4/23 Sermon on 1 John, Part 2

This past Sunday at The Family Church here in Gainesville, senior pastor Philip Griffin continued his message series, titled Let There Be Light and based on the New Testament book on 1 John.  Part 2, The Truth about Obedience, focused on Chapter 2, Verses 1-6...shown here in the New International Version thanks to Bible Gateway:

2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. ³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

In his presentation, Pastor Philip laid out four aspects of obedience to God: the requirement: a surrender of the will, the motivation: a relationship with God, the reward: completion and confidence, and if we fall: Jesus is our advocate.  Throughout the passage, the author of 1 John emphasized the unshakable connection between knowing God and obeying his commands...i.e. knowing God gives one the capacity and motivation to follow his commands, and following his commands reveals that one knows God.  Because he was addressing his letter to fellow Christians, it is implicit here that John was indirectly rebuking some who were not following God's commands...and that this was truly a call for their repentance...available, as our pastor pointed out, through Jesus' advocacy on our behalf...

Verse 6, which insisted that we as believers walk as Jesus did, should direct us to his act of total obedience to his heavenly father when he allowed himself to be crucified, something that he strongly prayed that he would not have to do.  But he submitted and was obedient.  We may not have such a difficult road to walk in our lives, but the commands are still there as we have our sights set on knowing God...

You can watch this sermon and others via The Family Church's YouTube video website...just click on the following link: [link].  The Family Church is located at 2022 SW 122nd Street and holds its services at 9:30 and 11.  Besides the weekly message, the services have inspiring praise music and opportunities for prayer and joining discipleship groups....