Christian?

 

What is a Christian? – evidence presented by the Apostle John

Please read 1 John through to follow my summary.

1.    Eternal life is found in Jesus Christ alone.

John identifies true believers as those living in the light.

The light of God’s presence exposes sin (see John 3:19), but it also show God’s remedy for sin – “the blood of Jesus Christ , His Son, cleanses us from every sin”.

The evidence – a true Christian will own up to the presence of sin, confess it and trust in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ the Lord for forgiveness.

 

2 ..John identifies the problem of hypocrisy – claiming to belong to God but not living in the truth.

Genuine life from God (new birth) is seen in the way a believer lives. That means, obeying God’s word and living as Christ lived.

      Next he compares light and darkness. Those living in the light will renounce hate for others, and recognise satan as a deceiving enemy. The believer will choose to love, and to have God’s word living in their heart.  This narrow path is the opposite to following the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life. It is a path of fellowship with God the Father.

         The road of life encounters enemies – enemies of Christ..ie  antichrist.

     The evidence of belonging to God is the active presence of the Holy Spirit, providing truth and understanding. He gives understanding about who Jesus really is – Jesus the Saviour, the Messiah (Christ), the Son. More than doctrinal correctness, this is real fellowship with the Father and the Son.

 

3 .. Fellowship with God dispels fear and ignites living hope. This includes the return of the living Lord Jesus – to see Him and be like Him.

The evidence of this hope will be pure living. Like as Christ is pure. True believers can’t keep on sinning because they have been born of God.

   God’s commands are not excluded, but the believer is given power to live with the higher, highest motive – love (God’s kind of love). Just as God has loved, giving His only Son for us, so we should love one another in practical ways.(not just words)

Two vital evidences are connected – Believing in the Name of God’s Son and loving one another.

4 … Danger signs arise again and the real and the false are identified by their belief about Jesus. Some deny that Jesus was a real man – this is error. By the Holy Spirit, the genuine believer knows who Jesus really is.

      A short summary  –

       no love- not connected to God

       God’s love is evidenced by Him sending His only Son to be the sacrifice to take away our sins.   

        The believer’s love to others is to be the evidence of God’s love in us.

5 …This world has temptations, a world of enemies, a world of error. The evidence of being a child of God is seen in the victory gained by faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

    This is real life “Whoever has the Son, has life”.

 

Thus the believer can be sure of having eternal life-  not presumption. It is not confidence in self, church, ceremony, ritual.

It is confidence in God’s love, shown by His grace providing a rescue mission sufficient to bring us right into God’s family, and finally to be transformed into the likeness of His Son.

 

   John the witness and Apostle of Christ, concludes his letter with powerful positive statements:

1.    5:18 “We know that those who have become part of God’s family do not make a practice of sinning.”

2.   5:19  “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.”

3.   5:20 “We know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us understanding so that we can know the true God.”

“Now we are in God, because we are in His Son. He is the only true God , and He is eternal life.” (NLT)

 

John has given us the evidences of a genuine believer, a child of God. Now it is for us to look into this mirror and decide before God are we really a child in God’s family or not?

 

All the praise be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

johnmckee@internode.on.net