 |
| Norma A. Boeckler's art books |
Advent, December 13, 2018
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Psalmody Psalm 14 p. 124
The Lection
The Sermon Hymn #136 Angels from the Realms of Glory
The Lection
The Sermon Hymn #136 Angels from the Realms of Glory
John the Apostle - Love and Faith
The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer p. 44
The Collect for Peace p. 45
The Benediction p. 45
1 John 2 King James Version (KJV)
2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
 |
The Epistle of John the Apostle - Love and Faith
2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
John's First Epistle is a masterpiece in the simplest language. In the first chapter, he established his special role as an Apostle who saw Jesus, heard Him, even touched Him with his own hands. Therefore, what follows is divinely powered because Jesus chose John and others to carry out this ministry. As Jesus was sent, so sent He the apostles, whose title means - sent.
Chapter 2, which we are reading in Greek tonight, is built upon the first chapter, the claim of apostolic authority and the truth of Jesus as the Savior. A major issue is sin. He is warning them not to sin, and this applies to an important issue raised later, about denying the true nature of Christ.
Lenski:
Cerinthus was active in Ephesus during this time. He taught that Jesus was the physical son of Joseph; that the "eon Christ" was united with Jesus at his baptism but left Jesus before his passion and his death. He rejected all the Gospels, all of Paul's letters, and accepted only parts of Matthew and of Mark. He was a former Jew from Egypt and combined Jewish ideas with what we may call the beginnings of Gnosticism and sought to produce a spiritualized Mosaism, which was to be a universal religion. He retained circum-
cision and the Sabbath. The Jewish conception of the millennium was attributed to him by the Alogi; hence those church fathers who opposed chiliasm and thought that Revelation taught this doctrine ascribed Revelation to Cerinthus and thus rejected this writing. This heretic left no writings, but Irenaeus {Adv. Haer. 1, 26;
3, 3, 4; etc.) and others supply a reliable account of him and of his teaching.
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
The big word is "an offering to appease the anger of an offended party." This is still practiced in Catholicism. They call such things "reparation," literally repayment. However, the Gospels teach that Jesus alone is the Offering that atones for our sins. Thus John is emphasizing the basic Gospel received in faith, a constant renewal taking place as clergy and laity are reminded of forgiveness through Christ. This atonement for the sins of the whole world, so it is constantly a Gospel to teach to those who do not believe.
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
Faith and honoring the commandments go together with forgiveness and salvation. We keep them though we are weak, fallible, and struggle with temptations. This is not a command to be perfect but to show a high regard for the commands, for the Word, is an essential part of the Christian Faith.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Jesus said, "They will know you are my disciples (learners) if you keep My Word." John 8. As we will see later, Cerinthus is laying claim to members (fellowship) while denying Jesus' own teaching. That should not surprise us these days, because the "conservative" Lutherans excommunicate those who teach Justification by Faith.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
It is that harmony and love we feel from the Gospel of John that shows us we are part of His family through faith. It is not being "born a Christian" or one's parents or friends. It is individual. I know many who had the advantage of a K-Seminary private education - and yet do not believe and led many astray before they died. They have every claim and honor except one - knowing they are in Him. Their language gives it away.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.
Note abiding in Christ (John 15) as the fruit abides on the True Vine. If we abide in Him, we also walk as He did.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
The old commandment is the Word Jesus taught. "From the beginning" is from the beginning of the public ministry of Christ. That is the real beginning. We know all about the Father-Son relationship from John's Gospel, an eye-witness. What is Cerinthus? He has no claims of being a witness of anything.
8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
False teachers hate sincere believers. I am often reminded of Barth's comment about someone - he was a Lutheran, too good a Lutheran. That is subtle academic insult language. Those who reject Justification by Faith are so hateful that they will do anything to extinguish it. They excommunicate and trash anyone who stands up to their false doctrine. Yet these Gospel-haters robe up, spread the incense, use their stained glass voices, and make a pious impression on many.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. 12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
The contrast is important, because the normal form of expression in the New Testament is to state the positive and reject the negative. That is essential in confessing the Faith. To confess the Trinity means nothing to Mormons, who claim the same thing. But ask them about three separate gods, and they will agree. That is their dogma, and it is not Christian, though they kidnap the terms Christian and Trinity.
We can test what people reject if we use the right questions.
Is the entire world righteous?
Was I born forgiven?
Do I only have to agree that the entire world is righteous?
To test one quasi-Unitarian almost-a-pastor, I asked, "Was Jesus actually born of a Virgin?" She said, "That is not an important doctrine anyway." (No direct answer, the same about the empty tomb.) I asked, "When someone dies, what will you say at the funeral?" She had nothing to say.
 |
| Norma A. Boeckler's art books |
