This is How We Know
(1 John 5: 1-6)
Because I hadn’t been practicing law very long and was trying to build up my practice, I used to hang around the courtroom during court even when I didn’t have any cases on the docket, hoping to pick up a case or two so I’d have something to do and pay a few bills. I was sitting in the courtroom one morning patiently and hopefully waiting as the judge ran down the docket. As a courtesy, he usually called all the cases where the defendants were already represented by an attorney so those lawyers could resolve their cases and get back to their offices. We were now down to the ones who either had no attorney or were making their first court appearance. When the judge called this particular case, the defendant approached with a skill saw in his hands which he placed on the judge’s bench and said: “I just want to give this back.” The judge looked over at me and said: “Mr. Rosekrans?” to which I responded that I was on it. I gathered up my new client along with State’s Exhibit A and ushered him to a corner of the courtroom where we could talk. He was a good man who knew the difference between right and wrong and was mortified at what he had done. He just wanted to right his wrong, put the matter behind him, and be the person everyone thought he was. I was able to work it out to where he avoided a felony conviction which, in the great state of Texas, never goes away and haunts you for the rest of your life, a blot on your record that cannot be cleansed. I can only assume that he was successful in keeping the commandments of the State of Texas and led a life worthy of who he truly was.
And that’s what the Apostle John is talking about in our scripture reading for this morning. He’s talking about those who have been born of God, who have been given a new life, a second chance in some cases, to be the people they were always meant to be. He says that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God and describes it as: Whoever loves someone who is a parent loves the child born to the parent. That’s a great image and anyone who has witnessed the birth of their own child or grandchild knows exactly what John is talking about. It’s that unconditional love that only a parent or a grandparent understands. I remember fondly the unconditional love both sets of my grandparents gave me as I grew into a young man. It’s not that I didn’t have great parents, but a doting grandparent really gets you and seems to have a deep well of understanding and patience, and that is how you know they love you. They love you in spite of yourself, as your Heavenly Father loves you, just as you are. John continues by stating: This is how we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep God’s commandments. This is the love of God: we keep God’s commandments. God’s commandments are not difficult, because everyone who is born from God defeats the world. The Apostle says a lot there and for many of us it seems easy enough, but there are those times we fall short of the glory of God breaking one of His commandments. We feel ashamed and unworthy of being called a member of the family of God. Trust me, if you feel this way, or have ever felt this way, you are not alone. There probably isn’t a person in this room or anyone reading this who hasn’t felt this way or feels that way now. The burden of a committed sin, something you know is wrong and was wrong when you did it, can weigh heavily upon you. It can be an unbearable burden, a yoke upon your neck pulling you down.
But I believe John knows this as he describes it in the terms of a battle, a fight, a great struggle with a determined adversary. He’s talking about defeating the world and by that I believe he is talking about all that is contrary to God’s wishes and desires for his creation. He says that it is our faith that has given us victory over the corrupt world that is intent on taking and never giving. And he asks the rhetorical question: Who defeats the world? Isn’t it the one who believes that Jesus is God’s Son? The answer is yes. For John, true believers are victorious over the world, are victorious over all those cares, desires, and temptations that may undermine that sacred relationship with God. It’s our love of God, our trust in Jesus, and our obedience that are intertwined in our faith that Jesus is the Son of God. The non-believers, those who are caught up in a life of pursuit of all that the world has to offer, can’t seem to grasp the concept of obedience to one who would deny them these pleasures. Everyone else is doing it so it must be okay and, besides, I’m not hurting anyone other than myself, and if I am hurting anyone, they don’t matter anyway.
As I mentioned in a previous sermon, John is addressing a new generation of Christians who probably weren’t around to see the work of Jesus Christ, or talk to someone who witnessed his many miracles, or heard one of his spellbinding sermons about new birth and eternal life. He’s telling his readers that the one condition for being born of God, for being a child of God, is believing or trusting in Jesus Christ. Only correct, sincere belief produces this spiritual birth, a birth that is reflected in a love for others who also have been born into the family of God. When John says: “this is how we know” and he says it at least fourteen times in his letter, he’s addressing the false teachers who were likely guilty of excluding other Christians from their fellowship, you know, those people who are different from us, those people who don’t fit in with our picture of what a Christian should look like or be. Aren’t you relieved to know that that was a problem two thousand years ago and is no longer a problem in today’s world? Yeah, right. Unfortunately, we have more than our fair share of modern-day false teachers who use their authority and positions to tell us what they think a true Christian is and should look like. That’s the battle true believers are waging. We’re fighting against those stereotypes that exclude people and doing all we can to be inclusive of those who may not be like us but were, however, created in God’s image.
Loving God’s other children is linked directly to obedience, and the love of God demands our obedience. It seems like quite a demand, but rather than being burdensome, God’s commands free believers to be the people they were originally created to be, holy beings who clearly reflect the image of a loving, forgiving, and unconditionally accepting God. So, when we became Christians, when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we became part of God’s family with fellow believers as our brothers and sisters. And we must remember and never forget that it is God who determines who the other family members are, not us. We are simply called to accept and love them just as they are, and they are to accept us just as we are, without one plea, but that Christ’s blood was also shed for us and them.
As flawed human beings, it’s our regeneration, our spiritual rebirth, that provides victory over the world that is so opposed to God in its greed and lust for power and control. The faith that overcomes the world is our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who died for us. The one who overcomes the world obeys God rather than following the expectations of the world. I know, that seems like a big ask and the other side doesn’t fight fairly and resorts to whatever it might take to destroy us. Maybe, we think, this fight is for someone better suited to take on all that is wrong with the world. It seems as if obeying God’s commandments and living a Christ-like life only puts a target on our backs. I can’t argue with that but then again, Jesus never promised that following him and obeying God would be easy, but he did say in Matthew 11: 28-30: Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Put on my yoke and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light. Jesus is right there with the ones who want to help him in restoring God’s creation, preparing it for his long-expected and hoped for triumphant return.
This we know. The hard work and self-discipline of serving Christ is no burden for those who love him. If we love God we will find obeying him a pleasure, a pleasure we find in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, healing the sick, housing the homeless, and loving others as we too would want to be loved, accepting others as we would want to be accepted. This is how we know that we are a child of the family of God.
Let us pray.
Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood shed for me. Yes, gracious and loving God, how underserving we are of the sacrifice of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ who came to free us from our yoke of sin. We praise you for your unconditional love, a love we know that we do not deserve. We pray for the strength and guidance to be the children you would have us be, worthy of being a cherished member of your family. And we pray that we too will love others whom you have brought into the family and show them the same love, grace, and compassion you have shown us. We praise you for accepting us just as we are. O Lamb of God, we come, we come. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen. To watch the service live, click on link below and enter passcode.
Passcode: 80ALz^i%