Worldliness in Times of Trials

This was the message I preached in our Church yesterday. James 4:1-10 gives us 4 points; out them I was only able to expound 2 points. May God give you grace as you go through it.

Some things that came in my mind right while I was preaching are unfortunately not mentioned in this message. It’s my prayer that Jesus would be exalted above all things.

Thanks for your prayers while I was preaching.

Introduction:

Monkey trappers in North Africa have a clever method of catching their prey. A number of gourds are filled with nuts and firmly fastened to a branch of a tree.  Each has a hole just large enough for the unwary monkey to stick his forepaw into it. When the hungry animal discovers this, he quickly grasps a handful of nuts, but the hole is too small for him to withdraw his clenched fist.  And he doesn't have enough sense to open up his hand and let go in order to escape, so he is easily taken captive.

This is a picture of many Christians. The devil with his crafty devices tries to trap them.  He appeals to the appetites of the flesh which can lead to their spiritual downfall.  As long as they hold on to worldly bait, they cannot escape from Satan's trap.  But he keeps on urging, "Don't let go! Enjoy the pleasure of your sin just a little bit longer!"  So, listening to the tempter's alluring voice, they continue in their evil way. Now we all have hunger and it’s not bad to have hunger. But very frequently the way we satisfy our hunger is wrong. So I want to ask you before we go any further. Are you caught up in sinful practices that are destroying your testimony and preventing you from growing in God’s grace? Stop and think about it.  Get out of Satan's trap now while you can.

This is exactly what concerned James for the worldliness of the people whom he was writing.

So, here is the title of the sermon this morning.

“Worldliness in Times of Trials.”

1.      The Origin of Worldliness: vs. 1

2.      The Description of Worldliness: vs. 2-4

1.      The Origin of Worldliness: vs. 1

In chapter 4 James begins a new topic. And the topic is worldliness; though it’s a new topic it’s closely linked with chapter 3. And similar is the case with every chapter James begins; they are closely linked with one another.

Because at the end of chapter 3 James dealt with 2 types of wisdoms. The worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. And chapter 4 is closely linked with chapter 3 because worldliness comes from the worldly wisdom.

Notice vs. 1, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you?”

Notice how James begins the 4^th chapter. He begins it by a question. “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you...?” When we look at this verse we can observe that there were quarrels and fights among the Christian believers. It seems very clear that they were fighting and quarreling with one another. Perhaps, at the same time some of them were wondering about the reason why are there is so much of quarreling or fighting? And through this statement James is opening their eyes to the reason why there is fighting against one another? Definitely the reason was not outwards it was right in front of them or more simply it was within them. And that’s what James opens his readers’ eyes in the next part of the verse.

Notice the next part of the verse James says, “…is it not this that your passions are at war within you?” by this statement James makes it clear that the origin of their fighting against one another was their heart. And James points out a particular aspect of their heart. James said the same thing in chapter 3:14, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.” Therefore we can conclude that it is in the heart the passions and born. It is not something that comes in from outside but from inside out. And that is what James is pointing out.

The word ‘passions’ in many other translations is called as lusts. The Greek word for lusts is ‘hedone.’ From this word you get the English word ‘hedonism’.  Hedonism means, a belief that, pleasure is the most important thing in life. And hedonist is a person who believes that pleasure is the most important thing in life.

But here we are concerned about the word ‘hedone.’ And the word ‘hedone’ has got many meanings. Such as, sensual delight, desire, lust, pleasure. Since the word ‘hedone’ means many different things; it tells us that the members in the Church were battling among themselves to fulfill their lustful desires. It’s clear that they were fighting against one another for not being able to fulfill their desires.

That’s why they were having a lot of things as their adversity. In 3:14-16 James mentioned about the worldly wisdom, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

Through these verses we can understand that James makes the heart of a man the origin of all the evil. This is exactly what our Lord said when He was on this earth. Matthew 15:18-19, “But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.”

Application:

From all of this we can understand that the problem was not outside of James’ readers. It was inside of them; it was within their hearts. Everything boils down to obedience. These people were not obedient to God even though they were going through suffering. We all have seen people who live in gross sin and then they wonder about the problems that are there in their lives. They say, “Why is there so much of trouble in my life?” the answer is right in their heart. They are not obedience to God’s word. Perhaps you might have heard this story before. Many years back Ps. Gareth was discipling a man. This boy was in an affair with a Muslim girl. She was not a believer but still this boy wanted to marry her. Ps. Gareth told him the dangers of this marriage. But this boy was on cloud nine. He insisted to get married with her and finally he married her. Many months went by, his wife gave birth to a boy. And since she has given birth to this boy she has not returned to his home. He goes on and off her house but of no use, she is not willing to come to his house. Many years back he attended our church for sometimes. But all his time in our Church we tried to teach him discipleship but he was not willing to obey God’s word. He would come to Church one Sunday, particularly on the Communion Sunday and the rest of the 4 Sundays he would vanish. On the other hand he would keep wondering why are problems in his life? The problems were in his life because he would not obey God’s Word. There will always be problems in your lives if you do not obey God’s Word. Because, many are the sorrows of the wicked.

The point I want to make here is: perhaps you might be living in utter disobedience to God’s word and may be wondering about problems in your lives. Examine your life: Am I living in obedience to God’s Word? The only remedy to this malady is to turn to Christ and repent of your disobedience and ask for forgiveness of your disobedience and turn from disobedience and obey God’s Word.

2.      The Description of Worldliness: vs. 2-4

Notice vs. 2-4, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God: therefore whoever wishes to be a fried with the world is enmity with God” therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

In these verses James describes various attitudes of the similar people. He says, they desired and they did not have therefore they murdered. They coveted and could not obtain so they fought and quarreled. They did not have because they did not ask. Because they asked in a wrong way; in order to spend on their passions. What comes out of these verses is that these people who called themselves believers were actually putting their eyes on the things of the world to satisfy them. They looked at the things of the world to satisfy their lives. It is obvious that they were running after the things of the world to satisfy their deepest longings.

E.g. One day Timi was asking me to get an I-Pad for him. I asked him, “Why do you need it? He said he needs it because somebody else has it. I had to sit with him and tell him that first of all you are too small to have those things. And secondly and importantly you should not look at these things for your satisfaction. You don’t need those things to satisfy you. Only Jesus can satisfy you.

And it’s so true that these people were no more looking at Jesus for their ultimate satisfaction. They were running after the things of the world.

This is exactly what James is saying here. In vs. 2 he says, “You desire and do not have, so you murder…” this simply means that his readers desired to have things that did not belong to them. And in order to get those things they murdered.

The last part of vs. 2  and the full of vs. 3 are to be treated one verse. In this James says, “…You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

In these verses we find that James’ readers were praying for things but they did not receive what they were asking for. And the reason is they were not praying in a right attitude. They were asking God for things that would satisfy their greed not their need.

And finally, in vs. 4 James calls these people as: Adulterous. What he also calls them is  as: the enemy of God.

The word Adulterous is frequently used in the Bible to describe Israel’s unfaithfulness as a nation. And it is used to describe individual people who forsake God and are faithless towards God.

E.g. Hosea 3:1, “Yahweh said to me, "Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins."  

Isaiah, 57:3, “But draw near here, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the prostitute.”

The reason why James calls his readers as adulterous is because they were showing that kind of a lifestyle.

James describes his readers in two ways. A. Adulterous people. B. Enemy of God.

Application:

As I draw this point to a close. I must say that we will be very quick to judge these people. But we need to look at ourselves first. Somebody has rightly said that if you point one finger at others 3 are pointing towards you. My question to you is: what satisfies you the most? Do the things of the world satisfy you or the things of God satisfy you most?

A story is told about how an Eskimo kills the wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin.

"First the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze.  Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood."

"Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait he licks it, tasting the fresh, frozen blood.  He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare.  Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the Arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf doesn't notice the razor sharp sting of the naked blade on his tongue nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more -- until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!"

Wisdom in Times of Trials

Recently I read a news in the Newspaper. The news was about a school teacher who raped his student after which he was beaten by the community and then was handed over to the police for further investigation. When we read such type of things we certainly get angry about them, and it’s natural. But upon a deep thought what should alarm us that where do these tendencies come from? They certainly are from the worldly teaching. The worldly teaching believes if your teaching does not influence your own character that is fine.

If this phenomenon was limited to the world it was fine. But it has crept into the Churches. I remember that in a church one elder had two wives. Now I don’t just say this to get your attention. But I want to draw your attention to the spiritual bankruptcy of that Church. 

several years I was getting trained for the

This is exactly what James is writing here. Because whatever he has so far wrote it’s about teaching. Because the wisdom James is speaking about is to be taught. That’s why he poses a question to his reader’s consideration. 3:13, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom.”

So, here is the title of the message this morning:

“Wisdom in Times of Trials.”

1.       The Worldly Wisdom: vs. 13-16

·         Characteristics of Worldly Wisdom: vs. 14-16

2.       The Heavenly Wisdom: vs. 17-18

·         Characteristics of Heavenly Wisdom: vs. 17

1.       The Worldly Wisdom: vs. 13-16

A couple of weeks back we looked at the evils of tongue. We looked at the fact that how if we use our tongue in a wrong way can destroy people. And specifically we saw the positive and negative illustrations James gave in the preceding passage.

So, once again I wish to remind you that; whatever James writes in vs. 13 onwards is closely linked to vs. 1-12.

We can find the background of vs. 13-18 in 3:1ff. In those verses James warned his readers against becoming teachers. The immediate truth comes out that; there were many of his readers who were willing to become teachers, without understanding the impact of the teaching. But what comes out of these verses is that: mere teaching doesn’t do any good if the life of the teacher is not matching up with his teaching. The reason why he warned his readers that way is so that, they will not treat the high calling of teaching lightly.    

So, when we come down to vs. 13, James is giving a test; it’s a test to discern the teacher. And notice what he asks in this verse, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” The Greek word for wise is [‘sophos’] that’s where you get the word Sophia from. But the answer to this question is not that the person who is using his tongue skillfully, or it’s not the one who is able to speak many languages fluently is wise. Let’s understand that James’ emphasis in this verse is not on the skill of speech. In the context James is not saying that the person who is able to use his tongue skillfully is able to become a good teacher. His emphasis is upon the character of the teacher. That’s why he says in the next part of the verse, “…By his conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” The point of this verse is; “You can have a good speaking ability and a bad character.” In other words, “You can be a good teacher and a bad example.” That’s the reason why the Biblical Leadership does not give too much importance to skillful speaking. But it gives utmost importance to the character or the conduct of the teacher/leader.

We can find its example in the Old Testament. When God chose Moses for His purpose, Moses was a stammerer. But the Bible also calls Moses as the most humble man living on the face of the earth.

Exodus 4:10-12, “Moses said to Yahweh, "Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." Yahweh said to him, "Who made man's mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn't it I, Yahweh? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak."

And that’s the reason why when Paul gave the charge to Timothy he also admonished him to look for the character of the person who aspires to be the teacher of God’s Word.

Look at 1 Timothy 3:1-7, “This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer he desires a good work. The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching; not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence; (but if a man doesn't know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the assembly of God?) not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

If we notice those verses carefully we can observe that Paul gave the ability to teach the 7^th rank. But he highlighted the teacher’s (overseer’s) character above anything else. “He must be without “reproach.” However, the overseer’s teaching ability is important but that is not the most important. On the other hand the teacher’s character is non-negotiable aspect of the teaching ministry.

E.g. I remember a pastor who lives in the area of Miraj. He marries people in his Church for money. On the top of that he is a drunkard. The problem is of course with the man. But the problem is also with the people who ordained him to be the pastor of that Church. Those who ordain him don’t see any problem with that pastor. It only shows us the blindness those people are in. 

Secondly, vs. 14 & 15 gives us the motivation as well as the origin of worldly wisdom. Notice vs. 14, 15, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the Truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual and demonic.” 

Notice what James says in vs. 14, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts…” that’s the key. Heart is the origin of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. It’s interesting that James speaks of the heart of the teacher.

And he does so because the heart is the instrument of the teacher. Because whatever will come out from the tongue is ultimately from the heart. Therefore, James is warning the upcoming teachers that; if you claim that you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ yet you indulge in bitter jealousy and selfish ambition you show that you don’t have place for Truth in your heart.

It’s amazing that the New Testament speaks of heart for almost 106 times. Out of that 44 times Jesus used this word in His earthly ministry. We shall just look at 3 references.

Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

Matthew 12:34-35, “You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.  

In vs. 16 James gives the result of the worldly wisdom.

Let me bring this point to conclusion through this verse. Because this verse is about the application.

Application:

Notice vs. 16, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

This verse gives us the picture of what happens where God’s Truth is not regarded as the highest thing. Any Church that does not regard God’s Word as the most important thing in her life cannot be called as the Church. Because if a Church doesn’t have an understanding of Truth she doesn’t have understanding of a proper direction. If the Church doesn’t have her doctrine based upon the Bible; if a person does not have his life based upon the Bible; that Church or that person will eventually become like the Titanic Ship. Perhaps those Churches might have tall and flashy buildings but the inner life of the Church will be filled with disorder and every vile practice.

Perhaps I have given this illustration to you before. I am not trying to boast myself, but this is the cry of most of the big Churches. Their problem is not that they are big. Their problem is that; they are not driven by Truth.

Many Churches have left the Biblical Truth because it’s too demanding. Today’s churches don’t believe in preaching about sin and salvation. They are concerned about getting as many crowds as possible so that their offering will increase. In the process people sitting in the pews are inheriting the kingdom of darkness.   

My question to you this morning is: are you a gospel driven person? Are you living your life for the sake of the gospel? Are you sharing the gospel with people? Many times we don’t preach the gospel because we think it’s below our dignity. What will people say if I open my mouth about Jesus? Are you ashamed of the gospel? If you are; you need to really examine your life if you really are saved.  

2.       The Heavenly Wisdom: vs. 17-18

Notice vs. 17-18, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

First of all James gives the origin of this wisdom. It’s from above. It means that this wisdom is from God. In fact if we remove God from wisdom it ceases to be wisdom it becomes information. This wisdom is a part of those people who have trusted in His Son Jesus Christ. Centuries before King Solomon said in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of God is the beginning of the knowledge.”

Secondly, in this verse James gives the characteristics of such wisdom. It’s first of all pure. That means; this wisdom is holy. Then it’s peaceable; that means it makes peace as opposed to discord. That means this wisdom seeks to establish peace. We remember our Lord said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.” Then further on this wisdom is gentle; it means this wisdom is courteous. Shows respect to others. It is willing to be humbled. Again James is referring back to our Lord’s words in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Again, this wisdom is, open to reason. That means that if a person is blessed by heavenly wisdom he is willing to listen to what other person has to say. It other words this wisdom is willing to be taught. It’s willing to learn; on the other hand this wisdom will not claim to know everything. A person who has such type of wisdom will accept his or her frailties.

Then it’s full of mercy, it means this person is willing to show mercy. Because this type of a person is grateful to the mercy that he/she has received from God through Jesus Christ. Then this wisdom is full of good fruits. It means this type of a person has a good character. Then this wisdom is impartial and sincere. That means a person having such wisdom does not do distinction. It is honest, it does not seek its own.

All this characteristics put together we can see that James is echoing Peter’s words. 2 Peter 1:4  “…by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

When we come down to vs. 18 James is telling to his readers about the function of this wisdom. Notice vs. 18, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” I looked in the John MacArthur Commentary for searching the meaning of this verse and he says, “Godly wisdom produces a continuing cycle of righteousness, which is planted and harvested in a peaceful, harmonious relationship between God and His people. And simultaneously it is enjoyed by the faithful people themselves.”

That means, if righteousness is sown the fruit of it is peace.

Application:

A couple of weeks back we had a Annual General meeting. I was very much blessed by that meeting. I am not boasting about how great we are. But I was so glad that all of us we were willing to listen to each other’s grievances. Brethren, I come from a background where people use such types of meetings to pull one another down. Such meetings are used in order to disrespect one another and speak badly about one another. I have seen such meetings where there has been much trouble, where there has been much heat than light.

My question to you is this: Do we behave like we do when everybody is watching us? Does Christ’s righteousness come out of our mouth when somebody disrespects us?

The question boils down to one point: Are we peace makers? Are we busy in making peace between God and man? That means are we taking the gospel to those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we showing the righteousness of Christ through our actions? 

“Characteristics of False Disciples”

We will discuss 2 points in this heading.

1. A. False Disciple Believes the Miracles of Jesus more that Jesus Himself. Vs. 28-29
2. A False Disciple Seeks Signs and Wonders in Order to Believe: vs. 30-34

A False Disciple Believes the Miracles of Jesus More than Jesus Himself: Vs. 28-29

If we take a closer look at these two verses we find two things there.

·         A Superficial question by the False Disciples. Vs. 28

·         A Shocking Answer by Jesus. Vs. 29

In vs. 27 we saw that Jesus instructed the people, who had followed Him for wrong reasons, not to labor for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life. Then probably these people got Jesus’ point and thought that, all that Jesus wants us is to do something religious and if we do it probably He would provide us with a free meal or a free breakfast or even set us free from the Roman rule. We can see that their thinking was so limited and was in terms of getting their immediate needs met. Then with this mindset they asked a question, “What must we do to be doing the works of God?” from what they asked Jesus it’s clear that these people’s notion about Jesus was based upon doing something in order to please God. In other words their notion about Jesus was based upon doing something in order to get something out of Him, and what did they want from Jesus? They wanted freedom from the Roman rule, which for them was very oppressive. So in essence they were saying that, Jesus we are willing to do anything you want us to do, but please deliver us from this Roman rule.  We just want to ensure that we are saved from this oppression of Roman rule. So their question was inspired by their self-centered want. They had found the most appealing mask to hide their personal sin. Under the mask of Roman oppression they were hiding their personal sin, not only that, but they failed to recognize their inability to earn God’s favor. They wanted their oppression to cause Jesus to have sympathy on them and deliver them from it. But that’s not how you come to Jesus or seek Jesus.

The greatest example we can find is in the Matthew’s gospel 19^th chapter vs. 16-22. Here, this rich young man who claimed to be absolutely moral asks Jesus the same question, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” vs. 16. First of all this man came to Jesus with an understanding that he can do something good in order to earn eternal life. In order to rid him of his conception about righteousness based upon works Jesus showed him the Law. So that he should have seen his helplessness in order to achieve eternal life, but his answer vs. 20 reveals his self-righteous life he says, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” but Jesus’ answer gives him a major shock Jesus tells him if you want to be perfect go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me,” this answer of Jesus reveals the young man’s real heart. That answer told him that you kept all the commandments but still lack in one thing that’s covetousness. In other words Jesus told him that he desperately needed a heart transplant.  No bypass surgery you need a heart transplant.

And that’s exactly what Jesus did in the next verse 28 of John 6. He says, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” In other words Jesus was telling them an absolutely simple way of doing the works of God, “believe in Me.” Don’t believe in the works of the Law because you cannot keep the Law. In Matthew 7:21 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the

Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” So the will of God and the work of God are together. We cannot separate them; they are one and the same. Because the work of God comes from the will of God. Some say that the will of God is to do the social service. But that’s not what the Bible teaches, it teaches that the work of God to believe in Jesus Christ. So what Jesus is saying in Matthew 7:21 is that, those who believe in Him for the salvation of their soul only they will enter the kingdom of heaven. It is not by doing something religious or performing something religious you get to heaven it’s by believing in Jesus and in Him only you can enter the kingdom of heaven.

Application:

But these hard-hearted Jews refused to believe in what Jesus said because it was shocking to them, so shocking that it shook the foundation of their false, self-glorified & works based religion. So is the  case in many of us it’s not that we cannot believe but we do not want to believe the gospel. Which is so simple to understand. But we want to believe something that’s so hard and demands us to do something religious. The problem with that understanding of salvation is that if we could earn our salvation on the bases of our works why did Christ had to die? And the Bible and the world history tells us that He died and not only that but He rose again from the dead. And if you repent of your sins and believe in His sacrifice, His death, His resurrection and all this for my own personal sin, you will be saved.

These people were ready to believe that Jesus was a prophet vs. 14 but were not willing to surrender to Him as God and Messiah because He demanded discipleship; He demanded that they would follow Him. But they were not willing to follow Jesus instead they wanted Jesus to follow them and fulfill their hidden agenda. What Jesus was telling them was that you seem to desperately want to have freedom from the Roman rule but that’s not all you need, what you need is more than that and that is to satisfy your spiritual hunger and thirst. That is your real need if you don’t recognize that, no freedom in this world will ever satisfy that spiritual hunger and thirst. Because Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, "If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

Perhaps many of us want freedom from their poverty. Many of you want freedom from some decease perhaps we might be wanting to have freedom from some financial problems and then might be thinking that if I get that need of mine fulfilled then I will think of giving myself to the Lord. I want to urge you to please understand your real need it’s not your freedom from your petty problems but your real need is to get freedom from the eternal hell. And Jesus is willing to give this freedom to you.

A False Disciple Seeks Signs and Wonders in Order to Believe: vs. 30-34

Vs. 30 gives us the glimpse of these people’s ungrateful heart towards Jesus. They had just witnessed the miracle of Jesus which had fed them, they had their stomachs full in vs. 12. Which was in fact sufficient for them to recognize that Jesus is God and Messiah sadly they didn’t believe but sought to have their hidden agenda accomplished by forcefully making Jesus the King and thought He will deliver them from the Roman oppression. And in the verses following when they came to know that things are not turning out the way they wanted but are going absolutely in an opposite direction. Jesus demands discipleship. Then they sought for another sign in order to prove that He has come from God and that He Himself is God. And what was their reasoning? Not exactly that they overlooked Jesus’ miracle of 2 fish and 3 loaves of bread but they started to compare Jesus’ miracle with that of Moses’ miracle. In other words they were saying that Moses performed a miracle of feeding our fathers who numbered nearing a million everyday. Comparatively you are very insignificant because you only fed 10,000 or at the most 20,000 people. Show us something great, perform a miracle greater than Moses’. However, Numbers 16:13-15 (Read), tells us that it was not Moses who created the Manna because Moses himself told the people of  Israel that the Manna was given to them by Yahweh.

But in this case these people started comparing Jesus’ miracle with that of Moses. When Moses had not created food for the children of Israel but Jesus had created food for them. This should have been sufficient for them to believe in Him as the Messiah and God and not just Prophet or King. But Jesus’ response to these Jew’s reasoning was eye opening to them. Contrary to that Jesus does not tell them or promise them another performance of miracles but tells them in vs. 32 “…Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.” In other words Jesus was saying that Moses didn’t create food but My Father created it and sent to you at Moses’ prayer. But here is something greater than that Manna which fed you temporarily but here is a bread that’s spiritual which is able to fulfill all your spiritual hunger and thirst. He is also saying that the Manna that God provided was for your temporary need but I have been sent by God as the Bread of Life for eternal purposes and I have come to give life to the entire world.

To this these Jews seem little convinced to what Jesus was saying but they were not completely convinced with what Jesus was saying. Once again they stumbled on their temporary need thing. And ended up saying, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Vs. 34

Similarly, like the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 when she understood that Jesus can give her the living water she also said the similar words in 4:15. “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” What did this woman do? She took the eternal offer that Jesus wanted to give her and turned it into an object that would give her the temporary relief from her temporary problem. That’s exactly what these people were doing here. They took Jesus’ offer of Bread of life and sought to turn it into an object of fulfilling their temporary hunger fed. They partially believed  that Jesus could feed their hunger but not fully.

Application:

Many times many people come to Jesus with an expectation of a miracle. For them miracle is the determining factor of their authenticity of faith. Many people want miracles to happen so that their physical problems would go away, many want miracles so that their financial problems would go away. Many still want miracles so that their marriage problems would be fixed without any efforts. The point I am trying to make is that people are out to make Jesus as their personal genie. So that He would fix their immediate problems will satisfy their immediate need. This kind of mindset of seeking for miracles is very much there in our country. It’s there because many miracle workers come in and perform their miracles get a whole bunch of money and go. They leave behind them a group of people who are mad not for Jesus but for His miracles.

In fact Jesus abhorred this kind of attitude of seeking for miracles. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus twice rebuked such people who wanted to see a sign.

Matt. 12:38-39, “Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you." But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.”

Then in Matthew 16:1-4, “The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. But he answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' In the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can't discern the signs of the times! An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah." He left them, and departed.”

All I want to say is that people who are working miracles are leaving behind them a generation that is evil and adulterous. Jesus Himself said that. I am not saying Jesus can’t do a miracle today, He can. I just want to warn you not to become a seeker for miracles of Jesus than to become seeker of Jesus Himself.

If want to come to Jesus you are supposed to come to Him with utter sense of helplessness about our spiritual life. If you come to Jesus expecting myriads of miracles you will be disappointed in your spiritual life. Only way how we can have a right relationship with Jesus is if we come to Him in repentance and faith in Christ and in Him alone. Then He will save you, you might not experience any miracle in your life but your life will be totally new because you have fixed your eyes upon your eternal life with Jesus. Perhaps you might face many troubles in this life but our Lord will help you through all those troubles. 

The Test of a True Believer

Introduction:

As I thought through what I should preach in this Church that is theologically well educated, I was drawn to my favorite subject in the Bible. And that favourite subject is the “Atonement of Christ.” The reason why this is my favourite subject is because: The Atonement of Christ is at the heart of the gospel or I should venture to call the Atonement of Christ itself is the gospel.  And every single person, unbelievers and believers alike need the gospel. Unbelievers need it for salvation believers need for cleansing. And particularly believers need the cleansing from their day to day frailties. We recognize the fact that we have the propensity to fall. In this situation what we do is; we preach the gospel to ourselves.

So, with that in mind let me invite you to open your Bibles to 1 John 2. We shall read the first 6 verses but we will focus our sermon on vs. 1, 2.

Let me begin with a story in order for us to understand Jesus’ work on the Cross and how we should respond to it.

Story:

A story is told about the founder of the Persian Empire. It is told that Cyrus once had captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, Cyrus asked the prisoner, "What will you give me if I release you?" "The half of my wealth," was his reply. "And if I release your children?" "Everything I possess." "And if I release your wife?" "Your Majesty, I will give myself." Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, "Wasn't Cyrus a handsome man!" With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, "I didn't notice. I could only keep my eyes on you- the one who was willing to give himself for me."

Like that grateful wife of the Prince we need to be looking at Christ our Redeemer with gratitude; who gave Himself up for the Church. Because the Bible tells us that we were by nature children of God’s wrath (Eph 2:3); that means we deserved death and hell. And only because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice we became the children of God (John 1:12).

So, here’s the title for the Message this morning:

“The Test of a True Believer.”  

1. A True Believer Treasures Christ’s Ministry of Advocate: vs. 1
2. A True Believer Treasures Christ’s Ministry of Atonement: vs. 2

1. A True Believer Treasures Christ’s Ministry of Advocate: vs. 1

Let’s begin by laying down the foundation of this message that. I draw this foundation from vs. 3-6 in which John calls his reader’s attention about obedience to God’s Word. “A True believer can not obey Christ without first treasuring Him.” This is exactly what distinguishes a false believer from that of a true believer.

Because, in Chapter 1 John gives the test of a true Christian fellowship. He is dealing with this test in a corporate way. In it he makes the message of Christ the foundation of all significant Christian fellowship. He gives 3 important aspects of that fellowship. A. The Foundation of Christian fellowship; vs. 5 God is Light in Him there is no darkness. B. The Application is in vs. 6: therefore walk in the Light just as He is in the light; and, C. The Clarification vs.7-10: Do not claim to be without sin.  

And when we come down to chapter 2 John narrows down his message to an individual level. That is the test of a True believer.  

Notice vs. 1, John begins the second chapter by stating the purpose of his writing. “My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

John begins this chapter by stating the purpose of his writing. , ‘...I am writing these things to you so that...’ it means; everything that John has so far written; the call for fellowship with Christ and the test of true Christian fellowship, all these things John wrote so that ‘...you may not sin...’ this is a very important statement John is making here. Though it is important it can create a misunderstanding. Because what he says means to many perfectionist people that; once you become a Christian you become perfect, that means you don’t sin. And perhaps John’s readers had this perfectionist view of the Christian faith.

Because the immediate context of this verse tells us that there were people among John’s audience who were not in a very good spiritual condition.

John is not suggesting that once they had come to faith in Jesus they have become perfect. He is not suggesting them that once they had believed in the Sacrifice of Jesus they would not sin. John does recognises the fact that all believers everywhere have the propensity to sin. That’s what he said in the next part of the verse. But he is suggesting here that once they came to faith in Jesus they will sin because of the sin nature that is in them.

Paul said the same thing in line with that. Galatians 5:16-17, “But I say to you walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, for the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh for these are opposed to each other.”  

E.g.: Several months back we gave Jonathan the BCG dose. And after a couple of days we observed that there was a pus formation on his left hand where the dose was given; when we asked the Doctor about that he said that after the dose is given pus formation in that particular part is normal. The puss formation will subside and it will be clear. When he said that I was astonished with the thought that infection is something normal.

The point is: if once any person comes in the fellowship with Christ; that person’s battle with sin is and his knowledge about his own sinfulness is NORMAL; but what is abnormal is that person’s living in sin. It is not only abnormal but it is unchristian.  It’s as simple as a baby cries when he is born; and if the baby does not cry then there is some problem with the baby.

No normal Christian on this planet earth can claim that he doesn’t have struggle with sin. This is what John is saying here. He does not say, that: I am writing these things to you so that you CANNOT sin. He does mean of course that his readers must not sin. The point of that statement is that: every Christian believer is vulnerable to sin, John recognizes the this; because in the next part of the same verse he says: “...But if anyone does sin...,” that’s the key.  

At the same time we also need to understand that John is not giving his readers a license to live in gross sin; but he is urging them that they must deliberately forsake sin; they must make every effort to come out of their sin; that’s the point of this statement.

And this was exactly in line with what Paul said in Romans 6:1-4, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism to death that just like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.”

Even Paul’s point was: falling into sin doesn’t condemn anybody to hell but living in it does. Because if a person lives in habitual sin it is a sign that he/she had never believed in Christ to begin with.

And thirdly, notice the last Part of the verse 1. John says, ‘....But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous.’

This statement of John is an amazing comfort for his readers that even if they do sin; they have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Another word for advocate is ‘comforter.’  In this verse John is using legal language. It implies that; they all stand condemned before God (the judge) and John says Jesus Christ is their Advocate He is their defender; He is their comforter.

It’s as if there is a court room argument going on; and in this argument Jesus is the advocate for the criminal and Satan is the Public Prosecutor accusing the believer of his past and present sins and God is the Judge.

The reason why John reminds his readers of Jesus’ ministry as an Advocate is; so that his readers would understand that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ forgiveness of sins is available for repentant sinners. In a way he is saying if you sin do not grieve and lose your joy of your Salvation in the process because we have an Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous. And that is what he says it in vs. 9 of chapter 1. “If we confess our sins; He is just and faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” That’s what he says in 1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” Perhaps John gave this assurance to the repentant sinners of his day; because most of them must have believed that; their sins after they are saved will lead them to damnation.

Application:

The fact that Jesus is interceding for us; tells us that; no matter whatever kind of sin happens from us we are not going to lose our salvation. Because if you are saved you will not live in sin but will flee from it. Separating oneself from sin is the first sign of a Christian believer. This is the first test to know if a person is a true Christian believer. He does not like to indulge in sin. But on the other hand Jesus’ ministry of intercession for believers must not give them a license to sin but give hatred towards it. And the reason is; OUR sins killed Jesus; even though we were not present there. Each time we choose to sin we invariably violate God’s moral law.

For Example:

The 10 commandments. We all know we are not saved by obeying the Moral Law of God but once we come to know Jesus as our Savior and Lord we obey those 10 commandments as a fruit of our salvation. But if we examine ourselves; can we always obey them? No! Even when we have become believers we do sin; and therefore what a great comfort it is to know that Jesus is interceding He is advocating on our behalf with the Father for our forgiveness. I believe we should be always grateful to Jesus our Advocate/ our comforter.

2. A True Believer Treasures Christ’s Ministry of Atonement: vs. 2

In this verse John gives the basis for the forgiveness of a true believer. To put it in simple words: a believer is forgiven not because he repents but because Christ has atoned for that sin..

Notice vs. 2, “And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” In plain words Jesus’ atoning Sacrifice is the basis of the forgiveness of believer. The word ‘Atonement’ is a legal word.

I looked in the dictionary for definition of this word and I found out that atonement means; Reconciliation of man with God through the life, suffering and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. The word Atonement also means: to satisfy or to appease, or to calm. So, in the light of the meaning of the word; Jesus Christ appeased, He calmed or He satisfied the wrath of God by bearing the punishment of His people’s sins on the Cross. God’s anger was hurling against us He would have been right in pouring down that wrath upon us; but in His mercy He provided the atonement through Jesus Christ; and poured our His Holy Wrath on Him so that those who repent and put their trust in Him might be forgiven.

We must ask a question as to why did Christ paid for our sins? The answer is. Jesus paid the price of our sins in order to serve the justice of God and to demonstrate the love of God. 3 verses should come in our mind when we think of Christ’s atonement. John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Rom 3:25, “whom God set forth to be an atoning sacrifice through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God's forbearance.”

1 John 4:10  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

These verses explain us that God could not accept us into His fellowship unless the penalty of our sin was paid. That is God’s justice. Jesus paid that penalty for us so that we could be accepted by God in his fellowship.

But the problem comes when we read the next half of the verse.

Notice the next half of the verse, “...and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

The simple meaning of this verse says that Jesus’ atonement was not only for the believers but for unbelievers as well. But that is not what this verse means. In order to understand the meaning of this verse we need to understand the meaning of the word ‘world.’ The Greek word for World is ‘cosmos.’  Similarly the world in John 3:16 also means ‘cosmos.’  And the word ‘cosmos’ means cultural groups. It means people of different tongues and tribes. John doesn’t mention that word to mean ‘all individuals’ or ‘all persons.’ This verse does not teach that the atonement of Jesus is automatically applicable to all individuals; repentant and unrepentant sinners alike.

However, it means that the blood of Jesus is able to save all people of all tongues and tribes. But His blood is only profitable for repentant sinners; not for unrepentant sinners.

Application:

Let me bring this point to conclusion. The atonement of Christ teaches us that all sins (past, present & future) of all the believers are forgiven because of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.

How should we respond to the atonement of Christ? I heard John Piper in one of his messages, he said: “Do we prize the grace of God in the Atonement of Christ, or do we prostitute the grace of God because of the Atonement of Christ?”

What a comfort it is to know that our sins are already paid for; they have already been forgiven, and that we don’t have to pay for it at all. I feel this is important to say because we live in an idolatrous culture; wherein people do have the idea of our sins being paid for. They are willing to go to a great extent in order to pay for their own sins. They trust their own works in order for their sins to be forgiven.

I remember a story of a woman by the name of Alila. Alila stood on the beach holding her tiny infant son close to her heart. Tears welled in her eyes as she began slowly walking towards the river's edge. She stepped into the water, silently making her way out until she was waist deep, the water gently lapping at the sleeping baby's feet. She stood there for a long time holding the child tightly as she stared out across the river. Then all of a sudden in one quick movement she threw the six month old baby to his watery death.

Native missionary M.V. Varghese often witnesses among the crowds who gather at the River Ganga. It was he who came upon Alila that day kneeling in the sand crying uncontrollably and beating her breast. With compassion he knelt down next to her and asked her what was wrong.

Through her sobs she told him, "The problems in my home are too many and my sins are heavy on my heart, so I offered the best I have to the goddess Ganges, my first born son." Brother Varghese's heart ached for the desperate woman. As she wept he gently began to tell her about the love of Jesus and that through Him her sins could be forgiven. She looked at him strangely. "I have never heard that before," she replied through her tears. "Why couldn't you have come thirty minutes earlier? If you did, my child would not have had to die."

Each year millions of people come to the holy Indian city of Hardwar to bathe in the River Ganges. These multitudes come believing this Hindu ritual will wash their sins away. For many people like Alila, many Christians are arriving too late, simply because there aren't enough of these faithful brothers and sisters on the mission field.

How do we respond to the atonement of Christ? Are we just happy to keep this glorious truth to ourselves or like John are we making this a subject of our daily conversation? What is it charms us the most? Does the gospel of Christ charm you or does it puts your off? You see, you will always speak about that which is very close to your heart. Is the gospel of Christ dear to your heart? Have you embraced Him as your Lord and Savior? Have your repented of your sins? Have you been born again?

No one who enjoys the forgiveness of Jesus can be content to keep it for himself. He is not the propitiation for our sins only. There are other sheep that are scattered throughout the whole world. Their sins, too, are covered. And the last commandment of Jesus was, "Go make disciples out of them from every people."

In summary, John's message to us today is: Don't sin! It is tremendously and terribly serious. But if you do sin, don't despair because your attorney is the Son of the Judge. He is righteous and he makes his case for you not on the basis of your perfection but his atonement. Be of good courage, don't keep Jesus for yourself alone, go and make disciples.