What Did Jesus Do?
Test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 John 4:1
Well, it’s a Presidential Election year, and that means we will be deluged by a sea of campaign ads, bumper stickers and buttons, debates and denials, platforms and platitudes, stump speeches, and probably a scandal or two. And we can of course count on it all being absolutely, scrupulously true. Okay, you can stop laughing. I don’t know what is more disturbing, that we all know we are going to hear a lot of lies during the upcoming campaign, or the sad fact that so few Americans are in anyway equipped to actually sift out the truth and separate it from all the deceiving that will be going on. Of course, we are not the first people to have trouble separating truth from lies. Even though God is truth eternal, and even though he gave his Word to his people Israel, very few were able to grasp and hold onto the truth of the Word, or recognize when someone was corrupting it and twisting it into falsehoods. Knowing this, the Father sent the Son, Jesus, to “flesh out” the truth of his Word by making the Word, well, flesh.
Having personally heard, seen, and touched the Father’s word of life made manifest in the Son (1 John 1:1-2), the Apostle John faithfully proclaimed to his “little children” (the Church) so that they should share in the fellowship of all believers with the Father and the Son, and receive eternal life (1 John 1:3; 2:24-25). But, with the Son returned to the Father in Heaven, there was no longer any opportunity to “see, hear, and touch” Jesus in the flesh, but only in the Spirit. So John charged the Church with testing the spirits, and then supplied the means for testing spirits, so that the Spirit of Truth might be rightly separated from all false spirits. The test itself was, and is, simple: What do people believe and say about the incarnation? Was Jesus the Son of God come down to become one of us? Did Jesus really put on flesh and walk among us “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), or was the Lord more like a really good hologram, a very good likeness of a man, but in actuality no more than appearing to have come in the flesh. Any spirit not confessing Christ’s coming in the flesh is not from God, is in fact the spirit of the antichrist (1 John 4:3). So, the first thing we must do is listen carefully to what is being said about Jesus. If we hear any denial of Christ’s coming in the flesh, or of his being the divine Son of God, we should quickly turn a deaf ear to what is being said.
But the spirit testing John exhorts us to do involves more than just listening, John also wants us to look. Look at behavior, as well as listen to teaching, because behavior betrays teaching (Or, if there is consonance between one’s words and one’s actions, then behavior confirms belief). False prophets and lying spirits will always, sooner or later, be exposed by their actions, even if their words have a ring of truth. The great gulf separating the true from the false is all about the one’s origin. All who originate in God, who is eternal truth, are true. All who originate in the world, which is corrupt, full of deceit, and passing away, are and will always be revealed as false (1 John 4:4-5).
There is a third, final, aspect to the testing of spirits. We listen and we look for the truth, but it is also essential for us to speak the truth. We can discern who is of God and who isn’t by how they react when we proclaim his Word, his Truth. John put it plainly enough, “Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:6)
The Father sent Jesus so that the truth could be heard, seen, touched (1:1-2). The truth of Jesus Christ which we receive via the testimony of the Spirit of Truth in us, give us ears to hear truth, eyes to see truth, and a tongue to proclaim truth. It is not enough to know truth when we hear it and see it, we must live it and proclaim it, we must flesh out the truth, even as Jesus did. If we do not, we are not being true to the Lord, and it is very likely that the Spirit of Truth is not in us.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Jesus Caused BIG Things to Happen When Those Who Believed Even a Little Cried Out
What Did Jesus Do?
“All things are possible for one who believes.”
Mark 9:23
Unless you are at least as ancient as I am, or you are a devoted Frank Sinatra fan, it is likely you have never heard of the song “High Hopes.”
While it is a secular song from a Hollywood movie, it teaches a lesson about faith. Without going into details, I’ll just say that it illustrates how hope (faith) can accomplish some mighty difficult tasks, and overcome some seemingly impossible obstacles. When Jesus causes those who believe, who have faith, to cry out, some pretty amazing things have happened.
Take the time the blind son of Timaeus heard that Jesus was passing by him as he sat begging for alms at the side of the road. Bartimaeus cried out! And, you know what happened, don’t you? Bartimaeus asked the Lord to restore his sight, and the Lord did! (Mark 10:46-52) How about when Peter, out for a stroll on the Sea of Galilee, suffered a real “sinking” feeling, and cried out to Jesus? Jesus helped the apostle, who was notorious for leaping before looking, to leap back into the boat. (Matthew 14:28-33) Of course, you may recall that, though Peter believed, his doubting just about ended up dunking him. Still, good things happen when Jesus causes those who believe to cry out.
My favorite illustration of this, because the father’s belief was so much like mine is, encumbered and imperfect, is found in the Ninth Chapter of Mark. One day there was a big commotion going on, and the Lord’s disciples were right in the middle of it. It seems that a man had come and sought out Christ’s followers hoping they might be able to do something to help his son, who was terribly afflicted. Alas, the disciples had been unable to do anything, except become embroiled in a public shouting match with some scribes. Though it had been faith which had led the man to come and seek the Lord in the first place, the father spoke out of his very real doubt when he responded to the questioning of Jesus by saying that he hoped Jesus might help his son, “if he could.” That Jesus replied with some mild indignation, “If I can! ALL things are possible for one who believes.” may seem somewhat out of character for the Lord, but it moved the man to cry out, “I believe!” I have to say that this father was more honest about his faith than most of us, for he immediately added, “Help my unbelief!” The end result was that the boy was set free, and the father, we may assume, went away with at least a little more belief and a little less unbelief than he came with. (Mark 9:14-29)
Do you know what unbelievers cry out when they encounter Jesus? Nothing, for they have no faith at all. And, like the disbelieving neighbors of Jesus in Nazareth, the Lord can do nothing for them. (Mark 6:1-6) But, when we cry out to Jesus, even with our pitiful little and imperfect faith, why, mountains can be moved. (Matthew 17:20-21) All this should encourage those of us who have a habit of chastising ourselves for our little faith. It turns out that the works of the Father are more about magnifying the person and power of the Son, than they are about our faith. Don’t get me wrong, faith is absolutely essential, and it is important for us to seek to grow in faith. But let us not get ourselves discouraged, or let the world discourage us, because Jesus causes big things to happen when those who believe, even a little, cry out.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
“All things are possible for one who believes.”
Mark 9:23
Unless you are at least as ancient as I am, or you are a devoted Frank Sinatra fan, it is likely you have never heard of the song “High Hopes.”
While it is a secular song from a Hollywood movie, it teaches a lesson about faith. Without going into details, I’ll just say that it illustrates how hope (faith) can accomplish some mighty difficult tasks, and overcome some seemingly impossible obstacles. When Jesus causes those who believe, who have faith, to cry out, some pretty amazing things have happened.
Take the time the blind son of Timaeus heard that Jesus was passing by him as he sat begging for alms at the side of the road. Bartimaeus cried out! And, you know what happened, don’t you? Bartimaeus asked the Lord to restore his sight, and the Lord did! (Mark 10:46-52) How about when Peter, out for a stroll on the Sea of Galilee, suffered a real “sinking” feeling, and cried out to Jesus? Jesus helped the apostle, who was notorious for leaping before looking, to leap back into the boat. (Matthew 14:28-33) Of course, you may recall that, though Peter believed, his doubting just about ended up dunking him. Still, good things happen when Jesus causes those who believe to cry out.
My favorite illustration of this, because the father’s belief was so much like mine is, encumbered and imperfect, is found in the Ninth Chapter of Mark. One day there was a big commotion going on, and the Lord’s disciples were right in the middle of it. It seems that a man had come and sought out Christ’s followers hoping they might be able to do something to help his son, who was terribly afflicted. Alas, the disciples had been unable to do anything, except become embroiled in a public shouting match with some scribes. Though it had been faith which had led the man to come and seek the Lord in the first place, the father spoke out of his very real doubt when he responded to the questioning of Jesus by saying that he hoped Jesus might help his son, “if he could.” That Jesus replied with some mild indignation, “If I can! ALL things are possible for one who believes.” may seem somewhat out of character for the Lord, but it moved the man to cry out, “I believe!” I have to say that this father was more honest about his faith than most of us, for he immediately added, “Help my unbelief!” The end result was that the boy was set free, and the father, we may assume, went away with at least a little more belief and a little less unbelief than he came with. (Mark 9:14-29)
Do you know what unbelievers cry out when they encounter Jesus? Nothing, for they have no faith at all. And, like the disbelieving neighbors of Jesus in Nazareth, the Lord can do nothing for them. (Mark 6:1-6) But, when we cry out to Jesus, even with our pitiful little and imperfect faith, why, mountains can be moved. (Matthew 17:20-21) All this should encourage those of us who have a habit of chastising ourselves for our little faith. It turns out that the works of the Father are more about magnifying the person and power of the Son, than they are about our faith. Don’t get me wrong, faith is absolutely essential, and it is important for us to seek to grow in faith. But let us not get ourselves discouraged, or let the world discourage us, because Jesus causes big things to happen when those who believe, even a little, cry out.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Jesus Bore Perfect Witness to the Truth, and Supplied Assurance to, Those Who Would Otherwise Be Uncertain
What Did Jesus Do?
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him...
1 John 3:19
Poor Pontius Pilate, he was about twenty centuries ahead of his time. Think about it. Would not Pilate, who, with the Truth (Jesus) staring him in the face, asked “What is truth?” (John 18:38), have loved this age when the questioning of any and all truths has become the dominant worldview? Actually, I suppose Pilate was pretty comfortable in his own time. The questioning of truth and the shaking of assurance already threatened the Church, and the security of believers, in Pilate’s First Century. Fortunately, Jesus bore perfect witness to the truth, and supplied assurance to those who, without it, would be uncertain.
It is critical, as we read John’s letter, that we understand that John was not writing to, or about, Christians whose faith is unassailable, who never doubt, who never ask questions. John knew that there are times of doubt and questioning in the life of every Christian. Even more, there are many times when our hearts condemn us (1 John 3:20a). We all know, better than almost anyone, how frequently we fail to love brothers or sisters in the Lord. Even more, we know when we have little or no love at all for a particular brother or sister, and this knowledge convicts and condemns us in our own heart. Most of us have laid awake a night or two fretting over our glaring imperfections, our many shortcomings, our persistent weaknesses after many years of professing Jesus as our Lord. Our heart simply will not let us get away with the pretensions by which we attempt to put on a good face to others. But, here’s the thing John wanted believers in the First Century, and the Twenty-first, to never forget—“God is greater than our heart” (1 John 3:20a). More precisely, God’s forgiveness, his grace, and his mercy are greater than our heart. No matter how much our heart condemns us, the Father’s justification of us in and through Jesus Christ is infinitely greater. And, get this, the Father justifies us even though he knows “everything” there is to know about us (1 John 3:20b), which is more than our deceitful hearts reveal, even to ourselves. THIS is the truth that galled Pilate and the world the most, because they didn’t get it. Pilate, folks like him, and the world, have no trouble sleeping at night, do not feel the same condemnation in their hearts that believers feel, because, well, they don’t believe. If anything, John tells us, the condemnation and conviction that believers experience is affirmation that we do know the truth of the Father’s great and sacrificial love for us in and through the Son, otherwise we would sleep as peacefully in denial or ignorance of our sin as the rest of the unbelieving world. The truth is, regardless of whatever words of self-condemnation we may hear from our own heart, that nothing “is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
Yet, we still wonder about the efficacy of our prayers to God because our obedience, our “keeping his commandments” and our doing “what pleases him” (1 John 3:22), is imperfect. Though we know that God commands us to believe in the name of the Son, and to love one another (1 John 3:23), the testimony of our own heart confirms that we fall short both in faith and in love. The thing about prayer is, God answers the prayers, not of those who believe and who love perfectly, but of those who believe enough to pray, and who love God enough to know that we don’t love him, well, enough. The truth is, it is only those in whom God abides who believe and love at all as he has commanded (1 John 3:24a).
Christ’s own perfect witness to the truth, and the assurance of Jesus’ matchless love for the Father and for all, are ours according to the grace of God. As believers, we need to learn to ignore our heart, for it is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), and listen instead to the Holy Spirit. For it is by the Holy Spirit, whom God has given us, and who is at work building us up in faith and in love, that we receive and accept the perfect witness of Jesus, and the assurance of the Father’s love for us in and through the Son. (1 John 3:24b).
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
Ps 37.4
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him...
1 John 3:19
Poor Pontius Pilate, he was about twenty centuries ahead of his time. Think about it. Would not Pilate, who, with the Truth (Jesus) staring him in the face, asked “What is truth?” (John 18:38), have loved this age when the questioning of any and all truths has become the dominant worldview? Actually, I suppose Pilate was pretty comfortable in his own time. The questioning of truth and the shaking of assurance already threatened the Church, and the security of believers, in Pilate’s First Century. Fortunately, Jesus bore perfect witness to the truth, and supplied assurance to those who, without it, would be uncertain.
It is critical, as we read John’s letter, that we understand that John was not writing to, or about, Christians whose faith is unassailable, who never doubt, who never ask questions. John knew that there are times of doubt and questioning in the life of every Christian. Even more, there are many times when our hearts condemn us (1 John 3:20a). We all know, better than almost anyone, how frequently we fail to love brothers or sisters in the Lord. Even more, we know when we have little or no love at all for a particular brother or sister, and this knowledge convicts and condemns us in our own heart. Most of us have laid awake a night or two fretting over our glaring imperfections, our many shortcomings, our persistent weaknesses after many years of professing Jesus as our Lord. Our heart simply will not let us get away with the pretensions by which we attempt to put on a good face to others. But, here’s the thing John wanted believers in the First Century, and the Twenty-first, to never forget—“God is greater than our heart” (1 John 3:20a). More precisely, God’s forgiveness, his grace, and his mercy are greater than our heart. No matter how much our heart condemns us, the Father’s justification of us in and through Jesus Christ is infinitely greater. And, get this, the Father justifies us even though he knows “everything” there is to know about us (1 John 3:20b), which is more than our deceitful hearts reveal, even to ourselves. THIS is the truth that galled Pilate and the world the most, because they didn’t get it. Pilate, folks like him, and the world, have no trouble sleeping at night, do not feel the same condemnation in their hearts that believers feel, because, well, they don’t believe. If anything, John tells us, the condemnation and conviction that believers experience is affirmation that we do know the truth of the Father’s great and sacrificial love for us in and through the Son, otherwise we would sleep as peacefully in denial or ignorance of our sin as the rest of the unbelieving world. The truth is, regardless of whatever words of self-condemnation we may hear from our own heart, that nothing “is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
Yet, we still wonder about the efficacy of our prayers to God because our obedience, our “keeping his commandments” and our doing “what pleases him” (1 John 3:22), is imperfect. Though we know that God commands us to believe in the name of the Son, and to love one another (1 John 3:23), the testimony of our own heart confirms that we fall short both in faith and in love. The thing about prayer is, God answers the prayers, not of those who believe and who love perfectly, but of those who believe enough to pray, and who love God enough to know that we don’t love him, well, enough. The truth is, it is only those in whom God abides who believe and love at all as he has commanded (1 John 3:24a).
Christ’s own perfect witness to the truth, and the assurance of Jesus’ matchless love for the Father and for all, are ours according to the grace of God. As believers, we need to learn to ignore our heart, for it is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), and listen instead to the Holy Spirit. For it is by the Holy Spirit, whom God has given us, and who is at work building us up in faith and in love, that we receive and accept the perfect witness of Jesus, and the assurance of the Father’s love for us in and through the Son. (1 John 3:24b).
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
Ps 37.4
Friday, January 6, 2012
Jesus Illustrated Love, and Faith, That Is Real (Jesus Lived the Real Life)
What Did Jesus Do?
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us,
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
1 John 3:16
From the beginning, love has been the core of God’s’ Word, it is the essence of his message to us. The Old Testament can even be summed up in the two great commandments of the Law to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and might, and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18; see Matthew 22:34-39). Yet it was painfully evident, pretty much from the beginning, that God’s people didn’t get it. God spoke love to his people through the Law and the Prophets, through Psalm and through Proverb, yet the people’s lives cried out, in effect, “Show us the love!” And show the love the Father ultimately did, in the person of the Son. To and for a people who were anything but loving and faithful, Jesus illustrated love, and faith, that is real.
John emphasized to the Church, his “little children,” that love was the content of the apostolic proclamation, it was “the message you have heard from the beginning” (1 John 3:11). The Church, every believer, had a choice to make. They could go the way of Cain, who murdered his brother Abel (1 John 3:12), or they could follow the example of Christ, who laid down his life for his brothers (1 John 3:16). Nothing could be clearer. One can take the life of one’s brothers, or one can preserve the life of the brothers. One can choose death, or pass from death to life (1 John 3:14). Cain was the slayer of his brother. Jesus was the lover of his brothers. Which are we?
Just as it was necessary for God to “show the love,” so too must God’s children, if our claim to faith be genuine. Talk is, after all, cheap. No one can say that God short-changed anyone with respect to love, for Jesus did not offer mere words for the salvation of God’s people, but gave his very life for ours. Even so, John exhorts believers in every time and in every place to demonstrate true love and true faith by more than “word or talk.” Real love and real faith is illustrated by how one lives “in deed and in truth.” For love and faith to be really real, they have to be, well, really lived. Jesus lived the real life. What kind of life are we living?
John wrote to the Church at a time when a lot of powerfully charismatic posers threatened to lead Christians away from real love for other believers, and away from real faith in a real Savior who really lived and died, and rose again. Following the posers would only lead from life back to death. The same kind of posers threaten the Church today, so John’s letter is just as timely as ever. Our only hope, today as it was in John’s day, is to love, to believe, to live as Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us,
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
1 John 3:16
From the beginning, love has been the core of God’s’ Word, it is the essence of his message to us. The Old Testament can even be summed up in the two great commandments of the Law to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and might, and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18; see Matthew 22:34-39). Yet it was painfully evident, pretty much from the beginning, that God’s people didn’t get it. God spoke love to his people through the Law and the Prophets, through Psalm and through Proverb, yet the people’s lives cried out, in effect, “Show us the love!” And show the love the Father ultimately did, in the person of the Son. To and for a people who were anything but loving and faithful, Jesus illustrated love, and faith, that is real.
John emphasized to the Church, his “little children,” that love was the content of the apostolic proclamation, it was “the message you have heard from the beginning” (1 John 3:11). The Church, every believer, had a choice to make. They could go the way of Cain, who murdered his brother Abel (1 John 3:12), or they could follow the example of Christ, who laid down his life for his brothers (1 John 3:16). Nothing could be clearer. One can take the life of one’s brothers, or one can preserve the life of the brothers. One can choose death, or pass from death to life (1 John 3:14). Cain was the slayer of his brother. Jesus was the lover of his brothers. Which are we?
Just as it was necessary for God to “show the love,” so too must God’s children, if our claim to faith be genuine. Talk is, after all, cheap. No one can say that God short-changed anyone with respect to love, for Jesus did not offer mere words for the salvation of God’s people, but gave his very life for ours. Even so, John exhorts believers in every time and in every place to demonstrate true love and true faith by more than “word or talk.” Real love and real faith is illustrated by how one lives “in deed and in truth.” For love and faith to be really real, they have to be, well, really lived. Jesus lived the real life. What kind of life are we living?
John wrote to the Church at a time when a lot of powerfully charismatic posers threatened to lead Christians away from real love for other believers, and away from real faith in a real Savior who really lived and died, and rose again. Following the posers would only lead from life back to death. The same kind of posers threaten the Church today, so John’s letter is just as timely as ever. Our only hope, today as it was in John’s day, is to love, to believe, to live as Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Jesus Showed Because Jesus Is
What Did Jesus Do?
Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.
1 John 3:7
Putting a gorilla into a tuxedo might dress him up a bit, but it in no way alters the fact that he is an ape. The gorilla’s behavior, his “lifestyle” will go on just as before when he wasn’t all decked out in Armani. In the same way, just because someone sits in a pew Sunday after Sunday does not necessarily or of itself mean that person is a believer. How pewsitters live, their lifestyle, the other 167 hours of the week, says a lot more about what family they belong to, than the mere act of their attending worship. The life of a child of God is, or should be, evidently different from the life of a child of the devil. Jesus showed the way to the Father because Jesus is the way to the Father and, therefore, because of Jesus, who our father is, well, it shows.
While there should be a resemblance between God and the members of his family, appearances can be deceiving. So John, who was much concerned that his “little children,” the members of God’s Church whom he so loved, were being led astray, sent them a warning, “let no one deceive you” (1 John 3:7a). Even more, John wanted the Church to know the how and why of living as children of God.
First of all, there is a particular practice, or principle that should distinguish whose family we belong to, God’s or the devil’s. We might call it the righteousness principle. The righteousness principle is based on the fact that there is only one who was truly righteous—Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God’s children, adopted in and through the Son, who is righteous, live according to the righteousness principle, which is to say that they practice righteousness in their own lives. The children of God seek to live like Jesus, who not only showed the way to the Father, but is the way to the Father (John 16.6). In sharp and utter contrast, the children of the devil practice sin. It is impossible for a child of God to make a practice of sin (1 John 3:9). This is not to say that is impossible for any of us who believe to sin, we all stumble and fall short (Romans 3:23). But there is a difference between stumbling, being convicted, and repenting when one stumbles, and making a practice of sin, and doing so without any remorse. Only a child of the devil practices sin, and the practice of sin is also evidence that one has no love for one’s brother (1 John 3:10).
Besides there being a principle that directs what believers practice, there is also a power at work in the children of God—the power of the risen Lord to destroy the works of the devil in all who are born again in Jesus. The reason for the Son’s appearing, and for his rising from the grave, is to disarm the devil and destroy all his works in us (1 John 3:8b). the children of God are those who are able to practice righteousness because Jesus has broken the power of sin and death (the works of the devil) in them. To claim to be a believer, a child of God, while continuing to practice sin is to deny the power and the victory of Christ. Rather, the presence of Christ shows in the lives of believers because the Lord is alive in them—Jesus shows because Jesus is. As God’s children, practice righteousness, and show love for one another, that’s what Jesus did to prove he is the Son of God.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.
1 John 3:7
Putting a gorilla into a tuxedo might dress him up a bit, but it in no way alters the fact that he is an ape. The gorilla’s behavior, his “lifestyle” will go on just as before when he wasn’t all decked out in Armani. In the same way, just because someone sits in a pew Sunday after Sunday does not necessarily or of itself mean that person is a believer. How pewsitters live, their lifestyle, the other 167 hours of the week, says a lot more about what family they belong to, than the mere act of their attending worship. The life of a child of God is, or should be, evidently different from the life of a child of the devil. Jesus showed the way to the Father because Jesus is the way to the Father and, therefore, because of Jesus, who our father is, well, it shows.
While there should be a resemblance between God and the members of his family, appearances can be deceiving. So John, who was much concerned that his “little children,” the members of God’s Church whom he so loved, were being led astray, sent them a warning, “let no one deceive you” (1 John 3:7a). Even more, John wanted the Church to know the how and why of living as children of God.
First of all, there is a particular practice, or principle that should distinguish whose family we belong to, God’s or the devil’s. We might call it the righteousness principle. The righteousness principle is based on the fact that there is only one who was truly righteous—Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God’s children, adopted in and through the Son, who is righteous, live according to the righteousness principle, which is to say that they practice righteousness in their own lives. The children of God seek to live like Jesus, who not only showed the way to the Father, but is the way to the Father (John 16.6). In sharp and utter contrast, the children of the devil practice sin. It is impossible for a child of God to make a practice of sin (1 John 3:9). This is not to say that is impossible for any of us who believe to sin, we all stumble and fall short (Romans 3:23). But there is a difference between stumbling, being convicted, and repenting when one stumbles, and making a practice of sin, and doing so without any remorse. Only a child of the devil practices sin, and the practice of sin is also evidence that one has no love for one’s brother (1 John 3:10).
Besides there being a principle that directs what believers practice, there is also a power at work in the children of God—the power of the risen Lord to destroy the works of the devil in all who are born again in Jesus. The reason for the Son’s appearing, and for his rising from the grave, is to disarm the devil and destroy all his works in us (1 John 3:8b). the children of God are those who are able to practice righteousness because Jesus has broken the power of sin and death (the works of the devil) in them. To claim to be a believer, a child of God, while continuing to practice sin is to deny the power and the victory of Christ. Rather, the presence of Christ shows in the lives of believers because the Lord is alive in them—Jesus shows because Jesus is. As God’s children, practice righteousness, and show love for one another, that’s what Jesus did to prove he is the Son of God.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Jesus Showed Up So that Sin Could Be given Up
What Did Jesus Do?
You know that he appeared to take away sin.
I John 3:5
Patient (Moving painfully): “Gee, doctor, it always hurts when I do this. What do you think?”
Doctor (Sighing out of frustration): “I think you should stop doing that.”
If we are told that our recurring headaches result from caffeine intake, maybe we should try cutting out the coffee and the cokes, you think? If our practice of jogging five miles every day leaves our knees so sore we can hardly walk afterwards, it might be time to substitute swimming in our exercise routine. If we wonder why God seems so far away from us, the reason is almost certainly sin. Might it be possible that sin is getting in the way between us and a relationship with the Father? Hmmm.
It’s like this, the Father hates sin, cannot abide the presence of sin. His moral code (the Law) is absolutely opposed to sin; sin is, in a word, lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Fortunately, Jesus showed up so that sin could be given up. Don’t get me wrong, there hasn’t been a single Christian, nor will there ever be one, other than the Lord himself, who never sins. The question is, what do we do with the reality of our sin? Do we deny it? That’s not going to fool anyone, least of all God. Do we struggle to overcome it on our own? Epic fail ahead! Or do we just go ahead and keep on sinning, while pointing to the Cross and saying, “See, I’ve been forgiven”? It is impossible to do this while claiming to truly know the Lord.
If we truly know Jesus, know the reason why he came into the world, know of his perfect obedience to the Law and of his love for the Father, and know the brutal facts of why and how he died, then our sin should be absolutely repugnant to us. If we truly know Jesus, then we realize that for each of our sins a drop of his precious blood was shed for us on the cross. How could we just go on doing that which we know hurts the One who loved us so much that he died in our place? John spells it out plainly enough, “No one who abides in Jesus keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Jesus or known Jesus.” (1 John 3:6) Again, it’s not that Christians don’t sin, it’s that Christians are forgiven. And, knowing the price of our forgiveness, we bring the sin in our life, which we now hate for love of Jesus, regardless of how much pleasure our sin may give us for a season, to the Cross, where we give it to the Lord.
In writing to the Church, John was/is addressing those who know, or who should know, better than to think that a relationship with Jesus is possible while continuing to sin, to disobey the Law of God. The Church in John’s time had fallen prey to false teachers who so spiritualized the work of Christ that they argued that sin didn’t matter any more. We must remember that Jesus died to free us from sin, not to free us to sin. If we are truly a part of God’s family, are the Father’s children, and abide now and forever in a relationship with the Father and the Son, than our lives should become more and more a reflection of the Father’s righteousness in and through the Son, and less and less the evidence of our unrighteousness apart from Jesus.
In just a couple of days (January 6) the Church celebrates the Epiphany of the Lord (epiphany means “appearing”). What better time could there be to give our sins to Jesus, who “appeared to take away sins”?
Christian (Confessing painfully): “Gee, Lord, it always hurts [you], when I sin. What do you think?”
Jesus (Sobbing out of compassion): “I think you should give your sins to me.”
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
You know that he appeared to take away sin.
I John 3:5
Patient (Moving painfully): “Gee, doctor, it always hurts when I do this. What do you think?”
Doctor (Sighing out of frustration): “I think you should stop doing that.”
If we are told that our recurring headaches result from caffeine intake, maybe we should try cutting out the coffee and the cokes, you think? If our practice of jogging five miles every day leaves our knees so sore we can hardly walk afterwards, it might be time to substitute swimming in our exercise routine. If we wonder why God seems so far away from us, the reason is almost certainly sin. Might it be possible that sin is getting in the way between us and a relationship with the Father? Hmmm.
It’s like this, the Father hates sin, cannot abide the presence of sin. His moral code (the Law) is absolutely opposed to sin; sin is, in a word, lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Fortunately, Jesus showed up so that sin could be given up. Don’t get me wrong, there hasn’t been a single Christian, nor will there ever be one, other than the Lord himself, who never sins. The question is, what do we do with the reality of our sin? Do we deny it? That’s not going to fool anyone, least of all God. Do we struggle to overcome it on our own? Epic fail ahead! Or do we just go ahead and keep on sinning, while pointing to the Cross and saying, “See, I’ve been forgiven”? It is impossible to do this while claiming to truly know the Lord.
If we truly know Jesus, know the reason why he came into the world, know of his perfect obedience to the Law and of his love for the Father, and know the brutal facts of why and how he died, then our sin should be absolutely repugnant to us. If we truly know Jesus, then we realize that for each of our sins a drop of his precious blood was shed for us on the cross. How could we just go on doing that which we know hurts the One who loved us so much that he died in our place? John spells it out plainly enough, “No one who abides in Jesus keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Jesus or known Jesus.” (1 John 3:6) Again, it’s not that Christians don’t sin, it’s that Christians are forgiven. And, knowing the price of our forgiveness, we bring the sin in our life, which we now hate for love of Jesus, regardless of how much pleasure our sin may give us for a season, to the Cross, where we give it to the Lord.
In writing to the Church, John was/is addressing those who know, or who should know, better than to think that a relationship with Jesus is possible while continuing to sin, to disobey the Law of God. The Church in John’s time had fallen prey to false teachers who so spiritualized the work of Christ that they argued that sin didn’t matter any more. We must remember that Jesus died to free us from sin, not to free us to sin. If we are truly a part of God’s family, are the Father’s children, and abide now and forever in a relationship with the Father and the Son, than our lives should become more and more a reflection of the Father’s righteousness in and through the Son, and less and less the evidence of our unrighteousness apart from Jesus.
In just a couple of days (January 6) the Church celebrates the Epiphany of the Lord (epiphany means “appearing”). What better time could there be to give our sins to Jesus, who “appeared to take away sins”?
Christian (Confessing painfully): “Gee, Lord, it always hurts [you], when I sin. What do you think?”
Jesus (Sobbing out of compassion): “I think you should give your sins to me.”
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Monday, January 2, 2012
Jesus Provided Purification for Everyone Whose Hope is in Him
What Did Jesus Do?
Everyone who hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
1 John 3:3
While the pot may find pleasure in calling the kettle “black,” the truth is, pot or kettle, neither vessel can do anything to clean itself up. The only hope of dirty pots and pans is in the dishwasher. Because of sin, Christians are like blackened pots and kettles in that there is nothing we can do to make ourselves clean and pure. So where does a believer’s security and hope come from? First of all, every believer needs to know that, here and now, we are children of God (1 John 3:2a). THAT is eternal security. Every believer should also know that, though it is not now entirely clear what we will be, when Christ returns we shall be like him (1 John 3:2b). THAT is eternal hope. Both our security and our hope are based on the relationship that we have with the Father through the Son.
In the present, our hope motivates us to follow Jesus, and to follow him as closely as we can, desiring to become more and more like him in every way, including his purity. The net effect of our desiring is the day in day out process of purifying ourselves. This is not to say that any of us can purify ourselves by trying. But we can certainly see to it that we remain totally impure by not trying. Though it is not by force of will or dint of effort that we are purified, as our hope in Jesus motivates us, and as our desire to know the Lord and to live more and more by his example grows, sin, and all other lifestyles grow less and less appealing. The Christian life, or, I should say the life of Christ, becomes more attractive to us, even as we come to understand that it is a life of humility, obedience, and sacrifice. By the action of the Holy Spirit within us, by our becoming a little bit more like Jesus every day, a believer becomes a little more pure each day. Is it our personal piety and purity? No, it is, now and forever, Christ’s own purity, his love for and obedience to the Father’s law, that is imparted to us by grace through faith, through our hope, in him.
A Christian whose chief occupation is finding fault with, and pointing out the sins of, other believers, is like a soot stained and blackened pot that not only ridicules its neighbor the kettle, but gets blacker and blacker doing so, and never recognizes its own need to be cleaned. This is hardly the kind of life together in Jesus that John imagined for the Body of Christ. And so John wrote to the Church to encourage her (us) to abide in the love of God, even as we come to learn more of the life Jesus, the Son, who lived completely in the love of the Father.
A lot of people are making a lot of “New Year’s Resolutions” right about now. If we are believers, our chief resolution this, and every year, ought to be to be more pure by the end of next December, by clinging to Christ our hope, and trying in the Holy Spirit to be more like Jesus, even as we encourage and help all our brother “pots” and sister “kettles.”
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Everyone who hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
1 John 3:3
While the pot may find pleasure in calling the kettle “black,” the truth is, pot or kettle, neither vessel can do anything to clean itself up. The only hope of dirty pots and pans is in the dishwasher. Because of sin, Christians are like blackened pots and kettles in that there is nothing we can do to make ourselves clean and pure. So where does a believer’s security and hope come from? First of all, every believer needs to know that, here and now, we are children of God (1 John 3:2a). THAT is eternal security. Every believer should also know that, though it is not now entirely clear what we will be, when Christ returns we shall be like him (1 John 3:2b). THAT is eternal hope. Both our security and our hope are based on the relationship that we have with the Father through the Son.
In the present, our hope motivates us to follow Jesus, and to follow him as closely as we can, desiring to become more and more like him in every way, including his purity. The net effect of our desiring is the day in day out process of purifying ourselves. This is not to say that any of us can purify ourselves by trying. But we can certainly see to it that we remain totally impure by not trying. Though it is not by force of will or dint of effort that we are purified, as our hope in Jesus motivates us, and as our desire to know the Lord and to live more and more by his example grows, sin, and all other lifestyles grow less and less appealing. The Christian life, or, I should say the life of Christ, becomes more attractive to us, even as we come to understand that it is a life of humility, obedience, and sacrifice. By the action of the Holy Spirit within us, by our becoming a little bit more like Jesus every day, a believer becomes a little more pure each day. Is it our personal piety and purity? No, it is, now and forever, Christ’s own purity, his love for and obedience to the Father’s law, that is imparted to us by grace through faith, through our hope, in him.
A Christian whose chief occupation is finding fault with, and pointing out the sins of, other believers, is like a soot stained and blackened pot that not only ridicules its neighbor the kettle, but gets blacker and blacker doing so, and never recognizes its own need to be cleaned. This is hardly the kind of life together in Jesus that John imagined for the Body of Christ. And so John wrote to the Church to encourage her (us) to abide in the love of God, even as we come to learn more of the life Jesus, the Son, who lived completely in the love of the Father.
A lot of people are making a lot of “New Year’s Resolutions” right about now. If we are believers, our chief resolution this, and every year, ought to be to be more pure by the end of next December, by clinging to Christ our hope, and trying in the Holy Spirit to be more like Jesus, even as we encourage and help all our brother “pots” and sister “kettles.”
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
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