"The Obedience Test, Part 1"

I got to be honest with you, at great risk and peril to myself,

I have brought something into this sanctuary.

I know what I'm about to show you, there may be a rush upon me in the pulpit

to try to grab what's in this box.

You might be live streaming right now and you might want to start bidding on things,

but this is not for anyone's purchase.

I hold in my hand this dazzling rock.

Now, I've estimated that if this is a diamond, a real diamond, it's about 600 or 700 carats,

which puts it in like the $150, $200 million range.

Now, you may be wondering some questions.

How have I come across this $150 to $200 million diamond, if it is a diamond?

Now, the question is, how do you know this thing is for real?

How do you know this thing is genuine?

And the way you go about finding whether this particular rock in my hand is genuine

would be to ask some questions, perform some tests.

So the first question you could ask me is,

Pastor Mike, are you and Jenny millionaires without us knowing?

And the easy answer is no, not even close.

So we're not millionaires.

We couldn't afford to buy a $150 to $200 million rock like this.

And if we had it, I wouldn't anyway.

Now, you might ask a different kind of question.

You might, okay, Mike, let's analyze the actual composition of this thing in your hand.

So you're like, if I were to take a 10-pound sledgehammer and bring it down on top of that thing in your hand,

what would happen?

If it were to shatter, I'm guessing that's glass.

But if my 10-pound sledgehammer bounced off that thing, maybe it is a diamond.

Here's another test.

Let's say that you just happen to have a cauldron in your basement that can heat up to about 2,600 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you drop that this in that, would it melt like wax?

And if that's the case, it's glass.

Or would it stand the test?

Now, here's a question that would really get at the heart of things.

Mike, how did you acquire this thing?

And if I told you I bought it at Hobby Lobby for $9.39,

I think you guys would be like, okay, well, that's kind of cleared it up.

Tests.

How do you know something is the genuine real deal?

You test it.

And in the book of 1 John,

the apostle John sends us a series of tests

to test us

to whether we're genuinely

born of God,

children of God,

followers of Jesus.

And all throughout the book of 1 John,

there is this cycling of tests,

three tests.

There is the belief test.

Do you believe the truth about Jesus Christ,

that He's fully God and fully man,

and died as a propitiation for our sins?

And then there's the obedience test,

the test of saying,

do you obey the commands of Jesus?

Do you obey God's commands in His words?

Are you walking as Jesus Himself walked,

1 John 1.6?

We're going to be looking at the obedience test today.

The third test is the love test,

to abound in love.

Do you love as God loves?

Do you love the other children of God,

bought by the blood of Jesus,

as God loves them?

So when we can sum up these tests

as the belief tests,

the obedience test,

and the abound.

Believe,

obey,

and abound in love.

And this morning,

as I mentioned,

we're looking at the obedience test.

This test actually spans

1 John 2.28-3.10.

And what we see happening in these verses

is that John connects our present obedience,

what he calls practicing righteousness in 2.29.

He connects them to the appearing of Jesus Christ.

In fact,

he connects them to two appearings of Jesus Christ.

In our section that I'm going to preach this morning,

in chapter 2.28-33,

he connects our present obedience

to the future appearing of Jesus.

And in verses 3,

chapter 3,

verse 4-10,

he connects our present obedience

to the past appearing of Jesus Christ.

So,

for the next two weeks,

part 1 and part 2,

the obedience test

of present obedience to Jesus

because of the appearing of Jesus.

So,

here's the big idea.

If you're following me along,

if you want to jot these down

in the back of your bulletins,

here's the big idea.

Christian,

your future hope

fuels

your present obedience.

Child of God,

your future hope

in Christ,

in His coming,

in His glory,

motivates

your present obedience

to Christ.

Future hope

fuels

present obedience.

And so,

the way that we're going to go about this

is I'm going to ask you

three diagnostic questions

about your present obedience

with an eye

to the future coming of Jesus.

So,

let's look at

this first

diagnostic question.

will you stand

before Him

confident

or will you

shrink

from Him

in shame

when He comes?

Let me read

1 John

1 John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

28-33

and now

little children

abide in Him

so that when He appears

we may have confidence

and not shrink from Him

in shame

at His coming.

If you know

that He is righteous

you may be sure

that everyone

who practices righteousness

has been born of Him.

See what kind of love

the Father has given us

that we should be called

children of God

and so

we

are.

The reason

why the world

does not know us

is that it did not

know Him

beloved.

We are God's children

now

and what we will be

has not yet appeared

but we will

we know

that when He appears

we shall be like Him

because we shall

see Him

as He is

and everyone

who thus hopes

in Him

purifies himself

as He is pure

now.

So,

when He comes

will you stand

before Him

confident

or will you

shrink from Him

in fear?

Let me just

establish

just

a couple

things first.

First,

Jesus is coming

back.

If you flip back

in your Bibles

to Matthew

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25

it's at the end

of the first book

of the New Testament.

Jesus has entered

into Jerusalem

He's just days

hours away

from being crucified

and He is explaining

to those listening

what's going to happen

at the end times.

And one of the things

that's going to happen

is He's coming back.

And so in chapter 25

verse 31

Jesus says this

about Himself.

When the Son of Man

comes in His glory

and all the angels

with Him

then He will sit

on His glorious throne.

Jesus is coming back.

Jesus has said

He's coming back.

He has foretold us

because He's our

great prophet

that He's coming back.

What we know

even from Billy's reading

of 1 Thessalonians 5

is that He's coming back

suddenly

like a thief.

He's coming back

at a time

no one knows

the day or the hour.

Matthew 24 verse 36.

Matthew 24:36

And when He comes back

everyone will see it.

It will be undeniable.

You look at Revelation 1-7

and all the nations

of the world

apart from Him

are going to groan

at His coming.

It's going to be obvious

for all.

It is the game changer.

He's coming back.

But the second thing

you need to know

about His coming

is that when He comes back

He will judge

all humanity

that ever lived.

If you still have your finger

in Matthew 25

in verse 32

we read

before Him

the Son of Man

sitting on His throne

as a king

before Him

will be gathered

all the nations.

And He

will separate people

one from another

as a shepherd

separates the sheep

from the goats.

It's a picture of judgment.

And He will place

the sheep

on His right hand

but the goats

on the left.

Then the king

Jesus

will say to those

on His right

come

you are blessed

by my Father

and inherit

the kingdom

prepared for you.

Come on in.

And then in verse 41

then He will say

to those on His left

depart from me

you cursed

into the eternal fire

prepared for the devil

and his angels.

When He comes back

He's going to judge

all humanity.

He's going to separate

all humanity

as those who have

trusted in Him

and lived for Him

and those who have not.

In 2 Corinthians 5.10

we read this

that every Christian

will stand before

the judgment of seed

not just to say

welcome in

but Jesus will

judge them

on what they have

done for Him.

we will stand

before the judgment

seat of Christ

to receive what is due

for what He has done

each has done

in the body

whether good or evil.

Again this

2 Corinthians 5.10

is not a judgment

of whether or not

you belong to Jesus

but a judgment

of reward

for how you've

invested your life

for Jesus

on earth.

That's why

2 Corinthians 5.11

says

Paul says

knowing the fear

of the Lord

I'm going to be judged

by Him someday

I persuade others

now.

Every one of us

will stand before

Jesus

when He appears

and to give an account

for how we have

lived our life.

So let me bring you

back to

1 John 2.28

When we read

and now little children

abide in Him

so that when He appears

we may have confidence

and not shrink from Him

in shame

at His coming

when He appears

and His coming

are talking about

the same thing

when He comes back

and when He judge.

When He appears

will you stand

before Him

and have confidence?

confidence.

It's a really

interesting word

in Greek.

It literally means

to speak boldly.

To say

I've got nothing

to hide.

Could you imagine

Jesus coming back

in His glory

and you stand

before Him

and be able to say

I've got nothing

to hide.

It's not a confidence

in your own righteousness

as though your salvation

is riding on it.

You can't save yourself.

Only the finished work

of Jesus

His righteousness

imputed to you

can save you.

So what's the confidence in?

It's in the confidence

of saying

now that He has saved me

I have given

everything I can

for Him

without regret.

I've lived my life

as best I could

for the one

who gave His life

for me.

And to be able

to stand before Jesus

and say

Jesus I wish

I had more years

to have given to you.

I wish I had more lives

to give to you

to bring more people

to you

to declare your praises

to live for your glory

to practice righteousness.

I wish I had more time.

Not because you're looking

to earn salvation

but in response

to what He's done

for you

as worship

unto Him.

I only wish

I had more time.

Will you stand

before Him

with confidence

oh Jesus

only if I had

more to give

or

will you shrink

from Him

in shame?

All of us

know what shame is.

All of us

know what it's like

to have a reckoning

with someone

like our parents

or our teachers

coaches

bosses

you name it

we all know

what it's like

to have a reckoning

with someone

and we don't

want to be seen

we don't want

to make eye contact

because we've got

nothing to show.

Could you imagine

a blood bought

follower of Jesus

standing before Him

upon His return

and shamefully

not wanting

to make eye contact

with Christ

because they know

they've wasted

their life?

Could you imagine

that?

Having wasted

your life

for living

for the things

that this

present world

says is important

but in the end

it just

passes away.

Could you imagine

someone living

decades

of their life

having given

their life

to things

that are

lesser

and temporary

and you've got

to explain

yourself

to Jesus?

C.T. Studd

wrote a book

or wrote a poem

it's probably

my favorite

poem

yours

stands up

just one life

which will soon

be passed

only what's done

for Christ

will last

will you be honest

with yourself

this morning

if Jesus

were to appear

this afternoon

and you found

yourself standing

before Him

would you stand

with confidence

oh Jesus

only if I had

more time

I would do

so much more

for you

or would you

not want to

make eye contact

with Him

would you be

ashamed

well I've got

good news

for you

there's a way

to avoid

the shame

on that day

it's right here

in our text

and now

little children

abide

in Him

so that

purpose clause

when He appears

we may have

confidence

and not shrink

from Him

and shame

at His coming

do you know

how not to be

ashamed on that day

you abide

in Him

now

you abide

in Him

now

and you can be

confident

before Him

on that day

Jesus

pictures

this

abiding

relationship

as an

ongoing

dependent

relationship

to Him

where you

are

perpetually

recognizing

Him

as who

He claims

to be

King of kings

and Lord of lords

the source

of life

and you

are

seeking

to constantly

obey

what He's

told you

to do

out of obedience

to Him

when you live

like that

you are

a branch

abiding

to Jesus

the vine

I am the vine

you are the branches

anyone who abides

in me and I in him

bears much fruit

practices righteousness

for apart from me

you can do nothing

imagine Jesus

is the son

of our solar system

and we are

planets

in abiding

orbit

around Him

and we are

orbiting around Him

with joy

knowing who He is

obeying what He says

and we give Him

all the glory

any glory we have

is coming off

of His glory

in verse 29

we read

if you know

that He is righteous

you may be sure

that everyone

who practices righteousness

has been born of Him

if you know

that Jesus

is righteous

if He is pure

and He is pure

if He is good

He is good

if He is holy

He is holy

and if He is honorable

He is honored

in heaven

above all else

right now

if you know this

if you know this

about Jesus

and you are abiding

in Him

you can be sure

anyone

yourself included

who is practicing righteousness

who is seeking

to be pure

who is seeking

to be good

who is seeking

to be holy

who is seeking

to live an honorable life

in God's eyes

that that person

has been born of God

too

born of Him

the Father

this is the first time

this phrase

born of Him

is used

in the first John

and it's going to be used

nine times

in the rest of the book

if you have

been born of God

you have been

made alive

by the Spirit of God

you've been regenerated

it's John 3

and you have

a whole new set

of desires

for your God

because you're

now His child

and now

you have an inclination

of heart

to practice righteousness

to please Him

practicing righteousness

is a shared fruit

of all who belong

to God

all who are born of God

and it resonates

with one another

if you're not practicing

righteousness

but

and you're not abiding

in Jesus

you need to start

asking a question

are you in fact

a child of God

and if you come

to the conclusion

that I don't think

I am

the solution is

trust in Jesus

turn from your sins

turn from what

you're trusting

and that's not Jesus

and turn to Jesus

who will light you up

and deliver you

from your sins

when Jesus returns

will you stand

before Him confident

or will you shrink

from Him in fear

and the solution is

abide in Him now

and you will be confident

before Him then

our future hope

fuels our present

obedience

the second question

is this

do you know

who you belong to now

and who you belong to

no longer

you

Christian

you cannot

forget

who you are

when the

when the Apostle John

finishes writing

verse 29

and he finishes

with those words

has been born

of Him

born of the Father

that moves

John

onto a topic

that never got

old for him

here's John

writing in his 70s

and what he's about

to say to us

is high

hearted

joy

and you can tell

because one of the

things he does

is he includes

himself

in what he has

to say

see what kind

of love

the Father

has given

to

us

that we

should be called

children of God

and so we are

that should be an

exclamation point

not a period

Christian

you must

be thoroughly

convinced

of God's

out of this world

love

for you

you know

when I was

writing this sermon

I was thinking

that

another option

for this

second

diagnostic

question

would be

this

when you

think about

God's

love

Christian

do you

think of

God's

love

as

general

and

ordinary

like

wallpaper

or

do you

think of

God's

love

as

particular

to

you

and

extraordinary

that

he

would

love

you

there's

this

little

phrase

what

kind

see

what

kind

of love

the

father

has

given

to

us

that

is

a

bigger

deal

than

what

the

English

seems

to

convey

it's

one

word

in

Greek

and it

basically

means

this

you're

not

from

around

here

out

of the

country

out

of this

world

extraordinary

Matthew

8

Jesus

is

on the

sea

of

Galilee

in a

boat

with his

disciples

in the

sea

of

Galilee

is

raging

it's

crazy

Jesus

is

sleeping

his

disciples

are

freaking

out

and

they

finally

say

let's

wake

up

the

master

and

they

say

save

us

we're

perishing

Jesus

says

where's

your

faith

and

then

he

gets

up

stands

up

and

he

rebukes

the

wind

and

the

waves

and

it's

completely

calm

and

you

know

what

the

disciples

then

say

he's

not

from

around

here

who

is

this

guy

he's

not

from

this

country

and

they

were

amazed

they

marveled

this

word

used

of

Jesus

in

Matthew

8

is

being

used

here

in

1

John

3

1

of

God's

love

for

us

it's

extraordinary

it's

out of

this

world

what

kind

of

love

is

this

love

that

God

so

committed

to

us

that

he

would

even

call

us

his

children

you

got to

understand

something

brothers

and

sisters

he

doesn't

love

us

because

we're

lovable

we

are

yes

his

image

bearers

but

we've

rejected

him

we've

rebelled

against

him

and

we

followed

the

prince

of

the

power

of

the

air

for

some

duration

of

our

lives

and

he

loved

us

still

what

kind

of

love

is

that

we

were

his

enemies

and

now

we

are

his

children

because

of

his

out

of

this

world

love

for

us

he

loves

us

from

heaven

here

extraordinary

Romans 5

8

but God

demonstrates

his own

love

towards

us

and that

while we

were yet

sinners

Christ

died

for us

he

didn't

love

us

because

we

are

lovable

but

because

he

is

loving

because

he

is

good

because

he's

kind

and by

his

sovereign

grace

he

chose

us

in

his

love

from

before

the

foundation

of

the

world

for

himself

you

can't

earn

it

it's

right

there

see

what

kind

of

love

the

father

has

given

to

us

it's

a

gift

you

can't

earn

this

love

but

we

forget

amidst

COVID

spikes

amidst

racially

tension

tense

moments

in our

city

amongst

political

upheavals

in our

nation

we

lose

sight

of

that

we

have

these

screaming

nows

in our

face

and we

lose

sight

of

God's

great

love

for

us

not

to

mention

the

constant

press

from

our

culture

to

think

just

as

isolated

individuals

to

think

materialistically

to

prize

entertainment

and check

out

in all

this

stuff

we

forget

who

we

are

and

John

says

at the

end

of

in the

middle

of

3

1

and

so

we

are

exclamation

point

children

of

God

loved

by

God

the

father

that's

who

you

are

that's

who

I

am

that's

who

you

are

and

we

can

never

forget

about

it

imagine

what

happens

when

you

start

living

your

life

and

you

have

this

track

on

replay

in

your

mind

that

says

something

like

this

God

loves

me

not

because

I'm

lovable

but

he

is

loving

God

loves

me

and

I'm

his

child

and

he's

my

heavenly

father

could

you

imagine

what

happens

when

you

thinking

about

that

and

walking

through

your

life

I

need

to

tell

you

something

if

you

are

meditating

on

God's

love

for

you

you're

going

to

grow

in

faith

in

what

God

says

about

you

and

you're

going

to

grow

confident

and

you're

going

to

have

a

growing

distaste

for

sin

here's

why

God's

love

for

you

isn't

just

a

rub

your

back

kind

of

love

God's

love

for

you

child

of

God

is

a

purifying

love

it's

a

holy

love

it's

a

Hebrews

12

discipline

of the

father

who

is

seeking

for

us

to

share

in

his

holiness

and

harvest

a

harvest

of

joy

love

his

love

for

us

is

a

Romans

8

seeking

to

conform

us

to

the

image

of

his

beloved

son

in

holiness

love

that's

how

he's

going

to

love

us

and

that's

why

we

live

in

contrast

to

the

world

it's

right

there

in

the

text

the

reason

why

the

world

does

not

know

us

is

that

it

did

not

know

him

the

world

is

the

unregenerate

humanity

regard

us

they

don't

hold

us

in

high

esteem

we

used

to

live

among

them

we

get

it

we

know

why

and

they

don't

hold

us

in

high

regard

because

they

don't

regard

him

that

could

either

be

the

father

or

Jesus

what

we

can

say

is

they

don't

have

high

regard

for

our

great

triune

God

you

used

to

be

part

of

the

world

but

when

God

in

his

love

called

you

as

his

child

to

himself

he

called

you

out

of

the

world

and

as a

result

of being

born

of

God

we

have

these

new

inclinations

to

love

God

and

to

long

for

the

return

of

Jesus

which

fuels

our

present

obedience

let

me

ask

you

the

last

question

who

or

what

are

you

putting

your

hope

in

who

or

what

are

you

putting

your

hope

in

we

see

this

in

verses

two

and

three

if

if

you're

a

child

of

God

you

are

loved

by

God

you

abide

in

Christ

now

to be

confident

before

Christ

then

and

what

we're

going

to

see

now

is

when

you

hope

in

the

Jesus

of

then

when

he

comes

in

his

glory

you

will

become

like

Jesus

now

beloved

we are

God's

children

now

and

what

we

will

be

has

not

yet

appeared

but

we

know

that

when

he

appears

we

shall

be

like

him

because

we

shall

see

him

as

he

is

and

everyone

who

thus

hopes

in

him

purifies

himself

as

he

is

pure

hope

is

a

very

interesting

word

the

biblical

use

of

hope

and

the

world's

use

of

hope

are

two

very

different

meanings

of

hope

the

world

uses

hope

more

along

the

lines

of

wishful

thinking

it's

like

wouldn't

it

be

really

good

if

this

happened

or

that

happened

wouldn't

it

be

really

good

if

this

vaccine

came

in

and

we

got

everybody

vaccinated

and

there

was

no

more

COVID-19

that's

a

hope

there's

no

promises

wouldn't

it

be

really

good

if

when

when

Joe

Biden

becomes

our

president

things

just

dramatically

change

and

there's

peace

in

our

country

no

promises

wouldn't

it

be

really

good

if

there's

no

more

racial

tension

in

the

city

of

Kenosha

and

we

don't

have

to

see

those

kind

of

block

hadings

of

Sheridan

anymore

no

promises

the

world's

hope

gives

no

real

substance

to

set

your

heart

fully

upon

biblical

hope

hope

is

a

forward

aimed

faith

in

the

rock

solid

promises

of

God's

word

biblical

hope

is

a

faith

filled

confidence

that

God

will

be

faithful

to

all

of

his