Confident Prayer, 1 John 5:13-17, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meeting on June 26-July 3, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 5:13-17 and discusses the idea that Christians should have boldness in their prayers because of the confidence they have in Christ. In fact, confident prayer starts with assurance, is built on a confident relationship, and results in life. We have to remember that the life God has given us in Christ is not for us alone, it is a gift to be shared with others. One means of doing that is through prayer for those who have fallen into sin. This lesson looks at that issue and even considers an answer to the question of the sin unto death. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Confident Prayer
1 John 5:13-17
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
Let me start with a confession
I have never been what you might call a prayer warrior
In fact, my batting average at getting positive answers from God is not very high
Truth be told, I know I could do more in prayer

No doubt we all share a similar view
We are pretty sure that we don’t pray enough
Maybe when we do pray we aren’t real sure that we know what we are doing or that God will hear us

We lack confidence

Our passage today addresses that issue

In 1 John 5:13-17, John gives us three parts of confident prayer
1. It starts with assurance
2. It continues with a confident relationship
3. It results in restoration and life

Confident prayer is a desperate need for the body of Christ today

1. Confident Prayer Starts with Assurance

1 John 5:13—John ends his letter by letting his readers know his purpose.

In the Gospel of John 20:30-31, John says that he wrote so that people may believe in Jesus the Messiah/the Son of God (i.e., the Incarnation) and that by believing receive eternal life in his name.

In the letter, John’s purpose is to assure those who have put faith in the Incarnation. His purpose is to give them confidence in their salvation. Verse 13 states this purpose clearly.

John begins this section with a statement of assurance
He says that faith in the name of Jesus leads to confidence in salvation

He speaks of knowing our relationship to God
John uses some form of the word “know” in his short letter over 40 times
At least 8 of those uses are found in chapter 5

John seems to be saying that our confidence begins with our salvation and our salvation is something we can know

Throughout his book, John has given us indications of how we know we belong to God

In our passage from a couple of weeks ago (1 John 5:6-12), John tells us that we have an internal and an eternal witness by God’s Spirit in us, but we also have a historical and a supernatural witness to salvation in the testimonies of God’s people and God himself

We also saw that we can be confident of knowing God when we keep his commandments (1 John 2:3-5), when we love as God loves (1 John 3:14-16, 4:7-16), when we have the witness of the Spirit in our confession of Christ (1 John 4:13-16) and when we love God and love his children (1 John 4:19-5:3).

Assurance of salvation is based primarily on what Christ has done for us
We have confidence because God has provided salvation
God manifested his love for us in Christ, and that love is our assurance

Confident prayer begins with assurance in salvation/eternal life

Has your life been transformed by the salvation that only comes through a knowledge of Jesus?
If so, then you have assurance that the God who saved is the God who will hear

This is good news: Our Father hears us

2. Confident Prayer Continues with Confident Relationship

1 John 5:14-15—John continues his conclusion by reminding his readers of their intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:1 reminds us that faith in Christ has resulted in our becoming children of God
This means that we have a family and a familiar relationship with God
As a child has special privileges with his or her parent, so we have the privilege of confidence as children of God

“Confidence”—remember that we defined this word as meaning in some sense “freedom of speech” (cf. 1 John 2:28; 4:17 both regarding judgment)
1 Jon 3:21-24 is almost a parallel passage here regarding prayer

John is saying that because of our relationship with God as children, we can come into his presence to make our requests with boldness—we have confidence and freedom to speak directly to our Father

Ray Stedman says that God delights in bold praying and in bold people—our prayer to God should be confident, bold, and certain because he loves us

This confidence arises from two principles given in these verses: the certainty of being heard (a promise) and the certainty of receiving (a qualification)

The promise: When we pray, God hears us and responds
a. We ask confidently (Hebrews 4:16)
b. We come into his presence (the words “in him” in verse 14 could be rendered “before him”). We come confidently into our Father’s presence to speak freely with him
c. We must ask for him to respond
d. We have an audience, so we must talk to our Father and we must listen for and anticipate his response

Remember as Andrew Murray says, “Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. Gods voice in response to mine is its most essential part.”

Prayer isn’t a magic lamp or a secret code by which we obtain all our wishes, but rather as Ray Stedman says, “Prayer is a means of obtaining the will of God, and is limited always by the will and purpose of God.”

That brings us to the Qualification—we must ask according to God’s will (cf. Matthew 6:10; John 14:13)

John is not saying that we can get God to do whatever we want by adding the magic words “in Jesus’ name”
a. Prayer is not asking God to move towards us, but for God to move us towards him
b. Pastor E. Stanley Jones: "If I throw out a boat hook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God. "

Remember, James 4:3 reminds us that we can pray and ask improperly
In fact, James acknowledges that we often fail to receive answers to our prayers because we ask for selfish reasons

John says that if we know we have eternal life through our relationship with God by faith in Christ, then we can be confident that our Father God will hear us when we pray

If God hears us, it then follows that like a good Father he will respond to us

But John goes a step further—not only does God hear us, but “we know that we have obtained the request made of him”
This sounds like we can be assured of a favorable response
So, does God answer all your prayers with “Yes”?
Yeah, me neither!

The problem goes back to that little phrase: “according to his will”
a. This means we must line up with God—like Jesus in Gethsemane, we must make sure our hearts cry out “Not my will, God, but yours”—our focus must be on the best interests of God and his kingdom and not our selfish desires
b. We must not harbor un-confessed or habitual sin (Psalm 66:13)
c. We must trust God for the answer (Matthew 21:22)—he will respond, but not always in the way we desire or expect!
d. We must be sure to seek what God wants, for in doing so we will pray for what he longs to accomplish—we can only do this by spending time with God in his Word and in prayer (remember the Sears catalog—Ray Stedman)

Confident prayer keeps a relationship with God fresh
This kind of prayer also has amazing results

3. Confident Prayer Results in Restoration/Life

1 John 5:16-17—John now gives application to his lesson on praying according to God’s will by giving an example to his readers

Praying isn’t just about us, praying is for our brothers and sisters
We should pray confidently for each other
We should pray for restoration and life

Again, John gives a promise and a qualification here
a. The promise—if we pray for a brother or sister who is not committing a sin unto death, then God will give them life
b. The qualification—the promise does not apply to the one committing a sin unto death

A quick disclaimer: We tend to get tangled up in a discussion of what a “sin unto death” may be, but John assumes his readers know this already. The point John seems to make here is that praying according to the will of God means that we should pray for each other, that we should pray for restoration and life for those committing sin
a. We have a responsibility to each other
b. Part of loving God’s children is to pray for them

John doesn’t say, “If you see your brother or sister sinning, quickly get on the phone and talk to others about it!” He doesn’t say, “Let the pastor know so that he can deal with it!” No! John says, “Pray for your brothers and sisters and God will give them life.”
a. We are brothers and sisters, not competitors
b. All sin is serious
c. You can’t be indifferent to sin if you love others

If our prayers are for children of God who sin, then in what sense do they need “life”? John says our prayers will result in life from God for those who commit sins not unto death

To answer that question is to continue on to the qualification—What is the sin unto death?

Take a few minutes, get into groups of two or three, and scan through 1 John. Find places where the words “sin,” “death,” and “life” show up.

What did you find?

There are typically three responses to what the “sin unto death” may be
a. Some specific sin that causes the person to die physically (cf. Moses, Achan, Uzzah, Ananias and Sapphira, the folks in 1 Corinthians 11)
b. The unpardonable sin, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit or rejecting Jesus
c. The sin of the false teachers who denied the Incarnation and lived immoral and unloving lives

It seems likely that the background for John’s comments here is to be found in 1 John 3:11-18 and the contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil
1 John 3:14—”We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers. He who does not love abides in death.”
The sin unto death, at least in part, seems to be a persistent and intentional disobedience of Jesus’ command to love one another. It is denying the love of Jesus and following the unloving example of the false teachers

1 John 3:23—disregarding this command leads to death

Regardless of the view one takes on this issue, John expects his readers to pray for one another especially when they fall into sin

So, when should we not pray?
That is difficult to say, isn’t it?
Apparently there is a time in which prayer is no longer useful—note that John does not command us not to pray, but he seems to suggest that when a person reaches the point of “sin unto death” prayer will not help
We should respond, then, by continuing to pray unless we get some indication from the Spirit to cease praying

If all wrongdoing is sin, then praying for restoration of our brothers and sisters is the best starting point

Confident prayer results in restoration and life for those who sin
We cannot ignore the sin of others
We should pray for God to work in their lives

Application

How do we respond to this difficult passage?

There seems to me to be only one response, we must become a people of prayer, and not just any prayer, but a confident prayer that comes from an assurance of our relationship with our Father through his Son, Jesus Christ

As E. M. Bounds says, “"What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but people whom the Holy Ghost can use – people of prayer, people mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through people. He does not come on machinery, but on people. He does not anoint plans, but people, people of prayer."

How does this look in every day life?

First, we must be diligent in keeping our relationship with God current. That requires time with God, with his Word, and with his people

Second, we must pray. We need to carve out time to meet with God in prayer. This week set aside at least 10 minutes a day where you simply get with God to pray for others.

Finally, we must avoid sin. We need to live accountable lives with each other so that we can honor God. Remember, everything we do reflects on the character of God. Our lives are the best (or worst) witness for the grace of God in Jesus Christ. How are we doing?

Confident prayer begins with salvation, continues with a confident relationship, and results in restoration

Will we practice it?

Thanks for reading!

Father's Day Sermon: "Act Like Men, 1 Corinthians 16:13-14"

A friend of mine asked me to fill his pulpit on Fathers' Day (June 19, 2011), so I pondered what to share. Almost a year ago I presented a lesson to men at Thomas Road Baptist Church's Wildfire Conference. The lesson was entitled "Act Like Men: Strong Advice for Tough Times." I reworked portions of the lesson for my sermon at Gospel Community Church. The notes are posted below. Comments or questions are welcome!

Act Like Men
Strong Advice for Tough Times
1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Introduction
Happy Fathers’ Day to all you Dads out there

When I realized that I’d be speaking at Gospel Community on Fathers’ Day, I decided to focus my thoughts on men in general instead of only on dads

Of course, what I have to say today will be applicable to all Christians, so I expect the ladies to pay attention as well, okay?

There is a severe lack in our society today of what may be called “mature” people—Just look at the news
Yet another member of Congress behaving badly
Celebrities are acting like children
Even the church is not immune to immaturity

There seems to be a real shortage of mature men

The movie “Second Hand Lions” and the “how to be a man speech”
Our passage today is Paul’s version of “how to be a man” or “how to be mature”

It is strong advice for tough times

All of the statements that Paul uses are commands, they are not options

What do you know about the church in Corinth?

These people were a mess
1. They had divided on doctrinal issues
2. They had split into factions determined by slogans and political posturing
3. They had forgotten what they were taught and become lazy in their spiritual growth/wisdom
4. They had ceased to serve one another and passed judgment on each other to the point of lawsuits
5. They had immoral activity in their church
6. Their marriages were on the rocks
7. They abused their spiritual liberty and hurt one another with it
8. They had no spiritual discipline and had become disorderly in their use of God’s gifts
9. They lost love for one another
10. They had forgotten the power of God’s love and Christ’s resurrection

They needed some mature people to lead them

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

1. Act Like Men/Be Mature

Andrizesthe—Greek term (present tense)
To behave like a man as opposed to acting like a juvenile
Exhibit positive masculine properties
Be mature and be brave

Three characteristics to note here:
a. Spiritual maturity—1 John 2:12-14—John encourages his readers to progress on to a mature position, to leave behind childish things (1 Cor. 13:11-12)—cf. Ephesians 4:13
This maturity comes from the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 John 2:12-14—young men are strong in the Word of God)—this Word of God refers of course to both the written Word (the Bible) and the Incarnate Word (Jesus)—to be spiritually mature requires us to be adept in both (1 Cor. 14:20—the Corinthians need to grow up)

What about us? Where do we need to grow up? Where do we need to stop acting juvenile? What relationships and situations need maturity instead of juvenile selfishness?

b. Courage—John Wesley: “Give me 100 men who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world: I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; and such alone will overthrow the kingdom of Satan and build up the Kingdom of God on earth.”
“Courage is being scared to death, and saddling up anyway.” John Wayne

c. Consistency—a constant process of growth that builds Christ-like characteristics in our lives

The rest of this passage reveals for us what it means to “act like men” or to “be mature” according to Paul

To act like men/to be mature requires us to be on the alert

2. Be on the Alert

“Be watchful” or “be on the alert”—a military term with a strategy in mind that means to be vigilant
It is the opposite of indifference or apathy
It is an active concern to be aware

What happens when those on guard duty fail their watch?
The enemy sneaks in
Others may suffer loss
Someone may die

In the spiritual life of a Christian, watchfulness must be combined with prayer (Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2)

What are the objects of our watching?
a. The enemy (1 Peter 5:8)
b. Temptation (Mark 14:38)
c. False Teaching (2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1)
d. Opportunities to share God’s good news or to do God’s works (Titus 3:1; 2 Timothy 4:5)
e. The return of Christ (Matthew 24:42-44)

To act like men/to be mature means to watch out for each other
Watching out for each other requires a solid foundation in Christ

3. Stand Firm in the Faith

Another “militant” term—Paul is calling on the Corinthians to make a stand, to be recognized, to hold their ground (cf. Ephesians 6:10-11)

1 Corinthians 15:58

There is a connection between being watchful and standing firm
An army on the watch is an army ready to stand
An army caught off guard is an army soon defeated

How do we “stand firm”?
a. Be a disciple/learner—spend time learning the great truths of God from the Bible—search the Scripture to find God’s plan

b. Know what you believe (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

c. Know why you believe it and be ready to offer a reason (1 Peter 3:15)

d. Once you know what and why, act on it—do the truth

Standing firm is like a tree planted with deep roots—it is solid because it has a strong foundation—our foundation is what God accomplished through Jesus and the revelation of his truth in the Bible

Our faith (belief and action) should be an anchor for us (2 Timothy 2:15)

To act like men/to be mature means to make a stand in what God has done
Standing in God’s work requires and results in strength

4. Be Strong

Krataio—refers to a strength in action rather than simply strength in possession
It isn’t how much you bench press, it is how you act when strength needed
The biggest muscles will freeze up if there is no strong character

Ephesians 6:10—”be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might”
Three kinds of strength here—empowerment (be endued with the Lord’s power), strength (a similar word as used in 1 Corinthians), and power (might or muscle)

We must gain power from God, act on what he gives us, and use it to accomplish his purposes

2 Corinthians 10:3-6—we pull down fortresses

What does this strength look like in action? Philippians 2:3-4
God’s power properly applied usually acts on behalf of others

Which brings us to our final point
We have all these “militant” terms, then Paul calls us to love
How do militant ideas fit with a concept of love?

To act like men/to be mature we must be strong—but strength must be always be tempered with love

5. Do All in Love

What’s love got to do with it?
Only everything

God at his most powerful is also God at his most vulnerable
John 1:1-3, 14—God who created all things revealed his glory, grace, and truth by becoming one of us and revealing God among us (i.e., “Immanuel”)

Philippians 2:5-8--Jesus' kind of love
a. Equal with God, but didn’t take advantage
b. Emptied himself, and became a servant
c. Incarnated as a human, he humbly obeyed even to the point of dying for our sins on a cross

How did Jesus love? He gave himself so others could live
That’s the love Paul refers to here

To act like men/to be mature requires us to do all things in love

The Corinthians certainly needed this kind of love (Paul even discussed it in chapter 13 of this book)

Their divisions had caused factions and fighting
They had become rivals instead of brothers
They were engaging in lawsuits instead of love
They were acting like children
They were not watching out for each other
They were not standing firm in the truth Paul had taught them
They were giving in to weakness

Where do we need love? Where do we need to show love?

To act like men, we must learn to do all things in love
That little three letter word “all” is difficult isn’t it?
“All” things—even my marriage? My kids? My job? My business relationships? Even with those who don’t “love” me? Even in situations where showing love could result in a loss for me?
What do you think?

Acting like men/being mature is not easy
No one said growing up would be simple
Paul’s advice here is tough

What Does Love Do?

In our world today, love is not only an important element, it is THE MOST IMPORTANT element.

Without love, watchfulness can deteriorate into a judgmental spirit.
Without love Paul’s commands could lead us to be militant but hardhearted.
Love keeps our firmness from becoming hardness and our strength from becoming authoritarian domination. It keeps our maturity gentle and considerate. It keeps our right doctrine from becoming obstinate dogmatism and our right living from becoming smug self-righteousness. It makes us like Christ.

Love is not easy. In fact, love cost Jesus his life. We need to remember, however, that sometimes the toughest task produces the sweetest results. Look at how God’s love redeemed you!

As Phillips Brooks said, “Never pray for an easier life—pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers—pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then doing your work will be no miracle—you will be the miracle!”

Conclusion

So what do we do? How do we respond to this passage?

Our circumstances are not so different from the church in Corinth
We live in a divided society, live in divided families, even attend divided churches
We have people around us acting like juveniles—blaming others for their problems or only looking out for themselves—we have a lack of “grown ups”—we need some mature men
We have problems creeping in, temptations attacking, people falling, we need someone to be on the watch

Our society and our churches seem at times to be slipping into all kinds of problems or errors or sin. Nothing seems to be solid or firm. We need folks who are on a solid foundation

We need strength tempered by love

We need mature men and women who will
a. Watch out for the church and for others
b. Take a stand for God’s truth and be bold
c. Be strong in God’s power to accomplish God sized tasks
d. Love God and love others as Christ commanded

Our response to this passage is simple
We must act like men, we must be mature and brave
We must go to our homes, our churches, our neighborhoods, our jobs, and embody the principles Paul has described here
We must be willing to be a solid foundation, a trustworthy people, a group of men and women who love each other as Christ loves each of us

This will require us to be creative, to reach out to those others have deemed “unreachable” or “untouchable”

We will need to imitate the life of Jesus in our everyday lives

We must be humble servants looking to bless others with God’s grace

Will we risk it?
If we don’t, who will?
What will our families, our churches, and our world look like if we do?

I’d like to see that!

Thanks for reading!

Can I Get A Witness? 1 John 5:6-12, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meeting on June 5, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 5:6-12 and discusses the idea that Christians should live in response to the testimony and evidence God offers in the Incarnation. In fact, if we take the Incarnation seriously, we will realize that God is calling us to a life of humble service to others just as Christ came among us. His life is not merely an example for us, it is a call for us to take God at His Word and live as he has called us. In this lesson, I put the audience in the jury box and ask them to consider several pieces of evidence and some testimony. Then I ask them to make a decision based on that evidence. The decision will reveal itself in our own testimony to what God has done. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Can I Get a Witness?
1 John 5:6-12
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
Jury duty
These words usually do not make people happy
When you receive a notice of jury duty, it doesn’t usually bless you
I served on juries before—two in Waco and a grand jury in Campbell County
We heard testimony, observed evidence, and rendered a verdict

Our passage today, 1 John 5:6-12, makes me think of a courtroom

Twelve times in 1 John our author uses the Greek word for witness, testify, or testimony
Ten of them show up in our passage today

I am going to ask you, ladies and gentlemen, to be a jury today

I am going to present to you some testimony and some evidence, and I will be asking you to render a verdict

Are you ready?

The Evidence
In chapter 4, John reminds his readers of the importance of faith in the Incarnation. Now he addresses the issue: How can we be assured that the Incarnation is a fact? In these verses John lays out the evidence for the Incarnation.

We live in an age where uncertainty and a lack of “dogmaticism” is enshrined as a valuable virtue.
We are told the no one can be certain and that truth is relative
We are often reminded that things are subjective and truth is a personal decision or opinion
I even saw a letter to the editor that declared that faith in the resurrection of Christ is based on “blind faith” and cannot be known by “fact” or historical data

That is the world WE live in

John would say that such a view of the world is foolish

I would agree with John

John gives us three pieces of evidence and a contrast to say to us, “You can be bulldogmatic on the topic of the incarnation”

In 1 John 5:6-9, he lists his three witnesses as follows: the Spirit, the water and the blood

Verse 6 tells us that Jesus Christ came by the water and the blood and not by water only

What in the world does John mean by this?
To what do the words “water” and “blood” refer?

Here are some options:
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
The Incarnation (Jesus’ birth) and the Crucifixion
Some connection to blood and water coming from Christ at the crucifixion (John 19:34)
But none of these are satisfactory given the context

Let’s remember a bit of our history here
John is dealing with opponents to his teaching
These opponents apparently were teaching a doctrine that said that God is Spirit only and cannot be “flesh” or “human”

In fact, some of them even claimed that Jesus only “seemed” human, he was really a spirit being (Docetism)

Some even went so far as to separate the man Jesus from the Messianic Divine Spirit called “Chirst” (Cerenthus). This teaching claimed that the spirit of Christ came on the man Jesus at his baptism, but left him at the cross. That is, Jesus the man was endued with power at his baptism, but this divine power left him at the cross. The Spirit of “Christ” couldn’t suffer or die in this view

For these individuals, redemption is not important but enlightenment is needed. They have a baptized Jesus but a “bloodless” Christ. They are happy to be initiated into a “mystery,” but they shy away from suffering as a means of redemption

These are the people resisting John’s teaching

John is writing not only to reassure his people but to also resist the false teachings of his opponents

The language in verse 6 indicates a past historical kind of witness
With that in mind, it seems likely that water and blood refer to the baptism of Jesus and the crucifixion of Jesus

John says that it is not by “water only” but by the blood as well
John refers here to God’s testimony in Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion
These two historical events testify to the truth of the Incarnation

As if these two were not enough, John reminds his readers that there is also the testimony of the Spirit of Truth (verse 7)

The word “Spirit” here refers to the Holy Spirit of God.

Just as God testified of Jesus as the Christ at his baptism and at his crucifixion, so also the Holy Spirit continues to testify about Christ and his work of salvation (John 15:26)
This witness is the truth (John 14:6)

These three: The Spirit, the water, and the blood all agree (verse 8)—they are united in testimony
They agree about the witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Incarnate Word of God
Their testimony is God’s evidence of Jesus

John closes this section with verse 9, in which he contrasts human testimony with God’s testimony

Simply stated, John reminds us that we often receive the testimony of humans
We usually accept the word of human agents without asking for more
How would you respond if every time you spoke to a friend he said, “I just don’t know if I can believe you. Is your testimony true?”
Most of us expect to be believed in most cases, and we tend to believe other human witnesses in general

Parent, Authorities, Pharmacists, Doctors, even the people on TV or in the newspaper
We often accept their testimony without hesitation
If we can accept the testimony of humans, then we ought to recognize that God’s testimony is greater than human words

God’s testimony is pretty straightforward: He has testified/borne witness to his Son (Matt. 3:17; 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17)

In other words, the evidence for the Incarnation is historical and supernatural
The historical events speak of Jesus as the Messiah and God’s witness supports these facts/events

God has spoken his witness in history and in his Scripture, what is the effect of it?

The Effects
1 John 5:10-12 outline the effects of the witnesses John offers above

The evidence John presents brings the reader or hearer to the place of a decision

Just like a judge or jury must make a decision and respond to the witnesses and the evidence presented in a court of law, so also the hearers/readers of John’s letter must now respond

There are two possible responses

1. The negative (5:10)
One possible response to the testimony/witness John provides is to say, “It isn’t true. I will not act on it in faith. God lies.”

John depicts unbelief not as a position to be pitied, but as a sin of which to repent

The person who looks at God’s evidence and God’s testimony and says, “It is not true” is calling God a liar.

Remember, “faith” as we defined it last week is an action—it is acting on what we know and placing our trust in something bigger than us—it is total reliance on Jesus and what God has accomplished in him

John’s opponents did not accept the full testimony of God
They belittled the truth of Christ by making him less than the Incarnate Word of God
They tried to avoid the blood of the crucifixion and to rely only on a mysterious enlightenment that led one to a mystical experience
Such actions/faith claim that God lied in his Word

This position does not accept the truth of God’s full testimony regarding Jesus

2. The Positive (5:10-12)
The person that responds to God’s testimony with faith (i.e., that trusts completely in God’s works in Christ for salvation) receives as a result an internal testimony
This is the testimony of the Spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:15-17; Gal. 4:4-7)

All who place faith in God’s truthful witness will have an internal testimony of this Truth

The person that responds to God’s truthful testimony with faith also receives an eternal testimony and eternal life

This life is not just a heavenly reality in the future, it is a spiritual reality now—the believer in God’s truth lives a life full of God
His life is centered on God, directed by God, filled with God
That is abundant life—the certainty of that life is focused on Jesus as the perfect revelation of God (John 1:1-3; 14; Hebrews 1:1-3) and as the one who gives abundant life (John 1:11-12; 10:10)

John even says that eternal life is in Jesus, and those who have Jesus have that eternal life—those who deny the truth of Jesus do not have eternal life

Embracing Jesus equals life, while rejecting Jesus results in no life

So what is the verdict?
Will you reject the evidence and God’s testimony?
Will you accept the evidence and the witness and have life?

What does the Jury say?
We stand in a place of decision today. John has offered us testimony and evidence regarding the divine Messianic status of one Jesus of Nazareth

We must now make our decision, we must render our verdict

Is Jesus the Christ? Is he the perfect expression and reflection of God’s divine nature?
If so, what are the ramifications for us?
If not, what will happen?

The Verdict
If we reject the Word of God as presented today, we must acknowledge that we are labeling the testimony of the evidence and of God as false. We will call God a liar and we are spiritually dead

If we accept the testimony, then we must place our trust completely in Christ for the life that only God can bring. Our life will exhibit that quality of life that only Jesus offers

If we accept God’s testimony then, our lives will look like Jesus—we will be his witnesses, we will add to the evidence our own testimony

What is your decision?

Thanks for reading!

Counter Culture Christians, 1 John 5:1-5, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meeting on May 30, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 5:1-5 and discusses the idea that Christians should live a lifestyle that is counter to the values and desires of the world. This lifestyle manifests itself in a new birth, a radical faith, and an obedience that puts Christians at odds with the world. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Counter Culture Christians
1 John 5:1-5
Theology Matters

Introduction
My childhood
When I was a kid, being counterculture usually meant being a “hippie” or resisting the “establishment”
In the 60s and 70s, that had a lot to do with drugs, rock and roll, and sex

What do you think of when you hear the words “Counter Culture”?

How about the words “Counter Culture Christians”?

1 John 5:1-5 speaks of Christians as being world beaters, those who overcome the world

John describes them (in a sense) as counter culture

To be born of God is to oppose the world’s culture

Let’s take a look at 1 John 5:1-5

I’m going to approach this passage in a different manner than I have in the past
I’m going to let you help me with the exegesis a bit

How many times do the following words (or their equivalents) appear and where?
1. Born of God (3 times)
2, Faith or believe (3 times)
3. Love (5 times)
4. Commandments (3 times)
5. Overcome (3 times)
6. Obey (2 times)

Here is a copy for you to consider

1 John 5:1-5
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

“Born of God”
“Born of God”, “born of him” appear in verses 1 and 4
In verse 1, those who are born of God are those who believe in Jesus as the Messiah
In verse 4, those who are born of God overcome the world

Verse 5 gives us further information: Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God (i.e., the one “born of him” mentioned in verse 1?) are also described as those who overcome the world

Faith in Jesus as Messiah/Son of God results in being born of God and being an overcomer

Born of God=overcoming the world
We’ll come back to this later

Before we unpack this further, let’s define faith

What is “faith”?
John uses the word “faith” or “believe” three times in verses, 1, 4-5

What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1-3
Romans 10:8-17
James 2:14-26

Faith is active—it acts on the object on which it relies—faith acts on the trustworthiness of its object and responds to that trustworthiness

“It is not the size of the miracle of faith that matters, but the size of our God.” Dr. Jerry Falwell

“Faith is putting everything in God’s hands and then letting Him tell us what to do. What’s the essence of faith? It’s doing what God wants us to do, not what we desire.” Dr. Jerry Falwell

Faith works—our faith that overcomes the world is something we do

The Result of Faith: Obedience
If faith is active, what kind of action does John expect as a result of faith?

Two words to consider here: “Love” and “obey”
“Love” appears five times in verses 1-3
Some form of “obey” appears twice in verses 2-3 (i.e., “observe” and “keep”)

What do “love” and “obedience” have in common in 1 John 5:1-3?
Verse 3 tells us
Loving God equals keeping his commandments (“Commandments” used three times in verses 2 and 3, right along with the words for “obedience”)

What does John mean by “commandments”?
May be a reference to the whole Law or just the 10 commandments

According to Jesus, what are the two most important commandments?
Matthew 22:34-40—on these two commandments rest the whole Law and the Prophets
Love God with all you are, and love others as yourself

Active faith keeps God’s commands and loves

John’s Argument
John’s argument here seems to be something like this:
1. Those who believe in Jesus as Messiah are born of God, and that birth results in faithful activity in loving as God loves
2. Loving as God loves equals keeping God’s commandments
3. When we love, we are obeying
4. When we love, we are acting in faith

Those who believe that Jesus is Messiah/Son of God are born of God, love others, keep the commandments, and overcome the world. Being “born of God” equals “overcoming the world” in some sense, so loving as God loves is victory

So, those who believe that Jesus is Messiah/Son of God are born of God and by that birth of faith they overcome the world.

Those who act upon the truth of the Incarnation (i.e., the “our faith” of verse 4) are born of God and that birth results in victory

Now, let’s consider some questions before we come to our conclusion

Some Questions
1. According to 1 John 4:21 and 5:1-2, those born of God love, but what do they love?
They love what God loves

2. What does God love?
Those who are born of him—our brothers and sisters

3. According to 1 John 5:2-3, how do we love God?
We love God by observing and keeping his commandments
This means we must be reading and obeying his Word
This means we must be spending time in the Scripture in order to observe and obey it

4. What are the commandments we should keep?
Love God (by obeying his Word) and love others (as a result of obeying his commands)

5. According to 1 John 5:4, what overcomes the world?
Our faith

6. What does that look like?
It is a reliance on what God has accomplished in the Messiah, the Son of God, the Incarnation
Faith is active and obedient, not passive and mental

How does faith overcome the world?

Conclusion
Faith acts in opposition to the world’s values and that is our victory over the world. Jesus, the self-sacrificing Messiah/Son of God, God incarnate who comes to die for sins (two things God had never experienced—death and sin), set the standard for a love that the world does not understand and cannot comprehend (John 1)—love is sacrificial, it is active. 

Belief in the Incarnation makes us victorious.

John returns to his first chapter here with an emphasis on Incarnation and faith. In fact, 1 John 5:1-5 is almost a summary of the first four chapters of 1 John
Verses 1a and 5 represent chapter 1, verses 1b-3 represent chapters 2 and 4, verses 4-5 are chapter 3

John says here, “Faith that acts on what God has accomplished in Jesus is antithetical to and overcomes the world.”

Overcoming the world then is living in a way that is “counterculture” to the world’s approach

The world is that which is in opposition to God
It is selfish, vain, and arrogant

1 John 2:15-17
“lust of the flesh”—selfish and desiring its own gain
“lust of the eyes”—vain and focused on appearance
“boastful pride of life”—arrogant and self absorbed

Those who have been born of God and overcome the world by their faith will live in opposition to these
They will be selfless and sacrificial in their lives
They will not stake their lives on reputation or titles
They will not put themselves first (Phil 2:3-8)

Victory over the world comes by faithfully obeying God’s Word—there is no other means
Romans 8:37; 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

What do we do now?
If we are to overcome the world by our faith, then we must act on the trustworthiness of the object of our faith; namely, Jesus Christ, the Incarnate God
To act on his trustworthiness requires us to know him and to spend time with him
The first step of application is to be born of God by placing our faith in what he has accomplished in Christ

For those of us who are Christ followers, there are things we can do (acting in faith) to live as victors over the world.

1. First, we need to know what we believe. If faith is acting on what we believe, then knowing what we believe is a starting point. This requires us to spend time with the One who saved us and reading the things he has told us in his Word. This week spend an extra 10 minutes a day with Christ reading his Word. In fact, use that time to read 1 John or the Gospel of John or even Psalm 119 (a praise of God’s Word)

2. We need to put our faith into action by obeying what God says in Scripture. We cannot claim to have faith if we do not act, so we must obey. This week set aside time to share the truth of God with a friend. Find someone who needs the love of God and be creative in sharing that love. Be exuberant, be extravagant in your obedience. God doesn’t need “secret Christians.”

3. Finally, we need to be intentional in living against the world’s purposes. We need to follow the sacrificial example of our Lord and put the needs of others before our own. We need to pray for those who mistreat us, we need to show Christian concern for those who do not reciprocate, we need to be “counterculture” to the world and its intentions. What can you do this week to show that you are “born of God” and not a part of this world’s culture?

Thanks for reading!

Memorial Day by Edgar Guest

I love the poetry of Edgar Guest, and this poem in honor of Memorial Day seems rather appropriate today. Let me know what you think!

The finest tribute we can pay
Unto our hero dead to-day,
Is not a rose wreath, white and red,
In memory of the blood they shed;
It is to stand beside each mound,
Each couch of consecrated ground,
And pledge ourselves as warriors true
Unto the work they died to do.

Into God's valleys where they lie
At rest, beneath the open sky,
Triumphant now o'er every foe,
As living tributes let us go.
No wreath of rose or immortelles
Or spoken word or tolling bells
Will do to-day, unless we give
Our pledge that liberty shall live.

Our hearts must be the roses red
We place above our hero dead;
To-day beside their graves we must
Renew allegiance to their trust;
Must bare our heads and humbly say
We hold the Flag as dear as they,
And stand, as once they stood, to die
To keep the Stars and Stripes on high.

The finest tribute we can pay
Unto our hero dead to-day
Is not of speech or roses red,
But living, throbbing hearts instead,
That shall renew the pledge they sealed
With death upon the battlefield:
That freedom's flag shall bear no stain
And free men wear no tyrant's chain.

Thanks for reading! And thanks to all military who served or currently serve to protect our freedoms! May God bless you and your families.

About Legacies: In honor of Dr. Jerry Falwell

I wrote the piece below in August 2009. That summer had been a summer of introspection and thought about life. By that time, two great influences in my life had gone to be with the Lord: My dad in August 2004, and Jerry Falwell in May 2007. These men formed and fashioned me in many ways, but this post is not all about them. In fact, this post is simply in their honor. You see, four years ago Dr. Falwell passed into eternity. I only had about 3 years to serve with him, but the things he taught me (many before I ever set foot on Liberty Mountain) still influence my life today. He was a man full of big dreams and a big love. As far as he was concerned, no one was beyond the reach of God's great gift of love and grace, no one was beyond Jesus. My dad was very similar. My dad loved on folks other people turned away. I didn't realize how much alike these two men were until I met Dr. Falwell at Liberty. At any rate, this weekend marks 4 years since Dr. Falwell left us, and I wanted to reprint this old note to remind us all of the importance of legacies. Thanks, Doc, for caring for us and leaving such a legacy! I hope we live up to it!

A little over a year ago, I wrote the post below after attending several key events in the lives of some important folks in my life. I want to reprint the article today for a very special reason. Today, August 11, would have been the 77th birthday of Dr. Jerry Falwell. He was a man of great influence and even greater dreams. His life and ministry cut a large path across this country and had an amazing effect on thousands (no, make that millions) of people. I used to listen to the Old Time Gospel Hour on the radio shortly after I became a Christian. I was even a Faith Partner in his ministry. I wanted to play football at Liberty, and although that never happened, I still felt as though Jerry Falwell was in some ways my pastor and teacher. I read his sermons, I joined his first Moral Majority, and I genuinely appreciated his life and influence on me as a young man trying to figure out what God wanted me to do.

I watched Jerry Falwell's ministry from afar until August 2004. That month two very important things happened in my life: My father passed away, and I moved to Lynchburg, VA to begin a great adventure teaching at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Falwell became a larger than life part of my adventure. I only had the privilege to meet the man face-to-face a few times, but each time he remembered me and details of my life. He revealed such a genuine concern for me and my family that I began to think of him (to some degree, at least) as my second father. I remember once as he walked through the seminary offices, I could hear his booming voice as he talked to folks. As he passed my office, I heard him say, "Wait, I need to stop by and say hello to Leo." He not only remembered my name, he wanted to come into my office to check on me. His leadership and his kindness still inspire me. Oh that every pastor or leader could be a little bit like Jerry Falwell!

I hope that I live up to his legacy and expectations. I miss him, and I wish he had remained with us. At any rate, here are my thoughts on legacy, presented on this day in honor of a man who profoundly influenced my life: Dr. Jerry Falwell.

Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than a good ointment, And the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth.

Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold.

Recently I have experienced several occasions that caused me to think seriously about the idea of legacy. On May 9, 2009 I attended Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary's graduation, in which I watched several students and good friends walk across the stage to receive their degrees and launch into their ministries. Then, on May 15, 2009, I paused to remember the life of Dr. Jerry Falwell who passed away two years ago. May 17, 2009 saw the retirement of Dr. A. Ray Newcomb from 33 years of being a pastor at First Baptist Church, Millington, TN. Then May 21, 2009 witnessed the graduation of my nephew, Ethan Percer. All of these events reminded me of beginnings and endings, but more importantly they reminded me of the impact a legacy can have on people. In the next few paragraphs I'll try to explain.

I'm not sure how much we think of the impact of our lives. As I watched the high school students graduate with Ethan and the seminary students walk the stage in VA, I couldn't help but think about what I may hear about these people in the future. Some of them have already made an impact, some of them have a future impact to make. Most of them have no idea what the end of their lives will be, they only have dreams and hopes and (perhaps) plans. I remember holding my nephew shortly after he was born. Ethan seemed so tiny to be the first grandchild born to my parents, and as I held him in my arms, I prayed that God would grow him into a warrior, a man of God who is willing to help others and serve God no matter the risk. I had forgotten that prayer, to be honest, until one day I heard a story about my nephew tutoring other students in school and going out of his way to help others when it wasn't necessarily a popular thing to do. He has laid a foundation for a legacy that will not fade. I received an e-mail from his principal that said, "I would be proud if all of my students were like Ethan." Ethan is building a legacy.

Some of the seminary students who walked across the stage recently have begun their legacy. Many of them left homes and nice jobs to pursue a degree at the seminary. They said "no" to "success" as the world measures it so that they would have the opportunity to labor for God. Some will labor in obscurity, some will never have "the largest Sunday School in America," some will never make the "big money," or write the most impressive "how to" book for other pastors. I know their lives, their hearts, and I know that their legacy will be greater than any can imagine. Does anyone remember "James the Less"? He was one of the twelve chosen by Jesus, but even church history and tradition have trouble determining who he was. Yet, he was one of the twelve, one of the original disciples, one of the eyewitnesses to Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Not as famous as James the son of Zebedee, this James nonetheless left enough of an imprint on history to be regarded as one of those individuals who "turned the world upside down" with his life and preaching. We no doubt graduated a lot of these individuals, folks we may have a hard time identifying who will nonetheless make a great impression on many they will bring to Christ or love in God's name. "Less" may describe the knowledge of them, but it will not define their impact on those to whom they minister. I bet there were people in the first century who didn't think of James as "the Less" because of what God did through him. Nonetheless, James built a legacy, and like him, many of these graduating seminary students are building a legacy.

That brings me to two pastors--one gone and another freshly retired. Dr. Jerry Falwell and Dr. Ray Newcomb may have taken decidedly different paths to ministry, but they have something in common--their lives and ministries encouraged and affected many who now try to follow in their footsteps. Both men gave multiple decades to one congregation (Dr. Falwell served at Thomas Road for over 50 years, Dr. Newcomb at First Baptist for over 30 years), and the dreams and plans they received from God have inspired many to pursue the purposes of God for the love of Christ. Both men played a role in helping me grow as a new Christian, in helping me understand the concept of "call," and in helping me define the ministry to which God appointed me. I do not know where I would be without the legacies of these two men. On Sunday, we had a celebration of the ministry of Bro. Ray. During the singing of "Thank You," the minister of music asked all of us who had become Christ followers under Bro. Ray's ministry to come forward and stand by the stage. It seemed like over half of the crowd came forward to testify that God used this man's life and ministry to bring them to Jesus! There were doctors, lawyers, postal employees, politicians, teachers, and even one seminary professor. I was fine until then, but that scene brought tears to my eyes. Bro. Ray was getting to see his impact in a very visible form. Here were dozens, even hundreds of people whose lives will never be the same simply because he obeyed God to serve at First Baptist Millington. That number doesn't even count the lives that have been touched by those individuals as they went out to emulate their pastor. Bro. Ray and Dr. Falwell built great legacies.

Well, I've rambled a bit. I want to close with one more legacy to bring this full circle. As I watched my nephew graduate and as I participated in the celebration of my pastor's life and ministry, I couldn't help but think of one person who would have been so proud of both of them--my father. My dad, Bobbie Percer, passed away in August 2004. I have no doubt he would have loved this week--watching people honor his pastor and his grandson--oh, how proud he would have been. But my father's legacy is bigger than his joy at the accomplishments of others. You see, my dad left quite an impression. When my father passed away, my family and I drove to Millington from Waco, TX for the funeral. On Friday night before the funeral on Saturday, we had the traditional "viewing" when people would come to give their condolences to the family. I stood there greeting people in a line that stretched so far outside of the funeral home that the people were literally standing in the parking lot. I met folks I did not know, and they told me things I had not heard. One fellow told me how he came to Christ because my dad gave him shoes and a ride to church. This fellow's family was embarrassed to go to church because they did not have proper clothing. My dad not only clothed them, he gave them a ride to church. Another young man told me that he never would have graduated college if my father hadn't helped pay for his education. A young woman (with several children) told me of how my dad had helped her family and been instrumental in leading her husband and several children to the Lord. A line of nearly 1000 people marched through that funeral home and praised the life of this man, my father, in ways I could not even imagine. My dad was a great man. No, you'll never hear his name mentioned with luminaries like Jerry Falwell or Billy Graham, but man what a large footprint this one man left in a small town in west Tennessee. Lives were changed (including those in his family), and eternities were determined. He did not even recognize all that he had accomplished, but he continued to love and to serve others because he loved a great God. His legacy is intact because he followed the example of his Lord. Bobbie Percer was a hero to many, and he is a hero to me. If I can have half the influence on others that my father had, I'll be a happy man. Bobbie Percer left a legacy and a good name.

I watched all of these scenarios open before me recently, and it made me a bit introspective. What kind of legacy am I leaving? Where will my footprints lead others if they follow me? Who would attend a celebration of my life and what would they say? Would my love for Christ be obvious? Would my love for others be mentioned? God has blessed me to walk with giants (and some giants in training), and I have to admit that I am often overwhelmed by their collective witness. I am reminded of a conversation I had with Dr. William L. Lane. I admitted to him that I didn't think I could live up to his example of a godly life and scholarship, and he said to me, "Never covet another person's gift, and never despise your own." He went on to remind me that God had not called me to be identical to Dr. Lane or to anyone else. God had called me to use my unique gifts and abilities for his glory. I do not have to live up to the stories of these giants, I simply need to live the legacy God has given me. No matter how obscure or unrecognized or inconsequential a life may seem, if it is lived for God it will have a legacy. What kind of legacy are we leaving the next generation?

Thanks to all of the men and women who left their footprints in our hearts and lives!

Thank you, dear reader, for reading!

A Love Louder than Fear, 1 John 4:16b-21, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meetings on May 1-8, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 4:16b-21 and discusses the idea that Christians need to live in and live out the love of God, a love that is louder than fear. This love manifests itself in three aspects: it is confident, it is mature, and it is honest. As we grow in and learn to live out of this love, Christians will find themselves loving God and others in the way that Jesus did. In fact, they will find that their relationships may be less characterized by fear and more characterized by the presence and love of God. When we love others, we give a living example of the love Jesus showed in the cross. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

A Love Louder than Fear
1 John 4:16b-21
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
When I was a kid, I had a few fears
I was afraid of the dark
I was afraid of death
I was even afraid of not being perfect

People all across this city are afraid
They struggle with fear of acceptance
Fear of strangers
Fear of being rejected
Fear of being alone

Many of you probably suffer from similar fears

Recently, the singer Pink made a comment: “Love is louder than fear”
She was speaking of the fear that some in the homosexual community feel
She was speaking out against the actions of bullies

In our passage today, John offers a continuation of his message about God’s love for us
He describes for us a love that will cast out fear, a love that will outgrow and work through fear and find itself in a place of peace

John describes a love that is louder than fear, and that love exhibits three characteristics. It is:
Mature
Confident
Honest

Love that is louder than fear is found only in Jesus Christ

1. This Love is Mature

1 John 4:16b-17a—John reminds his readers that God is love; abiding in that love is abiding in God; and this abiding is revealed in a process of growth

“Abiding” means to take up residence, to camp, to dwell in—it means to take up habitat and to live there—it is a process and an ongoing action

As we stated regarding 1 John 4:8, the statement that “God is love” is a reference to God’s character

God’s character is revealed in God’s acts
God loved us (and the world) by giving Jesus as our atoning sacrifice
God’s love is expressed in what he gives

The idea is that a Christ follower is changed by the love of God and begins to live a life defined by that love (cf. Gal. 2:20)—Love grows and matures

If God’s love and God’s Spirit dwell in us, then how we live our lives should exhibit their presence

God’s love changes things, and that is the love that John wants to see “perfected” in us

The word “perfected” in verse 17 carries the idea of “mature” or “complete”
John is not necessarily referring to the idea of “flawlessness”
Certainly God’s love is flawless/perfect
But the love that God works in and through us progresses and grows

John indicates here that love must grow in us
As we abide in God and his love, his love works in and through us
As we grow in our relationship with God, our ability to love should grow as well

This kind of growth and maturity takes dedication (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Peter 3:11, 17-18)
Think of a musician or an athlete
Practice makes perfect—the more we do something, the more we grow in our ability to do it

We must practice love if we hope to be mature in love
This means we must spend time with the objects of our love
We must spend time loving God
We must spend time loving others
What does this look like?

Love that is louder than fear is mature—it takes time to grow
It matures/grows in us as we practice it
It matures/grows us as we live in it

2. This Love is Confident

1 John 4:17b-19—speaks of the confidence that we can have in our relationship with Jesus Christ and the assurance that we are children of God (3:1) as we experience change in our hearts and lives through God abiding and living within us (4:16). (Ray Bentley)

In this passage John introduces two new words—fear and punishment/torment
Remember, these words are written to believers
John is trying to convey some message to those of us who are Christ followers

The idea of “fear” and “torment” here speaks of an eschatological event—the day of judgment—but the words have specific meanings
Matthew 25:46 mentions this torment, punishment, or correction as the state of unbelievers eternally
The words used here are typically related to slaves and servants—these are people who live in fear of torment or punishment
Sons and daughters do not relate to their Father in that way—they have reverence or respect for their parents, and they experience discipline but not torment
John is saying that as children of God we have no reason to fear as slaves fear
Because of God’s love we can have confidence

“Confidence” here means “boldness” or “freedom of speech”

When we live in fear, we are not mature in love and we lose confidence

Many Christians live in fear of being known or of being exposed
a. We fear being transparent or vulnerable because we think that no one can accept us as we “really” are
b. Some folks live in fear because of something in their past that haunts them, or something in their present that upsets them, or something in their future by which they feel threatened (Warren Wiersbe)
c. When we live in that fear, we are not walking in God’s love—we are not maturing in love

As we grow/mature in love, we should find fear losing ground
Think of the mother of a sick child—she is not afraid of the sickness, her love simply drives her to one end—the care and cure of her child

As we grow in God’s love, we quickly realize that this love is secure and safe
If God loved us when we were his enemies (Romans 5:6-10), then how more will he love us now that we are his children?
God loves us as we are and accepts us—that is the source of our confidence
Romans 8:36-39—Nothing separates us from God’s love

As we are connected to the Light of Life, that Life drives out our fear

The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer from the movie on his life (Bruce Goettsche)

Bonhoeffer tries to pray for a fellow inmate who claims that he does not believe in God. Bonhoeffer encourages him to place his hands on the cell wall as he is doing, and then Bonhoeffer prays, ""Lord, it's dark in me; in you is day. I am alone, but you will stay. I am afraid; you never cease. I am at war; in you is peace." The man in the other cell slowly places his hands on the wall. Bonhoeffer's confidence flowed from God's light of love in his horrible situation, and that confidence produced a sense of peace in his fellow inmate. This is the love to which we are called! Does our love create confidence and peace in others?

John 3:16-21

God loves us more than we can imagine
He loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us
He loves as he loves Jesus
That love is the love he wants in us

In his Gospel account (John 3:16-21), John reminds us that God loves even those who reject him—in these verses he reminds us that judgment comes by rejecting God’s Light/Love

When we choose to hide our works, we are living in the darkness
When we hide our deeds for fear of exposure, we are not walking in the light. When we bring our deeds to the light, Satan is disarmed.

When we bring our deeds to the light, we are learning to bask in God’s love, and that requires effort on our part

It requires transparency and honesty
"There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are." Brennan Manning
“Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.” Mother Teresa

Love that is louder than fear is confident before God and others

A Quote from Warren Wiersbe

“The perfecting of God’s love in our lives is usually a matter of several stages. When we were lost, we lived in fear and knew nothing of God’s love. After we trusted Christ, we found a perplexing mixture of both fear and love in our hearts. But as we grew in fellowship with the Father, gradually the fear vanished and our hearts were controlled by his love alone. . . . A growing confidence in the presence of God is one of the first evidences that our love for God is maturing.” Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 522

3. This Love is Honest

1 John 4:20-21—Here John reminds his readers that God’s love for us is reflected through our love for others. As we grow in love, our confidence leads us to live God’s love towards others, but to do that requires us to be honest

“If someone says”—John uses this phrase some seven times in his letter to warn his readers against the danger of pretending to be something that they are not

Fear and pretense often go together
Think of Adam and Eve
No sooner had they sinned than they hid
They refused to even take responsibility for their own acts

A Christian who lacks confidence before God will lack confidence with God’s people (W. Wiersbe)

When our hearts are confident before God, we do not need to pretend

When we lack that confidence we tend to worry—”What will they think if they knew?”

God’s love produces the confidence to be honest and transparent
We do not need to pretend at spirituality
We know that God accepts us and his children should too
We can be ourselves, warts and all, because of God’s love

When we pretend to be what we aren’t, we become liars
Who is the father of lies?
Satan

Remember Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5)

Spiritual honesty can bring peace and power to the one who practices it
Because he lives in open honesty with the Father, he can live honestly with other people

But this transparency and honesty comes at a risk, doesn’t it?

We risk exposure, we risk being vulnerable, we risk rejection by those who don’t “get us”

But truth and love go together—you really can’t have one without the other

If we are going to be the people of God, then we must love others (John says so)
And loving others means both accepting them and being honest with them
We must tell the truth in love (Ephesians 4:14-16)

As Christians, we cannot grow up or mature in Christ if we do not love each other
And we cannot truly love each other if we do not speak honestly

Many of us avoid love because we are afraid
Look at the example of Christ--he loved others and was rejected, mistreated, falsely accused, and even killed for it--Yet Jesus loved anyway

Our goal is to be like Christ in this world (1 John 4:17)
We must love each other as he loved

Love that is louder than fear is honest

Conclusion

As “children of God” we are being transformed into his image (the image of Christ), becoming more like him in our thoughts, actions, and love for other people, especially other believers

Love sums up Christ’s teaching. The standard of love to which we are called is literally not of this world. The love that comes from God is sacrificial and manifests itself in action on behalf of others. It meets the needs of others in a variety of ways. As Christians genuinely exhibit this level of love, they in some ways incarnate the very character of God and reveal him to the world

This sacrificial love requires us to be honest before God and others, and it requires us to find ways to get rid of fear

We must sacrifice our desire to be respected or to be exalted and be willing to humble ourselves to serve

This humility will also result in transparency and honesty

How do we do this?

Some ideas for this week:

1. Be honest about your fears—be honest to yourself and to God. If possible, be honest and accountable with another Christian. What is hindering you from growing in confidence in God’s love? What will you do to rid yourself of it?
Consider fear a spiritual problem—develop your walk with God with an eye toward growing in confidence with what he has accomplished. Pray and spend time with him until fear begins to abate

2. Memorize verses that deal with fear and that deal with love: Psalm 23, Isaiah 43:5, John 3, 1 John 4. Take time this week to commit some verses to memory that deal with your area of need. Spend 10 minutes a day hiding God’s Word in your heart

3. Find ways to practice love so that love may grow in you. Make some time to show sacrificial love this week—remember that sometimes the people who cause the most fear in you are also afraid. Love them. Show forgiveness to those who have wronged you. Love those who hate you. Encourage someone who is discouraged. Listen with love when a brother or sister shares honestly and transparently with you. Accept them and pray with and for them.

Love that is louder than fear is only found in Jesus Christ and should be found in his followers

Will we risk it?

Thanks for reading!

Good Friday Thoughts and Hymns

Today is Good Friday, and Thomas Road Baptist Church hosted a prayer and communion event in which folks could come, pray, and participate in communion as we meditated on the events that transpired on this day some 2000 years ago. As I thought back to that horrible day we like to call "Good Friday," two songs came to my mind. I spoke them as prayers or meditations to Jesus as I sat with the cup and the bread and thought of his sacrifice. I looked with shame and pity on his wounds, I cried at the thought of my sin causing such destruction, and I marveled at the idea that the offended party would take the place of the offender in dealing with human sin! What a Savior! What a God!

As you prepare for Easter this weekend and the glorious celebration of our Lord's resurrection. Take a few minutes today to think about all that transpired on this "Good Friday." Remember that on this day, Jesus shed his blood so that we may be God's sons and daughters. Read the words below, and thank God for his amazing gift and grace!

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

1. O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, thine only crown:
how pale thou art with anguish,
with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish
which once was bright as morn!

2. What thou, my Lord, has suffered
was all for sinners' gain;
mine, mine was the transgression,
but thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
'Tis I deserve thy place;
look on me with thy favor,
bestow to me thy grace.

3. What language shall I borrow
to thank thee, dearest friend,
for this thy dying sorrow,
thy pity without end?
O make me thine forever;
and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love for thee.

It Was My Sin

1. See the God of Glory giving up His Son
See the awesome depth of love in all that He has done
See the tiny baby on the hay so still
See Him take the cross and climb up Calvary’s lonely hill
That hill

Chorus:
It was my sin that nailed him there
It was my cross He had to bear
It was His blood that washed me clean
It was the greatest love this world has seen
He died for me
He washed me clean
I am redeemed
Worship the King

2. Hear the groaning thunder, feel the falling rain
See the King of Glory bear unbearable pain
Dying brokenhearted, Himself He would not save
See the King who died for me now risen from the grave
My grave

Chorus:
It was my sin that nailed You there
It was my cross You had to bear
Your precious blood has washed me clean
No greater love has this world ever seen
You died for meYou washed me clean
I am redeemed
Worship the King

Thanks for reading!

God's Abiding Presence, 1 John 4:13-16, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meetings on April 10-17, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 4:13-16 and discusses the idea that Christians abide in God while God abides in them. This abiding reveals itself in three ways: knowledge, confession, and love. By the presence of God's Spirit, the Christian knows and has assurance of God's abiding presence. That same Spirit enables us to confess the truth about God and His Son. God gave His Son as Savior, and as we experience salvation we abide in God's love. As we abide in God's love, we need to be aware of and to share the love that God has given to us in Christ. When we love others, we give a living example of the love Jesus showed in the cross. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

God’s Abiding Presence
1 John 4:13-16
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
My childhood
When I was a kid, we lived on a road named “Doris Circle”
It was a typical rural small town neighborhood, but all of the children defined themselves and their neighbors by their house and yard
We had the “rich” family with the big house, the family with the yard perfect for football, the yard with trees perfect for climbing
We also understood that our family background in many ways defined us

No doubt many of you have similar experiences
You remember the “messy” neighbor or the folks from the “wrong side of the tracks” or the ones who were dependable
Maybe your family was defined by your dwelling place

In 1 John 4, John tells his readers that they are also defined by where they dwell
Where they abide and what abides in them defines them as Christians

The past two weeks we discussed how John defines love as one measure of a Christ follower
1. We looked at love’s divine character
2. We saw that love is defined by Jesus’ sacrifice
3. We noticed that the results of love are revealed in how we love others

Verse 12 summed it up by noting that God’s love is perfected in us when we love one another
That is, by loving others we reveal God and his character

In today’s passage, 1 John 4:13-16, God continues this theme by looking at God’s abiding presence and its results in the lives of believers

In this passage, John uses “know” twice—v. 13 and v. 16
He uses “abide” five times—v. 13, v. 15, v. 16 (three times)
We find the idea of “abides in God and God in him”—3 times

Those who “dwell” in God and in whom God “dwells” have three characteristics that reveal God’s abiding presence:
1. Knowledge
2. Confession
3. Love

God’s abiding presence is revealed in us and defines us

1. Knowledge
1 John 4:13—John begins this section by offering yet another word of assurance to his readers. John describes this assurance as a matter of knowledge (a knowledge that includes an intimate and informed relationship and experience). Here are some examples of John’s use of this idea:
2:3: “By this we know that we have come to know Him….”
2:5b: “By this we know that we are in Him….”
2:13: “… you know Him who has been from the beginning.”
2:13b: “… you know the Father.”
2:20: “… you all know.”
3:10: “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious….”
3:14: “We know that we have passed out of death into life….”
3:19: “We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him….”
3:24b: “We know by this that He abides in us….”
4:2: “By this you know the Spirit of God….”
4:6b: “By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
5:2: By this we know that we love the children of God….”
5:13: These things I have written … so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Apparently John puts a high premium on assurance of salvation resulting from this kind of intimate and informed knowledge as he addresses it again here

John says, “We know we dwell with God and enjoy his presence in us because he has given us his Spirit.”
In Genesis God “walked” with his people
In Exodus God lived among them
Now God wants to make his residence in them—he dwells in them

John’s statement here says more than “we have the inner witness of God’s Spirit” (although I am sure John would agree with that statement)
Rather, John’s point here is that we know God because he has taken up residence in us
As Peter puts it, he has made us partakers of his divine nature by his divine power so that we can live the way he intends (2 Peter 1:3-4)
In other words, God makes his home in us as we make our home in him

The point is that we can know God because he has made his dwelling place in us

His Spirit in us is the evidence of his taking up residence in us
We know God because we know his Spirit

So, how do we know that we have God’s Spirit?

First, let’s define what it is not
It is not some extraordinary experience like the gift of tongues or some mystical thing

On the other hand, we know God’s Spirit is in us if we bear some resemblance to God in how we live
Are we concerned about the things that concern God?
Do we run to sin or run from sin? Do we have a sense of ourselves as sinners in comparison to God?
Do we love the things God loves?
Do we see the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) in your life?
Do we hunger for godly things

If God’s Spirit is in us, we know we are in God

God’s abiding presence is revealed in knowing God’s Spirit

2. Confession
1 John 4:14-15—Now John points out that the Christian abides in God and God abides in the Christian when we confess the truth about Jesus

John notes that “we have seen and testify” in v. 14. This takes us back to 1 John 1:1-3 where John explains that his testimony is accurate because it is an eyewitness testimony
This refers to the apostolic witness (cf. 2 Peter 1:16)
This grounds our confession in a historical reliability
This testimony, this confession is not mere myth or just good stories
John says that it is reliable and time tested—it can be trusted

The content of this confession involves two relationships
a. Jesus’ relationship to the world
b. Jesus’ relationship to God

Jesus’ relationship to the world is stated clearly here and in 1 John 2:1-2 and 4:9-10
Simply stated, Jesus is the Savior of the world
He is the atoning sacrifice for a lost and sinful world
This does not mean that all of the world is saved, rather that the means of salvation has been provided for all

Jesus’ relationship to God is described as
God the Father sends Jesus to be Savior—this shows that Jesus and the Father have an ongoing relationship and that Jesus does what the Father wants
Jesus is the Son of God—this speaks to Jesus’ eternal divinity

John is saying that all of those who accept the apostolic testimony regarding Jesus as Savior of the world and who further confess that Jesus is God’s Son have God’s abiding presence and dwell in God
To “confess” means to agree with or to “say the same as”

This confession is not mere mental assent, it is a reliance upon Jesus that results in faithful living on our part
John is saying that confessing that Jesus is the only means of salvation, trusting in his divinity as the means of a true relationship with God, and serving him as Lord or Ruler of your life results in God making a home in you and you finding your security and dwelling in him

Romans 10:8-9—the one who trusts God and makes a public confession of his saving ability receives from him what is needed to live the life God has promised—they have eternal and abundant life (John 1:11-14; 3:16-18)

When we confess God’s truth about Jesus, we abide in God

God’s abiding presence is revealed in our confession

3. Love
1 John 4:16—John completes this section by acknowledging that true believers abide in God as they know and trust in his love

Look at the order here
a. We know and believe the love God has for us
b. God is love
c. If we abide in love, we abide in God

John is not saying that loving people (i.e., those who are loving in general) are automatically Christians
Rather he is saying that Christ followers begin with an intimate and informed relationship with God (i.e., they “know” him) and they put their trust in God and in his love for them

John here uses a perfect tense to describe our knowledge and faith in God’s love for us
That indicates that there is a past experience or action that results in ongoing results
We have known and continue to know—we have believed and continue to believe
This is a knowledge and faith based on evidence and historical reality—it is not a blind faith—faith is based on knowledge

John mentions the love God has for us and reiterates “God is love.” (cf. 1 John 4:8)

As we stated regarding the earlier section of chapter 4, the statement that “God is love” is a reference to God’s character.
God’s character is revealed in God’s acts
God loved us (and the world) by giving Jesus as our atoning sacrifice
God’s love is expressed in what he gives

When we know and trust in that love, it changes us

John notes that knowing and trusting in God’s love is evidenced by a life of love—i.e., we abide or make our dwelling in love

The idea here is that a Christ follower is changed by the love of God and begins to live a life defined by that love (cf. Gal. 2:20)

If God’s love is at work in us, then it should work through us in how we treat others

Referring back to our earlier point—if God’s love and God’s Spirit dwell in us, then how we live our lives should exhibit their presence
If I am not loving as God loves, I probably do not know God’s love
If I love as God loves, I apparently know God’s love
That is John’s point

God’s abiding presence is revealed by how we love
His presence is revealed in our love for him
His presence is revealed in our love for others

Application
God’s abiding presence is revealed in us by our knowledge of his Spirit, by our confession of his Son, and by our experience and sharing of his love
When we as believers abide in God, we participate in his Spirit, his Truth (Jesus), and his love
Our lives then ought to show the reality of these things as we live by his abiding presence

How can we respond to these truths? What can we do this week to show that we abide in God and that he abides in us?

First, remember that John emphasizes the reciprocal, enduring relationship we have with God. The ability to live in his love is granted to us by his presence in us. Spend time with him so that you will grow in your knowledge of him. Make this a priority each day.

Since we are human, there are ebbs and flows in our relationships, even with God. What can you do to reinvigorate your relationship with God? This week look for things that will encourage a personal pursuit of God. This may include taking time to enjoy God’s love in creation. Maybe you could look for opportunities to encourage a discouraged friend. One thing you can do is to practice your confession. This week, tell someone else what you have come to know about God.

Finally, John also describes how God shows His love to us. Take some time to make notes about what a mutual love relationship with the God of the universe should look like. Read 1 John 4 again and note how God loves us. Share your findings with someone who is a believer and with someone who is not. Take some time each day this week to list one thing you have done or can do as a direct act of love back toward God. Write down one thing God has done for you, and then write down what you can do to show that love to another person (see the list from the last lesson for some ideas). If you are feeling bold, actually go out and do that thing!

God’s abiding presence is revealed in us as we know him, confess his truth, and share his love

How are we doing? Where are we abiding?

Thanks for reading!

Another Song from T-Bone Burnett--The Wild Truth

I was listening to "Relentless" today when I came across this song. I had forgotten it, to be honest, but not because of the title. In fact, the title reminds me of C. S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe when beaver is talking to the children about Aslan. One of the kids (Lucy, I think), says of Aslan, "But he is a tame lion, isn't he?" Beaver responds something like, "Didn't you hear what she said? Aslan isn't tame, but he is good!" I always appreciated the image of a God who is good but not tame. A God that cannot be domesticated and put into a corner like an idol. A God whose character is solid but whose actions are like the wind--a bit unpredictable. T-Bone Burnett's song "The Wild Truth" reminds me of that. Here are the lyrics. I hope you enjoy them!

"The Wild Truth"

You never said it was a bed of roses
but you never said it was a bed of nails
you never told me 'bout the rubber hoses
or how unsteady were the justice scales

i need the wild truth

on the street there are a billion people
they got no love, they got no hope
they got no youth, they got no beauty
they're looking backwards through a telescope

they need the wild truth

whatever happened to the man walking down the street
with his hands in his pockets whistling a tune?
science fiction and nostalgia have become the same thing

i don't know how to make any choices anymore i mean,
who do i vote for? i get the feeling that as soon as
something appears in the paper it ceases to be true

i want to meet the man who can crack this world of justice
like a safe. someone with the courage to allow room for
good things to run wild

into the wild truth

we don't need no voodoo stories
from no magic president
who tries to make a dream a fait accompli
by using phantoms for his evidence

we need the wild truth

i tell a hundred thousand lies that twist me
into the noise where i hide my sin
my shame and scandal pull me down and kiss me
i can't live a life that might have been

i need the wild truth

are we supposed to take all this greed and fear and hatred
seriously? it's like watching dust settle it never changes
it's too consistent

mercy is not consistent it's like the wind
it goes where it will. mercy is comic, and it's the only
thing worth taking seriously

i need the wild truth

Thanks for reading!

T-Bone Burnett and God's "Relentless" love

Someone posted a status on Facebook about God's relentless love, and it sent my mind reeling back to 1987. T-Bone Burnett released an album entitled "The Talking Animals" on which he released songs co-written by several well known artists. In fact, one song was by Bono and another by Dylan. He had one song in particular that struck me as related to the idea of God's relentless love. The song is "Relentless" and was co-written with Kerry Livgren (yes, of Kansas fame). Here are the lyrics. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts!

Relentless

I stand and tremble in the driving rain
while your love rages like a hurricane

i can't break the silence as you still the wind
but i can hear you breathing underneath my skin

i am defenseless almost senseless you are relentless

i reel and stagger in the blinding light
while your love flashes like a lightening strike

so i find the darkness where i grow afraid
but i cannot shake you and the blackness fades

i am defenseless almost senseless you are relentless

you are relentless
this mercy convulses my pride
you are relentless
i find you wherever i hide
you are relentless
i have got nothing to win
and so i give in

i run and stumble as the mountains shake
while your love blazes like a world in flames

to shoot all fear into the desert sky
as stars fall like water through the dead of night

i am defenseless almost senseless you are relentless

Thanks for reading!

What's Playng Today? Some Larry Norman

I'm in a Larry Norman kind of mood today, and I wanted to share the lyrics of a rather unusual song. I'm not going to comment except to say that this song has been running through my head all day. Guess I better watch what I'm doing, huh?

Watch What You're Doing

mamma killed the chicken
she thought it was a duck
she put it on the table
with its legs sticking up

papa broke his glasses
when he fell down drunk
tried to drown the kitty cat
turned out to be a skunk

you gotta watch what you're doing
didn't you know
you gotta watch what you're doing
didn't you know

little joe billy
went fishing for trout
played hookey from school
'til the cops found out

didn't have a father
was an only child
and his momma never beat him
so he grew up wild

you gotta watch what you're doing
yeah

i knew a girl
sweet as could be
but she fell for men
like a chain sawed tree

she listened to their lies
was fooled by their charms
now she's sitting
with a baby in her arms

you gotta watch what you're doing
didn't you know
you gotta watch what you're doing
you oughta know that
you gotta watch out
watch out

well everything's fine
till things get bad
then you sit around thinking
of the good times you had

but it ain't no good
to lead a life of sin
if you don't shape up
you know you'll never get in

you better watch what you're doing
don't you know
you oughta know where you're going
do you know

some folks smile
they seem alright
then you later find out
they were like demons in the night

try to love everybody
but don't be blind
cause some kind of people
try to mess up your mind

you gotta watch who you know

some people say that
God is dead
that He doesn't exist
except inside your head

i wonder how many
gonna be surprised
when they look straight up
and see Him coming through the skies

you gotta watch what you're doing
cause He does, yeah
you know He watches what you're doing
yes He does
and He knows where you're going
yeah yeah yeaoooowwwww

well well well
hutz sut sut
well well well
hutz hutz a mutza

c'mon pilgrim
you know He loves you
He loves you more
than He loves this cloven earth
don't make your life bad
and start acting like and idiot

you better watch out
there's someone after you
it's the Devil
and he wants to lock you up in his zoo
he's got a nice little cage
picked out just for you
i bet it fits real nice too
you gotta watch out

watch what you're doing
watch where you're going
watch who you marry
love who you bury

i was walking down the road
just walking down the road
and i bumped into You

i had a dream which was a
nightmare. it was the last
time i saw fehrion. i was walking
backwards, picking up the pieces
and looking for the footprints
of the doctor. the butterfly had
flown and a little wooden man said
"we sleep till He arrives." but
they mad him go back five steps
which placed him right here and
also in the kitchen hanging on
to a dead phone and looking
at the chicken.

two times seven
the clock struck eleven
and them seven days at the
edge of space
and i told them, i've got to
get back to earth

i feel like dying
phase two is ensuing
be careful what you sign
you gotta watch what you're doing

Thanks for reading!