Ron Dunn Podcast - First John Part Nine

Episode Date: March 30, 2022

Ron Dunn brings part nine of his series on First John

1 John, the second chapter, verses 12 through 14. By the way, before we read these verses, let me just mention that in this particular passage, actually in the second chapter beginning with verse 7, John is dealing with things that fellowship with God excludes. I think the primary theme of the first two chapters of 1 John is our fellowship with God excludes. I think the primary theme of the first two chapters of 1 John is our fellowship with God. And this fellowship with God includes certain things, as we've seen in chapter 1 and the first verses of chapter 2, but it also excludes certain things. And if we're going to live in consistent fellowship with God, there are

certain things that must be excluded. As we saw this morning, one of the first things that need to be excluded is the wrong attitude, the wrong attitude, he that hateth his brother. Another thing that needs to be excluded is wrong affection. Verses 15, 16, and 17, he speaks about loving the world. And then beginning in verse 18, wrong associates need to be excluded. And there he deals with the Antichrist and the spirit of Antichrist, which is already in the world. And so it helps us understand what John is dealing with in this passage, the things that are to be excluded if we are to live in a consistent fellowship with God. So now let's begin reading with the 12th verse, and we'll read just through the 14th verse. 1 John 2,

verses 12 through 14. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. When I was in college, I heard about a philosophy teacher who gave an unusual final examination

for the semester. When the class walked into the room that day to take their final exam, the professor gave them only one question. Do you know what that question was? Why? W-H-Y. That sounds like a question a philosophy teacher would ask, doesn't it? But anyway, that was all. That was just the only question. That was the whole final examination for the entire semester's work. Why? Now, the interesting thing is that only one student out of the entire class got the right answer. You know what the answer was? Because. Why the answer? Because. I have an idea that student didn't write down because because he

knew that was the answer that was just the first thing that popped into his mind why because now six times in these verses john uses the word because, because, because. Now remember, in this passage John is dealing with things that are to be excluded from a believer's life. And he is getting ready in verses 15 and following to talk about our exclusion from the world and from certain individuals. Now I think that John is anticipating a question, and the question, why? He says, Love not the world. Why not? Don't have anything to do with certain kinds of people. And there are the spirits of Antichrist in the world.

And they're not of us. And don't have anything to do with them. Why? And so what John is doing in this passage is giving the basis for this exclusion. And before he tells them what things are to be excluded from their life, he stops to remind his readers of their Christian experience.

And he's trying to make them conscious of what it really means to be a Christian. Because, you see, everything that he says is based upon their experience as Christians. And everything he's going to say, all the exhortations to withdraw from the world, will lose its meaning and force if they forget what it really means to be a Christian. That's why six times in these verses he uses that word because. I'm writing to you because. What's he writing?

He's writing this, love not the world. Why? Because. I'm writing to you because, because, because, because. And so he supports his appeal and exhortation by reminding them of their Christian experience. And what he's saying to us is that our lives are to be consistent with the experience we've had in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the church is nothing more than a school where you and I learn to live the new life that is in Jesus, and the life that we live must be consistent with the experience we've had with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so in this passage, John is giving a four-fold statement of our experience in grace, telling us what it really means to be a Christian. And the reason we are to withdraw from the world and refuse to love the world is because of our fourfold experience in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's look at this fourfold experience. Let's look at the fourfold why we are to exclude ourselves from certain things and certain practices. First of all, we are to exclude ourselves from the love of the world because a Christian is one who has received forgiveness of sins.

Because we have been forgiven our sins. I write unto you, little children, he says in verse 12, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. Why should I be separated from the world? Why should I not love the world and cherish the world and become absorbed into the system of this world? Well, because I have been separated from the world and become absorbed into the system of this world? Well, because I've been separated from the world because my sins have been forgiven me. The word that's used here for forgiveness

was a word that was used of releasing water from channels for the purpose of irrigation. And it meant to bring life. It meant to bring life. It meant to send a liberating force, to send a life-giving force into it. And you see, forgiveness is a liberating power. And the experience that I have in the Lord Jesus Christ is an experience of forgiveness that liberates me from the desert of this world. But another meaning behind the word forgiveness is, as you know, to send away. The basic idea of separation is found in this word forgiveness. Now, it is a cardinal truth of Scripture that the Lord never forgives us in our sins. He always forgives us from our sins.

He saves us from our sins. You see, if a man is saved from his drink, he's separated from his drink. If a man is saved from his immorality, he's separated from that immorality. You can't be saved from something and still be in it. And so the very basis of my salvation, the very first foundation of all Christian living is this, that I have been forgiven of my sin. I have been separated from my sin. What does the psalmist say? As far as the east is from the west, that's how far he separated our sins from us. Therefore, John is going to say, I'm writing to you that you love not the world,

neither the things that are in the world. Why? Because you've been forgiven. You've been forgiven. You've been separated from all of these things. By the way, you'll notice it says that our sins are forgiven us for his name's sake. I like that. Our sins are forgiven for his name's sake. Did you know that God never forgives us our sins because we're sincere, or because we're sorry, or because we beg, or because we plead, or because we beg or because we plead or because we promise not to do it again,

our sins are forgiven us for Jesus' sake. God forgives me, not because I deserve it, not because I'm sorry for it, not because I promise and pledge never to do it again, but he forgives me for Jesus' sake. He looks at the blood of Jesus and forgives me for his name's sake, and that name represents all that Jesus is and all that Jesus has done. And so, you see, if I live in the world, I bring reproach upon that name. If I love the world, if I live a life

inconsistent with my forgiveness, I am dragging the name of Jesus through the mud of this world. And I believe that one of the greatest judgments that a believer will have with that judgment seat of Christ will be this, that he has betrayed the name of Jesus. Our sins are forgiven us for his namesake. Jesus has pledged his name to our forgiveness. And if we in turn love the world and become wrapped up in the world, we're dragging his name in the mud.

So the first reason is this. We're not to love the world, we are to be separated from the world, because our sins have been forgiven. Number 2, a Christian is one who recognizes the deity of Jesus Christ. He recognizes the deity of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 13. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. You have known him that is from the beginning. Now, this phrase, from the beginning, designates Christ in his deity. It designates Christ in his deity. It designates Christ in his deity.

You see, in a moment he's going to tell us that we're not to have anything to do with the world. Why? Because the spirit of Antichrist is in the world. The spirit of Antichrist is in the world. That spirit that denies the uniqueness, the deity, the sovereignty, the lordship of Jesus Christ. How can I love the

world? How can I fellowship with the Spirit of Antichrist when I have recognized that Jesus is the one who was from the beginning? It's inconsistent. It's inconsistent. You see, the crucial question is this. Who is Jesus Christ? And if I, like Thomas, bow and say he's my Lord and my God, then if he is this, then all the demands he makes upon my life is fair and honest, and this means he is the only one who has the right to demand my absolute loyalty. Therefore, I must withdraw myself from the love of the world. I must withdraw myself from the fellowship of those who deny his deity and his lordship. Why? Because I, as a Christian,

have experienced that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he is divine. And it is totally inconsistent. I'll be honest with you. I cannot see how those of us who really and truly know Jesus Christ to be the Lord and to be divine and to have the deity of Christ as a vital part of our faith, how we can be tolerant

towards those who deny the deity of the Lord Jesus. And I'm talking now about in every phase of our Christian work. You can no more fellowship on a basis of Christianity with someone who denies the unique deity of Jesus than you can fellowship with a rattlesnake. You cannot do it. I didn't say we are not to love them, have compassion upon them, but we cannot have Christian fellowship with those because they are not Christians. And a man who wraps himself up in the world and lives inconsistent in his Christian life

is in practice denying the deity of the Lord Jesus. He may not do it in theology, but he does it in practice denying the deity of the Lord Jesus. He may not do it in theology, but he does it in practice. All right. Number three. A Christian is one who knows God as his Father.

The reason, the third reason that you and I are to exclude ourselves from the love of the world and refuse to be absorbed into the things of this world is because we have come to know God as our Heavenly Father. Look at the middle part of verse 13. Now the last part of verse 13. I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father.

I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father. Now this means that we know God in His character as father. It means that you and I now have a new and unique relationship with God. What is that relationship I have with the Lord? Well, of course, he is my Lord. He is my Savior. But he is also my Father. And that relationship tells me something very important. For instance, the word that's translated children here in verse 13 is different from the word translated child in verse 12.

In verse 12 he says, I write unto you little children. There, that word translated children in verse 12 is a term of affection. But in verse 13, the word translated children is a term that implies subordination or discipline or dependence, and it is used when speaking of God as our Father. All right, now, now get the picture. The relationship of a Christian to God is the relationship of a child who is subordinate to his Father

and who is obedient to his Father and who is dependent upon his Father. This means I recognize my absolute dependence upon him. He's my father. He provides everything I need. The classic illustration of this, of course, is in Luke chapter 15. The prodigal son left home. Now, the interesting thing, the ironical thing is that everything the prodigal son went seeking in the far country he found in the Father's house. Everything he went seeking in the far country

he found in the Father's house. He wanted friends, he found them in the Father's house. He wanted a good time, he found them in the Father's house. He wanted plenty, he found it in the Father's house. Now friend, I want to tell you something.

Everything that you're going to the world today to look for, you will find in the Father's fellowship and in the Father's house. Don't tell me you're not going to the world. I know a great many professing Christians who are going to the world today to try to patch out their life and to try to fill in the gaps of their emptiness, but I have news for you. If you have ever come to recognize and see God as your Father, you recognize that as your Heavenly Father, you are dependent upon Him, and He supplies every need you have.

And like the prodigal son, everything you're looking for in that far country, you'll find in the Father's house. That's the reason you don't need to love the world or the things that are in the world. Why? What can they offer you? The Father has already

given you all things. Amen. That's right. That's right. I tell you, that's just tremendous. Why do I need to look to the world?

Why do I need to look to the world for anything? If He is my Father, He has promised to meet every need that I have, and he supplies everything that I need. So John says we are not to love the world, we are not to fellowship with the world. Why? Because we know him as our Father. It means that we're in absolute dependence upon him, but it means something else. Not only does it signify dependence, it also signifies discipline. It signifies discipline.

Now, both of these are an encouragement to withdraw from the world. One is an encouragement because of having our needs met. The other is an encouragement to withdraw because if we don't, we're going to get spanked. You see, I am the child, and he is my father, and the father has said, now son, stay in your own yard. Stay in your own yard. I don't want you going out there to the world. I don't want you loving the world. I don't want you going out there to the world I don't want you loving the world I don't want you trafficking with the things of the world I said I want you to stay in your own yard now if I recognize him as my father

I will obey him because I fall under his discipline and I have news for you this afternoon if you really and truly are born of God and he's your father and you're his child, and you disobey him in going to the world, he's going to chastise you.

That's right. And the writer of Hebrews in the 12th chapter says that if you and I are without chastisement, we're of all our partakers, we are illegitimate children. We're really not born of God. And you say, that's a low motive. That's a low motive. You mean I'm not to go to the world simply because I'm afraid God will spank me? Listen, friend, a low motive is better than none at all, and God usually starts with you where you are. And so if that's the only motive that will appeal to you, then that shows you where you are spiritually. That's right. That's right.

God deals with us where we are. And if the only thing that will persuade you and encourage you to withdraw from the world is the threat of chastening, then that tells you where you are spiritually. Now, you ought to withdraw from the world simply because you love God and simply because you know that all that the Father has is far better than the world can offer. But if you're not that far along yet, and if what motivates you is fear of a spanking, then that's better than none at all, and God will use that. So, we're to withdraw from the world, exclude these things in the world from our lives because

we know God as our Father. This means dependence upon him and discipline from him. Number 4, and I think this will be all we will have time for this afternoon. A Christian is not to love the world, not to fellowship with the world, to separate himself from the world because he has overcome the devil. He has overcome the devil. Look at verse 14. I have written unto you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning I have written unto you young men because you are strong

and the word of God abideth in you and you have overcome the wicked one now why should I withdraw from the world because I have from the world? Because I have overcome the God of this world, who is the devil. Now, notice that this particular verse,

this particular aspect of the Christian experience is addressed to young people. Now, why is that? I think it's because most of the battles are fought during the time of youth. Now, I'm speaking now not only of physical youth, but of spiritual youth. And John uses these physical ages. He uses these physical ages to express spiritual truth. For instance, when he speaks of little children in verse 12,

he's speaking of all the Christians in general. When he speaks of fathers, he's speaking of all the christians in general when he speaks of fathers he's speaking of older and mature christians when he speaks of young men he is speaking of let's say teenage christians not teenage in years but teenage in their spiritual maturity and there there are these uh these uh young christians who are just children they're babes in Christ, they have forgiveness of sins. Maybe they have not experienced yet in practice that overcoming of the devil. Maybe they've not learned how to wage spiritual warfare. And then so there are the young men, and then there are the fathers.

And these indicate, as I've said, not simply physical age, but spiritual age and spiritual progress in their Christian life. All right. Now, most of the battles are fought during the time of youth, both physical and spiritual. And the groove in which our life is to run is decided during the early years. You see, most of the, really, most of the issues of life are settled in our younger years.

And our habits, our philosophies, our lifestyles are usually set in concrete in our later teenage years, in our early twenties. And if a battle isn't won here, it probably never will be won. And you know, you can deal with older folks today and you can find that a vast majority

of their problems can be traced back to victories that were never won in their younger years. And so he addresses himself to these young men and he says, You are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. You have overcome the wicked one. Now there is no way that you and I can ever, can ever overcome the world until, first of all, we overcome the God of this world.

But once we have overcome the God of this world, then there is no excuse, and I use that word advisedly, there is no excuse for our not consistently overcoming the world. Notice he says, you are strong, and this doesn't refer to physical strength. You are strong, now look at the secret weapon, look at the source of that strength, and the Word of God abides in you. The Word of God dwells in you. The word of God dwells in you. All right, now, listen very carefully. How do I come to the place where I am strong and I can overcome the devil, thereby overcoming the world and excluding from my life everything that is worldly? How? What's the secret? The word of God dwells in you. Not on the shelf.

Not in a bookcase. But it dwells in you. Now, I don't think I need to go into this very deeply because you know that the word dwell, we've discussed it many a time, it's one of John's favorite words, the word dwell means to be at home. It indicates a permanent residence.

Now, the secret of victory, the secret of victory, my friend, is not a cataclysmic experience. Not an aesthetic experience, an ecstatic experience. It's not

a thirty-second trip to the altar. The secret of steady, consistent, everyday victory over the world and over the devil is to be found in this, that the Word of God abides in me. It dwells in me, and that dwelling in me means that it is at home in my heart. It controls me. It dominates me. It simply means that the will of God which is expressed in the Word of God is the discipline and the determining factor in my life. Now, naturally this means before the Word of God can dwell in me, I have to take it in me. Friend, there will never be any lasting victory in your life until you learn to discipline yourself to have a daily time with the Lord. How much time have you spent today in reading the

Word? How much time? And I don't mean now studying for sermons or studying your Sunday school lesson. I mean just getting along with God and opening that Bible and letting God speak to you through the Word. It is amazing, it is amazing to me how few preachers of the gospel, ministers, Christian workers, how few of them spend a regular disciplined time every day, every day in the Word of God. We do it catch as catch can, haphazardly, spasmodically, and then we wonder why there's no consistency in our life. I am discovering more and more, increasingly every day, that my disposition, my temperament,

everything about my spiritual life goes along smoothly or roughly in definite proportion to how much time I spend alone with God, how faithful I am to that quiet time every day with the Lord. I've got to take it in first. I've got to take it in first. Now, my advice to you is to discipline yourself to set a time every day, a regular time every day, when you're going to withdraw as best you can from everything else and get alone and just read the Word, read through the Psalms, read through the Proverbs,

read through the Epistles, and just pray and let God speak to you through that Word. Now, I wish we had more time to spend on that, but we've covered that in other messages, and so we'll not take the time now. But it not only means taking in the Word, but it means the Word taking over. Not only the Word taking into our heart, but the word taking over in our heart. Now, there is some people who just take it in

and put it on a shelf and it lives there as a guest. No, it is to be a member of the family. Not only is the word to be taken into our hearts, it's to take over in our hearts. And this is the secret of strength. This is the secret of strength this is the secret of victory it's a permanent victory overcome indicates a permanent victory that is a

a word that expresses continually overcoming and it is a perfect victory overcoming why victory, overcoming. Why? We overcome continually because the Word continually dwells within us. You see, not only have we taken it in, but it has taken over, and therefore our lives is controlled and dictated to by the will of God as it is expressed and revealed in the Word of God. All right. I think we'll stop right there.

I want us to bow our heads now for a moment. While our heads are bowed, there are many things that I'd like to recap on, but I think the thing that I really want to bear down on and leave you with is this urgency and this appeal for you to take in the Word of God, for you to take in the Word of God to your heart. Will you just try this experiment? This is Friday and will you start today and just start

today getting along with God try not to set a time on it but no less than 30 minutes try to just stay there until God breaks through and speaks to you but no less than 30 minutes and every day, every day, sometime you get along with God.

Try it for a week. See what a difference it makes in your life. The Ron Dunn Podcast is available only for personal edification, not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written consent. It is managed and operated

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