Sharing in God's Victory (Part Four)

There's a cognitive scientist by the name of Donald Hoffman.

Maybe you've seen the TED Talk he gave not too long ago.

He spends his career, he spent his career as of late,

investigating a single question.

And this question he actually believes is the most important question we can ask.

Because the answer to this question undergirds all other questions and answers.

And that is this.

Do we see reality as it is?

Do we see reality as it is?

Are our perceptions accurate?

It's an important question.

Because our perception of reality, as Hoffman would say,

our entire ability to survive as a species, to flourish as a species,

is directly related to our perception of reality.

We've been looking at 1 John, which is one of the letters that the Apostle John wrote to the church.

We've been looking at this since January, I think.

And at the very end of this letter, which is where we've come to, now here in June,

we come to the end of the letter and we see that John is actually asking the exact same question.

That Hoffman asks.

And what we realize is that this question about reality isn't just a science question.

Actually, more fundamentally, it's a spiritual question.

Do we see reality as it is?

You know, what's interesting is that a lot of people who are not religious,

they view religion, in particular a faith like Christianity,

as being a way of escaping reality.

But in fact, when you began to investigate the core claims of Christianity,

what you see is that Christianity is very much concerned with

our ability to perceive reality as it is.

And in fact, it would say that one of our most fundamental problems

is that we are on our own unable to do so.

But John would say the very same thing, that our ability to survive,

any chance we hope to have of flourishing is directly related to whether or not we perceive reality as it is.

And so in chapter 5, verses 18 through 21,

John is closing his letter out,

and he wants to end with these three powerful statements.

And Diana, if you don't have it up, I'd love for you to have that up there so you can see it.

And each of these statements begins with the words,

we know.

And it's as though John is saying,

here at the very end, I want to leave you with the,

here are the foundational things that we know.

And what he's really saying is,

if we want to see reality for what it is,

then we need these three great truths which act like anchors.

Each of these things anchors us in reality.

The first anchor concerns our identity.

The second anchor concerns our world.

And the third anchor concerns our hope.

So we're going to look at each of those in more detail.

Let's pray for God to help us as we understand his word.

Lord, we do recognize, as we said a moment ago,

that your promise is to speak.

And that even though you're the God who created the heavens and the earth,

even though in many ways you are unfathomable,

that you speak in ways that we can understand.

And we pray that tonight you would do just that.

And I ask for my own heart, my own sake,

and for all of us here that we would have hearts that are open to your word.

We pray this for your glory, Lord, in your son's name.

Amen.

So this first anchor that anchors us to reality,

such that we can perceive it accurately,

concerns our identity.

Let's read verse 18.

He says,

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning,

but he who is born of God protects him,

and the evil one does not touch him.

So what he's saying is the first anchor concerns our identity.

And he says very simply,

If you're a Christian,

then you have been born of God.

And you say,

Well, I know.

We've talked about this many times.

I know this.

I've heard it.

I've heard it.

More than I can count.

But I want to reflect on this,

because what he's talking about

is not a physical birth,

but a spiritual birth.

And the verb that he's talking about,

the verb born,

is in a tense that conveys the fact

that it is a once and for all thing.

That once it happens,

it is done.

And the implications of that reality

continue into eternity.

So he's saying that by believing in Jesus,

by admitting that you need his grace and forgiveness,

you're actually born again into the family of God,

and you actually become a child of God.

This is your anchor.

You may have been here weeks back

when we talked about the example of Wilfredo Garza,

who was,

all of his adult life,

he lived as an illegal immigrant,

and he would sneak across the border,

and he would hide,

and he would work odd jobs,

and he would get paid next to nothing,

and he would hide out,

and he couldn't go out in public

because he was afraid of getting caught,

and he got caught multiple times,

and every time he would get caught,

he would get taken back to Mexico,

and then as soon as he could,

he would sneak back across the border.

And this is how he lived his entire adult life.

And finally,

he got sick of sneaking around,

and got sick of constantly being caught,

and he went into an immigration office,

an immigration lawyer,

to ask what it would take for him to become a citizen.

And they did a little research,

and they actually found out

that his father had been born in Texas,

and that the entire time,

he was a U.S. citizen,

and they had the papers to prove it.

But he had been living like an illegal immigrant.

So there are many, many, many of us,

many people who are Christians,

who have that status,

but who live like we're illegal immigrants.

What makes you a Christian

is not that you believe in God.

Most people believe in God.

You know, what makes you a Christian

is not that you want to be a good person,

and do good things.

Most people want that.

There are many people who,

by the world's standards,

are better people than Christians I know,

myself included.

You know?

And what makes you a Christian

is not that you think that you're a Christian,

because what John is saying

is that Christians have absolute certainty.

A Christian is, by definition,

somebody who says,

I know that I'm a Christian

because I was born that way.

I was born this way.

I look back not to intellectual assents

so much as a rebirth.

I know who my father is.

And because I know who my father is,

I know where I stand before him.

Right?

That's what J.I. Packer says.

The simplest definition

of what it means to be a Christian

is that it's someone

who can call God father.

And with this new status

comes a new kind of life.

That's why Joan goes on to say,

people born of God

do not keep on sinning.

Now, this doesn't mean perfectionism.

This doesn't mean

that Christians don't sin

or have sin in their lives.

Of course they do.

And in fact,

many of you probably know this.

The longer that you're

a follower of Jesus,

the more mature

that you grow in your faith,

the more you see

the reality of sin in your life.

Not less, but more.

You see it in places

that you didn't used to see it.

And that's how you know

you're growing in your faith.

So that's not what

John is talking about.

The verb that he uses

implies a kind of ongoing,

habitual, continuous approach to life

that really embodies

the meaning of sin.

Sin, most basically, is this.

It's ignoring God

and the world that he made.

And so John is saying,

if you know that you've been

born of God,

if you know that he is your father,

then you wouldn't live

in such a way

that you ignore him.

It just wouldn't make sense.

You know, you would think

that once Wilfredo

found out that he, in fact,

had the status of a citizen,

that he would start

to live as a citizen,

that his life would be changed.

And I think it was

dramatically changed.

And the same is true of us.

Once we know

that we have the status

of being a child of God,

it changes our life.

Now, if that discourages you,

if you think,

well, you know,

I look at my life

and I don't see much difference,

the end of verse 18

should be really encouraging to you.

Because John goes on to say,

if we're born of God,

then Jesus,

the one begotten of the Father,

protects us.

Now, this is an amazing statement.

Jesus protects us.

So what he's saying about you

is if you're a Christian,

if you've been born of God,

then Jesus guards you.

He keeps you.

He protects you.

He's the sentry

that stands guard

over your life,

day and night.

You know,

I read this

and it reminded me

of Luke chapter 22,

Luke 22:31

verse 31,

where Jesus says

to Simon Peter,

he says,

Simon, Simon,

behold,

Satan demanded to have you

that he might sift you like wheat.

But I have prayed for you

that your faith may not fail.

And when you have turned again,

not if,

when you have turned again,

strengthen your brothers.

brothers,

no matter what,

if you belong to God,

you're under the protection

of Jesus Christ.

And this evil one

that John has talked about

so much

can't lay a finger on you.

And actually,

the word touch

is actually that word

is more accurately translated

grasp or ignite.

No matter what,

he cannot take hold of you.

This truth,

I believe,

anchors us in reality,

the idea that Jesus keeps us.

Many of you know

that, you know,

I had to go home

this past week,

very last minute,

because my mom had,

basically they realized

that she had a major blockage

in a coronary artery

and she had to have

emergency bypass surgery.

And so,

and so,

we heard this

and Laura and I decided

that we needed to go down there

and be with the family

and so we,

we drove down

and,

and we were there

during the surgery

and,

and it was a fascinating experience.

Obviously,

I was thinking about this passage

as we were sitting there

in the hospital waiting room

and I'd been kind of

meditating on it

the last few weeks

and,

and it was interesting

because most of my family

are,

are not,

would not consider themselves

to be Christians.

and so we're all sitting

in this waiting room

and,

you know,

our,

we sort of took over

one wing of the waiting rooms.

We're all,

you know,

you know,

this motley crew,

my family,

we're all kind of gathered there

and people are in the midst

of waiting to hear

how the surgery is going,

knowing that because of

some pre-existing

health conditions

that my mom was at

much greater risk of dying.

So we're all sitting there

trying to face

and make sense

of the possibility

that we might lose her

on the operating table

or in some complication

following surgery.

And I was so keenly aware

during that time

of the difference

that Christian hope

like this makes

in a situation like that

because I was scared

and by the way,

thank you so much

for all of you

who prayed

and,

and sent encouraging words.

I mean,

we,

you know,

we absolutely felt your prayer

so I deeply appreciate that

and maybe it was your prayer,

maybe that,

maybe the Lord,

one of the ways

that the Lord answered

your prayer for us

was to take this verse

and use it to speak to me

because as I was sitting there,

even though I was aware

of the fear of losing my mom

who I love deeply,

the,

the,

the fear of that loss

and how tremendously

devastating that would be,

underneath that,

there was a deep assurance

and I kept coming back to this,

I know that my mom

belongs to Jesus,

I know that she's a Christian

and because of that,

I know that Jesus keeps her,

and what that means is,

is that death

has no hold on her

and though she may pass away,

the day will come

when she will be given

a new body

and a new heart

and I know with certainty

that I will be with her

for eternity

and I felt this truth

anchoring me in reality

in a situation

where it's very easy

to lose track

of what's real

and to get caught up

in the fear

and in the panic

and I felt this

holding me down

on the ground,

holding me there

when it would be so easy

to be blown this way

and that.

So this is the first anchor

for those of us

who are Christians.

Our identity is

first and foremost

that we've been born

once and for all

into God's family

and we're under

the protection

of Jesus Christ.

The second anchor

concerns the truth

that John gives us

about this world.

You know,

his depiction of the world

is kind of dark.

It's actually appropriate

that there's a thunderstorm

going on right now.

You know,

it sets the appropriate mood

for where we're going here.

Verse 19,

he says this,

we know that we are from God

and the whole world lies

in the power of the evil one.

And I want you to see

this stark contrast here.

There's a contrast.

If you feel uncomfortable,

I think he's trying

to make us uncomfortable.

He says,

on the one hand,

we are from God.

And by we,

he means anybody

who is a Christian

who's born of God.

And he says,

but the world lies

in the power of the evil one.

And I want us to think about,

you know,

this kind of black

and white distinction,

you very rarely see this

and that's because,

frankly,

we don't like this kind

of distinction.

I don't like this kind

of distinction.

If you know anything about me,

I love nuance.

I love to say,

well,

things are much more

complicated than that.

I draw great comfort.

You know,

my favorite color is gray

in many ways.

And so I read this

and it challenges me

because John is saying,

fundamentally,

under all the nuance

and under all the lack

of clarity

and under all

the intellectual humility,

that there is

a line in the sand.

You know,

as C.S. Lewis wrote,

there are only two kinds

of people in the end,

those who say to God,

thy will be done

and those to whom

God says in the end,

thy will be done.

Or there's another way

to put it

and that is that

there are people

who insist

on substituting

themselves for God.

And there are people

who recognize

that that's what's wrong

with the world.

They put off

that way of life

and recognize

that their hope

rests in the fact

that God has

substituted himself

for us.

This is the definition

of sin.

I substitute myself

for God.

This is the definition

of salvation.

God substituted himself

for me.

And John is saying,

either your life

is based on one

or it's based on the other

of these realities.

So the distinction,

I think,

between those two kinds

of people

has largely been blurred

in our culture.

I mean,

for a very,

very,

very long time.

You know,

until now,

most people

called themselves

Christians

in our culture,

even though a good

number of them

had no idea

what that really meant.

If you grew up

in the South,

you know particularly

well what this

looks like.

But what you see

is a country

where Christian faith

in the gospel

and patriotism

and politics,

national identity,

they've been so

conflated

and so intermingled

that it's very easy

to confuse

one for the other.

I know I've told

the story before

of being overseas

in a largely

Southeast Asian population

and we were doing

religious knowledge surveys

and one of our questions

was,

where was Jesus born?

And the majority

of people we asked

said,

the United States.

You know,

that's the kind of confusion

that has existed

up to now,

right?

But that's changing

and what we're seeing

in our country now

for the first time

is that the cultural cost

of labeling yourself

a Christian

outweighs

the cultural benefit.

And so you have

a lot of people

who used to check

Christian

on the survey

who are now checking

the unaffiliated box.

And a lot of Christians

look at this

and they lament it

and oh my goodness

and what does this mean

and it's the death

of Christianity.

Well I and others

think this is absolutely

the best thing

that could possibly happen

in our culture.

Because now

we're beginning

to be able to see

through the haze

and the fog

and in light

of our original question

we're able to see

more clearly

reality

for what it is.

You know,

John says

that the whole world

lies in the power

of the evil one

and that word lies

actually means

to lie asleep.

It's the word

that you would use

to lie on your back

asleep in your bed.

So he's saying,

you know,

if you're a Christian

Satan can't even touch you.

You're under protection.

We're under protection.

But if you're not,

then you're asleep

in the arms

of the evil one.

That's what he's saying.

You know,

I hate to reference it

because it's been used a lot

but you know,

the best modern illustration

of this is the movie

The Matrix.

You know,

with the fundamental premise

is people are going

about their lives

and eating and drinking

and working

and having families

and all of that

and unbeknownst to them

they're actually lying

asleep

in service

to this great evil.

Right?

And the only way

to escape that

is for there to be

an intervention

where somebody comes in

from the outside

and wakes you up

and sets you free

and then,

you know,

there's that great line

from Morpheus to Neo

when he's first freed,

you know,

welcome to the world

of the real.

Now you're seeing reality

for what it really is

and it's a horror show.

And so what John is saying

is that that's what we need.

The world lies asleep

in the arms of evil

and Christians are simply

those people

who have been awakened.

So if our first anchor

that helps us see reality

accurately

is that we're born of God

and that he protects us,

the second anchor is this,

we live in exile.

We live as Christians

in a world

that is fundamentally

hostile to God

and often hostile

to those who belong to God.

And apart from God's saving grace,

human beings are spiritually ignorant.

If you want to think

about implications of this,

there are lots of implications.

One maybe particularly

relevant implication for us

is this is why Christians

only marry Christians.

You know,

I mean,

a lot of people hear that

and they think that's insane

and that's crazy

and that's why would you even

think of it that way

these days.

You know,

if I meet a person

and we really love each other

and we really get along

and we have a lot of things

in common,

then surely we can just

agree to disagree

when it comes to faith.

But John would say,

you're not seeing reality

for what it is.

You're not seeing things clearly.

He would say,

it may seem like

that's not a big deal.

But if you're seeing reality

for what it is,

what you would realize

is that someone

who has been born of God

and awakened

and set free from this

cannot pledge themselves

to somebody

who is still spiritually asleep

and hostile

to that very same God.

You can't pledge yourselves

to one another.

And the reason is simple.

Because you have

a divided allegiance

and you're each living

in service

to masters

who are fundamentally opposed.

It's an impossibility.

You know,

Christian values

and ethics

and priorities

make absolutely

no sense

to someone

if they're still

spiritually asleep.

They don't make sense.

They don't fit at all.

You can't justify them

apart from

the reality of Christ.

And so people

can't be reasoned

into this faith.

Even though

it's an incredibly

intellectually rich faith,

you can't be reasoned

alone into this faith.

The only hope,

the only way

is for someone

to come in

from the outside,

Jesus Christ,

and intervene

in your life

and wake you up.

It's something

only God can do.

So the first anchor

is this.

We belong to God.

We're under

the protection

of Jesus Christ

if we're Christians.

The second anchor

is that we live

in spiritual exile.

And the third anchor

kind of ties

all these things together

and it really concerns

the nature

of our hope.

Verses 20 and 21

say this,

and we know

that the Son of God

has come

and given us

understanding

so that we may know

Him who is true.

And we are in Him

who is true

in His Son,

Jesus Christ.

He is the true God

and eternal life.

And then verse 21,

little children,

keep yourselves

from idols.

Sounds like a total

non-sequitur.

We'll get back

to why He says that.

But He's essentially

saying this,

what is our hope?

Living in this kind

of world?

Well, the hope

for this kind of world

is this,

that that intervention

that we talked about,

that He has come.

This intervention

has come.

The Son of God

has come.

And I want to make

note of this,

that He came to us,

not the other way around.

We didn't get to Him.

There's nothing that we did

that got us to Him.

See, this is why

you can't leave off

with that last point I made.

You can't just say,

we've been awakened,

but everybody around us

is still asleep,

because if we just said that,

that would very quickly

lead to all kinds

of spiritual arrogance.

You know,

that sounds like

a very arrogant thing to say.

I'm awake

and I see reality

and you don't.

You know,

you say that today

and people will get

really offended.

This point is incredibly important

because it helps us remember,

there's nothing that I did.

The only reason

that this is true of me,

the only reason

that this is true of you,

is because God came

into your life

and awakened you.

Spiritually brought you

to life.

Wasn't anything you did,

you don't deserve it,

you'll never be able

to repay it,

that's why we call it grace.

But there's been

an intervention

in your life

and what the Bible

tells us is that

Jesus intends

that intervention

for all people,

that this hope

is meant for all people.

So, you know,

Paul says in Ephesians 2,

if this has happened to you,

you have no reason

to boast.

You're no different

than anybody else.

And then John goes on

to say

that when he talks

of Jesus,

he refers to Jesus

as he who is true.

I'm talking about

him who is true.

And I think that's

an interesting phrase

that shows up

a number of times.

And when I looked it up

and when I looked

at the original word

for this,

this isn't the normal

Greek word

that means true

or truth.

It's a word

that more accurately

means reality

or real.

This brings us back

to our initial question.

So he's actually saying,

what he's saying is,

here's the hope

that we have,

the real God

has come to us.

The cornerstone

of reality,

the one who,

when you put him

at the center,

he helps to make sense

of everything else.

That real God,

that real being,

the ultimate reality,

has come to us.

And if you know that,

that's why it helps

to make sense

of why John

would go on to say,

little children,

keep yourselves

from idols.

This isn't an afterthought,

it's an application.

He's saying,

listen,

if the real God

has come,

you need to make

very sure

that you're not

devoted to

a fake God,

a false God.

Because the real God

is here.

Guard yourself

from the false God

so that you can

embrace and cling

to and be in

the real God.

Now,

we're going to talk

about this more

next week in depth.

We're going to just

spend our whole time,

the last sermon

in 1 John,

we're going to look

just at verse 21.

But I want to give you

one image or illustration

to help make sense

of what John's

talking about here.

There's an insect

called the Australian

jewel beetle.

jewel beetle.

And the jewel beetle

is distinctive

because it's brown

and glossy

and has dimples

all over the back

of its shell.

Right?

And they live

in the outback

and females

are flightless

and so the males

fly around

and they look

for a suitable female,

nice brown shell,

nice looking dimples,

you know,

nice glossy sheen.

And when they find

a hot female,

they land

and they mate.

Right?

Well, another thing

that's been happening

in the outback

is trash buildup.

And you have a lot

of beer bottles

that are just

thrown out of cars.

What do beer bottles

look like?

They're brown,

they're glossy,

and they're dimpled

around the bottom.

The species

has almost gone extinct.

Why?

It's because

as the males

are flying around,

they see the beer bottle

and the beer bottle

has in appearance

everything that

they're looking for.

And so you have

beer bottles

with male beetles

swarming over them

trying to mate,

trying to have union.

And you have

all these lonely females

who are getting

no attention

because the males

are rejecting

the reality

for the fantasy.

Now,

this has enormous

application value,

right?

I mean,

we could just

go all day.

We could just

riff until tomorrow

about men

leaving women

for the bottle.

But more important,

and I got that

from Hoffman

who said this,

but more accurately,

obviously,

sexually speaking,

this is a great example

of exactly what

pornography is doing

in our culture,

where men

are increasingly

choosing the fantasy

over the reality.

They're choosing

to attach themselves

to something

that isn't real,

that only has

the appearance

of reality,

and that is incapable

of life-giving union

rather than the real thing.

But on a deeper,

more spiritual level,

this is actually

a wonderful picture

of idolatry.

Because John is saying,

you were made

for one thing,

union with Christ.

Your entire purpose,

your entire reason

for being here,

your entire hope,

your entire life

is here.

The entire gospel endeavor

from Genesis to Revelation

is all to make possible

your union with Christ.

That's the whole thing.

That's what it's all about,

that you could know

the fulfillment

of what human life is for,

and that has to be

a part of the Trinity.

And instead,

again and again and again,

we are choosing

objects of devotion

that have the appearance

of a Savior,

the appearance

of something worth

our devotion,

but which are incapable

of the life-giving union

for which we were made.

We can go on and on

with examples.

We will more in detail

next week.

Good things,

like your job

or your desire for success,

your family,

your kids,

things that are good,

things that look shiny,

you know,

things that promise a lot,

but things that ultimately,

if you give yourself

completely to them,

will not give back.

They will only take.

And John is saying,

guard yourself from that.

The real God has come.

He's intervened.

He's waking you up

so that you will know him

and be in him

for all eternity.

No substitute will do.

Don't settle.

So coming back

to our question

at the beginning,

are we able to see reality

as it is?

You know,

can we cut through the haze?

Can we cut through

the uncertainty

and the confusion?

The conflicting views

about reality?

Are we actually able

to see things

as they really are?

The answer is yes.

As long as we anchor ourselves

with these truths.

First,

that Christians

are born of God

and that if you're a Christian,

you're once and for all

God's child

and you are under

his protection.

Second,

that we live in exile.

The world is asleep,

alienated from God,

and only the intervening

power of God himself

can restore such a world.

And the last anchor

is this,

the good news

that that intervention

has come.

That reality himself

has broken into the darkness

and the darkness

cannot overcome it.

Let's pray.

Father,

only you know

where we are this evening

and where our hearts are.

There are some of us here

who know this hope,

who have the certainty

of what it means

to belong to you.

We experience your love.

We know the richness

of this relationship

that we have with you.

There are many of us here,

Lord,

some of us Christians

and some of us not,

who don't know this,

who doubt it,

who question it,

who wrestle with it.

Lord,

those of us

who are afraid

to hope

that we might

be disappointed,

those of us

who feel

distant from you,

disconnected,

who wonder

if you're even there,

maybe even those of us

who are angry at you

or who hate you.

Lord,

may we rest

and may we hope

in the fact

that you have come,

that you're here with us

even as we

sit in this space.

And we pray

that in only

the way that you can do,

you would make yourself

known to us,

that we would

have the kind of

union

for which we were made.

And we pray this

in your son's holy name.

Amen.