All right, we're here in 1 John 2, and we're not going to finish the whole chapter.
Today, we're going to finish the first 17 verses, and I'll try to get us out of here on not too late today, okay?
And so, as I mentioned last week in 1 John, this is the book that has the most confusing verses about salvation.
This is the book where people will show you a verse, and it's hard to explain, okay?
Now, go back to 1 John 1, and let me show you a verse that's really important to understand in verse 4.
1 John 1, verse 4,
And these things right beyond you, that you might be saved, is that what it says?
And these things right beyond you, that you might believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, is that what it says?
No, it says that your joy may be full.
And see, the purpose of the book of 1 John is not to show you how to get to heaven, it's how to have joy as a saved person, okay?
This is very important, because as people try to pull out verses and say,
See, if you don't do this, you don't go to heaven, that's not the purpose of the book.
And many of these verses, it's just trying to teach you how to serve God, and how to have great joy in your Christian life,
not about how to get to heaven, okay?
Now, go to 1 John 2, let's look at verse number 1.
And it says here in 1 John 2, verse 1, and the name of the sermon is How to Know God, okay?
Not how to be saved, but how to know God.
It says in 1 John 2, verse 1,
So in chapter 1, I'm writing these things so you might have joy.
Chapter 2, I'm writing these things so that you don't sin.
Why does it say that?
Because what gives you joy is not sinning.
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them, the Bible says.
Look, the key to being happy as a Christian is obeying the commandments of God.
That is what gives you happiness.
That is what's going to give you joy.
Look, when you're depressed in life, it's probably because you're doing things that are wrong and you feel guilty about it.
You feel wrong about it.
What gives you joy is not sinning.
And so he wrote 1 John so you might have joy.
He wrote 1 John so you're not going to sin.
As a saved person, you're going to try to get sin out of your life, okay?
Then it says, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
We're going to go back to that at the very end of the sermon, okay?
Go to verse number 3, and our first point here today is this, keep the commandments.
Keep the commandments.
It says in verse 3, and hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments.
The Bible says that if we keep God's commandments, we do know that we know him.
Now I want you to realize, it does not say, and hereby we do know that we're saved.
It doesn't say that.
It says hereby we do know that we know him.
You say, well, isn't that the same as salvation?
No, it's not the same as salvation.
Okay?
Because I want you to realize when you get saved, you still know very little about God.
Right?
Now turn to Philippians 3, Philippians 3.
Let me show you an example of this.
What he's talking about is just like in chapter 1, having fellowship with God, being close
to God, having a close walk with him, and if you do those things, you're going to know
him.
You're going to know him more and more every time you read the Bible, every time you serve
God.
It's not in reference to salvation because that's not the main point according to chapter
1 or chapter 2.
Now Paul said this in Philippians 3, verse 7, but what things were gained to me, those
I counted lost for Christ?
Now let me ask you a question.
Is Paul the apostle saved when he's writing this?
Yes.
Okay?
He's saved.
Right?
Whenever you ask questions that the answer is very obvious, everyone's always afraid,
like, oh, is this a trick question?
Right?
It's like he was saved when he was writing this.
Right?
But he's also talking about I want to count all these things lost for Christ.
Basically, he wants to serve God.
Okay?
And he says in verse 8, yea, doubtless, and I count all things but lost for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung that I may win Christ.
When he's saying win Christ, he's not saying that I might be saved because he's already
saved.
Okay?
Verse 9, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but
that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith,
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being
made conformable unto his death.
And Paul says I have a lifelong goal of getting to know God, getting close to God.
But here's the thing.
His lifelong goal is not to get to heaven because that's already finished because he
has eternal life.
Now, look, before you were saved, before I was saved, my ultimate goal in life was to
get to heaven.
But once you get saved, you're like, okay, I got that out of the way.
I need a new goal now, right?
It's like that's actually very simple.
You believe on Jesus Christ, you get the gift of eternal life, you're born into God's family.
Okay, you don't have to worry your entire life about whether or not you're going to
heaven.
Once you believe on him, that's done.
Now get a bigger goal, right?
Now that you're saved, what are you going to do for God the rest of your life?
And Paul says, I want to know God.
You say, how do you get to know God?
Reading the Bible, obeying his commandments, having his words abiding in you, okay?
Go to John 14, John 14, John 14.
Being saved happens instantaneously.
Getting to know God is a lifelong process.
And of course, the goal is that the longer you're saved, the closer you are to God.
And the closer you are to God, the more you're dwelling in the light, the more you're going
to know God.
So the goal is that you become a better Christian every single day until the day you die, right?
Now of course, we're going to have times in our life where we make mistakes, we backslide,
we sin.
But our goal is that every year we're a little bit closer to God.
Every year we know the Bible a little bit better.
Every year we're a little bit better at fighting worldliness.
Every year we're on that uphill climb where we're getting closer to God.
That's the goal, okay?
That we're more and more in the light.
And the more you do that, the more you're going to know God.
Look, I know God more now than I did 10 years ago.
You say, why is that?
Because I've been reading the Bible for 10 years, going to church, going soul winning.
I'm doing a better job against fighting against sin than I used to do.
Now here's the thing, we're never going to be perfect.
But the goal is that you're going to be better and better with each passing year.
And that should be a goal of your life.
Not just, well hey, I'm saved, I'm good to go.
You should have a goal, I want to know God.
And the way you do that is obey God's commandments, read His word, and obey what He says, okay?
And the more you do that, the more you're going to know God.
But here's the thing, your salvation's secure, eternal security, once saved, always saved.
If you believed on Jesus Christ and you were born into God's family, that's a done deal.
You can't lose that.
However, how much you know God is dependent on what you do.
Now of course when you get saved, you know God to a little bit of a degree, but you only
know the very basics.
Then once you start reading the Bible, you're like, oh man, that's a sin, I didn't know
that.
Oh, I'm supposed to read the Bible every day?
Oh man.
Give us this day our daily bread, just like the Bible, oh wow.
And then you start knowing God more and more and more as you read the Bible more, right?
When I first got saved, you know what, I had no idea that my rock music was wrong.
And then all of a sudden you're hearing it preached against, I'm seeing verses, love
not the world.
What does that mean?
It's like, oh well, that's me, right?
And then you start realizing and you get to know God more and more with each passing year.
That's the goal that you're going to get closer to God every year.
John 14 verse 15, John 14 verse 15, if ye love me, keep my commandments.
Now does this say to be saved, keep my commandments?
No it doesn't.
It says if ye love me, keep my commandments.
Let me ask you a question.
Do all kids in this world love their parents?
No.
Do all children of God love their heavenly father?
No.
You say, well, how do you know that?
Well, because Jesus says, if ye love me, keep my commandments.
Are all saved people keeping God's commandments?
Now of course none of us are perfect, but you know what, there's some people that are
trying to do what's right, and then there's some people that are like, I don't care, right?
And it's like, if you're trying, you're going to make mistakes, you're going to sin, and
a just man falls seven times and rises up again.
But aren't most Christians saying, I don't care?
It's like, I'm good to go.
I don't really care what God thinks.
I mean, most Christians never read the Bible.
How are you going to keep God's commandments if you never read the Bible and you don't
know what those commandments are?
You say, Brother Stuckey, no, I know, there's ten commandments.
There's a lot more than ten, my friend.
That right there shows the problem.
There's a lot more than ten.
And look, if you group around the wrong religion here, you might only have nine of those ten,
right?
That's reality.
So here's the thing.
If you're not obeying what God says, if you're not reading the Bible, you're not serving
God, you're just worldly as can be, you're committing all these sins, look, you can't
really say that you know God that well.
You cannot say that you really love God because love implies action in the Bible, okay?
But that does not mean that you're not saved.
Many people are saved that don't read the Bible.
Many people are saved that don't go to church.
Many people that are saved that really don't have a desire to serve God.
But here's the thing.
You cannot say that you love God unless there's action associated.
Right?
Like, if I told you, you know what, I really love to just, I don't know, play the guitar.
I'm just using whatever.
I don't play the guitar, okay?
I don't know how to play the guitar at all.
If I say I really love to play the guitar, it's like my favorite hobby, it's like, oh,
how often do you play?
I've never played before.
Do I love playing the guitar?
I mean, love implies action, right?
The things you love, the things you care about are the things that you do, right?
I can honestly say that when I was growing up as a kid, you know what I loved to do?
Play soccer.
You say, what's the proof?
I played soccer hours every day.
That's what I did with my life.
There's the proof that that's what I loved growing up because that's all I did.
What you love, you're actually going to spend time doing.
Look, if you love God but you're not keeping God's commandments, you don't really love
God.
Now, you might think you love God because that Christian rock song was so warm and fuzzy,
right?
I don't know what the Christian rock bands are.
Third day was the one 15 years ago.
I don't know if they're still around.
Maybe there's a fourth day.
I don't know, right?
But just because you listen to music and it made you feel spiritual, that doesn't mean
that you love God.
Are you obeying His commandments?
That's the question, okay?
And look, that has nothing to do with getting to heaven, though.
That has to do with being close to God and having a close walk with God, okay?
Go back to 1 John 2.
We need to keep these things separately.
Look, I would say relatively confidently that our church here in Metro Manila probably preaches
harder against sin than just about any church in Metro Manila.
But we also keep that separate from salvation.
People accuse our church, well, you know, you're saying salvation's a free gift.
You're saying people can go out and do whatever they want.
You're giving them a license to sin.
Well, you've obviously never heard my preaching.
It's like, good night, man.
Most people that are part of this church are probably saying, man, you know, my old church,
they never preached against any of my sins.
I felt really spiritual.
Now I'm like, man, I've got to change this and this and this and this.
But that has nothing to do with salvation, okay?
We make salvation very clear.
It's believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The gift of God is eternal life.
But we also preach hard against sin.
You say why?
Because I'm preaching to save people here today.
And my goal is to get you to serve God.
Now going door to door, though, I don't preach like this in my gospel presentation.
Hey, do you want to know?
No, I tell people how to get to heaven.
Because that's the goal.
But in church, my goal is to preach to save people.
Now look, if unsaved people visit our church, praise the Lord for that.
Look, an unsaved person could be part of our church for a year and, you know, praise
the Lord.
Of course, you know, you're hoping that they're going to get saved, but, you know, you'll
give them the gospel and give them chances and people will talk to them.
But look, if an unsaved person visits our church, praise the Lord for that, right?
But I'm preaching by and large to save people here today.
It says in 1 John 2 verse 4, he that sayeth I know him.
Because remember it said in verse 3, you know, hereby we do know that we know him, meaning
that you know that you're close to God.
And the way you can tell if you're right with God is, are you keeping his commandments?
But that's not how you tell whether you're saved because faith is the evidence, the Bible
says, of salvation.
He that sayeth I know him, and knowing him is referring to being close to God, and keepeth
not his commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him.
Now the Bible says that if you're not keeping God's commandments, but you say that you love
God and you know God and you're close to God, you're a liar.
It's not true.
It's fake.
You cannot say I know God and I'm close to God if you're not obeying his commandments.
But you can say, you know what, I'm saved without keeping his commandments.
Because what do you believe?
What must I do to be saved?
And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
So look, if you tell me you believe salvation's by grace through faith, that it's faith alone
for salvation, once saved, always saved, I believe you're saved.
But that doesn't mean that I believe that you love God.
That doesn't mean that I believe that you know God.
The determination on that is, well, what are you doing with your life?
But you say, Brother Stuckey, it says at the end the truth is not in him.
Now we went in great detail last week about this.
And I talked about when you get saved, the Holy Ghost indwells you forever.
But the word and the truth is referring to the second person of the Godhead.
And yes, the Holy Spirit indwells you forever.
However, God, Jesus Christ does not always abide in you automatically.
That depends on what do you do.
Now the Holy Ghost indwells you forever.
But go to John 15.
There's a whole parable about this.
John 15.
See, if you want to be successful in your Christian life, you must abide in the vine
and I in you.
And if you abide in him, he's going to abide in you.
But here's the thing.
That Holy Ghost is going to indwell you no matter how much you grieve the Holy Spirit.
But Christ is the word.
If somebody never hears the word of God and they don't obey the word of God, the words
are not abiding in them.
And Jesus is synonymous with the word.
So Christ is going to abide in you if you're keeping his commandments and doing what's
right.
But if you're not, you can't say the words are actually abiding in you, okay?
I mean, this whole chapter, if you notice during the reading by Brother JR, God is trying
to tell us, John is trying to tell you, abide, abide, abide.
And if you abide, Christ will abide in you because it's not a guarantee.
You have the free will choice whether to abide in Christ or not, okay?
Now it says in John 15 verse 4, abide in me and I in you.
Now he's commanding abide in me.
And if you abide in me, I'm going to abide in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye
except ye abide in me.
Now what is bearing fruit referring to?
Winning souls to the Lord.
And if you want to win souls to the Lord, you need to abide in Christ, you need to obey
his commandments, you need to do what's right.
Verse 5, I am the vine, ye are the branches.
He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me
ye can do nothing.
So the Bible says this, that if you abide in me, I'll abide in you and you will bring
forth much fruit.
What is that referring to?
Winning souls to the Lord.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise.
So your fruit's referring to winning people to the Lord.
And look, if you abide in Christ, you're going to get many people saved.
It's a great promise.
This is not a salvation parable.
This is a soul winning parable of how to win people to the Lord.
Because people try to apply this to salvation, but this is about bringing forth fruit.
And that's something a saved person does.
This is not about how to get to heaven, it's about how to bear much fruit.
Verse 6, if a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men
gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
So people try to take verse 6 and say, well, see, you can lose your salvation because it
says if you don't abide in me, you're going to be burned.
Well, look, the Bible speaks about fire a lot and it doesn't always have to refer to
hell or the lake of fire.
Many times, I mean, fire is kind of a common thing in this world.
It's not always referring to hell and it's not referring to hell here.
You say, what is this talking about?
Okay.
Well, just imagine a tree.
Imagine you have an avocado tree and you use it to sell avocados and make money.
Maybe you're a farmer or something like that.
And then you've got a branch, you know, selling apple trees or whatever, and it's not producing
any fruit.
Well, here's the thing.
That branch is going to get in the way of the branches that are producing fruit.
And I didn't fully think about it.
Brother Ehrman and I were talking about this.
He explained this.
It's like it makes sense that if there's a branch that's on that tree and it's not producing
fruit, it's sucking up the nutrients from the other branches.
So what do you want to do if you're a farmer trying to make money?
Well, chop off the branches that are dead.
Now they exist, but they're dead, right?
And so here's the thing.
Those branches are getting in the way of being able to produce fruit on that tree.
And the Bible is using this analogy of Christians that don't bear fruit in their lives, meaning
they don't win people to the Lord.
And the Bible is saying, you know what, you as a Christian, your job, your goal is to
bring forth fruit.
And look, the branches that are not bearing fruit, it's like, well, they're in the way.
Okay?
If a man abide not me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men gather them
and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, because Jesus is the Word of God, he's synonymous
with the Word, my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will.
And it shall be done unto you.
So look, the Bible is saying this in this story, that if you're not bringing forth fruit,
then you're basically in the way of those that are bringing forth fruit.
And what the Bible is trying to say is, hey, you know what, you need to go soul winning.
Now look, I've preached a whole sermon on this before, and I've never had a sermon that
I got so much hate from, by people saying, oh, you offended me by saying that if I'm
not winning people to the Lord, then I'm not right with God.
Well, let me just try again, because I don't want to offend anybody.
If you're not winning people to the Lord, you're not right with God.
Okay?
Now look, of course, there are people that are in exceptions in life.
You know, obviously if you have health situations or you're older, we understand that.
But you don't just stop every sermon, and let me give you 25 exceptions.
If you just had surgery, okay, then I'm not preaching again.
Isn't that obvious?
Look, when I had surgery when I tore my ACL, I realized that I was right with God the week
after I tore my ACL.
It's not like it's my fault I'm not going soul winning like this a week after I had
surgery, okay?
But the bottom line is this is what this parable is about, about how, yeah, you know what,
if you're not producing fruit, you're like a branch that's getting in the way of those
producing fruit, and then basically get rid of it, it's saying.
But that's not saying going to hell, okay?
What is that talking about?
What it's talking about is if you abide in Christ, He'll abide in you.
You abide in Christ, the words of God will abide in you, okay?
But the Holy Spirit's going to indwell you no matter what you do, okay?
Now turn back to 1 John, 1 John, 1 John 2.
The other thing is this, you have to realize salvation is not us knowing God's salvation.
My sheep hear my voice and I know them, okay?
And look, if you're saved, then Christ knows you.
That's why like in Luke 16 with the story, it gives Abraham, it gives Lazarus, and it
gives the rich man.
It doesn't give the name.
Why is it?
Well, my sheep hear my voice and I know them.
Well, that's not a saved person.
And so the Bible doesn't give us the name.
That's the indication it's trying to give us.
And so here's the thing.
Being saved is when Christ knows you.
God knows you, you're saved.
However, you knowing God is dependent on your actions and what you do, okay?
Now when you get saved, you know a little bit about Christ.
However, you can't really say that you know everything.
I mean, if you were honest today, you would say that you know more about God than you
did five years ago, right?
You say, why?
Well, you've been saved, you're reading the Bible, you're hearing good preaching, you're
going soul winning, so these things are making sense to you.
You know, as you go, you're going to know more and more about God, okay?
But that has nothing to do with salvation.
You don't have to keep the commandments to be saved, but you do have to keep the commandments
to be close to God and to love God.
First on 2 verse 5, but whoso keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected,
hereby know we that we are in him.
So if we're keeping his word, we know that we are in him.
Once again, that's not salvation.
That's not the context of 1 John 2.
It's talking about basically you know you're right with God, you know you're abiding with
Christ.
Whether or not you keep the commandments has nothing to do with whether or not you're saved.
But it does have to do with whether or not you're right with God.
And you say, Brother Stuckey, I want to know if I'm right with God.
Are you keeping God's commandments?
That's what he keeps saying.
He's rewording the same thing 25 different times.
How do you know if you're in him?
How do you know if you know God?
How do you know if you love God?
Are you keeping his commandments?
Are you keeping his word, keeping his commandments?
It's saying the same thing, just wording it a little bit differently.
Verse 6, he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.
So look, if you're sitting here saying I'm right with God, I'm abiding in him, there
should be your walk to back it up.
If you've got the talk, you ought to have the walk.
You say, well, I love God.
Well, let's see by your actions, because actions speak louder than words, okay?
But this has nothing to do with going to heaven.
It has to do with knowing God and being close to God and abiding in Christ.
And that is not a guarantee.
That's dependent on your actions.
And if you say you know God, you say I'm abiding in Christ, I love God, I'm keeping his word,
well, your walk should match the words that are coming out of your mouth, right?
If somebody tells you that they love God and they never read the Bible, they're committing
adultery on their spouse, they're getting drunk every night, but they say that they
know God and they love God and they're abiding in Christ, is that true?
Obviously not.
But isn't it true that most people say they know God?
I mean, if you knock doors, now look, if you were to ask the question, do you know for
sure you're going to heaven, well, most people are not going to say 100%.
But if you ask people the question, do you love God, everybody's going to say yes, right?
Just about everybody's going to say, I love God, okay?
But what's the proof of that?
Well, are they keeping the commandments of God, right?
It's like, oh, you love God, how often do you go to church?
Oh, I've never been to church before.
Oh, wow, you really love God, right?
No, I mean, the actions should match the words that are being said.
So if you say you abide in him, then you ought to have the walk to match that, okay?
Verse 7, brethren, I write no new commandment onto you but an old commandment which ye add
from the beginning.
The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
So the Bible's saying, hey, you know what, this has always been what the Bible says.
It's not a new commandment.
God's always said this, hey, keep my commandments, abide in me, do what's right.
Nothing's changed.
This is in the Old Testament, how are you right with God?
Well, you've got to get saved, number one, and you've got to obey God's commandments,
number two.
And if you get saved and obey God's commandments, you're right with God.
What's the method to be close to God today?
Be saved and keep his commandments.
Nothing's changed, right?
It's the same exact thing.
It's not a new commandment.
But then it says in verse 8, again, a new commandment I write onto you, which thing
is true in him and in you because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth.
Now point number one was keep the commandments.
Point two is to love your brother or sister in Christ.
Now it talks about the old commandment, then it talks about the new commandment.
There's kind of two ways that you can look at this, and I look at this as a dual application,
and maybe there's another way to look at it that I haven't thought of, but I've kind
of thought of two ways.
And here's the thing.
The Bible has always said keep God's commandments.
However, when a person gets saved, they understand things a lot better than before they're saved.
Because once you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you understand and know God a little bit.
You know, I remember when I got saved, I had the realization, okay, my purpose of life
is to serve God.
I didn't really get that before I was saved.
You know, once you're saved, it's like a new commandment to you because now you have the
Holy Spirit of truth indwelling you, and it's like, okay, this makes sense.
Like the Bible says, the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
to everybody, teaching us, referring to save, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly
lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly.
When you get saved, that does teach you that you should do right.
It doesn't mean you will do right, but it does teach you that you should do right by
being saved.
It's funny because the world thinks it's the opposite.
They say you're telling, I mean, literally people will tell you this at the door.
You're telling people they can go out and do whatever they want, and then they're like,
you know, if you tell people that, then they're going to go out and smoke crack and do heroin
and become a drug dealer.
It's like, I didn't do any of that stuff before I was saved.
What are you talking about?
It's like, you know, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh, right?
It's like, is that what you do?
You want to be a drug dealer?
It's like, what is wrong with you?
You know what I mean?
It's like, but when you get saved, it's like a new commandment because, you know what,
you're going to understand things better.
But there's another way to look at this in John 13.
Go to John 13, John 13, John 13.
I look at this as a dual application that the new commandment's referring to.
Once you get saved, it's like you understand things better.
I think that's part of it.
But John 13 gives us another example.
It uses this terminology, new commandment.
And when you're trying to study the Bible, comparing spiritual things with spiritual,
you look up phrases that appear in the Bible.
And when you cross-reference, they can teach you things.
And in John 13, verse 34, the Bible says, a new commandment I give unto you that ye
love one another.
Now wait a minute.
Is it a new commandment that we should love one another?
The Bible's always said that.
Now if you're saved, it's kind of a new commandment because you don't have spiritual brothers
and sisters in Christ before you're saved.
So that's kind of a new commandment.
But the other thing is this, that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also
love one another.
We have always been supposed to obey God's commandments and love our brother and sister
and Christ.
However, Christ gave us a perfect example.
He says, you've always heard this, but here's the thing, love as I have loved you.
So it's kind of a new commandment because he's giving us now a perfect example.
But it's really the same thing, if that makes sense.
And so he says, love as I have loved you.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Now go back to 1 John, 1 John, 1 John.
And in 1 John 2 verse 8, it says, again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing
is true in him and in you?
Because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth.
And once you get saved, you're going to start to have that light in your life, but you still
have the darkness or the light and you have your choice which direction you're referring
to.
Now I do believe the true light's referring to Christ because he is the true God, he's
the living God, and you're getting close to God, trying to dwell in the light.
But once you're saved, it says the true light now shineth, the darkness is past.
But here's the thing, that doesn't mean that you're always going to be dwelling in light
though, because you still have the choice of walking in the flesh, walking in darkness
or walking in the light, walking in the new man, not walking in the old man.
Verse 9, he that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness even
until now.
Now look, this verse does not say that if you hate your brother, you're not saved.
It says you're in darkness even until now.
Somebody can be saved and walk in darkness.
Somebody can be saved and not be following the light of God's word.
Because this is our light.
And if you're trying to follow God's word, you're walking in the light.
If you're not trying to follow God's word, and you're trying to follow, you know, whatever
TV show or whatever rapper that you love, that's not the true light you're following.
And you're living your life in darkness because you're not doing what the Bible says.
It doesn't say there in verse 9, well, you know what, to know if you're saved, do you
love your brother or not?
No, the Bible's saying though that if you hate your brothers and sisters in Christ,
you can't say that you're walking in the light and that you love God.
And here's what's interesting, keeping God's commandments and loving your brother and sister
in Christ are actually kind of the same thing.
You say, why is that?
Well, because of the fact every time you sin, you're harming other people.
And to show your love for other people, obey the commandments.
And so when you're tempted to do wrong, you need to realize, hey, if I commit this sin,
I'm not just harming myself, I'm harming other people.
I mean, the Bible says all the law is fulfilled in this one word, love God with all your heart,
all your soul, and love thy neighbor as yourself.
And the 10 commandments can be broken down into loving God and loving your neighbor as
yourself.
So by keeping God's commandments, you're showing love to your neighbors.
Because think about it, thou shalt not kill.
If you murder someone, are you showing love to other people?
But you keep that commandment, and guess what, you're showing love by being kind to other
people.
Keeping His commandments and loving your brother and sister in Christ, they're sort
of the same thing, okay?
Because whenever you do wrong, whether you realize it or not, you're harming your brothers
and sisters in Christ.
Verse 10, he that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of
stumbling in him.
So if you love your brothers and sisters in Christ, you are abiding in the light, which
once again, it's not a guarantee you're going to abide in the light.
It depends on what you're doing with your life.
And there's none occasion of stumbling in him.
You say, Brother Stuckey, why are you not going to stumble if you're walking in the
light?
Because you can see, right?
But at 10 o'clock tonight, or just close your eyes, even if it's not 10 o'clock at night,
after the service, do this test, okay?
Close your eyes and just walk and try to, you know what, everyone's going to be running
into each other.
We're going to have broken instruments, because everyone's going to be like, whoops!
What are you doing?
Because you're walking in darkness.
You can't see.
And see, the Bible's saying this, if you are someone that's living your life not obeying
God's rules, you're walking in darkness.
You're going to stumble over stuff you didn't even see, right?
I mean, obviously, in a physical sense, God gave us our eyes as a protection to know what
we're doing, to see where we're going.
But here's the thing, if you are dwelling in darkness, you're not doing what's right,
you're not abiding in the light, you're going to make mistake after mistake and not even
realize that you're stumbling over something.
There's going to be something right in the way that's going to destroy you, but you don't
even see it.
Whoops!
Why is that?
Well, you're not abiding in the light.
You're not seeing where you're going.
You're going to make mistakes, right?
I mean, when God uses terminology and examples, He's trying to put pictures in our heads so
we can understand stuff, right?
And it's like, if you can't see where you're going, if it's dark, it's like, good luck,
right?
And so it says in verse 11, but he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in
darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
And so look, if it's dark, you're not going to know where you're going, I mean, especially
if you're in a new place, right?
Because around my house, I know I can feel out for the wall and stuff like that, but
if you're in a brand new area and you cannot see, who knows what's going to happen?
I had a friend of mine who worked a summer internship in a coal mine in West Virginia,
and you know what?
When you think of the lights being out, you say, oh, it's dark, but there's actually dark
to the point where it can be felt, as the Bible says.
There's darkness to the point where your eyes never adjust because there is no light whatsoever,
right?
Because you go in darkness and you can't really see, you wait a couple minutes, now you start
to see some things, right?
But when you're in a coal mine in the middle of the earth, right, you cannot see anything.
And so my friend was at a new job at an internship, and this one guy did this to all the new workers
as a joke, because you have a light that you can see, and he turned off the light so he's
in the middle and he has no clue where he's going.
Now here's the thing, you know what?
When you're in a coal mine, you may have only done a couple turns, but if it's a completely
new place, you could end up going the wrong, I mean, that's very dangerous.
I mean, I would have been, my friend was pretty angry, but it's just like, he controlled himself
by not decking that guy, right, because that is not a funny joke.
And he was able to find his way out, but it took him a while, he was really scared, because
complete darkness is actually very scary.
If your eyes never adjust to the light, you're going to be scared.
And see, the Bible is saying this, that if you hate your brother, you hate your brother,
sister in Christ, you are in complete darkness.
So look, you cannot say you love God if you hate your brothers and sisters in Christ.
That's what the Bible is saying.
If you love God, then you know what, that means you love your brothers and sisters in
Christ.
And it talks about that throughout the book of 1 John, okay?
Now notice what it says in verse 12, I write unto you, little children, because your sins
are forgiven you for his name's sake.
I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning.
I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.
Now overcoming the wicked one is, what does our hymnal say?
Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
And that actually comes from 1 John later on in 1 John 5, we'll go to it not in this
sermon because we're going to be here in several weeks, but faith is the victory that overcomes
the world.
Now in verse 12 it talks about your sins are forgiven you, well when you get saved your
sins are forgiven you.
At the beginning of verse 13 it talks about knowing him.
And here's the thing, when you first get saved you do start to know God a little bit.
But at the same time Paul the Apostle still said my goal is to know him after being saved
for a long time.
So if you're first saved you know him a little bit, you know the very basics, but you can't
really say you know him fully, okay?
To know him fully you need to walk the walk, but being saved you just believe on Jesus
Christ.
And what you do understand is that Christ died and paid for your sins, he's the eternal
son of God, he paid for all the sins of the world, he's the only way to heaven, he's offering
a free gift, it's eternal life, he's God in the flesh.
There's the basics that you know and those are things that are grounded in you, but there's
also a lot that you don't know so you don't fully know him, okay?
Then it says in verse 13, I write unto you little children because you have known the
father, I have written unto you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning,
I have written unto you young men because you are strong and the word of God abideth
in you and you have overcome the wicked one.
Now here's the thing, in these verses 12 through 14 he uses a lot of expressions and says a
lot of things to tell you that he's writing to saved people, right?
I mean these are people whose sins are forgiven, these are people that have overcome the wicked
one.
You say why is that important?
Well if you're already saved, then you don't have to worry about whether or not you're
going to heaven.
What he's doing in this chapter is admonishing you to live a good life, because you're already
saved.
Now look, I don't tell somebody door to door, hey you know what, you need to quit drinking.
I tell them how to go to heaven.
You say brother Saki, are you condoning drinking?
No, I tell you to quit drinking.
You say why?
You're already saved.
You're a king and priest unto God.
And you know what, yeah, that's not something for a saved person to do.
That's something a derelict does.
As a saved person you ought to know better.
You ought to be a peculiar person, but you know I don't say that at the door, right?
I'm not like Ray Comfort, the Ray Comfort technique of preaching the gospel where you
just condemn them, condemn them.
No we're explaining what is the gospel, the good news, the good tidings.
We're giving them a good message.
I mean isn't it good?
You don't have to make any changes in your life and you can go to heaven if you just
believe?
It's a great message because here's the thing, unsaved people are trying to make changes
and they keep messing up.
And saved people, we're the same way.
We're trying to make changes and we keep making the same mistakes, but you know the great
thing is whosoever believeth in him will be saved the Bible says.
You believe on him, you receive everlasting life.
So he's writing to save people.
Verse 15, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
And so point one, keep the commandments.
Point two, love your brother and sister in Christ.
Point three, hate the world.
Hate the world, okay?
Now when I say hate the world, I'm not saying hate the people that are in the world.
I'm not saying hey I hate the world so I'm going to litter and throw garbage on the ground.
I'm saying you know you're against worldliness and things that are not of God but are of
the devil or of the world, things that are sinful, okay?
And the Bible says if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
That does not say that they're not saved.
It says the love of the Father is not in him.
If you love the world, that does not mean you're not saved.
But it does mean the love of the Father is not in you, right?
You can be saved without loving God and without showing love to other people because what
really is the love of God?
Well, I mean God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son and we show our
love when we lay down our life and care about other people more than ourselves.
If you do not do that, it doesn't mean you're not saved.
It just means you only care about number one, right?
You only care about yourself, numero uno.
You don't care about anybody else.
But here's the thing.
You know what?
If you actually love other people, you're going to not care about yourself only but
actually care about...
That's what Jesus Christ did.
He didn't come to be ministered on to.
He came to give his life a ransom for many and he ministered on to other people and he
said we're supposed to do the same thing and save people.
That's why we go soul winning.
That's why in an hour with like five umbrellas, you're going to come go out soul winning and
risk getting soaked just to try to win something.
You say why?
Because your life is not about you.
It's about other people that do not know Jesus Christ, that are not saved, okay?
And so look, if you love the world, you can't say the love of the Father is in you.
Now go to James 4 real quickly.
James 4.
And so you say what does it mean to love the world or what does it mean to be worldly?
You know, that's a term you hear sometimes like someone who's worldly.
What it means is you're focused on the things of the world rather than eternal things.
There's basically two worlds.
There's this world and then there's heaven.
And instead of caring about the things of heaven and the things of God, you're caring
about the things of this world.
Look, I've heard literally here in the Philippines, Baptist churches that cancel church to watch
a Manny Pacquiao fight, worldly.
I mean that's caring for the things of the world and not the things of God.
I mean if you want to watch a boxing fight, that's fine.
But you know what?
You don't cancel church to do it.
That's called being worldly.
And look, I'll admit that when I was a newer Christian, sometimes I was guilty of this
because sometimes something exciting pops up on a Sunday.
I still remember.
I've been saved for like a year.
My dad and I, we went to Philadelphia to watch a Mexico versus U.S. soccer game.
I showed my love for soccer right there.
But I was wrong.
I felt guilty about it afterwards because I was like, man, I shouldn't have done that
because I should have been in church.
But what does that show?
It shows someone's being worldly.
And when somebody cares about the things of the world more than, I mean, when you know
more about Lady Gaga than you do Simon Peter, there's a problem, right?
I mean when you know very little about Paul the Apostle, right, when you think that King
Saul is the same person as the Saul in the New Testament, maybe you want to get off social
media and start reading your Bible because that's a different Saul, okay?
It's like but people care so much about the things of the world, and God's like these
things are going to vanish.
They're going to be gone.
And yet everybody cares so much about these things and so little about the things of God.
Now it says in James 4, James 4, James 4, ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not
that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
Whosoever therefore be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
And the Bible says you are the enemy of God when you side with the world.
You say why is that?
Well, God's here, the Bible's here, and the world is here, right?
Think back to my common versus normal sermon series if you were here for that, right?
And you got what is actually normal, the word of God, and what's right, and you've got what
is common, which is a guy wearing a dress here in the Philippines.
That's what's common, okay?
Depending on where you live, it depends.
In India, you pray to a cow.
It's considered, you know, it's very common.
And when something's common, people think it's normal.
But here's the thing.
God doesn't change.
For I am the Lord, I change not.
This is the word of God, and then you have the world.
And here's the thing.
A hundred years ago, the world was here, and God was here.
Back then, men married women.
Women married men, right?
Those traditional roles and things like that.
But here's the thing.
God has not changed.
The Bible has not changed, and the world is just going further and further and further
and further.
This world is insane.
I mean, if you don't realize that, then you're not opening up your Bible.
This world is crazy.
It's insane.
And it's going to get worse and worse and worse and become like the days of Lot.
And Genesis 19 is a scary chapter, my friend.
It's going to become like the days of Noah.
It's going to get worse and worse and worse.
But here's the thing.
There are a lot of saved people, though, who instead of siding with God, they side with
the world.
Right.
I mean, I still remember this vividly, because when my wife and I were processing her visa,
the Pope was visiting the Philippines.
So it kind of slowed down the process.
Nobody did any work, I guess, when the Pope was coming.
And I remember there was some Baptist preacher who made a joke about the Pope.
I think he called him Poop Francis or something like that.
And then other Baptists were criticizing the Baptist who mocked him.
It's the Pope.
He's a false prophet.
Look, there's nothing you could ever say about Pope Francis that is going to offend me.
The guy's probably the most famous and powerful false prophet in the world.
He has such an influence on over one billion people, you cannot offend me with what you
say about him.
Now, I might not say the exact same thing you would, but I'm certainly not going to
criticize you for whatever you say.
He's a false prophet.
He's a devil.
And there were Baptists that were siding with the Pope over the Baptist.
It's like, whose side are you on?
And it's just like, that's called siding with the world and being worldly and siding against
God.
Because, look, Jesus called out false prophets.
I mean, people were called serpents, wolves, I mean, there's all kinds of terms calling
out false prophets.
Okay.
What is that called?
Well, it's called becoming an enemy of God because you're on the wrong side, my friend.
God's on that side and you're siding against people that are on, you know what, you're
on the wrong side.
You're now the enemy of God, the Bible says.
It doesn't mean you're not saved, though, but it does mean you're the enemy of God because
you're fighting against God.
Go to 1 John 2, 1 John 2, 1 John 2.
And here's what I want you to understand.
You know, there's many churches in this world that are doing great works for God, and you
know what, people are different.
Churches are different.
Pastors are different.
And I hear pastors say things, and I know that that's probably not what I would say,
but I'm certainly not going to side against them, even if I have a different style than
them.
Because you know what I know?
God's on the side of that man of God.
Even if I wouldn't have preached the same sermon, it's like I'm certainly not going
to side against him if I agree, even if I wouldn't have said the same thing.
But you know, I have a lot of people that they just have to just criticize.
It's like, whose side are you on?
It's like God is over here, and you stand against the filth of the world, and then you
got saved people that are standing in the filth of the world like, yeah, not all Christians
are like that.
You know, forgive me.
It's like not all Christians are like that.
I mean, it's ludicrous.
It's ridiculous.
I mean, I just had a story pop into my head.
This is not really that related, but the first Baptist church I went to, they were trying
to come up with ideas to reach new people, and this is not a church I would go to now.
They're very rock music, very liberal, you know, not old-fashioned and everything like
that.
They were trying to reach people, and they had various people at the meeting coming up
with ideas.
One of the people had the idea we should set up a booth at WVU, and we should dress up
as Catholic priests and say, you know, we apologize for crucifying people hundreds of
years ago.
It's like, I'm not a Catholic, but it's like, well, we want to try to reach the world.
How do we reach the world?
Dress up like a pedophile.
That's going to reach the world.
It's like, what in the world is wrong with people?
You know, our church is very old-fashioned, and I'm not ashamed of it.
Sometimes people ask you about your church.
What is your church like?
Macaluma.
Old-fashioned.
Hard preaching, old-fashioned hymns.
You're going to hear the word of God preached.
You're going to, you know, know the word of God, and what I tell people is this.
Every single person that comes to our church will say this.
This is different than other churches I've been to.
And I tell them, you might like it.
You might not.
Give us one shot.
And that's reality.
Because some people come to this church and they're like, man, this is rough.
But nobody comes to this church and says, hey, that's just like victory.
That's just like CCF.
It's like, man, that's the exact same thing.
It's like, this is just like the church I've been to my whole life.
No, everyone says it's different.
Now, some people like that.
Some don't.
But here's the thing.
I don't believe the word of God changes to fit the times.
I believe we should preach the word of God without apology.
Now, of course, we preach in love.
It's not like I'm trying to be a jerk, but I'm just showing what the Bible says and explaining
it.
And the truth is, a lot of people get offended, but it's because the world is crazy.
Ninety percent of what I say a hundred years ago, people would be like, yeah, that's normal.
Would anybody get offended at a Vice Pangeet joke a hundred years ago?
No.
You know what they'd say?
Like, what is he talking about?
I've never seen a guy wear a dress before.
Literally.
Look, we're just brainwashed by the world.
And you stand against the world and people think you're crazy, you're hateful, you're
mean.
No, we're just brainwashed by the world.
And look, all of us get brainwashed when we see something all the time.
That's why the Bible says guard our eyes and our ears, because it will change and influence
you.
Okay?
Now, turn to 1 John 2.
1 John 2.
We'll be done here in a minute.
We're almost done.
1 John 2, verse 16, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust
of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world.
And the world passeth away and the lust thereof.
And so there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth.
This world's going to pass away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God
abideth forever.
Okay?
Now, you say, Brother Stuckey, what does that mean?
Because that verse sounds like you have to obey God's commandments to abide forever.
Right?
Well, I do believe abiding forever is referring to having eternal life.
Okay?
Now, you're going to either have eternal life or the second death, but abiding forever is
referring to having eternal life.
And it says you have to do the will of God.
So when we're saying the will of God, you know, kaloba nangdios, what exactly are we
saying?
Well, the truth is there are a million things found in the will of God.
Okay?
But what's the number one first thing?
Go to John chapter 6, John chapter 6, John 6.
Because if you want to go down this road by saying, well, you've got to do the will of
God to go to heaven, well, are you always doing the will of God?
I mean, none of us are perfect.
Right?
I mean, we sin every day.
We do wrong.
No one can say that they are perfectly 100% doing the will of God.
I certainly wouldn't say that about myself.
I know plenty of areas in my life I need to make changes.
And so, look, we can't say we're perfectly doing the will of God, but you know what you
can say is you've just started to know God.
You've just started to do the will of God because salvation is the first step.
And it says in John 6 verse 40, and this is the will of him that sent me that everyone
would see at the sun and believeth on and may have everlasting life and I will raise
him up at the last day.
And so, according to Jesus, the will is that we might believe on him and we might have
everlasting life.
Now, I'm not going to sit here and say that that is the only part of the will of God for
your life.
I'm not going to say that's the only way this phrase is used.
But I am going to say that 1 John 2, that's what it's referring to.
And the reason why I believe he's doing that is because the world is going to pass away.
Saved people are not.
They're never truly going to die.
So he's mentioning salvation because he's saying, hey, the world's going to pass away,
but if you're saved, you put your faith on Jesus Christ, you've done the will of God,
you're going to abide forever.
But he's not saying, well, you know what, you need to make sure you're reading the Bible
for an hour every day and do this and this and this because none of us have perfectly
done the will of God.
But you can just start to know God by believing on Jesus Christ.
And look, if you've been saved for, you know, let's say just a couple months, you have just
started to get to know God.
You have just started to do the will of God.
Now hopefully you're going to make more and more changes, but you've done the start.
You've put your faith in Jesus Christ.
Now go back to 1 John 2.
We'll close up.
Last two verses.
1 John 2, verses 1 and 2, I said I'd come back to these verses.
And look, you have to understand, the purpose of 1 John 2 is not to tell you how to get
to heaven.
According to verse 1, my little children, so save people, they're already saved, my
little children, these things write it unto you that ye sin not.
That's why all of these verses, you can't just apply everything here to salvation because
He's trying to teach you not to sin.
And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
So He wrote this so people would not sin, but what's the reality?
The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak, and every single day we do something wrong.
I mean the thought of foolishness is sin.
I mean if you have the thought, man, I wish I was rich, that's a sin, right?
I mean it's so small.
We sin every single day.
It's like the thought of foolishness is sin.
Maybe just me.
I think a lot of foolish thoughts, right?
If we would actually look at our lives, we'd realize, you know what, I have a long ways
to go to get to know God.
And so what He says is, you know what, if any man sin, we have an advocate with the
Father.
Look, every single day you should go to bed and apologize to God for what you did that
was wrong today and ask God to reveal to you other problems that you're not aware of.
And you know what?
You wake up the next day and part of your prayer is, God, help me to do better today.
And look, if you're honest, you could say that every single day that you have things
to ask for forgiveness for.
Now I do believe that you can go to bed with a clear conscience, like you've really tried
to do what's right, but you can't go to bed literally saying, I have not done a single
thing wrong and I was 100% perfect, because we're not perfect.
We sin every single day.
And you know what?
We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, the second person of
the Godhead.
And He is the propitiation for our sins.
Now who is our sins referring to?
It's referring to saved people.
And not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
So what is He saying?
He's saying Christ died for the sins of those that are saved and everybody who didn't get
saved.
The sins of the whole world.
See Jesus is the Savior in the Muslim countries, in the Buddhist countries, in the Hindu countries.
Jesus is the Savior of everyone and He died for the sins of the whole world.
Whether you're saved or not, Jesus died for your sins, past, present, future, big and
small.
You know what that teaches?
It teaches you that this idea that God only wants some people saved and He only died for
some people is false.
I mean according to this verse, He died for everybody.
And that's consistent with the Bible.
The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.
Jesus died for everybody for the sins of the whole world.
I mean it even says, I think it's in 2 Peter 2, you don't have to turn there, but it talks
about the false prophets being bought.
Like it says that Jesus basically died or paid for their sins.
He made the payment, but obviously they chose not to believe.
So if Jesus died for everybody, it's everybody's free will choice to believe or not.
We do our best to preach the gospel, whether it's a tsunami, monsoon, however much rain
there is.
And people have their own free will choice.
But when somebody gets saved, that is the first step of doing the will of God.
That's the first step of knowing God.
That's only the beginning though.
Sanction happens in an instance, sanctification, if you make that choice to change your life,
that's a whole lifetime of getting to know God and getting close to God and getting rid
of sins and doing what's right.
That doesn't come immediately.
In fact, your whole life you can press toward that mark like Paul and say, you know what?
My goal in life is not just to be saved, but I want to know God.
Let's close in the word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to see your
word and help us to understand this book.
This is a very important book.
It's a verse that a lot of people take out of context and help us to understand these
verses and help us to understand the importance of not just being saved, but also trying to
do what's right and obeying your commandments and obeying your will and having you guide
us in life.
We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.