Some benefits of believing in Christ

In expounding the provision of assurance for believers, the apostle John also reminds his readers in his first epistle of some of the benefits that come from believing in Christ: fellowship with God (1:3, 6, 7) Jesus Christ as his advocate (2:1) the command (and an ability) to love others (2:7; 4:21) the anointing of […]

Sunday Leftovers: When people leave the church

The apostle Paul spoke for all pastors when he reminded the Corinthians of the difficulty and burden of his ministry — imprisonments, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, long journeys, robbers, and hard work. Yet the greatest source of his concern was “the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my […]

Sunday Leftovers: Worldly desires

“Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.” John (1 Jn. 2:15) could not be more clear. The things that are in the world, and all that the world produces from its ungodly system are deadly for the godly man when he lives for them and not for Christ. The believer should […]

Sunday Leftovers: Your strength

A number of years ago, Sports Illustrated profiled arm wrestler Dave Patton. At the time, he hadn’t lost an arm wrestling match in 12 years, even though he only weighed 160 pounds. His secret was his training. He would train up to four hours each day, including 756 bicep curls during each session. Though often […]

Living like Jesus lived

Many years ago, many Christians began sporting rubberized wrist bands with the initials WWJD — What Would Jesus Do? In one sense it’s an irrelevant question — Jesus is the Son of God, the third person of the Trinity, perfect in all His attributes and actions, completely sinless. I can’t do what He would do. […]

Sunday Leftovers: the believer’s security

The security of the believer is the objective reality of what God has done to save believers and keep them saved. It is different from the believer’s assurance, which is his subjective experience of his salvation. A believer’s security is unchanging. Despite what he feels about his salvation, once his name has been penned in […]

Christ, our Advocate

A couple of years ago I sat in a courtroom as a member of a jury serving a criminal case. On that day there were two lawyers in that courtroom serving as advocates — one as a defender of the man accused of a crime, and the other serving as both defender of the victim […]

Propitiation and God’s wrath

John writes that Jesus Christ Himself is the propitiation for the sins of the believer (1 John 2:2a). There has been much debate about the meaning of the word propitiation. Some have suggested that it is synonymous with expiation, meaning that through Christ God has canceled the debt of sin. Others have said it is […]

Sunday Leftovers: Fighting against sin

In 1 John 2:1, the apostle declares, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” He is telling his readers — believers in a group of churches in Asia Minor who had been taught by a group of heretics that sin was irrelevant and that one could be in good […]

Sunday Leftovers: more on confession and 1 John 1:9

In 1 John 1:9, the beloved disciple reminds believers that “If (when) we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Most believers are quite familiar with this verse, but what does it really mean to confess our sins? What is confession? What should […]

Preparing for a sermon on 1 John 1:9

This afternoon I’ve been thinking about tomorrow’s sermon on 1 John 1:9. This may be one of the most well-known verses in Scripture, behind perhaps John 3:16, Psalm 23, and Genesis 1:1. It’s easy to miss the importance of a passage because of our familiarity. How can we prepare to hear this familiar word in […]

Sunday Leftovers: four reasons for hope for the believer who sins

Toxicologists Frank LoVecchio and Jeffrey Suchard of the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix conducted a study a few years ago and discovered that 15% of Arizona rattlesnake attacks occurred after the snakes had been mortally shot, bludgeoned, or even beheaded. One man shot and decapitated a snake, then waited five minutes before picking […]

Sunday Leftovers: Fellowship with God

The term “fellowship” is used regularly in the context of the church (do non-believers use the word?). Often the word is used synonymously for “food” or “feast,” as in, “be sure to bring enough food to the fellowship (feast)…” or “come Wednesday evening as we enjoy fellowship (a meal) together…” While fellowship can take place […]

Sunday Leftovers: First John and sanctification

Reading 1 John has often created questions for believers about the security of their eternal life, because of what John seems to be saying about sin — e.g., “No one who abides in Him [Christ] sins…” (3:6). Yet every believer still knows the reality of sin in his life, so too often people think something […]

Sunday Leftovers: What do you know?

Last Sunday I attempted to provide an extensive amount of background information about the book of 1 John, and someone suggested it might be helpful to post my sermon notes on the blog because he couldn’t get it all down. Given that the way I format my notes together is not conducive to a quick […]