SERMON GM14-022
SERIES: Christian Living in a World of Chaos &
Contradiction
SETTING: North Kelso Baptist Church
SERVICE: Sunday AM
SUBTITLE: The Christian Life Viewed as Sonship (Part 1)
SCRIPTURE: 1 John 2:28-4:6
SUBJ: The evidence of Sonship
(Theme/Topic)
SUMMARY:
The claim of being a son of God is supported by specific evidence
(Thesis)
SCHEME: That Christians evaluate the evidence
for their claim of being a child of God.
(Objective)
_____________________________________________________________
CHRISTIAN LIVING IN
A WORLD OF CHAOS
The
Christian Life is Viewed as Son-ship
1 John 2:29
(Part 1)
INTRODUCTION
A.
The Privilege of Son-ship
A missionary tells a story about a new convert
who came in deep distress to see him. "No matter how much I pray, no
matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think
I'm losing my salvation."
The missionary said, "Do you see this dog
here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient;
he is a pure delight to me.
Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He
makes a mess, he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, and he is a
total mess.
But who is going to inherit my estate? Not my
dog; my son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ's Son, and his heir because it is
for you that He died." We are Christ's sons, we are the children of God
not through our performance but by means of His grace.
B.
The Premise of John
This section
of 1 John 2:28 through 4:6 reveals the character or the characteristic, the special
quality or trait that make Christians different from non-Christians. Christians
are children of God. As such they are, and you are Sons of God.
First
of all, in our previous section John has shown that the Christian life is a
life of Fellowship with God. Now John will show that the Christian life
is to be viewed as Son-ship.
The
family relationship is a much closer relationship than any other relationship
on earth. Families are not like clubs, organizations, or social programs.
Clubs,
organizations and such are tied together by mutual interests or experiences. Families,
for better or for worse are tied together by blood, by birth
The
Christian is born into the family of God. This characterization of the
Christian life is an advance beyond the idea of fellowship. We can have
fellowship with people who are not family members. But we can have a family
relationship with those who are not family members.
This principle of son-ship runs through this entire section:
This leads us to the…
C. The Purpose of John
The claim of being a son of God however, can and
should be tested by the presence of certain traits, qualities, or
characteristics
John states that the one who lives a life of righteousness has been born of God
– 1 John 2:29.
“…everyone who practices righteousness has been born
of him.”
He restates this principle in 3:9:
“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for
God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been
born of God.”
Not only are believers children of God:
·
They are marked by the fact that they practice righteousness
·
They love one another whereas the children of Satan do not
John clearly makes his case that true believers, the true children of
God are marked by righteousness. This proves that they are in the family of
God.
John will establish the basic standard for the test of Sonship.
John will unpack the traits of righteousness as a family test
John will then show how unrighteousness is incompatible with son-ship
Our theme is: “Like Father, Like Son”
This
is a good reminder for us all that the claim of being a child of God is tested and
observed by the consistent practice of righteousness.
Proposition: I propose to you that the claim of being a son, or a child of God is tested by your
behavior
Interrogative Sentence: How can our claim of Sonship
be validated?
Transitional Sentence: The passage in front of us identifies
three test that proves your claim of being a Son of God.
Once
again we see that our claim of being a Son or child of God is tested by
practical and measureable means. In this case our claim of Sonship can be
tested by three (3) very measurable and observable means:
·
Sonship is tested by practical means
·
Sonship is tested by love for other believers
·
Sonship is tested by Christological doctrine
[The first test of Sonship
is that…]
1A SONSHIP IS TESTED BY PRACTICAL
GROUNDS (2:29-3:24)
In this section Sonship is
being submitted to the test of behavior. Whether a person has been born into
the family of God can be known by the presence of family likeness in that
person’s life.
Because the underlying factor in this passage is spiritual
birth. Just like the fact that certain traits and characteristics are passed to
a child by natural childbirth, certain traits characteristics are passed to the
person who has been born into the family of God.
Note this: that John believes and teaches that these
characteristics or traits are not just “inherited,” but they are visibly
detected. IOW, it is possible to determine by the presence or the absence of
these certain traits whether a person is really a child of God.
I guess you could say it like this, “Like God the Father,
like Child of God.” If you are a child or son of God you will manifest God
likeness.
This brings us to
our first test. That is…
1B Sonship demands the practice of
righteousness (2:29-3:10)
This
test begins in 2:29 and runs through 3:10. In this section John clearly
demonstrates that righteousness is an identifying mark of the children of God.
John
will unpack the basic truth or principle requiring righteousness; he will then
marvel at the various benefits of righteousness, and he will unpack truths
about why unrighteousness is incompatible with being a child or son of God.
[So, let’s dig in and see…]
1C The Principle
of Righteousness Stated (2:29)
John will state the
principle. John will use God as the example or the template to support this
principle.
[So, let’s look at the
exemplar or the template – the example]
1D The Exemplar for the Principle (29a)
ean
eidhte oti dikaios estin
“If you know that He is righteous…”
John opens this section with a keynote declaration. Here is
a fact, an indisputable fact:
“He
(God) is righteous.”
Don’t be thrown with the English translation of “If you
know…” John is not doubting nor accusing his readers of doubting. This is a
literary device referring to a known fact. It is stated as a rhetorical means in
order to establish the point. There is no doubt here. Since you know…
John uses this grammatical style to get his point across. Since
you know as an assured fact that God is righteous, then you will logically
conclude that anyone who acts like God or who practices righteousness has been
born of God.
“…you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been
born of him.”
IOW, anyone who is measured or evaluaed by this principle will be in
some form like God.
Just like in 1:5-7 God-likeness is necessary for
fellowship, God-likeness is necessary for Sonship. Another way of saying this
is that God-likeness is the sure sign or result of true spiritual birth.
John assumes that it is true beyond any shadow of
any doubt that God is righteous.
What is
righteousness? What does it mean?
Righteousness denotes a connection with tradition or
custom. It is applied to a person and it indicates “one who conforms or one who
observes customs.
The Hebrew root word meant
“straight” or “right”
The idea is of conformity to
a standard.
God is revealed as a God of
righteousness. His character or his nature is the standard.
God’s righteousness is that
attribute of God by which God’s nature is seen to be the
eternally perfect standard of
what is right.
God is morally spotless in
His character and actions. God is
upright, God is pure, God is untainted from any evil, or evil desires, evil motives,
evil thoughts, evil words, or evil
acts.
God is revealed in Scripture as a God of righteousness.
God is one
who acts rightly in all His works
and judgments.
“…shall not the Judge of all
the earth do what is just?” (Or right) (Genesis 18:25, ESV)
“The Rock, his work is
perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and
without iniquity, just and
upright is he.” (Deut 32:4, ESV)
[This is why you can trust
God to do what is right, and allow what is best to happen to you. Everything
that God does is
right!
“For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds…” (Psalm 11:7, ESV)
“Therefore the LORD has kept
ready the calamity and has
brought it upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he had
done…” (Daniel
9:14, ESV)
Even when trials,
tribulations, tests, or calamities come into and upon our lives God is right
or perfect in sending it
or allowing.
The idea of righteousness is
the idea of conformity to a standard, this standard is applied to
God.
God always acts in
accordance with what is right and he himself is the final standard of what
is right. There is no standard outside of God.
If anyone can say, “Because
I said so,” it is God! By the way, this may seem incidental to you,
but God did not set the
standard, He is the standard. The standard has been set because God exists.
His nature is the standard.
This is why every human being since Adam and Eve is a sinner.
Every human being
falls short, misses the mark of the standard, which is God, which is absolute absence of any and
all evil.
“For all have sinned and
fall short of the glory [the nature/character/person/standard] of
God.” Romans 3:23, ESV)
But take a look at God:
“O LORD, the God of Israel,
you are just…” (Ezra 9:25, ESV)
“Righteous are you O LORD,
and right are your rules.” (Psalm 119:137, ESV)
“The LORD is righteous in
all his ways and kind in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17, ESV)
Jesus recognizes the
righteousness of his Father in his prayer in John 17, “O
righteous Father…” (John 17:25, ESV)
Paul inspired and taught by
the HS knew God was righteous when he spoke of his future
reward to Timothy,
Henceforth, there is laid up
for me the crow of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, will award
me on that Day…” (2 Timothy 4:8, ESV)
1 John 2:29 – “Little children,
let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is
righteous, as he is righteous.” (1 John 1:9, ESV)
“And I heard the angel in
charge of the waters say, ‘Just [righteous] are
you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.” (Rev 16:5, ESV)
So,
John uses a third class condition sentence to demonstrate that he knew that his
readers knew that God was righteous. God is the standard by which all
righteousness is to be judged.
[God
is he exemplar, the template, the standard. Secondly, John goes on and expands
his point. We can see…]
2D The Extension of the Principle (2:29b)
ginwskete oti kai pas o poiwn thn dikaiosunhv ez
autou gegevvntai
“…you know that everyone also who
practices righteousness is born of
Him.”
First of
all, the verb “you know” can be either and imperative or an
indicative. I think the context it to be used as an indicative.
This
simply means that what they know is a fact indeed. It is a
truth.
Like, the
sun comes up in the east and goes to bed in the west. We
know that. These readers know as anyone who has
been born of God will practice righteousness. This is not a
secret to them.
Whether it
was John, the current Elders, other apostles, pastors, or
teachers, doesn’t matter – what is crucial is that these readers
know that it is a
hard fact, those who practice as a lifestyle righteousness
has been born again by God.
John knows
his readers know already the fact that the children of God
bear a resemblance to their heavenly Father.
Second
thing to note here, is that John makes it clear by the use of a present
participle that he is merely thinking of one, isolated act of righteousness,
but the habitual practice of righteousness.
IOW, this
is the life pattern of the members of God’s family
We can
understand it this way – the specific righteousness
referred to is that that characterizes God the Father and is passed
on to His children as a family characteristic.
The person
who is and continues to maker righteousness the practice of
his life has been regenerated in the past, and as a
result he is now a child of God who reveals that fact by
the family trait
being visible in his life – righteousness.
How Does This Apply to You
and Me?
First
of all, the question or problem that should pop up about now, is what about all
the lost people who perform works of “righteousness?”
You
know, people like Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, or Mormons, or everyday people who
do good or right things? We know they are not believers but they do what we do.
They don’t steal, or kill, or rob banks. They love people and sacrifice for
them and do humanitarian things.
All
these things these people do are an abomination to God. They do not please God.
Roy
Larkin writes:
“Many people exhibit deeds of morality who are not born of God. Such
morality is the result of culture and
comes from human kindness and is the exception, not the rule. The characteristic of life apart from God is
unrighteousness, although that
unrighteousness may be sprinkled with moral deeds and may have semblance of being right. Taken as a whole a
godless world is an unrighteous world. [1]
We
have to really see what John is saying here.
Again,
John is convinced that God is righteous. God exercises this righteousness in
relation to his creatures. All God’s attitudes and actions are in keeping with
His holy nature. God is the standard that John sets up.
Those
who live their lives in agreement with this standard give evidence that they
are the children of God.
John
says everyone, this includes every true believer with no exceptions. This doing
righteousness denotes a life habit it is the prevailing principle of one’s life
– it is not a single action or activity.
Why
can John be so sure of that? And how do we answer the question of what does it
mean to me?
The
reason John can safely and correctly by the way say that this likeness of God
will be present in each believers life is contained in the verb “born of him”
The righteousness of God is passed on to His children. This family trait is not
a matter of imitation, it is a matter of inherited family characteristics.
Many
will imitate good works, or righteous works. But in the end, they will not
stand nor be of any benefit because they were imitations. They were not the
result of being a Son of God.
Remember
this test is not for the lost. It is not for the world. It is not for those
outside of the body of Christ.
This
test is for those who are in the body already. This test is for those who claim
to be believers and have become members of the body based on that claim.
Listen,
we don’t the hearts of people. We don’t know who is saved and who is not saved.
So,
when some comes and desires to join North Kelso Baptist Church and gives
testimony and evidence that they are born again, we accept them.
We
do our homework, we call or visit their previous church, we meet with them, and
we examine them. To the best of our ability we examine their claim of being a
Christian and see if it is based on biblical truths.
If
they “pass” then we admit them into the body. Then, if in time we do not see
consistent righteousness from them then we can deduce that they are not really
believers.
Some
people do enough righteousness to get in the church. Then they stop. Not any
morally upright person is a child of God.
Atheists who say they love the Lord or do good works are not believers.
But righteous living is the sign of the new birth.
Doing
what is not right, or habitual sinning is a sign that one is not born gain. As
you not it is not the claim that saves it is the habitual God-like resemblance
being worked out in righteous works show salvation has taken place.
Our theme has been: “Like Father, Like Son”
This
should be a good reminder to you all that the claim of being a child of God is
tested and observed by the consistent practice of righteousness.
Proposition: I have proposed to you that the claim of being a son, or a child of God is
tested by your behavior
Next
week Lord willing we will look at the last two sub-points to this section:
2C The
Privileges of Righteousness Suggested (3:1-3)
3C The
Pattern of Righteousness Supplied (3:4-10)
But for now, what do you say
we wrap this up?
CONCLUSION
Listen,
Men May Perish by Seeming Righteousness as by Gross sins.
Joseph
Alleine wrote: “It may be you never thought of this; but so it is, that a man
may as certainly perish by his seeming righteousness and supposed graces—as by
gross sins; and that is, when a man trusts to these as his righteousness before
God, for satisfying His justice, appeasing His wrath, procuring His favor, and
obtaining His pardon. This is to put Christ out of office, and make a Savior of
our own duties and graces. Beware of this, O professing Christians; you are
much in duties—but this one fly will spoil all the ointment. When you have done
most and best, be sure to go out of yourselves—to Christ; reckon your own
righteousness as filthy rags (Phil 3:9; Isa 64:6).”
~ A Sure Guide to Heaven by Joseph
Alleine
My
goal this morning has been to encourage Christians to evaluate the evidence of
their claim of being a child of God by finding consistent works of
righteousness in their lives.
Exhortation: I
exhort you to be speak loudly of, to revel in, and to enjoy your claim of
fellowship with God. But I exhort you to test your claim by these three grounds
to ensure your claim is valid.
David wrote in Psalm 11:7, (ESV)
“For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the
upright shall behold his face.” (ESV)
Let’s
pray! J
[1] Roy L.
Laurin, First John, Life at Its Best, (Grand
Rapids: Kregel, 1987, pp. 102-102, 1957; reprinted ed.,)68
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