Download 05-13-12-1-John-2-28-3-10

1/4
May 13 1 John 2:28 -3:10
Children of God.
Mother’s Day
John 8: 31-36
Children: crosses the sign of God’s love for us. Show a few crosses from collection
Happy Mother’s Day. I’ve been struggling with the idea of a present for my mother.
What can a child give the person who birthed you? I could spend every penny I have on flowers
and cards and chocolates, but my Mom doesn’t want me to do that. I honestly think the best gift I
can give is to live a holy life, including following the command, Honor your father and your
mother. Isn’t that better than any other gift? We do that by, as John says in verse 28 of 1st John
chapter 2, “and now little children, abide in him.” We honor our parents and our God by abiding
in Christ. So the best gift you can give your mother is to live the right way and do the right
things.
Now John has another motivation beyond making him feel good as their spiritual parent.
John says we should abide in Jesus so that when he is revealed we can “be confident and not be
put to shame.” John wants his hearers to be ready for Jesus’ return. There will be a sorting and he
doesn’t want his kids to be caught on the wrong side.
John was focused on a day in time when Jesus would be revealed to the entire world at
his second coming. He took Jesus’ return seriously. Did you know that in the early Methodist
societies the only requirement for entrance was your answer to the question, “Do you have a
desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from your sins?” Pretty straight forward.
John Wesley knew the Bible, and he was convinced that Jesus’ return would involve judgment
and wrath for those who had not done the will of God. Those who had rejected Jesus were not
going to be happy campers when Jesus returned. Jesus’ parables and stories about the kingdom
indicate there will be a sorting on Judgment day, take for example his parable of the ten
bridesmaids in Matthew 25. Remember five had extra oil, and five did not, so when the five
without left to get more oil the groom came. They weren’t ready. Do you remember the end of
the story? When they got to the wedding, the door was shut and they said Lord, Lord, open to us.
But the Lord replied, truly I tell you, I do not know you. This is not just punishment, this is
separation from God. Keep awake, Jesus said! Be ready. And so Wesley asked those seeking to
be a part of the Methodists, do you want to be ready? Are you really serious about escaping the
judgment to come? Then you need to show it by your fruits, by following three general rules:
1. by doing no harm,
2. by doing good,
3. by attending upon all the ordinances of God
These statements are summarized in greater detail in the general rules observed by Methodists.
(1808 Book of Discipline and still in force in 1868.) The first rule of doing no harm included
avoiding evil of every kind, especially that which is most generally practiced, such as, and then it
lists 16 categories of harmful or evil actions. The second rule, doing good includes being
merciful and lists out ways to give our body and soul for the good of others. And the third rule
lists out expected practices for members of the Society. The rules are still in the Book of
2/4
Discipline, but they are somewhat buried in the Doctrinal Standards and Theological Task
section.
I know I haven’t heard them as often as would be good for me. They don’t have as
prominent a place in our thinking as they did back in the 18th and 19th centuries, when
Methodism was growing rapidly because it met a deep spiritual need. These rules helped answer
the question for Methodists, Who are we? What do we believe? When people knew and followed
the rules they could say, as Methodists we believe in avoiding evil, doing all the good we can,
and attending to all the ordinances of God. As we follow these rules, we are confident that we are
living in Christ and will not be put to shame when he returns.
We have the opportunity to practice righteous as the children of God, not as fearful
prisoners, but as loved children.
31See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is
what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are
God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when
he* is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And all who have this hope in
him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
We are part of God’s family and we want to avoid sin; disciples want to purify ourselves
because we know God’s love. There was a young woman out on a date one evening and as it got
later the young man suggested they go to the club and have a few drinks. She thought about it
and said, no, I don’t think that would please my parents. What’s the matter, he asked, are you
afraid they will punish you or hurt you if you stay out? No, she replied, I am afraid that I will
hurt them. As Christians, we avoid sin not because we are afraid of the punishment but because
we know the love of God and want to stay in that love. We have received freedom from sin, why
would we want to return to it? The law, God’s ordinances are for our good, not our punishment.
As children we want to honor our parents. John continues with this idea of living correctly in
verse 4,
4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he was
revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No one who abides in him sins; no one
who sins has either seen him or known him. 7Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone
who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8Everyone who commits sin is a child
of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
So whose child are you? There are a lot of people these days who don’t believe in the
devil, they think the devil is just a mythological creature invented to scare simpleminded people
into behaving. But John took the devil seriously, and he is not the only one. Peter, Paul, and
Jesus all wrote of the devil and took the idea of evil in the world and evil personified in the
spiritual realm very seriously. There is a father of lies that we need to be aware of, John said, and
be careful not to follow.
3/4
The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9Those who have
been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them;* they cannot sin, because they
have been born of God.
It is important to remember that John is talking about the habitual practice of sin here. All
believers sin occasionally, but we are to be practicing righteousness. We still sin, but we are not
continually practicing sin. If a person is habitually sinning, but thinks they are still doing OK,
John says you need to stop fooling yourself.
10
The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do
what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.
There is a war going on between the devil and the Son. It is a personal war and a war that
impacts whole societies. It is a war we don’t see as clearly in the United States. I read an article
in the Voice of the Martyrs magazine about North Korea. It’s brief and historical and it taught
me something I didn’t know about that part of the world. It is titled, Is God Dead in North
Korea? by Steven Lear
North Korea has long been one of the darkest and most isolated nations on earth, especially for
[Christian] believers. Kim Il Sung became “Great Leader” of the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea (DPRK) in 1948, after communists took control in the north. Almost immediately, he
closed all churches and set out to eradicate Christianity. An estimated 300,000 Christians
disappeared, and about 100,000 more were sent to labor camps. Nearly all pastors and priests
were executed, adding to the number of martyrs who cry out to God for judgment.
North Koreans are still required to worship Kim Il Sung with all their heart and might, even after
his death, according to article 1, section 1, of the party covenant. This practice continued with
Kim Il Sung's son, “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il, who died on Dec. 17, 2011.
For more than half a century, North Koreans have been brainwashed to pour all their faith into
the words and actions of the two Kims. At the 2011 funeral for Kim Jong Il, mourners could be
heard asking, “How could you leave us? What are we supposed to do without you?”
On state TV, a soldier declared, “The people, the mountains, the streams and the heavens are
weeping tears of blood for having to bid the final farewell.” But tears and blood are all too
familiar to North Koreans, especially Christians, and North Korea’s martyrs continue to cry out
for God to avenge their blood. (p. 3)
One of the North Korean teachings all the children memorize in third grade is the Ten Principles.
Part of one of the principles says “I, Kim Il Sung, am the lord your god. You shall have no other
gods before me. You shall not make for yourself any image in likeness of heaven or earth. You
shall not bow down to any idol, for I am your god, Kim Il Sung.” (p.4)
4/4
There is a war going on, a war on a personal level and a war on a spiritual level. There
are two sides, the children of God and the children of the devil. The people of North Korea need
our support and prayers. They are trapped in a society hell bent on misleading and abusing them.
I’m not sure which is worse, to be trapped in that society, where the lies and work of the devil
are so obvious, or in our society, where the lies are so pleasant and pleasurable sounding, leading
many on the broad road to destruction. But lines have been drawn and a battle is raging. In John
8 Jesus, If you continue in my words, you will be free. But they replied we are Adam’s children.
We are free already. They were trusting in their heritage to save them just as many people who
are members of a church think that will save them. But we must follow Jesus not in word, but in
action.
Jesus has paid the penalty for our sin, so we are free, but the power of sin continues to
abide in the world. The penalty is gone but the presence of sin is a continuing struggle. Someday
even the presence of sin will be removed, but for now we grapple with the constant challenge of
sin in our lives and in the world around us. The work that God wants to do in us is to remove the
power of sin from our lives. God wants to make us holy, to sanctify us. It is a voluntary process
in which we cooperate with the Holy Spirit to give to God all the challenges and struggles we
face and in response, God gives us the power to defeat sin and live as children. We have freedom
as children to honor our parents or to dishonor them. What will be your gift to your parents?
What will be your gift to your heavenly father? As you abide in Christ, the son sets you free to
do what is right, to love your brother and sister, and as you do this, you will be free indeed.