Podcast: 1 John: Law, Grace, and Law

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Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
-1 John 5:1-5

This is the drum that John’s been beating for a while, and here we are at the summary of the doctrine. He’s come at it in a couple of different ways, but this is the ultimate point. True Christians act like Christians.

And John’s been very careful to specify that it is not the fact that we love each other that saves us. Not at all. And he’s been careful to state that we’re not going to be perfect, and that the Blood of Jesus still covers our sin, even when we sin after becoming Christian. And yet, even though he is careful to say that, there is still a lot of misunderstanding about what saves us and how we will respond. So let’s start from the beginning and work our way back to this point.

There is the Law. The Law was given by God to Moses. You remember Charlton Heston bringing them down in The 10 Commandments. These are the things God expects from us. These are His perfect standard of righteousness. Unfortunately, we don’t do those things. God tells us not to lie, and we do. God tells us not to covet our neighbor’s stuff, and we do. God tells us not use His name as a curse word, and we do. We become so wrapped up in ourselves that we seek our own pleasures and satisfaction rather than seeking God. The greatest commandment is to love God. That shouldn’t be hard. He created us. He gave us breath and food and everything in creation. He has given us so much. And yet we do not love Him. We say we do, but except for a little time here or there, we aren’t even thinking about Him. We’re thinking about US. We are only thinking about getting ahead, being happy, getting rich, gaining power, being recognized.

And so we’ve failed at keeping the Law. We are not righteous. We are rebellious, selfish, God-belittling, and self-exalting. We are sinners. We do not deserve eternal life, but rather we deserve the rightful punishment for sin, which is death.

But God loves us, even when we do not love Him, and He sent His Son to take our place in death. He died upon the Cross, even though He didn’t deserve it, to take our place.

We are not saved by anything we do, but what He has already done. When we repent of our sin, our rebellion, turn away from it, and trust in Jesus, then we are saved. His righteousness has earned eternal life for us, just like our unrighteousness earned death for Him.

That’s it. That’s Grace. There isn’t more to it. We are saved by Grace alone, not by our own actions. When we have faith, we are saved.

What John is talking about is what comes next. He is talking about what happens when we repent and believe. He is speaking to the Christian who has been saved by Grace, and talking about what that Grace means.

And we jump back to the Law again, but in a different way. See, we could not keep the Law before. We failed to do it. Then by Grace we are saved by Jesus, who did keep the Law. So why can we keep it now? Because we are in God and God in us.

It’s that simple. God the Son fulfilled the Law, and now God the Spirit is in us. And that Spirit guides us.

We’re back at the Law, but not as a source of salvation. Jesus already took care of that. We are back because the righteous obey the commands of God, and we are righteous in Christ.

So John speaks of these things in connection with each other. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” We have been reborn in Him, gaining His righteousness. So John repeats the phrase a little differently: “and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.”

Same thing. Do you believe in God? Do you have that saving faith? Then you love Him. And what is the greatest commandment? To love God. Huh.

The writer of Hebrews gives us a clue as to why we could not obey the Law without God, and why we can with Him: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (11:6). See, we were made to worship God, and if we don’t even have faith, how can we be doing what He has made us to do. It doesn’t matter how many orphans you feed or dolphins you save. The first and greatest commandment is to love God. If you fail that, then you fail. You must have faith.

And so with faith comes a love for God, and that is pleasing to God.

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” Again, John is making connections. If you love God, then you will follow God. That seems obvious right? You only disregard people when you love yourself or someone else more. You stick with those you love most. That is why God tells men to cleave to their wives. That is a picture of Christ and His church. It’s a metaphor for the greater relationship between God and His children. The way you cleave to your spouse is a picture of the closeness and deep love between Jesus and the Body of Christ. This is a love that causes you to follow God.

Have you ever wondered why the answer for the question, “How can I be saved?” seems slightly different in various parts of the Bible? Sometimes it says “Believe,” and sometimes “Repent and believe,” and sometimes “Repent and be baptized.” It’s because faith is going to bring about the rest of it. Faith will bring about repentance. Faith brings about obedience, including baptism. As James tells us, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). Why is it dead? Because faith brings love, and love obedience. They exist together.

And you will then naturally love other Christians, because God loves other Christians.

These commands are not burdensome. Before Grace they were burdensome, because we did not have God in us. But now we are righteous in Christ, and so they are easier. We have been turned away from sin and toward God. This was not our doing, but it was part of that Grace.

John speaks of our victory over the world. What is it? Faith. Faith. That is the ingredient that changes everything. That is the part of Grace that turns us from the Law that cannot justify us and into a place where we’re already justified, and we obey out of sheer love for God.

Jesus overcame the world in His death, and by Grace we are baptized into that death. In other words, we died upon that Cross with Jesus, and we were reborn by His power to new life. We have overcome the world with faith, because our faith is in the one who overcame the world on our behalf.

I am not suggesting that if we sin that is proof that we are not saved. John has already told us that if we say we are sinless, then we are lying. No, we’re talking about a turn here. We are not perfect, but we’ve been turned by the Spirit. This is the evidence that we are saved, not that we are sinless, because we’re not, but that we have been turned from sin and toward God.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then look at your heart. Are you being guided by the Spirit toward good works, not as a source of righteousness, but as a result of love? Do you stand by Jesus’ righteousness, or an effort to gain your own? John is telling us these things so that we can be confident in your salvation. If these words do not bring about a confidence, then look to your heart. Have you a true faith in Him? One that brings about love and obedience? If not, don’t try harder. That will not please Him. Look to the Cross for Grace. It is only Grace that can bring about this result in us.