The first test!

 I John 2:2-6

  We need to visit the good news in I John 2:2 before moving on in the Epistle series.  Not a verse to skip!!!( I remembered while I was working on this series the vs in Hebrews about Moses---the , :"By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. 26He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.…" Berean Bible)

2:2 "And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our sins only , but also for the sins of the whole world"

"Sometimes it only takes one person to hold your hand to remind you that everything is going to be ok"  --- Roger Lee ( thank you to my fb friend who shared this on Thursday )

Advocate in orig language means 'called alongside' especially in the courts of the law. He pleads the cause of the person on trial as counsel for the defense!  Matlock , better than!  Better than Perry Mason or that guy who has the big billboards to defend you from the 18 wheeler accidents.

The Righteous and He is the Propitiation for our sins...two important words we need if we are going to go to heaven.  

What a great encouragement!!!

----Today point 1 is in vs 3 ---the 1st application of the tests or the moral/obedience test.  ( in the outline I gave out)

" And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments" 2:3

The word is in the present tense keep= " If we are keeping His commandments"  This means watchful, observant obedience, not perfect obedience .  Calvin- if we are " forming our life in obedience to God"

John Stott said it this way " NO RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE IS VALID IF IT DOES NOT HAVE MORAL CONSEQUENCES"

Titus 1:16 says ," They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him."

vs 4 John hits it out of the park, "  The one who says, ' I have come to know Him and does not keep His cmdts is a liar, and the truth is not in him"

Self check- what commandment are we habitually breaking?  Is it putting God first?  Do not covet?  Love you neighbor as yourself?  Anger?  Work takes priority over home, family and God????

Vs 5-  tells us that if we are forming our lives in obedience to God that our love for God has been perfected.

The proof of love for God is loyalty Mt 21:28-31  The man had two sons and which one was faithful????

vs 6.   He that says He abides in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. 

  In His Steps This is the inspirational novel that popularized the expression, What Would Jesus Do? Written by a Congregational minister, it tells of four prominent members of a small town who resolve to undertake no action without first considering Christ's example. Originally published in 1897, it continues to speak to modern readers  by Charles Sheldon

I Peter 2: 21, 22 is a complementary vs.   " For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an ex. for you to follow in His steps

Conclusion----How do we fare on John's first test?  2:3  Are we forming our lives in obedience to God?  This comes from the Bible.  How well do we know the standards we are to keep?