We are well aware that Christ-deniers are everywhere. This is a major concern of the apostle John, one that he repeatedly addresses in his letter, 1 John. There are many ways and many people who deny Christ, and as shocking as it may sound, even supposed believers among us may be Christ-deniers.
- Some simply deny that Jesus is the Son of God, who came in the flesh.
- Some deny Jesus' physical resurrection. They don't believe that Jesus died, was buried, and was raised from death on the third day. They don't believe that because of his death, we too have victory over sin and death.
- Some deny that Jesus' death on the cross atones for their sins. They deny that by Jesus' blood we can be washed, forgiven, imputed with Christ's righteousness, and thus made white as snow.
- Some believe that Jesus died, but in their pride and smug self-righteousness, refuse to humble themselves before God, confess their sin, or acknowledge their need for forgiveness. If you say you are without sin, the truth is not in you! You are lying to yourself!
- Some, in the comfort of their sins, stay in their sins, and deny that Christ is willing or even able to forgive their sin. "I'm a hopeless cause," they say. "God can't do for me what he said he could do. Woe is me."
- Some deny Jesus by refusing to walk the way he walked or live how he lived.
In addition to Christ-deniers, there are also Spirit-deniers. There are those who deny the work and activity of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus promises to forgive us of sin, it's the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us, purifies us, and cleanses us. Yes, the Holy Spirit sets us free from sin! So as Christians, there are two things we can expect to be thrown in our face continually.
First, people will blatantly deny Christ and make statements like, "I'm not a sinner. I'm a good person. I'm going to heaven. God's not angry because he's all love and he's tolerant. I don't need to be forgiven of anything. I haven't done anything so egregious as to demand the blood of God to cover my sin."
Second, people will blatantly deny the Spirit and make statements like, "Don't talk to me about being born again. I was born this way. This is who I am, so celebrate who I am. But don't talk to me about change. And don't judge me, cure me, treat me, or fear me. Don't quote your Bible at me." These are the words of Ryan Lewis in his song "Same Love". I can't change even if I tried... Even if I wanted to... And I can't change... Even if I tried... Even if I wanted to..." According to our culture, it's an act of vile hate to suggest otherwise.
Born this way versus born again
So we have two conflicting life philosophies. There is the philosophy of, "born this way and staying this way". And there is the philosophy of, "born again, and becoming new again." Now which philosophy do you want to live your life by? The gospel of Jesus promises forgiveness and freedom from sin. If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sin, and purify us, and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. But the world says that there is no forgiveness, or need for forgiveness, and that it's unloving to say that freedom is possible.
If your philosophy is, "born this way and staying this way", the world agrees with you. Colleges, universities, psychologists, politicians, Hollywood, and even many churches and pastors agree with you. Look at how our professional community assigns labels to people. The world sentences and resentences us to sin and death. They say, "You're an alcoholic. You're bipolar. You're a felon. You're an addict." But Jesus says, "I forgive you." By his Spirit Jesus says, "You can be born again. I set you free. I give you life-everlasting!"
Suppose you want to accept Jesus' offer of forgiveness and freedom. What would that look like? What would the change in your life look like? In 1 John 2:28 - 1 John 3:3 we discover five aspects of being born again, five aspects of leading a changed life.
Change means that I lead an accountable life.
1 John 2:28 (ESV) says, "And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming."
Take a moment and read this verse. We are to abide in Christ so much, that when he appears we can have total confidence and not shrink in shame. That's awesome! When I dated Lara in college, we always hung out at her parents' house. At a certain time, around 7 in the evening, (haha), her parents would go to bed, but we'd continue watching television, just the two of us, and yes, we'd maybe kiss from time to time. I can tell you with integrity, that we always maintained godly boundaries. We dated four years, and when we left for our honeymoon, by God's grace, we were physically pure.
But really, that's not that big of a deal. I always kept one thing in mind when I felt tempted. What if her dad came downstairs and saw us? Would we, or I, be ashamed, to be caught in whatever I was or wasn't doing? A lot of couples say, "I can't stop. I can't help myself." It's pretty amazing how quickly you can stop when the lights come on, or when the father appears! Suddenly you have all the self-control in the world, and not only that, you think nothing of fleeing temptation as you race out the house while her dad unloads a twelve gage shotgun in the air!
If you are so okay with your sins, then why the shame? Why the lurking in darkness? Why have you put the lights out? Why suppress the truth? Why erase your internet history? Why the anonymity? Tiger Woods thought being promiscuous was awesome. Justin Beiber thought he was king of the world. They both thought that they were above it all, until their escapades hit the tabloids. Tiger Woods still hasn't gotten his confidence back. His shame lingers.
To change means to live with the awareness that Christ may come at any moment. It's the resolve to not say, do, or think anything we'd be ashamed of on the day when it will be fully exposed.
Change means that I lead an ever-changing life.
1 John 2:29 (ESV) tells us, "If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him."
We'd all love to be instantaneously transformed, instantaneously sanctified. But that isn't the reality. For the person who is born again, sanctification feels like practice. We practice new ways of thinking, feeling, behaving, and speaking. We practice these new skills day in and day out. And through practice, the righteousness which at first feels unnatural, begins to take root. And with practice, and much time, our lives begin to bear fruit. Practice means that you try and fail. But when you fail, you get up and keep learning and growing.
Change means that I am restfully confident in God's love.
1 John 3:1 (ESV), "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
On the radio, Katie Perry was bragging about how her friends say she has unconditional love. One of Katie's hit songs is called "Unconditional." She explains how she loves everyone unconditionally. She doesn't get hung up on the things that others get hung up on. First of all, I'll bet that's not true. Second of all, God's love isn't like that at all. God's love isn't benign. God's love is transformative. When God extended his love to us on that cross, it wasn't for us to remain the same, but so that we might be forgiven and set free! When God calls us his children, it's not so we can stay in our diapers. It's so that he might become our Father, our parent, our disciplemaker, our shepherd, our leader, our Lord, and our sanctifier. It's so that we'd grow toward maturity and fullness.
But here is my point. As God's children, we can rest confident in the Father's love, even as his love transforms us. 1 John 1:9 tells us that when we sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and purify us from all unrighteousness. In life, we keep coming back from sin toward his transforming love by confessing, repenting, being forgiven, and then being purified. We never run away from God's love. But we always run into his love, confident of his grace and promise, of his willingness to forgive, and confident of our standing as his children.
Change means that I am restfully dissatisfied in God's love.
1 John 3:2 (ESV), "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."
Wow! This verse reminds me of a bunch of stuff that the apostle Paul says in Philippians. In Philippians 1:6 (ESV) Paul says, "...he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." In Philippians 2:13 (ESV) he says, "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."
In Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV) Paul says, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
In Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV) he says, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."
Even though we rest secure in God's salvation, the Christian life is to be marked by continuous change. And the change continues until the day of Christ's return, when we shall all see Jesus face to face, and become fully like Jesus. It's a gold-medalist mentality. We strive, we strain, and we groan right up to the finish line.
Change means that my hope purifies me.
1 John 3:3 (ESV) continues, "And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure."
The man who puts his hope in Jesus purifies himself. The woman who puts her hope in Jesus purifies herself. And this is the problem with putting your hope in Jesus. The world doesn't believe that change is possible, because it hopes in nothing beyond itself. If left to our own power, there is no changing the reality of sin and death. If left to our own power, there is no hope and no prospect of freedom. The way you are born is the way you remain. The dark hole you fall in, becomes your grave and your destiny.
But God invites us to put our hope in his power. By Jesus' blood we can be forgiven, and by his Spirit we can be set free! The reason the world doesn't know this hope is because they don't know Jesus, nor do they know the gift of God. But those who know Jesus, and those who have received the Spirit of God, have been born into a hope that can never spoil, or fade, or perish. With God there is good news! He who has the Son has life! But apart from God, there is only the same old news.
Just now, we're going to celebrate communion. This is a time for us to rest in God's forgiveness and grace. While at the same time, we are to be confessing our sin, and rededicating ourselves, and welcoming the transforming power of his love to cleanse us and set us free from sin.
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Sometimes we just feel like we're stuck as Christians. To get unstuck, there are three questions we need to ask ourselves. First, what's my vision or goal for my life? Second, where is my hope? Or, what are my intentions? Third, how will I accomplish my goal? What means of transformation will I rely upon? In your bulletin there is a spiritual formation guide that will help you wrestle through these questions. You can discuss these same questions in your small group, or with another believer.