This is a long post, but a great illustration to help us understand 1 John. John Piper, in a sermon, “The Strong Need Strength,” Compare 1 John for a moment to a letter that a mother writes to her daughter who has gone away to college. The mother gets word that there has been … More Piper: John wants to motivate the fight with the confidence of victory
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.—1 John 2:1-2 … More Christ is our attorney
1 John 1:5-7 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. John Piper comments: What is the main value of light? Negatively, it helps you avoid danger. Positively, it helps you reach what you are after. When you … More No lurking shadows in God
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 4 Charles H. Spurgeon: No parents can say from their hearts, “We have no greater joy than to hear that our children walk in truth,” unless they are themselves walking in truth. No wolf prays for its … More What gives [Christian] parents the greatest joy?
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:12 John Piper gives this illustration to help us understand: In the film, Passage to India, there was a young Indian doctor who had been arrested for allegedly assaulting a young English woman in India. The … More The connection between TRUSTING and HAVING
1 John 4:16-19 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as … More Confidence in His Perfect Love
Here is a Shane and Shane video, intermixed with a clip from John Piper, that expresses the truth of 1 John 3:19-21 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, … More God is Greater
John tells us (1 John 4:1), “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” Paul said something like that, too. After saying that we should “not despise prophetic utterances,” he added, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:20-21). Steven J.Cole … More Who IS Jesus and WHY does it matter?
Steven Cole on 1 John 3:11-18- If we get weary of hearing over and over about the need to love one another, we should remember that John wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who knows our hearts. We need to examine ourselves constantly because our default mode is to revert to selfishness, not … More How do we square what John says with what we actually experience?
1 John 3:11-15 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do … More John is offering us a way to test our life
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