Based on 1 John 2:1-17 (New King James Version)
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now 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. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. 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 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
One of the most abused verses, per se, is the first verse of today’s passage. It is used many times to preach a very liberal gospel. It is taken out of context and used to promote a doctrine that looks to please the masses. It is a very common problem trying to abuse the grace of God.
Now then, is God in reality patient and forgiving? Of course He is. He is more than merciful with our imperfection, knowing that we have much to learn and change. But the problem comes when folks try to abuse the Grace of God. I say “try” because it cannot really be abused. In other words, the Grace of God does not operate at our pleasure, thinking that our opinion will change God’s Holiness and Sovereignty. I have tried to clarify this many times, that neither the visible world, nor even less, the invisible one operates based on our criteria. God does not work with our opinion, but rather with reality and an unalterable Truth. Whoever wants to follow an uncertain doctrine with very weak foundations is free to do so, but do not think for a moment that God is “so good”, or that He will exercise a subjective goodness that He will change His holiness characteristic for his love characteristic (or moreover, turn it into spoiling). He is as much Love as Holy. And in neither term does neglect occur. Both characteristics are identically important.
So what do the Scriptures teach then? What they teach is that those that call themselves Christians have to be what the very name means: followers of Christ. The Lord Jesus is our example, and as such, if we want to do things legitimately, we must then be followers or disciples of the Lord, just as the Apostles were, and all of us that have followed after them.
The Apostle John is many times referred to as the apostle of love. But if we read what God inspired through him, we can see the word love a lot, but surrounded with many determinants. John was the most rigid writer in the Bible when defining a person that is called a believer. In our passage today, John is greatly defining; you either belong to God, or you don’t; and what you are will be seen by what you do; not by what you say. In reality, he is very strict in his determinations, never leaving any room for accepting lukewarm or mediocrity. For John, either you are or you are not.
Being guided by the context, and the epistle in its entirety, we can see that the Holy Advocate that we have exercises His defense with those that try to be followers of Christ. In other words, it’s based on the person that tries to follow God’s commandments and loves their neighbor at the same time. In its totality, things are based on the most important commandments that the Lord reestablished in the Gospels: You shall the Lord your God with everything you are (the first commandment), and; you shall love your neighbor as yourself (the second commandment). The issue is that a disciple of Christ should try to follow the Lord; trying to walk as He walked. It’s not about someone that looks to disobey God and tries to get away with what they can; and even less, to be a person that lives like the world, doing what the world does. In the end, the Bible teaches us to be Holy, or set apart. We can’t be like the rest. We should let the process that God wants to carry out in our lives happen, day by day, changing, leaving behind what produces death. There is where we see God’s love. His desire is to renew, repair, and finally, make brand new what was lost, broken, and destroyed. His plan is to help us get to perfection, to become a special treasure; not staying content with being something of little value for the reason of following an evil influence that the majority of the world follows. He wants to transform us for eternity; for the incorruptible; for immortality.
If we understand this, we will then understand that it is worthwhile going through some difficulty while here on earth, instead of staying the same as everyone else. And more over, His desire is that we be transformed so we can help win those that are as lost (our neighbor) as we were once. The kingdom of God can only grow as we persist in overcoming the world that surrounds us, by trying to follow Christ faithfully. Otherwise, many people will not experience the grace of God because of those that knew the Truth, but decided instead to follow death and the world than life and eternity. The Word says like this: “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9. So in summary; do you follow the Lord, or the world? Lord bless! John