Scripture Reading

1
Scripture Reading

• 1 John 11-22

2
Fellowship With God

• Stated Aim of the Epistle
• To Declare the Word of Life
• This life was with the Father
• It was manifested in Christ Jesus
• That we might have fellowship with God
• That we might have fulness of joy
• That you might not sin

3
Gospel Epistles of John

• Gospel
• Jn 1010
• 2030-31
• Faith in Christ
• Life in Christ

• Epistles
• Life is in God
• Life manifested in Christ
• You may have fellowship with God
• Your joy may be full

4
THE WORD OF LIFE

• That which was from the beginning
• John 11
• Gen 11f and God said
• was manifest Jn 114 the word became flesh
• Heard
• Seen with our eyes, looked upon
• Handled

5
Why So Emphatic?

• Philosophers denied humanity of Jesus
• Gnosticism all flesh is wicked
• Therefore Jesus could not have been real
• Philosophy of sin based on fallacy
• All flesh is wicked
• Man must sin, is not accountable for it
• Can fellowship God while committing sin

6
Basis of True Fellowship

• Certainly not while living in sin 1 Pet 15-16
• 1 Jn 16 not walking in darkness
• Col 35-9 not in the old man of sin
• walk in darkness is a life of sin v 7
• aim and purpose of ones life
• Continual and repeated sinfulness
• Why? God is light

7
Fellowship Based on Gods Character

• Gods character is holy 1 Pet 115
• Fellowship sharing in common
• But in him is no darkness at all
• Thus, no sin in Gods fellowship
• Note difference walking in darkness
• Gal 61 being overtaken an aberration
• Sin not unto death 1 Jn 516-18

8
Unity in Diversity is New Gnosticism

• Gnosticism We can sin while in fellowship with
  God!
• Unity in Diversity We can sin while in
  fellowship with God
• The present frontier is the frontier of a
  grace-based fellowship with all our brothers and
  sisters in Christ. A truth began to dawn on us in
  the 1960s and 70s and increasingly through the
  1980s. That truth is that Gods grace extends
  not only to our moral imperfections but also to
  our doctrinal short-comings (Gary Person, Image
  Magazine, Sept/Oct, 1993, p. 32)

9
Can We Tolerate Sin?
Unity in Diversity tolerates contradictory
teachings and practices on important moral and
doctrinal questions. (Ed Harrell, The Bounds of
Christian Unity, May 1990, 134) In Rome, the
fellow who thought it was a sin to eat any kind
of meat would have thought you sinned if you ate
a piece of meat. And yet Paul taught them that
they should accept one another Bob Owen, We
Differ, Can We Fellowship? Concord, NC, Feb 19,
1995)
10
Can We Tolerate Sin?

• Eph 511 And have no fellowship with the
  unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose
  (reprove) them.
• Rom 61 What shall we say then? Shall we
  continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid
  (Certainly not). How shall we who died to sin
  live any longer in it?
• 615 What then? Shall we sin because we are
  under grace? God forbid (Certainly not).

11
To Have Fellowship With God

• Walk in the light
• What does this mean? 23, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13,
  14
• If so, the blood cleanses us v. 7
• Unconditional cleansing? No! Conditioned upon
  confession of our sins v 9
• Christians are not in fellowship with God
  because of perfection, but because of forgiveness
  through the redemption of Christs blood.