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PEOPLE ARE ASKED IF
they are going to heaven, a common response is, "I hope I'm going to
heaven...nobody knows for sure."
Can we know and be 100%
certain that we are headed for heaven right now? According to the Apostle John
we can know with absolute certainty that we have eternal life (going to heaven)
and that we can believe on the name of the Son of God (know we have a personal
relationship with Jesus). This is what John wrote in 1 John 5:13:
"These
things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that
ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of
the Son of God."
The
book of First John was written to those who have chosen to believe on Jesus. He
was writing to explain how they might know without a doubt that they have
eternal life and to strengthen their belief in Jesus (1 John 5:13). We must
keep in mind that these were new Christians who had a lot of baggage brought
over from their old life. John is explaining what it means to live with God in
them contrasted with how they�ve always lived life.
In our twenty-first century,
when it�s hard to distinguish God�s people from those without God, we must
reexamine our faith and ask ourselves if we have become a Christian in name and
appearance only, without actually being a Christian (2 Timothy 3:5). We are
warned by the Apostle Paul that in the last days there will be a great departure
of the church from God, though they will look and sound like the church (2
Thessalonians 2:3). We must not think that we are so strong in our faith that
it couldn�t happen to us. We are warned: �Wherefore let him that thinks he
stands take heed lest he fall.� (1 Corinthians 10:12) We must reexamine our
faith to determine if we are actually God�s child (2 Corinthians 13:5). Jesus
warned that the deception will be so great in the last days�our days�that even
the strongest of God�s people will be greatly tempted to compromise (Matthew
24:24). We are living in such a dangerous and deceptive time when our Christian
faith is constantly living with compromise that we must reevaluate our faith to
see if we are actually in the faith.
I like the book of First
John because it is straightforward about what a Christian is and what a
Christian is not. He is so straightforward that I have titled this study, �The
Twelve Commandments.� Whereas the Ten Commandments given by Moses lead us to
recognize our sin and need for Christ, the Twelve Commandments lead us to
recognize our lack of power in living the Christian life and our need for God to
live within us through His Holy Spirit. In these last of the last days, when
the Holy Spirit�s light has greatly dimmed, we must ask ourselves if we are
truly living our life in step with Him..
To get the most out of this
study, I encourage you to find a quiet place, leave your preconceived ideas
behind you, read through the entire book of First John, and then read First John
again chapter by chapter with our study notes.
May God bless you in your journey.
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THE
TWELVE COMMANDMENTS
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I.
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YOU
SHALL NOT WALK IN DARKNESS
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II.
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YOU SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR
SIN
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III.
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YOU
SHALL KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS & GOD
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IV.
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YOU SHALL LOVE FELLOW CHRISTIANS
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V.
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YOU SHALL NOT LOVE THE WORLD
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VI.
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YOU MUST HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT
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VII.
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YOU
MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST
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VIII.
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YOU
SHALL HOPE IN JESUS
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IX.
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YOU MUST ABIDE IN JESUS
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X.
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YOU
WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION
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XI.
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YOU
SHALL TAKE CARE OF FELLOW CHRISTIANS
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XII.
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YOU SHALL CONFESS THAT JESUS IS THE
SON OF GOD
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THE
TWELVE COMMANDMENTS
COMMENTARY |
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I.
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YOU
SHALL NOT WALK IN DARKNESS
1 John 1:6-7 - To
walk in darkness is to continue to live with sin in your life. For
a list of a variety of sins, read Romans 1:29-32, Galatians 5:19-21,
Revelation 21:8, and in Galatians 5:22-23 the opposite of the fruit of
the Holy Spirit would also be to walk in darkness. Notice that
John is strong when he says that if we claim to live as a Christian, yet
continue to live with sin, we lie and do not the truth.
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DARKNESS:
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
sedition, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling the
fearful, unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, whoremongers,
sorcerers, liars, and such like. |
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LIGHT:
love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and
temperance.
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II.
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YOU SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR
SIN
1 John 1:8-10 - The Bible is
clear that all people have sin (Romans 3:23; 5:12) and that a Christian cannot
continue in sin while choosing to be a Christian (1 John 1:6-7). Yet many
Christians will claim that they have not sinned and that their present sin is
not sin. Yet John is clear that If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
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III.
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YOU
SHALL KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS & GOD
1 John 2:3-6, 22-24; 5:3 - When Jesus
walked upon the earth he taught many things, instructing us on the things of
God. His words are not idle, but are living (1 Peter 1:23), the very words
of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). If we say we are Christian, but do not obey
God�s words, we are liars, without truth in us. When we keep the
commandments and teaching of Jesus God answers our prayers and remains
with us. God�s love to us and our love toward God is revealed
through our obeying Him.
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IV.
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YOU SHALL LOVE FELLOW CHRISTIANS
1 John 2:9-11;
4:16-21 - John is clear
that if you do not love fellow Christians�mom, dad, brothers, sisters, friends,
acquaintances, strangers, members of your gathering�you continue to live without
God, without power over sin, and without guidance. Christ came to bring a
new understanding of an old concept: to love even our enemies. Love also
lets us know that God is actually with us because God is love. Our love for God
is revealed through our love for our fellow Christians. If we cannot love
those around us who we can see, we are not able to love God who we cannot see.
Love makes us worthy to stand before God in the judgment without any fear that
we will enter hell. As a Christian we never have to wonder if or think that we
might go to heaven�we can know with 100% certainty that we will be there.
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V.
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YOU SHALL NOT LOVE THE WORLD
1 John 2:15-17
- The great
battle of the ages is between the world (the things we can see, hear, and touch)
and the things of God (the things we can not see, hear, and touch). This
was Eve�s great battle when she saw that the fruit was good for food,
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desired to make one wise (Genesis 3:6).
There can be no merging of the two nor can we be neutral�we must be either hot
or cold toward one or the other, there can be no middle ground of compromise
(Matthew 6:24; Revelation 3:15-16).
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VI.
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YOU MUST HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT
1 John 2:20,
24-29; 4:13 - The Holy Spirit
is an actual part of God that lives in us. Through him we have an actual,
living relationship with God. This is how we know that God is in us and we
are in God�He can be known even as we can know any living creature that is near
to us. There is nothing that John writes of in First John that can be
accomplished without the Holy Spirit. Have you received the Holy Spirit
since you believed in Christ? (Acts 19:2) Does your Christianity consist
of an appearance of being God�s people without having the power that marks us as
God�s people (2 Timothy 3:5).
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VII.
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YOU
MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST
1 John
2:21-23; 4:2-3, 15; 5:1 - To acknowledge
that Jesus is the Christ is to acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah of the
Jews. It is to acknowledge that he is God who came to the earth to visit
His people. To deny that Jesus is the Messiah is to be without a
relationship with God.
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VIII.
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YOU
SHALL HOPE IN JESUS
1 John 3:1-3 - The Holy Spirit
in us gives understanding about the things of God (1 John 2:20, 27; 1
Corinthians 2:11). He teaches that we will one day be like Jesus: what he
is we will become. This hope means that one day we will be joint heirs and
fellow citizens with Christ (Romans 8:17; Ephesians 2:19; 3:6). When we
have this hope, we will then be participants in the fulfillment of this hope
when Christ returns (1 Corinthians 9:10). When we live our lives focused
on the incredible things that God will give to us, sin will not be an option.
It is this hope that purifies us to be like Jesus.
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IX.
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YOU MUST ABIDE IN JESUS
1 John 3:4-10
- Jesus died upon
the cross to take away our sin. It is through him and him alone that we
have any possibility of not sinning. As long as we abide in him�have the
Holy Spirit and align our lives to his teachings�then it is impossible to sin.
We make the choice to either do sin or do righteousness, but we cannot do both.
It is your choice whom you will serve�sin or Christ. It is possible never
to sin when we always choose to obey Christ. To remain in Christ is a
choice. Determine to choose Christ no matter how much you might want,
desire, like, love that which is opposite to God.
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X.
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YOU
WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION
1 John 3:11-16
- Jesus told us
that in this world his disciples will have troubles (John 16:33). The
Apostle Paul informed us that we will enter God�s kingdom through many troubles
(Acts 14:22) and that as a follower of Christ we will experience persecution
(Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12). Persecutions are guaranteed to us as
followers of Christ (Mark 10:30). That is because we live in the
enemy�s territory. Satan is the god�the ruler�of this world (2
Corinthians 4:4) and he works hard to steal, kill, and destroy our hope
and salvation in Christ (John 10:10).
Even though
those without God persecute and cause many troubles for God�s people, we are not
to be a source of trouble for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
If we treat fellow Christians wrongly, we have not entered into the life of God
and these acts are considered hatred toward them, actually making us a murderer
and unqualified for receiving eternal life.
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XI.
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YOU
SHALL TAKE CARE OF FELLOW CHRISTIANS
1 John 3:17-21 - Here�s the
scoop. All God�s people are pilgrims and strangers upon this earth
(Hebrews 11:13). All God�s people will one day receive eternal life, enter
God�s kingdom, and become kings and priests in God�s eternal kingdom. In
the meantime, we all are in the enemy�s territory. Like good soldiers
fighting a battle, we must watch out for and take care of one another. If
we have more of the things of this world than a fellow pilgrim in need we must
help them in their journey through this life. John tells us that the love
of God is not in us if we do not assist our fellow kings. In the book of
Acts, the reason the early disciples sold their possessions and land was so that
none of God�s people would lack any necessities (Acts 2:45). Our purpose
for working is so that we might have to give to our fellow Christians who are in
need (Ephesians 4:28).
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XII.
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YOU SHALL CONFESS THAT JESUS IS THE
SON OF GOD
1 John 4:14-15;
5:5-12, 20 - To confess that
Jesus is the Son of God is more than confessing that he is a Son
of God. All God�s people are considered sons of God (John 1:12; Romans
8:14; 1 John 3:1,2). The difference here is that by confessing Jesus is
the son of God we acknowledge that he is the only son of God that has come
out from God�he is begotten from God (John 1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 John 4:9).
Having come out from God, his claim to being the son of God means that he
claims to be the messiah and equal to God (Matthew 26:63-65; John 5:18).
Understanding this can only take place through the Holy Spirit (Matthew
16:16,17), who is God living in us. Having this discernment of those
things that are true but we cannot yet see is what allows us to overcome all the
temptations that impact us: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life. To not believe that Jesus is the Son of God is to
make God a liar.
IN CLOSING...
A main focus in this article is abiding, remaining, and living with the Holy Spirit
actually in us. The Holy Spirit is God�s actual Spirit and lives in God's
people. He is given as a guarantee that everything else that God has
promised will be given to us when Christ returns (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5;
Ephesians 1:13,14). In our present life we are in relationship with God
through His Spirit; when Christ returns we will then be in relationship with God
face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball (Revelation 21:3). It is the Holy Spirit
that gives us the power to not sin and to live with God�s character in us
(Galatians 5:16, 25). To receive the Holy Spirit you must ask God for Him
(Luke 11:11-13). Normally, the first step to becoming a Christian is to
believe the historical account of Jesus recorded in the gospels of Matthew,
Mark, or Luke. Then we need to repent, recognize our sin, and realign our
lives to the teachings of Jesus. It is his teachings that make us clean
and prepare us to receive the Holy Spirit (John 15:3). As we are cleaned
by the word of Christ, Jesus will then ask God the Father to give the Holy
Spirit to you (John14: 15-16). Without the Holy Spirit (God in us), it is
impossible to be a Christian. The Holy Spirit in us is what distinguishes
Christians from other religions and those who do not follow Christ. Take
away the Holy Spirit and you have people claiming to be a Christian
indistinguishable from those who are not Christian. We must examine ourselves
with a critical eye to see if we measure up to John�s marks of a Christian
outlined in this first book of John. To not do so could lead to horrible
eternal consequences.
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