I am just going to say it, most of us don’t like being told to obey. It cuts against our preconceived idea that we know what is best for ourselves. In many ways it is one of the big reasons that people steer clear of Christianity, because they feel like they will be forced to obey rules and regulations rather than determine their own direction. So when John calls for radical obedience as evidence for our faith it could reinforce this fear. Join us as Pastor Joe helps us navigate how a life of obedience can actually be the most liberating life to live.
1 John 2:3-11
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoeverkeeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.