I should have told you earlier,
lest you be sitting there thinking all the time I'm preaching what's
wrong with Shelby. Nothing's wrong. She's fine.
She and I have been over in Lexington taking care of the grandchildren
while Faith and Doug are in Arizona. And we went over yesterday, and
we'll be back sometime tomorrow, if the Lord willing. Turn with
me, if you will, to the book of 1 John. 1 John chapter 5. In this day, when almost all
men speak in platitudes and speak in language that can be understood
by just about any way you wish to understand them, because no
one speaks with clarity, no one speaks with dogmatism. In fact,
dogmatism is looked upon as a thing to be shunned. It is refreshing
to read 1 John chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and read that which
a man wrote with dogmatism, with absolute unbending dogmatism. The dogmatism of tenderness,
of love, of consecration to God through faith in Christ Jesus
the Lord, but dogmatism. over and over and over again
the apostle uses the words we know we know we know he rings
that bell and rings it again and rings it again in every chapter
we know we know we know when you read those words in our text
read them this way we know absolutely positively, unshakably. We know absolutely, positively,
unshakably. We know absolutely, positively,
unshakably. Now, do you really know anything
that way? Do I really know anything absolutely,
positively, unshakably. Let's read our text. First John
chapter 5 verses 18 through 21. My subject tonight is we know,
we know, we know. And you'll see the outline of
the message right here in the text. We know, we know absolutely,
we know positively, we know unshakably that whatsoever is born of God
sinneth not. But he that is begotten of God
keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And we
know, absolutely, positively, unshakably, that we are of God. And the whole world lieth in
wickedness. And we know, absolutely, positively,
unshakably, we know that the Son of God is come and hath given
us an understanding that we may know him that is true and we
are in him that is true, even in his Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. Little children, keep yourselves
from idols. Amen. Why does John speak in
such dogmatic terms. For one thing, he is simply echoing
the language he heard the Master speak. The Lord Jesus said, Whither
I go ye know, and the way ye know. He says to the Father in
prayer, I have known thee, and these have known that I came
out from thee. John is simply repeating what
he heard the Master say, speaking of absolute, positive, unshaken
knowledge. He tells us there are some people
in this world who know things, absolutely know them. They may
or may not be able to express them in an articulate manner.
They may or may not be able to defend them in a debate where
they desire us of doing so, but they know them. And you're not
going to move them away from it. Things that are known. Known by young and old. Known by literate and illiterate. Known by the most learned and
the most ignorant of God's people. Known by the youngest and known
by the oldest. Some things we know. For another
thing, it appears that John was a man who simply could not tolerate
mental conflict. Thomas for a time was more brain
than heart, and that's what the result is when we are more brain
than heart. We have doubts. We have doubts. John was more
heart than brain, and his loving heart could not endure a skeptical
thought. This full assurance expressed
by the words we know arises from the fact that perfect love always
cast out hesitancy and doubt, which is a form of fear. Perfect
love casteth out fear because fear hath torment and the revelation
The knowledge of God's love made perfect in us. That is God's
love finding its fulfillment in us. The knowledge of God's
perfect love in the experience of God's grace cast out fear. Love can't endure doubt. If love is crossed with doubt,
it becomes jealousy and jealousy is cruel as the grave. We ought
all of us to seek with confidence this confident, undoubting, assured
knowledge of which John speaks. Nothing is more comforting and
satisfying than that which is sure. Nothing is more comforting and
satisfying than that which is sure. A child needs the steady
hand of a faithful father. A woman needs the steady guidance,
the steady provision, the steady comfort of a faithful husband. That which is steady and firm
gives comfort. And nothing gives greater comfort
to our hearts than knowledge that is firm and sure. Do you
have such knowledge? May God, by his grace, give you
this knowledge that comes only by faith in Christ Jesus. This
knowledge that only God can give. This knowledge is not the result
of your Study and your diligence in study. This knowledge is not
the result of your pastor being a good teacher This knowledge
is not something that's passed on from father to son or mother
to daughter No, no, this knowledge is God's gift. It is a covenant
gift. It is a grace gift It comes by
divine illumination by divine revelation when a man or a woman
has something revealed to them Mean revealed to them by God. There's no question concerning
it. There's no question concerning it Let's look in the Scriptures
turn back to Isaiah. I want you to see what the Scriptures
say concerning this This is what God says Isaiah 54 Isaiah 54 Now while you're turning there,
let me quote our Lord's words in John chapter 6 he says in
John 6 45 it is written in the prophets that and they shall
all be taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. All God's elect, the prophet
said, shall be taught of God. And everyone who has heard, not
heard a man, but heard God, and learned not from a man, but from
the Father. Who have heard and learned been
taught of God they come to me the Savior said now this is God's
promise Isaiah 54 verse 13 All thy children shall be taught
of the Lord Taught of the Lord. I've said this many times and
I know I Have some frowns from folks who are involved in education
A good teacher doesn't just give a lesson. A good teacher makes
sure you get the lesson. A good teacher makes sure you
get the lesson. They don't just give out facts.
They make sure the pupil gets the lesson. I'm a man of just
average intelligence. Taking New Testament Greek, we
had a good professor. That's all I can say for him.
He was a good professor. He was sharp. He taught church
history. And he taught various classes
with regard to the epistles. But he taught New Testament Greek.
And all you had to do to pass the course, all you had to do
was make a perfect score. That's all you had to do. That's
all you had to do. And that perfect score, if you
missed anything, you failed. And he made sure You got the
lesson. He made sure you got the lesson.
Every student who stayed with the class got the lesson because
he was a good teacher. Now, I can't make you know the
things of God. That's not within the realm of
possibility. But God doesn't just give the
lesson. God teaches. Every man shall be taught of
the Lord who is chosen of God. Every woman shall be taught of
the Lord who's chosen of God, taught of the Lord, and great
shall be the peace of thy children. Look at Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter
31. This is the very text of scripture
from which our Lord Jesus is quoting in John chapter 6. Jeremiah
31 verse 34, he's describing the new covenant, the covenant
of grace. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor,
and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. Does that mean
when a person is converted, they don't need a pastor anymore,
don't need teachers? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No, what it is
teaching is this. You don't need a priest to bring
you to God. You don't need a counselor to
guide you to the Lord. No, no, no, no. He's the counselor
and he's the priest. And if you're taught of God,
you know it. Watch what it says now. For they shall all know
me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
Lord. Everyone who's taught of God,
every heaven born soul, God says shall know me. from the least
of them to the greatest of them. Doesn't matter whether they're
young or old. Doesn't matter whether they're
male or female. Doesn't matter whether they're brilliant academics
or can't read and write. They shall all know me from the
least of them to the greatest of them. I have a very dear friend,
Brother Elmer Harrell. He was a faithful, faithful deacon.
I was his pastor for nine years, and he was a dear, dear friend. When he was seven years old,
he was on his own. His parents died, and he was
out in Oklahoma, and he drifted from one thing to another, getting
work wherever he could. Never had any education, and
he never pretended to. He could barely read at all.
He learned to read the scriptures, and that was about it, but other
things he had great difficulty with. But I'm going to tell you
something about that man. He knew God, and he knew truth
from error. He knew grace from works. He
knew blood redemption from that which wasn't. He was taught of
God. You understand what I'm saying?
The Lord God says, they shall all know me from the least of
them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For I will forgive
their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more. Twice again,
in the New Testament, these words are quoted. Hebrews chapter 8
and Hebrews chapter 10. You can look at them later. This
is what I'm saying. This is what God's saying. This
is what John's saying. All spiritual knowledge is God-given,
revealed knowledge. We have this knowledge by the
gift of God in the new birth. Our Lord Jesus talked to Nicodemus.
Man, he was smart. He was smart. He was a theologian of theologians. He was a teacher of theologians. This man was a leader of the
Jews. He was a member of the Jewish
Sanhedrin. He was the highest muckety-muck
in Israel. He knew theology inside and out. He knew Bible history inside
and out. He knew doctrine inside and out.
But he didn't know God from a billy goat. He didn't know God. And he came to the Lord Jesus
and asked him about the things he was teaching. And this is
what the master said. Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. What does it take for a person
to know God? You've got to be born again.
What does it take for a person to know the things of God? You've
got to be born again. You can't see. You can't perceive. You can't understand the kingdom
of God until God gives you life. Won't happen. Won't happen. Had
a good visit with Bob and Sally the other day. We're talking
about family and friends and you're so concerned about them.
You're witness to them and they just have no interest. They just
have no interest. How come? Because they can't
see. Because they can't see. And you can't make them see.
You can't make them see. It's just not possible. You can't
do it. The person born again, the Lord Jesus says concerning
those who know God and know the things of God, blessed are your
eyes for they see. We hear the instruction of the
gospel and by it we're saved from ignorance. We have God given
knowledge and an understanding of divine truth. We know the
things of God by experience, by personal acquaintance, not
just in an academic way, not just in a theoretical way. The
things we know, we know because God taught them to us in our
experience. Sheep know the shepherd's voice. How come? Because they know the
shepherd. They know the shepherd's voice
because they know the shepherd. Until they know the shepherd, they
know not his voice. And once they have known the
shepherd, they know his voice. This God-given knowledge is a
knowledge with certainty. It's neither speculative nor
skeptical. We know, John says. Those are
the words used over and over again in these five chapters.
We may at times, indeed I'm certain you have and I have, and perhaps
we'll again doubt our interest in these things of God. Inconsistent
as that is, but we cannot endure the possibility of a doubt regarding
the pillars of God's house and God's temple. I get lots of correspondence,
as you know, from folks who love the gospel and folks who despise
it. and folks who want to debate and argue and offer lots of arguments
against things clearly taught in this book. We know this is
God's Word. How do you know that? I've experienced
its power in my soul every day for 47 years. I know this is
God's Word. I know this word is quick and
powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword by experience, not just
because I've studied biblical inspiration, not just because
I've studied the history of the scriptures, but because I've
experienced it and continue to. We know that God is God, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost. We know that Jesus Christ came
into this world in human flesh that he by the sacrifice of himself
made atonement for our sins for he was raised up from the dead
quickened by God when he was justified in the spirit he sits
now on the right hand of the majesty on high and we know that
he comes again quickly and at his glorious second advent all
men shall acknowledge that he's God We know that he who is God
is the absolute sovereign of the universe and that salvation
is his work, altogether his. We who are taught of God know
these things. Well, Brother Don, now you know
not everybody believes that. How well I know. How well I know. But I'm here to tell you everybody
who's taught of God does. Everybody who's taught of God
does. All who are taught of God are born of God. And all who
are born of God have the mind of Christ. That's what Paul said
in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. We have the mind of Christ. Not
that we think like Christ. We have the mind of Christ. Not
that we understand things like Christ does. We have the mind
of Christ. We've been made partakers of
the divine nature. So that being born of God, we're
taught of God. John's dogmatism is seen throughout
this epistle. We ought to Recognize this and
rejoice in it. He speaks with absolute Knowledge
of confidence turn back to chapter 1. Let's look at this a little
bit 1st John chapter 1 That which was from the beginning
Which we have heard Which we have seen with our eyes which
we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life. I'm talking to you now about
stuff I know. I'm writing to you about things
I know. This is not theory. This is not speculation. This
is not my opinion about things. I'm telling you what I know.
For the life was manifested and we've seen it. We've seen it
and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life Which was
with the father and was manifested unto us verse 3 that which we
have seen and heard Declare we unto you. We're telling you what
we know look at chapter 2 verse 19 This is not true of everybody. This is not true of all religious
people. They went out from us But they were not of us For if
they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with
us. But they went out from us that they might be made manifest
that they were not of us. Now watch the next line. Watch
the next line. Don't separate it from the previous
verse. But you, but you, you, you who
are still around. You, you who are still by the
stuff. You, you who haven't been moved
away from Christ in the hope of the gospel. You have an unction,
an anointing from the Holy Word. And you know all things. You'll
still be here tomorrow. They went out because they didn't
know anything. You're still here because you have an unction,
a teaching, an anointing from God, a seal in your heart that
teaches you all things. Look at chapter four, verse one.
Beloved believe not every spirit, but try the spirits. He's talking
about preachers. Try them try to test them whether
they are of God Because many false prophets are going out
into the world Hereby know ye hereby know ye, you know this,
you know this the Spirit of God Every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God every preacher Every
preacher who tells you that Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, is that
one who has fully accomplished all that the prophet said Messiah
would accomplish. He is of God. He is of God. Now, I could spend a long time
here and a long time needs to be spent here. Be careful how
you speak of men who preach the gospel of God's grace. I hear
folks rush to judgment. They're getting a fuss about
saying, well, he's a false prophet. That's dangerous ground to walk on.
Be careful how you speak of those who preach the gospel of God's
grace. Don't listen to preachers and then sit around and chop
up the messages. If you can't hear for profit,
don't hear it off. Don't listen to preachers preaching the gospel
of God's grace. Well, I like this. I don't like that. What
do you think about what he said? Who cares what you think about
what he said? If a man preaches the gospel of God's grace, hear
him as a messenger from God for you. Read on now. Those who confess
that Christ, that Jesus is Christ, Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh, they're of God. Every spirit that denies the
accomplished work of Jesus Christ, every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, he's not of God.
And this is the spirit of antichrist. Whereof ye have heard that it
should come and even now already is in the world. Look at verse
six. We are of God. We are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. He that is not of God, heareth
not us. Hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error. This is how we know that which
is true and that which is false. John was inspired by God the
Holy Ghost to write this epistle specifically that we Being taught
of God might know and enjoy the assurance of this knowledge.
Look at chapter 2, verse 3. Hereby we know that we know him,
if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and
keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not
in him. But whoso keepeth his word in him, verily, is the love
of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in
him. He that saith he abideth in him
ought himself also to walk even as he walked. Brethren, I write
no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which
you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word
which you heard from the beginning. Verse 8 again a new commandment
right I unto you that is this is fresh which thing is true
and in him and in you Because the darkness is past and the
true light now shineth look at chapter 3 verse 14 We know that
we have passed from death into life We know we passed from death
into life I'm more and more convinced of this all the time When a person is born again,
he knows it. He knows it. And if I have to tell you, you've
been born again, you haven't been. And if you've got to go
seek it out from somebody else, you haven't been. I quit that
a long time ago. We know we pass from death into
life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. Verse 24. He that keepeth his
commandments dwelleth in him. And he in him and hereby we know
that he abideth in us By the spirit which he hath given us
Now look at one more text in this regard. We're going to come
to our text And i'll be very brief in handling it hebrews
chapter 11 This knowledge this god-given
knowledge this sure knowledge This positive, absolute knowledge
is a matter of faith in Christ. Now, if you're taking notes,
be sure you put those last two words down, in Christ. It is
a matter of faith in Christ. Somebody talked about faith and
people said, we've got to believe, we've got to believe. And they
equate faith with believing that the hymn book can fly. If you
believe it enough, it'll happen. If you believe it enough, it'll
come to pass. No, that's not faith this sure confident positive
knowledge arises from and is intimately connected with and
flows out of faith in Christ Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 If
you trust Christ, this knowledge is yours without faith in Christ. You can't possess it Without
faith in Christ, you'll live and die a skeptic, doubting everything
revealed by God in his word. If you're given faith in Christ,
now listen to me, listen to me. If God gives you faith in Christ,
Larry Brown, you'll bow to and believe everything written in
this book. You'll bow to and believe everything
written in this book. This is God's Word. Let's see
what he says about it. Hebrews 11 verse 1. Now faith
is the substance of things hoped for. It's the meat of the issue. It's the real stuff. It's the
evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained
a good report. And he talked about this good
report they obtained from God. Enoch had this testimony, this
good report from God that he pleased God. Abraham had this
good report from God, this testimony from God that he was righteous.
These men described in these succeeding verses, they're men
and women who walked with God and by faith obtained good report
from God that their names were written in heaven, accepted of
God, redeemed by Christ. Read on. Through faith, through
faith, I think it's marvelous that he uses this very place
to say this. Through faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the word of God. Isn't that remarkable,
Rex? Why would he put that there?
What does creation have to do with faith? Everything. Everything. Through faith we understand God
made this world. Well, how do you explain that?
Man alive. I wouldn't attempt to think about
explaining how God made this world. Haven't you read books on creation?
You haven't read a good one. Except this one. Now I'm honest
with you, I haven't. I've read a lot of bad ones.
I've read some that said a lot of good things and I've learned
a lot from them. But I haven't read one that helped me at all
in really understanding how God created the heavens and the earth.
Except God created the heavens and the earth. Have you ever read or heard anything
that helped you to understand that better? Some of you have
read a little bit, have you? Have you ever read or heard anything
that helped you to understand it better than this? In the beginning,
God created the heaven and the earth. How do you know that? I believe God. I believe God. And it's easy for me to understand
that. It's easy. Now I can understand why infidels
can't believe that. I can understand why folks would
rather believe that somehow another boom, it all started, or somehow
you dropped out of a tree or were hatched from a fish. I can
understand if I was preferred to believe that. I really can.
Because they don't know God. They don't know God. You mean
God could create things? The whole universe? God could create the world and
man? and bring all men out of the
loins and through the womb of one man and his wife? You think
God can do that? Why, sure. Why, sure. Why, sure. He's God. He's God. Through faith, we understand
that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the
things which are seen were... What'd it say? You got your Bible
in front of you? were not made out of matter. No, God didn't have something
to start with. He created it all. The things
which are seen were not made of things which do appear. All
right, now let's look at our text. And I promise you, I'll
come back to this maybe in a week or so. I'll just give you the
highlights tonight. First, we know that that which
is born of God does not sin. We know ourselves. We know ourselves. I'm not kidding. I know that
I'm nothing but sin. I know that. Oh, my dear God. I know that
by constant, daily, painful experience. I know that. I know that. That
which is flesh is just flesh. Just flesh. But that which is
born of God does not sin. You see, the believer is a new
creature. He has in him a new nature. He's been made partaker of the
divine nature and that new man born of God cannot sin. That's
what we're told back in chapter 3 verse 9. Look at that. 1 John chapter 3 verse 9. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin For his seed remaineth in him and he what does it say? Cannot sin he cannot sin. That's not a possibility because
he'd been born of God. He born of God God created Adam
body soul and spirit and in Adam we died and His body didn't die,
his soul didn't die, my body didn't die, my soul didn't die,
but we died spiritually with reference to life toward God
and knowledge of God. So the man lives in this world,
body and soul. He lives in this world in the
flesh until he's born of God and in the regeneration, in the
new birth, God puts in him what wasn't there before, spiritual
life. and that life is Jesus Christ
himself. Now, we know Jesus Christ cannot
sin. We know Jesus Christ cannot.
That means, Denise Rene, that new man created in you in righteousness
and true holiness, God the Son cannot sin. Read the seventh
chapter of Romans. Paul said, when I sin, it's me
doing it and not the new man in me. Not the new man in me. Oh, no. No, no, that's that's
not me. That's that's Adam. That's Adam
The new birth is the gift of life that cannot ever Diminish
at all. It's the gift of life by God
himself and Christ in you Cannot sin this new man cannot sin Leave this 18th verse again This new creature cannot sin,
but then John says, he that is begotten of God keepeth himself. What? Keepeth himself? Why, you can't keep yourself.
I can't keep myself. We're kept by God. We're kept
by God. The word means to guard or to
defend. One who's born of God, he guards.
He defends himself. Because we are kept by God, we
keep ourselves in the love of God. We keep ourselves pure,
bathing continually in the fountain of the Savior's blood. We keep
ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. We keep ourselves ever
looking to Christ. The believer continues to believe,
continues looking to Christ, persevering in the faith. Keep
ourselves unspotted from the world. We are kept and we must
keep ourselves. And God's promise is, I'll give
them one heart and one way and they shall not depart from me. Now, look at the next thing.
And this is what I say, I've got to come back to this. Satan, we are told, can't touch
us. Look at that. and that wicked
one toucheth him not." What a statement! What a statement! Satan can't
touch you. He roars, but he can't touch. He tempts, but he can't touch. He sifts, but he can't touch.
He afflicts, but he can't touch. He accuses, but he can't touch. I have on occasion been very
much afraid because some fella older and bigger than me when
I was a boy threatened to whip me and I knew he could. And I was afraid he would. And I tried to avoid his company.
But my fear was unfounded, because he never touched me. He never
touched me. Will you hear me, children of
God? The Lord God says concerning all his elect, as he speaks to
the prince of darkness, touch not his life. Satan shall never touch you,
not of your gods. He can never harm you. He can
never hurt you. He can never in any way destroy
your righteousness. He cannot nullify your pardon.
He can't corrupt your inheritance. He can't hinder your final preservation. He can't cause you to lose anything. Indeed. In the last day, when
we stand before God, blameless, there'll be no tears, no sorrow,
no pain of any kind. No tears, no sorrow, no pain
of any kind. But what about the fall? No pain. No sorrows, no tears of any kind. But what about all the days that
I rebelled? No pain, no sorrows, no tears
of any kind. But will we remember these things?
Oh, yes, we'll remember. Oh, yes, we will remember redemption
and grace and righteousness and deliverance complete, so complete
that there's no sorrow because of anything. Get that? Can you
get that? No sorrow. The wicked one toucheth
them not. Second, we know all men. We know there are two races in
this world. The one constantly at enmity against the other.
Verse 19. And we know that we are of God.
loved of God, chosen of God, redeemed of God, called of God,
children of God, sanctified by God, kept of God, accepted of
God. We're of God. Everybody else
lieth in wickedness. The whole world lieth in wickedness. What an indictment is here issued
by God the Holy Spirit against Adam's fallen race. The whole
world is under the influence of the wicked one, led according
to the will of the wicked one, governed by the wicked one, at
the beck and call of the wicked one, taken captive by Satan at
his will. We who are taught of God, we
who are born of God, know this. by our own sad experience. For we once walked after the
course of this world. What makes people behave like
they do? The whole world lieth in wickedness. That's the ruin of Adam. That fact, much as it is denied
by all the world, is as plain as the nose on your face. It's
as plain as the nose on your face. You know it with regard
to yourself. You know it with regard to yourself.
Whether you're saved or lost, you know that. Folks get upset
about it who don't know God. How dare you say I'm an adulterer,
a murderer, a fornicator? How dare you lie to yourself
and say you're not? You know it. You know it. Your
sons and daughters know it. It's easily observed. All you
got to do is wake up. Don't even have to wake up. You
know it. It's just part of you. Filth,
degradation, immorality. It's just part of our nature.
The whole world. Look around us today. About the
only thing on this earth folks can be dogmatic about is saying
you don't call anything bad. I had to confirm it with some
of the fellows, but I didn't hear it myself. Our president's
wife reported on the news this week, called that sodomite who
decided he would come out of the closet so he'd be the first
queer to join the NFL ranks being on a draft. I wish I could talk
to him. I wish I could talk to him in
public. Since when does it take bravery to brag about perversity? My soul, what degradation, what
filth. It's all around us. So that everywhere
you go, being called good, evil and evil good. It's called the
whole world lies in wickedness. And third, we know that Jesus
is God, that Christ has come, that he's God the Son. These
things we know. We know ourselves. We know the
whole world. We know every man. We know the
righteous and the wicked. We know those who are born of
God, and we know the whole world lies in wickedness. And we know
God. We know God in the person of
his Son. through the doing and dying of
his darling son, the Lord Jesus. We know, verse 20, that the Son
of God has come and has given us an understanding that we may
know him that is true. And we are in him that is true,
even in his son, Jesus Christ. We know this. Absolutely. Certainly. And God, the Spirit has given
us understanding. And the idea here is a progressive
growing understanding. So that the longer we experience
and know God's grace, the more we experience and know God's
grace, the more we know of Him, the more we understand He is
God in the flesh. The more we understand who God
is, now watch what it says, this This is the true God and eternal
life. This man, Jesus of Nazareth,
this Redeemer who redeemed us with his precious blood at Calvary,
this Redeemer who is the Lord our righteousness, He is the
true God and He is eternal life. What's that mean? He is eternal
life. This is life eternal, that they
might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou
hast sent." Well, it certainly means that. But the text says
more than that. This is the true God and eternal
life. Eternal life is Christ the God-man,
our mediator, who stood as our surety before the world was,
so that from everlasting we stood before God and had life in Him. And this life is manifested by
God giving it to us in the experience of His grace in the new birth.
We know that we're in Him that's true, and we know that He and
He alone Our great God, man, Redeemer, He is the true God. All others are imposters. Now,
in the light of that, here's the fourth thing. John closes
his epistle with this very solemn warning. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Back up in verse 18, He said
that the one born of God keepeth himself. That word means to defend,
or guard. He constantly guards the treasure
of God's grace. He constantly guards himself.
The word here, keep yourselves from idols, is another word altogether. This word means isolate yourselves
from idols. Stay away from them. Stay away
from it. Avoid idolatry. Stay away from
idolatry, every form of it. Have nothing to do with any rival
to the true God, Jesus Christ, our Savior, who is our life. Amen.