John asserts in 1Jn 5:18a, We know that whoever is born of God does not sin [present active indicative: does not keep on sinning, habitually, not occasionally, cf. 1 Jn 3:4-10].
Those
who have the divine nature of Christ does not go on practicing unrighteousness
or sin; it goes against the divine nature within us. We are confronting three
enemies at any given time that attempt to lead us to sin: the world, the flesh,
and the devil. We must keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21), but it is
Jesus who protects the believer so the enemies of our soul cannot get their paws
on us without His permission,
But
He [Christ]
who was
born of God [cf.
Jn 1:14, 18] keeps
him [the
believer], and
the evil one [Satan]
does not
touch [to
lay hold of or to grasp in order to harm] him (1
Jn 5:18b, NASB).
We know that Satan cannot go beyond God’s parameters without His permission (cf. Job 1:10a). We must ever be mindful that nothing enters our lives unless our Sovereign God allows it, absolutely nothing. That sounds pretty good when things go to our liking. Now, imagine you are in Job’s sandals. Knowing of God’s sovereignty, when permission is given and the stuff hits the fan, would you curse God (Job 2:9)? Or would you say,
Blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21; cf. Job 2:10b-c)?
When the hedge surrounding us is hinged, trusting Yahweh is vital when a volatile situation reaches critical mass. As with Job, we need to place our confidence in the character of God and follow Job’s lead in this manner,
Though
He slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15a).
More easily said than done, yes? This is a deep-seated trust in knowing that we know who Yahweh is and whatever enters our lives, good or bad (cf. Job 2:10b), He is allowing for it to happen to us. It is not a time where we have the option to accept or reject it; often a situation is already upon us. We cannot flip faith on or off like a light switch. Our faith must already be prepared for battle at all times [keep the light on all the time]; this is the nature of spiritual warfare that we are engaged in.
God’s presence is with us in times of peace and conflict, and He will always uphold His promises. The enemy will try to instill doubt in turbulent times and say that God has abandoned us (cf. Heb 13:5), and His promises are empty (cf. 2 Cor 1:20; Lk 24:44) but consider the source (cf. Gn 3:4; Jn 8:44).
We live in an enemy-occupied territory (1 Jn 5:19; 1 Pet 5:8), and we
must keep our eyes wide open and be on the lookout for subtle and crafty
movements by the enemy at all times. We have the victory in Jesus, but we
should rely on Him and not take matters into our own hands in spiritual
skirmishes (cf. Eph 6:11, 12). As one commentator put it, “We fight ‘from’
victory as well as ‘for’ victory” (Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines); cf. Zech 4:6.
There is an alternative viewpoint that 1 Jn
5:18b refers to regenerate people by noting that John had never referred to
Christ in this manner, born of God and sees this verse as merely a restatement of the truth of 1 Jn
3:9, in a slightly different manner. You could have a drawn-out ping pong match
with these two conservative viewpoints of 1 Jn 5:18. Another view espouses that
it could possibly refer to both! Bon appétit!
Anyone
who has spent time in the Scriptures knows right well that reading, meditating,
memorizing, studying, or researching the Scriptures is work. There is no doubt
about it. Since I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, I have had to stay at
it longer than most, not to mention working the Word in my life and living by
the Book as a rule life.
The
key here is persistency: staying at it, always moving forward. One thing is for
sure; he/she who is willfully ignorant of the Word cannot truthfully say, “The
more I know; the more I realize how little I know!” They are more like the
character, Sargent Schultz, of the 1965 sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, “I know
nothing!”
Here
is the fundamental issue with having a lack of interest in reading the Word of
God and see no need of it as the rule of life. You can’t obey what you don’t
know, and ignorance of the Word is no excuse. How in the world do we obey the
prime directive to love God with the totality of our being and love our
neighbors as ourselves by remaining ignorant of the Word? Yahweh translates our love for Him through our obedience to His commandments!
First
and foremost, we must all experience spiritual regeneration. Only a born again
believer is enabled to carry out the prime directive with the help of the Holy
Spirit (cf. Jn 14:17; Rom 5:5; 8:9, 11; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; Gal 5:16; Eph
2:22; 5:18; 1 Thes 4:8; 2 Tim 1:14; 1 Jn 3:24). We demonstrate our love for God by obeying
His commands (cf. Jn 14:15, 21, 27).
The
verb “keep” in these passages does not mean being prompted by a sense of duty,
a keeping for keeping sake; rather, it becomes a heartfelt desire for God. This is the predictability or byproduct of a love (agape) for God, obedience to His commands.
Now,
if the prime directive is to love God with the totality of our being and our
neighbors as ourselves, how can we do that being willfully ignorant of His command
because we are not interested nor invested in the Word and arrogantly see no
need of it as a rule of life? Such an attitude reveals that we are not in love
with God though we may claim we are in fellowship with Him, and we are cold
towards loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Just
how long can a believer continue to “get by” without the Word being fully
integrated into his/her life is a Jesus call, but the simple fact of the matter
is that you and I cannot obey what we don’t know, and if it is commanded, we
are in disobedience whether we realize it or not!
Jesus
asked this rhetorical question during His sermon on the plateau,
But why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say (Lk 6:46)?
Folks,
God gave us the Word of God. It is His self-revelation for us. If we are
ignoring the Scriptures as a rule of life, we are not in love (agape)
with God. That is a no-brainer. Lip service and a heart far from Him are not
reflective of the Lordship of Christ in a person’s life.
Another
no-brainer is that a tree is known by its fruit (Lk 6:44). So, genuine faith
and love (agape) for God will produce obedience to the commands of God.
If we claim to be an apple tree, we must show the world our apples. A belief
that is barren only indicates that there are no fruits of good works (contrast
Eph 2:10); as James would say, Faith without works [fruits] is dead (Jas 2:26).
I
have seen believers: retired, living comfortably, and having all the
accessories of life but turning a deaf ear to this very subject about having a
proper attitude towards the Word of God and realizing just how important that
is to your spiritual health. There is no such thing as retirement from the
kingdom of God that I am aware of!
Too
many have reasoned pragmatically, not spiritually, “I hear what you’re saying, but
I have gotten by this far without it and have done pretty well; so why start
now?” Is this the thinking of many of those claiming to be a believer for years?
Sadly, yes.
Why
would we want to spend eternity with someone we don’t even know because we
willfully ignored God’s self-revelation to us and in so doing evaded His will for
our lives? I’m guessing that we all want to go to heaven via the rapture or
R.I.P. and be with Jesus for eternity but never give Him a lick of our time to
worship, serve, fellowship, be in His Word to know the One who gave His life
for us and love others as ourselves down here!
Do
we really think God doesn’t know what is going on within our hearts (cf. Jer
17:10)? He is omniscient or all-knowing after all! Besides, our lack of love
for God and others is demonstrated to all who know us through our disobedience
to His orders (cf. 1 Jn 5:3).
So,
I ask you again. Truly, when it comes to the Word of God, what makes your
treatment of the Bible any different than the sons and daughters of Adam who do
not know the Lord? Wouldn’t this be a marvelous
testimony if this was realized of us,
Now
when they [Acts
4:5-6, rulers, elders, scribes, high priest and others] saw the boldness of
Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they
marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13, emphasis
mine).
When
the world discovers our hearts are full of the Word and overflowing into the
lives of others, they realize that we are of Jesus. Does our attitude
towards the Word reveal that about us to others or does it say something else? Truly,
our attitude towards the Bible reveals whether we have a heart for God and
others, or we do not. If the Bible is the rule of our life, there is light manifested, not darkness.
(Psa 19:7) The
law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the
LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
(Psa 19:8) The
statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of
the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
(Psa 19:9) The
fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are
true and righteous altogether.
(Psa 19:10) More
to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also
than honey and the honeycomb.
(Psa 19:11) Moreover
by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is
great reward.
(Psa 19:12) Who
can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.
(Psa 19:13) Keep
back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have
dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great
transgression.
(Psa 19:14) Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
Our view of God can be no higher than our view of the Word. I have closed with this before, but it is worthy of repeating. Stay strong in Yahweh, skilled in the Word, and steadfast in the faith! <><
