More on the Obedience test and Christ's future appearing I John 2:28-3:3

 More on the Obedience Test- Righteousness ---Christ's Future Appearing I John 2:28-3:3

" The doctrine of the Lord's return was part of the primitive apostolic faith. Four words...are used by Paul to describe it ---His coming parousia. His appearing phanerosis, His epiphany epiphaneia , and His revelation apokalupsis.  John uses the first two in this vs 2:28...parousis was the usual expression for the visit of a King..." Stott

"When He comes , we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming" 2:28

Ashamed or confident?

The wedding feast account in Mt 22:12 of the man who was sitting at the Table with other guests but he forgot the one thing the King had asked---to be in proper attire.

Lloyd Jones comments on this, " Everything ! except the wedding garment! Everything , except giving up our wills, our very selves to God, everthing except the one thing which is essential, namely , that we should cast ourselves entirely on His mercy and place ourselves whole heartedly and without reservation in His hands!"

Rev. 6:16-17 sums it up about being ashamed: "Revelation 6:15-17

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

2.  Confidence / Encouragements to Confidence

a. 2:28  Abide in Him little children

---v. 24, 27

" Don't give up. Persevere.  Think of the Busy Bee to produce 1 lb of honey, the bee must visit 56,000 clover heads.  Since each head has 60 flower tubes, a total of 3,360,000 visits are necessary to give us that pound of honey.  The worker bee has flown the equivalent of 3 times around the world."  When you think that persistence is a difficult task, think of the bee!!!

b. 2:29 Practice righteousness 

The best evidence of a new life is a holy life. 

Everyone that practices righteousness has been born of God. " form their lives in obedience to God" Calvin

Jerry Bridges Pursuit of Holiness gives 4 principles

1. With dependence upon the Holy Spirit of God , begin by saying no to the sins that so easily entangle us.

2. Never let an exception occur . Watch the " just this once" type of thinking.

3. Develop habits of self-control.

4. Don't be discouraged by failure.

c.  What we are now.  3:1-2 

  ---Now we are the children of God.  By nature we were not that, but are by the grace of God.  The world does not recognize that we are His children, because the world has not known God.

d.  What we shall be  3:2

  John says it does not appear what we shall be ( we have to wait till death and the trip to heaven to know this fully), but when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

We shall be like Him.  Philippians 3:21 " He shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body..."

WE shall see Him as He is.  Mt 5:8 " Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.  "  Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face"  I Cor 13 :12

Conclusion- Are we confident or ashamed?  3:3 says every one that has this hope in the appearing of Jesus you purify yourself, even as He is pure.  Heavenly fragrance in the life.

Are we confident or ashamed?  We can be confident of our Lord's return and of our prepared place with Him if we realize that to abide in Him is so important.  

We have heard the Word, believed it, and the Holy Spirit has sealed it to our hearts.  We are God's child.  Only God and you know if you have yielded your will for Him.  Do not be ashamed and shrink away from Him at His coming!