I received this card from a very special lady in my life and I want to share it with all you Acorns/Oaks out there.
God never promised that life always go smoothly...as a matter of fact he said "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world" John 16:33 He also says "Come to me all of you who are weary and heavy burden and I will give you rest.....learn from me and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." God also says in His Word that our trials come to make us strong and this poem is a reflection of that. Its so comforting to know that no matter how hard trials are in life there is rest for our souls and its found in Jesus Christ. Will you let Him wrap His arms around you today and hold you tightly until He commands the wind to stop?
A mighty wind blew night and day.
It stole the oak tree's leaves away,
then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark.
While other trees fell all around.
The weary wind gave up and spoke,
"How can you still be standing, Oak?"
The oak tree said, " I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two,
Carry every leaf away, Shake my limbs, and make me sway.
But I have roots stretched in the earth,
Growing stronger since my birth.
You'll never touch them, for you see
They are the deepest part of me.
Until today, I wasn't sure
Of just how much I could endure
But now I've found, with thanks to you,
I'm stronger than I ever knew."
Whatever it is that you are going through...try to remember that you're stronger than any problem you encounter or any disappointment life will bring.......
I'm thinking of you...believing in you..... and caring for you.......
Love and Prayers...
Robin
And they shall be called Oaks of Righteousness a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor...Isaiah 61:1-3
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
1st John 2:3--4:21 God Is Love
The book of 1st John is gives us 3 Definitions of God. God is Light, God is Love and God is Life. This book also tells us what a Christian life should look like. It goes right back to the basics of our faith. Being a Christian means so many different things to different people in our world today. There is much confusion about this subject. What is a Christian? I hope this study helps you to understand how God intends those that call themselves Christians to live their lives. Get our your bible and look up the scriptures but before you do that pray and ask God to reveal His truth to you. To help you understand and apply this teaching to your life.
READ 1st John 2:3-11
Last time we talked about God being Light and how important it is for Christians to walk in the Light in order to have fellowship with God. Now we are going to talk about God being Love and how important it is that Christians walk in Love in order to have fellowship with each other. Fellowship means having in common with or sharing with. Christian fellowship means sharing the things of Christ. Its God's desire that we have fellowship with Him and fellowship with one another in the church. Love is the main ingredient in this relationship. Remember the two greatest commandments God gave the NT church was to Love God and to Love others. Matthew 22:37.
In verse 3-4 of chapter two we are told that "we have come to know God if we obey His commandments. The man that says he knows God but does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him." In this section of scripture John is talking about assurance of salvation not security. Assurance of your salvation comes when you keep God's commandments. He is not talking about the Law here (10 commandments of OT) He is talking about his own family commandments that you find in the NT. The NT is full of commandments, things like carry each others burdens, rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, don't quench the Spirit,be patient,kind compassionate. ect. John is saying in order to have fellowship with God and enjoy it by having assurance in our hearts that we are his children we must keep His commandments. We do not do as we please but as Jesus commands. We know God by experience. If you walk in disobedience you do not know Him your life is a lie. Jesus said in John 8:29 that he always did what pleases the Father, Jesus always did but we don't but that should be our desire. John 3:36 says that he who believes has eternal life, but when we walk in obedience we have the assurance of that life. John 14:15 says if you love me keep my commandments. Because of our love for God we should want to go beyond the call of duty. Some people want to live as much as possible like the unsaved and still be a Christian. Often times folks ask me can I do this and still be a Christian? The question they should be asking is what can I do to please God?
What is your attitude toward sin? Do you take it lightly? I assure you God doesn't. He paid a high price so that your sins may be forgiven. When you sin do you cry out to God and ask for forgiveness? When you do God will restore your fellowship with Him and bring assurance to your heart. If we are going to walk in the Light we must walk as Jesus did. Live according to his teaching. Jesus never messed up but we do. When we mess up...admit it and quit it. We must walk in Love. This was not something new...the church had heard this many times before (John 13:34-35, John 15:10-12) and so have you. They had forgotten? Have you?
.
Take an inventory of yourself by asking yourself the following question.....Do you hate your brother? It is impossible for you to walk in the Light if you hate your brother. There is a natural darkness that we are all born into (Eph. 4:8, John 3:19)...that is what John means when he says we are walking in darkness if we hate our brother. We are not responsible for being born in darkness but we are responsible if we reject the Light that comes from the Word of God. When you walk in the Light the darkness flees. This is a test that John gives us to see if we are in darkness. John 8:12 "I am the light of the world whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life". Have you trusted Christ as your Savior and made Him Lord so that you don't hate your brother? (Brother here means your brothers and sisters in Christ. John is talking about your church family.)
READ 1 John 2:12-17
Here John changes the subject and talks about 3 different degrees of believers.
Fathers are the saints who have known Jesus for many years and have matured in their faith. Phil. 3:10 would describe these folk.
Young Men are not as mature as the fathers because of lack of experience but they have learned the secret of overcoming the enemy by the Blood of Christ and the Word of God.(Eph. 6:17 tell us that we have to put on the armor of God in order to defeat the devil. Part of that armour is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. ) These young believers have learned how to live for God by resisting the devil.
Dear Children are those that are immature in their faith. They know they are God's child but that is all they know and some feel its all they want to know. Have you ever met someone like that? I have. They want to be saved so they don't go to hell, but they still want to do what they want to do. They are not walking in the Light nor are they walking in Love. They may or may not attend church or bible study but even if they do..they think it is enough. The Word of God is like food. You need it daily in order to become strong and to grow in your faith.
John reminds the church in v.15-17 that they are not to love the world. He is talking about the world system here. The organized system headed by Satan which leaves God out and is in opposition to him. Read John 14:30 "satan is the prince of the world" 16:11 he is referred to as "prince of the world". Eph. 2:2 refers to before we were saved we followed the ways of the world. Gal. 6:14 says we are either for one system or the other. Again John tells us not to love the world and then he tells us of three different types of sin. The Lust of the flesh(sinful desires from within) Lust of the eyes (beautiful things) and the Pride of life(what you take pride in, what makes you feel superior to someone else) Satan tempted Eve in the garden of Eden and Jesus in the wilderness in these same three areas, and today Satan tempts us in the same way. I have heard it said that every sin we can commit falls under one of these three categories. Interesting...think about that. In verse 17 he tells us why we should not love the world...because these tings will pass away but whoever does the will of God will live forever.
READ 1 John 2:18-29
Remember in the church at that time false teachers had come in and the people were getting confused. There are false teachers in the church today that do the same. That is why it is so important that you study God's word so you know false teaching when you hear it.
When John refers to "dear children" he is referring to all of God's family. The last hour has been going on ever since Jesus left this earth. Anti-christ means either "against" or "an imitation". Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ, God in flesh, is the antichrist. John is saying in v. 19 that these people were people that were in the church professing to be Christians, they were baptized, took communion had all the outward signs. How can you tell if a person is really not a child of God? John says here that one way is they will eventually leave the assembly of believers and go right back into the world system. (2 Pet. 2:22) Even among the 12 disciples that followed Jesus and sat under his teaching was a traitor..a hypocrite.( Someone pretending to be something they are not.) His name was Judas. He was at the first communion service when Jesus washed the disciples feet. Jesus calls him a "devil" in John 6:70. See you can fool people sometimes but you can't fool God. He knows your every thought and your every intention. The bible says "be sure your sins will find you out". In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemos that if you want to have eternal life...you must be "born again". Are you born again? What does that mean anyhow?
Ask yourself the following questons:
1. Have you faced up to your sins in the light of the cross of Jesus Christ?
2. Have you come to God in repentance, acknowledging your sin? (repentance means turn from)
3. Have you cast yourself to Jesus and Jesus only for salvation? (you cannot ever be good enough without Jesus)
4. Is there evidence in your life that you are born again? (that your old sinful way of living, has died and now you live a new life in Christ) Gal. 6:15
5. Do you love the word of God, do you hunger for it as food?
6. Do you love the church (God's people)?
7. Do you love the Lord Jesus?
2 Corinthians 6:15 tells us to examine ourselves. I'm not talking about whether or not you commit a sin but what you do after you sin. Do you continue? We can have fellowship with God in spite of the fact that we are weak, and we have fallin short because of the blood of Jesus, God's son keeps cleansing us from sin. (1 John 1:9) He is our advocate. He is on our side. We can have fellowship with each other when we walk in Love. We must recognize that we are called to live differently than the world. We now live for God. Obedience is the test of life. We know whether we have eternal life or not if we keep His commandments.
We are not under the Law (OT) but under Grace (NT) God's Riches At Christs Expense is my favorite defination of grace.
Law says: If a man does he shall live
Grace says: If a man lives he will do.
God does it to you before He does it through you. We obey God because we are saved not because we want to be saved. You have to have a life from God before you can live for God.
You cannot have fellowship with God and other believers if you are living in sin. Proverbs 28:13. John said in John 10:27-28 "My sheep (children) know my voice and listen. We follow Him. He gives us eternal life and no one can snatch them out of his hand". I believe in the security of the believer, but I also believe in the insecurity of the make-believer.
John proceeds to tell the church that they (the true believers) have an annointing from the Holy One (Holy Spirit) and they know the truth. He proceeds to tell them to stick with the truth. To let it remain in them. Not to be decieved by false teachers. If you want to know if someone is teaching a false doctrine. Ask them who is Jesus Christ? If they say he is anyone other than God who came in flesh, as His only begotton Son...they are teaching a false doctrine. John is saying KNOW JESUS, KNOW GOD, NO JESUS, NO GOD. He proceeds to tell them that because they have the Holy Spirit they do not need anyone to teach them. John is not saying that we should not have teachers. Everyone needs to sit under good teachers. The Bible teaches in Ephesians that God gives the gift of teaching to certain people so they can teach. He is saying that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit will also remind them of what Jesus said (1 Cor. 2:14) The man w/o the Spirit will not understand the things of God they are foolishness to him.. We study and the Holy Spirit teaches. We need to know if what we hear/read is truth. (John 10:27) We need to test every teacher you hear or sit under, including me. Ask God is Robin teaching the truth? I have mentioned before that I enjoy J. Vernon McGee's teaching and often share with others what he teaches. When I read his commentary, the Spirit within me confirms his teaching and gives me understanding. If I don't agree with it or understand it, I don't repeat it. I depend on the Holy Spirit to confirm what to share and what not to share.
v. 28 Says that we are to abide in Him. To abide in Him means to walk in the Light and walk in Love because God is Light and God is Love.. Live like Christ is returning today so you will not be ashamed if he should. 2 Cor. 5:10 "says we shall stand in the presence of God someday and give account of our works here on earth".
It is one thing to testify that we know Christ and are in Him, it is another to have a life that reveals that he is our righteousness. John is telling us in v. 29 that the way we recognize other believers is by their lives not their lips. Righteousness is a family trait of the Father and His Children. Gods children take after their Father.
*Righteousness is someone in a right relationship with God through Christ that results in doing what is right.
I do hope you find my this blog helpful. If you have any questions feel free to comment or contact me at robinmartin3@hotmail.com.
And as always if you are interested in a Ladies Bible Study class, please join us on Tuesday evenings at Media Church in Oxford @7PM. All ladies are welcome. Check us out at http://www.mmchurch.org/
August 2nd I will be finishing the study on 1st John 5 - God is Life
READ 1st John 2:3-11
Last time we talked about God being Light and how important it is for Christians to walk in the Light in order to have fellowship with God. Now we are going to talk about God being Love and how important it is that Christians walk in Love in order to have fellowship with each other. Fellowship means having in common with or sharing with. Christian fellowship means sharing the things of Christ. Its God's desire that we have fellowship with Him and fellowship with one another in the church. Love is the main ingredient in this relationship. Remember the two greatest commandments God gave the NT church was to Love God and to Love others. Matthew 22:37.
In verse 3-4 of chapter two we are told that "we have come to know God if we obey His commandments. The man that says he knows God but does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him." In this section of scripture John is talking about assurance of salvation not security. Assurance of your salvation comes when you keep God's commandments. He is not talking about the Law here (10 commandments of OT) He is talking about his own family commandments that you find in the NT. The NT is full of commandments, things like carry each others burdens, rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, don't quench the Spirit,be patient,kind compassionate. ect. John is saying in order to have fellowship with God and enjoy it by having assurance in our hearts that we are his children we must keep His commandments. We do not do as we please but as Jesus commands. We know God by experience. If you walk in disobedience you do not know Him your life is a lie. Jesus said in John 8:29 that he always did what pleases the Father, Jesus always did but we don't but that should be our desire. John 3:36 says that he who believes has eternal life, but when we walk in obedience we have the assurance of that life. John 14:15 says if you love me keep my commandments. Because of our love for God we should want to go beyond the call of duty. Some people want to live as much as possible like the unsaved and still be a Christian. Often times folks ask me can I do this and still be a Christian? The question they should be asking is what can I do to please God?
What is your attitude toward sin? Do you take it lightly? I assure you God doesn't. He paid a high price so that your sins may be forgiven. When you sin do you cry out to God and ask for forgiveness? When you do God will restore your fellowship with Him and bring assurance to your heart. If we are going to walk in the Light we must walk as Jesus did. Live according to his teaching. Jesus never messed up but we do. When we mess up...admit it and quit it. We must walk in Love. This was not something new...the church had heard this many times before (John 13:34-35, John 15:10-12) and so have you. They had forgotten? Have you?
.
Take an inventory of yourself by asking yourself the following question.....Do you hate your brother? It is impossible for you to walk in the Light if you hate your brother. There is a natural darkness that we are all born into (Eph. 4:8, John 3:19)...that is what John means when he says we are walking in darkness if we hate our brother. We are not responsible for being born in darkness but we are responsible if we reject the Light that comes from the Word of God. When you walk in the Light the darkness flees. This is a test that John gives us to see if we are in darkness. John 8:12 "I am the light of the world whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life". Have you trusted Christ as your Savior and made Him Lord so that you don't hate your brother? (Brother here means your brothers and sisters in Christ. John is talking about your church family.)
READ 1 John 2:12-17
Here John changes the subject and talks about 3 different degrees of believers.
Fathers are the saints who have known Jesus for many years and have matured in their faith. Phil. 3:10 would describe these folk.
Young Men are not as mature as the fathers because of lack of experience but they have learned the secret of overcoming the enemy by the Blood of Christ and the Word of God.(Eph. 6:17 tell us that we have to put on the armor of God in order to defeat the devil. Part of that armour is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. ) These young believers have learned how to live for God by resisting the devil.
Dear Children are those that are immature in their faith. They know they are God's child but that is all they know and some feel its all they want to know. Have you ever met someone like that? I have. They want to be saved so they don't go to hell, but they still want to do what they want to do. They are not walking in the Light nor are they walking in Love. They may or may not attend church or bible study but even if they do..they think it is enough. The Word of God is like food. You need it daily in order to become strong and to grow in your faith.
John reminds the church in v.15-17 that they are not to love the world. He is talking about the world system here. The organized system headed by Satan which leaves God out and is in opposition to him. Read John 14:30 "satan is the prince of the world" 16:11 he is referred to as "prince of the world". Eph. 2:2 refers to before we were saved we followed the ways of the world. Gal. 6:14 says we are either for one system or the other. Again John tells us not to love the world and then he tells us of three different types of sin. The Lust of the flesh(sinful desires from within) Lust of the eyes (beautiful things) and the Pride of life(what you take pride in, what makes you feel superior to someone else) Satan tempted Eve in the garden of Eden and Jesus in the wilderness in these same three areas, and today Satan tempts us in the same way. I have heard it said that every sin we can commit falls under one of these three categories. Interesting...think about that. In verse 17 he tells us why we should not love the world...because these tings will pass away but whoever does the will of God will live forever.
READ 1 John 2:18-29
Remember in the church at that time false teachers had come in and the people were getting confused. There are false teachers in the church today that do the same. That is why it is so important that you study God's word so you know false teaching when you hear it.
When John refers to "dear children" he is referring to all of God's family. The last hour has been going on ever since Jesus left this earth. Anti-christ means either "against" or "an imitation". Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ, God in flesh, is the antichrist. John is saying in v. 19 that these people were people that were in the church professing to be Christians, they were baptized, took communion had all the outward signs. How can you tell if a person is really not a child of God? John says here that one way is they will eventually leave the assembly of believers and go right back into the world system. (2 Pet. 2:22) Even among the 12 disciples that followed Jesus and sat under his teaching was a traitor..a hypocrite.( Someone pretending to be something they are not.) His name was Judas. He was at the first communion service when Jesus washed the disciples feet. Jesus calls him a "devil" in John 6:70. See you can fool people sometimes but you can't fool God. He knows your every thought and your every intention. The bible says "be sure your sins will find you out". In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemos that if you want to have eternal life...you must be "born again". Are you born again? What does that mean anyhow?
Ask yourself the following questons:
1. Have you faced up to your sins in the light of the cross of Jesus Christ?
2. Have you come to God in repentance, acknowledging your sin? (repentance means turn from)
3. Have you cast yourself to Jesus and Jesus only for salvation? (you cannot ever be good enough without Jesus)
4. Is there evidence in your life that you are born again? (that your old sinful way of living, has died and now you live a new life in Christ) Gal. 6:15
5. Do you love the word of God, do you hunger for it as food?
6. Do you love the church (God's people)?
7. Do you love the Lord Jesus?
2 Corinthians 6:15 tells us to examine ourselves. I'm not talking about whether or not you commit a sin but what you do after you sin. Do you continue? We can have fellowship with God in spite of the fact that we are weak, and we have fallin short because of the blood of Jesus, God's son keeps cleansing us from sin. (1 John 1:9) He is our advocate. He is on our side. We can have fellowship with each other when we walk in Love. We must recognize that we are called to live differently than the world. We now live for God. Obedience is the test of life. We know whether we have eternal life or not if we keep His commandments.
We are not under the Law (OT) but under Grace (NT) God's Riches At Christs Expense is my favorite defination of grace.
Law says: If a man does he shall live
Grace says: If a man lives he will do.
God does it to you before He does it through you. We obey God because we are saved not because we want to be saved. You have to have a life from God before you can live for God.
You cannot have fellowship with God and other believers if you are living in sin. Proverbs 28:13. John said in John 10:27-28 "My sheep (children) know my voice and listen. We follow Him. He gives us eternal life and no one can snatch them out of his hand". I believe in the security of the believer, but I also believe in the insecurity of the make-believer.
John proceeds to tell the church that they (the true believers) have an annointing from the Holy One (Holy Spirit) and they know the truth. He proceeds to tell them to stick with the truth. To let it remain in them. Not to be decieved by false teachers. If you want to know if someone is teaching a false doctrine. Ask them who is Jesus Christ? If they say he is anyone other than God who came in flesh, as His only begotton Son...they are teaching a false doctrine. John is saying KNOW JESUS, KNOW GOD, NO JESUS, NO GOD. He proceeds to tell them that because they have the Holy Spirit they do not need anyone to teach them. John is not saying that we should not have teachers. Everyone needs to sit under good teachers. The Bible teaches in Ephesians that God gives the gift of teaching to certain people so they can teach. He is saying that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit will also remind them of what Jesus said (1 Cor. 2:14) The man w/o the Spirit will not understand the things of God they are foolishness to him.. We study and the Holy Spirit teaches. We need to know if what we hear/read is truth. (John 10:27) We need to test every teacher you hear or sit under, including me. Ask God is Robin teaching the truth? I have mentioned before that I enjoy J. Vernon McGee's teaching and often share with others what he teaches. When I read his commentary, the Spirit within me confirms his teaching and gives me understanding. If I don't agree with it or understand it, I don't repeat it. I depend on the Holy Spirit to confirm what to share and what not to share.
v. 28 Says that we are to abide in Him. To abide in Him means to walk in the Light and walk in Love because God is Light and God is Love.. Live like Christ is returning today so you will not be ashamed if he should. 2 Cor. 5:10 "says we shall stand in the presence of God someday and give account of our works here on earth".
It is one thing to testify that we know Christ and are in Him, it is another to have a life that reveals that he is our righteousness. John is telling us in v. 29 that the way we recognize other believers is by their lives not their lips. Righteousness is a family trait of the Father and His Children. Gods children take after their Father.
*Righteousness is someone in a right relationship with God through Christ that results in doing what is right.
I do hope you find my this blog helpful. If you have any questions feel free to comment or contact me at robinmartin3@hotmail.com.
And as always if you are interested in a Ladies Bible Study class, please join us on Tuesday evenings at Media Church in Oxford @7PM. All ladies are welcome. Check us out at http://www.mmchurch.org/
August 2nd I will be finishing the study on 1st John 5 - God is Life
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
1st John Chapter 1 - 2:2
John writes this letter to remind the church how important it is to know the TRUTH, and to walk in the LIGHT and to LOVE one another. He does so because anti-christs are promoting false views of Jesus Christ. As we work through this book together, I hope you realize how much God loves you and wants you to fight sin, to love others and to believe in the true Jesus for salvation (forgiveness of sins/eternal life).
GOD IS LIGHT
How can we have fellowship with God?
a. By Walking in the Light
b. By Confessing Sin
c. By the advocacy of Christ
1 John 1: 1-4
John begins this letter by giving his creditials. He reminds the church that he is a reliable witness to what he is telling them. John heard with his ears, he did not rely on others speculations or opinions, he literally seen Jesus with his own eyes, today we see him through eyes of faith. "Though you have not seen him you love him and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." (1 Peter 1:8) John is saying that now we look to Jesus in faith for salvation. After that we are to gaze upon him. Thats's what studying this book will help us to do. We need to do more than just look to him for salvation, we need to spend time gazing upon him with the eye of faith in order to be the women that God desires us to be..Oaks of Righteousness a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. John is proclaiming to us eternal life? What is eternal life? It is the person of Jesus Christ. You either have Christ or you don't. You either trust Him or you don't. If you trust Him you have eternal life. The question you should ask yourself is do you have eternal life?
In verse 3 John again tells us what he has seen and heard. This must be very important for him to repeat this 3 x's in 3 verses. He tells us what he has seen and heard so that we can have "fellowship" with God and with the church (the body of Christ, true believers). God is holy and we are not. We are unholy because of sin in our lives. This separation between God and man must be bridged so that we can have fellowship with Him. What does John mean by "fellowship"? This word in the greek is "koinonia" means having in common or sharing with. Christian fellowship means sharing the things of Christ. To do this we must know Jesus, not just know about Jesus, but know him as our personal Savior. We talk together about His Word, faith issues and our fellowship is with both the Father and the Son. When we are experiencing fellowship with God though Christ we will have complete (abundant) JOY. Fellowship with God is taking communion, praying, giving is an act of fellowship with God. Are you experiencing joy in your life? If not why? Are you in fellowship with God? If not why? Do you have one foot in the world and the other in the church? If so maybe this is why you are not experiencing life the way God intended it.
Verses 5- 10
God is Light and it is important that we walk in the Light. This is a problem because God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all. What does God is Light mean?
1. When you turn on the light darkness flees. When John says God is Light he is referring to His glory, the radiance, the beauty and the wonders of God.
2. Another characteristic of light is that it is self-revealing. Light reveals flaws and impurities. Light reveals dirt. Our sins are before God because He is Light. "secret sin down here is an open scandal in heaven."
3. Light also speaks of the purity of God. God is pure..he moves w/o making a shadow.
4. Light is a great cleanser...the sun is a natural whitener.
5. Light also guides men....it points out the path and gives courage to go on.
Darkness is the opposite of Light....it is hostile to the light. The light and holiness of God are in direct conflict with the evil darkness of the world and in rebellion against God. God has made it clear that He finds no good in man. Romans 7:8, Romans 3:10 "there is no one righteous no not one" So what do we do in order to have fellowship with God? There are 3 ways in which man has attempted to do this:
1. Reduce God to mans level - alot of people claim to have fellowship with God but in reality they do not at all. Why? Because they are not walking in the Light. They lie and do not live by the truth. When you have fellowship with God you walk in the Light and if there is sin in your life you are not walking with him. You cannot bring God down to your level. Verse 7 says "if" we walk in the Light that is according to God's word, notice that the cleansing of the blood depends upon us walking in the Light. Have we come into the presence of God and allowed the Word of God to shine upon our sinful hearts? It is possible to walk in darkness and think you are alright. John says in verse 8 that if we say we have fellowship with God but are walking in sin we are lying. (Johns words not mine) People today want to make excuses for sin in their lives try to explain it away, (nobody's perfect, ev'one is doing it, its human nature) but if you are living in sin, God will not have fellowship with you. Now if you are a child of God and are living in sin and now see it in the light of God's word what do you do? When the Light reveals dirt you wash it off. John says "And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" This is family truth...if you are a child of God and have sin in your life and don't confess and repent of it, God is going to treat you like a disobedient child. He will punish you.(Hebrews 12) You cannot bring God down to your level. It doesn't work but many folks try to do it. This brings us to the 2nd way we attempt to have fellowship with God that does not work.
2. Bring man up to God's level - verse 8 says "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Some Christians think they are perfect. That they never sin. They think they have already attained and are sinless. Christians should sin less and less as they grow in their relationship with Christ but will never be sinless so if you think you are you are deceiving yourself. You cannot ever in this world be good enough on our own merit to have fellowship with God. Since you cannot bring God down to your level and you can never reach his level, what are you going to do? John tells us in verse 9
3. Confess Sins - "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness". This is the right method of bringing together sinful man and a holy God..confession of sins. Confession means agreeing with God what he already knows. When you confess your sins you turn from them. You agree with God what you have done is sin and God hates sin and so should you ..v 10 says if we say we havn't sinned we are a liar..lets not lie, lets just go to God and talk about it...he has made a wonderful way for us to get back in fellowship with Him.
1 John 2:1
We have Fellowship with God by the Advocacy of Christ.
John does not say we cannot sin, but he is writing to us that we may not sin. " But if anyone does sin we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense...Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
I want to end this lesson by saying that if you Believe that Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God who came in flesh, born of a virgin, lived and died, shed his blood, for the sins of the world. He not only died but he rose again, ascended into heaven and is at the right hand of the Father interceeding on our behalf and if you have Received this gift of salvation by Admitting you are a sinner and need a Savior and have confessed and Repented of your sins and were Baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as recorded in Acts 2:38-41 than you are a child of God and have the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. Praise the Lord!!!
You are now in God's family and your relationship with God is all important. We need to have fellowship with Him. We need to grow in our faith...stop taking sin in our lives lightly, but when we do sin we repent and we are forgiven because of Jesus Christ the righteous one ...he is our advocate...He stands in the gap between God and mankind. Jesus shed his blood for not only my sins but your sins too.
In Chapter one of 1st John we discussed God Is Light and what it means to walk in the Light. I hope you have found this helpful. In the next blog we will discuss God is Love and what it means to walk in Love.
Again I want to mention that alot of what I am sharing I discovered from a Bible Commentary written by J. Vernon McGee who went to be with the Lord in 1988...but his teaching continues....To God be the Glory!
As always if you have any questions feel free to comment or contact me at robinmartin3@hotmail.com
Joyfully Serving Jesus
Robin
GOD IS LIGHT
How can we have fellowship with God?
a. By Walking in the Light
b. By Confessing Sin
c. By the advocacy of Christ
1 John 1: 1-4
John begins this letter by giving his creditials. He reminds the church that he is a reliable witness to what he is telling them. John heard with his ears, he did not rely on others speculations or opinions, he literally seen Jesus with his own eyes, today we see him through eyes of faith. "Though you have not seen him you love him and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." (1 Peter 1:8) John is saying that now we look to Jesus in faith for salvation. After that we are to gaze upon him. Thats's what studying this book will help us to do. We need to do more than just look to him for salvation, we need to spend time gazing upon him with the eye of faith in order to be the women that God desires us to be..Oaks of Righteousness a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. John is proclaiming to us eternal life? What is eternal life? It is the person of Jesus Christ. You either have Christ or you don't. You either trust Him or you don't. If you trust Him you have eternal life. The question you should ask yourself is do you have eternal life?
In verse 3 John again tells us what he has seen and heard. This must be very important for him to repeat this 3 x's in 3 verses. He tells us what he has seen and heard so that we can have "fellowship" with God and with the church (the body of Christ, true believers). God is holy and we are not. We are unholy because of sin in our lives. This separation between God and man must be bridged so that we can have fellowship with Him. What does John mean by "fellowship"? This word in the greek is "koinonia" means having in common or sharing with. Christian fellowship means sharing the things of Christ. To do this we must know Jesus, not just know about Jesus, but know him as our personal Savior. We talk together about His Word, faith issues and our fellowship is with both the Father and the Son. When we are experiencing fellowship with God though Christ we will have complete (abundant) JOY. Fellowship with God is taking communion, praying, giving is an act of fellowship with God. Are you experiencing joy in your life? If not why? Are you in fellowship with God? If not why? Do you have one foot in the world and the other in the church? If so maybe this is why you are not experiencing life the way God intended it.
Verses 5- 10
God is Light and it is important that we walk in the Light. This is a problem because God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all. What does God is Light mean?
1. When you turn on the light darkness flees. When John says God is Light he is referring to His glory, the radiance, the beauty and the wonders of God.
2. Another characteristic of light is that it is self-revealing. Light reveals flaws and impurities. Light reveals dirt. Our sins are before God because He is Light. "secret sin down here is an open scandal in heaven."
3. Light also speaks of the purity of God. God is pure..he moves w/o making a shadow.
4. Light is a great cleanser...the sun is a natural whitener.
5. Light also guides men....it points out the path and gives courage to go on.
Darkness is the opposite of Light....it is hostile to the light. The light and holiness of God are in direct conflict with the evil darkness of the world and in rebellion against God. God has made it clear that He finds no good in man. Romans 7:8, Romans 3:10 "there is no one righteous no not one" So what do we do in order to have fellowship with God? There are 3 ways in which man has attempted to do this:
1. Reduce God to mans level - alot of people claim to have fellowship with God but in reality they do not at all. Why? Because they are not walking in the Light. They lie and do not live by the truth. When you have fellowship with God you walk in the Light and if there is sin in your life you are not walking with him. You cannot bring God down to your level. Verse 7 says "if" we walk in the Light that is according to God's word, notice that the cleansing of the blood depends upon us walking in the Light. Have we come into the presence of God and allowed the Word of God to shine upon our sinful hearts? It is possible to walk in darkness and think you are alright. John says in verse 8 that if we say we have fellowship with God but are walking in sin we are lying. (Johns words not mine) People today want to make excuses for sin in their lives try to explain it away, (nobody's perfect, ev'one is doing it, its human nature) but if you are living in sin, God will not have fellowship with you. Now if you are a child of God and are living in sin and now see it in the light of God's word what do you do? When the Light reveals dirt you wash it off. John says "And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" This is family truth...if you are a child of God and have sin in your life and don't confess and repent of it, God is going to treat you like a disobedient child. He will punish you.(Hebrews 12) You cannot bring God down to your level. It doesn't work but many folks try to do it. This brings us to the 2nd way we attempt to have fellowship with God that does not work.
2. Bring man up to God's level - verse 8 says "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Some Christians think they are perfect. That they never sin. They think they have already attained and are sinless. Christians should sin less and less as they grow in their relationship with Christ but will never be sinless so if you think you are you are deceiving yourself. You cannot ever in this world be good enough on our own merit to have fellowship with God. Since you cannot bring God down to your level and you can never reach his level, what are you going to do? John tells us in verse 9
3. Confess Sins - "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness". This is the right method of bringing together sinful man and a holy God..confession of sins. Confession means agreeing with God what he already knows. When you confess your sins you turn from them. You agree with God what you have done is sin and God hates sin and so should you ..v 10 says if we say we havn't sinned we are a liar..lets not lie, lets just go to God and talk about it...he has made a wonderful way for us to get back in fellowship with Him.
1 John 2:1
We have Fellowship with God by the Advocacy of Christ.
John does not say we cannot sin, but he is writing to us that we may not sin. " But if anyone does sin we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense...Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
I want to end this lesson by saying that if you Believe that Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God who came in flesh, born of a virgin, lived and died, shed his blood, for the sins of the world. He not only died but he rose again, ascended into heaven and is at the right hand of the Father interceeding on our behalf and if you have Received this gift of salvation by Admitting you are a sinner and need a Savior and have confessed and Repented of your sins and were Baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as recorded in Acts 2:38-41 than you are a child of God and have the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. Praise the Lord!!!
You are now in God's family and your relationship with God is all important. We need to have fellowship with Him. We need to grow in our faith...stop taking sin in our lives lightly, but when we do sin we repent and we are forgiven because of Jesus Christ the righteous one ...he is our advocate...He stands in the gap between God and mankind. Jesus shed his blood for not only my sins but your sins too.
In Chapter one of 1st John we discussed God Is Light and what it means to walk in the Light. I hope you have found this helpful. In the next blog we will discuss God is Love and what it means to walk in Love.
Again I want to mention that alot of what I am sharing I discovered from a Bible Commentary written by J. Vernon McGee who went to be with the Lord in 1988...but his teaching continues....To God be the Glory!
As always if you have any questions feel free to comment or contact me at robinmartin3@hotmail.com
Joyfully Serving Jesus
Robin
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
1st John Introduction
An Apostolic Letter written by John, one of the twelve disciples. He is credited for writing the Gospel of John, 1st, 2nd, 3rd John and the book of Revelation. John is the only apostle that lived a long life and died a natural death, all of the other apostles were martyrs of the faith. John was also one of the three disciples that were in Jesus's inner circle of friends along with Peter and James. So you could say that John knew what he was talking about. He had first-hand experience.
To understand this letter one must understand some of the things that were going on in the "church" at this time that John was addressing in this letter. There are four important factors which prevailed in the "church" and throughout the Roman world.
1. People were comfortable with Christianity. Many believers were children and grandchildren of the 1st generation Christians. The excitement of the first days had faded. In the first days the believers had a love and a passion for Christ but this was not now the case. Jesus had warned of this in Matt. 24:12 "because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold...but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
Many years later when John wrote in a letter to the church in Ephesus he wrote in Revelation 2:4 "I hold this against you...you have forsaken your first love..remember the height from which you have fallen and repent" You could say that these people had forsaken their first love. They needed to repent (turn from their sin) and follow God. We will discover in this letter that Loving God means Obeying God.
2. The high standards of the early Christians in the church made the Christians different from those around them and the next generation of believers did not want to be different. Believers were called "saints" (set apart for the sole use of God) in the early church. The Christians of this time were "copycat" Christians programed by the computer of compromise. They were cast from a different mold than the followers to whom Jesus said in John 15:19 "If you belong to the world it would love you as its own, as it is, you do not belong to the world but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you". In John 17:14 "I have given them your word and the world has hated them for they are not of this world anymore than I am of this world". There was a breakdown of morals and a desregard for the word of God.
3. Persecution was not the enemy of Christianity as it was in the early years. The danger to the church was not persecution from the outside but seduction from the inside. Again no surprise. Jesus had warned of this in Matt. 24:24 "for false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect if that were possible...see I have told you ahead of time". Paul warns of this in Acts 20:29-30 "I know that after I leave savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them...so be on guard."
Christianity was not in danger of being destroyed but of being changed,. The attempt was being made to "improve it" Give it intellect and respectability and let it speak in the terms of popular ideas.
4. The "salvage wolves" Paul was referring to, had come to the church through a group of people who taught Gnosticism (a mixture of Judaism, Christianity and Greek mystery religions) They claimed to have special knowledge in addition to the knowledge of the apostles and early disciples of Christ. Some of what they taught was: All matter and material was evil, only the spirit is good, therefore they despised the body. All of them denied Jesus as the Christ. They denied that Jesus was born of a virgin. God would not come through a body because the body was evil. (John 1:14 says the WORD (Jesus) became flesh and made His dwelling among us. ) They taught that Jesus did not have a body, he just looked like he did. When he walked he left no footprints. They taught that Jesus was completely human until his baptism then he was divine but it left him at the cross. (1st John 4:2-3 tells us how to recognize false prophets by saying "every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God".) They also taught that Salvation is the escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ but by "super knowledge" which of course they had.
As I read over these problems in the church at that time, I realized not much has changed. These problems are still in the church today. Many "Christians" are comfortable with Christianity and take their faith for granted. They are not willing to "stretch" theirselves and get out of their comfort zone and generally speaking cannot be differentiated from other "good" people. They are "copycat" Christians who go to church and imitate everyone else. False teaching runs rampant in many "Christian" churches today. Many teach that there are many ways to God. That the way you live isn't important and the Bible is not the truth among other things. Having said that.... they are many good, bible believing churches in America. God always has a "faithful" remnant of true believers. Your job is to find one and grow in your relationship to God through Christ. I do not know where I would be today if it wasn't for my church family.
In addtion to addressing the errors of this false religion, John gives 5 reasons why he wrote the book of 1st John. So that we can have fellowship with God and the church (1John 1:3). So that we can experience joy (1John 1:4). So that we do not (practice) sin (1John 2:1). So that we can "know" that we have eternal life (1John 5:13). So that we believe in the name of the Son of God, Jesus (1John 5:13)
What does it mean to have "fellowship" with God? Do you "know" that you have eternal life? Who is this Jesus anyway? (Continue with me through this study and you will find out)
These letters are often referred to as "family" epistles. The church is a body of believers in a postion where we are blessed with all spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Jesus Christ. (Eph. 1:3). We are given that position when we hear the message of Jesus Christ and believe. Believing brings us into the family of God, which results in repenting of our sins, and being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38) We have a relationship with God and with each other which can be broken (2 Cor. 2:7-8, 1 Cor. 5:11, Matt. 18:15-18, 2 Thess. 3:14) but restored when we confess our sins. (1 John 1:9) "When we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
I like to say we Admit it and Quit it! Confession is agreeing with God that what we did was wrong, and choosing to do right. God knows our heart and our intentions and he forgives our sins. We may be able to fool each other but we cannot fool God.
In 1st John there are three definitions of God:
a. God is Light - 1 John 1:5
b. God is Love - 1 John 4:8
c. God is Life - 1 John 5:12
The word Love appears at least 33x's and the word Sin appears at least 27 x's. Both words very important in the Christian Life. Because of God's great love for us..while we were still sinners God loved the world so much that he sent His only begotton Son, Jesus, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. (Romans 5:8, John 3:16) The book of 1st John begins and ends with the theme of eternal life.
In this study we will be reminded of the basics of Christianity. We will be reminded of what God intended the Christian life to look like. In 2 Corinthians 13:5 we are told to "examine" ourselves to see if we are in the faith. We will have many opportunities to do this as we study together. I believe in the "security" of the believer but I also believe in the "insecurity" of the make-believer. Which one are you?
I encourage anyone that has any questions or comments to feel free to connect with me on this blog or privately at robinmartin3@hotmail.com I look forward to learning together.
Joyfully Serving Jesus
Robin Martin
*alot of what I will be sharing, I have learned from a documentary written by J. Vernon McGee. It is my understanding that he is in the presence of our Savior but his teaching goes on. To God be the Glory!!
To understand this letter one must understand some of the things that were going on in the "church" at this time that John was addressing in this letter. There are four important factors which prevailed in the "church" and throughout the Roman world.
1. People were comfortable with Christianity. Many believers were children and grandchildren of the 1st generation Christians. The excitement of the first days had faded. In the first days the believers had a love and a passion for Christ but this was not now the case. Jesus had warned of this in Matt. 24:12 "because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold...but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
Many years later when John wrote in a letter to the church in Ephesus he wrote in Revelation 2:4 "I hold this against you...you have forsaken your first love..remember the height from which you have fallen and repent" You could say that these people had forsaken their first love. They needed to repent (turn from their sin) and follow God. We will discover in this letter that Loving God means Obeying God.
2. The high standards of the early Christians in the church made the Christians different from those around them and the next generation of believers did not want to be different. Believers were called "saints" (set apart for the sole use of God) in the early church. The Christians of this time were "copycat" Christians programed by the computer of compromise. They were cast from a different mold than the followers to whom Jesus said in John 15:19 "If you belong to the world it would love you as its own, as it is, you do not belong to the world but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you". In John 17:14 "I have given them your word and the world has hated them for they are not of this world anymore than I am of this world". There was a breakdown of morals and a desregard for the word of God.
3. Persecution was not the enemy of Christianity as it was in the early years. The danger to the church was not persecution from the outside but seduction from the inside. Again no surprise. Jesus had warned of this in Matt. 24:24 "for false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect if that were possible...see I have told you ahead of time". Paul warns of this in Acts 20:29-30 "I know that after I leave savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them...so be on guard."
Christianity was not in danger of being destroyed but of being changed,. The attempt was being made to "improve it" Give it intellect and respectability and let it speak in the terms of popular ideas.
4. The "salvage wolves" Paul was referring to, had come to the church through a group of people who taught Gnosticism (a mixture of Judaism, Christianity and Greek mystery religions) They claimed to have special knowledge in addition to the knowledge of the apostles and early disciples of Christ. Some of what they taught was: All matter and material was evil, only the spirit is good, therefore they despised the body. All of them denied Jesus as the Christ. They denied that Jesus was born of a virgin. God would not come through a body because the body was evil. (John 1:14 says the WORD (Jesus) became flesh and made His dwelling among us. ) They taught that Jesus did not have a body, he just looked like he did. When he walked he left no footprints. They taught that Jesus was completely human until his baptism then he was divine but it left him at the cross. (1st John 4:2-3 tells us how to recognize false prophets by saying "every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God".) They also taught that Salvation is the escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ but by "super knowledge" which of course they had.
As I read over these problems in the church at that time, I realized not much has changed. These problems are still in the church today. Many "Christians" are comfortable with Christianity and take their faith for granted. They are not willing to "stretch" theirselves and get out of their comfort zone and generally speaking cannot be differentiated from other "good" people. They are "copycat" Christians who go to church and imitate everyone else. False teaching runs rampant in many "Christian" churches today. Many teach that there are many ways to God. That the way you live isn't important and the Bible is not the truth among other things. Having said that.... they are many good, bible believing churches in America. God always has a "faithful" remnant of true believers. Your job is to find one and grow in your relationship to God through Christ. I do not know where I would be today if it wasn't for my church family.
In addtion to addressing the errors of this false religion, John gives 5 reasons why he wrote the book of 1st John. So that we can have fellowship with God and the church (1John 1:3). So that we can experience joy (1John 1:4). So that we do not (practice) sin (1John 2:1). So that we can "know" that we have eternal life (1John 5:13). So that we believe in the name of the Son of God, Jesus (1John 5:13)
What does it mean to have "fellowship" with God? Do you "know" that you have eternal life? Who is this Jesus anyway? (Continue with me through this study and you will find out)
These letters are often referred to as "family" epistles. The church is a body of believers in a postion where we are blessed with all spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Jesus Christ. (Eph. 1:3). We are given that position when we hear the message of Jesus Christ and believe. Believing brings us into the family of God, which results in repenting of our sins, and being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38) We have a relationship with God and with each other which can be broken (2 Cor. 2:7-8, 1 Cor. 5:11, Matt. 18:15-18, 2 Thess. 3:14) but restored when we confess our sins. (1 John 1:9) "When we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
I like to say we Admit it and Quit it! Confession is agreeing with God that what we did was wrong, and choosing to do right. God knows our heart and our intentions and he forgives our sins. We may be able to fool each other but we cannot fool God.
In 1st John there are three definitions of God:
a. God is Light - 1 John 1:5
b. God is Love - 1 John 4:8
c. God is Life - 1 John 5:12
The word Love appears at least 33x's and the word Sin appears at least 27 x's. Both words very important in the Christian Life. Because of God's great love for us..while we were still sinners God loved the world so much that he sent His only begotton Son, Jesus, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. (Romans 5:8, John 3:16) The book of 1st John begins and ends with the theme of eternal life.
In this study we will be reminded of the basics of Christianity. We will be reminded of what God intended the Christian life to look like. In 2 Corinthians 13:5 we are told to "examine" ourselves to see if we are in the faith. We will have many opportunities to do this as we study together. I believe in the "security" of the believer but I also believe in the "insecurity" of the make-believer. Which one are you?
I encourage anyone that has any questions or comments to feel free to connect with me on this blog or privately at robinmartin3@hotmail.com I look forward to learning together.
Joyfully Serving Jesus
Robin Martin
*alot of what I will be sharing, I have learned from a documentary written by J. Vernon McGee. It is my understanding that he is in the presence of our Savior but his teaching goes on. To God be the Glory!!
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