I don’t know if you ever hanker for the 1st Century. Christianity today seems so confusing. There are so many versions out there. So many people claim to represent Jesus. But they say such different things. Why’s it got so complicated? Surely in the 1st century things we much simpler!
It’s confusing enough for those of us inside the church. What’s the Christian faith really all about? How different can you be from us, and still be Christian?
It’s even more confusing for those who are not yet Christians. What is real Christianity? I have a friend. They claim to be a Christian. I don’t like them very much. If that’s Christianity is about, I don’t like Christianity very much! But is it?
Well, I hate to say it, but things were no simpler in the first century.
1 John was written to Christians who were wondering if they really are Christians. They just weren’t sure any more. A group had left their church to start their own. And now they were claiming that they were the proper Christians. The ones they left behind aren’t quite there.
So John wrote to reassure them. And so he reassures those of us who are Christians. Do you ever wonder if you’re on the right track? 1 John will put you at ease.
And he reassures those who are looking in from the outside. Not all that glistens is gold. Not all that claims to be Christian really is. John helps you to cut through all of that. As you look at our church. As you look at Christians you know. Are you looking at the real thing?
So this morning we’re asking: What does a real Christian look like? What is a real response to the real Jesus?
And what John does in this passage is draw together a lot of what he’s already said earlier in his letter. Throughout 1 John, he’s picked up 4 strands of an authentic response to Jesus. He’s talked about each of them at least twice already. But they’ve come in different passages, so we’ve only ever looked at one at a time.
As the letter draws to a close, he brings those 4 strands together. They’re like a plaited rope. You can talk about them separately. But the person who’s truly responded to Jesus will have all 4 woven together in their lives.
A real response to Jesus is a thing of beauty. I’d love us all to respond to Jesus like this. I hope you find yourself wanting this to describe you more and more.
Here, then, are John’s 4 strands:
Love
His first is love. Love for other Christians.
We get this in verse 1 and verse 2.
Look at verse 1 first. First half of the verse: If you’re a Christian, you’re someone who has been born of God. Second half of the verse: If you love God, you’ll love whoever else has been born of him. You’ll love other Christians too.
Or look at verse 2: By this we know what we love the children of God, when we love God. Loving God and love his children are all wrapped up with each other.
As I say, this is not new. Look, for example, at chapter 4 verse 20: He who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. All kinds of people claim to love God, says John. But you can’t see God, so you can’t see someone’s love for God. So how do you test the claim? That’s easy. Do they love God’s children?
I’m taking 6 weddings this summer. People get married at all kinds of ages and stages of life. I love taking weddings! Often, one or other of the people getting married already has some children – maybe young, maybe grown up. It happens for all kinds of reasons – including through a previous bereavement. It’s very touching when the person marrying them treats their children as they would their own. They’re part of the family. They’re loved. That shows how much they love the person they’re marrying. They love them enough to love their children too. Over the years, I’ve seen some lovely instances of this.
So there’s John’s first strand. Love for God’s other children.
How’s this with you? How do you find other Christians? Are they an embarrassment to be around? An annoyance, even? Are they unnecessary – as you prefer a more solo Christian existence? Is coming to church an optional extra? Or perhaps you find other Christians good company – you’ve got a lot in common, and you like being around them?
John says that instead we should love each other. You might find others here annoying. You might enjoy their company. That’s neither here nor there. Love certainly doesn’t ignore people or stay away from them. It’s about giving things up for them. Are these people you’d give up anything for?
Love.
Obedience
John’s second strand is obedience.
Look again at verse 2: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.
Here’s how love comes out: In obeying God’s commandments. Doing what he says. Never shaking our heads when God asks us to do something.
This is exactly what Jesus said, is it not? Don’t turn there, but listen to John chapter 14, verse 15: If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Of course we would. It’s obvious isn’t it? If someone loves Jesus, they’ll do as he asks them to.
And John is careful to say that his commandments are not burdensome. He’s not saying they aren’t demanding. Jesus may demand a great deal from us. But they won’t weigh us down. They won’t stifle our love for him. They won’t squeeze away every ounce of fondness we might have had for Jesus.
Again, here’s Jesus in Matthew chapter 11, verses 28-30. Familiar words: Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
You see the balance in what Jesus says. On the one hand we have to take his yoke, his burden. A yoke was what they used to harness farm animals to a plough. It made sure the animals strength was used for the farmer. So we take Jesus’ yoke. Our strength, our energy, our time is at his disposal.
But then on the other hand, his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. Doing whatever Jesus asks of us is a liberating thing to do. He made us. He loves us. You couldn’t want a better master.
Sometimes you hear people dismissing the language of obedience in Christianity. Obeying is slavish. It’s wooden. We need love.
But John’s shown us here that we must never pit love and obedience against each other. Sure, you can have obedience without love, but then it’s just external obedience. It’s not from our hearts. And you can have love without obedience, but then it’s not real love. No, John follows Jesus: Love and obedience go hand in hand.
So how’s this one for you? Are you signed up, in principle, to follow Jesus wherever he takes you?
We’re always told to read an agreement carefully before we sign it. We must not rights we’re giving away before we sign on the dotted line.
A Christian is someone who has signed on the line. Who will obey Jesus whatever he asks. Who doesn’t need to know what he’s going to ask of them, because all that matters is that he’s the one asking.
And are you committed to finding out what he wants you to do? Committed to reading the Bible, mining it to find out as much as you can about your master’s will?
Obedience.
Truth
John’s third strand is truth. A Christian is someone who believes the truth.
So verse 1 starts the paragraph: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ. And verse 5 ends it: The one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
John is using shorthand. Elsewhere in his letter there are a few other key things we need to believe about Jesus. Claims about his identity – that he is God’s only Son. Claims about his death – that he died to pay for our sins.
Claims that were being denied by the group who had splintered off. They were teaching a watered down version of the Christian faith. They liked their Christianity like orange squash – diluted to taste.
Truth matters. A Christian is someone who believes the truth.
Here is another way we’re tempted to polarise things. It’s tempting to speak of truth and love as though they are different emphases and we must choose between them. For John, truth and love are inseparably intertwined. Two strands that make up an authentic response to Jesus Christ.
Read the teaching of Jesus the night before he died, as found in John chapters 13-17. He says that it matters greatly that his followers love one another. But he also stresses the importance of the truth he has deposited with them. And he says that it is the truth that will set us apart to love each other. Truth and love go hand in hand.
So truth matters. It means that there is true and false Christianity. From the earliest centuries of the church, there have been people who have claimed to be true followers of Jesus. But they did not teach what Jesus taught. That’s why we have the great creeds that have been handed down through history. Here’s true Christianity. Believe this, you’re believing in a Jesus that Jesus would recognise. Deny this, you’re following a different Jesus altogether.
So how’s this with you? Do you believe the basic claims of Jesus? Jesus is the Son of God. He died for our sins. He rose again to give us new life. He’s coming back to judge the living and dead. And so on.
It’s true that God is infinite. And we are not. None of us knows all there is to know about God. None of us are right about everything.
But a real Christian is someone who has brought their thinking into line with Jesus as far as they are able. A real Christian is someone who is committed to changing their thinking, if ever they discover that the Bible requires them to.
Truth.
Holiness
And then John’s fourth strand. Holiness. Holiness – which just means distinctive. Set apart for God. Reserved for him.
Verse 3 says that Jesus’ commands are not a burden. Why not? Verse 4: For everyone who has been born of God has overcome the world.
Remember that the world in 1 John does not refer to planet earth. It refers to human beings whenever they organise themselves to rebel against God. If you glance back to chapter 2, verses 15 to 17, you’ll see what John said about the world. The world lives for 3 things: What we own. What we’d like to have. What we’ve achieved.
Possessions. Desires. Achievements. That’s what society lives for when it forgets about God.
John says that the Christian has overcome all this. We still live for our wants from time to time. But broadly speaking, we’re not just like everyone else. We live for God, not for ourselves. We want to be useful to him.
Which is his 4th strand. We don’t just dance to the world’s tune. We don’t just march in time with those next to us. We’re tuned into God’s wishes. We’re living for him. Holiness.
A friend of mine used to enjoy going for a run with music on. But once he went out for just 3 miles, but came back utterly exhausted. His mistake was a simple one: He’d put on music with a beat that was too fast. Try as hard as you can, it’s very hard to run out of time to the music you’re listening to.
How’s this one for you? Which music do you listen to in life? Are you living in step with those around you, who don’t know Jesus? The same goals? The same boasts? The same ambitions? Or are you trying to run to God’s beat. To live in time with what pleases him?
Holiness.
Conclusion
There’s John’s 4-stranded rope. There’s an authentic response to the Lord Jesus.
Sometimes you meet some very lopsided Christianity. Lobster Christianity. Massive and over-developed on one side. Tiny on the other.
John’s 4 strands are woven tightly together. The Beetles sang “All you need is love”. John won’t sing that song. And neither will he say all you need is obedience. All you need is truth. All you need is holiness. You need all 4.
You need love. There are plenty of people out there with very orthodox beliefs and very disciplined lives, but it’s all cold. It’s lifeless. And it’s a solo adventure.
You need obedience. There are plenty of people out there who are very loving, and find Christian truth deeply moving. But who have pockets of their lives that the Lord Jesus is not welcome to take charge of.
You need truth. There are lots of very lovely people. Very kind. Very thoughtful. Some follow another of the world’s religions. Some follow none. But they don’t believe that Jesus is God’s Son, who died and rose again for them.
And you need holiness. Many people love the Lord Jesus and seek to put that into practice in the way they live, but are addicted to the world’s values as well.
Where are you in all of this?
Are you a follower of Jesus? Many of us here are. If so, I hope this has been very reassuring. In all the confusing of Christianity around the world today, you’re on track.
But many here are still looking into the claims of Jesus. John tells us what following Jesus would look like. It’s a lot simpler than many churches make out. Isn’t it time you started?