punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love we love because he first loved us if anyone says I love God and hates his brother he is a liar for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen and this is Commandment we have from him, whoever loves God must also love his brother. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. And everyone who loves the father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God. When we love God and obey his commandments, For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God? Let's pray. Father, we have We have praised you and worshipped you through song. We have called upon you and worshipped you in prayer. Lord, now would you speak to us through your word. We thank you so much for leaving us this great record of your truth, for in it contains eternal life, for we hear of Christ. We can see Jesus clearly from your word. And I ask that we might see Jesus once again. And Lord, we ask that the proper effect would happen, and that's that we would have victory, that we would be overcomers, that we would have joy into the full. And so if we would see Jesus this afternoon, that would happen. If we would see him aright and we would trust and depend upon him. And so, Lord, we ask for your blessing even now. It's through Jesus I ask this. Amen. So last time we considered the gift of the Holy Spirit and the effects of the Holy Spirit working in us. And the conclusion or the end of chapter four, which really carries on into chapter five, we see something about love for God and love for the brother. And so in verse 1 of chapter 5, he comes back to this overarching statement, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. First part of chapter 5, the first part of verse 1, believing in Jesus as the Christ is essential for salvation. He continues to return there, but then we're going to go other places. He's going to lead us into If you have believed upon Christ, if you have truly been born of God, if you have faith, then there will be an effect. You will certainly begin to love God. You will begin to love those that are also born of him. But belief, let's not skip over or not go too fast. Belief that Jesus is the Christ is essential for salvation. We see that at the beginning of verse one. Everyone who believes in Jesus as the anointed one who brings salvation to sinners has been born of God. I'll say something a little later about that belief, but this truth continues to come up over and over in this letter that John writes to these Christians. believing that Jesus is the Christ is essential for salvation. So when we want to share the gospel, we want to be proclaimers of the good news. We tell the details of the life of Jesus Christ and we also tell the details of his death. What was he doing when he went to the cross? We tell him that he was taking the place of sinners and he was receiving punishment for sinners. And we see that he even died for sinners. We want to tell them this good news, but we also tell them that they must believe. They must trust in Christ, for we know that any person that's been born of God must believe. And oh, now as we look back after we have believed, we look back and we say, thank you, Lord, for this gift of faith, for we have believed. And why does that happen? Because we've been born of God. He's given us new life. He has regenerated us. So the Bible indeed says that Jesus is the only one who can save. Is there another who can save? We think about for our own life, our own understanding, our own looking around in different directions for some sort of salvation or deliverance. And scripture says that Jesus is the one who provides that. Being a gospel witness is so important. We first must believe this truth ourself, but being a gospel witness is important because others Others don't know the place to look for deliverance. They don't know clearly they can see something of God in the creation, but until they hear the words of the gospel, then they can't have saving faith. We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing is the message of Christ or the Word of God, you see. Many people look different places for deliverance. Every once in a while, it's important for us to remember that. For our own life, certainly we're tempted to do that. We're tempted to believe on something else, to seek salvation or deliverance in another way. How sad is the state of the person that's looking somewhere else? How vain are the attempts of the flesh to produce salvation for itself. We are reminded from Isaiah 44. I think this is important for us again to think on from time to time. Isaiah 44, if you'll turn back there with me, Isaiah 44. For we know that anyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. They are the ones that have eternal life. Those are the ones that have true life. But Isaiah 44, we find some looking and attempting to have deliverance in a different way. Verse 14. this description of those that worship idols. He cuts down cedars, for he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. So what does that have to do with a person seeking for deliverance? Verse 15, Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself. He kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it, makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over half he eats meat, he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, aha, I'm warm, I have seen the fire. The rest of it he makes into a God, his idol, falls down to it and worships it and prays to it and says, deliver me for you are my God. This passage, as we look further in 1 John, we're going to see about the fact that there is indeed true deliverance and true victory. There's an overcoming of the world. How might we have this experience of salvation? Well, it's not going to be from a tree that you use part of it to heat your cook your food and to warm your body and part of it to make an image to worship and fall down before. No. There is only the one who was hung on the tree who provides salvation. And it is everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Praise the Lord for his gift of salvation. He gives the Holy Spirit. He gives new life, spiritual life. We're born from above. And we believe, we trust, and we depend upon Christ. Another from Isaiah. 46, you can just turn a page back or a couple pages back in Isaiah 46. Again, we see the vanity of seeking salvation in any other place other than Christ. It is empty to seek salvation or deliverance bent in help from another place, beginning in verse 3 of Isaiah 46. Listen to me, O house of Jacob. All the remnant of the house of Israel have been born by me from before your birth, carried from the womb. Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made and I will bear, I will carry and will save. To whom will you liken me and make me equal and compare me that we may be alike? Those who lavish gold from the purse weigh it out and weigh out silver in the scales hire a goldsmith and he makes it into a god and they fall down in worship. They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place and it stands there. It cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble. Again, we're talking about overcoming and having victory. Are we going to have victory through an idol, through an object of gold or silver? No, the idol is what must be carried. The idol cannot carry you, you must carry it. And the idol cannot save, for only God can carry us, and only God can save us, not these images. Let's turn back to 1 John 5, Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. You have to believe and you say, well, yes, I believe this is more than just an intellectual ascent for we're talking about saving faith here. We're talking about saving faith. This is a wholehearted trust in the saving work of Christ. You actually depend upon Jesus Christ when you have the belief that is described in the scriptures. This scripture, this belief that is evidence that a person has been born of God, evidenced by evidence is the fact that a person has been born of God. This would be what we would consider saving faith. Wholehearted trust dependence there. You have no other hope. It's not just as if you're trying to get some benefit for Jesus to have temporal blessing, though the Lord does bless us temporally. There's no question about it. But this is eternal help. This is salvation of the soul. This is the only way by which a person can live for all eternity rather than being punished or die for all eternity for their sins against God. Everyone who believes, they must believe that Jesus is the Christ. He is the way. Hope is found in no other one. So what effect does believing that Jesus is the Christ have on a person? What effect does being born of God have on a person? And so here we will see some of the effects and we're going to see something of the commands of God. I hope that you're not turned off by the word command of God for we will see God's graciously, has graciously given us his commands. So we look at the second half, the rest of that verse 1 from 1st John chapter 5, it says, Everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him. This is something that happens if a person has saving faith, if they've been regenerated, they begin to love God the Father who graciously sent His Son so that they might have life through Him. Of course, this is a given and we have John has pointed it out in chapter three, verse one, see what kind of love the father has given to us in light of the father's love. We certainly begin to love him. We love because he first loved us. Our chapter four and verse 16. So we I read this earlier, but it says chapter four, verse 16. We have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. Once a person is born of God, God abides in the Christian by the Holy Spirit. Spent time last week looking at that. And so the Christian now is indwelt with the Holy Spirit and the Christian is enabled to love. Again, our love does not save us. We say this, and John, as he goes down through, I see regeneration, God giving new life. We can see that God is the one that makes us right with himself through his son, through the saving work of Jesus Christ. And then we see the effects, or we see how God sets us apart further from the world. And so the setting apart is certainly a person begins to love those that have been born of him. Well, we can't confuse those, but I hope that you will see both of these things being spoken of from the scripture. The Christian begins to love God and all the children of God, everyone who loves the father loves whoever has been born of him. All the children of God are brothers and sisters to one another. I like to remind myself, I think it will be good for you to be reminded of brothers and sisters and a healthy family, a functional family. There is a certainly a measure of love between the brothers and sisters. And so in the family of God, a greater measure, a more profound the it's a it's an eternal family. It's a family that You cannot be separated from, so why would you try to separate yourself from the other members in the family? Or why would you hate those in the family of God? This is serious. Again, the Bible teaches us to love one another. We see that those who are born of Him, they do love one another. And so when we experience lack of love for one another, this should get our attention. Don't let it, don't let it, don't go on in your lack of love toward the brethren. All that are saved love the children of God. If we don't love our brother, then we cannot love God. We read that last week. Again, we're hearing many of the same things over and over. So the big question is, I'm saying, if you experience lack of love, what it would be lack of love to the brethren? You can come up probably lots of examples from many scriptures that characterize and picture to us that love displayed in the family of God. But verse two tells us how we can know if we love the children of God. Here we go. We have light on this question of how do I know if I am actually loving the children of God? And verse two of chapter five, by this we know that we have love. We love the children of God. May read that again beginning in chapter two or no chapter five. the second verse, by this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey His commandments. We're going to see something of the commandments of God here, but this point You might be thinking we're going on and on. John saying the same thing over and over again. He's saying, love God, love others, obey God. And this is correct. This only is because he is first loved us. But God says. Love the brothers and here is a little more understanding that he adds to what he's already told us. It is important to know if we're actually living out this simple teaching from 1st John. And so everyone who loves the father loves whoever is born of him. Now here's how you can know if you love those that are born of him. You love the children of God when you love God and obey his commandment. These two are connected. Love of the brethren and love of God are connected. You can't have one without the other. How do I know if I really love God? I can't see God. So what does loving God look like? Is love for God a feeling inside, alone? Certainly, if we have been affected by the gospel, it will produce an emotion, joy in the Lord, no doubt. But sometimes we don't feel so good inside. I don't know about you. Some days you don't feel so good inside. You don't feel so loving. Does that mean that you do not love God? Well. If we pulled people We went around and we polled people. We could go to the shopping center, wherever people are passing by, and we say, do you love God? Many, maybe most, would say, of course I love God. I have always loved God. Those that were raised around the church, many would say this. There is no question in my mind, I love God. So how is this person so sure that they love God? That's a good thing to know. We don't have to try to analyze their feelings and we don't have to even try to analyze our feelings to know if we love God. For the scripture says that we can be assured that we love God by the statement, When we love God, we love God and obey his commandments, obey his commandments. So how can I know if I love the children of God? Well, the answer given in verse two is loving the children of God is loving God and obeying his commandments. How do I love God is answered in verse three. So look down there in verse three, for this is the love of God. that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. We're not going to analyze our feelings to know if we love God and therefore love the children of God. We're going to look at something like verse three or other places in scripture. This is the love of God. We keep his commandments. This is what It looks like to love God. We keep his commandments. We love God by obeying God. Again, you might hear obedience and you're thinking it's not something I do. But indeed, you'll see. Love for God is not just a saying, I love God. Rather, it is demonstrated in obedience to his commandments. So we obey the commands of God. And His commandments are not burdensome. The end of verse 3, and His commandments are not burdensome. What did Jesus say? He said, my yoke is easy and my burden is light. So whatever it means to obey the commandments of God, we're going to understand that it's not a slavish obedience. It's not a It's not as if the commandments of God are going to weigh us down. The Christian is not going around with the heavy weight of the commands of God on their shoulder. If that is the way you feel, you need to see at the end of verse 3, His commandments are not burdensome. We saw last time that the Christian does not live in fear. They don't live in fear, I must obey the commandments of God or I will be punished eternally, unless we're considering the command to trust in Christ, to believe upon Him. The commandments of God are not burdensome, rather the commandments of God set us free. Look back to chapter 3 and verse 23, 1 John 3, 23. This is His commandment that we believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as He commanded us. The commandments are not burdensome. They don't press us down. They're not an oppressive force. It's not such a grievous burden that we're unable to function. The commandments of God do not cause us to be restricted to the point where we can't have freedom. No, the commandments of God set us free, primarily the commandment to believe upon his son must be obeyed first and foremost. How can following a list of rules set you free? Because God's command is that all believe in Christ, all trust in his son. The commands of God lead you into right relationship with God through Christ. This is the commandment that we believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ. That's certainly the primary focus that needs to be upon our mind as we try to understand how is it that the commandments of God are not burdensome. I hear from some of you young people that the commands of your parents feel somewhat burdensome. Young one, if you want to go do something or you want this privilege in the house and mom or dad says no, that you're not going to be able to do that. Oh, you feel so weighed down. But God's commands set us free. So if we rightly understand and we follow God's commands, then we will have joy and freedom. There will be no sense of oppression. How are the commandments of God freeing? Well, obeying the commandments of God lead a person to overcoming the world. We see that in verses four and five. Obeying the commandments of God lead a person to overcoming the world. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. This is verse four. This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? There is victory in Jesus. That would be a fitting song to sing as we consider these verses of Scripture. Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. The Christian is currently overcoming. Sometimes you feel oppressed or you feel downtrodden. But the truth is there's victory in Christ. The Christian experiences victory and overcoming even now. Our victory is not bound to something in the future alone. For we know that Christians have victory. The victory in the Christian life is in the process of happening right now. And you say, how? What is this? Well, first, we need to know that it comes by this victory has overcome the world. The victory that has overcome the world is our faith, according to the rest of verse four. So faith is what we have when we believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ. Faith is trusting and depending upon Jesus for salvation. Where is our faith? Have you put your faith in something that you can do? Maybe some of you have erected some sort of piece of wood or a statue out in your yard. People do that all around here, you know. They'll pay a person to carve something with a chainsaw, pay a lot of money, and then they'll stand it up in their yard. You might have that, but our faith is not in something such as that. As we saw from Isaiah, that some people were putting their faith in an object of wood. Our faith is not in a precious metal object that we set on the shelf. It can't carry us. We must carry it. Our faith is not in this object up on the shelf providing salvation for us. There are people in the world that certainly have that faith, even now. Sometimes, though, we might put the faith in the work of our hands. Look what I can do. I can make it. Christian faith is faith in Christ. Saving faith is faith in the finished work of Christ. When he was on the cross and he cried out, it is finished, the debt had been paid. All that call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. All that trust in his atoning death, they trust in What he has done for them is Pastor Carl prayed Christ. Righteousness is what we need. We need an alien righteousness, something that's outside of us that is imputed to us. We need this and we trust and depend upon Christ for righteousness. How are the commandments of God freeing? The commandments of God, the command of God to believe upon his son sets you free indeed. The command of Christ to believe upon his son causes you to overcome the world. You won't be overcome by the world, but rather you will overcome the world as you obey the command of God. For it is believing in Jesus that leads to victory and freedom, freedom from the slavery to sin. Oh, have you been in bondage, brother and sister? Don't forget where you were when you were dead in your sins and trespasses. You were in bondage to that sin. But the victory that comes in Jesus Christ delivers us from that bondage, sets us free from slavery to sin. Obeying the commandments of God is first and foremost believing that Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Savior of the world. Believing in Jesus leads to freedom from eternal punishment for our sin. There's no condemnation. We're not guilty before God Almighty because we have obeyed this command of God that is, believe upon my Son. Jesus was punished in our place. Jesus has been victorious and we too are victorious in him. We have been set free from the world, free from the power of Satan. We overcome. So there are benefits certainly to obeying all the commands of God. But let your obedience to God begin with obeying the gospel. Don't get the order wrong. Is that once you have been born of God, then you'll begin to be more obedient in more areas by God's grace, by his work of sanctification. But first come to his son and call upon him. The Bible tells us that that Philippian jailer says, what must I do to be saved? Believe upon Jesus Christ. Believe. If the sun sets you free, you are free indeed. Faith alone does not overcome the world, it is faith in Jesus. It causes us to overcome the world, to rejoice and have triumph, you see. It is in Christ. Focus upon Jesus. Come to Him once again. If you feel like that you're being oppressed, you feel like that Satan is getting the upper hand, draw near to God. Resist the devil. He will flee from you. And draw near to God through Christ alone. Come to Him once again. After we believe. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one? This is verse five. I need to read it again. And who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God? If we claim victory in this room, it's not because we have this feeling of victory. It's because we're believing upon Jesus Christ. If you have believed upon Jesus Christ, this is evidence that you've been born of God. And if you have done this and God has done this work of salvation in you, you'll begin to love the children of God. There's a great overcoming here. I've said that the commandments of God are not burdensome. So if the command sets you free, clearly you must be able to see freedom in Jesus Christ, obeying the gospel. We got that right. That's where the freedom is found. But do you know that freedom in Christ leads to freedom in all areas of life? So there is some application to be made. You know, freedom in Christ sets us free from trying to save ourselves by our own works. For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm. Do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Trying to be right before God by obedience to the law. These people, they have fallen away from grace. You're set free from toiling to try to win God's approval. God approves of his son. The father is delighted in his son and it's through his son that we might have freedom. Freedom in Christ. This is, again, and I think an application of the commandments of God are not burdensome. We see that freedom in Christ and all of us, I hope, can say, yes, I will. I have freedom in Christ and I want to experience more of it. Well, then Christ is going to give us freedom in all areas of our life, such as freedom from love of the things of this world. The Christian is set free from worshiping the things of this world, from idol worship. Why do we keep going back over and over? It's very popular verses for us. 1 John 2, verses 15 through 17. Why do we keep going back to this over and over? Certainly in a prosperous culture, we are going to be given to this. We're going to be tempted to love the things of the world. But the Scripture says, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away along with its desires. Whoever does the will of God abides forever. Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And Christ sets us free, free from love of the things of the world. What would it profit us if we gained the whole world and forfeited our soul? What could we give in return for our soul? Absolutely nothing. Do you want to be free? First, you must come to Christ and trust in Him for salvation. Second, you need to be set free in all areas. We need to be set free. I've had time to reflect. on the last three years in China. Once I was speaking to some some guys about some things I do in the United States of America. We're talking about freedom in Christ now and the commandments of God not being burdensome. Well, I told these guys some of the things about how I would hunt deer and I'd go fishing in ponds. And one guy said this, life here, speaking of in China, life is like a bird in a cage. But the life you describe sounds like you're a bird out of the cage. That's what the Chinese guy thought about the life in America that I had somewhat described to him. Do you know that actually it's very easy to be burdened with taking care of land? Managing land and lakes takes time and energy. And if you're not careful, land will become a curse rather than a blessing. So as I reflect upon that conversation in China, and we're thinking about the commands of God being freeing and freedom in Jesus Christ, you must be careful. Anything that is of secondary importance that takes too much of our time and energy is a curse. Some would say that life in America is the free life. Life without burden. But I can tell you that maybe I was more free in China, maybe more free to focus on the Lord, the thing that is most important. The commands of God set us free. He knows what we need. We need salvation. We need reconciliation for we are his enemy. And then there's a mediator, Jesus Christ was sent. So now, if any man's in Christ, he has peace with God. There's no condemnation or guilt. And then we go on and we see all of these good commands that God has given us, not to love the things of the world. Now, freedom in Christ leads to freedom from loving money, working to get rich. Any of us that are trying to work to get rich, let's go ahead and stop now. There's no freedom in that endeavor. For those that desire to be rich, they fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires and plunge people into ruin and destruction. Brother Mitchell has been bringing that out the last several weeks through Ecclesiastes. The danger of wealth and toiling just to acquire wealth. Praise God, if he makes us wealthy, let us use it. Let us be rich in good works. Freedom in Christ leads to freedom from laziness. See, first we got to be set free in Christ, then the commands of God, they are not so burdensome, you see. Because we can see the wisdom in it. Freedom in Christ leads to Freedom from putting yourself first. If anyone, Jesus said, will come after me, let him deny himself. Take up his cross and follow me. Was Jesus giving a suggestion when he described discipleship? Did he say, well, you can come after me, but you don't have to deny yourself. You don't have to take up the confession of Christ, the fact that our Savior has been crucified on a cross like a condemned sinner. If you don't want to say those words, you can still follow me. You don't want to bear this testimony. Or did he say, you can go your own way, but you can still be my disciple? No. He said, You want to be free, then you've got to deny yourself. You've got to take up your cross and you've got to follow me. We're free in Christ. We're free from putting ourself first. Freedom in Christ leads to freedom from the fear of death. Again, I will Sometimes folks don't make it to the Sunday school hours, so I'll commend to you Ecclesiastes, the end of chapter six and through the first part of chapter seven, what Brother Mitchell was bringing to us this morning. And as I was meditating on freedom in Christ, that was one thing that came to my mind, freedom from fear of death. We're not afraid to lose our life for the sake of the gospel, because we know if we do that, we'll find it. We're not afraid to die daily. Paul says, offer your body as a living sacrifice. We're dying daily. And why? Because we're actually gaining life. We've been set free in Christ. The commandments of God are not burdensome. And we're free. Freedom in Christ frees us to live a life of love. You were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. So Jesus doesn't free us up to sin, you say. It's not for the flesh that he's made us free, but through love, serve one another. That's from Galatians chapter five, verse 13. Christ has set us free to love. And so we've spoken about the commandments of God, centrally the commandment to believe upon His Son. And this commandment's not burdensome. Anybody that's not trusted Christ, don't delay. Trust Him, believe in Him today, and you will be set free. This is the commandment of God. Believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ. Come to him for salvation. You need it, whether you feel it or that you need this salvation or not. And when you experience it. You will be free. The commandment to believe in Jesus is not burdensome, but rather it is freeing and it gives victory and we overcome. And actually, all the commands of God after you have trusted Christ, they're not burdensome either. They're freeing. Thank the Lord that he tells us what to do. He did not tell us to go our own way. He didn't say. He didn't reject us and push us away. But we find that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ has been born of God. We find out that. Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And we know that that victory is possible to overcome the world through faith in Christ. Faith in Christ, let us pray. Father, I do ask that you will stir us once again. What a gift, the gift of faith. I've called these that have heard me to believe. I've commanded them, I've exhorted them to believe. For the scripture tells the people to believe upon Christ and you'll be saved. We also know from your scriptures that this is a gift. Oh, Father, we ask that you would continually give this gift. We need continually the prayer of Jesus for Peter. He prayed that his faith might not fail. Oh, God, we need your sustaining power. We thank you for your saving power. We thank you for your scriptures teaching us of your keeping power. May we see your commands are right tonight. May we see them not as burdensome. Lord, when we see ourself disobeying you and falling short of your commands, may we come to Christ, for we know he has obeyed your commands perfectly. Even then we will be set free in a further measure. Father, we ask for your blessings upon us even now. Minister your your grace to this congregation. Lord, there are some that have not trusted your son that are not believing in Christ. I would imagine. And so, Lord, I pray that you would grant him faith. And there are some who are weak in their faith. I ask, Lord, that you strengthen us by looking to Christ. Make us strong, we pray, for the week is ahead of us. We ask for your grace in it, that we might indeed love you and love those who have been born of God and be a Christian witness to this world. And so, Jesus, I ask these blessings.