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Dr. Ron Hall, professor and pastor, and Peter Englert, pastor, help you delve into 1 John. Understand the context and background while applying this practical book of the Bible to your life.
1 John - 2-1-11.mov
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Peter Englert
00:00 - 00:39
Welcome to the Reading 1st John podcast. I am here with pastor and professor Dr. Ron Hall, and today we are going to be going into 1st John 2, 1 through 11, but before we do that, Just a quick reminder for those of you reading the Bible, perhaps for the first time, maybe really studying 1 John for the first time, the chapters and verses, they were added hundreds and hundreds of years later. So Ron, I think it's pretty important before we read 1 John 2, 1 through 11, the way chapter one ends really flows into chapter two.
Peter Englert
00:39 - 00:40
So just bring us up to speed.
Ron Hall
00:42 - 01:12
It's making sure we have the, Chapter 1 foundation laid, it is dealing with the incarnation of Jesus, then it moves into God being light, and that we are called to then walk in the light of God. And in the first chapter, there were people that were denying the reality of sin. We dealt with the three ifs of darkness, and then there are the three ifs of light. Today we're going to be moving into the third of the ifs in the light and what we have in Christ.
Ron Hall
01:12 - 01:32
But we have to keep that verse in mind in verse 9. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. After John deals with that, he goes back into the sin deniers in verse 10. So that was that third verse of the ifs in darkness.
Ron Hall
01:33 - 02:02
And it's an awful place to live. There's a word called mendacity, and mendacity is people that are pervasive liars. And there were a lot of mendacious people in this region where the letter was going that were denying the reality of the resurrection of Christ, of the idea of sin within their lives. And so John takes it on in chapter 1, and he's going to be picking it up again in chapter 2.
Ron Hall
02:03 - 02:07
And when we get together the next time, we'll go further on that.
Peter Englert
02:07 - 02:21
But let's take it from here. That's a great setup. So just a quick reminder, maybe you want to hit pause and read chapter 1 to see those three ifs. If not, join with us in 1 John 2, 1-11.
Peter Englert
02:21 - 02:43
Let me read that for you. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin, but if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. He's the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands.
Peter Englert
02:43 - 02:57
Whoever says, I know Him, but does not do what He commands is a liar. And the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him.
Peter Englert
02:57 - 03:16
Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command, but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. The old command is the message you have heard, yet I am writing you a new command. Its truth is seen in him and in you because the darkness is passing.
Peter Englert
03:16 - 03:35
The true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be the light but hates a brother or a sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light and there's nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.
Peter Englert
03:35 - 03:50
They do not know where they're going because the darkness has blinded them. That's very loaded. So where do you want to get started, kind of big picture with the chapter?
Ron Hall
03:50 - 04:20
Well, I think we need to, in verses 1 and 2, deal with the fact that sin is going to happen. Becoming a Christian, walking in the light, does not mean we will never sin. And there's a school of Christianity that holds to perfectionism. John Wesley, who died in Episcopalian, but out of his life came the Methodist Church, believed that perfectionism could be attained so that you wouldn't sin.
Ron Hall
04:21 - 04:45
But you and I know the reality of it, and coming to Christ doesn't mean that we're perfected. or in process. So John lays that out in verse 2, I write this to you so you will not sin, but if anybody does sin, Christ is there for us to forgive. And that's why confession is so important in chapter one, that we confess our sins.
Ron Hall
04:45 - 05:09
Remember, confession means to cause to see. So when we are convicted, it causes us to see, so we confess and agree with God. So provision is made, and thank God for the ongoing provision of forgiveness. But that does not mean that we can just sin and don't worry about it because Christ is going to forgive us, because sin has deep consequences.
Ron Hall
05:10 - 05:26
But God's will is that we would never sin again. I want to illustrate it through boats on a ship. The lifeboats are there in hopes that you never need them. But just in case, you know, they're there.
Ron Hall
05:26 - 06:06
Of course, we all know the story of the Titanic and there weren't enough lifeboats to go around. But with the Lord, there's plenty of lifeboats there in order to address the issues in our life when it comes up. And so God doesn't want us to sin, but if we do sin, Christ is that sacrifice for our sins. He has paid the debt for what's going on within our lives, and so when you have conviction, In a good way, there's healthy guilt and conviction that we know we've done something wrong, we readily confess it, and the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
Ron Hall
06:06 - 06:23
And thank God, Peter, for that promise, and everyone listening, of the atoning sacrifice of what Christ paid. I know the terminology sounds real religious when we say atonement, these types of terms, but as Christians, we need to be acculturated to the terminology of the Bible.
Peter Englert
06:24 - 07:00
Yeah, and I think what I'm hearing because the way that we tend to break this section down is verse 1 and 2 go together, and then 2, 3 to 6 goes together about walking in obedience. And then we're going to get to 2, 7, 11, which is walking in love. And I think we see this pattern is Jesus Christ's death and resurrection changes us. It changes outwardly how we live and inwardly how we think and our motivations, but then ultimately that expresses through the way we treat other people.
Peter Englert
07:00 - 07:18
So I think what we're trying to fight against is, and when you bring up John Wesley and perfectionism, is we're called to obey God's commands. We're called to have obedience. But it is a struggle, and I think that that's the reality that John's trying to bring up in the verse 3 especially.
Ron Hall
07:20 - 07:39
Yeah. And it's being able to put it in perspective because a true Christian walks in a life of obedience, and that doesn't set well with our culture. And we know that, Peter, and everyone listening. We are a rebellious culture in America.
Ron Hall
07:40 - 07:59
We want to do our own thing. We don't like people to tell us what to do. But John comes along and he just says, if you are truly a follower of Christ, then you are going to be walking in obedience. So how can we say that we love God whom we've not seen if we can't love our brother whom we have seen?
Ron Hall
07:59 - 08:17
So he deals with it as an obedience for how we treat one another. And Jesus gave us that over and over again. If you'll love me, you'll obey me. If you're going to follow me, you're going to take up your cross and follow me, which means you're going to identify with me.
Ron Hall
08:18 - 08:30
That obedience should be the hallmark of the Christian believer. So it's not where we just pick and choose what we want, it's where we follow wholeheartedly the ways of the Lord.
Peter Englert
08:32 - 09:05
Well, and even as I'm thinking about as we moved from one to two to three to six, one of my favorite quotes by Dallas Willard is I think he defines spiritual formation as Jesus, living like Jesus as if Jesus had the life that you had. So I think that that's really important because it's not just a blanket statement to follow his commands. But if you think about the fruit of the spirit, you think about joy. Joy for you and me looks very different.
Peter Englert
09:05 - 09:17
It's still a command, but how we apply it, how we live it out in our own life. You know, you you're in a season of an empty nest. I have two daughters and a wife. You know, you live with your wife.
Peter Englert
09:17 - 09:41
And and again, I think that that's kind of the timelessness of this section is it's not these dogmatic commands. But, you know, as verse six says, whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. That's That's the power of the reflection. That's the power of what Jesus is calling to as if Jesus was living our life.
Ron Hall
09:42 - 09:52
Yeah. Yeah. And the, the, the walk to obedience is to follow after his commands. So if you'll love me, you'll obey me.
Ron Hall
09:53 - 10:18
And in chapter five of first John, it's going to deal with, and his commands are not burdensome. So God's not, this is more than the 10 commandments. This goes beyond, this goes to the very spirit of obeying what Christ has told us to do, which supersedes the idea of the Ten Commandments. So if we really love him, we're going to want to obey him.
Ron Hall
10:18 - 10:36
You know, it's the idea of a young child, you know, a three and four year old. Yeah, they might be bucking against you, but ultimately they want you to love them. and they want your embrace from them, from you. And so that love of wrapping their arms around matters.
Ron Hall
10:36 - 10:44
Well, God is the same way. He wants us to embrace him and follow wholeheartedly after him, and it requires obedience.
Peter Englert
10:45 - 11:20
Hmm. Well, if we haven't missed anything, I know there's a lot to cover in verses one to six, but that kind of leads to leads us to this is I mean, you could take verse seven and eight and put it in John, first John, second John. You know, this is kind of like one of his opus versus, you know, and he even says that he says, hey, I'm not writing you a new command, but an old command. And so we can see the kind of the rhythm, the layer, the tapestry that John is saying.
Peter Englert
11:20 - 11:41
Again, it's the inward experience in the heart, living out obedience in real life and then love for other people. And so the power of what John's doing here is, I mean, you want to talk about living out God's will. You want to talk about living like Jesus. It's Hey, how well do you love your brothers and sisters?
Ron Hall
11:44 - 12:13
And that's scary, because if it turns out we have hatred for other people, then our hearts aren't right with God. So it's denying the reality of what Christianity should be. And we've just gone through this in our culture of events and assassinations and looking how people respond in different ways. Some want to celebrate the demise and hardship that comes upon someone.
Ron Hall
12:13 - 12:26
That's the word malice, being malicious, of wishing injury upon someone. But for the Christian, that ought not to be so. And you'll say, well, Ron, wait a minute. Church history is full of conflicts among Christians.
Ron Hall
12:26 - 12:43
Well, that's true. But so is conviction from the Lord in order to make those things right. So the Old Testament gave the command, love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus summarized the law, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Ron Hall
12:44 - 12:58
and then the second, love your neighbor as yourself. So love was a part of it. What makes this unique in John is it's loving as Jesus loved. I like to parallel this section with John chapter 13.
Ron Hall
12:59 - 13:13
By this will all men know you are my disciples if you have love one for another. Now, what does that mean? Jesus said, as I have loved you, so you love one another. So what enables me to love someone?
Ron Hall
13:14 - 13:27
who is a brother in the Lord that is giving me a difficult time, or I'm at odds with. It's because as Jesus loved me, I reciprocate that love back to him and or her, whatever the case is.
Peter Englert
13:29 - 13:52
So one of, you know, you have an illustration because I think sometimes people can say, hey, I love God, and I hate my brother and sister. And obviously, that's unbiblical based on here. Or, you know, I can, I will quote unquote, tacitly love my brother and sister, but not forgive them. Maybe hold on to bitterness and resentment.
Peter Englert
13:53 - 14:02
And you actually have an illustration of what that looks like. A fish in the cave. Why don't you tell everybody so that they can make the connection and imply that?
Ron Hall
14:03 - 14:22
Well, that's wild, because there's times we are walking in darkness. And when we choose to willfully do our own thing or allow hatred to reside in our hearts, were doing the bidding of the devil. And that was found in chapter one. People are thinking they're in the light, but they're really walking in darkness.
Ron Hall
14:23 - 14:42
So years ago, I did a hiking with my sons in mammoth caves in Kentucky. And they're deep, deep caverns that go down. They're huge and incredible environment, the way the winds are moving through. And when you get down lower, it's Echo Lake, it's called.
Ron Hall
14:43 - 15:06
And there are fish down deep there that have eye sockets, but they have no eyes. They have been in the darkness so long that their bodies adapted to not needing their eyes in order to see anything. What a powerful illustration, and we're walking in the darkness so much. that we cannot even see.
Ron Hall
15:06 - 15:30
So if the light were to shine on us, as if we're oblivious to it. Kind of a good parallel over in Corinthians of dealing with the God of this world has blinded the eyes of those which see not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine on them. So we better be lovers of the light. And that imagery comes through over and over again in all of John's writing.
Ron Hall
15:31 - 15:33
But it's especially pertinent here.
Peter Englert
15:34 - 16:03
Well, let's get super practical, because I think this is helpful and kind of looking at verse 10 and 11, and then we can jump back. So what are some ways that we won't stumble if we walk in the light by not holding on to hate, bitterness and resentment? And then in verse 11, what are some ways that we actually might stumble based on verse 11 because we're walking in darkness of hate, bitterness and resentment or unforgiveness?
Ron Hall
16:05 - 16:28
Well, sometimes listening to too much of the news isn't good because we take up offenses against people. And without going into the details, I was with an individual today that's full of hate against people. And I was trying to slow him down and hold on, hold on. You can't have that attitude in your heart of hatred towards somebody.
Ron Hall
16:28 - 16:53
We become very judgmental. And when we become very judgmental, The Holy Spirit is working on the life of the believer and putting checks in our heart to not go down that way. So it's back to that idea when God exposes something, agreed, do I have hatred in my heart towards another person? I love God's word and I'm deeply committed to it.
Ron Hall
16:54 - 17:10
And I really struggle with people that are false teachers, that seek to manipulate the scriptures for their own means. And it bothers me, but am I going to let that so eat me alive that I'm going to deprive myself of healthy Christianity myself?
Peter Englert
17:13 - 17:43
Yeah, I also add in there that when we walk in the light, we can see our own places of stumbling our own blind spots. And a lot of times we we don't want people to assume bad things about us with our intentions and our desires and our thoughts and our words. But when we walk in the darkness, you know, we create a narrative in our head of the other person. And I think that that's what hate, bitterness and resentment does is it.
Peter Englert
17:45 - 18:14
We find ourselves creating characters of people rather than actually getting to know them. And, you know, again, 1 Peter 4, I think it's 11, where it talks about love covering a multitude of sins. That's not about dismissing sins, but it's where love is, sin will not thrive. And so you think about it, that's a perfect mirror for this passage that when I love someone, I might not get along with them.
Peter Englert
18:14 - 18:35
I might not have chemistry for them. But if I love them the way that Jesus does, you know, these conflicts, whether their church splits or whether their family get togethers where one side of the family doesn't come in, it doesn't find a seed bed that keeps the fire burning. It ultimately helps us bring us back together.
Ron Hall
18:36 - 18:53
Yeah. And then there's the concept of what you feed will grow and what you starve will die. So if we're feeding on the darkness, then that's what's going to grow in us. And if we're feeding on the light, that's what will grow in us.
Ron Hall
18:54 - 19:05
The principle comes out of Galatians 6. It's the law of sowing and reaping. If you sow to the flesh, you'll have the flesh reap corruption. If you sow to the Spirit, you're of the Spirit, reap life everlasting.
Ron Hall
19:05 - 19:30
So we make choices with what you're talking about. And those images of walking in the darkness, Ephesians chapter five deals with it, so that we should be children of the light. And so if God is not exposing any darkness within us, then we need to question where our Christian life is at. And you and I don't like that, but it's necessary.
Peter Englert
19:31 - 19:45
Hmm. Well, we've hit a lot. This is probably deeply personal and deeply applicable, but, you know, in reading one through 11, did we miss anything or is there anything else you want to talk about there?
Ron Hall
19:46 - 20:17
Well, we need to all be meditating on what does it mean to obey the Lord? And the idea of God, what are you asking me to do in my life? Maybe the Lord is asking you to forgive someone you're holding something against, resentment in your heart. Some people are hard to forgive, and you can't always undo everything that's been done with a wrong for a person, but is it worth it dwelling in you and eating you alive?
Ron Hall
20:17 - 20:43
And I think John is saying, and we'll be continuing this whole idea of how we treat our brother, And it's going to be in chapter 2 later on. It's going to be in chapter 3, chapter 4, right through the letter that it does make a difference how we're treating one another. So why do I want hate to reside within me and be a cancer of my soul? It's not worth it.
Ron Hall
20:43 - 21:02
So John is saying, how can you say you love God if you're going to carry about hatred within your own life? And that's the power of really pulling this together. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness, right there in verse 9.
Peter Englert
21:04 - 21:31
And I think what this points to is John was very aware of the religious leaders, the Pharisees and the scribes. And you can imagine somebody reading this and saying, oh, I follow his commands. And then you get down about hating a brother or sister. And it's almost as if you haven't really experienced God's love to know the grace that you need, therefore the grace that you need to give other people.
Peter Englert
21:31 - 22:05
So this, you know, this whole book, but especially this section is just a gut check. I love this idea what you feed will grow and what you don't feed will die. And I think what John is picking up on here is if we walk in the light, we are going to be aware of the sin and the blind spots. Therefore, just like 1 John 1, we can confess those sins, but we also become not just the individuals, but the people in the church that love each other, which is the greatest message of the gospel that we can give today.
Ron Hall
22:05 - 22:19
Yes. Yeah. And some practical ways of approaching this. You can wake up in the morning and you can be carrying around feelings against somebody, and that's not the way to start your day.
Ron Hall
22:20 - 22:34
Start your day with the Lord, yielding and surrendering your life. And Jesus, how can I follow after you today, just as this passage is teaching? We need to follow after him. We need to be walking in the light.
Ron Hall
22:34 - 23:00
So I'm not going to have a barrier between my relationship with you, Lord, and being able to be an instrument that you can use, I want to be available to him." And so that's what this passage is teaching. These people who are denying sin, thinking they could justify hating their brother, and John said, you can't do it. You're not really in the faith if you can't deal with the reality of sin in your life and how you're going to treat one another.
Peter Englert
23:03 - 23:35
Well, and the last thing I'll say, and I'll let you respond to this, but I'm married to a mental health therapist. Our anger and resentment and bitterness can come out sideways. And so I think by focusing on the Lord, it's really actually looking what's going on inside of me right now. and to be able to say, hey, there's certain things that I value or certain core values that I have that, you know, whether I believe this person is intentionally or unintentionally doing it, I need to be aware and I need to let God's light shine in.
Peter Englert
23:36 - 23:47
Maybe where is a place that I'm not experiencing God's love? You know what? Where is this feeling coming from? And that's where you need prayer and time with God and in the word.
Peter Englert
23:47 - 23:59
to even be aware of what's going on in your heart? And how often do we live with reactivity? And I think that first, john, at least these first two chapters are slowing us down. What's happening inside of you?
Ron Hall
23:59 - 24:08
Yeah. Yeah. And are we going to have a life that's captivated by love? Are we going to have a life that's captivated by hate?
Ron Hall
24:09 - 24:29
And it's so good what you said about how it can go sideways. And it comes out, you know, with other people that were with And you just say, this is not worth it. And it's back to what I said with Jesus, a new commandment I give unto you, you love one another as I have loved you. By this will all men know you're my disciples, if you have love one for another.
Ron Hall
24:30 - 24:34
And that applies directly to our relationships with one another.
Peter Englert
24:34 - 24:52
No, that's really good. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We're going to pick up with 1 John 2.12 next time, and we'll leave it be a surprise of what verses we'll stop at. But thank you so much for joining us on the Reading 1 John podcast.