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Articles from Pastor Jon's Blog

1 John 3:6 2007-11-15 00:00:00 1 John 3 - The Love of God and the Life of Love 2. (6) Abiding in sin or abiding in God. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. a. Since sin is lawlessness, a disregard for God (1 John 3:4), and since Jesus came to take away our sins (1 John 3:5), and since in Jesus there is no sin (1 John 3:5), then to abide in Him means to not sin. i. It is very important to understand what the Bible means - and when it does not mean - when it says does not sin. According to the verb tense John uses, does not sin means does not live a life style of habitual sin.  John has already told us in 1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  In 1 John 1:8, the grammar indicates John is speaking about occasional acts of sin.  The grammar of 1 John 3:6 indicates that John is speaking of a settled, continued lifestyle of sin.  John is not teaching here the possibility of sinless perfection. ...

1 John 3:4-5 2007-11-14 00:00:00 1 John 3 - The Love of God and the Life of Love B. Sin: An Attack on Relationship. 1. (4-5) The nature of sin and Jesus’ work in removing our sin. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. a. Sin is lawlessness: John defines sin at its most basic root.  It is a disregard for the law of God, which is inherently a disregard for the law Maker, God Himself. i. We often fail in the battle against sin because we won’t call it for what it is: lawlessness, an offense against the Great Law Maker, God.  Instead, we say things like “If I’ve done anything wrong . . .” or “Mistakes were made . . .” and so forth.  Call it for what it is: sin and lawlessness. “The first step towards holy living is to recognize the true nature and wickedness of sin.” (Stott) b. John defines the mission of Jesus Christ at its most basic root: to take away our sins.& ...

The Love Of God And The Love Of Life 2007-11-13 09:33:58 Truth without love is brutality, Love without truth is hypocrisy. This week's study is from 1 John 3:1-10. We are still "Keepin' It Real." The audio is up on the Springfield Calvary site.<:))))><< ...

1 John 3:2-3 2007-11-13 00:00:00 1 John 3 - The Love of God and the Life of Love 2. (2) The destiny of God’s children. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. a. Our present standing is plain: now we are children of God.  We can know, and have an assurance, that we are indeed among the children of God.  Romans 8:16 tells us, The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.  If you are a child of God, you have an inward assurance of this. b. Yet, our future destiny is clouded: it has not yet been revealed what we shall be.  We don’t know in the kind of detail we would like to know what we will become in the world beyond.  In this sense, we can’t even imagine what we will be like in glory. i. “What we are does not now appear to the world; what we shall be does not yet appear to us.” (Stott) c. However, we know tha ...

1 John 3:1 2007-11-12 00:00:00 1 John 3 - The Love of God and the Life of Love A. The destiny of our relationship with God. 1. (1) The glory of God’s love. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. a. Having just mentioned being born of Him, John speaks in amazement about this manner of love that makes us children of God; he wants us to behold it - that is, look at it and study it intently. i. How many of us would benefit from a good, intense look at the love of God bestowed on us! ii. Bestowed on us speaks many things.  First, it speaks of the measure of God’s love to us; it could more literally be translated lavished on us.  Second, it speaks of the manner of God’s giving of love; bestowed has the idea of a one-sided giving, instead of a return for something earned. iii. What is it that makes us slow to believe the love of God?  Sometimes it is pride, which dema ...

Sunday Quotes 11.11.07 2007-11-11 01:00:00 We die by living to ourselves, we live by dying to ourselves. – Unknown We need to preach again a whole Christ to the world---a Christ who does not need our apologies, a Christ who will not be divided, a Christ who will either be Lord of all or who will not be Lord at all. -- A. W. Tozer "God can do tremendous things through people who don’t care who gets the credit." - Rick Warren The basic question is not how much of our money should we give to God, but how much of God's money should we keep for ourselves. -- J. Oswald Sanders The Bible calls the good man's life a light; and it is the nature of light to flow out spontaneously in all directions, and fill the world unconsciously with its beams. -- Horace Bushnell In God's eyes, there are no little people. . . .because there are no big people. We are all on the same playing field. We all start at square one. No one has it better than the other, or possesses unfair advantage. -- Unknown Consc ...

Romans 10:4-8 2007-11-11 00:00:00 Romans 10 -  Israel's Rejection Of God 2. (4-8) The contrast between God’s righteousness and our attempts at righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): a. Jesus is the end of the law for those believe. The law ends for the believer in the sense that our obedience to the law is no longer the basis for our relationship with God. The law has not come to an end in the sense of no longer reflecting God’s standard or no longer showing ...

Romans 10:1-3 2007-11-10 00:00:00 Romans 10 - Israel's Present Rejection Of God  A. Israel’s rejection of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. 1. (1-3) Israel’s refusal to submit to the righteousness of God. Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for  Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.  a. Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for  Israel : Paul again feels compelled to relate his heart regarding his fellow Jews. Paul does not rejoice that they have stumbled at that stumbling stone (Romans 9:32). i. Paul’s heart’s desire also translated into concrete action: prayer to God for Israel . Paul didn’t just “care,” he prayed. b. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God: Paul will readily recognize th ...

1 John 2:28-29 2007-11-09 00:00:00 1 John 2 - Hindrances to Fellowship with God 4. (28-29) What it means to live in Jesus. And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. a. Abiding in Jesus means that we need not be afraid or ashamed when Jesus returns; because we have intimately known Him, we can have confidence at His coming. i. John brings up a challenging image.  When Jesus returns, some people will be afraid, because they never knew Jesus at all.  But among those who know Him, some will not be afraid, they will be ashamed before Him at His coming.  They will realize that they have been living worldly, unfruitful lives.  In one moment, the understanding will overwhelm them that whatever else they accomplished in life, they did not abide in Him as they could have. ii. Paul the Apostle speaks of those who are ...

1 John 2:25-27 2007-11-08 00:00:00 1 John 2 - Hindrances to Fellowship with God 2. (25) The blessing of abiding in the truth and in God: eternal life. And this is the promise that He has promised us; eternal life. a. When His truth (what we heard from the beginning) lives in us, then God lives in us.  When God lives in us, we have a promise. In this kind of life, the promise of eternal life is real. b. What is eternal life?  It is not mere immortality.  Every human being, made in the image of God, is immortal.  This means that our souls will live forever, either in heaven or hell.  So, eternal life doesn’t just mean “a life that lasts for eternity.”  It describes the kind of life that God, the Eternal One, has in Himself. i. So, while the idea of eternal life has reference to the life beyond this present world, it doesn’t begin when we die.  If we don’t have eternal life now, we won’t get it when we die! ii. This is why it is so important to have the promise of ete ...

1 John 2:24 2007-11-07 00:00:00 1 John 2 - Hindrances to Fellowship with God E. Abiding: preserving our relationship. 1. (24) Preserving relationship against the threat of the spirit of antichrist: abiding in the true Christian message and abiding in God. Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. a. Therefore: In light of the danger of the spirit of antichrist, we protect ourselves against the spirit of antichrist by abiding in the original, core Christian message (that which you heard from the beginning). As we walk in the simplicity and power of that message, we will not be led astray. i. Humans, by nature, are almost always attracted to something just because it is new. We almost always think of new as better.  But when it comes to truth, new is not better.  That which you heard from the beginning is better. ii. The apostle Paul communicated the same idea in Galatians ...

1 John:20-23 2007-11-06 00:00:00 1 John 2 - Hindrances to Fellowship with God 2. (20-23) Identifying the spirit of antichrist. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. a. You have an anointing: John speaks of a common anointing, belonging to all believers; an anointing that makes discernment possible for those who seek it in the Lord. i. When the New Testament speaks of anointing, it speaks of it as the common property of all believers, though all believers may not be walking in the anointing God has given them.  The New Testament does not speak of a “special” anointing given to particular individuals. ii. Among some Christians today, there is a ...

1 John 2:18-19 2007-11-05 00:00:00 1 John 2 - Hindrances to Fellowship with God D. An attack on our relationship with God: false religion. 1. (18-19) The danger of false religion: the spirit of Antichrist. Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. a. John lived in the constant expectancy of Jesus’ return, regarding his time as the last hour - an expectancy that we should also have, knowing that the Lord’s return can come at any time. i. And, seeing the nature of our times and what the Bible says about the end times, we should regard ourselves as being in the last few minutes! b. The Antichrist is coming: John makes reference to an individual who has captured the imagination of many people, ...

Sunday Quotes 11.04.07 2007-11-04 01:00:00 To believe in spontaneous biogenesis is like believing you can have a tornado go through a junk yard and leave a 747 behind. - Unknown The certain barrier to truth is the presumption that one already has it. -- Unknown "Truth without love is brutality, but love without truth is hypocrisy." -- Unknown "I will give you the treasures of darkness. . ." (Isaiah 45:3).We would never have suspected that treasures were hidden there, and in order to get them we have to go through things that involve us in perplexity. There is nothing more wearying to the eye than perpetual sunshine, and the same is true spiritually. The valley of the shadow gives us time to reflect, and we learn to praise God for the valley because in it our soul was restored in its communion with God. God gives us a new revelation of His kindness in the valley of the shadow. What are the days and experiences that have furthered us the most? The days of green pastures, of absolute ease? No, They have the ...

Romans 9:30-33 2007-11-03 23:30:00 Romans 9 - Has God Rejected Israel? 1. (30-31) An analysis of the situation of Israel and the Gentiles according to a human perspective.  What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness  . a. Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness: The Gentiles have found righteousness even though it did not seem that they were really looking for it. b. But Israel . . . has not attained to the law of righteousness: Israel seemed to be working for the righteousness of God with everything it had, but did not find it.  c. What was the difference?  Why did the unlikely Gentiles find righteousness, when the likely Jews did not?  Because the Gentiles pursued the righteousness of faith, and the Jews pursued the law of righteousness.  The Gentiles ...