The Epistle of 1 John – Part Three

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

This is the third part of a series on the epistle of 1 John written by John the apostle. In this series we will cover the basic concerns John had for writing this letter to Christians. Included are the fourteen reasons he wrote these epistles of 1, 2 and 3 John as well as the eleven assurances we have that establish our salvation as a Christian.

 

In Part Two of this series on the epistle of 1 John we ended with 1 John 2:1 where John gives the third reason for writing these epistles; so that Christians would not sin. But knowing that Christians do sin at times he reminds Christians that if we do sin, we have Jesus as our advocate who intercedes for us on a regular basis. Jesus is qualified to do this because of His purity and sinless nature as well as His sacrificial act on the cross and resurrection. This is spoken of in 1 John 2:2,

 

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

 

Verse 2 tells us that by Jesus dying on the cross for our sins He atoned for them. To atone for sin is to appease, cover or cleanse of sin. But there is some additional information in this verse that brings up an interesting question. It states that He is the atoning sacrifice for not only our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. Does this mean that His death pays the debt for the sin for everyone? Does this mean everyone is going to heaven because of Christ’s atoning death? No it does not.

 

What this scripture is saying is that the power and purity of Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for everyone to receive salvation and go to Heaven, but it is only efficiently and effectively able to do this for those who accept Him as their Savior. In other words Christ’s death on the cross has the power and ability to cover the sins of everyone who has ever lived, but it only covers the sins of those people who accept Him as their holy and pure advocate. A person must make a decision to accept Christ as Savior AND Lord if they are to be saved. Being a Christian is more than just accepting Christ’s payment for sin, you must let Him be the Lord of your life as well. That is, He must be the ruler of your life. You must obey His commands. You must live your life according to His will, not your own. You must seek to live as He lived and model yourself after His example. Your obedient walk as a Christian is proof that you really have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord and your obedience is a reflection of your love and respect for Him and what He did on the cross.

 

One of the false doctrines trying to infiltrate the early church stated that everyone would go to Heaven because of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. This same false doctrine is in the world today and it is called “universalism.” It denies the judgment of God, the necessity of accepting Christ as Savior and the need to obey His commands. When you obey Christ’s commands as a Christian this verifies not only that you have been saved but also that He is truly Lord of your life. This leads into the next verse in chapter 2 that gives us the third verification that we are saved, if we are obeying His commands. Verse 3 states,

 

“We know that we have come to know him if we obey His commands.”

 

We can’t claim to be saved if we don’t obey the commands of Jesus. We cannot claim to be saved if our lives are full of sin and we walk in darkness. Yes we will sin at times as a Christian, but we already learned in 1 John 2:1 that these sins are covered by Christ’s death and we quickly confess any sins we might commit because we are convicted by the Holy Spirit to do so. The fact that we seek and desire to obey the Lord’s commands is the third verification John mentions in his epistles that we can know we are truly saved. If you are motivated to obey God’s Word and live as Christ lives you have evidence that you are a Christian. Your obedience to God’s Word builds assurance within you that you are truly a child of God. This desire to obey Scripture is not motivated by a cold legal obligation to obey God but should come from the love in the heart and spirit of a person who wishes to please the Lord by how they live. This is a motivation that comes from a passionate desire to obey out of love because of God’s grace and His merciful forgiveness for sin.

 

1 Timothy 3:13 tells us we gain an assurance from serving God in our obedience to Christ’s commands. It says, “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”

 

We are to show a pattern of obedience in our lives as Christians. Perfection is not possible in this life, but a consistent pattern of living by God’s Word and growing more mature spiritually is possible.

 

Other scripture passages also demonstrate the necessity of living in obedience to Christ’s commands which in turn supports the fact you truly are a servant and follower of Jesus Christ.

 

“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” John 14:21

 

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 tells us that we gain encouragement from the Lord as He strengthens us as we do good deeds and speak good words in accordance with His commands. “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

 

John can be rather blunt and confrontational in his writing at times and verse 4 of 1 John 2 is such an example. He uses slightly different words to express the same truth concerning the false claims of the Gnostics who were disrupting the churches. He states,

 

“The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

 

He is saying once again, you can’t claim to have a relationship with God if you fail to obey His commands on a regular basis. If you do claim this, you are a bald-faced liar and the truth of God does not live within you.

 

We know as Christians that we sometimes stumble in our walk with the Lord. Sometimes we sin because we are weak, or fail to deny the flesh. Does this mean that we, as Christians, cannot say that we know God, because we fail to obey His commands perfectly? While this is a difficult question, I believe the answer lies in what a person does before, during and after such a stumble in a sin. Before a Christian commits a sin they should be demonstrating a general pattern of obedience to the commands of Christ. If they are, then the sin committed is an exception to their general pattern of their obedience. It doesn’t lessen the seriousness of the sin, it is just evidence that they are not perfect and while they are attempting to let Christ rule their lives and honor their Heavenly Father, they can stumble at times and will need to confess any sins they do commit. When a Christian confesses a sin they have committed they are agreeing with God they did sin and recognize that the sin was already forgiven.

 

Another question to ask is during the act of committing the sin; is the person convicted of their behavior? Sometimes we sin without knowing it until later and sometimes we sin knowing it is wrong but we continue anyway. Having a sense of guilt during a sin or afterwards can be our own conscience that has been influenced by God’s Word, but it can also be the Holy Spirit if we truly are a Christian. The Holy Spirit can convict us of our wrongdoing and sometimes He will bring scripture to our minds in an attempt to halt our behavior and actions. Sensitivity to our committing a sin is one mark of being a true Christian.

 

Whether we have conviction during or after the sin, it is important what we do after we are convicted. After we commit a sin as a Christian we should always sense the need to confess and ask God for forgiveness. If the sin was against someone, then we should also ask them for forgiveness as well.

 

The difference with the first century Gnostics in regards to their sins was the fact that their pattern of behavior was not one of obedience. They pursued sin on a regular basis, had no conviction or guilt for their actions and denied any need to ask for forgiveness. Because of their selfish and worldly attitude before, during and after their sinful actions, John was calling them a liar when they boasted that they knew God.

 

John continues with this line of thinking in verses 5 and 6 of 1 John 2.

 

“But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

 

John is saying here that when we obey the Word of God as a Christian, God’s love is fulfilled in us because love should be the basis for our obedience. If self-interest, pride, self-righteousness or self-honor motivate our obedience then it is not motivated by our love for God and it is not honoring to the Lord. If we walk as Jesus did, we must be living, walking and obeying out of our love for our Heavenly Father and out of our desire to bring Him glory in our obedience. We cannot be walking as Jesus did if we obey His commands for our own glory and honor. The point is who gets the glory for our obedience and this depends on our motivations. In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus discusses several examples of obeying God for selfish reasons. The reward for such behavior is not eternal but temporary. When you obey God for your own attention and glory you have your reward but it does not last.

 

Matthew 6:1

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

 

So we know we are a Christian if we walk as Jesus walked. We do this to show our love for our Heavenly Father and our commitment to Christ. We know we are a Christian if when we sin we confess the sin to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. We know we are a Christian if we seek to obey the commands of Jesus for God’s glory.

 

1 John 5:2-4

“This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.”

 

Ephesians 4:1-3

“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”