He Took Away Our Sins: 1 John 2.1-6

Our Payment

We live in a world of credit and debt. For most of us its inevitable. Whether its a house, college, a car, credit cards or some other item we end up owing money to various different places. The hope is of course that you don't owe more money than you have coming in and that you can pay down those debts until one day you are free from their burden. Debt may be inevitable for various things, but we always long for the day when debt no longer weighs us down and we are free to do other more rewarding things with our time and money.  

There is another debt which we all owe. It's nothing we bought, nor is it from any loan we received, rather it is a spiritual debt inherited from our parents. Scripture testifies that because of sin, there is a deep separation between God and man. There is a debt so great that no human is able to pay, that is, the debt against us not only for the wrongs which we committed, but our state of being which stands in rebellion against God. Without proper payment, that debt will be judged unpaid and the sentence over that non-payment declared. Only God is worthy of being this judge, so what hope do we have for payment? Thankfully, only God is worthy of making payment on our behalf as well. 

Our Promise 

If our debt is so massive, in fact beyond calculation, who could possibly pay such a payment? John tells us; Jesus Christ the righteous. Chapter 2 of 1 John begins with a promise: Jesus Christ is our advocate and our payment for sin. He alone is qualified. John tells us this, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world"
(1 John 2:2 ESV). The word he uses is propitiation, a word you don't use in everyday conversation I'm betting! But what a beautiful word!  Propitiation refers to a necessary payment, and we see it explicitly in the Old Testament revolving around the Day of Atonement.  We see in Exodus 30 a provision for God's people that the High Priest would come into God's presence and offer a sacrifice for the removal of the people's sins. This was to be a yearly occurrence, when all the people's sins would be forgiven. They would be given a promise of forgiveness and be reminded of God's goodness.   

John is telling us here that Jesus himself is our means of forgiveness, that which was necessary to make payment for our sin. And this is not a yearly event, but a once and for all event which echoes through the ages and is applied to all who come to Christ through faith. He also stands before God on our behalf constantly pleading our case. Not that God needs to be reminded of who belongs to him, but the picture John paints should cause us to rejoice. Christ is doing the work on our behalf! John is not saying that it's Christ plus something we do; he's saying it's Christ alone! We are the ones in need of this propitiation and advocacy yet due to the size of the debt, we couldn't possibly repay it. The person of Jesus Christ, God in flesh, is himself the sacrifice necessary to make atonement for people's sins before God and to pay that debt. What God demands, God delivers! We can't possibly pay that price, and this is what John is reminding readers of here, Christ alone is our payment and promise and we are to follow that through love and obedience. 

Our Practice 

What is someone's response when a debt has been paid? I know my response is sheer joy! "Finally, I can move on to something else! I can use my time, energy and resources towards another goal!" When someone is released from a debt, the natural reaction is joy and a sense of freedom. Perhaps if the debt was due to selfish spending, we might learn from that debt and seek to spend our money more wisely. There is much perspective that can be gained after coming out from under such a burden. The same should be said for believers in Christ who have had their burden of sin removed. This debt was something which only God himself was capable of removing, so like we would with someone who might pay off an earthly debt, we turn our gratitude to the one who has paid that debt. Because of the infinite nature of our once heavy spiritual burden, our response should be infinite gratitude. John relates this to love and obedience.

Those covered by the blood of Christ are recognized by love and obedience. This is an emphasis which John places later on in his epistle, but we see him beginning to make that emphasis here in the first few verses of chapter 2. He says, "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments" (1 John 2:3 ESV). In the Old Testament, God's forgiveness was intended to drive people to love and obedience. The same goes for the people of God in this age. Obedience to God is infinitely more rewarding than obedience to sin, and John relates those who have been forgiven to obedience towards what God commands. The one who has relieved our debt does not dangle it over our heads taunting us, but rather we are reminded of his infinite grace which was shown to us and our response is obedience to him. As John tells us, "but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected" (1 John 2:5 ESV). The desire of God's people is to love and obey him because he loved us. 

So What?

When a debt has been paid, we rejoice. The same should be said for our spiritual debt, and the rejoicing even more great! The burden of sin is removed and we are now free. John tells us that Christ himself is that payment, and that our love and obedience to him is naturally due. No longer is a once-a-year sacrifice required as in the Old, but Christ is the ultimate atonement that is good for all eternity for all who come to him. God's people do no grow sour at the commands of God, but rather they come alive when they obey and realize how infinitely greater God's loving commands are towards his people. May we rejoice for our propitiation who is Christ and may we seek to live in a manner worthy of the gospel this week!

Darkness and Light: 1 John 1.5-10

Darkness and Light

Imagine a story like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. What do the characteristics of dark and light represent in these two epic tales? Immediately the battle for good (light) versus evil (dark) comes to mind. It is a natural tendency to think of this contrast. The Apostle John, when describing God and those who follow after him, uses this same contrast of light and darkness. Here is what he says, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1.5-7). Our God is one of light, meaning purity, and by nature there can be no darkness in him. Those who wish to follow after him must also retreat from the darkness. To a dark and dying world, our God is a bright and shining light that beckons us to come to him through Christ by the Holy Spirit.  

Thoughts on the Light  

What does it mean to live in the light? Simply put, it means living in God's presence and living in response to what God has revealed. To live before the face of God should be the desire of every Christian. The Latin term for this is Coram Deo, or 'before the face of God.' This is to give one's complete life over to living before God, recognizing our faults and constantly turning to him in our failures, not holding anything back. This is what it means to live in the light as he is in the light. Whether you are a student, parent, male or female, pastor or professional our calling is to live in light of God's presence, openly and honestly admitting to God our constant need for his grace through Christ. And with living in the light comes a promise, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin (v. 7). Living in the light means we can come around a common shared belief and recognize that Christ cleanses us from all sin. This is a one time act as well as a continual act. We have been forgiven and we are being forgiven. As we stumble, we know that we have the blood of Christ cleansing us from all sin, so we repent and we continue living in the light. To live in God's presence is the most freeing thing anyone can do, to run from God's presence brings slavery to our own devices.

Thoughts on Darkness

If Coram Deo is living before the presence of God, then the opposite of that is running from the presence of God. If we live in the darkness, then we are denying that which God has revealed and we refuse to acknowledge that his goodness and mercy is what is best for us. For us who choose to deny the goodness of God revealed to us, we are like the chaff that the wind drives away according the psalmist (Psalm 1.4). We cannot last! Living in the dark means denying who we are and who God is. We are sinful people in need of redemption, and God is the only one who can redeem. Without this realization, we will continue to live in the darkness. In fact, John says we make God a liar if we do so (1 John 1.10)! We can be in church, doing church activities, saying we are alright with God and still be living in the darkness. If we seek to make things right on our own or try to do things within our own power, we are living in darkness. Until we are open and honest about our condition, and recognize that God alone is the physician of our maladies, then we continue to abide in darkness. But, as John tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). What wonderful freedom we have in Christ and living in the light! The darkness hides and festers, the light reveals and heals.  

So What?

The light is infinitely more refreshing that the dark. Like the epic movies of good versus evil, we all long for the light to win over the darkness. Though the path of those good warriors is often difficult, we all know that it is the one true way. So too is it with our faith. We have been given a choice, to live in light of God's presence or to turn our backs and run. One way (the light) acknowledges that we are nothing without the grace of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. The other way (the darkness) denies the goodness and grace of God and chooses rather to go an opposite path. A Christian living in light of God's presence choose to deal with sin rather than deny it. They also continue to run back to the arms of a loving Father when they have temporarily gone astray. A Christian walking in the light recognizes that sin hinders a right relationship with God, therefore there is need for continual cleansing through prayer and a repentant life. One who desires to walk in the light will be open and transparent about sin, and continue to have a right relationship with God so that they might be a faithful witness to the world. May the same be said of us. Take care and have a great week in the Lord! 

Summer of Love 2011: A Study in 1 John

Our focus this summer is love. Love for God, love for one another and love for the world. So where in Scripture do we find some of the most clear commands and teaching on the things of love? I would say it would be the first epistle written by the apostle John. This epistle builds directly off of the teachings of Christ and encourages its readers to understand love and place it in its proper context. The world today cannot give an accurate depiction of love, rather, it is skewed and disfigured. Only God's Word can show us what love is all about, and that is our goal this summer!

Who was the Apostle John?

Before we dive into a book of Scripture, it's important to know it's background and setting in order that we might gain insight from it's context. Scripture is applicable everywhere, always and for all believers but as 21st Christians it might do us justice to try and understand what a 1st century Christian was up against. First we ask the question, who was John? We know from Scripture that he was a fisherman (Matt. 4.21). We also know he was one of Jesus's close twelve disciples (Matt. 10.2). According to Scripture and early church testimony, he wrote five books in the New Testament canon (Gospel of John, 1/2/3 John, Revelation). We also gather from tradition and the Scriptural witness that he outlived the remainder of the disciples, allowing him to continue his ministry and writing until a very old age (writing his Revelation under the reign of Emperor Domitian, who ruled from 81-96 AD).    

John is considered to have ministered primarily in Asia Minor, in and around Ephesus. The things to which he writes (those who do not confess Jesus in the flesh and so on) are indicative of issues which the early church faced in the region of Asia Minor, specifically with a group called the Docetists who denied the human side of Christ. His letter assumes a knowledge of who Jesus Christ is and a basic understanding of the Christian faith, leading many commentators to date this letter in the latter half of the first century, perhaps following the gospel account which bears John's name. The issues of building up the church, encouraging people to continue in the faith, and warning people about false teachings are all themes which we find in this epistle.  

Why 1 John 

So why should we study 1 John as students in middle and high school? Good question, and the answer has three main reasons. First, it stresses the importance of knowing the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is divine and human, we can't not deny either nor exclude one by emphasizing the other. He is both and that should continue to remain our confession. Second, it gives us a clear picture of right Christian behavior. The Christian faith isn't all about black and white rules of do's and don'ts, but John reminds us here that there certainly are some clear cut ways to understand whether or not one is a Christian by how they behave. This is important for constant personal reflection and encouraging one another to remember our calling. Lastly, it emphasizes fellowship and relationships. For us as a student ministry, this is a great and awesome task. We must continue to build up relationships for the purpose of growing in faith and making the Gospel of Jesus Christ known to a sick and dying world.

Introductions

In the first three verses of his first epistle, John reminds his readers that they can't have a relationship with God without Jesus Christ. The fellowship of knowing God is directly linked with fellowship with Jesus Christ (1.3). That fellowship we share together, as John reminds us, is based on that confession. Though people may come in and visit a church, they are not part of the Christian fellowship until they share in the common belief of Jesus Christ. Another vital point we see in John's introduction is that the disciples have intimate knowledge of Christ (1.1). They ate with him, talked with him, laughed with him and so on. What they write about him can be trusted! Lastly, we see a promotion to share the faith which we proclaim (1.3). John is making no secrets about the Christian faith, he wants people to know all about it! This is our calling too; proclaim Christ as the truth of the Gospel!

Summer of Love

The study of 1 John is a wonderful compliment to building up one another and focusing on love for the summer. I hope you will be encouraged by this study and that your faith will be increased as we dive into God's word and learn what it means to truly love God, love one another and the world. Stay tuned for more thoughts and teachings from 1 John and have a great week!