Grace Church exists to glorify our Heavenly Father by
 continually making more disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Get Real! 1 John 1 Get Real: A Study of 1 John Sermon #2 If Tim McGraw had asked for my assistance with his song, I Miss Back When, I’d have added one more thing. You know the song…”Coke was just a coke. And cracks were what you were doing when you were cracking jokes…And when you said I’m down with that. Well it meant that you had the flu. I miss back when.” Not that I’m anything close to a country musician, but one word that has really changed over the years is SPAM. Do you remember Spam? It’s still around. It was one of the first canned lunch meats, made for our GIs during World War II. Basically, it’s spiced ham. My Dad would fry it or just make a Spam sandwich. In the right situation they say that Spam could last forever. But that’s not Spam today.       Today spam are all those unsolicited bulk e-mail messages promoting various products or services, which are almost universally undesired. Hardly a day goes by when I do not delete numerous spam e-mails trying to get me to purchase a fake Rolex watch or some stock. Other e-mails promise that I’ll receive millions of dollars from a total stranger, usually in Nigeria. Every now and then you’ll hear of some poor sap who’s taken in by one of these scams.   But far, far more serious than losing some money to con artists would be to lose your soul because you bought into a false religion. Satan always has made sure that the numerous spiritual con artists thrive at their trade. Paul warned the Corinthians, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2 Cor. 11:13-15). It’s not easy to spot a fake angel of light or a servant of unrighteousness in disguise! That’s why our New Testament abounds with warnings about false teachers. It’s easy to be led astray. In what are to me are some of the most frightening words in the New Testament, Jesus warned “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father Who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and in Your Name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers” (Matt. 7:21-23).   These repeated warnings mean that we must be very careful to make sure that our Christian faith is true, both objectively and personally. We need to know that Christianity is objectively true, that the testimony about Jesus Christ is genuine and not the work of spiritual con artists. And, we need to know that our personal faith in Christ is the genuine faith, not the false faith that results in hearing on judgment day, “I never knew you; depart from Me….” Since our eternal destiny is at stake, we need to know that we have the real deal, not some phony substitute! We need to make sure that we’re for Real. And that those we are listening to or reading for spiritual direction are also Real.   Our good friend, John, wrote First John toward the end of his life against the backdrop of influential false teachers to help his readers know that their faith was genuine and that they possessed eternal life in Jesus Christ. John Stott writes “His great emphasis is on the differences between the genuine Christian and the spurious, and how to discern between the two…The predominant theme of these Epistles is Christian certainty.”   The Greek verb ginosko which means “to know by observation and experience” occurs 15 times and the word oida meaning, “to know by reflection” is used 25 times in this short book. The verb phaneroo “to make known” is used nine times (and the noun once), and the noun parresia “confidence” is used four times. John wants us to know some things with certainty! This is a book about spiritual reality. It’s about Getting Real!   But 1 John is not an easy book. The message is needed and powerful yet it’s easy to get lost in the details. This morning as we launch out into our new series, Get Real, we’re going to do some spade work and an overview of the book. 1 John is about Getting Real. If you’re taking notes… 1. We need to Get Real because the Christian life has always been tough. In the second century the early church father, Tertullian, wrote, “Go on, rack, torture, grind us to powder: Our numbers increase in proportion as you mow us down. The blood of Christians is their harvest seed.”   John was the last of the twelve to survive. Most of his friends, brothers and colleagues had been martyred. Matthew suffered martyrdom by being killed with a sword in a city in Ethiopia. Mark expired at Alexandria, after being cruelly dragged through the streets of that city. Luke was hanged upon an olive tree in Greece. Peter was crucified at Rome upside down. James the Greater was beheaded at Jerusalem. James the Less was thrown from a high pinnacle of the temple, and then beaten to death with a club. Bartholomew was flayed alive. Andrew was bound to a cross from which he preached to his persecutors until he died. Thomas’ body was run through with a lance in the East Indies. Jude was shot to death with arrows. Matthais was first stoned and then beheaded. Barnabas was stoned to death at Salonica. Paul, after various tortures and persecutions, was ultimately beheaded at Rome by Nero. John himself had been poisoned and had been put in a caldron of boiling oil, but escaped death in a miraculous manner. Ultimately, he was banished to the Isle of Patmos.   And the days that he lived were very difficult. It was a time of great political upheaval. John had lived through a turbulent century. Of the first twelve Caesars, just two had died a natural death. It was suspected that even the great Augustus had been poisoned. Tiberius had degenerated into a fierce and filthy old man; Caligula was a monster, who delighted to murder distinguished citizens by means of poisoned snuff; Claudius was poisoned; Nero launched the Roman Empire on a three-hundred-year persecution of the Church. In the end he perished while fleeing from those who sought his life. Paralyzed with fear and horror, and howling like a dog, he was killed by one of his own attendants. Galbo lasted only a few months and was murdered. Otho committed suicide. Vitellius did not last long. Vaspasian was fonder of money than murder so, as one cynic put it, his victims "rejoiced in having exchanged the agony of being murdered for the luxury of being fleeced." Titus, who completed the siege and sack of Jerusalem, continued in the traditions of his predecessors on the throne of murder and rapine. Domitian was both a savage and a coward, his crimes exceeding those of even Caligula and Nero. He launched the second official Roman persecution of the church—spies and informers lurked everywhere, and there stood "an executioner at every door." Domitian's appearance in the Coliseum was the signal for people to murder one another with sword and spear to heighten the blood lust of the mob.   We think that we have it tough yet our day is a Sunday School picnic compared to the Roman world in which John lived. In fact, it’s just been the last few centuries when Christians were not persecuted. We think we have it tough because you can’t pray in school or because abortion is legal. We need to Get Real because the Christian life has always been tough. 2. We need to Get Real because Church life has always been tough. One thing though is missing in 1 John that we find in many other New Testament books, there’s no mention of persecution. Unlike Paul and Peter, John does not encourage his readers who are suffering for their faith. While they were hated and verbally maligned, apparently they were not physically tortured or abused. The dangers that they were facing were from within, not from without. They seem to have been granted a reprieve from physical abuse. In this time of “peace” they’d become their own worst enemies.   Apparently, too, this was a Gentile church. These were not Jewish proselytes. There are no Old Testament quotations in the book. Add to that, the reference to idolatry, suggests that John was writing to Gentile converts…just like us.   Please mark it down, most churches struggle…even good churches. What seems to be an ideal and harmonious situation on the surface may disguise a congregation wrestling at a profound level with questions of mission, belief, and leadership. Sometimes there’s outright conflict. Unfortunately we often idealize the New Testament era and its churches. We fantasize about how life must have been back then. We think, for instance, that the congregations of Paul generally found their conflicts to be external to their congregational life. A synagogue, perhaps, much like those in Antioch of Pisidia or Iconium (Acts 13-14), gave Paul's followers trouble. Or perhaps it was a rival body of believers, another "denomination," like the Judaizers who dogged his churches in Galatia. But rarely do we accept the notion that some of these churches struggled internally, that they experienced a membership in revolt, or failed leadership, or other church leaders who rivaled the authority of the pastor, or genuine confusion about Christian faith and practice.   Occasionally, the New Testament gives us glimpses of such struggles. The church at Corinth had internal problems of leadership and mission. Paul's letter to Philippi was occasioned not simply by the persecutions of those hostile to Christ but also by reports that members of the church itself were at each other's throats, living selfishly, arguing aggressively, and barely exhibiting the character of Christ. Simply put, Paul had churches that were engaged in seriously sinful and destructive behavior.   It’s obvious that the churches led by the Apostle John likewise struggled. The letters of John, particularly 1 John, are documents that lend some insight into difficult years of pastoral leadership. For instance, 1 John 2:18-19 suggests that the church receiving this letter had even split, some members had left the congregation in a huff. John even uses the term "antichrist" to describe their behavior. But the trouble didn't stop there. These disgruntled former members still held a pull on the church. They were playing heavy-handed politics. They were cajoling John's faithful members to come away and join the revolt. And John minces no words in criticizing these people. He calls them "children of the devil" (3:10).       Church problems aren’t new. Every church has problems…most of them are internal, not external. The problems of 1 John seems to have the same source that most of our church problems today spring from. Many of these Christians were now second or even third generation Christians. The thrill of the first days, and of the new discovery of their faith, had, to some extent at least, passed away. In the very first days of Christianity there was a glory and excitement but now Christianity had become a thing of habit. It had become, routine, traditional, half-hearted, nominal. They’d grown used to it and something of the wonder had gotten lost. Remember Jesus warned about this, “the love of most will grow cold” (Mt. 24:12).   John was writing at a time when, for some at least, the thrill of their faith was gone. A direct result of this was that there were members of the church who found the standards which Christianity demanded a burden and wearisome. They did not want to be saints in the New Testament sense of the term. The New Testament word for saint is hagios which is the same word that is also commonly translated holy. Its basic meaning is different. The Temple was hagios because it was different from other buildings; the Sabbath was hagios because it was different from other days; the Jewish nation was hagios because it was different from other peoples; and the New Testament Christian was called to be hagios because he/she was called to be different from others. There was to be a distinct cleavage between the Christian and the world. In John 15 Jesus said, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world” (v. 19). All of this involved an ethical demand. It demanded a new standard of moral purity, a new sexual ethic, a new kindness, a new value system, a new service, a new forgiveness…and it was difficult. Once the first thrill and enthusiasm were gone it became harder and harder to stand out against the world, to deny oneself things which the world habitually allowed itself, to refuse to conform to the generally accepted social standards and practices of the society of the age. What had once been an uplifting challenge had devolved into a wearisome burden and the church plunged into “churchianity.” Instead of a passion for the mission of reaching the lost, the church wanted to be comfortable, entertained and became cliquish.   Recently, I’ve had several conversations with a pastor friend who’s been approached by another church to consider becoming their pastor. This church at one time was thriving and reaching their community. Today they’re a mere shadow of what they once were though the opportunities in their community are still phenomenal. The question that we were working through was “Did this church want to be the Church or just play church?”     We face the same question here at Grace. The difference is vividly seen in personal holiness, doing the mission or just talking about it. Do we want to play church or be the Church that God has called us to be? And it’s not easy to be what God wants us to be. It demands sacrifice and surrender. But we need to Get Real because Church life has always been tough. 3. We need to Get Real because there have always been false teachers. Cults today are multiplying like rabbits and growing like weeds. In the USA alone there are an estimated 5,000 cults actively recruiting people of all ages, from all walks of life, at the rate of tens of thousands of new recruits every year. Research studies estimate that five to ten million Americans have been at least transiently involved with cultic groups.   But cults and false teaching aren’t new. 1 John is a crisis letter. It was written to stem the tide of deadly doctrinal error which threatened to destroy the early church. This controversy is reflected in nearly every verse of this book but its distinctive features are delineated in 2:18-28 and 4:1-6.   This was a very difficult period of Church History. The boundaries between orthodoxy and heresy were often fuzzy. Remember there were no creeds and no church councils. Our New Testament canon was not complete and thus the New Testament could not be used to arbitrate theological disputes.   So who were these false teachers and what was the heart of their error? We don’t know for certain. We can make some educated guesses based on John’s direct references to their teaching, as well as the positive emphasis that he feels is necessary to counteract it. It’s a little like we’re listening to one side of a phone conversation and trying to figure out what the other party was saying based on what we hear. So this is what we can figure out. These false teachers were propagating a three-fold error.   a) There was a doctrinal error regarding the person of Jesus Christ. They denied that Jesus was the Christ (2:22). This probably did not mean that they denied that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, but rather that they denied His divine Sonship (2:23; 4:15). Also, they denied that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh. 1 John 4:2 says, “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” In other words, they denied that Jesus was God in human flesh. Most theological errors go astray on the person and/or work of Christ because these subjects are essential to the Christian faith.   b) There was an ethical/moral error regarding the Christian life. James 5 warns us that doctrinal and moral error go hand in hand. “Brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (vss. 19-20). Apparently, these heretics either denied that sin exists in our nature and practice, or they said that sin does not matter since it does not interfere with our fellowship with God. John soundly refutes this in 1:5-10. These teachers were antinomian (against the law), saying, “We know Christ, but we aren’t hung up on all of these commandments! We’re free in Christ and don’t worry about mere rules!”   c) There was a relational error regarding the community of believers. The third error of the heretics was relational. While undoubtedly they claimed to be loving (who doesn’t?) in practice they didn’t demonstrate genuine, biblical love for others. Probably their claim to special, deeper knowledge caused them to come across arrogant. They were hostile and intolerant of those who didn’t agree with them. Greed caused them to not care for the needy in practical ways (3:16-18).   Who were they? We’re not sure. Most scholars believe that they were Cerinthian Gnostics. Gnosticism was the philosophical blend of various pagan, Jewish, and semi-Christian systems of thought.   Whoever they were things haven’t changed much. Many believers today blend Biblical truth with secular and even pagan philosophy, and don’t even know it. Let me share just one example. Many Christians believe in prosperity theology. They believe that if they give a lot to God, God will give a lot to them. Scripture never teaches that. Scripture teaches that we are to be faithful stewards. It also teaches that as New Testament saints our rewards for that faithfulness are not in this world. A central tenet of the prosperity gospel is that God wills the financial prosperity of every Christian. According to this heresy, if a believer lives in poverty, he/she is living outside God’s intended will. Kenneth Copeland has even said, “You must realize that it is God’s will for you to prosper” But Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:9, “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” 4. We need to Get Real because God’s resources are real and relevant. It’s characteristic of John in his writings to put a key either at the front or back door of the book, which will unlock its meaning. For instance, in the book of Revelation the key is hanging at the front. In Revelation 1:19, John was told by the Lord “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” That simple outline is the key to understanding the Revelation. In the Gospel of John the key is at the end: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name” (20:31). The gospel of John was written so that people might come to know the Lord. If you know someone who’s not a Christian, the best thing you can do for them is put into their hands a copy of the gospel of John, since John says that the book was written for the specific purpose of helping people come to believe that Jesus is the Christ and thus have eternal life.   In 1 John four keys unlock the meaning of the book, all identified by the phrase, “I write.”   a) One purpose of 1 John is to provide assurance for the child of God. In 5:13 John says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” There we see a difference between 1 John and the Gospel of John. In his gospel, John said, "I am writing that you may believe." In this short letter he says, "I am writing to those of you who do believe that Jesus is the Son of God." Why is John writing to believers? “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” John is saying, "I’m writing this book to Christians so they can know they have eternal life." You might want to circle this word “know.” It’s the key word in 1 John. John says "we know" over thirty times. Now some will say, "Well, you cannot really know anything and you can’t really know if you’re going to heaven when you die." But John says, "I am writing these things so you may know you have eternal life." The first purpose of 1 John is to provide assurance for the child of God. Friend, are you sure of your salvation? If I did not know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior I would not let this service end until I had that assurance. People lack assurance of salvation for one of two reasons. They lack assurance because they have no basis for assurance. A person who has never been truly born again cannot be sure that he or she is a child of God. Or, they may lack assurance because they do not know the Word of God; they do not know the basis of assurance. We can know we are saved because God has told us so in His Word. The first key to the book is this: It is written to provide assurance to the child of God.   b) Another purpose of 1 John is to protect Christians against those who would lead them astray. I John 1:26 says, “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.” There are many false doctrines going around. There are many forms of doctrinal departure from the word of God and many false teachers whose goal is to seduce the child of God. In 1 John we have a specific book in the Bible written to protect us against those who would lead us into doctrinal error.   c) Another purpose of 1 John is to prevent Christians from sinning. 1 John 2:1 says, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.” John is writing in order to prevent sin. Nowhere does the Bible tell us that a child of God will not sin. Some people get the idea, "If I become a Christian that means I’m not going to sin any more. I can’t stop sinning. Therefore I won’t become a Christian." The Bible nowhere says that a Christian is sinless but it does teach that a child of God ought to sin less. Day by day we’re to grow in grace and sin less today than we did yesterday. John says, "I am writing you this book so that you will not sin."   d) A final purpose of 1 John is to produce joy in the heart of the Christian. 1 John 1:4 says, “We write this to make our joy complete.” John is writing to cultivate joy in the heart of the child of God. Friend, do you have joy today? I mean, are you truly joyful in Christ? Do you really know Christ as your Savior? Do you really enjoy being a Christian? It seems that some people have just enough religion to make them miserable. It’s like a headache. You can’t stand it, yet you can’t get rid of your head. Some people seem to want just enough religion to get them to church occasionally, yet not enough to give them the real joy that God wants them to have. John says, "I am writing to you that your joy may be full."   John wants us to Get Real!! To get real assurance that we’re born again. To get real about not being deceived by false teachers. To get real about not giving into sin. And to get real about having the joy that the Lord wants us to have. Conclusion: The fact is that it’s too easy to be a fake, to be artificial. Danish theologian, Soren Kierkegaard, told of a make-believe country inhabited only by ducks. One Sunday morning the ducks all came to church and waddled down the aisle into their pews. The duck preacher took his place behind the pulpit, opened the duck Bible and read, “Ducks! You can have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the sky! Use your wings!” Excitedly, all the ducks said, “Amen!”…and then they all waddled back home.   Maybe you can identify with those ducks. You’ve heard sermons and Sunday School lessons all your life. You’ve affirmed the truth, but the question of the day is, “Have you acted on what you heard?” Are you for real? Too many Christians live in a sentimental fog of vague religiosity. They have a veneer of religion that lacks heart and life reality. It’s a pleasant pursuit of emotional quivers, and stained glass platitudes. And Satan loves it! He’ll always choose to vaccinate a man with a mild case of Christianity in order to keep him from the real disease.   1 John pleads for spiritual reality. He wants the marks of Christ’s lordship to be evident in our lives. Faith must be more that mere wishful thinking, or some kind of unclear hope that things will “all work out”. John wants us to have what he had, a real living and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. He wants us to Get Real!   As we work through 1 John over the course of the next few months, may it challenge each of us to have a real faith and real walk with our Lord.  Our world doesn’t need any more fakes. It needs real Christians who will make a real difference!