1 John

Wow.  It all boils down to 1 John.  God tells us through John that there WILL be evidence in our Salvation and if there is not…well you can guess.  Besides rebuking these gnostic views God speaks about the evidence of Love in us.  If God is in us it comes out in the form of Love.  In this book,  there are 7 evidences of Salvation.  Now with that said, will we be perfect, NO, but there will be a behavioral difference.

1. Do you walk in the light?  In other words, where are you hanging? Are you attracted to hanging out with other Christians or people who make no regard for the Lord.
2. Do you admit that you are a sinner and that the ONLY way to eternity with the Lord is that Jesus HAD to die on that Cross and that there is NOTHING you can do EVER to be a Christian.
3. Now that you have read the Bible, and see what God will’s for us.  Do you do it?  Most importantly do you Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, soul and strength.  Think about that.  Is He your #1 in life…or how far down on the list is He?  (Anything above it is an idol)
4. Do you imitate Christ.  Jesus was THE example.  So we walk the walk or talk the talk?
5. Love others?  I am not talking about the way you love your family, but in general do you take the action of Love to others.  Do you Love Christians AS well as people who ACT lost (because they are)
6. What is your relationship with the world??  ok ok ok  (yes in my head that sounded like Joe Pesce from Good Fellas.  what???? I am Italian! We have to watch all those movies) Let’s go back to the 10 commandments, about how many do you break a day and it NOT bother you?  Do you love the things of the world? Its materials, its pleasures….
7. Prove Christ is righteous by your life!  Without telling a person of your faith, wearing a cross, going to church, JUST  from watching our lives would they know you were a Christian by your Life?

 

I have to say next to 1 Peter this is one of those book I could probably read 100 times and love more each time.

1 John Overview

This book claims no author but scholars all agree that it is John.  This is written about 20 years after the Temple was destroyed in a Jewish Roman War.  The entire Temple Herod built was destroyed leaving the Jews without a center for worship.  Since then a Philosophy had really taken root called Gnosticism.

Gnosticism in short said that the human nature consists of 2 parts, flesh and spirit.  Sin was in the body only, not the spirit.  So basically the spirit dealt with Spiritual matters, while the body could do what it wants. In Gnosticism, people believed in a “mystical” knowledge that some could obtain through knowledge, like a spiritual maturity or epiphanies. (I actually know of someone who is a Gnostic).

Gnostics also denied the incarnation, they said that God was more like a phantom, a man in appearance only (called Docetism).  Another theory called Cerinthianism (very large following) believed that Jesus was a normal man and that the spirit of God joined Him at baptism and left him before the death on the Cross.  By the way, if you think “theories” are not as strong today, get out of your comfort zone of the Bible Belt and just make conversations with some strangers in airports all around the country.  It will shock you, especially todays teens.

John writes this Letter to ALL Christians.  The book of John (the Gospel) was written on believing to receive Eternal Life.  1 John is about Knowing we have eternal life.  The word KNOW will be used over 30 times in this short letter.

Soooooo have you ever questioned your Salvation?? Read this book to see “If” you are saved and KNOW.