“Am I right with God?” I John
We were having coffee in the church hall after a Sunday morning service. I was talking to a visitor who had been looking around the various churches since moving to the area. During the discussion I asked him,
“Are you sure you are right with God or aren’t you certain about these things.”
His reply was startling,
“How can anyone be sure?”
Some may be surprised that this question should be verbalised but it is the most important question, and everyone must face it. Today it appears that most people avoid the problems such a question causes by refusing to ask it of themselves –such an approach could be called the ‘Ostrich Mentality’. This may be the approach of our society, but it has not always been so.
In the early Byzantine period, all what is now known as the ‘Middle East’ was ‘Christian’ or supposedly so. They suffered however from a severe lack of apostolic teaching, that is Bible teaching. Many were concerned about being right with God, but some of their solutions were far from those that Jesus and his apostles gave. For example, Thalelaeus was a monk who had constructed a small cage that was hung in the air. When his Bishop, Theodoret visited him, he had been suspended for 10 years. He was a big man so he had to sit doubled up with his forehead tightly pressed against his knees. Theodoret questioned him about the reason for this ‘novel mode of life’. The monk answered, “Life was to be lived as uncomfortably as possible as an insurance policy against worse discomforts in the life to come. Burdened with many sins, and believing in the penalties that are threatened, I have devised this form of life, contriving moderate punishments for the body in order to reduce the mass of those awaited. For the latter are more grievous not only in quantity but also in quality, so if by these slight afflictions I lesson those awaited, great is the profit I shall derive therefrom.” If only someone had taught him the Bible. If only he had learnt what Jesus had achieved on his behalf, that forgiveness was a free gift of God for those willing to accept Christ’s condition that they return to live under his authority.
“It is for freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5 v. 1).
How they needed to know more about Jesus, that:
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2 v. 2).
The major problem today is different. There is a general assumption, even amongst Church attenders that everything will work out well in the end, however I behave or think. Yet the Bible contains warnings for church people such as,
“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it” (Hebrews 4 v. 1).
So the crunch question is:
“How can I know if I am right with God?”
The letter we call 1 John was written when he was an old man, but probably working as Bishop of Ephesus. It was written to answer this very question,
“I write these things to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5 v. 13)
In the early church, as today, many were drifting away from their commitment to Jesus. This was partly because they were not being taught clearly the apostolic truths.
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. (I John 2 v. 26)
The letter is written in a spiral manner; that is John keeps coming back to the same themes again and again. In the centre of the letter is a summary of these indications that the readers are truly accepted by God. 1 John 3 v. 21-24 reads,
“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”
Can you pick out the characteristics of real Christians?
Jesus is the Son of God
In the centre is the key, all Christians have recognised who Jesus is – the actual Son of God. Without this understanding a person is not a Christian, however pleasant they may be. This truth is repeated again and again in the letter. The letter begins with this conviction,
“ . . . this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1 v. 1 –3)
In the next chapter John stresses that this teaching about Jesus is absolutely true and indeed vital.
“Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-- he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us -- even eternal life. (I John 2 v. 22-25)
John argues in a spiral manner and keeps coming back to the fundamental answers to his main question,
“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God." (1 John 4 v. 15)
2. Obedience to Christ’s Commands
This Christian faith is not just an intellectual assent to certain doctrines, it must allowing Jesus to have authority over our lives. This change is called repentance, we now live as he wants in obedience to him.
. . . . we obey his commands and do what pleases him. (I John 3 v. 22)
Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. (I John 3 v. 24)
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, (I John 5 v. 3)
We want to obey Jesus, because we know who he is, we are thrilled for the forgiveness he has won for us and we are sure that we shall meet him face to face one day.
3. Love for other Christians
This is one of Christ’s main commands. He is very concerned about relationships.”
“And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” (I John 3 v. 23)
The end of chapter 3 stresses this, emphasising that this love is not a gushy feeling but practical!
“This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” (I John 3 v 11)
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” (I John 3 v. 14)
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (I Jn 3:16-17)
There is a great need for Christians to rediscover the gift of hospitality, frequently having people into our homes. It is no coincidence that it is mentioned so prominently in the lists of requirements for leaders in the church (1 Tim 3 v. 2, Titus 1 v. 8). It is primarily in our homes, over a meal, that we can get to know non-Christians so that we can share the gospel with them. Matthew did this soon after he became a follower of Jesus (Matt 9 v. 10). It is a frequent demand in Scripture such as, “practice hospitality” (Rom 12 v. 13) and “offer hospitality to one another” (1 Peter 4 v. 9). This is one of the best ways to encourage other Christians as we talk about our Lord and what we have learn from His word. We should be particularly supportive of other Christian workers even if we do not know them, “We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth” (3 John v. 8).
4. The Presence of God’s Spirit in us
“This is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gives us.” (1 John 3 v. 24)
I was talking with a patient of mine who had recently become a Christian. Some years before she had attended a small church but she was unsure whether she was a Christian. She asked one of the leaders about this. Instead of going through the Christian gospel and making sure that she understood it clearly he wanted to know whether she had God’s spirit by testing for a specific gift. “Let me hear your gift of tongues”, he asked. Now she had been to several church meetings and was able to pray with undecipherable noises as she had heard others do. “That’s alright then, you have the Spirit”, she was assured! How wrong such a test can be.
An inner confidence and peace
Yet what a glorious truth this teaching about the Spirit is. So often when a young Christian is asked, “How do you know that God has accepted you?” they reply, “I just know it in my heart”. Jesus often talked about this relationship his people will have with the Father. We will be able to call the almighty creator of the universe “Abba” or “Dad”. All that we have done to offend him has been forgiven and we experience this. We can tell our Father all our problems and he does hear and respond.
“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask." (1 John 3 v. 21-22)
An Open Acknowledgement of Jesus
There are however other marks of the Spirit that John talks about that are vital today. The beginning of chapter 4 emphasises this and it is proper to use our critical faculties to test whether people really have the Spirit of the true God. He stresses that such people will acknowledge Jesus.
“Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God." (1 John 4 v. 2)
This implies openly telling others about our allegiance to him. Paul said the same,
“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10 v. 9)
An increasing holiness
Christians will become more like Jesus, and not let the world’s priorities swamp them.
“In this world we are like him." ( 1 John 4 v. 17)
Evil spirits are all the time trying to draw us away from following Jesus, the evidence of the Spirit in us is that our priority remains Jesus.
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world." (I Jn 4:4-5)
An honesty about ourselves
This does not mean that Christians are perfect, far from it. John recognised that we will continually fail our Lord but the mark of a Christian is that we will not want to stay independent for long and return to the Lord asking for forgiveness. Right at the beginning of the letter he reminds his readers of this.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” (I John 1v. 7-10)
A Biblical emphasis
There is one other major evidence that God’s spirit is in our lives. We want to listen to God and we recognise his voice. The great emphasis of the Bible is that God has revealed his mind to us through its teachings. Jesus recognised the authority of the Old Testament and gave authority to his apostles to pass on God’s teaching to us. Those who have God’s spirit recognise this. John, as representative of the apostles, reminds his readers of this.
“We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognise the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood." (1 John 4 v. 6)
This is remarkable teaching that needs to be emphasised again today. The Spirit can be recognised by a believer’s respect for Biblical authority. Earlier in the letter he has stressed the same truth in respect of the anointing of God’s spirit,
“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth but because you do know it.” (1 John 2 v. 20)
“See to it that what you heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father." (1 John 2 v. 24)
There is another synopsis of the characteristics of real Christians at the beginning of chapter five. Notice how this section begins and ends with our belief in Jesus and our obedience is stressed twice in the middle. In between are the key features that others can see, our love for other Christians and our not being ‘worldly’. We are to be very much ‘in the world but not of it’.
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (I John 5 v. 1-5)
BVP
