Practicing Rightness Instead of Sinfulness:

As we read the first few verses of 1^st John 3 we see how John  stands in amazement of God’s love for us.  He tells us that “he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!”(vs1)  Think about this for just a moment God loves us so much that when we come to accept Christ as being the Son of God, and allow God’s Holy Spirit into our hearts we then become His children.  We are no longer apart of this earth; we have been accepted into the Kingdom Of Heaven.  This means a lot, we may not think so at first but as John continues He tells us, “we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.  And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure.(vs 2-3)

John tells that part of  being God’s children means that one day we are going to get new bodies.  Not just any new body but one like Christ’s which does not know sin.  Paul explains to the Philippines like this, “He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere.”(3:21) Until that time comes we are to begin to act like children of God we are to come to know who God is.  This means that we must become pure as Christ was pure.  We must start living a life that reflects the righteousness of Christ.  As John continues he tells us, we must live a life without sin.  “Those who sin are opposed to the law of God, for all sin opposes the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him.  So if we continue to live in him, we won’t sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known him or understood who he is.”(1^st John 3:4-6)

What does one’s life look like then that follows Christ one may ask.  It may in many ways on the outside look like normal everyday life in a lot ways.  One goes to work, watches the news, maybe sports, and movies.  But for those who are around such person should pick up on the differences, one who follows Christ is one who doesn’t partake in the sins of the world, the don’t gossip, they don’t use profane language.  In these bodies of ours we understand that sin cannot fully be defeated, but the one who knows God, is not going around continually sinning.  They are working on loving God more and more each day.  They are not hateful towards people that most others are.  How is all of this possible? How can one live a life of righteousness?  Peter tells us, “As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.  So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. ⁷ Godliness leads to love for other Christians,^* and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone.  The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But those who fail to develop these virtues are blind or, at least, very shortsighted. They have already forgotten that God has cleansed them from their old life of sin.”(2 Peter 1:3-9)  As we grow in Christ the more we are grow into His image the more we are going to begin to think about the Kingdom, about the lives of the people around us. “Those who have been born into God’s family do not sin, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they have been born of God.”(1^st John 3:9)

Let Us Be Careful Of Who We Listen To: 1st John 2:18-29

The thing about reading the letter that John wrote almost two thousand years ago is that if you wanted to you could copy it and post it as an open letter to today’s church, and people would think that you wrote about today’s church.  After two thousand years it is just as relevant to today’s church as it was to the church back then.  As we begin reading chapter two verses 18-19 John is warning the church of false teachers and prophets who want to lead believers and others away from Christ.  These false teachers want to not only lead people away, they want to trick others into believing that they are saved, that they can call themselves Christians.  Here in the United States we can see those who have joined such Churches that no longer teach the true Gospel but instead preach a gospel that takes Christ and serving God completely out of their teaching and tell people that life should be all about them.  How do we spot such a church or teacher you ask?

If we continue  to ready, John tells us what to look for and how to spot a false teacher; “I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and falsehood. And who is the great liar? The one who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Such people are antichrists, for they have denied the Father and the Son. Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father either.”(1^st Jn 2:21-23)  John tells us that he is wanting to be able to when someone is not a true follower, not a true believer, he makes it clear that anyone that does not believe that Christ is the son of God is not a true follower.  Let us stop and think about this for just a second, if one says that they belong to the church of God, yet does not follow Christ they are not truly someone who believes in God.  How does this look, we must look at the life that Christ lived on earth what did He teach us?  He taught us that we must live our lives for God not for ourselves.  He not only taught us that we must be obedient to God and to His teachings. “So why do you call me ‘Lord,’ when you won’t obey me?  I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then obeys me.  It is like a person who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built.  But anyone who listens and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will crumble into a heap of ruins.”(Luke 6:42-49)

Anyone teaching that all you need is love and that you need to make sure that you are doing what makes you happy, is telling you a lie.  We do need love in our life, but we must give our lives completely over to God we must start obeying  God’s word.  Our lives must become focused on God.  False teachers teach that our lives should be focused on ourselves, they often give great motivational speeches and never really teach about Christ.  We must begin to read the word God and pray to God and allow His Spirt to show us the His Truth.  “So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will continue to live in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.  And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us. I have written these things to you because you need to be aware of those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you all things, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So continue in what he has taught you, and continue to live in Christ And now, dear children, continue to live in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. Since we know that God is always right, we also know that all who do what is right are his children.” (1^st Jn 2:24-29)

Loving Christ Over The World:

When the question comes up, how does one define a successful life? One will receive different answers. For the world has different definitions of success, but the answer the world gives always seems to be missing something. The world may define it as, amassing a great deal of wealth, having a good looking family, being able to do what one wants with no strings attached, or having the best looking spouse over everyone else. These are all things that the world says we should try to achieve. Yet as we study 1st John we read something much different. “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.”(1st John 2:15-17) We have talked about this before, things do not really change from the time that the bible was written to today, many things are still the same. Many people craved to have the things of this world, money, power, respect, possessions.

John writes to the Christians, don’t be fooled by what the world tells you put your love toward God, not the world. Stop worrying about what you don’t have on this earth because it is all going to fade away. Let’s stop and think about this for just a second, let us get real with the facts all of our stuff is someday going to get old and outdated, all the things the world says we need to be successful is not going to help us with living forever in the Kingdom Of God. For we must stop seeking the world and begin to seek God. James tell us this. “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can’t be a friend of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful? He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.”(James 4:4-10)

The time has come for us to decide are we going to truly follow God, and please God by loving Him and not the world? Are we ready to give up the dream of being successful in the eyes of men? Let us redefine what being successful is and not allow the world to tell us. Let’s go out and Love God with all of our hearts, and minds, and souls. Let us go and be examples of Christ to our neighbors and family showing them what love really is all about. Let us give up the things of this world so that we may live forever in everlasting Kingdom of God.