A sermon based upon 1 John 5: 9-13
Dr. Charles J. Tomlin
Flat Rock-Zion Baptist Partnership
7th Sunday of Easter, May 20th
2012
The Bible is about finding the fullness
of life and love in God. It directs us
toward life’s most important questions.
But some people mistakenly think the Bible gives answers to all our
human questions. This creates all kinds
of problems and arguments about the Bible, making us miss its main point, even
causing some to lose faith.
Interestingly, Jesus did not answer
everything people asked. He directed
people to the main point. Do you
remember that moment in Luke’s gospel chapter 13, when there arose concerned
about the murders of some Galileans who were offering sacrifices to God in the
Jerusalem temple? During the fulfillment of their sacred duties,
Pilate, the notorious governor of Jerusalem, had them murdered and mingled
their own blood with the blood of their animal sacrifices as an insult. Historically, we don’t exactly know what
motivated the murders, but it was not unusual for governors to commit such
atrocities if they thought there was a threat to the peace or to their
power.
Whatever the motivation, the incident
brought theological questions to the mind those who witnessed and discussed the
happening. In Luke 13: 2, Jesus refers to the incident, but
like a good Rabbi and teacher, instead of answering the question, he raises another
question: “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all others
Galileans because they suffered?”
Then without pausing, he raises the again about a similar event. “Or
those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell, do you suppose they were
greater sinners than those who live in Jerusalem? To both questions Jesus does not give “answers”,
but he commands personal responsibility:
“I tell you, but unless you
repent, you will all perish as they did.” We never know what happened to those
people, but Jesus wants us to consider what could happen to us (See Luke 13:
1-9).
People want Jesus to tell them what they
want to hear, but Jesus insists on reminding us what God wants. He tries to show people what they should do to
save themselves from destruction. Did
they listen? Were they saved? The Bible leaves the question open as if the
question is also for us.
Are some people “worse sinners than anyone else?”
These are hard questions to answer. Remember that question which caused a stir some
years ago: Do you think God hears the
prayers of the Jews? Today people might be
asking, do you think Muslims or Morman’s are really saved? When
we were children, we got into all kind of discussions, thinking we could know the
answers to who are “the worse sinners”.
Are we any better for trying to answer such spiritual riddles? As Jesus implies in this question his
disciples, we may think we have the answer, but we still miss the question God
is asking us.
ASKING
THE RIGHT QUESTION
Today’s Bible text suggests the right
question to ask: “Do you have the Son?” This question is implied at the end of John’s
personal letter to the early Christian community where he makes a very powerful,
either/or, black or white, statement: “Whoever
has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
(1Jo 5:12 NRS). This is “life” John is talking about. Even more, this is “eternal life” he wants
us to choose. He wants us to get beyond
the many other questions we might ask to the main one we should ask: “Do you
have the Son?” But before try to
answer, let’s make sure we get the question right.
To get to the heart of matter, let’s get
to the heart of the letter John wrote.
This first letter of John is intended for the Christian community. It is not a letter written to the world nor
is it written to unbelievers. The purpose
of the letter is clarified with an explosion of expectation in chapter one,
verse four: “I write these things so that you joy might be full” (1.4). The message of love explodes in chapter 3, when John writes: “Behold
what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us” (3.1). This logic of God’s love permeates the pages as
the command of Christ is elevated as the most important value for this newly
formed Christian community: “Let us love
one another, for love is of God---everyone who loves is of God.”
We shouldn’t have any problem following
the main “love” line in this letter. Life
in God is the life of love and the love of community is being celebrated everywhere. But in chapters 4 and 5 there suddenly
appears a big, theologically rich qualification. It starts out in a non-threatening manner in
the second verse of chapter four: “Whoever
believes that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is born of God and
everyone who loves is born of him and keeps his commandments….” (4: 2).
The first part shows how our faith in Jesus includes us in God’s love, but
the second part becomes exclusive. It
adds this very specific and a specialized qualification: “and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is not of God. And this is
the Spirit of Antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in
the world“ (v. 3).
Such a strong and somewhat mysterious qualification
lies behind the same qualification contained in our text, where John writes in
either/or fashion: “Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever
who does not have the son of God does not have life….” (5.12). Even in stronger terms, John reminds his readers
they have received the “testimony of God”
(v. 9) on this, but once again he qualifies the matter saying that those “not believing in the testimony that God has
given concerning his Son” “have made
(God) a liar” (v. 10). Making God a
liar disqualifies us from having “eternal
life” (13).
Now we are getting to the main question
John is asking the community of faith. Similar
to Jesus moving from the question of who is the “worse sinner” to commanding, “unless you repent, you will perish”, John’s
is not talking about “outsiders” who have never been in the community of faith,
but his question is being asked to the community of faith itself. He says he is writing “these things” to (those) who
believe in the name of the Son of God so they know they have eternal life”
(vs. 13). Do you see what is going
on? When John makes the statement: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does
not have the Son does not have life”, he is not writing asking the world,
but he is writing to those “who believe”.
THE QUESTION GOD IS ASKING
God’s question is not to get us to doubt
our salvation, but to the contrary, John writes: “We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (John
1.4). John’s letter is not about
figuring out who is “in” and who is “out”, but is primarily about making sure
we have the life and love God wants to give.
John has explained his reason for writing from the opening lines as a
matter of “fellowship”: “we declare to
you what we have seen and heard so that YOU MAY HAVE ALSO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH
US; ….with the Father…and with his
Son Jesus Christ (1.3). This question
of having “fellowship” with “one another” is at the heart of the matter. John’s
letter is full of warnings about
what might keep us from having true “fellowship” with God and with one
another. These “warnings” take us
straight to the main question God asks.
The first warning comes in chapter one,
verse 8, right after he introduces his “fellowship” theme, referring to “blood
of Jesus, which cleanses us from sin.”
John warns unequivocally: “If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Confessing our sins brings both
forgiveness and fellowship with God and with the community of faith, but if we
“say we have not sinned”, we “make God a liar”, his “truth is not in us”, and we can’t have
the kind of fellowship or relationships we are intended to have. Sin gets in the way, unless it is confessed
and forgiven. Anyone who says they have
no sin goes against the very life and love God can give—and is, thereby,
disqualified. Of course, we are
supposed to have power over sin, and Jesus forgives and atones for sins, both
our sin and the world’s sin, but we are still sinners and we need continual
confession and forgiveness to keep community together.
This brings us to the second warning,
which follows closely in chapter 2. “Whoever says, I have come to know him, but
does not obey his commandments, is a liar and in such a person the truth does
not exist” (2.4). John’s language is
to the point. He tells us that “obedience”--that is obeying God’s word
is how God’s ‘love reaches perfection’---this
is how joy and love are made complete and full (2.5). Our obedience is how we are “sure” (2.5) we are in him. Whoever says “I abide in him” ought to “walk
just as he walked” (2.6).
This might sound hard or like something
“new” that is added to grace, but
John adds: “I am writing you no new
commandment.” This is “an
old commandment that you have had from the beginning” (2.7). In other words who ever says, “I am in the light” while hating a brother or sister is still in darkness” (2.9).
You can’t have it both ways. “Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in
the light” (2.10). “Whoever hates
another believer is in still in the dark, walks in darkness, and does not know
the way to go, because the darkness brings blindness” (2.11).
The warning cannot be more graphic.
Here is the same kind of terminology we have in our text. If you say you “have the son”, you need to
know what this means. To “have the son”
means more than having “your own” belief.
It also means confessing sins, obeying God’s will and it means loving others. There is more to “having the son” than
saying the words.
The third warning takes the issue of
“having the son” to yet another level.
He writes in chapters 2. 15: “Do
not love the world or the things in the world.
The love of the Father is not in those who love the world.” What John means is clarified as “the desire of the flesh”, the “desire of eyes”, “the pride in riches”, which “come not from the Father, but from the
world”---a world which “passes away.” Only those “who do the will of God live forever.”
When John warns about loving the “world” John is specifically
warning against wayward selfishness which keeps us from doing the “will of God”. This kind of self-focused “love of the world” fails to realize
what matters most. We are given life to
live for God and for others, not just to live for the satisfaction of our
desires. If your desires for the world
mislead you, it is “made plain” you never “belonged
to us” (2.19).
This is strong language. What it means to “have the Son” and to have
the “life” the Son gives is being qualified by John’s warnings. And again, what is most important for us to
grasp is that this qualification is not being made to the “world” outside the
community of faith, but the qualification is made about those who “say” they
have the Son, but have proved otherwise:
They say they have the forgiveness---but do not confess their own sins. They say they know him, but do not keep his
commands. They say they are “in the
light”, but still walk in darkness. They
say they love God, but only show “hate” toward their brothers and sisters. John’s letter is written to clarify again for
the church what it means to “believe” in Jesus Christ.
THE QUESTION GOD STILL ASKS OF US
Finally, just before our text, John
advises a clear distinction to be made when considering our own “belief”. In the chapter just before our text, he says:
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…” (4.1). With this final warning, the message of his
letter is qualified, clarified and simplified in one single statement that
overflows with Christian theology. In
First John, chapter four, verse two, John declares in the most Christian terms
possible: “By this you know the Spirit
of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is from God. And every Spirit that does
not confess Jesus is not from God.”
Here John declares what it means to “have
the Son”: To “confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” is the most
important part of our faith for fellowship with God and with each other. This is what it means to “have the Son”: Having and holding to this “incarnational
faith”, not only with words, but holding with your whole being, your whole life
and with all your love, is the most important qualifier of true Christian
faith. This is the question put to the church
and to us. When we say we have faith, do we have the Son
who gives our faith “flesh” as we live in love? To have “incarnational faith”; that is to “have
the Son” means that our faith lives and puts on flesh and bones in the real
world. We can live our whole lives to
answer how faith lives and loves. True
faith demands all our life and all our love.
When we put on love like Jesus put on flesh, the more our faith becomes proves
it is true and we “know we have eternal life”.
Maybe you’ve seen the email going around
that provides the answers a bunch of eight-year-olds gave to the question,
"What is love?" Some of the
answers are cute, such as "Love is when your puppy licks your face even
after you left him alone all day."
Some of the answers are humorous, such as, "I let my big sister
pick on me because my Mom says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I
pick on my baby sister because I love her." But then there is this one, which tells the
truth: "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a
friend who you hate." Love is
something that God wants us to do in the flesh—in our real lives. In fact, living a life of love in our own
flesh is essential to remain in a relationship with Jesus.
Let me tell you about a boy named Tom,
and how he learned about love lived in the flesh. Tom was born in Korea, around 1951. Tom had another name when he was born, a
Korean name, and a name his mother gave him. But that was the only thing she
ever gave him. Even his food had to be
snatched when his mother wasn’t looking, or earned by salvaging tobacco from
cigarettes dropped by marines at the camp down the road.
Tom’s mother was an alcoholic, and she
was a prostitute. Tom’s father was some long forgotten GI. Tom’s earliest
memories are of life lived on the streets, with other kids in the same
predicament. They were mixed race kids, ignored by America and scorned by
Korea. They learned to avoid the marines; they huddled together at night for
warmth or for shelter, and returned to their mothers’ homes at daybreak, when
the coast was clear.
Somehow, Tom made his way to Seoul, and
it was there he found an ideal place for living the only life he knew—the train
station. He quickly learned that he could easily steal all the food he wanted
from travelers waiting to catch their train. He would snatch their bag, take
off running, and then drop some of the food in the bag. While his pursuers
stopped to pick up their food, Tom ran off with the rest of the food. Tom
needed food. He was 7 years old, and he weighed 33 pounds.
Then one day, while Tom was running with
his hands full of stolen food, he ran smack into a large, stern looking man in
uniform. He was a policeman, and Tom’s life of crime was over.
"SIT DOWN,"
the man said. "RIGHT HERE, AND DON’T MOVE."
But in the place where
he sat, someone sat down beside him. It
was a lady, an older lady with white hair.
She sat down beside him in that place of judgment and reproach, and she
did something that Tom had never, ever, experienced before. She gave him candy. For an hour, she sat
with him and watched him and gave him candy.
Then the policeman came back and gave
Tom a choice. "You can come with
me," he said, "Or you can go with her." There was bad news, or there was good news,
Tom had a choice as to what it would be. Tom took the good news. He went with
the white-haired lady who gave him candy.
That white-haired lady took Tom to an
orphanage founded by American Harry Holt. The orphanage found American parents
for Tom—an amazing feat, since he was a wild seven-year-old street kid. Those
parents raised Tom and taught him discipline and concerned for others. When Tom tells his story, you are immediately
impressed by the fortitude and dedication of his American parents. But as he
told their story, I realized that loving him was not just something they
decided to do. It was who they are—in the
flesh. Their love for Tom was the
outgrowth of the way they had been living all along—loving their enemies and
their neighbors, practicing mercy, living generously with a vision of God’s
future always on their mind.
Tom grew up and became a District Court
Judge in Kansas. One day he was speaking
to the students at a local High School.
"How do you treat
your friends and classmates?" he asked.
"Do you treat them
like expensive china, like something you value? Or do you treat them like paper
plates that you use once, and throw away?"
Tom knew what Love was, because he had
been loved by someone who practiced it, day in and day out, over and over again---and
“love became flesh”. He had been treated
like expensive china, and love made a difference. (Story as told by George Pasley in a sermon “Are We in
Trouble or What” at www.goodpreacher.com).
“I write these things to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal
life.” (John 5:13). When the love that became flesh for you now
becomes flesh in you, this is how you “know” you have the Son. Amen.
© 2012 All rights reserved Charles J.
Tomlin, B.A., M.Div. D.Min.
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