Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And
now for today's program. Welcome to our program today.
I'm glad you could join us. If you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles, I'm continuing through the book of 1 John. We're
in chapter three, and I'm gonna begin with verse 18 concerning
this subject, the commandment of love. The commandment of love. And what I've been talking about
is that special love that exists between the true children of
God, those who are sinners saved by the grace of God. It's a love
that none of us have by nature. This is a special love that is
shed abroad within the hearts, the mind, the affection, and
the will of God's people when the Holy Spirit imparts spiritual
life from Christ. And it comes under the truth.
You see, you cannot have this love without the truth. Truth
and love go together. And it's the truth of the gospel
of how God saves sinners by His grace through the blood of Christ,
through the righteousness of Christ freely imputed, charged,
accounted, and received by God-given faith. And so this love binds
God's people together, that we stand together in the fellowship
of faith in the true family of God against the world. even our physical relatives if
they don't believe the gospel. We're to love them and we're
to pray for their salvation, but we cannot unite with them
in fellowship in their religion because they don't believe the
gospel. You see, this is the love that God gives that exists
in the spiritual family, the true church of the living God. And in verse 18, John picks up
here, he says, my little children, and talking about children of
God, and how do we become children of God? By his grace. Let us
not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Now, let's not just say we love
our brethren, but let's say it by deeds. In that sense, love
is a verb, not a noun. But it says, the key here now
is love in deed and in truth. Now, one thing we know that it's
the deeds The works that we do for our
brethren in Christ, brothers and sisters in Christ. Now let
me tell you something. They are not our testimony before
the world. They give evidence of our testimony. The gospel is our testimony. When the Bible says back, for
example, in Matthew 5, 16, let your light so shine before men
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which
is in heaven. The light there is not the good
works. The light there is the gospel.
It's Christ who shines on those works and reveals them to be
fruit unto God. And the goal to glorify God shows
that it's not our works, our good works, that save us. The
light of the gospel shines on them to show that they are not
the cause of salvation or the ground of salvation or the way
by which we merit rewards, but they are the fruit, the evidence
of God's grace and God's power and God's goodness in our lives.
That same light that exposes, or reveals rather, the good works
of believers as being fruit unto God, being the result of His
grace and goodness and power, exposes the works of unbelievers
as being evil deeds. That's the light that Christ
spoke of in John chapter three. But he says here, when it comes
to our relationship with brethren in the faith, in the truth, let's
not just say we love, let's show them our love. And the highest
showing of love is to give our lives for our brethren. He said
that. The perfect love of Christ was
shown towards his brethren when he died on the cross to pay for
their sins. And so, When we show that love
to our brethren in deed and in truth, it gives evidence that
we love the brethren. And he says in verse 19, and
hereby we know that we are of the truth and shall assure or
persuade our hearts before him. Now this love is an evidence
of a right relationship with God. That's what he's saying. It's an evidence. It's not the
ground of our assurance. That's not what he's saying here.
But it is an evidence that we are sure for salvation in and
by Christ, who is the ground of our salvation. And that's
the key. That's how we assure our hearts
before God. You see, those who claim to believe
the gospel, but who take sides with unbelievers against the
brethren, They give no evidence of being in the family of God.
You cannot have fellowship with the world, spiritual fellowship,
and at the same time have fellowship with the brethren in Christ.
Those things, that's an unequal yoke, you see. And so he says
in verse 20, For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than
our heart and knoweth all things. You know, the heart is an interesting
word. It really means it has to do
with the inner man, as Paul said in Romans chapter 7, the spiritual
part a segment or aspect of our lives. It is the mind. Some people romanticize the heart
and act like, well, you'll hear things like this. You say, well,
I'm not going to decide on this issue with my head, but I'm going
to decide with my heart. Well, biblically speaking, that
is not correct. We decide with our minds, all
right? And our minds are determined
by what's on our heart. That's what the Bible would say.
It is the mind, it is the affections, it is the will, it is the conscience. What is the conscience? Well,
it's the seat of judgment, whereby we either relieve ourselves and
exonerate ourselves or condemn ourselves. And what he's saying
here in verse 20, if our heart condemn us, God is greater than
our heart and knoweth all things. Verse 21, beloved, if our heart
condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God. And what
he's saying is this, you know, even believers, can come into
times of doubt. We can come into times of conviction,
looking at ourselves, seeing our sinfulness and our depravity.
We pray like David of old in Psalm 130, verse three, Lord,
if thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, who would stand?
I'm only a sinner saved by grace. That's all I am. And so sinful,
and the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin. And sometimes
we can fall into thinking about, oh, I'm just so condemned. But
God is greater than our hearts. God's word means everything. And I'm not to go about what
I feel or what I think a lot of times when I get into a state
of doubt. I'm to go by God's word. And
God's Word says, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's
elect? It's God that justified. Who
can condemn us? It's Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again. So if our hearts condemn us,
if we're true believers, if we get into that state, go to the
Word of God, because it's greater. than our heart. And if our heart,
verse 21, condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
And that is because we believe God's word. We believe what God
says. And he says in verse 22, and
whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments
and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Now, somebody
might say, well, that sounds like salvation by works. It's
not talking about that at all. We have to keep things in their
context. The commandments that he's talking
about, he shows us in verse 23. And this is his commandment,
that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another, as he gave his commandment. You know, anytime
people see this phrase, keep his commandments, a lot of people
will go back to the Ten Commandments and say, well, I've got to keep
the Ten Commandments or I won't get what I asked for. That's
not so. The Ten Commandments, along with
the whole Old Covenant law, was given to Israel to expose their
sinfulness and their depravity. and show the impossibility of
salvation by their works, of gaining God's favor and blessings
by their works. That's what it was for. It's
called a schoolmaster to drive them to Christ. That's why they
were under it until Christ came. So if you're thinking, well,
I've got to keep the Ten Commandments to get what I want from God,
let me tell you something. You're never going to get anything
you want from God except God's wrath. Because that's a killing
letter, Paul called it in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. And if you think it's
not, it's because you're blinded. There was a veil over their heart,
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3. They could not see the reality
of that law. Paul summarizes The problem with
the nation Israel under the Old Covenant law, under the Ten Commandments,
and it said they sought righteousness by their works rather than by
faith in Christ. And they didn't find righteousness
because they sought it by works. You can read that in the last
verses of Romans chapter 9. So what he's talking about, and
when he says whatsoever we ask, that doesn't mean that God is
like some genie in a bottle and that if I say, Lord, give me
a million dollars, and if I keep his commandments, he'll give
that million dollars to me, no. He's talking about asking God
for things, but it's things according to his will. Every prayer I pray,
I know the keys to prayer. Number one, the first key is
that I pray to God through the Lord Jesus Christ in Jesus' name. Paul wrote about that in Hebrews
chapter four. He said we have a great high
priest and we come to God at the throne of grace asking for
mercy and grace and help in time of need. And so if I pray for
something, For example, if I pray for something evil, I'm certainly
not gonna get that. But if I pray for something just
for myself or selfish reasons, and sometimes I do, but it's
not, I come to God through Jesus Christ on the basis of His righteousness,
not on the basis of my works. And the next key to prayer is
to pray God's will be done. And that's the key. And I don't
know God's will in these matters of providence. If I pray for
a million dollars, even in a sincere prayer, if it's God's will to
give me a million dollars, I'll get it. But if it's not, I won't.
He knows better than I do. I'm his child. Just like your
children, when you raised them, you knew better than they did.
They would ask for things from you that you know you couldn't
give them because it would be bad for them. And that's the
way it is with God. So he says whatsoever we ask,
and this is always qualified with what the Bible teaches on
prayer. What we ask according to his
will and according to his name to glorify him, we receive of
him. And it's not because or based
on keeping his commandments, but it's since we keep his commandments
that evidences our state and our standing before God in Christ. And so he says, and do those
things that are pleasing in his sight. Well, the Bible says without
faith, it's impossible to please God. Now, what does that mean? It means without Christ, without
being washed in his blood and clothed in his righteousness.
That's what it's impossible to please God. Go back to Cain and
Abel in verse 12. Cain brought the works of his
hands and God rejected him. Abel brought the blood of the
Lamb, picturing Christ and God's grace. Abel came as a sinner
seeking mercy. Cain came as a proud man pleading
his works. God, you need to give this to
me because I've done this or haven't done that. No. That's
evil deeds. So think about that. And so in
verse 23, he identifies it. And this is his commandment.
that we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ
and love one another as he gave us commandment. Now, to believe
on the name of his son Jesus Christ, what does that mean?
The Bible says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved. Well, I hope you know this, but
let me deal with it. This is not invoking His name
as if it's some kind of a magic word, just saying Jesus or Lord. Back in the 70s, you had that
false gospel group called PTL. Praise the Lord. Everybody says
praise the Lord. In the Bible, the name of God,
the name of Christ, the name of Jesus, identifies him and
distinguishes him from all counterfeits, from all idols. For example,
Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 spoke of those false preachers
who preached another Jesus. Read that sometime. 2 Corinthians
11. Another Jesus, and that word
another there is another of a different kind. I'll give you an example. The Jehovah's Witnesses. They claim to believe in Jesus. But the Jesus they believe in
is not the same of the Jesus in this Bible. It's not the same
Jesus I believe in. Because they claim that their
Jesus is not God manifest in the flesh. He's just a man who
reached great heights. Well, that's a false Jesus. You
understand what I'm saying? The Jesus of the Bible, what
does it say in Matthew 1.21? His name shall be called Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins. And then verse
23 says, His name shall be called Emmanuel, which being interpreted,
is God with us. Who is Jesus Christ? He's God,
manifest in the flesh. He's the Word made flesh and
dwelling among us. He is God-man. That's who He
is. Every bit God and every bit man
without sin. No mixture of the two natures,
the nature of God and the nature of man, but a union of the two
natures. And this is what He had to be
in order to do the work that He came to do. In Galatians chapter
four, And verse four, it says, in the fullness of the time,
God sent forth His Son, now that speaks of Christ's deity, the
Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, co-equal with
the Father and the Spirit in every attribute of deity, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, that's His humanity, His sinless
humanity, made of a woman, That is, He came forth as the seed
of woman and made under the law. That means all of the conditions
of keeping the law and salvation, for salvation, was upon Him,
not upon me. You see, salvation is not conditioned
on me or you, it's conditioned on Christ. And He did that to
redeem them that were under the law. So that's who Jesus Christ
is. And any other Jesus is a false
counterfeit. Well, the second thing about
His name is not just who He is, but what He accomplished on the
cross of Calvary to save His people from their sins. Again,
Matthew 121. His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall save
His people from their sins. It's not that He might save them.
It's not that He'll try to save them. but He shall save them,
and He did. My friend, if you know the Jesus
of the Bible, Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, praise the
Lord as we say, you know that everyone for whom He died on
that cross shall be saved. There will not be one person
for whom Christ died who will perish in their sins eternally.
He died for God's elect. Who shall anything to the charge
of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who
can condemn us? It's Christ that died, yea rather
is risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father
ever living to make intercession for us. He died for His people. He died for His church. They
were a people that God gave to Him before the foundation of
the world, and their name was written in the Lamb's book of
life before the foundation of the world, the Lamb slain. That's
who He died for. He died for His church. In the
book of Acts, I believe it's chapter 20, He's talking to the
Ephesian elders, and He talks about the church of God which
He purchased. with His own blood. And who is
the church? Those who are called out of the
world by the Spirit from Christ and into the family of God. Into
the love that He's talking about. The love of keeping His command.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for His sheep. And his
sheep will hear his name, they will hear the gospel and follow
him. He told the Pharisees, the reason
you don't believe is because you're not of my sheep. My sheep
hear my voice. He laid down his life for the
sheep and he must have them all. He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, John 6, 37. And him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. This is the will of him that
sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing. but raise it up again at the
last day. That means glorification. They're
going to be glorified and enter the glory of eternal life in
Christ. So that's who He died for. That's
who Jesus is. So when it says in verse 23 that
we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, it's
talking about the truth and glory of His person as God in human
flesh without sin and the power and success of his finished work. And to believe otherwise, to
believe that Christ died for those who perish, finally perish,
that's a counterfeit Christ. That's not what he did. And so,
and love one another as he gave us commandment. This love that
binds us together. Verse 24, 1 John 3. And he that keepeth his commandments,
now what is that? who believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and love the brethren, dwelleth in him, dwelleth in
Christ, and he that is Christ dwelleth in him. And hereby we
know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given
us. You see, the Holy Spirit has brought God's people to love
God, to love Christ, to love His truth, and to love the brethren. And that's how we know that the
Spirit of God has given us spiritual life. And so over in 1 John 4,
which is the next chapter here, and as you know, the Bible was
not originally written in chapters. I'm glad they're there. But he
says, listen, this is verse one of chapter four. Beloved, believe
not every spirit, but try or test the spirits, whether they
are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the
world. Now, many people, when they speak about what they call
Christian love, they think that Christian love means that we
don't judge that we don't put people to the test of the Word
of God. And they'll often quote Matthew
7, 1, which is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible.
Judge not that you be not judged. And so they say, well, that forbids
me to judge anybody. That is not true. The Bible commands
us to make judgments. What Matthew 7.1 is forbidding,
where Christ spoke that, He's forbidding what? He's forbidding
judgment based upon a wrong ground. He's forbidding self-righteous
judgment. Self-righteous judgment is pride. For example, if you look at a
person and say, well, I know that person's not saved because
he's a sinner. Well, you've just condemned yourself.
Judge not that you be not judged. You've just judged yourself.
You know why? Because you're a sinner too. I'm a sinner. I can't judge people lost because
they're sinners. There's only two types of people
on this earth, sinners lost in their sins and sinners saved
by grace. But we're all sinners. Only a
sinner saved by grace. That's my story. That's self-righteous
judgment. And so when it comes to preachers,
now that's what he's talking about. And this is expression
of that love in keeping his commandments. Not perfectly now, but he says,
beloved, believe not every spirit. Now what he's talking about there
is those who come claiming to speak by the spirit of God. And he says, test the spirits.
Now how are you gonna test them? What are you gonna judge them?
Well, how do people judge preachers today? Think about it. Many judge
them based upon their looks, some on their style of speaking,
some on their personalities, but that's all self-righteous
judgment. That's a prejudicial judgment. That's wrong judgment, and the
love of God does not Bring that kind of judgment. How do we judge
preachers? I'm gonna deal with this next time. We judge preachers
by what they preach. Is what they preach the word
of God? Does it jibe with the scriptures? If they preach another gospel,
Paul said, let them be anathema. Isaiah said, to the law and to
the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, there's
no light in them. So judge by the word of God.
Hope you'll join us next week for another message from God's
word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1-1-0-2 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
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today and may the Lord be with you. you