Life in the Son

So this morning, we are going to take a break from Judges,

and as promised, we're going to continue through 1 John,

which hopefully there are no groans about that.

I have to admit, I was talking with another gentleman in our church,

and I felt like I'm ready for this series to be over,

even though I see you all infrequently.

I have been living in this.

For quite a while.

But with that, I think there is a fresh word that God has for us in 1 John.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to 1 John 5,

and we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 12.

1 John 5, 1 through 12.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God,

and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments,

and His commandments are not burdensome.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world,

and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is He who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.

Not by the water only, but by the water and the blood.

And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is truth.

For there are three that testify, the Spirit and the water and the blood.

And these three agree.

If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater.

For this is the testimony of God, that He has borne concerning His Son.

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in Himself.

Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar,

because He has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son.

And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life.

And this life is in His Son.

And whoever has the Son has life.

Whoever does not have the Son does not have life.

Let's pray.

Lord, we are reminded this morning from Your Word that we need it.

Father, may You use it in our lives.

May You convince hearts of the testimony concerning Your Son.

And may they have life.

And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

The Weather Girls.

Lou Bega.

Sinead O'Connor.

Billy Ray Cyrus.

Sir Mix-a-Lot.

Chumbawumba.

I promise at this point I'm not making up words.

There is a connection here.

Some of these names might be familiar to some of us.

And some of them sound a little bit like I'm making up just words and spewing them out.

But the collection doesn't end there.

In fact, if we recognize those names, we might recognize a pattern.

But even when we, especially when we pair them with their work,

we might recognize the connection.

Like Vanilla Ice.

An Ice Ice Baby.

Or Bobby Farron and Don't Worry, Be Happy.

Or what about one of a yesteryear, Bobby Day and Rockin' Robin.

Or Carl Douglas and Kung Fu Fighting.

Even if we don't see the connection yet, we might remember names like the Blue Man Group or Crash Test Dummies.

And even if we can't remember their names at all, we might remember their works.

Things like the Macarena or Cotton Eye Joe.

Whether we remember their names or their songs, such is the life of a one-hit wonder.

You probably don't remember much more about them, where they're from,

or what else they've done in their musical career.

It's not even a modern phenomenon if we think about it.

Now, somebody's going to argue, yes, these songs have withstood the test of time.

But things like, when you go to a wedding, what do you hear?

Canaan and Dee.

Or what do we sing at Christmas?

Silent Night.

For many musical artists, they have one shot at fame.

One glorious moment in the sun.

And then they fade into obscurity.

One seminal work that represents maybe their life of musical pursuit.

Or they have that one song that they can't escape.

And it defines the rest of their life and even after their death.

One-hit wonders.

Are they really that bad?

They're not.

John's no one-hit wonder.

But in the book of John, we might think he's a one-hit wonder.

Because he returns again and again to one, one single theme.

Even though he's responsible for a lot of the New Testament canon,

in this book, he's got one overarching theme,

one one-hit wonder that he keeps coming back to.

But thankfully, it's something that we need to hear.

We need to return to again and again as Christians.

And it's that we should be assured of our faith,

not because of us, but because of the gospel.

That we should be confident as we walk.

Even as we face these newfangled ideas,

or new challenges, or new problems, or new enemies,

that we should be assured of Christ and what he has done.

And John's writing to Christians just like us,

that they're facing new challenges and new ideas.

And that one theme is driving this whole letter,

as we've seen over the last weeks and months,

maybe even a year.

But that's nothing new to Christians.

You see, the disciples struggled with this.

They weren't these bastions of faith and strength

when Jesus left them.

What about the reformers?

They struggled to give words to this problem,

to be assured of their faith.

What about us today?

This section we find ourselves in today

explores that theme, that one-hit wonder,

except it's maybe a little bit retuned.

It's a new tune to the song.

Maybe it's got auto-tuned voices for those that are younger.

But it's that same message

that John's been trying to communicate

over and over again and again.

So let's listen closely.

It's explanation of life in the sun.

Not the S-U-N, but the son of God in Jesus.

And we're gonna look at that in two parts.

First is the marks or evidences of life in the sun.

And then the content of life in the sun or beliefs.

First, let's look at the marks.

John begins his chapter by defining the marks

or the attributes of someone who follows after Christ.

Throughout this section, really this whole book,

John has done that time and time again.

But here he uses an interesting phrase,

one that we might not be familiar with,

really, we really are familiar with,

if you read your New Testament,

or if you even read this letter more than once.

In the couple of verses at the beginning of chapter five,

he uses this familiar concept,

even maybe this concept that's grown old to us,

of being born again.

But it's so important, he revisits it.

Look back with me at verse one.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ

has been born of God.

Being born of God or being reborn

is an important idea in John's work,

not just here in 1 John, but in the Gospels.

John's very own Gospel says this,

at the very beginning,

after he's defined kind of who Jesus is,

he says,

he came to his own, talking about Jesus,

and his own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him,

who believed in his name,

he gave the right to become children of God,

who were born not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh,

nor the will of man,

but of God.

John connects this idea that belief in Jesus

is actually tied to something

that they couldn't do themselves.

They couldn't will it into existence,

but it had to come from an alien source

from outside them.

God had to remake them.

They had to be born again.

It had to be new.

God has wrought faith in them,

setting upon them the Spirit.

And we see this example,

just a few chapters later,

in this great teacher of Israel.

Who?

Nicodemus.

What does Jesus say to him?

Very pointedly.

It's not,

hey, dive deeper into God's word,

and you'll have faith.

No, he doesn't say,

try harder and you will have faith.

He says this to him.

Truly I say to you,

unless one is born again,

he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Belief flows from this change.

Him being reborn creates faith in him.

But it's not simple belief just in the existence of Jesus.

Many people do that,

and they have no faith in him.

But it's belief that he is the Christ.

He is the Messiah.

He is the one who delivers his people.

That's the first exhibit.

That's the first mark.

Belief is evidence of life in the Son.

The second one is this.

Life in the Son demonstrates or creates love.

It has a couple of dimensions.

Looking back with us,

or looking back with me at the first few verses,

there's love for who first?

Love for the Father.

John ties regeneration or being born again,

not simply to belief in Jesus as the Christ,

but love for God,

love for the Trinity,

love for the Father.

One has love for God when we're born again,

but not simply love of God.

Here's the third mark,

or the third piece of evidence.

It's love for God's people.

John's reiterated this so many times throughout this letter,

that love is an essential mark of the Christian,

of one who has life in the Son.

He says this in verse 2,

By this we know that we love the children of God

when we love God.

John is uniting together

what those seceders or those separatists

who were influencing the church

were trying to rip apart.

They were saying,

Hey, it's okay if we have all these new ideas.

It doesn't matter how we act.

It doesn't matter how we treat other people.

John's saying no.

In fact, this is the biggest indicator

of how we know if you're a Christian.

The opponents that were influencing this church

were introducing those new ideas,

and John is pointing back to love of God's people

as that seminal mark.

He's saying if you love God,

we will know by how you love his children.

That's not a new problem for them,

or for us,

or even for the church.

Think about Paul's letter

that he writes to a pretty dysfunctional church

in 1 Corinthians.

They're not the pinnacle of holiness,

but he says,

What?

Knowledge puffs up.

He's more concerned,

not at their growth in this head knowledge,

but their love for other people.

That's what Paul is saying to that church,

full of problems.

But the love of God's children

is kind of derivative.

Love for God kind of comes first

and then flows out to love of children.

And this structure,

how John writes it here,

is kind of wonky.

We're used to saying something like this.

Hey, if you love God,

then you'll love his people.

Instead, John does what he's always done,

and he circles around,

and he changes things up

just to add a fresh new dimension.

It's just like with my kids.

If I say,

Hey, put your shoes on.

I can only say that so many times.

I might say something like,

If you're going to go outside,

don't go outside without your shoes.

The intent is still the same.

Don't go outside without shoes.

Put them on before you go outside.

It communicates the same message,

but I'm changing the words.

John is doing the same thing.

He's reminding his people,

he's reminding God's people,

that they must love one another

because of their love for God.

That's the third mark.

The fourth mark is evidence of life in the sun,

is love or relationship to commandments.

John introduces that in two,

and again in three,

where he ties loving God

to loving his commandments,

to keeping them.

And faith in Christ changes that dynamic,

changes that relationship from the Christian

of maybe not desiring God's word

or loving his commandments

and delighting in them.

So now that the Christian,

by the Spirit,

can keep them,

and they're no longer burdensome,

but they're joyful.

Someone who has new life,

the commands of Scripture

become something they should desire to do

and delight in them,

not toilsome,

but joyful obedience.

The problem

with evidence of Christian faith

is that we approach it

like many other things in our lives.

We think

that if we say it's true,

then it must be so.

I will play in the NBA.

I'm gonna suit up

against the Lakers.

Even though I'm not as tall as Jokic,

I've never played organized basketball

beyond elementary school,

but I'm saying it so,

so it must be so.

And you would say,

I'm crazy for saying that.

However,

we act like that

when it comes to our Christian faith,

when everything that is true

points to the contrary.

I was thinking about this recently

when I was skiing with a group of friends.

I'm a relatively good skier.

At least my route selection

while skiing says

that I'm pretty stinking good, okay?

Now,

there's a couple of marks

of being a good skier.

But,

the first run,

my friend,

who,

he will return to be my friend

when I'm recovered,

chose a route

that I was unfamiliar with

at a place that I was unfamiliar with

on the first run of the day,

and I don't like to ski like he does.

And I hurt my knee.

So if I fall down,

that's why.

Um,

but,

I was really frustrated.

I was so frustrated

at something that I love and enjoy,

and if you spend any amount of time with me,

you know that I talk about this,

um,

because I love it so much.

It's,

I enjoy God's creation.

It's a fun activity I do with my family.

But,

because of that event,

it caused me to question

if I really was a good skier.

And then I had to go through

all the essential marks

of what a good skier is.

And they go something like this.

First,

I've spent a good amount of time skiing.

They say that if you spend 10,000 hours

on anything,

you're pretty stinking good.

You're an expert.

Now,

if I started at two,

I think I'm pretty close

to 10,000 hours.

Before I could really even run,

I was skiing.

So,

that's a check mark right there.

I have a lot of time under my belt.

And though equipment,

which is the second mark,

doesn't make the skier,

it doesn't give you talent

or a place regular practice.

It does help you ski really well.

I have the right tools to ski well.

Now,

mind you,

I was trying to be cheap,

and I was trying to stretch out the season

so I don't have to pay

to get my skis tuned,

which backfired on me.

I have the right equipment.

So,

half a check mark.

This might seem obvious,

but to be a good skier,

you'll have to have snow,

right?

I have to have a place to go

because I can't ski in Kansas,

and I can't ski on a basketball court.

It's too flat.

I must have access to terrain,

to even train

or even go execute.

I must have the physicality to ski.

That's the one that tripped me up.

That was the fourth one.

In order to be good,

you have to have coordination.

You have to have muscular capacity

to turn and do all the things,

shift my weight,

and do all those technical moves.

That's where I failed.

Now,

if I took that component away,

right,

my physicality

or

the tools,

would I be a good skier?

If I hurt my knee

on the first run,

would I be a good skier that day?

Absolutely not.

The physical ability is gone.

I don't have the tools.

If I didn't have skis,

period,

I can't be a skier.

If I didn't have snow,

I lived in a desert.

I can't ski.

Now,

I know somebody in here

is thinking,

oh,

I have the sand dunes,

I can sand ski.

I'm talking about snow skiing.

The marks

of being a good skier,

the essential components

work together

and testify

to that fact.

Why is it any different

when it comes

to our Christian faith?

We think we can do

anything that we want,

and we have Christian faith.

We can assure ourselves

of anything.

We can deceive ourselves

that whenever we remove

one of those components,

we're no longer skiing,

we're just strolling

at wintertime,

we're standing

in the middle of a desert.

Why do we think

it's different

when it comes

to the Christian life?

The Christian life

or having life in the sun

has telltale signs,

and John points them out to us.

If they're missing,

we have a problem,

but how often

do we charge right ahead

as if it doesn't matter at all?

We should be asking ourselves,

do I believe Jesus

is the Christ?

Do I love God?

Do I love his people?

Do I love what he loves?

Do I delight in his commandments?

Do I find them burdensome?

Or are they sweet to me?

Am I growing in my obedience

to them?

John is saying,

here's the litmus test

of faith in Christ.

Now, are you going to do

these perfectly?

Absolutely not.

But if you've been reborn,

you still have those vestiges

of the old man.

You're still going to struggle

with sin,

and parts of that old man

remain until you're called home.

But is the arc of my life,

am I growing more and more

in holiness year after year?

Or am I going backwards

year after year?

Or am I stagnant?

Am I growing in love

for God's people?

Do I kind of put my money

where my mouth is?

I say I love God's people,

but do I delight in spending time

with them,

in fellowship with them?

Or do I come to worship

for the day to download?

Yes, there is truth

and goodness

in learning from God's word.

Absolutely.

Do I delight in loving him

or knowing him more

because I see him as lovely

and I see his people

as I spend time with them

as lovely.

Do we do that here

at our church?

Can we grow in that?

Can you grow in that?

I'm not saying it's easy,

but let us all grow in love.

That's part of our vision here.

Thick community.

Yes, robust teaching as well.

John's talking about both of those.

Growing in our love

for God's word

and who he is

and growing in our love

for each other.

Are we availing ourselves

of the opportunities

to spend it with God's people,

whether it's Sunday school,

men's ministry,

women's stuff,

community groups,

or just that brief

or not so brief moment

that we have in worship

where we greet one another?

Are we growing in our love

for God

and the things that he loves?

Those are the marks

of life in the sun.

But what?

Those are the things

that evidence life in the sun.

But what is it

that a Christian actually believes?

That's our second heading

this morning.

John pivots from things

that mark out a Christian

in those first few verses

from love of God,

love of God's people,

and love of his commandments

to the absolute substance

of what the Christian believes.

But he does it a little bit

before most Bibles have a break.

He starts it in verse four.

For everyone who has been born of God

overcomes the world.

And this is the victory

that has overcome the world,

our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world

except the one who believes Jesus

is the Son of God?

John doesn't start with ideas

or doctrines or propositions.

He kind of reverse engineers this.

He goes first to those marks

to cause us to question those things

because of the challenges

that were presented

by all these voices

in that church.

And then he goes to their faith.

He talks about the effects

of the faith first,

the overcoming the world.

Now he could be talking about

something like

the believer's triumph at death.

But instead,

he's actually talking about

overcoming the challenges

that were present in that day.

These people

that were introducing new ideas,

the opponents,

they're casting doubt

on the theology

that had been delivered to them

by the apostles,

those that walked with Christ.

And John is reminding them

of the faithfulness

to the message of the gospel

is what gives them deliverance

from their present condition.

It's a word for us as well.

And we see the substance

of that error

as he poses it in verse five.

This whole book

has that one-hit wonder theme,

returning again and again

to assurance.

But assurance is being challenged

by this idea

that Jesus is somehow

not fully God.

but John says no.

Instead,

Jesus is the Son of God.

He's reminding them of that.

And as they challenged

his status as the Son of God,

the thing that was so crucial,

so essential

to the Christian faith,

John is pointing them

right back

to that very simple idea.

And he expounds on it

in that section six

through almost the end.

He begins that argument

with kind of some weird stuff.

You know,

oftentimes in seminary,

you're told,

as you're a young preacher,

you never mention

certain things,

but John didn't get that lesson.

He mentions them straight away.

Blood.

He says,

the water and the blood.

This is he who came

by water and blood,

Jesus Christ.

Not by the water only,

but by water and blood.

And then he'll introduce

a third thing.

Some have associated this

with the sacraments, right?

Baptism, as we've seen,

and blood and communion.

I'm not sure that's

what he's talking about here.

Some have pointed

to the idea

that when Jesus

was on the cross,

his side was pierced

and blood and water

flowed from that.

I'm not sure that's

what he's talking about here.

He is talking about baptism,

and he is talking about

another event

in Jesus' life.

The baptism of Jesus,

but also his death.

Those two events

where we see most clearly

in the Gospels

that Jesus is God.

He's fully God.

How do we see it

in his baptism?

He didn't become God

in his baptism

as some of these opponents challenged,

but we see

the three working together

and affirming

that Jesus is fully God.

He is the Son of God.

And then in his death,

we see the Father

and the Son

and the Spirit

working together.

We see Christ

giving up his place,

not becoming less God,

but being fully God

and paying for the punishment

of sin.

As John's explaining this,

he starts to talk about

the witnesses

that operate here.

That's why we read that section

in Deuteronomy.

There's three witnesses,

the water

and the blood

and the Spirit.

Back in verse 6,

he says,

the Spirit is the one

who testifies

because the Spirit

is truth.

We see that

in his baptism.

The Spirit

is testifying

to who Jesus is.

We see that

in the death

on his death

on the cross.

We also see

the operation

of the Spirit.

What is he doing?

He's testifying

in agreement

and that

gives weight

to what is going on.

The descending

of the Spirit

as a dove

validates

Jesus' status.

And there's nothing

left to say in that.

It's almost as if,

like in modern parlance,

there's a mic drop here.

But John goes on.

As if that testimony

wasn't enough,

he says,

the truthfulness

of this testimony

is in the substance

of the witnesses.

It's not just man.

Look at verse 9.

If we receive

the testimony of men,

the testimony of God

is greater.

For this is the testimony

of God

that he is born

concerning his Son.

Whoever believes

in the Son of God

has a testimony

in himself.

And whoever does not

believe God

has made him a liar

because he has not

believed in the testimony

that God has borne

concerning his Son.

That testimony

is born through the Spirit.

It's true

because of God's nature.

He himself

is communicating.

And if we're going to

pit that against man,

of course he wins.

He is greater.

It's tricky here, though,

because John is not saying,

don't believe the apostles.

Don't believe those people

who walked with Jesus.

No, that's not what he's saying.

He's saying,

how much more

should we believe God?

How much more

should we believe

this testimony

because he is God

and is saying these things?

On the scale of witnesses,

when God speaks,

it is true.

And when we don't believe it,

we make God

out to be a liar.

Who he is

and his status

confirms this testimony.

Recently,

I was at

Colorado Springs Airport

to pick up a visitor.

And as I was doing it,

I do what I always do.

And some of you

are going to be

really frustrated

at what I'm about to say,

especially if you come

from a major

metropolitan area.

Because as you pull up

to the sidewalk

at the Colorado Springs Airport,

there's a reason

why I ask my guests

to fly into

Colorado Springs

and not Denver.

And I will often

offer to pay

the extra money.

It's because it's so easy.

There's nobody

ever there, right?

I can pull up

to the side

and I can hop out

of my car

and go inside.

Now, before you get

all rule follower on me,

there is a section

that does not have

the sign that says

you cannot park here.

In fact,

on the sign,

it does not say

you can't park here.

So, next time,

I'm not going to tell you

where it is

because you might

steal my spot.

But, after all,

that's the reason

why I ask people

to fly in the Springs

and not Denver.

Because you can do that.

Now, as I walked

into the baggage claim,

as I always do,

this lady approached me,

no badge,

no uniform,

no credentials,

and said,

hey,

you should move

your car.

And I said to myself,

thanks.

Okay,

I hear you.

But I'll just be

right back out

because I'm going

to pick up somebody

and come back in.

I said this all

in my head.

And then,

so,

I dismissed this lady.

I have no idea

who she is.

She's not wearing

a uniform.

She's not wearing

a badge.

She has no authority.

But then,

a few minutes later,

as I'm waiting around,

what happens?

The big,

bad voice

that comes over

the airport intercom

that tells you

you're about to miss

your flight

comes and gives out

a description of my car

and says,

you need to move

your vehicle.

So,

what do I do?

I immediately run out

and I go

and I stand by my car

because,

you know,

I don't want my car

to get towed.

But,

that dreaded alert

prompted me to action

because it spoke

with authority.

The lady who is not

uniformed,

who didn't have

a name badge,

who didn't have

any credentials,

I didn't believe her.

But when that

airport voice came on,

man,

I was hustling.

The authority

of an unmarked,

unbadged,

ununiformed

airport worker

is not what's

in question here.

But it's really similar.

Authority

is what God represents.

God is giving

the testimony

through his spirit

and he is saying,

this is true.

Jesus is the son of God.

Way more authority

than the airport voice.

The airport intercom.

And when he says,

these are the marks

of a Christian,

when John says

these things,

why do we blindly

go forward

or bebop along

like it doesn't matter?

Or why do we deny

that truth?

Because when we do that,

we make God out

to be a liar,

as John says.

Christian,

do you live

in a way

that confesses

this truth?

Do you bear

these marks?

Do you love God?

Do you love

his people?

Do you love

what he loves?

Do you love

his commandments,

his word?

Do you love

him yourself?

Yes,

moment by moment,

that is really difficult.

And you're not going

to do that perfectly,

as we've said.

But are there areas

or arenas

that we're holding

so closely

that we don't want

to let him invade?

Because I can do this

on my own.

Because I believe

that I can start

for the Denver Nuggets.

Are we blindly

walking?

Turn to him

for forgiveness

for that unbelief.

Christian,

the gospel

is for you too.

It's not something

that we leave aside

after we've made right

with God,

and then we go

on about our way.

It's moment

by moment.

I think this is sometimes

when we look

at missionaries

and it seems crazy

what they do.

I think of John Payton,

spelled almost like Patton,

but Payton.

He goes to an island

in the South Pacific

where there are cannibals,

and everybody says

he's crazy.

Maybe he is

a little bit crazy.

He loses his wife,

he loses his children,

and we look at that life

and say,

oh my goodness,

that is crazy.

But God used him

so much

because he was

so sure

of this.

But instead,

often in our own lives,

we're almost hedging

our bets a little bit.

That's why

when we go

to the cubicle

or we're sharing

with a friend

over coffee

or at work,

we almost don't want

them to know

we're Christians.

But what would

that boldness look like

in our daily lives

as we parent

and interact

with that neighbor

who thinks

you're crazy

because you showed up here

to listen to me?

What would it look like

in that boldness

to share the gospel

with that person?

What would it look like

to not hedge your bets,

to not be ashamed

of that?

Man,

that life of John Payton

and my life

on a Monday

or a Wednesday

look a lot more similar.

maybe it's why

instead of

in persisting

in faithfulness

to share the gospel,

we remain silent

because we're scared.

Because by our actions,

we might

in some small part

be saying,

I'm not sure

about your testimony.

I'm not sure

about what you say.

if you've never

considered

the testimony

of God

and his son,

this kind of

sounds a little bit crazy

and you'd be right.

But I invite you

this morning

to consider

the testimony

that John is giving.

Consider the testimony

that the Spirit

has given

that God has said

about his own son

that he's fully man,

fully God

and he died

on the cross

for your sin

so that he might

have life.

Life

to the full.

John points us

in these last few verses

to this very fact.

This is the testimony

that God gave us,

eternal life.

And this is life

in his son.

Whoever has the son

has life.

Whoever does not

have the son

does not have life.

John's given

us these words

so that we might remember

that those who believe

have eternal life

and have it to the full

as he says

in the gospel.

Whoever has the son

has life.

Christian,

someone who's

not a follower

of Christ,

come to Christ

for in the son

there is life.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we're reminded

this morning

of wherever

this finds us.

Believing

in your word,

believing in your testimony,

or struggling

through it,

that you have

offered us

a life,

eternal life

in your son.

May we find

this testimony

to be true

and Father,

may we delight

in it.

And we pray

these things

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.