The Litmus Test of Knowing Jesus
1 John 2:3-11
Rev. Juvenal Cervantes, Pastor
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Greeley, Colorado
October 3, 2021
1 John 2:3-11
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[a] 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.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister[b] is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister[c] lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
INTRODUCTION: What you don’t know CAN hurt you. Florida State Football Coach, Bobby Bowden loved to tell the funny story about a High School football coach whose team was losing by six points and only a little time was left in the game. The other team had the ball and were running out the clock. Suddenly his team intercepted a pass and ran it down to the five-yard line.
The coach called 36 sweep – but they were stopped. Next, he called 39 sweep to the other side -same result. On third down he called a quarterback keeper up the middle. They didn’t score. The coach was so frustrated that he threw down his clipboard and turned his back – he didn’t even call a play. Then he heard he crowd roar and his team had scored a touchdown.
The coach ran on the field and grabbed the QB and said, “What play did you call?”
The quarterback said, “I really didn’t know what play to call, but I looked up in the huddle and I saw number 10 and then next to him was number 13. So I added 10 and 13 together, so I called 24 cross trap – and it worked! The coach said, “Son, 10 + 13 doesn’t equal 24, it adds up to 23!” The quarterback said, “Gosh, coach, if I was as smart as you, I guess we wouldn’t have won the game.”
What you don’t know can really hurt you – especially when it comes to knowing Jesus. If I were to ask you, “Do you know Jesus Christ?” what would you say? Sometimes people say to me, “Well, I think so.” Or “I hope so.” But the Bible says it is possible to know for sure that you know Christ. If you have a think-so salvation or a hope-so salvation, I hope that you can come to the point where you have a know-so salvation. That's the theme of the book of 1 John. In fact, 40 times in five chapters we find the word “Know.” There are about 100 verses in 1 John, and almost every fourth verse contains the word “know.” As we read our scripture today, we noticed that the word “know” appears five times.
We live in a world where truth has been hijacked. Just because someone says something or writes it on a social media post doesn’t mean it is true. The same is true for the Christian life. I can say, “I’m a tree. I’m a tree.”
But that doesn’t make me tree. I could even dress up in a tree costume and say, “See, I’m a tree.” But I’m still not a tree – I don’t have the inner nature of a tree.
In the same way a person can say, “I’m a Christian. I’m a Christian.” They can even know the Christian jargon. In Matthew 7 Jesus described some religious people who said, “Lord, Lord” to Him, but He sent them away and said, “I never KNEW you.” So how do you know if you know Jesus. There are three simple tests in this passage of scripture. Examine yourself and see if you pass these tests.
1. THE COMMANDMENT TEST (3-5) John writes in verse 3: “This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands.” So how well you measure up by keeping the commands of Jesus? Now if you feel like a failure, it’s because nobody is perfect.
Only one person has ever walked on this planet who perfectly kept all the commands of God all the time – and His name is Jesus. But when you become a true Child of God a couple of important things happen:
(1) God gives you a NEW DESIRE. When you come to Christ, God places in your heart a new desire obey him. Now, nobody obeys all of God’s commands all the time. But the question is: DO YOU
WANT TO? Is it your heart-felt desire to obey God every day in every way?
There are 613 specific written commandments in the Old Testament – but let’s forget those for a moment – because we’re aren’t under the Law we’re under grace. There are only two commandments in the New Testament. Jesus said, “Love God with everything you’ve got; and love your neighbor like yourself.” That’s easier to remember than 613 trivial commandments. But the pages of the New Testament are filled with admonitions and directions that might be called commands. Someone has counted them and have discovered that there are 1050 New Testament Commands. 73 of them begin with the word “Be.” For instance, the New Testament says: BE thankful; BE tenderhearted one to another; BE patient; BE of good cheer: BE transformed; Be baptized; Be angry and sin not; Be filled with the Holy Spirit; BE of one accord: BE doers of the Word.” That’s just ten -there’s a swarm of another 63 “Be”s in the New Testament. So, what about those 1050 New Testament commands? How many of you kept every one of them perfectly this last week?
That’s not good. But don’t feel condemned. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let me ask you another question. How many of you can honestly say that is your DESIRE to obey the Lord 100% of the time? You are the kind of people for whom God is searching. Not perfect people – but people whose hearts are perfectly committed to God.
(2) God gives us a New Devotion. Before you and I came to faith in Christ, we were running from God and running toward sin. But when we repent, it means that we turn around. Someone said, “I’m going to change my life, I’m going to make a 360-degree turn.” He was confused because 360 degrees is a full turn and you end up going in the same direction. When you repent, you do a 180 degree turn and your life is going in a different direction.
The World, the Flesh, and the devil are no longer your master. Jesus is your new Lord – your master. When the heavenly master says, “Do this, you say, “Yes sir!” You don’t obey Him because you fear His punishment; you obey Him because you love Him.
After the Apostle Paul started following Jesus, he used a certain title to describe him in his letters. The title wasn’t was Apostle, or head church planter, or evangelist, or missionary. He identified himself as a doulous of Jesus.
That was the word for the lowliest slave. He was a slave for Jesus. Before coming to Christ, our desire was to sin. But since we belong to Jesus, our greatest desire is to glorify Jesus by obeying him.
As you know the early Christians experienced terrible persecution for their faith. Many of them died while fighting wild animals for blood sport. But they all died with a song of faith on their hearts.
There was a time when the Roman Emperor Domitian was persecuting Christians. He hated Christians so much and was always looking for new and creative ways to harm them. One day when he was gathered with some of his advisors, they were talking about one particular Christian pastor that they had arrested. And Domitian said, “I know what I'll do. I'll take away all his possessions.” And one of his advisors who understood Christianity said, “Well, that won't do anything to harm him because these Christians have already given up rights to their possessions. They talk about treasures in heaven.” Then the emperor said, “Then I'll place him in solitary confinement.”
And the advisor said that won't hurt him because he'll just use that time to pray. “He has a friend who never leaves him or forsakes him,” the advisor explained. “He'll just spend time with him.”
At that, the emperor announced, “I'll kill him.” But the advisor rejected that idea too because, he said, for a Christian death is so much better. He has a home in heaven that he's looking forward to.
By this point, Domitian was out of options and asked, “What then can I do to harm this Christian?” The advisor leaned in and said, “If you really want to harm him, make him sin.”
For a Christian, sin hurts us. It digs at the very core of our being. We aren’t perfect, but we have a new desire to live a holy life. It’s not possible to be without sin, and we sometimes stumble and fall. But a true Christian has a desire and a devotion to obey our Master.
A recently licensed pilot was flying his private plane in a cloudy day. He was not very experienced in instrument landing. When the control tower was to bring him in, he began to get panicky. Then a stern voice came over the radio, “You just obey instructions, we’ll take care of the obstructions.”
My dear Friend, we’re called to trust and obey. The victory is ours through Jesus Christ, the author and creator of life.