Living in the Light

Living in the Light

Final Sermon in Series on 1, 2 & 3 John.

As presented by Rev. Jonathan Mills. Pastor, Kanata Baptist Church

2008-11-30

Subject: Summary of 1, 2 & 3 John. Two major themes: Avoid Doctrinal Error. Live as People of Love.

Scriptures¹:

1 John 1:5-10

 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

    8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

scripture

Introduction

This week, Bill Corcoran shared something with me—it's called a word cloud. It had been showed to him by Susana Reaume—and he passed it along to me.

The word cloud is made by a computer program which takes a text and adjusts the relative size of the words based on their frequency.

Here's the word cloud for 2 John. [because it was a public site, I decided to avoid copyright issues and I used the King James Version] 

[to view the world cloud of 2 John visit this web site: http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/   In the search box, type 2 John and you should see the word cloud]

I'm not sure whether this is a helpful tool to assist us in seeing patterns and relevance in the arrangement of the words ... of if it's more like a Rorshach test—allowing us to see what we want to see in the pattern.

Modern Heresies

Harpur: The Pagan Christ

I am struck by the relevance of John's letters, even today.

Last Thursday evening, CBC ran a documentary on Tom Harper's recent book entitled “The Pagan Christ.”

Harpur is an ordained Anglican Priest

He used to be the religion editor of the Toronto Star—and I can certainly recall reading many of his provocative articles which pushed the envelope of Christian thought—but now he has moved to an outright rejection of the New Testament, and established Christian orthodoxy.

In his book, the Pagan Christ, Harper says that he now believes that Jesus never existed.

He suggests that Jesus Christ is a mythical figure—a kind of religious archetype—whose essential character and life were defined by pagan Egyptian gods many years earlier.

Harpur turns to the Gnostic writings of the 2^nd and 3^rd Centuries to develop his understanding of Christ.

What struck me about the documentary is that it ends with scenes of Harpur sitting in church, watching a presentation of the Nativity. He says that his new perspective has invigorated his faith—as if it were perfectly natural for anyone to embrace his views as just another “truth” among many possible truths about Jesus Christ.

New Day; Same Old Heresies

1,900 years have passed – give or take a decade – from the time when the Apostle John wrote his 3 letters; and though the names have changed, the heresies are the same.

Compare Tom Harpur's contemporary writing to the situation faced by the Apostle John:

• Christian teachers, even ones who had once been entrusted with teaching in the church, had turned away from the truth of the Gospel.

• They were denying the physical body of Jesus, claiming that he was simply a spirit being (Harper; an mythological archetype).

• They denied the incarnation, thus negating the redemptive sacrifice Christ made on the cross.

And John replies in a forthright manner regarding the false prophets of his day: to deny that Jesus came in the flesh, is to be a false prophet and an antichrist.

[1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.]

Walk in the Truth

In response to his context, John wrote his letters to the church to instruct them, and to encourage them to remain grounded on the foundational truths of the faith.

4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth (2 John 1:4)

Today, more than ever before, we are surrounded by multitudes of alternate world-views, religions and philosophies.

The simple fact that we describe our faith as “the Truth” is offensive to some—and puts us at odds with our culture.

But one of the great rally cries of John's letters is the encouragement to embrace the Truth, and walk in the Truth.

3 It gave me great joy to have some believers come and testify to your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 3-4 ///

Live in Love

The other resounding message found in John's letters is the call to love.

Marriages and Grace

I've done a lot of marriage counseling over the years. While couples come with many different issues that lie at the heart of their struggles, there is one common theme that runs throughout most couples in crisis. Somewhere along the way, the focus of the relationship has shifted from the spouse to the self.

In healthy couples, generally each spouse approaches the relationship with the attitude: What can I do for my partner? What can I give that will make them feel loved and appreciated? What little kindness can I initiate?

In couples who are in crisis, the focus will often shift away from the spouse to one's self. I am bothered by a lot of things my partner does. I don't feel the “magic” any more. Or, the most ugly expression of all: “My partner is just not meeting my needs any more.”

If you went into the relationship only to have your needs met ... then it's no wonder your relationship is in crisis. But don't blame your partner! Take a good long look in the mirror—because the problem is in your own attitude.

Change the Language

There is a solution. Marriages can be restored and revived, but the only way it can happen is if both partners stop looking selfishly at their own wants and priorities and start thinking about their partner's wants and priorities.

Change the focus of your thoughts from “Why doesn't she do this ... Why doesn't he do that ...”

To “Why don't I do something kind today ...” “what could I do for him / for her that would make today special?”

The essential quality of love that makes it love is not what your partner does for you – but what you do for your partner.

1 John helps us to understand the nature of love:

16 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 one another. 17 If any one of you has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in you? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

This is how we know what love is Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

He didn't go to the cross because he was going to get something out of it for himself! He suffered and bled and died in order to give up everything for us.

This is what grace is all about—and it is the most important single theme of the Christian life ... and the supreme calling of people of God.

What could we Do?

There are few marriages that can't be utterly transformed by the change of attitude from “what's in it for me?” -- to “What can I do for you?”

Similarly, our neighbourhood; our workplace; our schools; our communities ... wherever the people of God are involved and active ... these are the places where simple acts of grace and kindness can bring about profound change.

It can stop the cycles of selfishness and individualism, and start to develop a culture and and environment of kindness, generosity and impromptu love.

Conclusion

Christmas gifts.

Generally, many Christians have a sense of ambivalence toward Christmas. We love so much of the holidays—rich with spiritual meaning and inspiration. But we are also distressed by the way that secular influences have stripped it of its meaning and replaced the joy of Christ, with a frantic pursuit of consumer goods.

The giving and exchanging of gifts has always been a bit of a sore spot for me. Why do we give gifts to one another? Why not give gifts to the “Birthday Boy?” (that's what you would normally do on a birthday celebration).

But as I reflected on these New Testament books this week, I noticed that there is a strong message about love. That we have been loved by God through Christ ... and we are called to take the love we have received and share it with others.

In this, I think the giving and receiving of Christmas gifts is a helpful symbol of God's intent for us. Think about it.

We receive the gift from God – it is a grace gift ... something we don't deserve, but he gives it to us anyway. And then, we respond by giving love and grace to others—intentionally choosing the way of love in response to the love we have received.

We receive gifts at Christmas, and we respond by giving gifts to others. It is symbolic of the kind of revolution that God wants to create in the world—a loving, caring, grace-giving revolution.

I look out at this gathering today, and I have to ask myself: I see an army of change. I see men and women who love God ... and who are connected and networked throughout our community ... and who could launch a revolution! Through God's grace.

Imagine what that would be like!

Imagine the power of a people unleashed to take what they have received from God—and respond by giving to others.

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:7-12

Endnotes