Sermon Prepared by James McCullen
Email Preach Him with Dr. Jim

WE KNOW IT IS SO
1 JOHN 2:3-6

INTRODUCTION:
Did you hear abiut the computer manufacturer who crossed a skunk with a computer? They produced a stinking know it all.

This passage of scripture calls for a moral test on those who claim to be Christians.

2:3-4 KNOWLEDGE PRODUCES .... CHRISTIAN OBEDIENCE

2:5 OBEDIENCE PRODUCES ....... CHRISTIAN LOVE

2:6 LOVE PRODUCES .................. CHRISTIAN WALK
 
 

EXPLANATION:

A. COMPLIANCE OF OUR . . THOUGHTS.    v 3
        (3) And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

        1. We Know. Means to know internally. From experience.
        2. WE keep. Means to guard.
 

B. COMPLIANCE OF OUR . . TESTIMONY.    v 4 a
 
 

C. COMPLIANCE OF OUR TRUTH FULLNESS.    v 4 b
 

ILLUSTRATION:
Aaron was an eleven-year-old boy whose behavior was described by Dr. William Glasser, his psychiatrist, as horrible. In his book, Reality Therapy, Glasser says Aaron was the most obnoxious child he had ever met. The boy would kick, scream, run away and hide, become withdrawn, disrupt his classes and make everyone disgusted with him.

Dr. Glasser saw one problem with Aaron that no one else observed: "No one had ever told him that he was doing wrong." No one had ever set limits on what he could do and not do. The psychiatrist decided to try a completely new tack. The boy would have to behave, to act reasonable, or be punished. He responded remarkably. "Probably because he had been anxious for so long to be treated in a realistic way."

Thus he became courteous, well behaved, and his miserable grades went to straight A's. For the first time in his life Aaron began to play constructively with other children, to enjoy honest relationships with others, and to stop blaming his troubles on his mother or other people. Dr. Glasser calls this "reality therapy" and says one of an individual's greatest needs is to be made to realize that he is personally responsible for what he does and that right behavior accomplishes more than wrong behavior.
 

APPLICATION: The moral test ask do we keep the commandments?
 
 

EXPLANATION:

A. PERFECTION CONFIRMED THROUGH HIS . . WORD. v 5 a "KEEPS HIS WORD"
        1. Keeping Commandments and Keeping Word.
 

B. PERFECTION CONFIRMED THROUGH HIS . . WORK. v 5 b "IN HIM"
        1. The word "perfected" is perfect tense and passive voice.
 

C. PERFECTION CONFIRMED THROUGH HIS . . WISDOM. v 5 c "WE KNOW"
 

ILLUSTRATION:
Is it truly necessary to go for "zero defects"! Why isn't 99.9% defect-free good enough? Those are questions often posed to quality consultant Jeff Dewar of the Red Bluff, California-based QCI International when he argues for eliminating defects altogether. To make his point, Dewar has come up with some examples for what life would be like if things were done right 99.9% of the time. We'd have to accept:

* One hour of unsafe drinking water every month.

* Two unsafe plane landings per day at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

* 16,000 pieces of mail lost by the U.S. Postal Service every hour.

* 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions per year.

* 500 incorrect surgical operations each week.

* 50 unborn babies dropped at birth by doctors every day.

* 22,000 checks deducted from the wrong bank accounts each hour.

* 32,000 missed heartbeats per person per year.

Suddenly, the quest for zero defects makes a lot of sense!
 

APPLICATION:

The moral test ask; does our life confirm His work of perfection? Do we keep His word as well as His commandments?

Note I said: His word, work, and His wisdom.
 
 

EXPLANATION:

A. COPYING HIS PATHWAY IS OUR . . MOTIVATION. " THE ONE WHO SAYS"
 

B. COPYING HIS PATHWAY IS OUR . . MANDATE. "OUGHT"

    1. We should rejoice at God's "oughts" they mean we can.
    2. This word "ought"does not leave us a choice. We do it or disobey.
 

C. COPYING HIS PATHWAY IS OUR . . MANNER. "IN THE SAME MANNER" Rom 8:29
 

ILLUSTRATION:
A father and his small son strolled down the street in Chicago past the place where a skyscraper was being constructed. Glancing up, they saw men at work on a high story of the building. "Father," said the little boy, "What are those little boys doing up there?" "Those are not little boys,
son. They're grown men." "But why do they look so small?" "Because they're so high," his father answered. After a pause the boy asked, "Then, Father, when they get to heaven there won't be anything left of them, will there?" It's so true. The nearer we come to Christ the less others see of us and the more they see of Christ.
 

APPLICATION: The moral test ask do we walk as He walked?

Copying His life must be in the proper order. We can not imitate Him and become a Christian. Salvation is not "imitation: it is "identification". Salvation must come before the imitation of His Life.
 
 

I. THROUGH A COMPLIANCE WITH HIS PRECEPTS. v 3-4
 

II. THROUGH A CONFORMATION WITH HIS PERFECTION. v 5
 

III. THROUGH A COPYING OF HIS PATHWAY. v 6