I think it makes the most complete and definitive statement
Regarding the question we are addressing.
So let’s break this down into 2 main points.
#1 THE PATH TO FELLOWSHIP
1 John 2:1-2
John begins this chapter with a statement
That must be understood in the context of his letter.
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”
Well we know the goal, it’s “so that you may not sin”.
But what are “these things” that he is “writing” which are supposed to motivate us to “not sin”?
He is referring to chapter 1 where he gave the basis for this letter.
1 John 1:1-4 “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life — and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us — what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.”
You understand from the opening verses of this letter is that John is speaking of our having fellowship with the Father.
• John says we’re writing to you so that you can have fellowship with us, which incidentally is fellowship with the Father.
• So, we’re writing so that you will be able to fellowship with God.
And in that first chapter John gave some pretty clear parameters
About having this fellowship with God.
1) You can’t have fellowship with God in the DARK
1 John 1:5-7 “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
2) You can’t have fellowship with God in DECEPTION
1 John 1:8-9 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
3) You can’t have fellowship with God in DENIAL
1 John 1:10 “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”
So you see that our fellowship with God
Has a great deal to do with how we handle sin.
And that makes sense to us.
We know about the veil and the holiness of God and how sinful man was separated from Him.
What is more, we know what is required if fellowship with God is to be enjoyed. We must be perfect.
Deuteronomy 18:13 “You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.”
Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
And based upon that reality
John’s advice to us in chapter 2 makes perfect sense.
“My little children, I am writing thee things to you so that you may not sin.”
Well, yeah!
Because in order to have fellowship with God all sin and darkness and deception and denial must be done away with.
God is not going to fellowship with the wicked.
He never has, He never will.
So the opening statement makes perfect sense.
It is however wrought with problems for us,
Namely because we know that we have sinned.
And that is why John continues.
“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 those of the whole world.”
Well, there again is the good news of SOLUS CHRISTUS
• That even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
• And more than just in death, He is now our living Advocate before the Father
on our behalf.
And if we weren’t trying to get through the whole passage tonight we could swim in this rich doctrine yet again.
• He is called the “Advocate” because He intercedes on our behalf.
• He is called “the righteous” because He actively obeyed all the commands
of God.
• He is called “the propitiation” because He satisfied God’s wrath on the
elect
• He is called such for “the whole world” because He saves Jew and Gentile
alike.
1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
And hopefully you are familiar with those truths.
The main point of John is that if we want fellowship with God
Then we must not have sin,
And there is only One who can present us before God as sinless.
There is only One in whom we can hide that we might stand boldly in God’s presence and fellowship with Him.
That One is Jesus Christ
And if we want to draw near to God it must be through Him.
We must be in Christ if we are to fellowship with God.
Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
So that is the pathway to fellowship,
And that is what we discussed all during our study of SOLUS CHRISTUS.
But as we said,
Tonight we are not discussing the necessity of being in Christ.
Tonight we are discussing THE EXPECTATION OF BEING IN CHRIST.
We said that SOLUS CHRISTUS IS NOT INDEMONSTRABLE
That is to say, you should be able to tell whether or not you are in Christ.
So that brings us to our second point.
#2 THE PROOF OF FELLOWSHIP
1 John 2:3-6
We are going to answer the question.
• How can I know if I am in Christ?
• How can I know if I have fellowship with God?
Well that is John’s main thrust.
In fact at the end of the letter he will say:
1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
I would make the distinction at this point that John DOESN’T say “that you may feel that you have eternal life”
But rather “that you may know”
We are talking about facts not feelings
• I’ve had lots of feelings in my life.
• I’ve had intense moments of anxiety
• I’ve had terrifying moments of fear
• I’ve had warm tingly moments of joy
• I’ve had emotional moments of joy and peace
But those are emotions.
And don’t get me wrong there is a place for emotion in the Christian life.
We just talked this past Wednesday with our youth
That we are called to “shout joyfully to the God of our salvation”
That is emotional.
But emotion is not what we rest upon
When seeking to test the validity of our salvation.
In fact, in chapter 3 of this letter
John even seems to address that he is talking about an assurance based on fact that will stand even when you don’t “feel” saved.
1 John 3:19-20 “We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.”
Even in those moments when your emotions are working against you and not for you, John wants you to have a truth that supersedes your feelings.
We are talking about facts, not feelings.
That being said, John doesn’t put much stock in the fact that you feel saved.
• So did the Pharisees…
• So did the people who cry out “Lord, Lord” in Matthew 7
We want to pass the test Paul was talking about.
We want assurance based on reality.
We want to know that we are in Christ.
So let me break this final point down a little more and put it like this.
1) BEING IN CHRIST IS DETERMINED BY HOW YOU FOLLOW (3-5a)
“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.”
And again we start with knowledge not feelings.
• “By this we know” (not feel)
• “By this we know that we have come to know Him”
Here’s the first test.
Here’s the first criteria.
“if we keep His commandments.”
• Not “if we KEPT His commandments”
• Not “if we plan on keeping His commandments”
• But “if we keep His commandments”
It is a present and ongoing obedience to the Lord.
And this is a drum that John is going to beat throughout his letter.
1 John 3:4-10 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”
Well that paints a pretty definite picture doesn’t it?
“No one who is born of God practices sin”
Obedience is a clear indicator of one who is redeemed.
One who is not obedient is not redeemed.
I mean how much clearer can John say it than “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God,”?
Later in the chapter he’ll say again:
1 John 3:24 “The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
Do you want to know if you are “in Christ”?
Well “the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him”
The obedient person is the person who is hiding in Him.
Apart from just stubborn blindness,
There really isn’t any way to miss the obvious nature of those passages.
And just in case you’re wondering, John got that notion from Jesus in the upper room.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”
It just rings true doesn’t it?
No wonder John says next:
(4) “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;”
In other words, there will be plenty of people who claim to be in Christ,
But who are not actually obeying Him.
John tells you how to address that person.
“You are lying”
(Don’t forget that John was one of the sons of thunder)
(5a) “but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.”
• It’s the person who obeys Christ that is actually in Christ.
• It’s the person who keeps Christ’s word that is abiding in Him.
John will also say:
1 John 2:24 “As for you, 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.”
There’s just an inseparable link between being in Christ
And obeying His word.
It is absolutely verifiable.
This notion today of carnal Christianity
Where people are supposedly Christians even though they have no desire for obedience to Christ is a blatant distortion of the truth.
That’s how you tell if people are in Christ or not.
That’s the test Paul was talking about.
How do you follow?
So there’s the first criteria: How you follow
2) BEING IN CHRIST IS DETERMINED BY WHO YOU FOLLOW (5b-6)
“By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
I don’t know if there’s a more straightforward verse to answer our question
About the evidence of being in Christ than this one.
John says this is how you know you “are in Him”.
“the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
How does this differ from the previous point?
It sharpens the focus.
Certainly there are great number of people who claim to be Christians
Who are blatantly disobedient to Christ.
John just revealed that they are lying and are not in Him.
BUT IT IS ALSO TRUE that many of them are adhering to some religious system, they just are not actually walking like Christ.
• This is where we would put people like the Pharisees,
• Or those in Matthew 7 who cry “Lord, Lord”
• Or those in Matthew 25 who did not show compassion to the “least of these”.
They are people who are very religious and do a lot of religious things
And because of that they assume themselves to be very obedient.
They would have no problem reading those first verses and saying,
“Well, that’s me, I’m very obedient”
So did the Pharisee in Luke 18 who said, “I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all that I get”
So to make sure we aren’t confused John sharpens his focus.
When He is talking about obeying Christ
John actually has 1 basic command in view.
What is that command?
LOVE
Throughout this letter there is an inseparable link
To love being the specific obedience that John is referring to.
TURN TO: 1 John 3:11-22
Do you see that command and the similarity of consequence?
• Here again John gives the same grave consequence to a lack of love as he
does to a lack of obedience.
• He says in verse 14 that “he who does not love abides in death” (as
opposed to abiding in Christ)
• Verse 15 says that people who hate their brother does not “have eternal life
abiding in him.”
• John says if you don’t practice action and evident love like benevolence then
he asks “how does the love of God abide in” you?
And to join the two concepts together, look at verse 23.
1 John 3:23 “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.”
So when John spoke of obeying Christ, what was he talking about?
He was talking about loving like Christ loved.
It gives an important distinction.
Don’t just assume that because you go to church and give money and do churchy things that you are obedient and therefore most certainly in Christ.
JOHN WOULD BALK AT THAT.
He would say, “No, the type of obedience I’m talking about is the command to love, like Christ loved.”
It’s not just THAT you follow
(for many follow manmade traditions)
It’s WHO you follow, namely Christ.
John has more to say on this.
1 John 4:11-14 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”
1 John 4:20-21 “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”
1 John 5:1-3 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
Do you see the full-circle there?
• If you want to claim to be in Christ, then you had better obey and follow Christ.
• And by that we don’t mean being a carnal Christian.
• And by that we don’t mean being a faithful church person with no love.
According to John it is absolutely verifiable rather or not you are in Christ.
DO YOU LIVE LIKE CHRIST?
And the chief characteristic? Self-sacrificing love.
Does that make sense?
It is preposterous for people today to say they are Christians,
And to claim assurance of eternal life
When Christ is not evident in them at all.
And I share that just to further clarify what we mean when we declare SOLUS CHRISTUS.
SOLUS CHRISTUS is an absolutely beautiful doctrine which explains to us how sinful men like us can have fellowship with a holy God.
But don’t dumb it down to be something it is not.
• In order to stand before God you must actually be “in Christ” not just say you are in Christ.
• You must have actually taken off the old self and you must have actually put on Christ, and that transaction is absolutely verifiable.
• If it is not in your life, then it hasn’t occurred and you are lying both to yourself and to others.
Does that make sense?
SOLA GRATIA IS NOT INDIFFERENT – it does not mean that we can just go on sinning now with no fear of punishment.
Grace expects godliness.
SOLA FIDE IS NOT INVISIBLE – it does not mean that we just have some sort of intellectual assent that doesn’t change our behavior.
Faith expects works
SOLUS CHRISTUS IS NOT INDEMONSTRABLE – it does not mean that we can claim to be in Christ without actually putting on Christ.
Christ expects Christlikeness (namely love)
And I just want to make sure we are all clear on that.
Please understand that the justification described in the SOLAS
Brings with it an expectation of sanctification
Described throughout the New Testament.
And I just want to be clear on that before we leave this study altogether.
