Believe, Obey, and Love

1 John 5:1-12

March 1, 2009 – ©Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes

Introduction

A third-grade teacher called nine-year-old Mark’s mother one afternoon. She told the mother that she was surprised because Mark had done something that she had never seen before. The mother began to worry. The teacher said that in a creative writing lesson, she told the story of the ant and the grass-hopper. “The ant works hard all summer and stores up plenty of food. But the grasshopper plays all summer and does no work. When winter comes the grasshopper begins to starve because he has no food. So he begs the ant to share his food with him.” Then the children have to finish the story.

Mark asked if he could draw a picture. The teacher said he could after he wrote the ending to the story. She said that most of the students say that the ant shared his food through the winter and both lived. Some say that the ant doesn’t share because he has only enough for himself and the grasshopper wasn’t wise enough to store up food. So the ant lived and the grasshopper died. Mark, however, wrote that the ant gave all of his food to the grasshopper; the grasshopper lived through the winter and the ant died. And at the bottom of his page, Mark had drawn 3 crosses.” [PreachingToday.com, “Parable of Christ’s Sacrifice”].

This 9-year-old heard in the story of the ant and the grasshopper, the story of what Jesus did for us. He understood the cross.

First John is a response to believers who were being lead astray by false teachers, people who were denying the truth of what Jesus had done on the cross. In each chapter John repeats what he sees as essentials of the faith.

· Chapter 1 says that sin is disobedience to God. To obey Christ is to walk in the light.

· Chapter 2 says that Christ died for our sins. Those who know Christ will obey his command to love others as he loved them.

· Chapter 3 says sin is lawlessness—disobedience to God. Children of God obey God and live in love with one another. And we must “believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ” [1Jn.3:23].

· Chapter 4 proclaims that God is love. God’s love is seen in Jesus’ death on a cross for our sins. So we should live in love with others.

Obey and Love

First John 5:1-3 brings these ideas together. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.”

When we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, we become God’s children. The proof that we are God’s children is that we obey God. God has commanded us to love one another. Those who follow Jesus will believe, obey, and love.

Obeying God’s command to love one another isn’t hard for those who have experienced the amazing love of God in their lives. They obey God gladly and willingly because of God’s great love for them.

The people who don’t know God can’t understand how Christians can love the unlovable, the enemy, the unloving. The world does not understand love that is sacrificial, unconditional and eternal. But because we believe in Jesus Christ, and have been transformed by his love, we can love as he loved us. Love for one another is the proof that we are his disciples.

Believe

It is one thing to obey God and love others. But what does it really mean to “believe” in Jesus?

John wrote that God’s children are those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. [1Jn.5:5]. John went on to say: “This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood.” [v.6].

Jesus’ baptism speaks of his coming by water. It was the beginning of his public ministry. It validated his identity since the Father proclaimed, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” [Mt. 3:17]. Jesus is the Son of God.

From then on Jesus went about the region telling people about God and the kingdom of God. He showed them the power and love of God by healing people, casting out demons, raising the dead, and forgiving their sins.

However, if this is all we believe about Jesus, his baptism and ministry, then we don’t really know Jesus. Jesus’ first baptism was with water, but he spoke of a second baptism yet to come.

“I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!” [Lk.12:50]. That baptism was his suffering and death on the cross.

Mark’s gospel tells us that when Jesus died one of the centurions standing guard at the cross said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” [Mk.15:39].

John was there, at the cross. John was also an eye witness to Jesus ministry for three years. John was one of the three who heard God’s voice on top of a mountain say, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.” [Mt.17:5]. John testified to the truth that Jesus is God’s Son.

John also said in verses 6-8, “And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”

In 1 John 4:1-3, John told his readers not to believe every spirit, but to test the spirits to see if they’re from God. The Spirit of God will always speak truth. So those who have the Holy Spirit will speak the truth of who Jesus Christ is. Those who “have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son” make God to be a liar by not believing the truth of Jesus Christ. [v.10].

John wanted to make sure they understood that to believe Jesus was the Son of God was to believe that he was more than his ministry. Without Jesus’ death on a cross his ministry was powerless. Jesus’ baptism was not a baptism merely by water. His was a baptism by water and blood.

The story is told of an elderly woman who was near death. The family and friends had gathered around her bed, to watch and wait. Then a traveling revival preacher, who had heard about her, knocked on her door. He went to her bed and took hold of her hand. Weakly, she opened her eyes and said to him, “Who are you? I don’t know you.” The preacher patted her hand and said, “They tell me that you don’t have much time left. You are near death now, and I have come to forgive your sins and to get you ready to meet your Maker.” The elderly woman suddenly sat up in bed and said to the preacher, “Let me see your hands.” She took a quick look at his hands; then firmly said, “You sir, are an imposter!” A second time she said, “You sir are an imposter!” Then she added, “Only that one with nailprints in his hands can forgive my sins! Only one with nailprints in his hands can get me ready to meet my Maker.” [James W. Moore, The Top Ten List for Christians (Nashville, TN: Dimensions for Living, 1999) 41-42].

That woman believed in Jesus. Only the One who had been nailed to the cross for her sake could forgive her sins. Jesus alone could save her.

God “sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” [1Jn.4:10]. If we do not believe that Jesus has died for our sins, we deny the work of God. To reject the cross is to reject God.

Only when we believe that Jesus has died for our sins, can we receive God’s gift of eternal life. If we don’t believe Jesus’ death took our sins away, then we will die in our sins.

Live

If a person needs a heart transplant, they have to wait for a new heart to become available. When a new heart becomes available they have to be willing to receive it. Only then can they experience new life. However, for them to know the joy of life, someone has to die. For one to live, another has to die. The same thing happened with Jesus. For us to live, Christ had to die. [PreachingToday.com, “Life Requires Death”].

John wrote in verses 11-12, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

The cross is necessary for us to live. Nine-year-old Mark knew that the gift of life for us comes through the cross. The elderly woman who was dying knew that only Jesus, who had gone to the cross for her sins, could make it possible for her to get her ready for eternal life with her Lord.

John ended his letter with these words: “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” [1Jn.5:21].

We also need to keep ourselves from idols.

· We need to be careful to obey only God’s truth.

· We need to love only God, who sent his Son Jesus to show us his love.

· We need to love those whom God loves.

· We need to believe that only through Jesus’ death on the cross are we forgiven and given new life.

Jesus told his disciples in John 6 to stop working for things that didn’t last. Instead, work for that which gives eternal life.

“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” [Jn.6:29]. Then Jesus said, “The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” [Jn.6:33].

We come now to receive the bread, the body of Christ broken on the cross for our sake. We receive the cup, remembering his blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

Believing Jesus is Lord is not enough. We must believe that Jesus is our Savior, whose blood gives us life. Only then can we have life in his name.

Only then can we truly live eternally with him. Amen.

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This sermon is copyright ©2009 by Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes, Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, Illinois.