In yesterday’s study, we concluded by looking at the first view of the “sin unto death.” Today we look at two other approaches.2. A second view, supported in part by the concern of this letter, is that John is thinking of what we would call apostasy, namely a deliberate repudiation of the Christian
The encouragement to pray for others is based on a great promise, namely, the promise that God will hear and “give… life for them that sin not unto death” (v. 16). John has spoken often in this letter of the need to pursue righteousness as one evidence that the individual involved is truly a child o
Certainly these were new and bold teachings that Jesus gave on prayer, and they were remembered as such by John. They are the basis of his extraordinary confidence. But the Christian is not to suppose that God will grant just anything he might happen to pray for, however foolish or sinful it may be,
There are few subjects in the Christian life more puzzling to more of God's people than prayer. On the surface we might think that prayer should be the most natural and uncomplicated part of Christian living, for what should be more natural than to speak out of one's heart to one's heavenly Father?
Seventh, we have a home in heaven prepared for us by Christ. Just before His crucifixion Jesus said to His disciples, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a plac
There is a third reason why the gift of God is indescribable. We have seen that the gift itself is indescribable. We have seen that the grace by which it is given is indescribable. God’s gift is also indescribable for the effects it produces. This is unmeasurable by human beings.The gift of God acco
But the gift of God is also indescribable because of the grace by which it is given. Most of our gifts have nothing to do with grace. We give because the recipients of our gifts have some claim upon us: they are members of our family, people who have helped us in some way or individuals who gave to
Why is the gift of God beyond description? There are several reasons and the first is the nature of the gift itself. The gift is Christ. So, in order fully to describe this gift we must be able fully to describe who Jesus is and what He has done for our salvation, which we cannot do. Think of the di
There are several reasons why you or I might be unable to describe a Christmas gift. We might be overcome with emotion so that "words fail us," as we say. Or we might be unable to identify the gift. We might open it (as my father opened a gift on one occasion) and say, "It's beautiful, just what I a
Only one thing remains: not to seek for further witnesses, but meekly to add our confession to God's own. Is this child of Christmas God's Son? Is He God with us? Then let us acknowledge Him as such. Let us worship Him and show by the obedience of our lives that He is indeed who He is so clearly dec
Yesterday’s study concluded with the name given to Joseph for the son that would be born to Mary. It had both a general and specific application, and we mentioned the general meaning then. Today, we continue by describing the specific application.Moreover, immediately after having given the child th
In addition to the angel Gabriel’s announcement that Jesus would be “the Son of the Most High,” we think of Peter’s confession of Christ. Jesus had asked the disciples who they thought He was, and Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). This was no mere earthly
The first person we want to interrogate is Gabriel, the angel of God. He appears at least twice in the Christmas story, once to announce the birth of John the Baptist to John’s father, the aged Zechariah, and once to announce the birth of Jesus to Mary. It is this second announcement that bears on o
The first chapter of Matthew begins with a genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ followed immediately by an account of His birth. So with the exception of this genealogy the first words of the entire New Testament are our text: “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pled
4. In spite of the fact that the third of these explanations fits the context well and is otherwise commendable, it is possible that still another view is involved. It must be remembered that in this context John is talking about the witness of the Father to Jesus, much as Jesus Himself does in the
In yesterday’s study, we looked at the first interpretation of the expression “water and blood” as a reference to that which flowed from Christ’s side at His crucifixion. We noted a couple of important similarities.Unfortunately, the similarities are not as great under examination as they seem to be
At the time of the late Renaissance and Reformation, when classical texts were first being edited critically, Erasmus of Rotterdam produced a Greek text in which the words “in earth” were missing. At this time most of Europe was using the Latin Vulgate as its Bible version, so Erasmus was quickly cr
The introduction to 1 John pointed out that three distinct purposes lie behind the writing of this letter: the need to encourage Christians in the assurance of their salvation, a desire to stress the historical groundings of the Christian faith, and a wish to reiterate and expound upon Christ’s new
The third of John's tests is expressed in these verses as belief. Indeed, it is with this concept that the section both begins and ends (vv. 1, 5); between belief that "Jesus is the Christ” and belief that "Jesus is the Son of God" is found John's discussion of both love and obedience. The implicati
Later Paul argued for liberty from such burdensome rabbinical requirements that the Pharisees had laid on people: “Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1). Similarly, Peter at the Jerusalem council arg
When a birth takes place the individual involved is not born into isolation, nor is he a totally unique individual in the sense that his characteristics and attributes have no connection with those who have gone before. For one thing, he is born into a family and into family relations. For another,
In John's understanding, the potential child of God is first made alive by God, as a result of which he comes to believe on Christ, pursue righteousness, and love the brethren.In John’s understanding, the potential child of God is first made alive by God, as a result of which he comes to believe on
At the end of the preceding chapter John has spoken quite sharply about the need to love, saying, "If a man says, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?" But it is entirely possible that a p
The second area in which love finds perfection is in reference to our love for the brethren; for it is there, according to John, that real love is to be seen and measured. John begins this section by a broad statement: “We love him, because he first loved us.” But lest a person apply this to a love
