Heart's Condemnation
1 John 3:10-24
"How can I be sure I'm saved?" In sin, in
misery, in criticism we ask ourselves this question. There is a
test, but it takes sober reflection and clear understanding to
get it right.
Two Kinds of People
One wag put it this way: "There are two kinds
of people: those who divide people into two kinds, and those who
don't." Hard to argue with logic like that! John also tells us
that there are two kinds of people:
(1 John 3:10-12 NIV) This is how we know who
the children of God are and who the children of the devil are:
Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor
is anyone who does not love his brother. {11} This is the
message you heard from the beginning: We should love one
another. {12} Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one
and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his
own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.
Two kinds of people - really!
One of the most common ideas held by the
populace at large is this. There are three kinds of people:
True Christians - really great saints -
who live the life Christ would have them live.
Really evil people - gangsters and such -
who are genuinely evil.
The rest of the world, kind of in the
middle.
John tells us here that this is not so. There
are only two groups: the children of God and the children of the
devil. Why is there no group of "fence sitters?" It is because
we are eternal! We are either headed in God's direction, on his
path, or we are not. If this life were all that would ever be,
there could be fence sitters. But given eternity, everyone
arrives at either heaven or hell. How can we tell which is
which?
The children of the devil - and all of us
are born this way - are those who are centered upon
themselves. They may be noble looking and highly virtuous -
but they're going the wrong way.
The children of God - who may look to the
world to be a rather ragged lot - who are obedient and
centered on others. They may have a long way to go - but
they have all of eternity to get there, and they're on the
right road.
Let us not confuse position with direction.
Two tests to tell
There are two tests, as well: the sins of
commission and the sins of omission.
Commission means this: you know what
righteousness is, and you do it. You tell the truth, keep
honest books, honor your father and mother, and so on.
Omission means this: you do not neglect
what you should do. If someone is in need you do not neglect
them but care for them.
The result: hatred of the righteous
At first glance you might think that the
children of God would be honored and the children of the devil
reviled, but it is not so. It is the children of God who are
hated.
Consider, for example, the venom directed
against the Promise Keepers movement. A movement which
espouses loyalty and love to your wife is reviled as being
"anti-woman." Anyone with the slightest acquaintance with
the movement knows the falseness of the charge, yet it stays
with us to this day in hissing venom.
Or consider that which is directed at the
pro-life movement. No group of Christian leaders is as
pilloried in the press as those who are pro-life. Indeed,
the press will not even use the phrase; it must be
"anti-abortion." Their opponents are the noble "pro-choice"
advocates who slaughter over a million unborn children
("safe, legal and rare") in the United States alone. Our
First Lady applauds the Chinese system of mandatory
abortion for second children and at once a chorus of
appreciation rises from the "pro-choice" movement. The
Christian condemns it as both murder and a violation of the
mother's liberty, and the press wonders how anyone could be
so backward.
It is as the Psalmist had it:
(Psa 12:8 NIV) The wicked freely strut about
when what is vile is honored among men.
The example John gives us here is Cain, and
it is worth the time to read it:
(Gen 4:3-15 NIV) In the course of time Cain
brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the
LORD. {4} But Abel brought fat portions from some of the
firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and
his offering, {5} but on Cain and his offering he did not look
with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
{6} Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your
face downcast? {7} If you do what is right, will you not be
accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching
at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
{8} Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the
field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his
brother Abel and killed him. {9} Then the LORD said to Cain,
"Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I
my brother's keeper?" {10} The LORD said, "What have you done?
Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.
{11} Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which
opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
{12} When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops
for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." {13}
Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear.
{14} Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be
hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the
earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." {15} But the LORD
said to him, "Not so ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer
vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so
that no one who found him would kill him.
The key points we need to see are these:
God is not playing favorites. He tells
Cain clearly that if he brings a proper sacrifice, he will
be accepted. Cain makes the choice, not God.
If Cain will not do so, however, sin is
right at hand to take advantage of the situation. God did
not entrap Cain.
When Cain murders his brother, he
responds to the charge with self-justification, not
repentance.
Here you see it: there is room to turn
around, but sin is always ready to strike. If you will not
repent, you will bring forward your own justification, your own
righteousness. That will cause you to hate the righteous, for
you know (in your heart of hearts) that you are a fraud, and the
righteous are not.
But consider the source: love is from God;
hate is from the devil. One of the two will ultimately master
you; by this will you know whose child you are.
The Nature of Love
(1 John 3:16-18 NIV) This is how we know what
love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to
lay down our lives for our brothers. {17} If anyone has material
possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him,
how can the love of God be in him? {18} Dear children, let us
not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
The defining test of love is that we are
willing to lay down our lives for our brothers, as Christ laid
down his life for us. It sounds so difficult! But consider:
If I am destined to reign with Christ in
eternity, is my life here really so dear?
Because He lives, I shall live. I shall
rise at the resurrection of the righteous. What then of this
puny span of years?
Purity of love
The world, of course, exhibits "love" in its
own fashion. The word runs like a greased pig through the pop
culture of my generation. Its meaning changes with every tide,
and love is abused and used to justify almost everything. How
then can we truly understand the real nature of the word?
One principle may guide us. God is love. The
closer to God, the more pure the love you find; the farther
away, the more impure is the love you find. For example, one may
say "I love my wife." If you say it with the same meaning that
you would use in saying, "I love my dog," then you have a major
problem with your marriage. Why? Because your wife was created
in the image of God, and your love for her should reflect that.
I recall an incident concerning the former
Los Angeles Rams. The owner, Georgia Frontiere, remarked that
she loved her players - just as she did her racehorses. If one
of her horses was hurt, she would be quite upset, and likewise
with the players. (I believe the Rams went 3-13 that year). I
wonder how a human being felt being compared to a horse that
way. But she clearly meant it to be a positive statement of her
love for her team and its players.
The practical test: your brother
There is a completely practical test of this
love. It concerns the brother or sister in Christ who is in
need. What do you do for them?
It is a practical test because the poor
will always be with us, at least until our Lord returns. So
you will never run out of chances to test the truth of your
love.
Indeed, our Lord wants you to love them
so much that he considers it as if you had done it to him.
Think about this: if you do something kind for my children,
would I not feel obliged to repay your kindness if possible?
How much more, then, if you are kind to God's children?
All of us need help at one time or
another; all of us have been "the poor" in one way or
another. You have received help; is it not fair that you
should return it too?
If this were not enough, our Lord is
frequently explicit as to the blessings given to those who
share with the poor.
Actions and Truth
This is really about integrity. Integrity
means oneness, oneness in this instance of what we say we are
and what we actually do. We must both believe and confess, and
then do, what our Lord commands.
It is not sufficient to substitute
actions for truth. God is not the cosmic bean-counter.
Nor will it work to substitute words for
actions. Proclaiming that God intends charity to the poor
(but just not from me) is hypocrisy.
The Confidence Test
(1 John 3:19-24 NIV) This then is how we know
that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest
in his presence {20} whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is
greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. {21} Dear
friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence
before God {22} and receive from him anything we ask, because we
obey his commands and do what pleases him. {23} And this is his
command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to
love one another as he commanded us. {24} Those who obey his
commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know
that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
If we have such integrity, we can examine
ourselves and pass the confidence test that John puts before us.
This is not an excuse for sin. If sin is in our lives, we need
to judge it in ourselves and repent. But often the challenge
comes from Satan in another way: "How do you really know that
you are saved?" John's answer is simple: examine the facts. Even
though your feelings may say one thing, the facts are what
count. Examine those facts, and if you have been a person of
integrity, who has obeyed God's commands and put forth his love,
then throw your doubts away - salvation is yours. Its evidence
is right before you.
One reason for doing this is prayer: the
prayer of those who doubt is not heard.
The mark of the prayer warrior
John here shows us why such a test is so
important, for he describes the successful prayer warrior in
this passage.
The successful prayer warrior is
confident. The word can also be translated "bold." Often we
seem timid in our prayers. Think of this: do your children
approach you with fear and trembling, or perhaps they come
to you with a very familiar air of confidence?
Successful prayer has a purpose. That
purpose here is to receive that for which we ask.
There is a scope to our prayers, too -
"whatever." God places no particular limits on what he
allows to ask for, as long as we meet his conditions.
His conditions are simple: that we keep
his commands and we do what pleases him.
The obedient child, growing in wisdom, may
come to his father and ask almost anything.
Two commands
The lesson seems to have come in "twos." John
finishes with two commands.
First, we are to believe in the name of
Jesus.
To believe is to trust, and to trust we
must have the confidence necessary. Hence the examination;
hence the good works. If you believe, you will act.
We are to believe on the name of Jesus.
We recall the movie line, "Halt in the name of the law!" It
involves authority, does it not? Then who do you consider
the ultimate authority in the universe?
Next we are to love one another.
We do this as we follow his example; he
loved us; we must love each other.
We must do this in His Spirit, not in
hypocrisy.
Love God - and do as you please.
