The Reading of I John -- 9/3/06 (Eternal Realities)

Sunday, September 3, 2006

THE READING OF I JOHN

Brothers and sisters, friends, how we need to be careful with the words we use. I was in a store this week and I saw a shirt. There was nothing wrong with the shirt itself, but it was the message that caught my eye. Written on it were the words: "I traded my sister for a video game." At a little shop associated with clean family entertainment, I found a number of greeting cards which had similar messages, poking fun at the husband wife relationship. You may say, "Lighten up, Ron." As a matter of fact, I enjoy laughing, and God has given me the grace to laugh at myself. That, in itself, provides more humor than most people are privileged to enjoy. But when I read, "I traded my sister for a video game," I don’t find that humorous. I find that offensive. And the fact that people do find it funny is a reflection of where our society is. The fact that professing Christians will not only laugh at it, but even buy the shirt, is a tragedy.

This morning I want to read to you from the writings of a man who was very careful with his words. Not only was he careful with his words, but he was carried along by the Spirit as he wrote. Therefore, within the letter he wrote there is not a single word that is misplaced or misused. His letter comes to us from God Himself, conveyed by the Holy Spirit.

I am speaking about I John, the first of the three letters written by John the apostle. The letter is short, but what it lacks in length it makes up for in power. Some of the things John tells us are so radical that we are tempted to dismiss what he says. Why? Because we can’t fit them into our present belief system.

Listen to me. How we need to come to the Word of God with the attitude that says, "Lord, by your grace, I will be open to your Word. Where the truth of your Word does not square with what I believe, I am willing and eager to change my beliefs." Now I am well aware that we must properly understand the Word of God. Yes, we are very capable of misunderstanding. That is why we need to read it, memorize it, meditate on it and pray over it. However, we have a strong tendency to dismiss the clear teaching of God’s Word because we can’t fit it into our cherished beliefs. If we have come to the conclusion that our present belief system is right and cannot be in error, how will the Lord ever teach us anything more than what we already know?

So as we read from I John, I say to us that we must grapple with the clear words of scripture. We do not have the freedom to throw them out, as if they didn’t exist. As you will find in the reminder in your bulletin, within I John there are three important evidences of knowing God…

1. Obeying God’s commandments
2. Loving one another
3. Believing that Jesus is a man and that He is God’s Messiah

Also, I need to remind us of something concerning this love for one another. You will notice that in this letter, there is no neutral ground. You either love your brother, or you hate him; there is nothing in between. We don’t like that. We claim, "I can’t say that I love him, but I don’t hate him." That won’t square with I John. We must fit our thinking into God’s Word, and not the other way around. As we read, watch for these three.

Also, concerning this love, let’s read what Jesus said in Matt. 5:43-48…
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47. And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

The test of this love is measured by our attitude toward and how we treat the unlovable.

Read I John in its entirety.

Pray