THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TRUTH
1 John 5:10-12 NLT
[10] All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son. [11] And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. [12] Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
What a serious indictment! How can we, mere mortals, call God a liar by refusing to believe that Jesus is the Son of God despite the Father’s own verbal and public affirmation of His Son and get away with it?
Why do people refuse to accept the Father’s testimony about His Son? From Jesus’s perspective, the whole issue is about sin. Adam chose independence from God in the Garden of Eden, and people today still want to be independent so that they can indulge in whatever they choose without being accountable to God.
John 3:18-20 NLT
[18] “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. [19] And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. [20] All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.”
Trouble is, it doesn’t work that way. It’s a unilateral declaration of independence which God does not sanction for a very good reason. God has the right of ownership because He created Adam and every human after him. Man may deny that ownership but that does not invalidate the fact that God has the authority to call the shots, not people.
The next sober truth is that the Father has commanded that everyone must repent of sin and turn to Him.
Acts of the Apostles 17:30 NLT
[30] “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.”
There are serious and eternal consequences for those who insist on their independence regardless of God’s requirement.
2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 NLT
[7] “And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, [8] in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.”
God has invested everything in His Son. Through Jesus, our debt of sin has been paid; our sins are forgiven; we have a new standing in God; He has restored us to fellowship with Him as His sons; we have eternal life in Christ ; He has prepared a glorious future for all who obey His command to repent and believe the good news.
We have to make a choice that will affect us for eternity. If we choose independence, God says we can have it but, that means we forfeit every part of who God is forever, no love, no truth, no life.
If we choose to believe in Jesus, we give up our independence. Our lives are forever joined to Him and under His authority, leadership, and protection, forever. We have a future with Him beyond imagination and beyond description.
1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT
[9] “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
God has already decided what He will do but He leaves the final decision to us. That’s the truth about the truth.
Category Archives: Christian Life
FIGHTING THE WAR THAT’S WON
FIGHTING THE WAR THAT’S WON
1 John 5:4-5 NLT
[4] “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. [5] And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”
How is it possible that we must continue to fight a war that has already been won? Let’s look at it like this. We fight this in the spiritual dimension against an enemy that is inside us. This means that every child of God must overcome the enemy within to participate in the victory Jesus has already won over the enemy who rules in the world around us.
Jesus promised us His peace because He has overcome the world. What does He mean? Representatives of “the world”, ungodly society under the rule of Satan, subjected Jesus to the worst form of insult, humiliation, torture, and execution any human has had to suffer by a trial that mocked justice and a death by crucifixion. During the entire process, they tried their level best to get a reaction out of Him. They beat Him, they mocked Him, they taunted Him, they challenged Him to defend Himself but all they got was a prayer of forgiveness.
Throughout His life and even during those terrible hours before He died, He kept His eyes and heart on the Father. His passion was to do the Father’s will, whatever it cost Him.
Peer summed up His last hours like this:
1 Peter 2:23 NIV
[23]”When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
Paul’s summary is equally beautifully expressed:
Philippians 2:6-8 NLT
[6] “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
Colossians 2:14-15 NLT
[14]”He cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [15] In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”
The Father’s final act of approval on His perfect life and atoning death was to raise Jesus from the dead and to elevate Him to supreme ruler of the universe.
Philippians 2:9-11 NLT
[9] “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Now, says John, if you believe that Jesus is God’s Son and if you trust in Him, He will give you the power to overcome the world as well.
What does that mean? The “world” is made up of ungodly people who live in rebellion against God, in a world system that is run by ungodly people. Their desire is to get us on their side. Our old nature, still at work in us, is in cahoots with the world. Although Jesus won the war against the world and its evil systems, we still have the battle against our old freshly nature going on inside us.
The only way to overcome our sinful desires is to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.
Galatians 5:16-18 NLT
[16] “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. [17] The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. [18] But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.”
Since we are no longer slaves to sin, grace enables us to overcome our fleshly desires by pointing us to Jesus and by living and obeying Him.
We win our battle against the flesh one moment at a time, one choice, one decision at a time until His righteousness in us is confirmed forever when we see Him
LOVING GOD MEANS LOVING HIS KIDS
LOVING GOD MEANS LOVING HIS KIDS
1 John 5:1-3 NLT
[1] Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. [2] We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. [3] Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
Loving God, loving God’s kids, it’s all the same thing to John. Obeying His commandments ties it all together. You see, when we love, respect and reverence God the Father so much because of who He is and what He has done for us in His Son, Jesus, that we wouldn’t dream of doing anything He wouldn’t want us to do, obeying His commandments isn’t difficult at all.
We have already learned that He has only two commandments for us to obey, so how can they be burdensome, especially when those commandments involve Jesus. Believe in Jesus! Again, what is difficult or burdensome to about believing in Jesus when He laid down His life for us?
What’s so burdensome about loving His children when He is busy changing them to be like Him? Some may be further along the way to becoming like Jesus than others but we are all facing the same way and going in the same direction.
On top of that, we have God’s love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. What God is requiring of us, unlike His people under the Old Covenant which set the standard but provided no power to attain it, is adequately supported by His grace. In fact, God’s grace makes everything possible that God requires of us, from the smallest detail to the biggest hurdle. All we have to do is ask with humility, believe, and act upon that provision.
James 4:6 NLT
[6] And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
So, dear readers, by the 5th chapter of this letter, John has made very clear that living God’s children means being honest with each other, living in fellowship with each other, and taking care of each other’s needs. When we faithfully take care of these things, the evidence is clear. We love the Father and we love His Son.
LIAR!
LIAR!
“If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.”
1 John 4:20-21 NLT
Once again, repetition of an earlier instruction! The “apostle of love” must have had good reason to bring up the same subject more than once. Is it possible that the church in Ephesus, where he served, according to tradition, had members who were experiencing troubled relationships?
John gives no details but the fact that he had to address the issue more than once suggests that it was a real problem in this church. Since loving one another and unity among believers are the most powerful witnesses to the coming of Jesus to earth from the Father, any disturbance in relationships among God’s people threatened their witness to the unbelieving world.
John wants his readers to understand that there is a clear distinction between believers and unbelievers depending on the way they treat each other. Real believers sacrificially serve one another and work at preserving unity by their mutual submission. Ungodly people don’t! They expose their hearts by words and actions that divide, compete, and/or belittle others.
God’s children build others up in every possible way. Care for each other benefits the whole body. Those who care more for themselves than others, tear down, and fracture the fellowship, are exposing the condition of their hearts.
John would concur with Paul’s words…
Colossians 3:14 NLT
[14] Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
… since loving one another is Jesus’ command to His disciples. Obedience to any command in the New Covenant is empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit to obey. Without the Spirit, obedience is impossible.
So, we can conclude, anyone who claims to love God but diminishes a brother or sister in any way, is a liar. It’s as simple as that!
LOVE WITHOUT FEAR
LOVE WITHOUT FEAR
“And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So, we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
1 John 4:17-18 NLT
What a profound statement! John has now reached the heart and core of his presentation of the love of God.
There are many emotions that play a part in our lives and not the least is fear. Many of God’s children are still plagued by doubts and fears, often like the weather patterns on any given day. Faith fluctuates with doubt and fear, depending on the circumstances of the day.
How is it possible to live through even one day with a steadfast faith that is not affected by our circumstances or our interaction with people?
We get up in the morning with a song in our hearts and the determination to sail through our day unaffected by the things that go on around us. However, by breakfast time, we have already been rattled by our family around us. By lunchtime we have blotted our copybook many times. Exasperated, we ask ourselves, “How can God love me when I have said… done…?” whatever has been the response of my flesh.
What are we doing to create such frustration and doubts in our hearts? We have allowed our circumstances to dictate our reactions, which are often aggressive or defensive.
John gives us another option, to live in God so that we grow in the love of God. What does that mean? It means a change of perspective. In our natural, often spontaneous responses, we see ourselves as the centre of the issue, whatever it is that has triggered a reaction. Our flesh rises up to the situation and sin is often the result. Anger, harsh words, retaliation, antagonism, taking offense, are often the ways in which we handle the situation.
We shrink back from God’s love because we fear His displeasure and its consequences. We view difficult or unpleasant circumstances as God’s punishment for our ungodly behaviour. Our response to His abiding love is immature and fluctuating.
John says that’s not the way to live on even keel. There’s a much better way. By changing our perspective to recognise that God is the centre of our lives, our adversities take on a different meaning. Living in God’s love implies that we learn to view our circumstances from His perspective. Bad things happen because He allows them to happen to test the resilience of our faith. Conflicts are not always bad if we use the opportunity to resolve them with love and patience.
Life is never about plain sailing. Life is about navigating an evil and sinful world by God’s grace. Living in the awareness of His love, no matter what, instead of living in self-awareness, taking offence in every situation, is character training for our lives in His eternal kingdom.
Growing this mature love frees us from the voice of the accuser. His lies will drive us to be afraid of God. The knowledge of the truth, Jesus said, will set us free from the power of that nagging voice. The Holy Spirit is not the accuser. He explains, enlightens, and provides the solution so that we turn to God, not run from Him.
So, John says, live in God as the centre of your awareness. Your confidence in His love will grow your faith in Him. You will stand before Him confident and unafraid because His grace at work in you has won the day.