Live as Jesus Did - 1 John 2:3-6

Good morning, everyone. If I could ask you to turn in your Bibles, please, to the letter of 1 John.

The letter of 1 John, not the Gospel of John, but 1 John, which is further on the New Testament,

towards the end of the New Testament, actually. And it's page 1225, if you're using the red church Bible.

So 1225, 1 John. And we're going to be reading from chapter 2 and verses 3 to 6 this morning.

1 John 2, and reading from verse 3.

We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands.

Whoever says, I know Him, but does not do what He commands, is a liar.

And the truth is not in that person.

But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them.

This is how we know we are in Him.

Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.

And we pray that the Lord will bless the reading of His word through His Spirit.

The book, The Shack, is a phenomenal bestseller.

It has over 200, no, 20 million sales, not 200 million sales, 20 million sales.

And it's also been made into a Hollywood film.

I don't know if anyone saw it when it came out.

For many Christians, and indeed non-Christians, who come across it,

it is like a breath of fresh air,

challenging and changing their idea of what it means to be an authentic Christian.

It's the fictional account, the book is a fictional account of an emotionally broken father

who has a meeting with all three persons of the Trinity in a shack,

which is where the book gets its name.

The meetings with each member of the Trinity transform this father's understanding of faith forever,

as he has helped to heal from his pain by God Himself.

Now, each of these three characters, who represent Father, Son and Spirit,

dispel many supposed misconceptions about who Jesus is,

what the Bible is about and what Christianity looks like.

But the shack does this by separating faith in Jesus from any hint of organized religion.

This is a quote from the shack.

The Bible, and this is one of the members of the Trinity speaking,

the Bible doesn't teach you to follow rules.

It's a picture of Jesus, is how the book puts it.

God doesn't want us to look for rules and principles.

Look for relationship, a way to coming to be with us.

No rules, just relationships.

Religion-free faith is the message.

So in the world of the shack, rules and principles get in the way of knowing God.

Another author, Leonard Sweet, puts it like this,

faith is not ritual, dogma, religion, or spiritual weirdness.

It's authentic experience made personal through our full participation in what God is doing.

So how do we react to such sentiments or ideas or statements?

It does awaken something in us, doesn't it?

Part of us might feel, though, that there's a danger in drawing the line like that.

I think it's reasonable to want to have a clear line between authentic faith on the one hand

and dead religion on the other hand.

And it's certainly much easier in today's culture to emphasise a life of grace

and of being true to yourself over any idea of living by a set of rules or of any kind of ritual.

But as we draw that line to determine authentic Christianity on one side,

do we draw the line in the right place?

Do we put that line in the right place?

Or to put it another way, as we are drawing that line,

are we drawing the same line that Jesus is drawing?

This is a big topic.

And this morning, we want to look at one small but important aspect of it.

That is the place of obedience, good works, and faithfulness

in relation to authentic Christianity.

So whether we've been following Jesus since childhood,

or we're just starting out in our Christian walk,

or simply wondering if following Jesus is for me,

I want us all this morning to see that obeying what Jesus commanded

is a necessary and good part of the Christian life.

Like verse 5 tells us in 1 John chapter 2,

1 John 2 · chapter mention

obedience, good works, and faithfulness are an assurance to us

that we are in a complete relationship with Jesus.

And verses 3 and 6, I believe, will show us that

the line, the line that we want to draw between authentic Christianity and dead religion,

it's not faith versus religion,

it's not even law versus grace,

but rather we want to see that true religion,

that is obedience,

is a necessary part of true faith.

Have you ever wondered how long we know what a metre is?

Have you ever thought about that?

I mean, has anyone gone and checked all of the rulers in this school?

Or checked all the rulers in the world?

So we're all using the same metre?

If I order a metre of, you know, material from the UK,

how do I know I'm going to get a metre?

Well, the international standard for the metre was set in the 1890s.

A precision engineering firm in London was tasked with creating metal bars,

and they were 90% platinum and 10% iridium,

because that was the best mix to get a bar that wouldn't change

with temperature or pressure or climate.

So they made these bars with marks on them

that wouldn't alter or change to measure out a metre.

And these standard metal bars, the standard,

were then distributed all over the world

to make sure that each country had the same measure of what a metre was.

Now, the Apostle John isn't interested in measuring distances,

but he is concerned about measuring hearts.

And his letter gives us three standards,

or three measures,

by which we can know what authentic Christianity looks like.

And throughout his letter,

these three things come up again and again.

And if you're any way familiar with 1 John,

some of these will ring a bell.

First thing is,

do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?

You can't be a Christian if you don't believe that.

Do you obey the commands of Jesus,

which is what we're looking at this morning?

And do you love the people of God?

The three measures,

the three standards,

the international standards of Christianity.

All three, John says,

are a necessary measure of authentic Christianity.

The place where we should draw the line.

And as much as we intuitively know and think

it should be just about relationships,

and there shouldn't be any rules or religion,

the reality is this.

There is a standard for the rule of faith within the church.

And that's a standard that Jesus himself has laid down.

The Apostle John is well-placed

to help us understand what the measure should be.

He's probably the closest follower of Jesus Christ who ever lived.

He was known in the Bible, in the Gospel,

as the disciple whom Jesus loved.

Imagine being called the disciple whom Jesus loved.

He was one of the first disciples to be called by Jesus,

to leave his job.

He was one of the fishermen with his brother James,

and to come follow Jesus.

And John then is beside Jesus

for all the three years of Jesus' public ministry.

And he's one of the inner circle of three.

Along with his brother James and Peter,

who were brought along by Jesus

to special events and occurrences

that the other disciples weren't at.

So you think of the transfiguration.

John was there.

John, he reclines next to Jesus at the Last Supper.

Jesus, mere hours later,

as he hangs on the cross,

uses his final words

to entrust the care of his own mother Mary

to John,

the disciple whom he loved.

John lived right to the end

of the first century.

And he had the task

as the last living apostle of Jesus

to see out the completion

of the New Testament

that we have with us today.

He had his own eyewitness account of Jesus,

what it was like to be with Jesus,

all that Jesus taught and said,

which we know is the Gospel of John.

He writes Revelation

as a witness to the risen Jesus,

the last book of the New Testament.

And he also gives us

these three short letters,

first, second, and third John.

John is well-placed

to tell us what the measure should be.

And he says in verse 3,

in chapter 2,

we know that we have come to know him,

that is Jesus,

if we keep his commands.

John is clear.

Authentic Christianity must include obedience.

And of course, what John says

isn't an invention of John's.

He didn't come up with the standard.

Listen back to Jesus' own words.

We've read some of them already.

If we go back to the Gospel of John,

so if we flick back in our Bibles,

it's page 108.2.

108.2 to chapter 14.

So John, chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

And these are the words of Jesus speaking

in verse 15.

If you love me,

keep my commands.

Jesus says,

if you love me, keep my commands.

And then just over the page,

chapter 15,

and verses 9 and 10,

we read these words,

which help us to understand it even further.

As the Father has loved me,

so I have loved you.

Now remain in my love.

If you keep my commands,

you will remain in my love.

just as I have kept my Father's commands

and remain in his love.

Excuse me.

Both Jesus and John tell us,

they're in agreement,

that we cannot say that we love Jesus

on one hand,

and on the other hand,

ignore what Jesus says.

You cannot say that you love Jesus

and ignore what Jesus says.

John has made the positive association,

hasn't he,

in verse 3,

between knowing Jesus

and obedience.

And in verse 4,

the question is flipped around for us,

isn't it,

in verse 4.

Whoever says,

I know him,

but does not do what he commands,

is a liar,

and the truth is not in that person.

What about those

who claim to be Christians,

but by their actions

show that they are not?

Well, John uses very strong words.

He calls such a person a liar.

And even more fundamental than that,

the truth,

the truth is not in them,

so they can't do anything else but lie.

Right thinking about Jesus

must be accompanied by right living.

We shouldn't separate the two.

Pastor and author Mark Dever

illustrates it as follows.

This isn't my illustration,

but I think it's really helpful.

Suppose that Bob starts a business,

and he,

wisely or foolishly,

he puts me in charge of it.

Bob then goes off to Asia

for a multi-month trip

to drum up some new business deals.

So he leaves me in charge of the office,

with a very careful set of instructions

for what should happen

while Bob is away.

While he's away,

Bob sends me on a few further emails

with additional instructions

about what should be done

in the office.

Now, after a while,

a couple of months,

Bob returns

to find the office in ruins.

The phone,

the reception,

is not being answered

because the receptionist

has her earphones on

and is listening to Spotify

on her mobile.

Nobody has emptied the bins.

They're just overflowing with rubbish.

There's no office supplies left

when he goes to the cupboard.

People show up when they like,

go to the canteen

and play Jenga

and chat.

Bob's inbox

is full of angry notes

from unhappy customers.

So Bob walks up to me

and he asks,

Ralph,

what happened here?

Didn't you get my emails?

I smile

in a reassuring kind of way

and say,

yes,

I got the emails.

Bob,

not only did I get the emails,

but I had them printed out

and I handed copies

to everyone in the office.

Actually,

some of them were so good

we decided to frame them

and to hang them up

on the walls

for inspiration.

Some of us

were so dedicated, Bob.

We used to meet after work

and gather together

to study these letters.

Some of us

have even memorized

parts of them

with our kids at home.

And we started

putting them into songs

and uploading them

to YouTube

to share with people.

Oh, we can imagine

what Bob would say

at that point.

Ralph,

why didn't you do

what the emails said

to do?

And what do you mean

you love the emails?

Of course you don't.

You see,

despite my efforts

at email study,

memorization

and song creation,

I can hardly say

that I'm an authentic

employee of Bob's.

And likewise,

John is saying

that we may have

all of our doctrine

right about Jesus.

And we might shout loudly

or sing loudly

to all who will listen

that we know him,

we know him,

we know him.

But John says,

then why aren't you

obeying his commands?

If you're not a Christian,

if you're an atheist,

if you don't believe

there is a God,

then you don't get

any email instructions

from the boss.

The only given

in your world

is that we are

all the products

and the whole universe

is a product of time

plus chance

plus energy.

That's it.

They're the only given.

And it's very easy

in many ways

to be authentic

in that situation.

You see,

you get to be

your own boss

when there is no God.

And you can write

your own email instructions.

It's very handy.

So,

if you struggle

with authenticity,

don't worry.

You just get to

send yourself

a new email

and update

who the authentic

you is.

But, of course,

the endless chasing

for authenticity

down the spiral

of self

doesn't ever bring

lasting completeness

or lasting peace.

It's a never-ending

update of emails

to be the authentic

you apart from God.

Now, the alternative

to being our own boss

or being an atheist

isn't to revert

to dead religion.

Okay?

I want to be very clear

in this.

The alternative

isn't to revert

to dead religion.

This is not a call

by John

or by me

to pompous,

self-justifying

and insincere

legalism.

Legalism is

trying to earn

the boss's favor

by obedience.

And John makes it clear

in verses 1 and 2

of chapter 2

that sinless perfection

is not what's in view.

Let's read those verses.

My dear children,

I write this to you

so that you will not sin.

But if anybody does sin,

we have an advocate

with the Father.

Jesus Christ,

the Righteous One.

He is the atoning sacrifice

for our sins.

And not only for ours,

but also for the sins

of the whole world.

Sinless perfection

is not what we're being called to.

That's not what's in view.

Rules-based religion

is not the answer,

according to John.

We cannot,

we cannot earn

our salvation

by our own efforts.

Our salvation,

verse 2,

our forgiveness of sins,

is only because

of the finished work

of Jesus on the cross.

And that is crucial.

That is foundational.

We are not moving

from that rock.

We come to a God

as a sinner

knowing that we cannot

earn His forgiveness

through our obedience.

And we simply ask

for His free forgiveness

at the foot of the cross.

So in terms of a sacrifice

for our sins,

our works,

our obedience,

our faithfulness

count for nothing.

They give no merit

in the great transaction

where Jesus takes

our sin

and gives us

His righteousness.

We are justified,

declared not guilty

in God's court

because of Jesus alone.

This is the good news

of the message

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Come today.

Come today.

Without needing

to bring money

without gifts,

without good works,

without obedience

to the foot of the cross

and find forgiveness

for all of your sins.

Only then

do we also see

from verse 3

to verse 6

that obedience

to the commands

of God

is required.

But again and again

in our lives,

if we've lived

one day

as a Christian,

we know this.

Again and again

we fail

as Christians

to keep those commands

that we are

to obey.

And sin

is still present.

So how do I know,

and this is a struggle

for many of us

as Christians,

how do I know

that I'm not

one of the people

of verse 4?

the liar,

the hypocrite,

the fraud,

the one who is not

authentic

in their Christian walk.

And what place

then do my own efforts

and my own works

have

in this authentic

Christian life?

Well,

John has an answer

for us.

Remember,

our hope

verses 1 and 2

is not in a

sinless

perfection

as a means

of being

an authentic

Christian.

That is not

our hope,

that is not

our measure,

that is not

the line

that we draw.

Verse 5,

but,

but if anyone

obeys

his word,

love for God

or God's love

is truly

made

complete

in

them.

Anyone

obeys

his word,

love for God

is truly

made complete

in them.

You see,

our hope

is in an

ongoing

transformation.

As we

obey

Jesus,

as we

obey,

as it says

here,

his word,

that is,

as we

obey the

scriptures,

the Bible,

then God

is at

work.

God

is at

work.

Completing

his love

in us

and our

love for

him.

That's what

verse 5

is telling

us.

Completeness.

What a

great word,

completeness

or perfection.

And

there's

something

that our

hearts

yearn for

when it

hears a

word like

that,

to be

complete.

My

work,

I work

as a

software

engineer.

engineer.

And

there's

an

endless

set of

characteristics

and

behaviours

and

skills

to

strive

for.

You

can

always

be

better.

And

it's

probably

the

same

whatever

job

you

are

in

or

whatever

work

you

do.

It's

almost

impossible

to

become

the

complete

engineer.

But

I

want

to

be

better.

Or

being

a

complete

parent.

A

complete

parent.

protector,

provider,

teacher,

comforter,

and mentor.

It's

riddled

with

failures

on an

almost

daily

basis.

But I

want to

get there.

I want

to be

complete.

Completeness

in anything

we do,

it's just

always over

the horizon

as we

sail

towards it.

But we

know,

we know

we must

continue

to work

and to

act

in these

areas.

And yet

here in

verse 5,

we read

that a

love for

God,

if anyone

obeys his

word,

love for

God,

or his

love for

us,

here we

read that

love for

God,

the true

measure of

authentic

Christianity,

can be

made

complete

in

us.

And I

think of

it as a

virtuous

circle.

You know

you can

have vicious

circles that

spiral out of

control and

things go

wrong,

but you

can have

virtuous

circles.

They're a

thing as

well.

It's a

virtuous

circle of

love for

God,

leading to

obedience to

God,

leading to

a love to

God,

leading of

obedience to

God,

towards

completeness

of love

and knowing

him.

It's a

virtuous

circle that

we practice.

And

completeness

and this

virtuous circle

is possible

because it's a

Holy Spirit

enabled work.

Brothers and

sisters,

we have

the Spirit.

God,

who began

this good

work in

us,

it's his

initiative,

promises that

through his

Holy Spirit

that he will

bring that

work to

completion.

Does that

sound familiar?

Are there

verses in the

Bible that

sound like

that?

Because it's

true.

That's what

the Word

says.

He has

began the

good work

in us,

will bring

it to

completion.

We will

be faithful

to the

end,

and we

will indeed,

in the

end,

be perfect

as Christ

is perfect.

God's

work is

made complete

in us

through the

means of

our obedience,

our good

works,

and our

faithfulness.

They are

the means,

or the

path,

or the

plan that

God has

laid out

for us

to follow

in order

to have

a complete

love of

his in

our lives

as we

put off

sin and

put on

love and

obedience.

Now,

legalism

is the

error where

we want

to take

our salvation

and we

want to

build our

own tower

of goodness

upon it,

or we

want to

put our

own tower

of goodness

in place

of what

Jesus has

done.

That's

essentially

legalism.

But a

similar but

opposite claim

is that,

well,

you know,

it's all of

grace,

and therefore

following

Jesus is

free of

any kinds

of demands.

And that

too is a

serious

error,

where we

dishonour

God and

his words

and we

believe that

it does

not matter.

The solution

to both

legalism

and

licentiousness

or living

a life

that doesn't

honour God,

the solution

to both,

both of

those,

is that

Christ wants

to continue

his work

in and

through us.

it doesn't

end when

we come

to faith

in Jesus.

He acts

within us

to empower

us to do

good works

that he

has prepared

in advance

for us

to do.

All so

that love

for God

and love

of God

would be

truly made

complete,

verse 5,

in us.

If anyone

obeys his

word,

love for God

is truly

made complete

in them.

Jesus is

working and

making us

authentic

Christians.

What does

that mean

for us

each day?

What does

it look like

in the

Christian life?

Well,

there's many,

many,

many ways

that we

apply this

every day.

We put

off sin

and we

put on

the fruit

of the

Holy Spirit

in its

place.

We stop

practices

like lying

to each

other when

we hide

behind

poor

excuses

and instead

we practice

speaking the

truth in

love.

That's what

it means

to obey.

We love

God's

people

as much

as God

through

his body

the church.

That's what

it means

to obey.

It means

to love

God's

people.

Prayer,

fellowship,

baptism,

and the

Lord's

table are

all

commanded

commanded

by

Jesus.

They're

all

things

that

are

elicited

by

God

and

are

part

of

what

it

means

to be

a

Christian.

You see,

ours is a

grace-based,

entered by

faith,

promise-filled,

relational,

true religion,

with good

practices,

rules,

and rituals

that help

to sustain

and grow

the authentic

Christian

over a

lifetime.

That's what

Christianity

is about.

Thank God

for his

wisdom.

It's not

shallow.

It's shallow

at the shallow

end as we

come to put

our trust

in him.

But as we

walk through

the Christian

life,

there are

depths and

depths that

God has

laid out

for us.

And then

finally,

verse 6,

the end of

verse 5

into verse 6.

this is

how we

know we

are in

him.

And this

is key.

Whoever

claims to

live in

him must

live as

Jesus did.

So we

bring no

merit of

our own

to the

cross.

But from

the cross,

by grace,

God is

changing us

to become

an authentic

and complete

Christian,

an authentic

and complete

human being.

And this

happens through

our union

by faith

with Jesus

as we're

united to

Christ.

And this

is where

John brings

us as a

final confirmation

of our

faith at

the end

of verse

5.

Live as

Jesus did.

And before

we consider

what it means

to live as

Jesus did,

I think we

need to

understand a

little bit

of why

Jesus lived

on earth

at all.

Why did

Jesus come?

Well,

God is

always

related to

people

through

covenants,

through

agreements,

where God

comes and

sets the

rules and

is faithful

to a

people through

a covenant.

And he's

established

gracious

covenants

throughout all

of history

for the

path that

we should

follow to

be in

relationship

with God.

And in

all those

covenants,

they are

graciously

given by

God.

He initiates

them.

We enter

into them

through faith

in God's

promises.

And our

lives are

regulated by

good laws

and good

principles that

God gives

us.

You see,

it's never,

ever,

ever been

throughout

history,

faith versus

religion,

or law

versus grace.

It has

always been

grace,

leading to

faith,

leading to

walking in

the path that

God has

planned out.

That's

always been

the way

it has

been.

So people

in the

Old Testament,

and we

struggle with

this sometimes,

I think,

it was so

different back

then,

and how

they related

to God

was so

different.

How were

they saved?

How were

they saved?

How did

they earn

their salvation?

How were

they saved?

Well,

they were

saved,

like you

and I,

by a

gracious

act of

God.

They were

rescued

from slavery

in Egypt

through the

great Passover

event.

And in

faith,

they were

called to

trust in

the promises

of God

for a

land and

for blessings

and for

salvation and

ultimately for

a king.

So their

covenant was

like ours.

It was

based on

grace,

entered into

by faith,

in the

promises of

God,

and regulated

by good

law that

God gave,

which we

summarize in

the Ten

Commandments.

Now,

it was,

of course,

a temporary

and lesser

covenant,

but it was

founded on

the same

principles,

and was

gracious,

and was

the means

through which

people were

saved.

Only we

have a

better covenant,

and we

only have a

better covenant

because Jesus,

the Son of

God,

the promised

King,

has come in

the flesh.

You see,

where old

Israel failed,

Jesus always

succeeded.

They rebelled

in the desert

against God,

and they

kicked against

God,

and when

Jesus was

in his

desert,

and being

tempted by

Satan for

40 days,

he obeyed

God's word,

and he

passed the

test.

Where old

Israel,

they took

the law of

God,

and they

turned it

almost into

this soulless

rule-keeping

with pointless

extra regulation,

regulations.

Jesus took

the law,

and he

showed its

true meaning

in the

Sermon on

the Mount,

and he

showed a

deeper meaning

to it.

He didn't

add extra

regulations on

the outside,

he put them

on the inside

in the heart,

and he

said,

love your

enemies,

and he

said,

don't lust

in your

heart,

or hate

your brother

in your

heart.

So Jesus

expanded the

law.

He

expanded the

law.

He showed

the true

depth of

it,

and showed

in his

life what

it looks

like to

obey the

law when

you're

spirit-filled,

what obedience

looks like,

what good

works look

like,

what faithfulness

looks like.

This is what

John is saying

in verse 6

this morning.

Whoever

claims to

live in

him must

live as

Jesus did.

Must live

as Jesus

did.

Spirit-empowered,

faithful,

obedient,

doing good

works from

the heart.

Here is our

manna from

heaven.

Here is our

sustenance and

our hope.

Jesus walked a

life of self-denial

and submission to

his heavenly

father.

His perfect

record means

that he is

the ultimate

covenant

keeper.

The ultimate

one.

Unlike the

people of

God who

had gone

before him,

Jesus always

kept the

covenant laws

and regulations.

Christian,

we can never

achieve in

this life the

perfect life

of Jesus.

We are

trying to

image Jesus

and to

become more

like him

in this

life.

But until

he returns

and sin

and death

and Satan

are done

away with

finally,

we will

struggle.

But Jesus

is the

ultimate

covenant

keeper.

Jesus is the

ultimate

covenant

keeper with

a big K.

But the

joy of the

gospel is

this,

that through

our being

united with

Jesus,

our union

with him

and the

forgiveness

of our

sins

and the

gift of

the Holy

Spirit,

we become

like him

through that

virtuous circle.

And we

are becoming

a covenant

keeper with a

small K.

Our works

indeed are

imperfect

and incomplete,

but

nonetheless,

those works,

the things you

do,

honour God.

they are

pleasing to

him,

they are

genuine,

they are

necessary.

Christ is

being formed

in you.

His love

is being

made complete

in you

as you

walk

as Jesus

walked.

What God

has joined

together,

love and

obedience,

let none

of us

separate.

Amen.

Let's

pray.

Our

Father,

we thank

you that

in the

gospel of

Jesus

Christ,

that the

manifold

wisdom of

God is

shown to

all the

powers and

principalities

and rulers

of the

universe.

It's on

display.

Your

wisdom,

God,

is beyond

ours.

We could

not have

imagined

such a

great

salvation.

We

simply

thank you.

Thank you

for the

cross of

Christ.

Thank you

for the

gift of

the

Spirit.

Thank you

for the

love of

the

Father.

Lord,

we need

you.

Help us

each and

every day

to be

faithful,

to be

obedient,

to do

good works,

to love

our brothers

and sisters

and to

become more

complete in

Christ and

his love.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.