Audio Transcript:

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Good morning. Welcome to Mosaic Church. My name is Jan, one of the pastors here at Mosaic along with Pastor Shane and Pastor Andy. And if you're new, if you're visiting, welcome, we're so glad you're here. We'd love to connect with you through the connection card and the worship guide or the connection card in the app that you can download in the app store.

If you fill out the physical connection card, please do so legibly and then you can either toss it in the offering basket after or redeem it at the welcome center for a gift. It's also a great opportunity if you have any prayer requests, list those there or if you today have made a decision to follow Christ or recommit your life to Christ, or if you're interested in baptism, please let us know there.

With that said, would you please pray with me over the preaching of God's Holy word? Oh great God of the universe, Holy Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. It is so good to be in your presence. We pray Lord that you today come into this place. You're already here, but in a powerful, tangible, palpable way. Come and speak to us. Lord there's nothing better than being in your presence when our souls glorify you and are satisfied by you.

Lord Jesus we thank you for revealing the way that we can be reconciled with you. We thank you for your sacrifice Jesus. We thank you that you, the God of the universe came, and you came into history into a time and place and space and you came as a human being. Factually, you are here. Historically, you are here and you prove to us the way of God by living the perfect life, dying the death that we deserved to die and being resurrected on the third day. We thank you Lord.

We thank you that there were eyewitnesses and we thank you that you give us testimony that's objective and testimony that's subjective by the power of the Spirit, so we pray Holy spirit come. And if there's anyone here who is not yet a Christian, I pray, give them the gift of faith. Open the eyes of their heart to see you and to behold how great it is to be in the presence of God, to be a child of God. How great you are.

Lord bless our time, the Holy Scriptures, we pray all this in Christ's Holy name. Amen. Today we're finishing our sermon series through 1 John that we've been calling meno from the Greek, which means to abide, to remain in. This is how we walk in the presence of the Lord. This is how we grow. Today is our eighth week finishing off this series. Next week, we're beginning a new series that we are calling Stratagem Know Thy Enemy where we'll talk about the different roles of Satan and the different attack plan strategies that he has to pull us away.

Today, the title of the sermon is faith and facts. Benjamin Franklin said, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Hopefully you've done your taxes. Deadline's coming up, sorry for the reminder. Of course, a wise man like Ben Franklin knew that there were other certainties in life and we as Christians know that there are many other certainties and of spiritual truth. We as Christians can say wholeheartedly, we know. We know who God is, we know God, we know the way to God.

We know the will of God and this is how John wants us to talk about faith, as knowing that this is true. He uses the word ‘know' 39 times and the Epistle uses it eight times in our text today in 1 John 5:6-21. Now, to say we know things of God is extremely counter-cultural, and might be strange to you. I had a conversation a few weeks back when a young lady approached me after a service and she's like, “You talk about this Christianity thing as if it's true.” “Well, yes.” “No, no, no, fact true not faith, true.”

“Yes, I believe that this is fact true.” Now, this is really fascinating. David Hume a long time ago, came up with this distinction, this faith fact distinction that there's truth when it comes to fact and there's truth when it comes to faith, and a lot of people in our culture, this is how we operate. That there's knowledge, fact which is objective. You can prove it in a lab. Objects fall, hot air rises, the earth revolves around the sun, facts.

And then there's faith truth, which is subjective. It's your opinions only. It might be meaningful to you, might not be to someone else. It could be part of your faith. Tradition has nothing to do with objective reality, and many people today are willing to believe about objective truth, fact truth when it comes to science or math, engineering, maybe history and that's up for debate. Definitely not. Faith, religion, ethics, morality.

Hardly anyone is consistent with this worldview and those who are fully consistent, those who have been historically consistent with this worldview were moral monsters, like Hitler or Stalin. Let me just give you a thought experiment. Human life is valuable, fact or faith? Human rights are real because humans have equal dignity, value and worth, fact or faith? Sexual trafficking is evil, diabolical evil, fact or faith? Love is of supreme importance, fact or faith?

There is true meaning and purpose in life, fact or faith? It's wrong for me to hit you, fact or faith? Fact, fact, don't hit me. Do you have this distinction in your mind of faith truth and fact truth? If so, why? Is that presupposition true or have you just believed in it? And this is something that we're going to talk about today in 1 John 5… the whole text of six through 21. I'm going to read six through 12 here and then I'm going to give you five certainties that you can build your life on. Five bedrocks for your faith, a substantiated faith.

Would you look at the text with me? Today, we are in 1 John 5:6, “This is He who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. Not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the spirit is the one who testifies because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify, the Spirit and the water and the blood and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that He has borne concerning His son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His son. Whoever has the son has life, whoever does not have the son of God does not have life.”

This is the reading of God's Holy inerrant infallible authoritative word. May He write these eternal truths upon our hearts. What can we know for sure, five things from this text? First, Jesus is God. Second, believers have eternal life. Third, God answers prayers. Fourth, Christians do not practice sin and finally, the Christian life is real life. It is reality. First of all, Jesus is God.

Here in verse six, John talks about three things that testify to the veracity, the historicity of Jesus as God. He came by water and blood. That's Jesus Christ, and not only by water only but by the water and the blood and the Spirit is the one who testifies because the Spirit is true, for there are three that testify, the spirit, the water and the blood and these three agree. What's he talking about?

In Jewish thought, to prove something in a court of law, you need to have at least two, preferably three testimonies, witnesses, and John brings forth the testimony of three witnesses, water, blood, and the Spirit. By water, what does he mean? He means the baptism of Jesus Christ. That Jesus did not have to get baptized because there was sin in Him. Jesus was baptized in order to identify with us.

At the start of His ministry, the blood is Jesus dying on a cross for our sins, bearing the penalty that we deserve for our law-breaking. That's the blood. He poured out His blood to cleanse us. That's at the end of His public ministry. The water and blood, two book ends of His public ministry and the Spirit was there at both of them. Jesus was getting baptized. The Holy Spirit comes down like a dove upon Him, to anoint him for the ministry.

As Jesus was being crucified, the Holy Spirit was right there. The sky darkened, the earthquake. People were resurrected, came from their graves and the veil in the Holy of Holies was torn from the top to bottom. The Spirit's witness was then confirmed in the resurrection of Christ, historical, factual resurrection. Over 500 people witnessed. Then Jesus was on earth for another 40 days showing Himself bodily resurrected.

Then Jesus ascends. The Holy Spirit descends again to testify the veracity that this is all fact. Upon the church on the day of Pentecost further affirms that witness through the miracles of the apostles finally inspiring the apostles to write the documents of the New Testament, and we have that witness in the Holy scriptures. What John is saying is, God has given us enough to believe.

There's enough factual evidence for those who have an open heart to see it, and this is a really important caveat because unless you're coming to God willingly and humbly and prayerfully, openly asking God, “Please reveal yourself to me.” With a searching heart, asking God to open the eyes of… your eyes to His truth. Unless you do that, God does not reveal Himself because God is not in the business of giving proof to proud sinners.

If you come to God as a proud skeptic and say, “God reveal yourself on my terms,” you will walk away with nothing. If you come to God with preconceived notions of what, “This is the savior I'm looking for. This is the God that I'm willing to submit to,” you're actually placing yourself over God, over His authority and Jesus Christ is not a savior that fits every single one of our whims and desires. He's got enough evidence.

For those who are looking, water, blood and the Spirit. Verse nine, “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater for this is the testimony of God that He has borne concerning His son.” People often tell me, “I wish I had your faith. You've got so much faith. I wish I had your faith.” And my response is always, “Everybody's got faith.” The question is, what are you believing? What are you trusting in?

We can't but live in this world, survive in this world without exercising faith. Every single time you go to a doctor, you're exercising faith. Every time you go to a pharmacist, you're exercising faith. Anytime you order food at a restaurant, you're exercising faith. Anytime you get an Uber, you're exercising faith. Every time you go get on an airplane, every single day. Anytime you drive in Boston, you got to be a believer.

How do you not believe that the people next to you aren't going to merge into your lane? This is what He's saying. If you trust people, if you trust men, then why can't we trust God who is all truth? Verse 10, “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His son.”

He's not just saying, “Do you believe in God?” He's saying, “Do you believe God?” And if you don't believe God, he's saying that's tantamount to calling God a liar. To not trust God is to make him a liar and if God is a liar then nothing is certain. And this is fascinating, because he doesn't talk about unbelief as a misfortune to be pitied. “Oh, woe is me. I don't believe.” He talks about unbelief as a sin to be deplored and repented of.

Because to not believe in a God who is truth, who speaks only truth, is to ascribe falsehood to God. He's saying, “Repent of your unbelief. Repent of your audacity of calling the God of truth a liar. Receive His truth, receive His grace and as you do, you have a sure foundation of your faith.” And he says, “You have a testimony in yourself.” In the Christian faith, there's the objective truth, objective proof of God.

It's in the scriptures, it's in the archeological evidence, it's in history. He says, “But then you also have the subjective internal testimony of self-authenticating of the Holy Spirit that says, “Yes, yes. Deep down inside, I know that this is true. I know that God is Holy. I'm a sinner and Jesus Christ is the only way for me to be reconciled with God. I know this, with every fiber of my being, I know that Jesus is God.”

Second of all, “Believers have eternal life.” That's verse 11 and this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life. This life is in His son. God gives eternal life as a gift. There's nothing you can do to earn it. It's not about effort. It's not about living a good life. It's a gift. Just receive that gift by grace through faith, and we have that present possession and we already have eternal life, and the life doesn't come from Christ. It is in Christ.

That's why it's so important to abide in Christ, to walk in Him, remain in Him, and this is really the greatest gift that Christianity offers, that God offers as His son Jesus Christ. That you can walk in His presence by the power of the spirit. And if you don't have Him, you don't have life. You don't have eternal life. If you don't have Christ, you don't have eternal life. If you say, “Well, I have a connection with God, I have a connection with Allah, I have a connection with the spiritual realm,” if you don't have Christ, you don't have eternal life.

Christianity is Christ. All of God's promises are yes in Him. All that God offers us, He offers us in Christ. Verse 12 and 13, “Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” Are you going to heaven? Lots of people who identify as Christians answer by saying, “I hope so. I hope I've done enough. I've hoped that I've done more good than bad.”

That's not Christianity. That's not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ offers us assurance is security in our salvation, ultimate security. He doesn't want you to say, “I hope so.” He wants me to say, “I know. I know so, not because of what I've done but because of what Christ has done and I'm in Him. I trust Him. I love Him. I follow Him.” Every single person alive is looking for that place of comfort and security.

And that primal drive is why many people pursue sin because they're looking for that one place where I'm fully known and fully loved, comfort and security. We're looking for that place. Thought experiment. What is your favorite place in the world? Currently, not just historically. Your favorite place in the world, the place where you feel most secure and most comfortable. What is that place?

For me, it's being at home, and not just being at home, in a very particular spot at home. The left side of my bed, under the blankets. So much do I love this one position that there's a dent in the mattress that perfectly fits my whole body, and under the blanket from IKEA, the very warm one. In that one spot, I feel comfort. I feel security. I've tested other beds in the world. You travel, hotels. Airbnb isn't nothing. Every time I'm in a place I'm like, “I wish I was home. I wish I was home.” Every single time.

We're all looking for that comfort. Whatever your places, we're looking for that comfort and that security. We're all searching for it. And this security is utterly unique to Christianity that in the hands of God, you have ultimate security. You have eternal life. Most philosophies, religions, they reject absolute security, that it's impossible. Islam, there's no assurance of paradise in the Quran.

Even Muhammad himself had dark dreams about judgment day. You hope for the best, but who knows? None of the Eastern faiths offer this. Secularism has no answers. Nothing in the face of death, just helpless. Even certain Christian faiths, Catholicism, Russian orthodoxy, even Armenian evangelicalism, who knows? You might lose your salvation.

He says, “No, you already have eternal life. You are in the hands of God and nothing will pluck you out of the hands of God because your name is graven on his hands because of the work of Christ.” For Christians, there is eternal life. Third, we know, we can be certain that God answers prayers. Verse 14, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”

Jesus in His earthly ministry, He helped people all the time. People would come and He would help earthly fathers help their children. Does the heavenly father help? Does Jesus still help? And he's said here, “Through our prayer, we come and according to God's will, God responds.” And I love how He talks about faith and prayer in the context of confidence. Prayer for Him isn't ritual. It's not obligation. It's not investment. You give a little to God and then God will give back to you.

It's a confident conversation between a child and a father. Very few people can wake me up at any moment of the day. Very few people could do it. Very few people have the privilege to do that. My kids can do that. They need help. They come to me. It's that confidence of if I go to my Father, my heavenly Father, any time that He will answer. It's genuine, personal, emotional, practical, it's confident conversation with God and you see how emotive, how viscerally motive prayer is in the scriptures.

Jacob wrestles with the Lord all night, is holding onto Him and says, “I'm not letting you go until you give me what I ask.” In the Psalms, you see an outpouring of emotion, personal appeals, crying out to God, rending their hearts before God. Jesus tells parables and is like, “This how you pray.” There's a guy that goes to his neighbor in the middle of night because he had a guest come. You didn't have any food to give him.

He goes to his neighbor and wakes him up, wakes up his whole household and says, “I'm not leaving until you give me some bread.” And Jesus said, “I want you to pray like that. I want you to pray with that tenacity, the tenacity of a widow who keeps pestering a judge, “Give me what I long for. I long for justice.” He says, “Pray like the tax collector who stands before the presence of God in the temple and says, “Please Lord, forgive me for I am a sinner.”

Honest heartfelt prayers, like the Lord and the Garden Gethsemane. The anxiety and the pressure of what is to come. He's going to the cross about the sip from… Drink down to the dregs, the cup of God's wrath, and He says, “If it's your will, let this cup pass from me, but it's not my will. Yours be done.” Here says that, “The Lord hears our prayers. When we ask, He hears our prayers,” but He hears everything. God is on mission. Why even tell us that? Because for God to hear a prayer is to answer it.

And of course, there are conditions to our prayers being answered. For example, unconfessed sin is a serious block to answered prayer. Obstacle. Psalm 66:18, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Dear Christian, how many of your prayers are not answered because you cherish sin? Is there sin in your heart that you're cherishing? Sinful inclinations, temptations that are in your heart.

Perhaps you're not indulging in the acts, but they're in your heart and says, “That right there, cherishing that iniquity is an obstacle.” There should be a pattern in your life, dear Christian, where you can say, “Yes, I look back at my life, I can see that the Lord answered here, and He answered here and He answered here. He's proven Himself to be faithful and even when He said no, it's to say yes to something better.”

For married couples, conflict in a marriage can hinder prayers. This is 1 Peter 3:7, “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel.” By vessel, the imagery is between the different types of vessels in the household, and he's saying, “Men are made out of clay and women are much nicer porcelain.” That's what we'll go with.

He says, “So there's got to be honor. Husbands, are you honoring your wives?” He says, “If not, they are heirs with you in the grace of life so that your prayers may not be hindered.” If there's conflict in your relationship, that conflict keeps the prayers from being answered. If there is conflict, husbands, wives, don't let the sun set on your anger. Reconcile and pray together, and just Christians in general, conflict gets in the way of prayers.

Matthew 5:23 through 24 so, “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First, be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.” “Oh, my prayers' not being answered. I'm asking, I'm asking, the Lord's not giving to me.” Is there sin? Is there conflict in my closest relationship? Is there conflict between me and another Christian?

If so, repent, reconcile and seek peace. And then unless a believer's abiding in Christ in love and obedience, prayers aren't answered, this John 15:7, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” Do you abide in the presence of Christ? Do you seek Him through scripture, significant times of scripture, meditation and prayer, speaking to God, pouring your heart out to God, seeking to live according to His commandments? That's what abiding means, and everything will be done according to God's will.

And this condition, I've always thought it's like… It's weird that the Lord does this. Ask whatever you want, according to my will. It's as if one nullifies the other and it's like, “Great. Why even ask? The Lord's going to do anything that He wants, but one of the things that we need to know is that the Lord predestines the end, but He also predestines the means of how the end comes to pass.

If He has a will and you're like, “Yes, God, you're sovereign.” But His will is also that we pray. He says, “I want you to pray,” because He understands that our greatest need isn't just for our needs to be met. Our greatest need is to be in the presence of God. Jesus, what were His physical needs when He was on earth? Yet He's God, but He spent significant amounts of time in prayer because He needed the Father. He relied on the Father.

And according to the will, what happens when we pray is our will begins to align with God's will. There's a unity in our wills, so prayer doesn't just move the hand of God. It shapes our hearts. The Lord Jesus, He taught us to pray like this. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. We're not asking, “Lord, let my will be done in heaven.” I'm asking, “Lord, let your will be done on earth.”

Now, the question is, what about unanswered prayers? Moses prayed to enter the Promised Land. God said, “Stop praying. Stop asking for that. You're not getting it.” Jeremiah prays that God takes away the judgment on Judah and God says, “Stop. No, stop praying that.” Jesus in the Garden Gethsemane, “Let this cup pass from me, let thy will be done.” Paul asking for the removal of the thorn in the flesh, three times God says, “No, because my strength is made manifest in weakness.”

We need to understand that God's will is infinitely better than our will. When He says, “Ask whatever you want, I'll give it to you,” He's not relinquishing control of the universe. He's still in control. What He's saying is that, “My will is better than your will.” Often our will is very shortsighted, because our goal is our happiness. God's goal for us is so much greater than our temporary happiness.

It's our holiness, and sometimes He's willing to sacrifice our short term happiness for our long-term holiness, which will lead to greater amount of joy and happiness. For example, when have you ever asked for a thorn in the flesh? When have you ever asked for trials? “Lord send me trials,” because James said that, “When you meet trials of various kinds, count it as joy.”

When's the last time you said, “Lord, send me suffering. Lord, send me afflictions.” And yet the Lord knows we are not going to ask that, but sometimes that's what it takes to soften our hearts, to build our faith, to deepen our humility. The reason why the Lord sent Paul the thorn in the flesh was because Paul got a glimpse of heaven, and then he comes down. He has this incredible transcend spiritual experience.

Now, what could that potentially do to a person? It could potentially puff him up with pride. “I'm so much better than all of you,” and the Lord says, “Let me just remind you. You are chief of sinners.” His will is the one that we can count on as being universally always best for us. His will alone is invariably better and advances our true interests like nothing else. It's just like in a relationship with kids.

My youngest daughter is two years and nine months, Milana. She loves to eat, so good at eating. She's a great eater. That's a spiritual gift. If she comes to me and she says, “Daddy, can I have a third slice of cake?” Honestly, if mom's not there, I'm like, “Yes, okay." Now, because girls, first of all, so hard to say no to because it's so cute. Second of all, I don't want to deal with the drama. I just don't.

As I say no, I do it with a smile and I do it in the spirit of saying yes. “No? Because this is the best thing for you. You don't understand now, but you will. You're going to thank me, long-term. I'm going to save you from so much.” You know what I'm saying? He says no because He's got a greater yes for us. That's what John is saying and also there are some times where we just don't know His will.

It feels like He's impressed upon our hearts. “Ask for this. Ask for this. I'm a great God and I have great power. Ask for this and just that desired or common asks,” that's already an act of faith. But we don't know. We don't know if that's His will so we say, “Lord, not my will, but yours be done.” We walk by faith. We walk in the Spirit and God promises to meet our needs not our greeds. We're not beggars, but we're also… we're His children and we come to the wealthy Father who loves to give His children what they need.

I love verse 15, it is a fascinating twist… turn of phrase. He says, “If we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. We already have the requests. What's He doing here? What He's doing here is He's connecting our present in the future and He says, “Our present in the future are connected by faith, by prayer. We may not see the answer immediately, but we have an inner confidence that God has already answered according to His will."

For example, Abraham asked for a son, “God send me a son.” God says yes, and it's another 25 years until he's holding Isaac in his arms. But He says, “Believe that you already have the request.” Mark 11:24, the words of Christ, “Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” It's hard to articulate, but I had moments in my life where God just pressed something in my heart and I know it's already a reality.

I remember in seminary, we were praying, “Lord, where do you want us to go?” My wife and I were praying. We thought we were going to Russia or Ukraine as missionaries and the Lord was pressing on our heart. “You're going to Boston and you're going to plant a church.” We started praying about that and before we left, people came to us and said, “Are you sure?” Boston's lost. There's more Dunkin' donuts in Boston than there are Christians. That's a fact.

And I said, “I don't know how to articulate it, but in my heart, it's a reality. We haven't planted it, but in my heart, this is the truth that I already believe and because of that faith, I'm going to do everything I possibly can in my actions, from my will. God's given me the grace of faith and I'm going to do everything I can with that grace so that it's not in vain.” This is what He's saying. We might not see the answer immediately, but we have this inner confidence.

What breathing is to a physical person, that's what prayer is to a spiritual person, a Christian person. Luke 18:1, “And He told them a parable to the effect that they ought to always pray and not lose heart.” Pray without ceasing. The scripture says it's an attitude of the heart of dependence. “Lord, I need you, Lord. Help me, Lord. Lead me. Reveal your will.” Jesus depended on prayer, prayed all the time, spent full night in prayer. Would serve all day, wake up early and go pray.

And if the sinless Son of God needed to pray on the cross, prayed three times, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. If He needed to pray, how much more do we pray? Point four is, Christians do not practice sin. This is one of the more curious passages in the book, in scripture in general. Verse 16, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will give him that brother life to those who commit sins that do not lead to death.”

But there is sin that leads to death. I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin but there is a sin that does not lead to death. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who has been born of God, Christ protects him and the evil one, Satan does not touch him. We know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Multi-dimensional texts, let me just unwrap a couple of the layers. First of all, in his mind and John's mind, and this is the same mind of Christ, there's only two sides. There's only two kingdoms, there's only two teams. There's team Jesus and there's team Satan. If you're like, “No. no, no, I'm not on team Jesus, I'm on team me. I'm on a team Switzerland. I'm neutral. Don't fight me."

And he said, “That's not a thing. Team me is actually team Satan. You're either in the Kingdom of light, in the Kingdom of Christ or you're under the rule of Satan. You lie in the power of the evil one. Then he talks about Christians who are in the kingdom, who are brothers and sisters who have been born of God and He says, “They do not keep on sinning.” And here, He's talking about the continuous pattern of sin, that Christians can't remain in this practice of habitual sin.

Christians obviously there's occasional slip-ups, occasional sins, but he's saying, “That's an exception not the rule. Christians' no longer defined by sin.” Now, he says that in the context where he's talking about seeing a brother in sin. It's a Christian, and he's saying that, for the Christian, “When you see a brother in sin, when you see another Christian in sin, we are to hold them accountable and it begins with prayer.” We pray for that person, but there… And God will give them life.

But there comes a point where even the Christian gets to a point where they commit a sin unto death. This is credible, incredibly sobering doctrine and you need to know about it. In the Old Testament, God often mentions people whom God removes from the world because of their sin. And these are people who were priests. For example, Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, the priest deliberately disobeyed God and they died.

Korah and his clan opposed God and died. Achan was stoned because he disobeyed Joshua's orders from God and died. A guy named Uzzah touched the Ark of the Covenant and God removes him from the world. And you say, “That's the Old Testament. We're in the New Testament. We're under grace.” Well, let me just say, “To whom much is revealed, much is required. Who much is given, much is required.”

To a believer today, you, dear Christian, have more revelation than the Christian… than people in the Old Testament. We have the Holy Scriptures and we have the internal witness of the Spirit. In the New Testament, Ananias and Sapphira lied to God about an offering and died. Believers in Corinth, 1 Corinthians 11, took part in Holy Communion without discerning the body and blood of Christ and says that some of them were sick and some of them died.

In 1 Corinthians 5:1 through 5, a person that is in egregious, unrepentant sin and St Paul says later that if that person had not repented and confessed, they would have died. This is called the discipline of God the Father. It's outlined in Hebrews 12, and it begins with, so to speak, God's spirit convicts and then there comes a discipline from the Lord or a spanking of God's rebellious children.

But it gets to a point if a Christian does not yield his will or her will to Christ, does not repent of a sin is stubbornly sitting, the Lord might and has removed people from this world in order to not lead others astray and not bring further disgrace on his name. Hebrews 12:9, besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? Why am I saying this to you? Same reason John is telling us this, the Apostle John, that sin is not to be trifled with. Look what it cost God to save us from our sin, the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ.

And He does not save us so that we can continue living in sin. He saves us so that we can be sanctified, so that we continue to be transformed to the image of Christ. And He says, “If a Christian sees a brother committing a sin we should pray for them, but if in our praying we don't sense that it's God's will to forgive them, then we stop praying.” That's what He's saying. Sobering, sobering truth and here's how I apply it to my life.

I hear this, I'm like, “Where is there sin, unrepentant sin that I'm allowing in my heart, in my life, repent of it, leave it, follow Christ.” Finally, Christian life is real life. He tells us in verse 20 and we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true and we are in Him who is true in His son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life, fact and faith. Facts and faith, for Him it's one in the same.

We believe in these facts because they're true. It's not our believing that makes them true. We believe it because it true. He is the true God. He is the true son. He is true knowledge. He is true reality. If we fellowship with Him, we have fellowship with the God of reality. It's not a copy. It's not counterfeit. Jesus is the true light, the true bread, the true vine, truth itself. That's why verse 21, He says, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

And in the context, it's not idols like images and wood and stone. What He's talking about in this context is false conceptions of God, false conceptions of Christ. Whenever you go to the scriptures and you're like, “Ah, I don't like that God. I don't like that attribute of God. My God wouldn't say that. My God would not demand that.” He's saying, “At that moment, what you're doing is, you're creating an idol, god of speculation, not a God of revelation.”

Do you allow the truth about God from the Holy Scriptures define God for you or do you define God yourself? He's saying, “Be careful, that's idolatry. Keep yourselves from idols.” Fact or faith? Jesus comes and He says, “I am the truth and faith.” How are we to live? “I am love.” He's truth and love, He's light and love, and He molds the two together, the fact and faith.

Christianity isn't denying reality. It's not our escape from reality. “Oh, you're a Christian. You escape from reality, the truths of reality. On Sunday morning, I escaped from the truth's reality and Friday night.” Now, what He's saying is that Christianity isn't denying reality. It's discovering reality. The world talks about enlightenment. We're so enlightened. Christians walk in real light because God is light. The world talks about love all the time and they have no idea what real love is.

Real love is sacrifice and commitment. It's eternal. It's the love of Christ. The world displays its wisdom and learning and Christians say, “We know the truth in a humble, confident way.” God is light, love, truth, and these together make a life that is real. As we walk in Christ, abide in Him, we love Him, we know Him and we follow Him. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Missed any of the points, what can we know for sure that Jesus is God? Believers have eternal life, God answers prayers, Christians do not practice sin and Christian life is real life. Let's pray. Lord I pray if there is anyone here who is not yet a Christian. Not yet a follower of Christ, is not yet abiding in you, is not in Christ. I pray today. Draw them to yourself. Show them that these facts are true and that we believe them because they're true, they're not true because we believe them.

We thank you Lord that you came in the testimony of the blood, the water and the Spirit together. They give us a substantiated foundation for our faith, an anchor for our souls. Lord I pray you make us that people who abide in you. We thank you for these weeks that you've given us in 1 John, what a book. And I pray that you continue to keep us close to you and clean from sin so that you, by the power of the Spirit, can cultivate much fruit through us to your glory and for our joy. I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.