Scripture:
I John 5:1-5 NKJV
[1] Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. [2] By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. [3] For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. [4] For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. [5] Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Observation:
This scripture is one that I have quoted many times in my life. It separates religion from relationship. The way that the apostle John writes can be somewhat confusing if we are not filled with the Holy Spirit. In some of his letters he seems to go back and forth on some topic but as we continue to just stay in the word and see exactly what is being said the picture becomes more and more clear. As I was reading this morning my eyes fell on this scripture again, and I felt like it was important to take a good look at it, maybe more for myself than anyone else, but I’m hoping that others will benefit from what the LORD has to say to me this morning. Taking a look at the first verse that came to us this morning, what we see is faith and love. The word belief is the first word to look at what is stated is, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of GOD.” This is a simple explanation of what the bible says. Making the statement that Jesus is the very SON of GOD. If you believe that you are born of GOD. I know that’s kind of going back to pre-kindergarten Christian principles, but I felt like it needed to be said. As we continue to read this verse the word love comes into our view. Love for Christ and the one who begot HIM. I feel like if you find yourself reading this that you fall in that category. Moving forward in what John has to say about this. What we see is that if we love Jesus Christ we have a love for GOD as well. Again, back to pre-k Christianity. The two are one; they can’t be separated. You can’t love Jesus and not love GOD. It’s like separating the egg yoke from the egg white. It doesn’t make it not a part of the egg. If you love Jesus you love GOD as well. But here is what John is saying about that love. There will be evidence of it, “By this we know that we love children of GOD, when we love GOD we keep HIS commandments. I don’t believe this is a really difficult concept to understand. It’s also not one that a lot of pastors will preach about. I believe it’s because it’s difficult to explain without there being some kind of condemnation. I want us all to know right out of the gate, that’s not my goal. My attempt this morning is to open up the scripture to us so that we can better understand what a relationship with GOD looks like, knowing that I may not gain a out of friends from what is being said doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be said, in fact it’s evidence that the need for it to be said is even more important than how I feel about it. As we advance into the differences between religion and relationship, the apostle John begins to bring about his point by saying, “For this is love for GOD, that we keep HIS commandments.” Now I know that is contrary to what we are taught in a lot of churches, but it’s what the bible says and it can not be removed, or not spoken about. Its honestly the reason that the church is so weak at this point. People go to church to be entertained, rather than refined. As John continues to push forward on his point. The difference between religion and relationship is brought into full view. What he is saying is that when you love GOD you will want to do what HE says to do. You don’t have to, but you will want to. Your love for HIM shifts your perspective, from have to to want to. The old religious system said that if you don’t follow the commandments that salvation was not possible. It was something that had to be done, therefore it became this heavy burden. Jesus said take HIS yoke. The burden of relationship is much lighter than the burden of the law. This morning what I am hoping to bring out is the perspective that we need to obtain as we read what the Holy Spirit has said through the apostle John. “Whoever is born of GOD overcomes the world. And this is victory that has overcome the world…. By our faith. That statement is big, and can’t be ignored. I hope to do it justice. What John just said is something similar to what Jesus said to Nicodemus when he came to him in the middle of the night. It also brings into perspective the third person of the Holy trinity. The Holy Spirit. GOD is Spirit, and whoever is born of the Spirit is born of GOD, through faith in what Christ did on the cross. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. Being born of the Spirit will shift our perspective from have to to want to. What the apostle is saying is, If you believe that Jesus is the SON of GOD, you will not want to sin.
Application:
I have honestly spent years listening to preachers teach about the grace of GOD, and done my best to listen. Putting into practice what they have taught. What grace has done for me is something that I was never able to do on my own. It brought me out of the sin that I have been so easily ensnared by. The longer I walk with GOD the more narrow the road gets, having my own relationship with HIM has changed my perspective of how to do this thing. The relationship aspect of what it means to follow Christ brings something into the picture that was not there prior to. It has shifted my desire. You see when you love someone you will want to do what pleases them. Your life becomes about them and what they want. The best example I have of this is the example of marriage. Now I want you to keep this in mind. I have not been successful in this, but I believe I know how it works. It’s just that I have a little bit of Samson in me. The last thing I want to do is dig at a woman whom I am totally in love with. So what I am trying to say is, I wanted to do the things that pleased my wife. Sometimes I was good at it, and sometimes not so much. But the attempt was there. Attending a concert that I really wasn’t a big fan of 3 times in the short time we had together was one way that I did my best to please her…there are numerous other things that were done as well as plenty of failures. My desire to please her has never gone away. Nor has my love for her. It’s hard for us to get past the failures that we see in people. GOD has done what we can not. Our love for HIM changes our desires. I no longer want to sin, and when I do the conviction of the Holy Spirit is overwhelming. It’s not condemnation, but conviction that shapes my desire to live for GOD. The difference is the voice you listen to. One says, “You will never make it.” That’s not the one to turn into. The other one says, “Get up and try again my son.” That’s the one that takes the burden away from the law and shapes your relationship with a Father who loves you so much that HE gave HIS only SON to make a way to have a deep and meaningful relationship with you. A relationship that will change the desires of your heart. A relationship that will make you want to please HIM through the grace that HE shows you. I wanted more than anything to please my wife. So I understand the concept. I want more than anything to please GOD, that’s why I do what HE wants me to, to the best of my ability. When I fail. I move forward in the grace that HE has provided. You may be there, I’m not sure. But what I know is that our salvation is a gift it can not be earned. That’s the have to, today I’m hoping you want to. I know I do. It doesn’t mean you won’t fail. What it means is when you fail, you will not stop trying.
Prayer:
Father, you are so amazing. Your love reaches far beyond our understanding. If we could only grab hold of a small amount of it our lives would be transformed. Today we just want to express our love for you. Help us to stay between the lines of what you have for us so that you can see how much we truly love you. Our lives can get so chaotic that we get things out of perspective. This morning we pray that you keep our focus on you, and the work that was done so that we could just have the conversation we are having now. We know that our sin separates us from you, but you made a way, you tore the vail, you took that separation away through the blood of your SON. Help us to take advantage of that and build a real relationship with you where we want to do what you want us to. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.