International Sunday School Lesson August 11, 2024
Text: 1 John 3:1-10
Background
Dake — According to tradition 1 John was written from Ephesus, about 90 A.D.
Today’s lesson is taken from the first epistle of John. It focuses on living right. We have victory in Jesus through his work on the cross and his resurrection from the grave. It is more just going to heaven. That victory includes being saved from our old sinful habits. It is very important that we understand we are saved from those old habits.
Did Not Know Him
1 John 3:1 (ESV) See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Remember how the world treated Jesus when he was walking on this Earth? The rulers of the day completely rejected the son of God. So, the world rejects us too. It rejected our Lord.
John 16:2-3 (ESV) They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. [3] And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
Those verses tell what Jesus said to the disciples about their life in the ministry. If they have rejected and persecuted me, they will reject you too. They will believe they are doing the work of God. The apostle Paul thought he was doing God a service by persecuting Christians before the Damascus road experience. Persecutors believe the same thing in today’s world. Persecution goes on in all levels of life. Someone might not get a promotion because they are a Christian. Someone might be mocked in the break room because they give a Christian testimony. Those are inconvenient or hurtful. The persecution can also be catastrophic. An entire family might be burnt alive because they went to a foreign land and evangelized. There is a wide range of persecution. We need to be convinced in our heart that God will see us through the time of trouble. No matter the specifics of it.
Purifies Himself
1 John 3:2-3 (ESV) Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. [3] And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
These verses are talking about the glorified body. We do not understand everything about that glorified body. But we know that we are getting one. It is going to be like the body Jesus had after his resurrection. Our goal of having that body one day necessitates our actions here on this Earth. We purify ourselves. I am not saying that we are working for our salvation. However, we act different. We can’t live the same way as we did before we encountered Jesus Christ. Our citizenship is in heaven. It is not on this Earth.
Colossians 3:2-4 (ESV) Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [3] For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Paul told the Colossians the same thing as John said in the previous verses. Keep your mind on God. Press on toward the mark. You’re not working for your salvation, but you changed.
Keeps on Sinning
1 John 3:4-6 (ESV) Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. [5] You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. [6] No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
I want to be very clear about something. The Bible is not teaching that a Christian never sins. The word of God does not teach sinless perfection. Every one of us sins. The only sinless life was the Lord Jesus. If it required sinless perfection to make it into heaven, I would not make it and neither would you. I make mistakes all the time. Everyone I’ve ever known makes mistakes. Everyone has their shortcomings. The three things to keep in mind when reading this section of scripture are these three things: 1. Everyone sins 2. Don’t make it your lifestyle and 3. God forgives.
1 John 2:28 (ESV) And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.
1 John 1:8-9 (ESV) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Don’t be self-righteous and don’t live habitually in sin. If you sin, ask God to forgive you.
Destroy the Works of the Devil
1 John 3:7-8 (ESV) Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. [8] Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
It is a question of habit. If you habitually sin, you are a sinner. If you habitually do right, you are righteous. This is not talking about individual events. It is talking about what you do habitually. Thank God, Jesus came into this world to destroy the work and dominance of the devil.
Romans 6:16-18 (ESV) Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? [17] But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, [18] and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Whoever you serve, is your master. The one you listen to, is your master. Talk is cheap. It is what you do that matters.
It is Evident
1 John 3:9-10 (ESV) No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. [10] By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
It is God working in us that gives us the power to overcome sin. We cannot be prideful of righteousness in our lives because it is God in us. It is not our own doing within ourselves. We would still be living in sin if it were not for the cross. It is the miracle of Jesus working salvation. It is not our doing.
1 Peter 1:22-23 (ESV) Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, [23] since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
1 John 2:29 (ESV) If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
You can tell a tree by its fruit.
Concluding Thoughts
Let me leave you with these concluding thoughts. What you habitually do, indicates who you are. If you habitually sin, you are a sinner. If you habitually do right, you are righteous. A single action does not define a life. Righteousness is not a reason to be prideful. It is the work of God in us that gives us the ability to live right. We cannot be prideful of anything. It is the work of Jesus in us. Well friends, God Lord willing I will be with you next week.
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