Talk - 1 John 2. verses 1 to 14.

1 John 2. verses 1 to 14.

As Campbell has explained, the main theme of 1 John is Knowing God, and this is what is at the heart of genuine Christian discipleship.  A true Christian disciple is someone who knows God and experiences fellowship with him.

John is concerned therefore to outline in his letter how true knowledge of God may be discerned in a person. In other words what are the hallmarks of a genuine Christian disciple and how can such a person be sure that they do indeed know God.

If I asked you to describe the hallmarks of a farmer you might come up with a few suggestions. A farmer might have a slightly weather beaten face – a sign of someone who is outside in all weathers.

He may have rough hands. He may well wear practical workman like clothes and drive round in some sort of truck or 4 by 4.

This vehicle is quite likely to be muddy and if you ride in it, it might be advisable to have a tetanus injection first.

He is quite likely to wear boots of some description and to talk about the weather a lot. If someone came up to you claiming to be a farmer but exhibiting none of these characteristics you might be a bit suspicious of their claim.

So in this passage John identifies two particular essential hallmarks of a genuine Christian disciple – someone who really does know God, as opposed to someone who claims to know God but whose lifestyle and actions do not back up this claim.

Firstly in verse 3 John says “Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. Whoever says “I have come to know him” but does not obey his commandments is a liar and in such a person the truth does not exist.”

The first hallmark of a genuine Christian – one who really knows God - is obedience to God’s commandments. What does it mean to obey his commandments?

Well initially one would point towards the ten commandments but I think there is more to it than this.

Its not just trying to live in obedience to a set of moral guidelines but as John says in verse 6. - Whoever says “I abide in him” ought to walk just as he - (i.e Jesus) walked.

So a genuine Christian should try and live in obedience to God’s moral laws but their lives should also reflect the hallmarks of obedient discipleship that we see in Jesus life.

As we look at Jesus life and see how he walked in perfect obedience to God we can see essential elements of that obedience that should also be part of our own walk with God.

There are numerous elements to Jesus life that we could pick out but I’d like to highlight just a few of what I believe are the most important.

Initially and most importantly Jesus life was totally focused on pleasing God rather than himself.

We see this most clearly of course in the Garden of Gethsemane when he faced the cross. “Father if you are willing remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done.”

Jesus’ will was submitted to his heavenly Father and his whole life was focused on pleasing God rather than himself.

If a person truly knows God, their life should be focused on pleasing God rather than themselves and their life should be submitted to him.

What other elements of Jesus’ life can give us indicators as to how we should live? Well Jesus spent time alone with his heavenly Father in prayer.

He knew how important this was if he was to fulfil his mission and he always made time to do this, whether very early in the morning or at the end of a very busy day.

A person who truly knows God should have a healthy and regular prayer life.

Jesus also knew the scriptures extremely well. He’d taken the time and trouble – one imagines since he was a boy - to learn and study the Jewish Scriptures. He had immersed himself in God’s word and knew exactly what it said.

A person who truly knows God should read their bible regularly and get to know what it says.

And of course Jesus was concerned to extend God’s kingdom at every available opportunity. Even a chance meeting with a woman he’d never met at a well in the middle of the day was an evangelistic opportunity for him.

A person who truly knows God should be concerned to work for and extend God’s kingdom in any way they can.

I was thinking of genuine and committed Christian people I have known reasonably well over the years – people who definitely knew God - some of whom have now died or moved away - and it struck me that without fail their lives had all been focused on pleasing God.

In their own ways they had all sought to walk in obedience to God as Jesus did and to do their best to serve him in whatever way they believed he was asking.

Most of them weren’t in full time Christian work but clearly their relationship with God was at the centre of their lives and something of God shone out of their lives.

What other hallmarks were there to these people’s lives?
The people I was thinking of all belonged to churches with which they were actively involved and they were all people who prayed and read their bibles regularly.

All of them were also concerned to see their families and friends walking with God.

Their lives bore the first hallmark of a genuine Christian as outlined by John in this passage - obedience to God’s commands and doing their best to walk as Jesus walked.

The second hallmark of a true Christian disciple that John identifies is loving our Christian brothers and sisters.

Thus in verse 10 he says; “whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light ...but whoever hates another believer walks in darkness.” So as Christians we should seek to love our fellow believers and indeed to demonstrate God’s love to all those we know.

Now this doesn’t mean saying right – when I go to church today I’m going to make a real effort to love so and so, although I can’t really stand them.

This love should already be in our hearts because God’s spirit is living in us and God is love. So the love we feel for fellow believers and those around us should be a love inspired by the spirit of Jesus living within us.

It’s not a gooey romantic sort of love – its more caring and being concerned for the wellbeing of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

It’s a desire to bless them and encourage them and to build them up in their faith.

A desire to help and support them in practical ways and if necessary to pray for them.

So the obvious question for us to ask in the light of what John is saying here is do we truly know God and if we claim we do, are we walking in obedience to his commandments and demonstrating something of God’s love to those around us?

Are we walking as Jesus did and if so, do we recognise these hallmarks of discipleship and love in our own lives?

If we do genuinely know God and therefore are walking as Jesus did, John has plenty of words of encouragement and assurance for us at the end of today’s reading

and indeed throughout this letter.

However if we don’t know God then we need to recognise it and face up to it and do something about it.

I used to work with a man I’ll call Bob. Bob confused me because he seemed interested in Christianity and liked to talk about it, but apparently despite his best efforts it seemed he hadn’t yet managed to come to know God.

He said he’d asked Jesus into his life lots of times but nothing had happened or changed.

I shared my confusion about Bob with a friend I sometimes pray with. As we prayed about his situation I had a picture of a man who liked to look admiringly at something in a shop window but who would then pass by the shop without going in to buy it.

My friend said the reason the person didn’t actually go into the shop to buy the item was because it was too expensive and they weren’t prepared to pay the asking price.

We both felt that God was saying that Bob was indeed interested in Christianity but that when it came to actually repenting he wasn’t prepared to do so.

He wanted God to be there for him when things got tough but he didn’t want to

pick up his cross and follow Christ. It was too costly.

I think Bob’s predicament is true of many people who would like the benefits of a relationship with God but who do not want to repent and allow God to direct their lives

If you’ve been coming to church for a while and deep down - if you’re honest, you don’t really know God, the solution is to genuinely repent.

What do I mean when I use the word repent? Well to repent means to turn around or change direction. It means to reach a point in our lives where we truly want to follow Christ.

It means to cease rebellion against God and instead to work with Him to extend His kingdom.

It means to make a U turn in life and rather than living for our own purposes and desires, to decide that we want to live for God’s purposes and desires.

Repentance is a decision and not a feeling or emotion.

If you think of your life as a car – before repenting you drive wherever you feel like. You have your own destination in mind.

However a person who has repented has invited Jesus to come and sit on the passenger seat and to give them directions as to where he wants them to go.

Of course the car is still under your control because you have free will but because you know that Jesus loves you and wants the best for you and those around you, you trust him to give you good directions.

Sometimes you may not follow a direction that Jesus gives you straight away, and then you’ll end up at a dead end or getting lost.

Jesus won’t leave the car. He’ll wait patiently and lovingly until you’re ready to listen to him and then he’ll start directing you again.

He’ll always respect your free will and the further you drive with him the more you’ll start to appreciate that he always knows best.

The destination of the car with Jesus in - is heaven, and the way to get to heaven is to follow Jesus.

Sometimes people can feel a bit scared or threatened by the idea of repenting and choosing to follow Christ.

But actually choosing to follow Christ is the wisest decision anyone can make.

The world is a scary and unpredictable place and choosing to put your life in God’s hands is extremely sensible.

Furthermore God loves you perfectly and He always wants the best for you.

As Paul says; “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, those who have been called according to his purpose.”

Whatever you experience in life, if you’ve chosen to follow Christ, God will be working for your good

Because God created you and knows you better than you know yourself, whatever he asks you to do will be ideally suited to your talents and abilities.

The majority of people who become Christians stay in their current roles and jobs and homes and find that God is calling them to extend his kingdom where they are.

Some may feel called to some form of full time Christian work.

As you step out in faith and do the things you feel He is asking you to do, you will derive a great sense of satisfaction and achievement.

God will always respect your free will. He understands that as humans we are weak and we often fail. You will find as you walk with Him that God is extremely kind and patient and loving.

God is also always positive. When we make a mess of something or get something wrong once we’ve acknowledged our mistake, He’s always there to pick us up and dust us off and help us on our way again.

So let me ask you again? Do you truly know Christ? Do you experience fellowship with him? Be honest with yourself.

If not, then I would suggest that God is waiting for you to truly repent, to make that decision to follow Christ wholeheartedly.

Lets pray.

Picture Jesus standing a little way in front of you.

He’s issuing that same invitation that he gave to his disciples – to you.

Come and follow me.

Quietly in your own heart respond to that invitation now. Amen