Underground Exiles

“We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” - 1 John 5.19

As we look at this letter, we should be impressed by John’s realism, and the way that he doesn’t attempt to gloss over the difficulties and make light of the problems in our lives. Thank God, the Bible always faces things as they are. The Bible has a strength and power; it is concerned about courage, but courage in terms of its own truth, so it looks at this world as it is, at its worst. You may say that this is depressing; if it is depressing to you it is because you don’t accept the teaching of the Bible. To be realistic should never be depressing to people who think straightly and clearly, and this is at root a realistic book.

The other great thing that characterizes First John’s message, is the way that, having looked at the facts and having faced them honestly, it clearly applies its own glorious remedy. And in the verse we are considering, we are reminded of some of the great characteristic notes of this particular epistle. First you find that we come across these words: “We know.” Then, secondly, we find out something about ourselves - that we are of God. Thirdly, we find out that there are certain things that are always true about the world.

The first thing this is this mind-boggling certainty, “We know.” John wrote this so that they may know that they have eternal life. This is something that’s completely basic, because it meets the whole position. Christians aren’t a people that are marked by being in a state of uncertainty; the very definition of a Christian in the New Testament is of people who know where they are, what they are and what they’ve got. They aren’t men and women that are hovering around in the dark.

They days and times that we live in is a world of great uncertainty; there is uncertainty about truth, authority, and a myriad of other things. We are in a world where black isn’t always black, and white isn’t always white, and that state of things is dissonant with Scripture.

Christians are men and women who are certain, and John writes in order that these people, and we ourselves, may be absolutely sure. There were certain things that weren’t clear to them; this always seems to be the state of the Christian in this world. We start with the truth which we believe by faith. Then it is attacked, and we are shaken by various things, until, by God’s grace, we are made sure. There are certain things that you and I should know. Christians aren’t perpetual seekers and enquirers; they are men and women who have certainty.

So here’s the question which we have to ask ourselves before we can proceed:

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“A minister may fill his pews, his communion roll, the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more.” - John Owen, D.D.

This quote is one of many from John Owen, who is generally regarded as perhaps the greatest English speaking theologian ever. As a pastor and theologian, Owen was a man intimately acquainted with controversy, and wasn’t shy about meeting it head on. His style of writing is, frankly, hard to read, as it is ponderous and quite weighty, but slogging through it is well worth the effort.

Owen is perhaps best known for his works on sin in the life of the believer, as well as his Brief Declaration and Vindication Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity. It’s his work on the believer and indwelling sin, however that have moved me the most profoundly.

“The custom of sinning takes away the sense of it, the course of the world takes away the shame of it.” - John Owen, D.D.

Owen was a man that wrote prolifically on the believer’s need to put sin to death, and his works on personal holiness are some of the most practical and sound that I’ve ever read. If I can recommend one great Puritan to you, it would be John Owen.

So I found this article at another wordpress blog, and thought it was worth sharing. Hopefully it will make us rethink our conversations, or lack thereof, with non-believers.

Happy reading!

“We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

I start our series on First John with this verse because it seems to provide the background and the setting for what will be taught by the whole letter. I know many people, both believer and unbeliever, that find this letter somewhat confusing and difficult to understand; there are numerous reasons for that. The message of First John is essentially quite simple; it’s author’s manner and style is one that will lead us to a certain amount of confusion if we don’t keep a very firm grasp on the the great principles of his teaching.
This letter absolutely illustrates the case of being in danger of missing the woods for the trees, so we start with one of the three great key verses to understanding what’s written. The other two are:

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5.13

And,

“And we are writing these things so that our¹ joy may be complete.” 1 John 1.4

It is in these three statements that we have the great objective which was in the mind of the Apostle John.

In other words, the theme of this letter is the Christian in the world, what is possible to him; how is the Christian to face the world; how is he to stand up to it; what is his relationship to this world that he finds himself in?

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Now that I’ve gotten FeedDemon all setup and working properly, I’m subscribing to some of my favorite blogs by way of my aggregator, and at the top of the list is the Desiring God Blog, featuring Pastor John Piper.

Many of Dr. Pipers books sit dog-eared on my bookshelf, and have profoundly influenced me in the last 2 years. Discovering God’s Passion For His Glory was like stumbling on a cave full of treasures. While Dr. Piper freely admits he is not a primary teacher in the sense that Jonathan Edwards was, he has still been a powerful instrument of God’s grace to me, and for that I am so incredibly thankful.

While checking FeedDemon today, I found his newest blog post, Sometimes Only God Can Feel Hope, and wanted to recommend it to you all. Once again, Piper hits a home-run.