TRUTH, OBEDIENCE, AND OTHER ANTIQUE VIRTUES
1 John 2:3-6 March 5, 1995
INTRO:
A few weeks ago, during our Friday night devotional, I asked my teens how many of them had seen "Schindler’s List", Steven Spielberg’s recent movie about the Holocaust. I asked them: was the Holocaust right or was it wrong? They said it was wrong, and so I asked them this question: why was it wrong? Byron Riopel said it was wrong because the Bible says that killing is wrong. A couple other kids said it was wrong because everyone has a right to live. Then one of my grade eight guys said this: "Wait a minute: How can we say that it was wrong for the Nazis? We can’t say that something is wrong for them just because we think it is wrong."
This young man confirmed what I had been studying about our youth - many of our young people do not know the basic difference between right and wrong - further; many will not agree that an objective, absolute standard of right and wrong even exists. I defined absolute truth for them as those moral rules which are true for any person, in any place or situation, at any time - and some of my kids really did not like that idea. They were not willing to accept that some truths are absolute. You see, our culture has taught them (and us) that truth is relative. It’s taught us that our job as we grow to maturity is to decide what we are going to believe - we decide what is true for us. Ever heard someone say "If that works for you, great; but I’ll decide what is right for me." In our culture, someone is mature when they have decided what they want to believe and are "true to themselves".
Scripture, however, teaches us that maturity is something different. We are mature when we learn to obey. Not the mindless, unthinking image of obedience that 50 years of war movies and TV sitcoms has given us, where some soldier in some far-off place is forced to blindly obey obviously stupid orders from some half-crazed superior officer. Rather, Scripture calls us to thoughtful obedience to Christ out of a relationship of love and gratitude based on complete revelation of God’s will for our lives. Look up 1 John 2:3-6.
While your looking that up, there are a few more things that I need to say about truth, before moving on to obedience. Parents and grandparents, you need to teach your children that there is such a thing as absolute, transcendant truth - things that are true for any person in any situation at any time. You need to teach them:
1. The Rule - as recorded in Scripture - for example, murder is wrong. Lying is wrong. Sex outside of marriage is wrong.
2. The Reason - the why behind the rule (often the consequences) - murder is wrong because life is sacred and taking someone’s life results in pain and anguish for both the family and for the murderer. Lying is wrong because if you lie then no one will trust you, and you’ll be alone. Sex outside of marriage is wrong because intimacy apart from life-long commitment breeds pain and uncertainty and distrust, not to mention any of the potential physical consequeces like pregnancy and STDs, and because it maims the potential for maximum enjoyment of sex within marriage.
3. The Standard - if truth is absolute -ie. transcends human experience, it must have an absolute standard that also trancends human experience - and the only standard that is adequate is the character of God Himself, as revealed through the Scriptures. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). God’s character defines truth. Murder is wrong because God is a God of life - He created it and said it is good. Lying is wrong because God is a God of truth, and in Him there is no deception. Sex outside of marriage is wrong because God is a God of purity, self-control, and because He never seperates intimacy and commitment.
We need to teach our children the Rule, the Reason behind the rule, and the Standard, which is God’s character.
1 John 2:3-6 (pick up verses 1-3 to set the stage):
This passage talks about obedience in three ways:
1. Obedience is the foundation for Spiritual experience
2. Obedience is the test of the knowlege of God
3. Obedience makes God’s love complete
1. Obedience is the foundation for Spiritual experience
vs 3 begins: "We know that we have come to know him..." A desire to know God is the starting point for all of our faith journeys. We became Christians because someone offered us an opportunity to enter into a relationship with God, where we can know Him and where He knows us. If you have not yet become a Christian, then today I offer you that opportunity - to know God. This verse provides us with an assurance, a confidence: "We KNOW that we have come to know him"... how do we know? "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands". Obedience is the foundation for Spiritual experience - if we obey his commands, we know that we know Him.
This is a very exciting time in the life of our church - God is doing amazing things among us. You’ve heard Russ Hanson talking about some of his spiritual experiences, you’ve heard Garth Worthington testify to how God miraculously healed him, a few weeks ago Brian Whittle shared a vision he had from God, you’ve been in small groups where the Holy Spirit has come into your midst and called you to pray, you’ve heard words of prophecy, you’ve seen the miraculous as children learn to love Jesus and as lives are changed into the likeness of Jesus, and you have participated with the rest of us as we enter God’s throne room and worship Him together. The foundation for these spiritual experiences is obedience. I can tell you that if these people were not living in obedience to God and in submission to His will, God would not likely have done what He did. If we aren’t obeying God, and have sin in our lives, it destroys our ability to fellowship with God.
Some of you have been watching and listening to these wonderful things that God has been doing, and you’ve begun to ask "what about me? God, why aren’t you doing things like that in my life?" And that is a great question - God’s face lights up with a huge smile when His children express a desire to know Him on a deeper level. There are several possible answers to that question:
1. vs. 3 says "if..." "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands." There is a possibility that there is some area of your life that you have not yet submitted to God in obedience. Maybe it’s your priorities, or your use of money, or your choice of entertainment, or maybe its the way you treat your spouse or children. Or perhaps you are not doing something that you should be doing. There may be a problem with sin in your life that is blocking the flow of God’s power and love and gifts. If so (and only you and God know whether sin is the problem), I challenge you to deal with it - today - right now - so you can get on with your spiritual life and experience the exciting, abundant life that God has in store for you.
But that is not the only option, and it is far to simplistic to suggest that sin is the only reason for us not going deeper with God.
2. You may not have asked. Quite simple, really. Maybe you just haven’t got up the courage and the willingness to ask God to intervene powerfully in your life. Maybe you’re afraid of giving up control or afraid that God will make you wierd - turn you into some fanatic or freak. If you are afraid to ask, be comforted by God’s promise through Jeremiah (29:11): "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Trust Him and take the risk. Trust Him, take the risk, and ask Him to completely take control of your life.
James 4:2 says it succinctly: "You do not have, because you do not ask God.". The next verse reveals another possibility: James 4:3 - "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
3. You have not asked with the right motives. God purposes in our lives are to glorify Him and to extend His kingdom, and if that is not our motivation, God will not answer. He is not interested in glorifying us.
4. Finally, you may need to be patient in waiting for God. We don’t control God: we can’t expect that once we have gotten everything into place down here that poof, heeeeeeeers Jesus. We are the servants; He is the Master. God’s intervention in our lives is not the result of a formula, where we plug in the right numbers and out comes the desired result. HOWEVER, We can trust with absolute confidence that He will come, and that He will answer our prayers, and that He will intervene powerfully in our situations, but we have to be willing to accept that God will do this in His time, not in ours. Job waited, and prayed, and was patient and obedient for years!! And God answered him - in His time. Keep asking. Keep searching. Keep examining your heart for sin and for motive. and most of all, Keep trusting that He will answer, because He has promised that he will.
Before moving on to the next point, I need to expose one of Satan’s lies. He has been whispering to some of you: "maybe you’re not really saved... if you were, you’d have visions like Russ, you’d hear God’s voice like Dave, you would know purer worship like Dan... Maybe God doesn’t really love you...", and the devil sows seeds of doubt in us that take our focus off of Jesus and onto ourselves. We start to doubt our salvation. The perscription for this attack is the Scriptures: "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands." See also 1 John 5:3 "This is love for God: To obey his commands" or Jesus words in John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command" or further in 14:21 "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. {now listen to this...} He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him", (isn’t that a fabulous promise!?!) or go even further down to 14:23 "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (another fantastic promise!!!) The key, in all of these verses, is obedience. And the Promise is God revealed - in relationship with us.
The test from Scripture of your knowing God, and thus your secure salvation, is your obedience to Jesus’ teachings, and that is the foundation for all of our other spiritual experiences. If you are obeying God, ignore the Devil’s lies about your eternal security, and get on with living for Jesus.
2. Obedience is the test of our knowledge of God.
1 John 2 vs 4: "The man who says "I know Him" but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.". This verse provides us with both a warning and a test.
The warning: if we claim to know God personally (and that is our claim if we call ourselves Christians), and claim to have heard Him speak, we had better make absolutely certain that our actions match our words. It boils down to an issue of holiness: are we living holy lives or sinful lives? If we claim to know God we had better be living holy, obedient lives or God’s word calls us liars.
The test: if someone else claims to know God, we can confirm that by looking at their actions and character. Now, we are not looking for complete perfection - and we are definately NOT sitting in judgement on another person, but we are looking for a standard of holiness and obedience in their actions. And when we find it, we can be confident in the character and teaching and leading of this person.
3. Obedience completes God’s love
vs. 5: "But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him." "Truly made complete.". How does that work?
Imagine you are a child in a loving family. There is a set of guidelines for you to follow, and you have the choice to obey them or to disobey them. Now, if you obey these guidelines, there is very little tension around you in the household, and instead of getting into trouble all of the time and forcing your parents into a disciplinarian role, your cooperation makes time spent with your parents a positive time where peace and love prevail. On the other hand, if you disobey these guidelines, then you are always forced to be dealing with the consequences of your disobedience, and the usual atmosphere is negative.
It works the same way with us in our relationship with God. If we are constantly having to enter God’s throne room and deal with sin issues in our lives, and ask for His forgiveness and grace, we can’t move on to experiencing any of His love or power beyond experiencing forgiveness! And my friends, God has so much more in store for us then that. Forgiveness is the starting point - it is key; vital; completely miraculous and undeserved, and I’m not diminishing it one bit - but we need to get deeper in order to experience love made complete. Obedience allows us to do that, because as we obey God, we are free to come into His presence and spend our time with Him on other things - worship, warfare prayer, intercession for others, and deep personal communion with God. I was talking this past week to a woman who is involved in warfare prayer on a regular basis. She said "even though it is tough - a fight and a struggle - I’ve never been more fulfilled. I can see the enemy so clearly, ah, but I can also see the victories clearly." She is experiencing God’s love made complete.
We need to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles", so that we can get on with our job of telling other people about Jesus, and of caring for those around us. We need to obey so that we can experience the complete love of God.
In addition, if we are obedient we won’t miss out on any opportunities that God has for us. We will be in the right spiritual place to receive His gifts, hear His challenges, accept His blessings, and encounter His Holy Spirit. As we walk in obedience we will be able to walk daily in His love and power, and we will see God working in powerful ways in our lives and in the lives of people around us - as new people experience the love of God for the first time, and as Christians get excited about their Lord and share that excitement with others. And it all starts with us walking obediently with Jesus.
Now is that easy? Is it simple to obey? Unfortunately, no. Obedience is difficult - it means we give up control and we allow God to take us anywhere He wants to, including places that might be uncomfortable, at first. Fortunately, however, we have the promise of God, written in the Blood of His Son Jesus, that He loves us and wants the best for us. We are His children - adopted by God out of His great love and compassion - and we can trust our Father. And we can stand firm in the promise that as we obey His word, His love will be made truly complete in us.
Quick review before we close with verse 6: Number 1: Obedience is the foundation for spiritual experience, number 2: Obedience is the test of the knowledge of God, and number 3: Obedience completes God’s love.
vs. 6 says this: "This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."
Well, how did Jesus walk? He walked daily in the power of the Holy Spirit. He walked daily with a deep love for people, and a deep desire to see them saved. He walked daily in conversation with God the Father. He walked daily confronting people with the horrid nature of sin and their need to live Holy lives with Holy motives. And He walked daily without sin.
"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." Therefore, We must walk daily in the power of the Holy Spirit. We must walk daily with a deep love for people, and a deep desire to see them saved. We must walk daily in conversation with God the Father. We must walk daily confronting people with the horrid nature of sin and their need to live Holy lives with Holy motives. And We must walk daily without sin - daily in obedience to God.
And as we do, we will experience his love made truly complete in us.
