[This message is part of a series through the book of 1 John, entitled "Salvific Assurance Through Testimony," preached by Pastor Senter].
"I know folks who think their life is completely within their own hands. This is a naive thought."
Please look at 1 John 5:10. Today we continue within this thought process, although we do not focus upon the trinity as the previous verses clearly did. We look at the Person of Christ Jesus and His testimony within us – the testimony that comes from us. This is a life or death issue.
“It is a matter of life or death” has been abused as a cliché for many years; however, there really are matters that boil down to this fact. I know that among safety-conscious hunters and others who handle firearms, how you treat a rifle, a pistol, or a shotgun is a matter of life or death . When I did an Internet search of this phrase, I received 12,000 hits or places where it is used. Some of the first were spiritually-oriented sites. One of the first was a conservative site that gives the gospel – that was refreshing. Yet, on the other end of the spectrum, I found a web site that, in a very convoluted paragraph that begins with an uninformed discussion of co-existence and ends with a discussion on the use of an apostrophe after a word as though it were a “matter of life or death.” As if the use of an apostrophe in the plural versus the possessive was in such a category. There were discussions about food production in troubled countries, family lifestyle changes for better health, and even an excerpt from a Bible exposition commentary by Warren W. Wiersbe, concerning 1 John 4:7-16.
In our passage today, we find this discussion focused upon life eternal, not just a generic description of life. Our discussion today is on a life eternal and that is developed from the belief in the Savior. There is nowhere else eternal life can be presumed except with God. Any other contemplation for eternal life is a fool’s game born of arrogance. People cast the term “life or death” around very flippantly, however God’s concern is not with the temporal, but with the eternal. John began with a testimony from God concerning salvation in His Son and the beginning of His ministry to open the door to all who would believe. People trivialize this issue severely, life and death. I know folks who think their life is completely within their own hands. This is a naive thought. No one has control over an unseen embolism in the brain, or an unseen blockage in an artery. People might be able to thwart the blockage with diet, but embolisms or a week walled artery that bursts is not within the individual’s control. Only God can foresee these events, and control them. This scripture is given, therefore, because “Though we consider issues of life and death in the temporal world, God wants our focus to be eternal; where His is.”
I. Testimony of origin (verse 10)
Origin – that is a big word this year because of a secular and satanic celebratory event – the 200th anniversary of the birth date of the author, Charles R. Darwin, who wrote a hypothesis called “On the Origin of Species.” This hypothetical supposition lays the foundations of all the world’s living organisms at the hands of chance. Though scientifically, mathematically, and theologically proven impossible, this secular testimony of the origin of life remains at the forefront of the minds of our major scientific institutions today. I could go into a whole list of elements and reasons from personal experience that bear this thought process and the science of so many out to be false. However, this is not a science class, and it is not an argument against science as a whole. This is a theological sermon based in the truths presented in scripture, not the suppositions and personal cogitations of any one man. The testimony of origin here concerns eternal life, an aspect that those who ardently believe in Darwin’s work very vehemently deny.
The question, put so well by the Apostle Paul is, “What does the scripture say (Rom 4:3)?” Five times in this epistle John accuses the Secessionists of lying, or of their making God a liar if they do not accept the Son as the Savior and as God (1:10, 2:4, 22; 4:20; 5:10). Also, these words in the passage we look at today are in the present active form. These people either believe or they do not. They are practicing this belief, or they are denying the truth. There is no in-between.
It never ceases to amaze me how much like our children we continue to be, even when we are provided better wisdom outside ourselves. I used to point out to my children how foolish their argument in understanding was, when they came home with “But Mary said…” All Mary can relay is an equivalent childlike understanding of a concept. It does not change for some, as they grow older. Instead of seeking the truth where the best authority lies, they still ask others their opinion as if to say, “But Joe said…” Try that one on God – see how far you get. When you get to the judgment seat of Christ, try this on Him: say to God, “But Charles Darwin said…” I bet God will reply much like I did as a father when I said, “But Mary’s last name is not Senter.” Think about it folks. People all over this nation are seeking the purpose in life, the reason for living, and the origin of life. People all over this country, all over the world for that matter, are looking for the answer to eternal life. Here we have a book written by God Himself in the Holy Spirit, and people still say, “But Dr. So-and So said he thinks this…” Who cares what some supposedly wise person or learned individual might say. The fact is that the Word of God is determinant and decisive. It is active and sharp and cuts deep into the soul. God’s Word as it is contained in the Christian Canon, that includes the 66 books in the Holy Bible, tells of eternal life and how it is to be achieved. No other book whether it claims to be God’s Word or not, can tell you how to achieve it. The truth is here in the Holy Scriptures–the 66 books of the canon that excludes the Apocrypha. The 66 books of the canon that are not the Book of Mormon. The 66 books of the canon that are not the “Doctrine And Covenants” or “Pearl of Great Price.” The 66 books of the canon that are not the Qur’an. The 66 books of the Bible that are not in the New World Translation. We seek eternal life with God. We do not seek the approval of men for it. Folks I pray you understand that these scriptures place you individually responsible for what is contained therein. You are responsible for knowing, your self, how to attain eternal life.
Anyone who has seen any of the books I listed, or read any excerpt from them understands the challenges they have with truth. They are equivalent to Darwin’s humanist hypothesis concerning life’s beginnings here on earth. These 66 books written in the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic are the only true Word of God. All others are satanic in origin and are meant for deception resulting in condemnation for all who believe in them.
What does this scripture tell us concerning how that is done? What is the testimony of God in these scriptures?
A. Testimony for God
The first two words in this verse are very telling. Literally, they read, “the one believing.” It is a singular participle directed at the individual. These are the active words I mentioned earlier. It speaks of any individual who personally believes and continually believes. A believer is someone who practices this as a continuing action. This exercise is ongoing in this person’s life. What is it that they are to believe? In the Son of God. What was the testimony of the previous study? That Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He is the one who came to save man, to deliver the world from sin.
Last week we studied the three testimonies of the Godhead concerning Christ Jesus. One of them was the testimony of Jesus Himself at the Last Supper. There are other scriptures in which Jesus speaks specifically concerning Himself. Jesus claims Himself to be the bread of life in John 6:35, 48, and 51, saying whoever believes in Him shall never thirst or hunger. In John 8:12 we read that Jesus is the light of the world. Whoever follows Him will walk in the light of life, not in darkness of death. In verse 18 we find that the Father and the Son bear witness of Jesus. In verse 24 of the Gospel of John, Jesus very specifically states that He is the one to die “in our sins.” We are challenged in these scriptures to life. If we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, our lives will reflect this and our eternal destination and life become more clear to us every day. John 11:25-26 is even more demanding, where Jesus states that He is the resurrection and the life. Life resides within Him and is under His control. Anyone who may die in the body will live again in His eternal kingdom. You have heard many times, “I am the way the truth and the light, no one comes unto the father but by me (John 14:6).” If we are to believe the testimony of John, we are given the testimony of God the Father, and the Holy Spirit Himself came down to Jesus, inspected Him and found Him acceptable–we find no reason to disbelieve these claims of Christ.
Jesus is the Son of God unto Salvation. Believe in Him.
Now we have seen that there is clear scriptural evidence of a testimony for God. Let’s look at what stands against Him.
B. Testimony against God
People and man’s reason stand against God. People claim the Bible is a series of stories gathered over time. Some scholars practice a literary criticism exercise called “Form Criticism,” which takes a story as written and analyzes the literary form to develop a map supposedly identifying the origins of the writings that have been compiled. They claim they can identify dates, the author’s attitude, and motives as well as their emotions during the time of writing. This is also known as “Higher” criticism. Many theologians scoff at this so-called art because the ones who have practiced it on the Bible have said they find a series of writers within individual books. This leads to a belief of rescensions – changes to scripture over time. The Form Critic finds a variety of authors in scripture. They have labeled some of these authors, “Jahwist” or “J,” “Elohist” or “E,” “Deuteronomist” or “D,” and they see a “Priestly” or “P” author. For instance, within Exodus 11-13 they would claim that J and E wrote most of chapter 11. P is responsible for 12:1-20 (both Moses and Aaron). J and E pick up again at 12:21 through 39. Then P begins his story again at verse 40 and it runs through 51. Finally, the writer “D” gets their part in chapter 13:1-16. These beliefs are based on an identification of differing literary or writing styles that they see as the text flows. The irony is that they claim to believe in the Scriptures, yet in this analysis they teach that the testimony of continuous, authoritative, and truthful scripture is false. Their efforts lower scripture to be just a compiled set of moral guidelines and vague historical understandings or mythical stories. They would claim people over time have written all these different stories, and that someone cut these pieces out of their original accounts, and spliced them together to give us the narrative we have today. Much like the evolutionary fantasy, this literary dissection, which claims a concatenation of multiple literary works, baffles the imagination. Though some claim they believe scripture, in their exercise they would deny that you lean on Scripture as pure truth.
There are also those who perform textual analysis, called “Textual Critics.” This form of literary criticism looks at the existing copies of texts available and assesses the reliability and accuracy of the text as well as attempting to derive as original a copy as possible. They want to develop the most pure form of the original text from this series of copies. They are known as “Lower” critics. I do not know if the inference is intended (Higher Criticism meaning a more intellectual approach, and Lower Criticism a lesser one); however, those who practice Form Criticism normally have little respect for Textual Critics. Yet, the Form Critic would admit that before they can do their work, they must have as original a copy as possible; therefore, they subordinate themselves to the Textual Critic. Textual Criticism is the form we depend upon to receive our best copies of manuscripts, since writers of manuscripts wrote with varying levels of legibility.Textual Critics analyze scribal notes in margins, assess work from various scriptoriums where texts were reproduced, and weed out common character or word pronunciation errors in texts. They differentiate between present tense “read” and past tense “read” as well as the color “red,” for example, looking at context and historic representation to determine which word is appropriate.
Who, then, should we lean upon for truth? Individuals who attempt to exercise the reason of man to assess the veracity, authority, and validity of scripture… or the testimony of scripture itself in the comparing of copies in order to derive as original a manuscript as possible? I see no form critics exercising their art on evolutionary textbooks, or the writings of Darwin. If a book claims to be from an author, they seem to accept this premise.
Form critics analyzed many of C.S. Lewis’ works while he was still alive. C.S. Lewis was later interviewed and presented the results. Very few of the Form Critic’s findings were found factual. C. S. Lewis, was a literary master. In an article concerning C. S. Lewis’ opinions on Form Criticism, Reverend Valentine Long, a Franciscan said,
Lewis found that method of exegesis an unreliable system of guesswork, which defies tradition, which claims to have information beyond what the texts themselves supply, which pretends to know the sources each writer used, the precise time and place in which he wrote, why he wrote and under what influence. The Christian apologist had a personal incentive for distrusting it, having had some of his own books gone over “in just this way”-and almost always erroneously. For example, his essay on William Morris into which he had put most of his heart because he really cared, a higher-critic type of reviewer dismissed as a heartless piece of writing with the reason why: the writer was not interested. The humor of an arrogant method almost always going wrong, as applied to his works, brought from Lewis the comment that the scriptural authors so maltreated cannot talk back.”
Folks, God’s word is consistent throughout our canon. The different authors were able to maintain this consistent witness because God superintended the writing. It is too simple a concept for many to understand, that God supervised the writing of His revelation through over 35 different people over thousands of years.
The best assessment of God’s Word is God’s Word. He is the only one Who was there during the entire writing of the book.
What is God’s testimony then? What does God say in His word?
C. God’s testimony
First - John 3:16-17 tells us that whoever believes in the Son of God for eternal life, shall have eternal life because the Son came to save the world, not condemn it. In John 5:34, we find that Jesus told us these things so that we could be saved. He told us to believe in Him for the purpose of our salvation from an eternal torment. Acts 1:21 tells us that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord for shall be saved. Come to repentance; come to an understanding that you must be freed from sin, and call upon the name of Jesus Christ for salvation. In Acts 3:12, we are told that there is no other name, no other person, no other way to be saved than to call upon the name of Jesus Christ. We are told in Ephesians 1:8 that we are saved through the great grace of God who gives us the faith to believe in Him. We exercise nothing to merit this gift. Romans 10:9 and 10 tells us that our confession verbally of Christ Jesus as Savior and Redeemer, our belief in Him provides us salvation from shame, condemnation, and eternal punishment.
The only way to salvation then is through a heart-felt belief, a dependence upon the Savior for your salvation. Believing in man’s reason and analysis of God will not get you saved. Man’s reason did not bring this world into existence. He can only attempt to understand it, and that is not always successful.
Looking at the testimony of God and His Son, what does the Son provide us?
II. Testimony of provision (verse 11)
Eternal life. We receive life eternal. There is life, and then there is life within the grace of God. This is the testimony of scripture. We can live here on earth and take all that we can get our hands on, and in this live for 60-80 years – maybe, unless we are taken suddenly by some physical ailment. Folks, I know a young married couple, and as they were finishing their college education at Bob Jones University, the wife developed cancer. This was at the age of 19 or 20 years old. She is in heaven now. The cancer she had was highly unusual for a woman her age. What a wonderful testimony she and her husband had, though. They depended upon the Lord for all that they received, and saw her death for the blessing to her that it was. As I understood from talking with her husband (we worked together), she was a vibrant, and beautiful and wonderful young woman. Yet, the Lord took her home to Him. Folks, you never know what is going to happen. Another example is a young man who was a U.S. Marine and is now in a Veterans Retirement Home where I ministered. He is now probably 34 years old, if he is still alive. I believe he was stricken with Lou Gehrig’s disease, and at the age of 29 he was physically incapacitated, wholly dependent upon others. You simply do not know what might happen. Only God knows.
God has furnished you a way to enjoy life outside this cheap, deceptive, temporal existence. God has first given us His own Son for this purpose, and He has made provision for an endless glory for us all. This life, this eternality is given to us in the Son, who Himself is life and light. There is no other form, fashion, scheme, or way in which to gain eternal life. You may be able to enjoy a great life here on earth, and a great life in heaven. You also may be challenged like Lazarus in Luke 16:19, yet receive your gifts in heaven. God chooses these things no matter how much you think you are in control.
Submit yourself to the Great God of our salvation, to His intentions for your life here. Believe in His Son, and in doing this you gain the right to life eternal with Him.
Who provides this salvation? God the Father.
A. Who provides
Matthew tells us in chapter 22:31-32 that God is a living God, and He is God of the living. The book of Genesis refers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as living, even after their death. Even as God is at this moment their God, even so is He our living God, the God of all who live. Also in 1 Timothy 6:13, Paul tells us that God is the giver of life to all things.
God has already provided for this salvation. He made provision for this when He killed the first creature on earth to spill blood to cover sins, then to clothe Adam and Eve – to cover them. When He said, “the man is now like US knowing good and evil,” He clearly indicates the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Only these three before this moment knew both good and evil. There is no other provision for eternal life from God. Any other claim as a way to eternal life is a fabrication.
This is evident in the works relationship within other belief systems. Every other religion has man doing something to earn salvation, or keep a salvation that is earned. Where a religion requires a pilgrimage, it says god needs you to go to a specific place to be blessed with eternal life. This means that this god has limited abilities – it cannot give it freely but needs something from you to be able to give.
Our Triune God requires nothing of you in order to give eternal life, and asks only that once you receive this great gift, that you grow in knowledge and appreciation of it. As one grows in appreciation of this great gift, you also develop a burden to serve the one Who gave you this gift. This is our God. First, He gives, and then you give.
God provides for our salvation in His Son. We did nothing; in fact, we could argue we did everything possible to throw away this gift.
What is this provision? In what is this eternal life contained?
B. Vessel of provision
Technically, it is not what, but Whom. Being the God of living people, these people need sustenance and provision. This is given through a person, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. We find this in John 6:35– that Jesus is the bread of life, providing life-giving sustenance and water to all who believe. We find in 6:41 that He is likened to manna in the wilderness, the perfect food for a believer, and one dependent upon God for life and existence. In John 6:47-51, we find Jesus describing this very thing, that He is the bread that provides life for all who believe. Further, this life through the provision that He is furnishes not a temporal or earthly existence, but one that is eternal and forever more.
God has provided His Son, and His Son is life to all who believe. Do you believe? Do you really know this eternal life?
We have looked at God, the Son, and the Provision. Now what about believers and their position, their stance? How do they reflect this truth?
III. Testimony of possession (verse 12)
Folks, if you remember, in a previous discussion I pointed out that there are a couple of words in Greek that point to life. There is one that really talks of the spirit and a spiritual life. Equally, one word talks of existing, functional life. This word used here for life– “zoe”– is the word used to discuss an experiential life, living, or existing. Do not try to just correlate this to life on earth, which is an error. This is life, as we know it in many ways; however it is living as a whole. This is life, as we know it in many ways; however it is living as a whole. This is a person who is ”whole” in the gospel sense, living physically as well as spiritually (describing life outside of this physical plane). Ladies and gentlemen, this is life in all of its facets and functions.
What is this verse telling us then, about life as we can have it?
A. Living
Who are those who are living? Very easily, we are discussing those who have the Son, those who depend upon Him, those who have Him in their hearts. We are talking about people who have repented because they see sin in their lives and this compelled them to reach out to a Savior. These people found Jesus Christ. These people know true freedom in a life that is provided here, and a freedom to a life after this physical existence. This is living – knowing you are free because whatever happens in this life, you are anticipating an eternal life.
Live this life in the Freedom provided through the salvation of Christ Jesus. Seek Him for freedom, and no longer be bound to seek pleasure here alone; but seek things eternal. Look to the life you will have eternally in heaven with the Father. The earth and this earthly living is not the end of all there is. Fret not if you have the Savior. If you do not have the Savior, you must be concerned because you receive everything you will ever get while you are here. As one has so aptly put it – “Your best day here will be the best you will ever receive. Conversely, if you know the Savior, the worst day here on earth is the worst day you will ever see.”
Are you living then, or are you dying?
B. Dying
Dying describes many conditions. Physically, we began deteriorating the day we are born. We grow, but our systems begin being used and their lifespan becomes subject to the fact that everything wears out over time. Dying spiritually is wholly another issue. Scripture tells us we currently exist in a position of death, spiritually– being dead in our lawlessness and sin (Eph 2:1). We exist in a death, a separation from God the Father in our current existence. Those who do not live in the Son of God do not live currently, and they will not live eternally. They will all die and are in the process of currently dying slowly, every day. This is both in their physical existence temporally and in their spiritual/physical existence eternally.
Folks, dying is a function of association, not a state in life. Being dead is being separated. Those who do not accept the Atonement of Christ and His salvation are dead because they cannot have a relationship with God. Those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior are alive, because through Him we have a relationship with God. Death is relational – you are either able to have a relationship or not. This is why we are to die daily to our own desires and live daily in Christ and for Him. In this fashion, we see life as an existence with God. The only way we can have an existence with God is to accept the atonement of His Son. In this is life, because He is life to all who believe. Folks, you do not have to die today, even if your existence on this earth ceases. You can live tomorrow, and live even more abundantly than you could ever know.
Do you want to live tomorrow, as you have never known before? Do you want a freedom in life you have never before experienced? Seek Christ Jesus and His salvation gives you this strength.
In summary, in today’s post, we first looked at the beginning, where we first find God. It is not with some reason or cogitation of man, but in God Himself, from God Himself, and of God Himself in His Word. He testified of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. They in turn testified of the Father in their works as well. We have the scriptures to testify of God, and His testimony in scripture is consistent over the entire writing of scripture. We looked at a testimony against God, and looked at its foolish and rebellious nature. We considered God’s testimony in the scriptures, their overall continual testimony, and of Whom the scriptures are a testament. Considering the provider, we looked at what was given in Him. We considered the absolute sacrifice of the provider and the perfection of this provision. Finally, we looked at possession–what we have, what we can have, and what those in the world earn. We briefly considered life and death and what these terms really mean.
God is real. He exists, whether you think He does or not; and He has made provision for us to exist with Him. We can choose life, which is a relationship with God. Or we can choose death, which is separation from God. Life provides a wonderful eternal experience unlike anything we can ever conceive or contemplate. Death provides for a horrid torment lasting forever, and never ceasing. It is your choice. What will it be– life in Christ Jesus, or death in your own works and arrogance? The witness of a person’s life is a matter of life or death.
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