A Christian According to John

Well, technically according to the Holy Spirit who led John to write these words, but for simplicity we'll avoid technicalities as much as possible. As many of you may know, there is a problem at The King's Academy. Committed Christians are few and far between, and sin is often overlooked as 'no big deal.' I do sincerely apologize for every and any way I have contributed to this. There is a probability that many people may think they are Christians and are not, or just claim to be, and are not, and I think I know how people are able to pull off this balancing act between professing and practicing. It has occurred to me that a lot of people are going through an entire high school career having no idea what it means to be a Christian. What are the criteria for being a Christian? How do I know if I am a Christian? What sorts of things characterize a non-Christian? These are questions I hope to answer in this blog by using First John as my primary source. I've found it has a plethora of straightforward statements concerning those who love and know God.

A Christian…

Walks in the light, and he who walks in darkness is not a Christian - "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth" (1:6).

Realizes that he or she is imperfect - "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (1:10).

Is obedient to the Word - "...He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar..." (2:3-6; see also 3:24; 5:3).

Loves his brother - "He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now" (2:9; see also 3:10,14-15; 4:20-21).

Does not love the things of the world - "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (2:15).
The things of the world are - "...the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life..." (2:16).

Will never lose his or her salvation - "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us"(2:19).

Confesses Jesus Christ - "Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also" (2:23; see also 4:15; 5:1,10,13).

Abides in love - "Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father" (2:24). "For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another" (3:11) (see also 4:7-8; 4:16)

Practices righteousness - "If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him" (2:29; see also 3:10).

Is not involved in habitual sin - "Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him" (3:6; see also 3:8-9; 5:18).

Should not be surprised if the world hates them - "Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you" (3:13).

Has the Holy Spirit in them - "And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us" (3:24).

Overcomes the world – “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (5:4-5).

Has the Son of God – “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (5:12).

Is not under the sway of the wicked one – “…but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (5:18-19).

And once faced with all these criteria it suddenly becomes obvious why only by the grace of God anyone can ever become a Christian.

Ephesians 4:29-32

Paul in these verses lays down a few guidelines for directing our speech. The first is the goal, edification; then the result, imparting grace; then a few no’s: do not grieve the Holy Spirit, put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and malice; and on a positive note, be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. From the context I truly to think he is referring mostly to our speech.

I think if everyone took verse 29 and directly applied it to their life, there would be a lot less noise at school. I can see so often that I let corrupt words slip out of my own (or out of another’s) mouth, and if I cut away all unnecessary speech – since Paul does say “necessary edification” – I would certainly be a less talkative person. I hope that doesn’t become something I fear, because giving up some words should seem like a piece of cake in light of the fact that Christ calls us to give up everything. Simply not talking a lot would be easy, and probably provoke some conversations in which I could speak in a gracious and edifying manner. In my experience as a Christian, that opportunity is one of the most invigorating experiences, knowing that you’ll be able to share the gospel with someone. Paul goes from this verse into verse 30, which says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit,” and while he doesn’t specifically refer to speech in this verse, I think this can be taken in a similar manner as “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.” I seriously struggle with this, and whenever I slip up I always treat it like its “no big deal” or “God will just forgive me.” Attitudes like that, though, are what keep me from being close to God. It is a big deal when we use God’s name lightly, because God is not a light subject and the implications of his name are not simple. We cannot simply toss around the name of the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being like it makes no difference, and this is something I seriously need to work on.

Verse 32 is pretty straightforward: Paul lists a bunch of attitudes we shouldn’t have. Now, anger is one of them, but we know from the context that he must be speaking here about an unrighteous anger that borders on hatred. All these things that he lists can be related to speech, and when I first read it, the first specific sin I thought of was gossip. How often do we let words come out of our mouths that are demeaning to others? It’s surprising, really. I think it’s because we don’t bother to really listen to ourselves. It’s like we just say what we feel without any discernment, and even though some might consider that “healthy” or “natural,” I’d consider it foolish. Sure, it’s natural. Sin is completely natural for human beings. We need to flee from that and continue to put on our new nature, which is characterized by the second verse: kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. Instead of trying to get revenge on those people who have wronged us, or simply tear down others in order to make ourselves look good, we should put others before ourselves, be understanding of their situations, and forgive them for what they may have done against us, because that is what God was like to us. Christ came down and did all these things and had this kind of humble attitude. He died on the cross for our sins, all of them. The least we could do is forgive our brothers the comparatively little things they do against us.

Ephesians 4:25-28

Paul continues from his previous section by echorting us with specfic examples of how we can live as we were called. Namely, by putting aside lying and instead speaking in truth, having a righteous anger and/or putting unrighteous anger aside before it is too alte, working for what we need rather than stealing it, and also giving up what we earn to "him who has need" (v.28).

Paul makes application extremely easy in this section by given specific examples of what we can do, the first among which is being truthful. The truth is essential to every part of iving; it affets everything from integrity to even simple knowledge of our surroundings. The situation gets annoyingly tedious when you feel compelled to check out everything someone says because you know you can't trust them. You can't change how you act based on that person's statements, because you can't even be sure their claims are legitimate. Nothing could be accomplished and communication with that person would be next to impossible because they are inconsistent in presenting you with reliable information and insights. I know people like this, and it is inexplicably frustrating. Paul mentions that we are members of one another, so with this lying subject he is specifically referring to Christians. If we lie to eachother, say, about what is going on in our lives, we will never be able to help eachother (or congratulate or encourage each other, but my argument assumes we would have no reason to hide the good things). If we seek help from each other and we lie, then we actually hurt eachother, which goes directly against our higher goal of the edification of the body.

Coming back to the topic of frustration, lets turn to verse 26: "Be angry, and do not sin." Anger can be righteous, and when it is derived from a love for God and hatred of sin it is even commanded. The most common example of righteous anger is Christ's cleansing of the temple, when he expelled it of the traders and "thieves" who had infested it (Read my post, Passion, for a more in depth analysis). However, Paul understood that anger, when prolonged, can easily turn harmful, resentful, and negative, which is why he commands to set aside any anger before the day is over. He doesn't want any evil motives to work their way into anger that is pure, and an easy way to do that is to let it go while you're still conscious.

The last verse doesn't seem to fit with this section (25-32), which has to do mostly with word relatied sins or good works. It simply says not to steal. Do not take anything that isn't yours. Rather, work (hard) for what you need, and then give what is yours to others who need. That seems simple enough, but it is easy to find oneself justifying the use of others' resources that they have not given away. Sin is not always blatantly obvious (though it becomes moreso with a greater understanding and knowledge of the word), and we need to be careful, whatever it may be, not to "give opportunity to the devil."

(Thank you MacArthur Study Bible for all your helpful notes ^_^)

Ephesians 4:20-24

Here’s my next journal from Ephesians! I hope it challenges you to truly live as you were called!

Paul basically confronts the Ephesians here, saying they do not know the truth, even though they have heard His words and essentially been taught by Him. If they had learned Christ, who is the truth, they would know this truth: that they have been renewed by God into a new man, no longer their old self which indulges in sin but now with a new mind. They have a mind that “was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Paul knows how important it is that Christians live like Christians, because he bothered to say it twice – once in verses 17-19, and again here. A change in lifestyle is so connected with becoming a Christian that, if such a change is not evident, one might venture to say: “you have not so learned Christ.” Either the person does not know the full truth of what becoming a Christian means and therefore is not being obedient, or they do not know Christ and the Holy Spirit is not in their heart, renewing their mind and transforming their life. The second possibility, although we pray for everyone that this is not the case, seems to be the most prevalent. I think this is true because if the Holy Spirit really was working in someone, teaching them the truth of freedom from sin and living a godly life would convict them and they would repent, but I hear so many people, when encouraged to live like Christ, tell me that they’re tired of hearing “the same old message” or that they hate how God is “getting shoved down their throats.” But how can that be the attitude of someone whose mind is renewed, someone who is putting off deceitful lusts and pursuing Christ to live like Him in righteous and holy living, set apart for God’s purposes alone? They are either lying to me (but I am not aware of anyone on fire for God who could or would even think about bringing themselves to say something like that), or more probably they have revealed what is truly in their heart. A life defeated by sin and characterized by separation from God – that is the only explanation I can think as to why someone would say that. I don’t want to judge anyone’s heart here, but I think we can use some good judgment. A lifestyle characterized by habitual sin and separation from God begs the question: “According to the Bible, is this what a Christian looks like? Can a Christian's life look like this?” I’m truly grateful that Christ has enabled me, and given me the power to have victory over many sins in my life, and as I grow in Him I look forward to continually being able to experience that victory more and more.

Ephesians 4:17-19

This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Paul in this passage encourages the Ephesians to live life like they are Christians. He wants them to live up to how they were called and be set apart from the lifestyle of the Gentiles who are unsaved. These people have a darkened understanding, do not have “the life of God,” and are ignorant of this reality because of their spiritual blindness that comes with their wicked hearts. Their consciences have been calloused “beyond feeling,” and are currently owned by a depraved behavior and lifestyle.

These verses are a great example of the attitude of the Bible towards the lifestyle of a believer. It’s true our works don’t save us. It’s true that God’s gift is free and unearned. It’s absolutely not true that we will be the same after salvation as we were beforehand. The Lord lives in us and gives is the power to conquer our sin nature in order to live free from it.

Paul in the rest of the section gives a vivid description of what the life of the unregenerate is like. First, they walk in the futility of their minds. No matter how hard an unbeliever tries, they will never be able to “figure life out.” They will never be able to “get it all together,” because by definition having it all figured out is giving up life to God, something they refuse to do by remaining unbelievers. Second, their understanding is darkened. They are spiritually and intellectually unable to objectively reason because they will always have sin, consciously or unconsciously, skewing their conclusions and logic. I see so much of this when I engage in a logical debate. The unsaved jump to false conclusions, which they base on false presuppositions and hidden (Not very well hidden, I might add) agendas. It’s frustrating, but also disheartening at the same time, seeing someone so blind to the truth that they cannot even see where they make their mistakes. Proverbs 4:19 says “The way of the wicked is darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.”

Third, they are “alienated from the life of God.” I talked at Kings a while back about The Good Life. The unregenerate cannot have this, because the good life is that very life which they reject and refuse to live. Their sin separates them from His presence. Fourth, they are ignorant. They don’t even know they aren’t living a good life, having convinced themselves that they are satisfied by the temporal pleasures that they provide themselves with. Fifth, their hearts are blind. This connects itself with ignorance and the verse I used earlier from Proverbs. The wicked are blind and in the dark; they stumble and are unaware of it. Sixth, they are “past feeling.” I.e. they have calloused themselves to the point that their consciences no longer bother them when they sin.

The last bit concerns a vivid image of how entangled the wicked are in sin. They are given over to the uncleanness, seeking it even greedily. They have what brings death and destruction, and they long for it like it’s an addiction, like their life depends on it. But sin destroys life, and it is a sad thing to watch people unknowingly tear themselves to pieces.