Get Real!
1 John 1:1-10
Slide
Have you ever witnessed people who appeared to be pretenders in the Christian faith?
Their words don’t match what they say they say they believe
Or
Maybe what they say they believe doesn’t match what the Bible says, yet they say they are Christians.
There are others who proclaim Christianity, but will not acknowledge the things the Bible teaches or says is true. They just make up their own beliefs as to right and wrong.
On the other hand, there are people who do acknowledge what the Bible says is true but fail to live in a loving way toward others in the light of that truth.
Well, these things that we see today are really not much different than some of the things the early church faced as well.
And thankfully, we have letters and writings that were inspired by God and recorded in the Bible to help us know how to live a Genuine Faith in truth and in love.
This is one of the reasons that the Apostle John wrote his letters, to counteract some of these things.
Transition
Beginning today we are going to be starting a new series for the summer called Genuine Faith and we are going to looking at a letter John wrote that we know as
1st John.
In this letter, we find that John says we need to Get Real! about what we believe about Jesus and how we live our life in Him.
Background
We are going to begin in 1 John 1, so you can turn there
Slide
But before we get in to today’s message, I want to give you a bit of background on this letter.
John was one of Jesus’ 12 apostles
Probably the last one to die, writing toward the end of the first century.
This letter was probably written 50 or so years after Jesus death and resurrection.
There were some false teachers that were trying to creep into the church that were affecting not only beliefs but also how people lived out their faith.
John, as one of the last living apostles, is writing to
refute these false teachings and
proclaim the truth of how true Christianity should be lived out.
In his letter he states specifically several purposes, but in actuality they are all related.
He tells us he has written to
Make our joy complete (1:4)
So that you will not sin (2:1)
So that you will be aware of “those who are trying to lead you astray.” (2:26)
So that you may know that you have eternal life (5:13)
While they seem like different purposes, they are related in that John recognizes joy in the Christian life can be hindered by false teachers and teachings that lead a person into sin. This can jeopardize their knowledge of their eternal life and rob them of the joy that the Christian life offers.
So John writes to believers to help them truly live a Genuine Faith.
Transition to sermon
Now, beginning in 1 John 1, John begins by expressing some core realities of Christianity in an effort for the Christians he is writing to, to live in a way that expresses those realities.
Living a true and authentic Christian life is what John is all about and it is what we should be all about.
So let’s begin and see what John says we need to Get Real about.
1 John 1:1-3a
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard…
Ok, I want to stop there and take a look at the first reality that john expresses.
That is
The Reality of Jesus Christ
Slide
One of the things that some of the false teachers were arguing was that Jesus was really God, but He was not necessarily really man, maybe only a spirit being.
John writes as an eyewitness to the fact of not only His deity, but to His humanity of which John was an eyewitness of.
Listen again to John’s writing here.
Slide
1 John 1:1-3a
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard…
Jesus was absolutely God, and He was absolutely man. He was with Father and He really appeared to us as a Man.
He is both God and Man in reality!
To deny His humanity is to deny the work He came to do.
If Jesus was not a man, if he did not put on flesh, then he would be
unable to live this life perfectly and
unable to be an acceptable sacrifice for our sins and
unable to die upon the cross as payment for those sins
if He did not possess real humanity.
But He really became an actual physical Man. And He really is God.
John, as an eyewitness, testifies to this.
John is not alone in talking about the importance of the reality of Jesus Christ.
The author of Hebrews talks about the importance and purpose of this as well
He says in
Slide
Hebrews 2:14-15
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil- 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Jesus shared in our humanity, He became human, so that He could die and pay for our sins and gain eternal life for us.
And John was an eyewitness just like all of the apostles who were willing to die to proclaim what they knew for sure was true.
So, John clearly proclaims what he knows to be true regardless of the consequences because the truth about the reality of Jesus was that important then and it is that important today!
The reality of Jesus as both God and man are essential aspects of Christianity and living a genuine faith.
Transition
But knowing the reality of who Jesus is, is not the only important reality, there is also the importance of
The Reality of Relationship with Jesus Christ
Slide
1 John 1:3b
3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
John tells us about the reality of who Jesus is so that we might experience the reality of a true relationship with Jesus Christ.
Now what does a real relationship with Jesus Christ look like?
What does the Christian life look like when lived in real relationship with Christ?
First, it should be
A Life of Fellowship …
Slide
And John talks about 2 aspects of this fellowship in these verses we just read, but they are very closely aligned and vitally connected.
The first part of this is
A Life of Fellowship …
…with Christ
Slide
1 John 3b – “our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ”
And then going into verse 5, he says
1 John 1:5-6
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
The Reality of a relationship with Jesus Christ should be characterized by a life of fellowship with Christ.
What would that look like in real life?
Well, if we are in fellowship with Christ, our lives should not be ones that a living lives walking in darkness, we should not be living lives of sin.
Well, does that mean if we are a real Christian, we never sin?
No, that is not what that means.
John even goes on in
1 John 1:8-10
Slide
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
We, even as Christians, will sin, but we will not walk in sin as a way of life. And when we do sin, we will face conviction so we come and confess our sin and receive forgiveness and are purified and restored into fellowship with the Lord. Sin, when unconfessed, results in a breaking of fellowship with Christ.
A true relationship with Christ will be characterized by a life of fellowship with Christ.
Transition
But it will also be characterized by
A Life of Fellowship…
… with the Church
Slide
Listen to what John says in
1 John 1:6-7
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 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, purifies us from all sin.
I have talked about his before. I remember first studying this passage years ago and was really rocked by what John was saying in this.
Because when I read the first part that says “if we say we are in fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie” I would expect that when he begins talking about the opposite of walking in darkness which is living in the light, he would say that, we do have fellowship with Him, but he doesn’t say that.
Instead , he says “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another”
Basically what John is doing is equating
being in fellowship with Christ and
being in fellowship with His people, the church.
If you aren’t in fellowship with the church, you aren’t in real fellowship with Christ.
Does that mean if I am not in fellowship with a church, then I am not a real Christian?
No. That is not what is being said.
But what is being sais is that if you are not part of a church, part of a fellowship of Christian believers, you are cannot really in fellowship with the Lord, closely connected with Him and growing in Him.
The saying that “I don’t need to be part of a church to truly worship the Lord” is a lie.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t worship the Lord in nature all by yourself, but
it does mean that you can’t really worship the Lord in nature by yourself UNLESS you are also connected and worshiping corporately as part of the body!
If we are going to truly be connected to Christ and experiencing fellowship with Him, then we need to be in fellowship in a Bible believing Church, with all the flaws and blemishes it has, because it is made up of people who still sin, but yet it is still the body of Christ and the Bride of Christ, whom Christ died for and has chosen to work through to reach this world.
We need to be in fellowship with the church to truly be in fellowship with Christ. You need to be using your gifts as part of the church. If you are not, then the body of Christ is lacking because God has given you specific gifts to use in conjunction with others so that we can be effective at fulfilling His commission.
Make it real
So if you are here today and are not connected to a church as part of the body, using your gifts, why not?
Is it because people in a church have hurt you before?
It doesn’t make things better by not being part of a church. Come and let us help you deal with past hurts, or current hurts.
I will tell you that it is certainly easier to not be part of a church, but it is definitely not better for you for the long run. Because when you’re not, you lose fellowship with Christ.
Are you just waiting to find the perfect church, where everything is just as you want it?
You won’t. The church is made up of sinful people that still sin. It is not perfect, but it still is Christ’s chosen instrument to fulfill His commission, his Body and His Bride.
Be part of the church to help make it a better place than it currently is.
Are you afraid that you are going to have to do something?
You will. You have been saved by the Lord to serve others and use the gifts you have been given. When you don’t do that, you miss out on the joy of being used for eternal purposes.
Transition
And that is the next thing John tells us that a real relationship with Christ should be evidenced by
A life of Joy
Slide
1 John 1:4 – “We write this to make our joy complete.”
When we are in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ, in fellowship with him and his church, serving as part of the fellowship, it will produce joy in our life.
Listen to what Jesus says as John records his words in
John 15:5, 8, 11
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, (fellowship) he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. … 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples…. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
The reality of relationship with Jesus will be characterized by a life of Joy.
What if you aren’t feeling very joyful?
Does that mean you are not a Christian?
Well, that is possible, but a real Christian can lack joy for other reasons too.
It could be because of a lack of fellowship with the Lord and His people
If you are a Christian you need to get connected with a Bible preaching church.
It could be because of some unrepentant sin in your life.
If you have some sin in your life, repent and confess it and be cleansed!
It could be from a lack of growing in relationship with the Lord
If you are just showing up to church on the weekend but aren’t really in His word or connecting in relationship with other Christians, take some steps to be in his word.
Begin a daily devotional
Come to a Bible study
It could be because we are relying on the world instead of the Lord for our joy.
Thinking that the world will bring joy by living a lifestyle of sin or by relying on what the world says will bring joy – good circumstances, not working, physical pleasure – leads to a lack of fulfillment and emptiness, not joy.
Paul, when writing to the church in Philippi, a letter that is all about joy, says
Philippians 4:11-13
Slide
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
If you are a Christian, and not experiencing contentment and joy, ask yourself why and if you recognize some of the things I just spoke of in your own life, then take steps to get connected in the church, repent and confess your sin, be in God’s word, and trust in His ways.
It is being in and growing in Christ that we find contentment and joy in Christ. If we are not experiencing joy and we are a Christian, the problem is most likely that we have stopped growing in him in our fellowship with Him because of an issue in our life.
Transition
So a real and growing relationship with the Lord is evidenced by a life of fellowship and joy, but it is also evidenced by
A Life of Truth
Slide
1 John 1:5-6
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
These false teachers who were trying to lead the Christians John is writing to astray were saying, It doesn’t matter how you live in the flesh, it makes no difference to your Christianity.
In fact,
They would say that being in a relationship with Jesus meant
You could do whatever you wanted to do
And that the things we did in the body were not really sin.
Since Jesus already paid for your sins past, present and future, then go do what you want. It really isn’t sin.
John says in response to this, not true!
If you are living in true relationship with Jesus Christ, you will seek to live according to the truth and the teachings of the one who is truth incarnate, Jesus Christ.
Listen to what Paul says about if we should go on living the lie that sin tells us.
Romans 6:1-4
Slide
6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
When we are in right relationship with Christ, we will be seeking to live a life of truth.
It doesn’t mean that we won’t sin.
It doesn’t even mean that we won’t struggle with sin and the desire to sin.
We will.
But, as we live in a real relationship with Jesus Christ,
In fellowship with Christ and the Church
Living in the truth of His word
we find that Christ
strengthens us and
enlivens us by the power of the Holy Spirit and
we experience joy in life
as we live out a Genuine Faith pleasing and glorifying to Him.
Conclusion
Are you ready to Get Real about your beliefs and a relationship with Jesus Christ?
What to do?
Receive Jesus as Savior
Well, if you don’t remember a time when you have truly turned to receive Christ as Savior, Receive Jesus today.
Maybe you think you know him, after all, you have gone to church your whole life.
Do you? Have you truly repented of your sin and turned to Him in faith, seeking the life that only He can give?
Think about that and if you don’t know, then you probably haven’t received Him. I will lead in a prayer of confession in a moment.
Fellowship with the Church
Maybe you have been skirting around the edges of life in the church. You come on the weekends, but that is it.
You aren’t involved.
You don’t know anybody.
You aren’t a member.
Take a step toward getting connected at Hickory Creek.
In 2 weeks we have a Back to Basics Seminar that talks about the beliefs at Hickory and is a step toward membership at Hickory. Sign up for that today.
Take a step of faith of being in fellowship with other Christians in the church.
Baptism
Maybe it is taking another step of faith following the truth of God’s teaching in His word by being baptized.
Baptism in the Bible isn’t about having a few drops of water dropped on your head while you are an infant.
It is an act of obedience and step of faith in the One who has saved you and told you to be baptized.
In the New Testament, every baptism we see is of a person who has received Christ and then followed this command in obedience.
Baptism is for believers.
And baptism is a picture of our association with Christ’s death and resurrection.
That is why we baptize by immersion.
It is a picture of and our association with Christ’s and our own death and resurrection, being buried – put under – the water and being raised to new life. Water baptism doesn’t save you but it is a step of obedience to what Christ tells us in His word.
We have baptisms coming up on Saturday, June 20th.
Let me know and we will make arrangements for you to be baptized.
Bible Study – connection group
Or you need to start studying the word.
Pick up a daily devotional at our info board.
Get an app or sign up for one online.
Get connected in a Connection group. We have one starting this summer and then we will have many in the fall.
Make time in God’s word a priority.
Close
Is it time for you to Get Real about your faith?
Begin doing that this week.
If you need to Affirm your belief in Christ by making a conscious decision to receive Him as Savior, then pray with me now.
Pray
