The Proof Is In the Pudding

“Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.“ – Vs 18 NLT

My wife loves it when I say, “I love you!” But she loves it even more when I show here how much I love her with actions that express my love for her. If all I ever did was express my love in words, but never backed it up with tangible, heart-felt acts of kindness and love, she would begin to question the truth behind my words. With that in mind, today’s blog is like a part two of yesterday’s blog, “Talk Is Cheap.” John seems to be the same basic thought by continuing to stress love in action. Our lives are to be characterized by Christ-likeness. We are to live in purity and sinlessness, so much so that we stand out as children of God, rather than children of the devil (Vs 10). One of the ways we express our Christ-likeness is through our love for one another. John reminds them: “This is the message we have heard from the beginning: We should love one another” (Vs 11 NLT). Our love for one another is proof or evidence that we are in Christ and have His Spirit living within us. “If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to eternal life. But a person who has no love is still dead” (Vs 14 NLT). What kind of love are we talking about? Is it a sentimental, Hallmark Card kind of love expressed only in words? No. John makes it clear that the kind of love he is talking about is the kind of love that Christ showed to us. “We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters” (Vs 16 NLT).

You see, real love is tangible. It is measurable. The proof is in the pudding as the old saying goes. In fact, the original phrase was “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” It meant that the true value or quality of something can only be judged when it is put to use. In other words, results are what counts. Isn’t that what John is saying? “Let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions” (Vs 18 NLT). What are the results of our so-called love for one another? Is the abiding love of Christ in us showing up in abiding love for others? Do we love as He loved?

“And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us” (Vs 23 NLT).

Father, You have expressed Your love for me by sending Your own Son to die in my place for my sins. You continue to show Your love to me every day by continuing to shower me with Your grace and mercy when what I really deserve is Your wrath and justice. Yet I find it hard to love others. I can mouth the words and claim to love them, but so often fail to back it up with actions. Your Son showed His love by dying for me. The first step in learning to love others more is for me to learn to die to myself. To give up my rights, my will, and my own comfort for the good of others. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Walk the Talk

“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.“ – Vs 6 NLT

Our confession should be backed up with action. What we say we believe should show up in how we behave. John was really clear on this. But this was not some new kind of teaching. He was just expanding on the very words of Jesus found in the Great Commission: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 NLT). Jesus Himself taught that His disciples would be marked by a life of obedience to His commands. Obedience to His commands would mean that every one of His disciples would live a different kind of life. So John is simply teaching what Jesus taught when he says, “And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. If someone says, ‘I belong to God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God’s word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him” (1 John 2:3-5 NLT). Our obedience to His commands is proof that we belong to God. It is how we know whether or not we really belong to Him. It is the evidence of our new relationship. Because without a relationship with Christ we would not even have a desire or an inclination to obey His commands.

John says that we should live as Jesus did. What does He mean by that? For one thing, it means that we are to live in submission to the Father. Also, we are to live in complete dependence upon the Father and in absolute obedience to His desires. Jesus did. Jesus also lived a life of sacrificial service to mankind. So should we. But the temptation is to live with the spotlight focused on us and our needs and desires. Jesus came to serve, not to be served. He came to give Himself away, not to have others give to Him. In doing so, He was doing the will of the Father. One of the greatest evidences that we have an abiding relationship with God is the love that we show for one another. John says, “Anyone who loves other Christians is living in the light and does not cause anyone to stumble” (Vs 10 NLT). Jesus Himself said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 NLT).

We are to love and live as Jesus did. Our walk should match our talk. How we behave should line up with what we say we believe. We are to love one another. We are to live in obedience to God. We are NOT to love the world or the things of this world. Our lives are to be characterized by Christ-likeness. We are to follow His example. We are to live as He lived. We are to love as He loved. We are to give as He gave. We are to do as He did. We are to walk the talk.

Father, may my life be increasingly more marked by Christ-likeness. May obedience to His commands be what motivates me and marks me as one of Your children. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

So you say?

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” – Vs 6 NASB

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” – Vs 8 NASB

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” – Vs 10 NASB

Three times in the opening of this little letter, John uses this little phrase, “if we say.” And all three seem to have to do with saying or claiming something that is not really true. I say I have fellowship with God, but I still live in darkness (sin). I say I have no sin, but the reality is I do and I’m everyone knows it but me. I say I have never sinned, but by claiming that I contradict the word of God and make Him out to be a liar. Saying it doesn’t make it so. Words really are cheap. What I say really doesn’t matter if it isn’t backed up by truth and lived out in reality. I can say I believe in God, love God, worship God, and fear and respect God, but if it doesn’t show up in my daily life, it is nothing but lip-service and empty words.

John seems to be calling us to live it, not say it. Do it, not just claim it. He says, “if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another” (Vs 7 NASB). In other words, if we live lives that are in obedience to God and in daily fellowship with God, then it will be evident in the way we live with one another. We won’t have to say it, because others will see it. It will be visible proof that the blood of Jesus has cleansed us from all sin. John goes on to address this issue of sin. He says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (Vs 9 NASB). All we have to do is agree with God about the fact that we are sinners who sin. Confess it. Admit it. Fess up to it. To do so reveals that we have the truth of God’s word in us. To deny it just shows that we never really heard the truth. And one important point here is that we realize that to NOT confess is to say that we have no sin. When we refuse to confess, it is as if we are telling God that we have no sin to confess. We might as well just come out and say so. That’s John’s third point. Lack of confession is basically saying to God that we have not sinned. Every time we sin and refuse to confess it, we are telling God He is a liar, because God says we all sin. On top of that, His Holy Spirit personally convicts us of sin on a daily basis. His Word convicts us of sin. When that happens and we choose to ignore the sin in our lives and not confess it, we make Him out to be a liar. We are telling God that He is wrong.

So what do you say? Do you walk in the Light? Do you confess? Are your actions more powerful than your words? Do your actions speak louder than your words? John says, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (Vs 5 NASB). Are you living in that Light? If so, it will be evident to all those around you, no matter what you say.

Father, may our actions speak louder than our words. May we be a people who are known by how we live in the Light, not just what we have to say about it. When we fail to live in the Light, may we be willing to confess it and accept your forgiveness. Not deny it and claim to have never done it. Words are cheap. Your grace was not. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org