A Daily Walk

John Randall: How can you tell if you're truly a Christian and on your way to heaven? Walking in obedience to God's word reminds us that we know him. It's not enough to just know in theory or in concept or hypothetically. "I know him. I know about him." Do you really know him?

Are you acquainted with Jesus, or do you really know Jesus? Do you know? Because if you do know him, then you will live according to his word. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me." The Bible says, "Whoever names the name of Christ, let him depart from iniquity," not live in iniquity. Depart from it.

Guest (Male): From Calvary South OC, this is A Daily Walk. Pastor John Randall is in the early stages of a study in 1 John. We left off in chapter two. Do you know Jesus? And how can you be absolutely sure? Well, a careful look at your daily walk will help you answer that. We'll learn today that it's more than what a person says. Here is Pastor John to elaborate.

John Randall: Did you know that under the Old Testament sacrificial system, a high priest would go into the Tabernacle, that tent of meeting? And inside the holiest of all places, there was something called the Ark of the Covenant. Are you familiar? The Ark of the Covenant represented the throne of God on the earth. Inside of the Ark of the Covenant were God's commandments, God's requirements.

On top of the Ark of the Covenant, the lid over the Ten Commandments was called the Mercy Seat. And the priest would take the blood of a lamb, and he would go in and he would place the blood on the Mercy Seat and around the Ark of the Covenant. And the Lord said, "When I see the blood, I will speak to you there."

Mercy was on top of the law. A sacrifice had been made, and the people's sins were covered, not removed. Fast forward, Jesus comes as the Lamb of God. And Jesus doesn't go into a temporary physical temple, but he goes to the very throne room of God, the actual throne room. Not the template, not the picture, but the actual. He had offered himself.

His blood had been shed. Therefore, our sins are now removed. The blood of the Lamb has removed our sins. Not covered, removed. As far as the east is from the west, that is where our sins have gone, never to meet again because of his blood that was shed. Mercy triumphed over judgment in the cross. The law says we deserve judgment. We have broken God's law.

Mercy says he can be merciful because the blood of the sacrifice was placed upon it. Now your sins have been removed. I hope somebody's excited about that. It's great news, especially if you know you're a sinner. And you are. We all are. But also, John tells us that there is power over sin. We do sin, we confess it, but we have power over sin.

Look at what it says in chapter two, verse one: "My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin." Someone has rightly said concerning the word of God that sin will keep you from this book, but this book will keep you from sin. The Bible says, "Your word I've hidden in my heart that I might not sin against thee."

John says here, this is the second reason why he wrote this letter. The first reason, you remember? That your joy may be full. Second reason, I've written this so that you may not sin. God's word, that sword of the Spirit, that enables us to overcome and fight against the flesh, the offensive weapon, to be able to say when temptation comes, "It is written," just like Jesus, using the word of God.

John says, "I'm writing this to you so that you may not sin." Now, when John says this, he's not saying that you're going to be sinless. There was a false teaching called sinless perfection, that you can right now experience sinless perfection. I met a girl once who told me she was sinless. I said, "That's impossible." And she said, "No, I am sinless."

There are so many scriptures. And I said, "No, you're not sinless. There's only one person that was sinless, and his name wasn't Julie. It was Jesus." So you have sin. No offense, ladies, if that's your name, but that's what she said. No, it's not sinless, but prayerfully, sin less than we used to. The closer you get to Jesus, hopefully you sin less, not sin more.

John said, "I'm writing this to you so that you may know there is power over sin." Maybe there's some sin that you have been battling with and struggling with, and it just keeps, you just keep repeating it. There's power over that sin. It's the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome it. You can, with God's help, if you'll look to him. But what do we do as believers when we sin?

Yes, we sin less, but we still sin. There are things that come out of our mouth. Actions that I probably shouldn't have done. We all still fall short. There's enough sin and flesh in every person in this room to burn down everything good God has done in our life. There's this traitor within that we reckon to be dead. I remind myself of that every day. I'm dead to that.

There's a decision that's made. Don't do that. When God points that out, the Spirit reminds me. But what happens when you do fail? John says here, if anyone sins—and we all do—we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. John speaks of not living in a habitual, unrepentant, unconfessed state of sin. He's talking about when we stumble and we fall.

What do we do? Well, we confess it, we repent of it. We don't lose heart. We don't have to be condemned. We're in Christ. God hasn't cut us off. "You sinned, that's it. I'm done with you." That's not the way it is. John says we have an advocate. The word advocate is the Greek word *parakletos*. It means one who is called alongside.

An advocate is one who undertakes or champions the cause of another. An advocate is a friend of the accused, called upon to defend his character, to try and enlist the sympathy of the judge that you stand before. Almost like a defense attorney. The question may arise, why do I need a defense attorney? Because there is an accuser of the brethren.

The accuser of the brethren is referred to in Revelation chapter 12. It's the devil. He accuses the brethren day and night, the Bible says. Satan is like the prosecuting attorney. He has all the evidence on all of us. There is a long rap sheet, and it's all there and it's all true. I did do that. I didn't know they knew about that one, but yep, that's in there too.

It's all there, presenting the evidence. "Look, he's guilty." And the fact is I am. I am guilty. I've done those things. But Jesus is my advocate, your advocate. He approaches the Father and he shows evidence that a price has been paid. He can show the scars in his hands, the scars on his feet, the scar in his side, and he can say, "I paid for this one."

He is justified, just as if he never sinned. The evidence has been brought forth. I am declared innocent because the price has been paid by somebody else, my advocate. He has undertaken, championed my cause. Although I am guilty, I am now declared innocent. And the Father can say, "Objection overruled. He's justified. He's free. He is forgiven on the grounds of the evidence."

Isn't that marvelous? Our sins are forgiven. Fellowship now can be restored where it had been hindered. Jesus pleads our cause. And on the basis of his finished work, I am, you are forgiven. I have an advocate. The Bible says there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And if you are in Christ Jesus, you are not condemned today.

John goes on to say there is a payment for sin. What enables him to be my advocate? Well, there's been a payment made. Notice what it says: "And he himself," speaking of Jesus, "is the propitiation for our sins. And not for ours only, but also for the whole world." John uses this word propitiation, a rather large theological word but major implications.

The word propitiation means essentially to appease. When the word was used of a person, it meant to pacify or placate one who was injured or has been offended. So a sacrifice would be made, some payment would be offered, and that person would be pacified. They'd be okay with it. A sacrifice was brought and accomplishes the intervention that was needed.

Another time the word was used, when it was applied to God for example, it meant to forgive. It's where God provides the means whereby a lost relationship can be restored. And then a third use of this word is connected with the first, meaning to perform some deed by which the taint of guilt is removed. So the propitiation means the price has been paid.

When Jesus went to the cross, all of the wrath that should have been poured out on you and on me was poured out on him. He is the propitiation. He died the death you and I should have died. All of it was poured out on him. All of the judgment that your sin deserves, that mine demands, was poured out on him in my place. He saved my life and yours.

He is the propitiation. Sin has to be paid for. It has to be judged. And we could never pay it. There was nothing in us that could have ever paid for our own sin. Salvation was placed outside of our ability, outside of man's ability to save himself. God could have just said, "That's fine, you're on your own." No, he stepped in, became like us in order to rescue us, to save us.

And to do that, he had to take on himself all of the judgment and wrath of God when he died on the cross. Heaven is going to reveal the depth of that implication. But for the sake of the best that we can understand, everything we deserved was placed upon Jesus. And mercy triumphed over judgment because justice was served as he took our place.

He's our advocate, our propitiation. And because of that, he has removed the alienation, the separation that we had from God. Peter said it this way. You remember when we studied 1 Peter chapter one, verses 17 and 18, Peter said this: "Knowing you were not redeemed, bought, purchased with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by the tradition of your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

Now, a holy and righteous God, because the price has been paid, can bestow upon the undeserving his grace and mercy because he wanted to, because he loves us. And Jesus did this, notice, John says, not just for us individually, but for the whole world. Make note of that, will you? Because there are some that say he didn't die for the whole world, he just died for select people that were elected.

The whole world means the whole world. "For God so loved the world"—that's everybody—"that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life." Now, some of John's readers, they would be reading this and the thought would cross their mind, John, how can we know? How can we know for sure?

John tells us how we can know in verse three: "By this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He who says, 'I know him,' and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." How do we know? How do we know for sure? Well, the Bible tells us so. Walking in obedience to God's word reminds us that we know him.

It's not enough to just know in theory or in concept or hypothetically. "I know him. I know about him." Do you really know him? Are you acquainted with Jesus, or do you really know Jesus? Do you know? Because if you do know him, then you will live according to his word. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me."

The Bible says, "Whoever names the name of Christ, let him depart from iniquity," not live in iniquity. Depart from it. Let me give you an example. How do you know if someone is a Christian? Is it only by what they say with their lips, or is it more about what they say with their lives? It's more than what you say with your lips.

How do you know that a person is married? Is it simply the ring that is upon their hand, or is it the life that they live? It's more than just a symbol that says they are married. It is a way of life. You don't get married and then live like you're single because that would mean you don't understand what it means to be married. Correct?

Such is the case with a Christian. Is it just saying I'm a Christian, or is it my life that reveals I'm a Christian? It's my life. It's one thing to say it with your lips, it's another thing to live it with your life. John keeps emphasizing this: we know that we know him because we follow him. We keep his commandments.

We live according to his word. The person that says, "I know him," and doesn't follow him, you would wonder, do they really know him? Because this says they don't. In fact, John takes it a step further, and he used this word quite a bit. He said they are a liar. They lie. It's not true because it shows by their life they don't really know the Lord.

But if you keep his commandments, if you walk in obedience to his word, it just shows you know the Lord. "Whoever keeps his word," verse five, John says, "truly the love of God is perfected in him. And by this we know that we are in him." That's how we know. By keeping his word. Do we keep his word? Let me say this, do we read his word?

Plenty of people have a Bible. Some people don't even have one. But the question is not whether I have it, it's whether I read it. And not only do I read it, but do I apply it? This is how I'm reminded. When I read God's word, I realize I am a sinner saved by grace. God loves me. I'm on my way to heaven.

The Holy Spirit is my power and my strength. Everything that pertains to life and godliness I find here. So as I read this and I abide in his word, I realize I do belong to the Lord. I don't have to question it. I'm reminded consistently. "Lord, I'm yours." Sometimes people say, "I just don't know, my walk with the Lord is not really this and that."

My question often is, "Do you read your Bible on a regular basis? I mean, like daily?" And many people will say, "Sometimes. I like to, once in a while." Listen, if there's one thing I could say for our fellowship that I wish every single person who calls this place home would do, is that they would read their Bible daily and just let the Lord speak to you. It's so life-changing.

That's how we know. And then John adds in verse six: "He who says he abides in him." To abide means to dwell. It means he who says he's a Christian, he who says he's with Jesus. "I dwell with him." He who says that, she who says that, "ought himself to walk just as he walked." In other words, if we say it, John's saying, well then, it should be evident by the life that we live.

We already realize we're not perfect. We sin, we fall short. And when we do, the Holy Spirit convicts us. We repent of it, we confess it to the Lord. We are forgiven. When the enemy comes in to try to condemn, I have an advocate. I am forgiven. You can't condemn me. And I abide in his word. I seek to keep his word.

And this is evidence that I actually know him. What we keep seeing is that it's one thing to say it, it's another thing to actually live it. So let me ask you: do you know him? He knows you. In fact, he knows everything about you, and he loves you. Maybe you've been deceived. Maybe you've gone to church your whole life, but you didn't really know Jesus.

People who have just gone to church and just go out and live like they don't know him. Can I tell you that if that's you, it's not too late for you to repent of sin, to come to Christ, to just humble yourself and say, "Jesus, be my Lord and Savior"? But you have to recognize that you're a sinner. And I want you to know we all are.

And that's why Jesus came, to save you. Maybe you've been drifting back into some things. Come on out of that. Repent of that. Confess that to the Lord. Let him set you free. Let him restore you. Abide in him, dwell with him, walk with him. There's no better life.

Guest (Male): Amen to that. Stay close by. Pastor John Randall has a few more things to say before we call it quits for today here on A Daily Walk. We're on a trek through the Bible. Today's stop was in 1 John chapter two. You can listen to this message online at adailywalk.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

We also have a free app. Search for Calvary South OC in the App Store. And whether it's a resource or prayer request, a question related to the study, or a praise report, we would love to hear from you. Maybe you're really discouraged or even depressed and would like prayer. Drop us an email at adailywalk@gmail.com or call us toll-free at 877-242-0828.

Pastoral ministry isn't easy, to put it mildly. Yes, there are good times, but also pressures and personal costs as well. Much of that goes unseen by the congregation. In his new book, *The Other Side of Sunday*, Pastor John shares candidly what he has learned so far in pastoral ministry with the hopes of encouraging other pastors and leaders.

Whether you are a pastor, a church leader, or a member of a congregation, this book will deepen your understanding of the heart of a shepherd and point you to the one who sustains us all. The cost is just $15, and you can order it right now at adailywalk.org. Get an extra copy for your pastor as well. Again, adailywalk.org or call 877-242-0828 for all the ordering details.

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With your help, we're able to bring that to them at a time when they really need to hear it. You can donate online at adailywalk.org or call 877-242-0828. And now let's return to Pastor John for the rest of today's message on the power of forgiveness.

John Randall: You know, I can look back, and thankfully I've mentioned this before, but it just keeps coming up in John's Gospel, a time when I knew about the Lord up here, could quote scripture sometimes, but it's amazing when it goes from here to here, just a few inches. What a difference it makes when it's not just knowing about him, but it's really knowing him and walking with him.

That's when it starts firing, starts to make sense. Suddenly the word comes alive and my walk with the Lord, and I'm just, he's working in me. And I now recognize sin where before I didn't even think about it. Now I see it and I think, oh Lord, help me. It's a relationship. That's what he wants. He just wants you. Next time on A Daily Walk, we'll have a look at the command that never changes when our study of 1 John kicks into high gear.