Letters From John - Confident,Close,Conformed

All right, good morning.

Is this working?

Yeah, we got something going on.

Awesome.

How's everybody doing?

Good, good.

Uh good to be with you guys.

Uh just to give you a quick heads up fighting a cold or tail end of it.

So um my voice might be a little bit um, I don't know, maybe it's annoying today.

I'm not sure, but it's uh not where I'm looking to be.

And uh but that's okay.

And there'll be a lot of uh probably water breaks.

If you guys want to take a water break too during the message, feel free.

And uh, but before we jump in, I just want to pray because this is uh this is God's word, and uh I just wanna, and as a church, I want us just to honor uh the truth of God's word.

So just pray with me.

Lord, we just uh thank you for loving us enough, God, to not just allow us to just be lost in the darkness, Lord, just looking for just answers or looking for places to find uh direction and meaning and purpose, but God, you loved us enough that you are a God who reached down, who allowed us to know who you are on a personal level, Lord.

Allowed us to know your plan of salvation, of redemption, your plan of meeting that meaning that we have through Christ Jesus.

And so we just thank you.

And I just pray, Lord, for uh just our time this morning.

God, would you just bring uh our hearts together, Lord, to just be excited about who you are, um, be excited about Christ, excited what Christ has done for us to not even just walk with excitement, but walk with adoration and worship.

And God, would you uh just remind us just who who we are because of what Christ has done and uh the relationship we have with you through strictly the work of Jesus and Jesus alone.

Uh so just be with us this morning in Jesus' name.

Amen.

All right.

Uh so once again, my name is Kirk.

My glasses already fogging up.

That's an amazing start.

Um, if you're new here checking out our church gathering for the first time, uh really glad you're with us.

Uh here's what we've been doing.

We started off uh last week in a new series called Our Letters from John.

And this is uh just a dive into uh the the Apostle John who gives us some really incredible insight to the early church.

And last week we talked about was that uh this is a a it's written to the church, right?

Uh not necessarily written to us, particularly here at Common Place 2026, but it is written uh to the church, but it's also written for the church.

And that's where we find ourselves, right?

There's to a church, early church, 2,000 years ago, and then there's us.

And and this is a letter for them or to them, but it is also for us.

And so we get to kind of unpack that today.

And here's here's kind of an analogy I thought about um if just to help us make sense of that.

Let's say um when I when I was in uh college, I uh uh during breaks, I used to work at the post office, and so part of my job was sorting, delivering mail.

And now imagine, and this is totally illegal, I wouldn't do this, but if I'm an unsealed letter, right, and it was from a father offering his son advice, okay?

And so out of curiosity, I was just kind of like gave it a glance.

Now, this letter was not written to me, of course, right?

But as a son, maybe at the time, maybe needed some advice.

There might have been like something in it for me, right?

Now, now listen, that analogy once again falls short.

We're not illegally reading John's mail, right?

He's he's inviting the church in this letter uh because we are once again um reading to a specific audience, but we also recognize that there are circumstances that they're speaking to then that also relate even to our time now.

So once again, it's it's to us, right?

Or it's it's it's not to us, but it is for us.

And and I know I sound like a broken record to keep saying this, right?

But but here's my hope for us as a church is that we really would, as we enjoy the gift of scripture, we'd really, really love to learn how to read it correctly and really learn how to understand it, right?

This is invitation that that that the Lord gives us, that the Spirit guides us to truly um really have have good uh just uh hermeneutics and and just understanding what it means to read God's word together.

So here's where we're going to chapter two, and uh this this invitation that John's gonna give us is really to uh a deep question here.

Last week he talked about this invitation to life, this invitation that's through light, and this invitation for repentance and forgiveness.

This invitation really, it's the gospel, the invitation to uh to find hope through the gospel.

So, chapter two, here's here's what we get to see.

It's once again, we're gonna look exactly at the person of Jesus because that's what John was dealing with in this time of the early church.

There's a lot of confusion about who Jesus was.

There was a lot of uh false teachings that was kind of making its way through the church that were confusing people.

And so John wants to set some of this straight.

And he wants to invite us into know the character of Jesus.

And really, the the invitation is is Christ is Christology, is a word we used last week.

Just this this understanding of who Christ is, and so the the importance and the vital, the vitality of Christ.

So here's what he's inviting us in today.

It's it's pretty simple, just to walk confidently, to walk closely, and to walk conform towards the ways of Christ.

So three things confident, close, conforming.

So this is the first one.

Confidence is this, it's it's confidence in our walk with Christ.

He says, My little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin.

But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

He is the propitiation.

That's the word Steve was talking about earlier, for sins, not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

By this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments.

So let's unpack this idea of confidence.

That's the word John uses here.

So to help us to understand this, we we do need to be reminded of uh just the makeup of the early church that John's writing to.

So here's what it looked like: there was uh a group of Jewish and Gentile believers.

They're coming from very different, at times religious and cultural backgrounds.

And in this blended group, they're being formed and they're learning to understand, well, this new way, this new way of Christ, this way that's brought about by by Jesus, right?

It's different from where we sit in history, right?

Because yes, Jesus might in fact be new for some of us here.

That's very true, but the Christian faith isn't being developed within our time here, right?

It's already been developed where we sit.

And so here's what's taking place.

John is writing to the church, honestly, in its infancy.

And what happens for an infant?

Infants, they are learning new ways, new things.

And one of the new ways the church was learning was how to understand, well, the new covenant that Jesus has established.

Jesus came and he established the new covenant.

And so the early Jewish believers, they they are in particular having having trouble here because they're having to learn a new system of dealing with really the reality of sin.

That's their their challenge here.

See, for for many, up until Jesus, here's how they um how they went about this.

They they understood sin, understood something like atonement through what was called the Levitical System.

It's a sacrificial system.

And here's just a quick overview, okay?

For for someone in the Jewish faith, it's uh how sin was really dealt with.

Because here's the thing about sin: sin creates an offense.

Sin then creates a guilty party.

That guilty uh party requires repayment, atonement, restitution, things like justice.

And that atonement requires sacrifice, requires blood.

That's why we just uh a couple weeks ago the uh the uh Yom Kippur was celebrated, right?

Where this the high priest uh enters the most holy places and offers the blood for the sins of the people.

So it really breaks down to just sin carry carries a cost.

It carried a cost.

And John uses this word that Steve was talking about earlier, propitiation.

And and I agree with Steve, it's not a word we kind of tend to throw around very often, right?

We don't kind of say, you know, hey, how was your week?

You know, we went to, I don't know, pretty good, went to shop right, did some propitiation, like not really the case, right?

Um, but that's just a foreign word, but it wasn't at that time.

And but this word does, it carries this idea of something like this sacrifice.

Sacrifice that deals with sin, and it satisfies what justice requires.

And John makes this really important declaration.

He says, for those who claim the name of Jesus, right?

That's who he's writing to.

Jesus, he is our propitiation.

Jesus, he is your sacrifice, Jesus has dealt with your guilt on the cross.

Jesus has paid what our sin has required.

Jesus, he has done what we could never do for ourselves.

And in this process, he's showing this new sin system as Jesus as the great high priest.

Now, if you're unfamiliar with the role of priest, I'll give this a quick breakdown.

Here's where the priest led.

A priest stood between sinful humanity and a holy God.

And in that space offered a sacrifice on behalf of man.

And now here's the thing: there have been uh many priests throughout that that Jewish sacrificial system.

Yet here's what's different about Jesus.

Jesus is unlike any other priest before him.

Here's why.

Because he's both priest and sacrifice.

Right?

Jesus doesn't bring another lamp, he he is the lamb.

Jesus enters through his own blood and he makes atonement one time for all time.

And this would have been a whole new like way of living for the early church, the early Jewish followers of Christ.

And so I just want to really to invite us to try to understand what this meant for these early believers.

Because here's the reality they're they're learning to live in a completely new world, a completely new like framework.

Think about it this way.

Imagine um your entire life you were uh told this is what you have to do to stay healthy, okay?

Uh follow this diet, follow this routine, right?

Do these things.

And you've you've committed to that for years.

And then suddenly you're told, oh, yeah, you don't need any of those things anymore.

Right?

Something better has come along.

Now, yeah, that probably sounds exciting, right?

Because you're not doing all the work you're doing before, right?

But something better, right?

Even if you believe it's it's possible that um there might be moments you still wondered, well, I don't know, is this thing actually sufficient?

Should I still be doing something?

Right?

Do it, do I need to add something to this?

Can I really trust this new way?

And then here's what's happening in John's church is they're they're wrestling with something similar because they're saying, is Jesus really enough?

Is his sacrifice, is it really sufficient?

Can I actually have confidence that my sin has been dealt with?

And that's where they find us.

They're wrestling with a new system, they're wrestling with a new way.

And then add these challenges, of course, to this infant church of the influence of false teaching or that John's been talking about through he's confronting.

And of course, one of the areas uh is this idea of Gnosticism.

I'm not gonna go too crazy.

We did that last week if you want to catch up on that one, but uh, but part of that process, it disputes the humanity of Jesus, okay?

Which is a real, real issue.

Because if Jesus, if he wasn't truly human, we got a problem, right?

If he only appeared human, then what happens at the cross?

What happens if the blood shed?

It actually wasn't real blood then, right?

It wasn't a real body bloke broken.

If there's no real human death, sin hasn't been dealt with.

And for us, all of us, the faith, we would need to find a new sheep, lamb, goat, and get sacrificing.

But here's what ultimately takes place suddenly, this this confidence of the gospel, it it starts to collapse.

And so in this early formation, uh, thankfully, John he he cut our guy John shows up and he says, No, he's like, Jesus came in the flesh.

He's like, Jesus really did die, right?

I he came in the flesh.

I touched his hands, like I saw him die.

Jesus really did rise again.

He came back, and and he was he wasn't some hologram, he was really, he's really our savior, our Lord.

He was human, and and and Jesus really shed blood, and his sacrifice then really is sufficient, which is why John can write.

But if anyone does sin, right, we have an advocate with the Father.

It's Jesus Christ, the righteous.

And I love this word, it's it's it's advocate.

We have an advocate because John he's not saying something like this, if you sin, hey, good luck.

He doesn't say, if you sin, you better figure out how to make God happy with you again.

He doesn't say if you sin, I don't know, maybe Jesus will get some free time, take your case.

He says, No, we have an advocate.

That's a present tense, right?

Already there.

Jesus the righteous.

And that's that's the confidence John wants the early church to walk in.

And he wants us to have that same, right?

It's not a self-confidence, it's a Christ confidence.

It's it's that when I fail, when I sin, Jesus hasn't failed.

Right?

When I sin, because I will, the cross hasn't lost its power.

When I confess, I don't have to wonder whether enough has been done to make me clean.

My confidence in God, it's it's rooted in, it's not rooted in how well I performed for Jesus, but in what Jesus has done for me.

And that's exactly the reassurance even the writer of Hebrews gives to the early Jewish believers.

He says, Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh.

Since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with true, with a true heart, with full assurance.

Right?

That's confidence of faith.

Let us hold fast our confession of hope without wavering.

For he who is promised is faithful.

Don't miss that language, right?

It's it's it's it's confidence.

Something like draw near, full assurance.

Hold fast.

And and and why?

Not because it says that we're faithful, it says because he is faithful, God is faithful.

And that's that's John's first invitation for for the church.

It's it's walk confidently with God because Jesus has already secured the access to him.

Right?

Don't miss that.

John offers this church, our uh our church, confidence in the blood of Christ.

The reality is that Jesus paid the penalty of our sin, what we deserved, his sacrifice was sufficient because he was fully human, because he could truly represent humanity.

And when his body was broken, when his blood was shed, and when he died, it it it it was it was uh sufficient, right?

Because he was also fully God, right?

This is the dualism that we have this this this hyposthetic union that we talked about last week, and and and he was fully God meant he was perfectly holy, meant he was without sin.

Like he meant that he did not die for for our for for his guilt, but for but for for ours.

And when we see on the third day, God raises him from the grave.

And in that death, sin, they don't get the final word.

The beauty of the of the gospel is that Jesus, Jesus dead.

And I think I think John is inviting this church to understand, hey, something's so simple, but it's true, Jesus paid it all, right?

That's our confidence, right?

When we are concerned about uh our our being right in the eyes of God, and when we're wondering whether we're really in right relationship with him, right?

We don't need another sacrifice, we don't need another penance, we don't need to live consistently in this insecurity, right?

Wondering whether you've you've done enough to make up for your sin.

Christ's work is sufficient.

Our role is to receive it.

So now here's what what John is inviting us into as well, right?

He's also not inviting us into a sinless existence, the side of eternity.

That would be amazing.

That day is coming, right?

When Jesus returned as king and when sin and death will ultimately be no more, right?

Creation will be restored.

But for now, sin is still the reality of our world, it's a reality around us, and if we're willing to be honest and truthful, it's um the reality that sits within us.

And John, he's already addressed this in chapter one.

He says, If if you say we have no sin, you deceive ourselves.

And he goes, He says, If you say you have not sinned, you make God a liar.

And so John isn't inviting us to to a sinless life, right?

He's inviting us towards a sinning less life, and that there's a difference there.

And and the goal of the Follower Jesus, yes, is absolutely we desire holiness.

John John writes this, I'm writing these things so that you may not sin, right?

So he's saying, Don't pursue sin, saying, Don't excuse sin, don't normalize sin.

However, John also recognizes until Christ comes and completes the work of restoration, still sin is still something that remains, something we're gonna battle.

Remember, even creation is is still groaning.

Things like death is still present, and and we are still awaiting the day when the ultimate final enemy will be destroyed.

But that's why I love the language of John here, because he becomes he turns into pastor mode here, he turns into comforting mode.

He says, My little children, right?

He's being so pastoral, being relation relationally, almost like a um a father speaking to his children.

Because what does a child seek from a parent?

Something like safety, security, confidence, right?

And so it says John's saying that to these, he's saying, Little ones, I just want you to know you are secure.

You can have confidence in Christ's atoning work, that it is sufficient.

You have confidence in the blood of the Lamb of God, confidence in God's saving grace, confidence in his mercy, confidence that God sent his one and only Son to rescue you, to redeem you, and not just you, but all of humanity who desires to receive that.

Now, here's what I want to do.

I just want to pause for a minute because I think there's a space for invitation for us in this moment.

And it's really just an honest um reflection, I think, where it starts.

Really just asking ourselves um something like this where where do we tend to place our confidence?

Or when it comes to our relationship with God, if if we have a if we claim to have a relationship with God, right?

Where do we where do we find that confidence?

Where do we walk secure in that relationship that between God and man?

That our sin is taken care of, right?

Because I think what the question is, we have to recognize at times I think we all have a default.

I know, I know that I I tend to do.

And maybe, maybe for some of us we tend to maybe think or maybe we're taught like if we behave, we make the right choices, and we we keep the your our good ahead of our bad, right?

Then our standing with God, like that's that's secure, right?

Your morality average is is is is better than sin, right?

So as long as you're batting like over 300, you're good with God, right?

Default might be like my analytics.

Or maybe it's his fault.

Default, sorry.

When you've sinned, maybe um you felt uh responsible to counteract it.

So I'm just gonna pray more, I'm gonna read more, I'm gonna serve more, I'm gonna give more, as as though this, as though good behavior could restore that balance.

Almost like as as as good has been designed for some sort of like antidote for sin.

But but there's a problem with that.

See, good wasn't designed as an antidote for sin.

Or you can't say, well, I sinned, right?

Better out, better, better out of like the shot of good here, or you know, get me an IV of good works and we're gonna clear this whole thing right up.

It just doesn't work that way.

Now, listen, doing good may prevent us from choosing something sinful.

That's true, but our goodness can't do this.

It can't atone, it can't atone for the sin that we've already committed.

That that was part of Jesus' uh confrontation with the Pharisees, right?

They place their tremendous confidence in their outward righteousness.

Look at us, look what we're doing.

But Jesus says this He says, You clean up the outside, but here's the thing, you're still dead inside, sin is still infecting you.

Calls them whitewashed tombs.

Because good behavior, it doesn't remove our need for a savior.

And so maybe for some, that default, right, that we have, maybe it isn't even confidence.

Maybe we just walk around in angst or or anxiety, right?

This constant state of worry over the relationship that we have with God, right?

We've fallen into sin.

We did it again, even after we declared we'd never do it again.

And instead of like staking that sin to the cross, we we take that sin with us to the to the grave, right?

Living from shame, not living as saved, not not finding conviction of that sin, right?

As the Spirit does, as God's form of kindness that does this, that leads us back to repentance, to back to Him.

But really, only we see this as a form of condemnation, just placing us in bondage when we're invited to receive conflict.

Confidence, the confidence that Christ has declared you free, clean.

Like Roman 8 says, Romans 8 says, therefore, there is no now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

And so maybe the invitation for some of us is just actually to be confident, to walk in that.

Now it's possible for others, though, this topic altogether, this idea of confidence in our relationship with God is just the default is just avoidance of it.

Maybe, maybe not particularly concerned about even having a relationship with God.

Maybe you felt abandoned by God.

Maybe you uh felt unseen.

Maybe you've wondered, like, are you even there, God?

Like, I think what was the name, Margaret or something?

I don't know.

Um, that was don't uh but maybe you're you're skeptical, right?

That relationship with God is even possible.

And and so so confidence before him even feels irrelevant, okay?

But here's the thing avoidance, if that's if that's what we're going for, it still rests on a confidence.

And it's it's almost this confidence in assumption that this question about relationship with God, about sin's consequences, never needs to actually be answered.

There's there's there's a false confidence there.

And with that question becomes like, well, here's the thing.

If God created us for relationship, which I believe he did, look around, we have relationships.

And if sin is a reality, which I think if we're honest, we can admit, right?

We've seen brokenness, we see things that are that should be right but that are wrong.

And if if that sin has created a barrier to being in a relationship with the one who designed relationships, well, ignoring that barrier doesn't remove the barrier.

However, there's good news.

The beauty of the gospel says wherever, whether our default is something like, I don't know, goodness, compensation, even avoidance, right?

John offers us a place for this, for for confidence.

Once again, it's not in ourselves, it's in Jesus.

It's in Jesus.

And for the Christian, our confidence is standing before God, it rests in our advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous.

And so as we battle sin, here's what happens: his atoning sacrifice, it stands as the finished work towards which this whole entire sacrificial system pointed to, which means when Jesus says it is finished, right?

That chapter is concluded.

That debt has been paid, the sacrifice has been offered, the work is sufficient.

And so our confidence, it's not in our good works, it's not in our religious performance, it it's it's it isn't in whether we had a really good week spiritually, that's not a bad thing, right?

Our confidence is in the one, though, who took our sin upon himself in return, he does this, he clothes us with his righteousness.

It's this great exchange.

And of course, here's what I want to warn us about that truth will come under attack.

Because there's an enemy of God and an enemy of God's people who whispers things like this.

You really, you're not, you're not really forgiven, right?

God, God really couldn't couldn't forgive that.

That was that was the worst, right?

God, God doesn't want to be with you.

Whispers, surely the cross just isn't enough for that.

But but but John says, Christ is our advocate.

And he says, little ones, I love that term.

You you can be confident that when you sin, when you fail, when you face this condemnation from the enemy, or when you wonder whether the sacrifice was enough, you have an advocate and his name is Jesus.

So here's John's first invitation is to walk confidently, not because we're sufficient, but because Christ is.

Not because our record is spotless, because his is.

Not because we've paid for our own sin, but because Christ paid for it.

Look what he says in Hebrews, he says, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in those times of need.

So because of this confidence in Christ, we're invited to then do this, to cling to this secure standing.

And that confidence, it leads us somewhere.

As we grow confident, as we grow confident to Christ, we do this.

We tend to walk closely with Christ.

We turn towards him.

Look what John says.

And by this we know that we have come to know him.

If we keep his commandments, whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.

By this we may know that we are in him.

Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walks.

So here's here's John's uh next invitation.

It's this, hey, it's walk closely.

Walk closely with Jesus.

Our confidence in Christ creates a closeness to Christ.

The more we understand that Jesus has made the way for us to be reconciled, the more we grasp that, the more we find ourselves just then wanting to do this, wanting to understand him more, wanting to know him, right?

Who is this Jesus?

Why would he do this?

I asked that all I'm like, why would you do this?

Why would you love me this way?

Why would you pay a debt that you didn't owe?

And and and what for someone who could never repay that debt.

And the reality from that space is we should be drawn to him, right?

We're drawn closer.

Think about this.

Think about accumulating a debt you could never repay, right?

And you know that debt is yours, and you know the consequences are just, and and and every effort to like escape this debt has totally failed.

And then all of a sudden, someone just shows up, someone pays it completely.

There's no bait and switch, right?

No, no hidden fees, interest, no fine print, right?

No repayment plan.

I I think the question would be like, wouldn't you want to know that person?

Wouldn't you want to know what why they did that for you?

Right?

Why, why, why did that person sacrifice what belonged to them and paid for your debt?

Right?

Gratitude would draw you towards that person responsible for your freedom.

And that's what John's acknowledging about this atoning work of Jesus is that when we understand what Christ has rescued for from from rescued us from, right, what our sin actually deserved, what it cost him, and what he gave us in return, this idea of forgiveness, reconciliation, life.

It should do this, it should draw us more towards him closely.

Now, listen, I understand it's not an automatic, it's not everyone's response.

I think about uh the Jesus talks about the the 10 lepers in Luke 17, right?

And only one comes back to thank him.

And so, yes, it's possible to receive a gift and never pursue the giver.

But John is saying that shouldn't characterize the disciple of Jesus.

That's not how we should look.

For us, confidence isn't like meant to end with great, hey, my debt's paid, peace later, right?

Deuces, no.

He says, I want to know the one who paid it.

And that's what the movement John is inviting us into.

It's confidence does this, it leads us to closeness with Christ.

And I love this because John's not merely like teaching something about discipleship, John is modeling discipleship here.

He uses this word abide.

And where does that word come from?

Well, John heard it from the source, from Jesus himself.

John 15, it says, Abide in me and I in you.

Right?

So it says, Remain.

It means stay connected, make your home in me.

And here's what happens years later, John he gives the church what Jesus gave him.

Jesus discipled John, and now John's disciple in the church.

That that's discipleship in real time.

It's a beautiful thing.

And that invitation of Jesus, John passed down, it hasn't changed.

This idea of abiding, this idea of staying close, remaining, right?

Because John, he understands something.

Proximity, it does this, it produces formation.

When we're close to Jesus, we we walk with Jesus, right?

His ways begin shaping our ways.

The more his heart, we close to his heart, begins shaping our heart.

The more his priorities become our priorities.

They shape what where we place our desires, our interests.

The more his character, the more we get close, it begins to shape our character.

And that that brings us naturally to John's third invitation.

To walk confidently in Christ, walk closely with Christ.

And then lastly, to conform.

It's conforming to Christ.

Look what he says: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

That's the progression.

It's confidence leads to closeness.

Closeness leads to conformity.

Because here's the thing about discipleship: it isn't simply learning information about Jesus, okay?

Discipleship is becoming increasingly like him, like Jesus.

John John again uses this fatherly language, my little children.

Because he's inviting them even in this process of formation.

And here's here's what I recognize though.

As we say this idea of discipleship, it might come across like a little bit churchy, right?

A churchy word.

But I but I want to I just want to be honest.

That concept is everywhere.

We attach ourselves to something, an interest or someone, right?

And we we we learn its ways and we allow those ways to become our ways.

I I think about before I um you know found discipleship in Jesus when I was a young lad, um, rock musicians discipled me, right?

Uh Van Halen, Hendrix, Steve Ravon.

Like I listened to those guys, I watched, I studied their riffs, I wanted something in them to reproduce in me.

And that's the truth about so many areas, right?

We become these disciples.

Our world is just overflowing with discipleship opportunities.

We could be discipled politically, right?

Learning whom to trust, fear, blame, right?

Adopting a language of a tribe.

We can be discipled by influencers, right?

Learning to chase things like recognition, clicks, likes, views, followers, right?

We're just we're constantly, whether we recognize or not, we're constantly being formed.

And so maybe the question is isn't, am I being discipled?

Maybe the better question is who or what is discipling me?

Because John is inviting us towards a very particular kind of formation.

Walk the way that Jesus walked, become increasingly conformed to the character of Christ.

And John he says there's one unmistakable marker that this transformation is actually taking place.

And here's the marker: it's it's it's love.

Once again, John is giving us throwback to Jesus.

He says, Jesus says this from uh John hears this from Jesus, he says, A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

You are to love one another.

By this, all people will know that you are my disciples.

If you have love for one another, hey, how will people know your disciple, Jesus?

Love.

Not simply because you have the right theology, it's not a bad thing.

Not simply because we attend the right gathering, because we we know the Bible, not bad things, right?

That we can identify everything that's wrong with this world, right?

It's from love.

Jesus says they'll know you by your love.

And John, he carries this teaching directly to this letter.

Because that's what he's confronting.

These two realities where people are saying, Oh, I love, I love Jesus, but then I don't really care much for my brother.

In fact, I hate that guy.

And John's saying, that's that's that's not it.

And here's here's what we're invited into this way of Christ, it's it's an invitation.

It's an invitation to conform to the person of Jesus.

And I love that Paul he gives us a really powerful um just before and after uh in Colossians.

Look at this, it says, put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetous, which is idolatry.

Now you must put them all away.

Anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from your mouth.

Seeing you have put them the old self, which is practices, and put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge after the image of the Creator.

Then he says, put on, then, this is disciple, this is this is what we want to follow as we follow, as God's chosen was holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you.

So you must also forgive.

Above all these things, do what?

Put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

That's the way of Christ.

That's the way John is inviting the people of God to be conformed, to be conformed, to be confident in the way of Christ, confident in the work of Christ, confident in who he is, what he's done for us.

And so as we we we close our time, I think the hope as we we just go about our our weeks is that we're reminded, you know, if we follow Jesus, reminded of exactly what he has done for us, reminded what what the blood actually means for us.

I know often we we come together, we take the Lord's Supper, and we just kind of it becomes a just an action, right?

And and it's easy to forget the reality of what the cost truly meant.

And I just pray that this week we would just take some time and reflect.

Just reflect on on just what that actually meant and what it means for us now to be able to walk confidently with this God who loves us.

And and for um maybe this whole thing is new for you, and I'm so glad that you're with us.

Um I just invite you to just really ask, you know, God, if if if you um if you truly uh desire uh to be in relationship with me or have a relationship with together, Lord, just would you just make that known?

Um would you just help me understand what what the cross means, what the bloodshed means, what it means to have a relationship with you.

Because I I I think the truth about God is He He does.

He He desires each one of us.

It says in His Word that He's desires all to come to salvation.

And uh last time I checked, all includes all of us.

So I just want to pray for us.

Um that we would just find our our confidence where it belongs.

Pray that we would uh in that we would just cling to Christ.

And and lastly, we would just continue to be conformed more and more to who he is.

Lord, I just thank you for giving us uh direction, giving us truth, God, giving us confidence, Lord.

We uh so often, Lord, we uh want to just just think that we we can just make things right with uh just the more good we do, or Lord, that uh the more righteous we are, Lord.

We we think that's an atoning work, but it's not, Lord.

Only only the perfect one could atone.

And that was you, Jesus.

And and thank you that your gospel is this invitation to receive, Lord, that that none of us could ever earn salvation, none of us could ever achieve it.

And you knew that.

And and your plan, Lord, was to offer it, but it but it was it's through the blood of Christ, it was through the ultimate sacrifice.

And Jesus, thank you for for for giving yourself, Lord, so that that giving your life, Lord, that we we may live.

So I just pray, Lord, as we Stephen close in in just reflection and and and just worship God.

Would you would you speak to our hearts, God?

Would you just stir up in us, Lord, uh uh just a a greater love and and and greater closeness to you, Lord?

Um we love you, Jesus, and pray your name.

Amen.