Ep. 356. 1 John 1-2 | Live in the Light

EPISODE 356

LIVE IN THE LIGHT: 1 JOHN 1-2

I could probably write an entire book on what I think about First John, or even just these first two chapters. (Of course, then I'd be ignoring the context of the rest of the book and thereby contradicting the very counsel I've been giving you for the entire year.)

Let me point out just one of the very many things from this section of Scripture that is of the utmost importance. "No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also." this verse is absolutely essential. In our world today, we have people who insist on their belief in God but then will deny their need for Jesus. That simply can't stand. If you deny the Son [Jesus], you then, by extension, deny the Father [God] who sent him. If you don't have the Son, you don't have the Father, nor could you. That means the Jews, as a whole, who denied Jesus and facilitated his murder, at that moment, also fully denied the Father they claimed to know and worship. In John 8, Jesus says that they were all liars who did not know God. If they had known God, then they would have also known and loved Jesus. The fact they denied the King of Glory means they also denied God.

I'd be content to say the same thing another fifty times just so that it could not possibly escape our hearts, but let me offer you one more thought. When we are tempted to say of our dear friend or family member, "So and so really does believe in God. He/she really is a great person. They just don't believe in Jesus," let us clap our hand over our mouth. Let us not dare say that they can believe in God and deny the Son he sent. Let us hold such a high view of our Savior that we would say of anyone who denies Jesus, "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?"

Anyone who denies Jesus is a liar and has the spirit of the antichrist, and there is no other conclusion we could rightly come to.

ADDITIONAL READING: Romans 8:9; John 13:34-35