Opening Prayer Pg.1
Father God we praise you for giving us your word which enlightens our life and gives us thoughts of eternity with you, and for your word to us through the Apostle John. We pray that tonight, you will impart to us that which you would have us learn from Your word. We pray for the members of our group who cannot be here tonight and we ask that you share our blessing with them. Be with us now as we seek your will for our lives through this study tonight. In Jesus name, Amen
1st Jn 3:13-18; A new sinless nature
13- Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Discussion
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, in 2 Cor. 2:15-16. "We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life". Paul is referring in these verses, to those for whom Christ laid down his life. To the true believers, those who truly love their fellow man, and try to lead a new and sinless life, Jesus is the fragrance of life. To the carnal man of this world, and to those to whom love of their fellow man means nothing if it is not materially profitable, the aroma of Christ is the reminder of eternal death, and they have learned to despise the very thought of it, and those who profess Christ. The world will hate us. Here, John says that hate is the same in its effects as murder. Hate is often the first step to murder. Those who hate could go on to kill. That is what Cain did. Even if they do not kill, the attitude of mind is the same. (Romans 8:16-18)
When we hear Jesus laid down his life for us, usually the first thing that comes to mind is his crucifixion. Jesus died for us on the cross, indeed that is what saves our soul. But the phrase also alludes to the concept of righteous actions as well, that if anyone sees someone suffering or in need, they will go to their aid and do for them as if they were sharing God's love with a brother in Christ. But should there be one who has no pity on them, who sees their need and ignores it, how can the love of God be in that person?
Let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth.”John’s illustration of how to lay down your life for others is a prompting to help those in need. The truth of the matter is, few of us will ever die for another person, while all of us have the opportunity to put others first on a daily basis. That is what true agape Christian love is, It is the fulfilling of the commandment to love thy neighbor as thyself.
Questions
1. “Do not be surprised if the world hates you”. Why does John say that to his church?
2. What is there about this world that would make one think that Christians are hated?
3. Is it the people who are hated or is it the concept that only Christians will experience Heaven?
4. How can Christians today exhibit the “Laying down of ones life”? What does that mean to us?
5. If we gave to everyone in need, in today's world we would have nothing left. How do we discern when to give and when not to give? And to whom?
Loving in truth Pg.2
Do you ever have questions about your salvation? Does your conscience ever “bother” you ? Do you sometimes wrestle with the assurance of your faith? Trusting God is the first step towards that assurance, and that trust should drive you to do what Christians do. If your faith wavers from some event or if you have doubts, it behooves you to persevere and to continue to conduct life in such a way as would please God. If you trust God you will obey His commands, love others, share your joy, live in peace, practice forbearance, exhibit kindness, seek out goodness, remain faithful, be gentle and have self control, and believe that The Lord Jesus is your salvation, You can rest assured, Your salvation is real.
1st Jn 3:19-24; Confident Hearts
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God's commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
Discussion
To obey God’s commandments is to abide in Jesus. To disobey God’s commandments is to not abide. And By This We Know that He Abides in Us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
Have you ever struggled with a crisis of guilt? How can God accept me, as weak and sinful as I am? How do I know that I'm even a true Christian? The answer, says John, is by the objective fact that we truly love our Christian brothers and sisters: "Heart" in these verses seems to refer to the conscience. We don't always measure up to his high standard of holiness and we are sometimes troubled with doubts. But the reality of our love for the brothers and sisters is an objective standard upon which we can rely -- and knowing truly that we love our Christian brothers and sisters should reassure us, that the spirit is working in us even though our conscience may still cause us to doubt our faith. (1st John 2:3-6 )
John's purpose in these verses is "to heal the wounded conscience, not to further condemn us. No matter how much our heart may condemn us, God still welcomes and forgives those who seek his forgiveness and cast themselves upon his mercy. (Psalm 86:4)
The point is, if you’re in Christ, it’s not your feelings that save you from God’s judgment. It’s Christ who saves! You may think, “Yes, but I don’t follow God's word perfectly. I often fall short.” It’s to you that John writes these verses. Do you see evidence of God’s working in your life through your loving others? Do you see answers to your prayers? Do you enjoy fellowship with Christ as you live to please Him? If so, know that God is greater than your heart. He wants you to be confident in His love. He wants to assure you that you are His child.
Questions
1. Do our feelings of guilt stem from Satan’s accusations or from the Holy Spirit’s conviction?
2. By accepting our human limitations, does one open the door to have sin continue in our lives?
3. Are there times in this life where we might feel like God is not responding to our needs?
4. How does the Christian persevere even though one may have doubt about their faith?
Pg.3
Scripture Readings
Romans 8:16-18 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
1st John 2:3-6 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.
Psalm 86:4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. 5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, LORD; listen to my cry for mercy.
Closing Prayer
Father God we seek strength and courage through Your Son Jesus, that we might be made firm in our faith, and continue in the battle against the evils of this world, We pray for peace and unity of the faithful so that our love may be made manifest in our caring for those in our midst that are in need, and that through our effort and with your blessing those needs will be met. Bless those in our prayers now Dear Lord_____________Be with these for whom we pray, tonight and give them strength to endure, Your peace and comfort to sustain them, and bring healing for their infirmity. Give each of us confident and willing hearts to be constant in our faith, in the assurance of our salvation through the life death and resurrection of Your Son Jesus in whose name we pray, Amen
Pg.4
Meditation
John reminds us not to be surprised when the world hates us. Cain, like all other children of the Devil, loved this evil world, and because of Abel's righteousness he also hated him. As we cease loving the world by doing God’s will, so too will the world hate us just as Cain hated Abel.
He then tells us that love for our Christian brothers and sisters shouild be such that we love in deeds of mercy, opening our hearts to those Christians who lack the necessities of life. For those of us living in a wealthy society, this means not ignoring the needs of others, but using our means and our energies to help others of our society who are less fortunate than ourselves.
John then addresses the matter of self doubt, there are two ways in which we can regain our assurance. The first of these has us look back over our lives for evidence of love that we have for other believers. Even as we do this however, we will find on occasion where we have failed our fellow man, and that our hearts are troubled. We will see how far short of God’s requirements we remain, even if we have come a long way in our sanctification. When our hearts condemn us, God’s promise to receive the repentant and humble person who trusts in Jesus alone (John 6:37–40) is the ultimate source of our assurance. God is indeed greater than our heart, and He still promises to receive us based not on our own goodness but on the righteousness of Christ.
As we look to the promises of God for our salvation in the Word and trust in Him, we will grow more and more convinced that He who sees after the sparrow does indeed have His watchful eye on us as we seek to do his will. And because we have needs as we grow as Christians, He knows our hearts, He also gives us the confidence to come before Him with our needs. Moreover, when we are confident to come before Him in prayer, we should also be confident we will receive whatever we ask in accordance with His will because we do what pleases Him.
Although the prayers of the righteous are effective (James 5:16), this does not mean our obedience necessarily earns God’s favorable response. Obedience is linked to effective prayer, and any affirmative answer to prayer comes when we pray according to God’s will. Those who obey God’s will also pray God’s will and have their prayers answered in accordance with His will. Having told us that those who keep God’s commandments have their requests granted, today’s scripture again tells us that these commandments are to love one another and to believe in the name of the Son (1 John 3:23). These two commandments summarize God’s will for us.
First John 3:24 speaks of assurance again by reminding us that whoever keeps these commandments abides in Jesus just as Jesus abides in him. Obedience to God’s will is again given as a way to measure the truth of our salvation. Verse 24 tells us that in addition to this test of our professing Jesus Christ as Savior, we also have the testimony of the Holy Spirit to assure us.
All Christians have received the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God (Rom. 8:14-17). This testimony can be distinguished from the outward tests of personal holiness, belief in the incarnation, and love, but it cannot be separated from them.The internal witness of the Spirit will always be confirmed by these outward evidences. It is very important that we never isolate the work of the Spirit from the other evidences of salvation.
Even though we may say the work of the Spirit is foundational to our assurance, oftentimes the way we become convinced that we have the Spirit is through a life of genuine love for other believers, a concern for holiness, and a willingness to join in the effort to promote and grow the Kingdom of God by using our energies and resources, and by sharing the Love of God with others as we have experienced it in His Son, Jesus Christ……... Amen
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