Is it a personal Thing?

There are some things about this first letter of John that we should consider to understand it better. There is no opening address or closing greeting. It most definitely seeks to address a particular situation and a particular group. While anxious in manner its attitude is loving and its purpose is to inform others. We would do well to remember that this letter was written in Ephesus a little after AD 100. Here in Ephesus you now had second, even third generation of Christians…the glory and splendor and excitement of those early days had now become different. For the believers of that time it had now become a memory in which they had incorporated a half-hearted following. The wonder had been lost. (Matthew 24:12) The flame that once burnt brightly was now no more than a flicker. To some the standards of the faith were to burdensome and they were tired of the demands it made on their everyday lives. This hagios thing…the call to be different… To live a holy life was to much of a burden in these times. Just as it is today for many Christians, the pressure to accept and live by the new standards as determined by the cultural demand for change has become overwhelming.

1 John 3:10

So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers[b] does not belong to God.

Continuing “Hard Times” this week we take a look at 1 John 3… you might also call this an exercise in accountability because it is a true saying that proof is in our actions… How we treat others not only maters but shows others who we are… “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love”. 1 John has some other points we will get to in just a moment. This chapter makes it very plain and presents evidence with a timely rational…Are we professing and confessing our faith in Christ, or are we just talking? The scripture is short and direct…1John 3:4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. Your life, how you live out your faith is the real proof of the confidence you have in your faith. I like this Chapter because it says so much in so few words. Consider these points and verses:

– proves the fact that whoever does not sin really knows Christ (1 John 3:6);
– shows the fact that whoever does sin doesn’t really know Christ (1 John 3:9); and
– establishes the fact that whoever sins is of the Devil and we know that whoever is truly abiding in Christ is abiding in Him because of their lifestyle of not living in sin (1 John 3:8-9).

In closing there are other things that we should consider. In 1 John 3 we are instructed to love one another, while that is no easy task try and remember that peace and hope in hard times can only happen in a atmosphere of love…the Spirt does not abide among hate and fear.

Life is Good

jk