|
1 John 2:28-3:7 (Common English Bible) And now, little children, remain in relationship to Jesus, so that when he appears we can have confidence and not be ashamed in front of him when he comes. If you know that he is righteous, you also know that every person who practices righteousness is born from him. See what kind of love the Father has given to us in that we should be called God’s children, and that is what we are! Because the world didn’t recognize him, it doesn’t recognize us. Dear friends, now we are God’s children, and it hasn’t yet appeared what we will be. We know that when he appears we will be like him because we’ll see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves even as he is pure. Every person who practices sin commits an act of rebellion, and sin is rebellion. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and there is no sin in him. Every person who remains in relationship to him does not sin. Any person who sins has not seen him or known him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you. The person who practices righteousness is righteous, in the same way that Jesus is righteous. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us in that we should be called God’s children, and that is what we are!” In our Risen Savior Jesus Christ there is God’s amazing love poured out for us all. It is an infinite love that can conquer all. What gets sobering is that, as is the context of the Epistle of First John, we are to live out that love in our interactions with fellow believers and the world at large. This is no small challenge – the challenge of love.
Last week, Pastor Paul spoke of living into God’s is light with integrity - that is, honesty and not self-righteousness. This week we are called to live into God’s love. THERE ARE MAJOR CHALLENGES to doing this with integrity. There continues to be the problem of sin – sin against God and sin against the beloved community. Sin is when we are not in line with God and God’s will for humanity. Sin is where our actions do not reveal the love of God that we have been given. Another challenge – which often leads to sin – is the world. The world in which we live is filled with desires, possessions, and standards which do not reflect the love of God. 1 John 2:16 says it this way, “Everything that is in the world – the craving for whatever the body feels, the craving for whatever the eyes see and the arrogant pride in one’s possessions – is not of the Father but is of the world.” It seems that there are distractions around every corner trying to lure us away from God and away from beloved community. Hard challenges, aren’t they? Beyond that, a high bar has been set for what a Christian and Christian community ought to look like. Look at 1 John 3:3 and 3:7. “And all who have this hope in him (that is “we will be like him because we will see him as he is”) purify themselves even as he is pure.” Additionally in 3:7 “The person who practices righteousness is righteous, in the same way that Jesus is righteous.” WOW, John really thinks we can aspire to that standard?! I have a poster in my office entitled “Guide My Stumbling Feet”. Here is what it says: “Lord guide my stumbling feet and keep them on the path of honesty and truth. Fill my heart with love and help me to give it as freely as you do. Let my eyes see beyond the surface to look for the good in everyone. And please, Lord, if at times I don't live up to your expectations continue to bless me with your love.” With the challenge of love set before us, how do we meet it? How do we approach it? It seems daunting and early impossible. As I began work on this sermon, I chose to go back two more verses than had been prescribed in the Lectionary. I went back to 2:28-29 to connect them to our passage this morning. Several translations indicate that they belong together, including the Common English Bible. They are a section together with 3:1-7. Verse 28 speaks of remaining in relationship to Jesus. Twelve times in 1 John the writer uses the word “remain.” The importance of remaining in Jesus cannot be over emphasized. Here the call to remain and the results of that remaining in 2:28 and 3:6 Verse 2:28 says to remain in Jesus so that “we will have confidence and not be ashamed in front of Him when He comes.” Verse 3:6 says the person who remains in relationship to Him “does not sin.” You can see the power of remaining in relationship with Jesus. The word “remain” in The Message, by John Peterson, is worded, “live deeply in Christ.” To remain in Jesus is to live deeply in Him. But beyond all of that, hear the parallelism that exists between 2:28 & 3:6 and 2:29 & 3:7 – the pairs of verses that surround our passage this morning. Verse 2:28 speaks of remaining in Jesus while verse 2:29 speaks of practicing righteousness. Verse 3:6, once again speaks of remaining in Jesus while 3:7 again speaks of practicing righteousness. The pair definitively connects remaining in Jesus and being able to live a life of righteousness. It also precludes “practicing righteousness” as a way of attaining righteousness and a relationship with Jesus. There is a relationship between the Gospel of John and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. Even if some scholars differ as to the actual authorship of the two bodies of scripture, they cannot deny the similar emphases and style. So, let’s turn to John 15:4-5. It speaks to this very idea of remaining in Christ. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything.” Remain …‘live deeply in Christ.’ In my devotions this week there was a quote by James S. Stewart. Stewart was a Scottish preacher, professor of NT Language and Theology at New College, Edinburgh, Scotland and in 1935 wrote A Man in Christ, from a series of his lectures attempting to clarify the Apostle Paul’s thought on “Christ in me.” Here is what he said, ““Christ in me” means something quite different from the weight of an impossible ideal, something far more glorious than the oppression of a pattern for ever beyond all imitation. “Christ in me” means Christ bearing me along from within, Christ the motive-power that carries me on, Christ giving my whole life a wonderful poise and lift and turning every burden into wings. All this is in it when the apostle speaks of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). … To be “in Christ,” to have Christ within, to realize your creed not as something you have to bear but as something by which you are borne (carried), this is Christianity. It is more: it is release and liberty, life with an endless song at its heart. It means feeling within you, as long as life here lasts, the carrying power of Love Almighty; and underneath you, when you come to die, the touch of everlasting arms.” Remain – “live deeply in Christ.” You see, the righteousness that is being called forth in us in 1 John is not so much up to us, but up to Christ who lives within us. It is our purpose to remain connected to Jesus and open to His leading in all that we do. Our righteousness comes from the Lord who remains in us. If we allow that connection to atrophy- in ourselves, or in the beloved community of the Body of Christ- we fall seriously short of the righteousness God expects of “His children.” All that said, what does this mean for the Body of Christ – the beloved community - to “practice righteousness” as God’s “little children,” as 1John frequently refers to us. Let’s again look to the Gospel of John, 15:9-13. “As the Father loved me, I too have loved you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete. 12 This is my commandment: love each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends.” “Remain in my love … love each other just as I have loved you.” The extent of our love for each other is compared with Jesus’ gift of love – he laid down his life for us. Set in the context of community, we are called to remain in a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ, and give our best to encourage a beloved community which both remains and practices. We need to feel driven to grown spiritually every day, while at the same time going out to the world with love and effectiveness. We must, individually and collectively, maintain that lively and vital relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of my favorite old hymns goes like this: “O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.” Remain; Live deeply in Christ; Practice. Go out to serve in the power and love of our Risen Lord! Amen!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|