Introduction:
Mark 12:28-31 - And one of the scribes ... asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The Reality: Christians LOVE Others. Why? (1 John 2:7-14)
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COMMAND in the Word. (1 John 2:7)
Leviticus 19:18 - ...you shall love your neighbor as yourself...
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EXAMPLE in Christ. (1 John 2:8)
John 13:15 – For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
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POWER in Us. (1 John 2:8)
The Test: Do You Love, Or Are You a HATER? (1 John 2:9-11)
5 Signs You Hate Someone:
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You SPEAK Negatively About Them.
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You AVOID Them.
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You Resent Their SUCCESS.
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You Want Them to FAIL.
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You JUDGE Their Heart.
The Assurance: KNOWING and GROWING . (1 John 2:12-14)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:50
Open up those Bibles to the book of 1 John. We are in chapter 2. Let's bow our heads. I'm going to ask you to please pray for me. I will pray for you as we get into God's Word together today. Pray that I would speak clearly and accurately. I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us in His Word today. So let's pray. Father in Heaven, we ask you open our hearts and minds to receive.
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what it is you want to teach us in your word. We thank you, Father, for the sounds of the little ones right now. And just ask, Father, that as Pastor Taylor prayed earlier, we would be a people who love and grow in love for you and for one another, Father. Glorify your name through your word, we pray in Jesus' name. And all of God's people said, Amen. Amen. 1 John 2, are you there?
01:50
What's the first concert you've ever been to? For me, when I was in high school, I went to see Van Halen with some people that I worked with. And I remember a couple of things from that concert. One, as I was, we were like, we were like way up in the lawn. The band was like this big. And one thing I remember is as they were rocking out, I'm just kind of standing, taking, it was my first concert, right? I'm a teenager. I'm like, this is awesome. And this drunk guy behind me, me grabs my arm and shakes me. He goes, you better start dancing. So I'm just like, sorry, don't know how to waltz to Van Halen. But the other thing I remember about that is thinking, Eddie Van Halen has to be the greatest guitar player of all time. Right? Well, you know, it was reported, Eddie Van Halen was interviewed, and the reporter, asked him, they said, how does it feel to be the greatest guitar player of all time? And do you know what Eddie Van Halen said? He said, ask Prince. But you know, I'm always so fascinated, whether it's music or sports, I'm always so fascinated when they ask the greats about what is the greatest. Aren't you? That always gets my attention, when the greats are asked what's great.
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So, it should really get our attention. In God's Word, when God, who is the greatest, when God was asked, what's the greatest commandment? In Mark chapter 12, it says, one of the scribes asked him, ask Jesus, what commandment is the most important of all? Well, that's a question that we should really listen to the answer to. God Himself was asked of all the commandments, which one do you think is the greatest?
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the most important is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
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The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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There is no commandment greater than these.
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And I think if we're honest, the first part of Jesus' answer finds us much more agreeable than the second. I can get on board with, yes, I love God, yes, but Jesus didn't just leave it there. He said, we must love our neighbor as yourself. You see, we're going through the book of 1 John.
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verse by verse and we're examining our faith. Because John, in this book, he tests us. And here's the problem. Some people have confidence that they have faith and they shouldn't. They think that they're saved and they're not. The other problem is some truly have faith. They're born-again believers and they doubt their salvation and they shouldn't do that.
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One of the biggest tests that John takes us through is love. Specifically, love for others. And you're going to see John just keeps, he keeps coming back to this. This is the greatest test because this is the greatest commandment. And here's the reality. Look, it's not complicated. Christians love others.
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That's what we do. It's not optional. It's not for some Christians. And listen, it's not, loving others is not what we should do. It's just what we do. You know, dogs bark, weeds grow, the sun shines. That's just what happens because of what they are, and that's the same with Christians.
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and love. That's just what happens because of who we are.
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So on your outline, again, it's not complicated. This is the reality. Christians love others.
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That's what we do. Why? Well, number one, write this down. It's a command in the Word.
06:37
It's a command in the Word. Look at verse 7 in 1 John chapter 2. He says, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. You're going to see, obviously, as we launch into this, he's talking about loving one another. And John says, it's not something new. He goes, you've had this forever. You've had this clear back being taught in the Torah. It's Leviticus, 19. It's 19.18 that says, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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This is one of the most important verses in the Old Testament.
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It's not complicated.
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How would you like to be treated by people?
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Then just do that to them.
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Right?
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Right?
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This is the most important.
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It fulfills the law according to Romans chapter 13.
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Love your neighbor as yourself. Treat your neighbor as you want to be treated. But you know, often we equate love with feelings. Now, don't mishear me. Feelings often go with it. Yes. But first and foremost, love is a command.
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you can't command feelings.
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You command action, right?
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You can't command feelings.
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You know, like if I brought this new guy to church today, and I said, this is my new best friend, his name is Tim.
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You need to feel love for Tim.
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He'd be like, I don't know the guy.
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Or conversely, if I'm like, hey, this is my new best friend Tim, you need to feel hate for him. You can't be commanded to feel something, right? Love is a command, so love is a choice. It's action. It's choosing to act. It's choosing to bless. It's choosing to reach out. And this is great news. Because you know what that means? It means you can love people that you don't feel like loving. You can love people that you don't feel gushy about.
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So, church, love that nasty coworker. And you're like, I don't feel like it. Great. You don't have to feel like it. God didn't command feel, he commanded do. Do acts of kindness and blessing. But John says we love because we have the command, right? And number two, we love because we have the example in Christ. Look at verse eight.
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He says, at the same time, it is a new commandment that I'm writing to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Like, wait, wait, wait. How is this old and new at the same time? And John tells us, like, look, we've always had the command, but you know what we have now?
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Now we have the example.
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That's why he says in verse 8, it was true in him.
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How do we love our neighbor as ourselves?
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He says this perfect love was manifest in Jesus Christ.
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You see, in the Old Testament, yes, we have the command on the page.
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and we can read Leviticus 19 and say, well, love your neighbor as yourself.
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What does that really look like?
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I mean, how does that really look?
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And then Jesus comes and He shows us what it looks like.
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We would never know.
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Think about that.
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We would never know what perfect love looks like until it was personified in Jesus Christ.
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So many examples of the way Jesus loved, and I think probably the best example is John chapter 13. You don't have to turn there now. But John chapter 13, verse 1, it says Jesus loved his disciples to the end. And what did Jesus do in John chapter 13 to show his disciples how he loved? He washed their feet. Ew. I mean, that was, and Jesus' day, that was the lowest slave's job, you know. It was humiliating. Nobody signed up for that. Except for God. Jesus signed up for that. And He said afterwards in John 13, verse 15, Jesus said, for I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you.
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Jesus said we should do what he's done. That's why some churches have foot washing services. Have you ever seen that? Heard of that? You want to do that? Look, I'm not criticizing, but honestly I think that misses the point. I don't think Jesus meant the act as much as he meant the heart behind the act. I think Jesus is saying you need to love people like this. You need to serve humbly.
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You need to have this attitude that nothing is beneath me. And if Jesus Christ would so humble Himself, let me ask you, church, what job is beneath us? What act of love is too humiliating for us? John says we love because we have the example in Christ. And number three, we love because we have power in us.
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of power in us. Look back again at verse 8. A little tiny phrase that is so much bigger than represented on the page here. He says, at the same time, it is a new commandment that I'm writing to you, which is true in Him. Look at it. Here's the phrase. Here it is. And in you. This is absolutely mind-blowing. He says this love of God was in In Jesus Christ, that exact same love is now in you. Because if you're a born-again believer, God's Holy Spirit lives in you. And He makes you love the way Jesus loved. Galatians 5, the fruit of the Spirit is what? What's the first one? It's love. It's love. This love for others, it was in Christ, it's now in you. You have the supernatural power in you.
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to obey the command of the Old Testament. You have the supernatural power in you to imitate the example of Jesus Christ. So, true born-again Christians are people who love one another. Why? Well, he says in verse 8, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. What does that mean? He just simply means, this, Jesus Christ ushered in a new era for His people. It's a new day living under the new covenant with the power of the Holy Spirit. See, sometimes I talk to people and they're like, man, I wish I lived in Old Testament times. You ever wish that? Like, man, I wish I could have been there with Moses or I wish I could have seen King David. I wish I would have lived in Old Testament times. But you know the reality is? The Old Testament saints would wish that they could live in our day. They would envy you. They'd say, God lives inside you, like permanently? God's Spirit lives in you to make you like God? Wow, tell me what that's all about. You see, the Old Testament saints, they had the command, right?
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The Old Testament saints had the command. So let me ask you, church, were the Old Testament saints expected to love one another? Were they? Yes or no? Were they expected to love one another? Yes, they were. They had the command. The disciples before Pentecost had the command and they had the example of Jesus Christ. So let me ask you, church, were the disciples expected to love? Yes or no?
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Okay, now let's talk about you and me. We have the command. We have the example of Jesus. And we have the power of the Holy Spirit. Are we expected to love? And that's John's point. True believers have the command, the example, the power. We can't help but love because that's who we are.
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And that's the test.
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You see, that's the test.
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Because fake Christians, people who aren't saved but just attend church, they don't regard these tools that God's given.
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They don't have these tools that God has given.
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So they prove that they are not real Christians because they don't love.
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And if you don't love, you're a hater.
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So the question is, are you sure that you're not a hater? Are you sure that you're not a hater? Next on your outline, the test. Do you love or are you a hater? And that's what John launches into in this next section. This is the test. Here it is. Look at your life. Look at your life. Do you love or do you hate?
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What about the people in church that say that they're Christians, but they don't love? Do you know people like that in church? Don't point. But they say they're Christians, but they don't love. I don't see any love in them at all. What about those people? John's like, I'm so glad you asked. Look at verse 9.
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He says, whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
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So John says it very clearly my friends. Listen.
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If you hate.
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God's not in you.
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You're not saved.
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And it doesn't really matter what else you do or say.
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If you don't love.
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John says you're not only in the dark.
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You're blind in the dark.
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And I know.
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Right now.
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I would say 99.9% of the people listening to this immediately, I don't hate. I don't hate anybody. I don't know who Pastor Jeff is talking about, but he's not talking to me because I don't hate anybody. You sure? We're testing ourselves, right? Hey, you signed up for this. We're testing ourselves. On your outline, I'm going to give you five signs that you hate someone. These are red flags.
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If any of these show up in your life, these are huge red flags, okay? Huge red flags. These are five signs that maybe you are a hater. Letter A, five signs you hate someone. Letter A, you speak negatively about them. You speak negatively about a person, right? You're constantly slandering them. When they come up in conversation, you're just looking for an opportunity to tear them down.
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and conversation. You want to turn other people against them. You have nothing good to say about them. That's a sign of hate. And by the way, I'll remind you that there's nothing you can do in this life that is more satanic than slander because that's what he does. But if you're constantly speaking negatively about someone, that's a sign of hate. Letter B, you avoid them. Even if that person, they know There's a tension in a relationship, and they want forgiveness. They want healing in the relationship. They want to clear the air, and you're like, no, no. I'm avoiding them. I don't care if they want forgiveness. I'm avoiding them. That's a sign of hate, my friends. Letter C, you resent their success. There's a sign that you hate somebody. If something good happens to them, oh, that really bothers you. You can't sleep.
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Right? It just bothers you that something good happened to them. Or, in the same vein, you minimize any good that does happen to them. Like, hey, I got this new job. I got this promotion. Like, well, the only reason they got that is because their uncle runs the company or what. Like, you just, you have nothing, no regard at all for anything good that happens to them. You resent their success. The other side of that coin is letter D. You want them to fail. That's a sign.
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of hate. Something bad happens to the person. Oh, that brings you happiness. That is a huge red flag that this person is like, man, I just lost my job. And deep down, you're like, good. Or that person is like, my marriage is struggling. My wife and I are thinking about separating. And you're like, I hope you do. That's a sign of hate.
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And the letter E is you judge your heart. Always assuming they have bad motives. Always assuming. It doesn't matter what they do. It doesn't matter what they do. They're like, I just bought a truckload of Harvest merch. Like, well, they don't really want to support the youth. They just want to look awesome all the time. And that's vanity. You're judging their heart. It's a sign of hate. By the way, John here in the original Greek, he's talking about a lifestyle of hate, okay? We all have issues with people where there needs to be forgiveness and healing and hard conversations. Yeah, yeah, we all go through that. That's not what he's saying. He's talking about a lifestyle of hate. If the consistent pattern of your life is constantly having issues with people, you're still in the dark. There's no change. You're no different.
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from the world. And he says in verse 10, love is being in the light.
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We talked about this. It's fellowship. What is love? It's being present and active and serving and loving.
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Sunday morning, small group, prayer meeting. You're like, I just want to show up and be with the family of God here.
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Fellowship with everyone.
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Not showing up hoping that so-and-so isn't there. Fellowship with everyone.
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Anyone in here has a need. You're like, I'm going to see how can I help me? I'm going to pray. Maybe I can give. Maybe I can just be present. You're always looking for a way to help those in need in the church. That's fellowship. That's love. And he says love like that has no cause for stumbling. Like, what's that mean? He just simply means love like this doesn't sin against others. The only thing that you hate is when you fail to love.
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You hate when you sin against someone. You hate when a relationship is strained.
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So John's like, the command isn't new.
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But we are.
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And if your life pattern is actively loving others, that is a sign that you know the God of love.
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But if your lifestyle is constant hate, constant venom against everyone. You're not a child of God. Can't stop there. Last part of your outline, the assurance. Let's talk about knowing and growing. We have to look at this next section here. Look at verses 12 through 14 with me. He says, I'm writing to you little children because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake I'm writing to you fathers because you know him who is from the beginning I'm writing to you young men because you have overcome the evil one I write to you children because you know the father I write to you fathers because you know him who is from the beginning I write to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one. You're like, what's that all about? I did a lot of reading this past week and nobody wants to talk about why that's there. They just talk about the content of it, which I think is pretty obvious. But the question that I really wrestled through this week is, why does John drop this here? And this is why.
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Listen. Throughout John's epistle, he's offering some very hard tests. Okay? He's calling us all to examine our faith. And in this, John is exposing the frauds. And he's exposing the self-deceived. But please hear me. Please hear me. First, John is not written to make believers doubt their salvation. That is not why he writes.
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this. Actually, it's the opposite. John wrote this to give true believers assurance that they are saved. Right? And we've talked about this. There is a danger in somebody who thinks they're saved and they're not. We spend so much time on this. There's a danger in the person that's thinking, yep, I'm right with God. I'm a Christian. And they stand before Jesus and Jesus says, I never knew you. That is a real danger. But do you know what is another danger?
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Another danger is the true born-again Christian who is constantly living in doubt of their salvation. That is another real danger. Why? Because the Christian who lives in doubt has no confidence. Where is the humbly and boldly stepping up for the Word of God? They don't have it. They're joyless.
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Constantly wondering, never sure. Don't want to sign up to serve the Lord in any way because I'm not really sure. They end up being completely ineffective for the kingdom. And John wrote this to say, look, if you're a born-again believer, have confidence in the promise of God's Word and the work that He's doing in you and take the test and see that you belong to Jesus Christ.
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So to the true believers, John, you're like, well, what's the repetition here? I think John's just trying to be clear. Like, don't mishear me. Don't misunderstand me. John is doubling down on everything here. John's saying, I'm not doubting your salvation. I know that some of you are legit, and you need to be assured of that too. So what John does here is he gives words of assurance to people in all stages of spiritual growth. Right? I'm just going to talk about it very quickly. First of all, in verse 12, he addresses the little children. What's the little children? Who's he talking to? Well, interestingly, that word literally is translated born ones. Born ones. Who's John talking to? He's talking to everyone in the church who's truly saved.
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He says, I'm talking to those of you who believe in Jesus Christ, who know Jesus died on that cross to pay the penalty for your sin, who know that Jesus rose from the dead to give you eternal life. You've put your faith in Him, and because of that, you're forgiven. John says, I'm talking to you. I'm writing this for you. You're forgiven because you believed in the grace of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, though, in verse 13, he says, children again, but it's a different word in the Greek. And in the Greek, this word for children literally refers to someone who needs trained. Someone who needs trained. And about them, John's like, you precious little toddlers who need trained, you know the Father, and that's really about Like a baby, right? Babies just love and trust their parents. That's it. That's like all they know. They just love and trust their parents. And John says that's what baby Christians are like, right? Lots of other similarities too. No discernment, shove everything in their mouth, right? Little knowledge.
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I love baby Christians. They just come and they're like, I'm just happy to be here. Woohoo! Yes! And they just, they don't know anything. Like, life is going to get so hard for you. Like, you have no idea what the testing of your faith, how it's going to chew you up and spit you out, and how you're going to find God so glorious through your suffering. You have no idea, precious little child.
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But you're adorable. Enjoy this now. That's who he's talking to. He goes, yeah, some of you, you're baby Christians. Adorable. Adorable. Gitchy Goo. Verses 13 and 14. Now he's talking to the young men. He's talking to the young men now. Who are the young men Christians? Obviously, young women too, right?
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He's talking about the Christians who are growing up. They're strong. He says, you're strong in the Word. You've learned the truths of God's Word. You're learning discernment.
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Right? You're learning. You're learning. And because you're strong in the Word of God, like our Lord, you have learned to overcome the enemy. When you're strong in the Word, you recognize the enemy's lies. You're like, that's not of God. That's of That's of the enemy because this is what God said. And you stand strong on the Word and you're growing in that. And John's like, I know that's some of you in the church. You stand alone on the Word of God and that is awesome because I'm writing for you. I'm writing for you to have assurance, young men. And then verses 13 and 14, he talks about the fathers. How do you describe the fathers, the maturest, the oldest, Groundhogs of the faith. I guess the best way to describe it is you go from knowing the Word of God to knowing the God of the Word. Right? You find that guy or that gal that's been walking with Christ for decades and they're just like settled in their faith. Confident. They have experience.
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The kind of experience that you only get when you live in God's truth over time. That's something you don't get day one. That's something you don't get when you walk out of the baptistry. It's walking in the truth of God's word over time. You know those people, right? Pillars in the church. So John in this section, what he's doing, he's giving assurance for all stages. The church is full of people at different different places in their walks, and that is okay.
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So please hear me, my friends.
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Assurance, it's not about time.
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You realize spiritually time does not mean maturity.
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I've known some very old, in years, Christians that are very spiritually immature.
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So it's not about time. And it's not about comparing. We're all at different stages. Right? It's about progress. You want assurance in your walk? Don't look at time and don't compare with somebody else. Look at progress. That's why the word that's used so often in the Bible to describe discipleship, is your walk with Christ. Do you know what happens on a walk? A walk is just simply progress over time. When you go for a walk, you say, I was there. Now I'm here. Look at how far I've gone. And if you want assurance in your walk with Christ, that's what you need to do spiritually. To say, look, I know I'm not yet the person that I want to be, but look at how far I've come over time. Look at how Christ has grown me over time. So please, don't be concerned if you're not as mature as somebody else in this room. They're on their walk with Christ. You be on yours. Don't be concerned if you're not as mature as somebody else, but you should be concerned if weeks go by, months go by, and you see no growth in your walk.
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If you're like, I'm in the exact same spot with Christ that I was 20 years ago, that's a huge problem.
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You're not seeing a deeper love for Jesus.
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You're not growing in appreciation for His Word.
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You're not constantly confessing and repenting.
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You don't see that as regular habits and patterns of your life.
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True Christians recognize that they're not living as righteously as they should.
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They recognize that there's always areas lacking.
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So don't walk out of here asking yourself, am I perfect?
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No one is.
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No one ever attained that.
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You should walk out of here today asking yourself, am I growing?
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Am I growing?
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Am I growing?
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Am I growing in love for God?
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And am I growing in love for my brothers and sisters in the church?
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Our worship team would make their way up.
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I'd like you to just bow your heads.
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Father, we thank you for your word.
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And Father, we thank you for the reality that you have not commanded us to feel something, but you have commanded us to do something.
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And you've not only commanded, but you've shown us in Christ, and you've given us your spirit who empowers us to obey the command and follow the example.
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So Father, you expect us to love, and I pray that you would help every one of us take a hard look at ourselves, that maybe we don't love because we don't know you, and the only way we are ever going to love people in this church is by truly humbling ourselves and turning from sin and genuinely, earnestly, wholeheartedly receiving Jesus Christ.
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Only your spirit can bring conviction and change. And God, that's just what I'm asking you to do. In this congregation, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read 1 John 2:7-14
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What 3 things has God given us to love one another? What excuses do some people give to NOT love?
Explain why John wrote what he wrote in 1 John 2:12-14. What is the purpose of that section?
What are some specific areas in our Christian walk that we should be looking for progress?
Breakout
Pray for one another.