The Joshua Victor Theory

  Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. In 1 John 5 let’s consider how you’re “Children of New Life.” We’re familiar with our old life under sin and the condemnation of the law. Our daily experience in a broken world. Old life is as familiar as worn-out shoes. But Christ calls us to a new life. Learning, growth, and a new identity. Children of God are born for a new life. 1 John teaches our new life centers around simple things: faith, love, and the true confession of Jesus. First, in v. 1, John writes: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.” Believing in Jesus as the Christ and loving God the Father are marks of the children of God. Believing and loving. We don’t become children of God by doing those things, but because Christ first loved us, and by His own will, we were born of God (John 1:12-13). We become who we are by being...

  Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia! Hear this great resurrection truth: 1 John 3:2, 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. Jesus has risen from the grave and will return one day. Also, we are God’s children now, and will become fully like Jesus when He returns. These two points in our spiritual timeline are the “now” and the “not yet.” The gap is growing ever closer, as we move closer to our Risen Lord’s return. So, the great resurrection truth of 1 John 3, is that we are already God’s children now, and that we shall be like Jesus when He returns. How big is Jesus’ Easter glory? How big a deal to be called children of God, aimed on a trajectory that ends in becoming fully like Jesus, our Risen Lord? Don’t take it for granted! 1 John 3:1 cries out in wonder : “ See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called child...

    Children loved by God: grace and peace to you! In a past sermon I talked to you about two different worldviews—a flat, 1D worldview, that revolves around us and what this world has to offer, and a 3D worldview, that revolves around Christ and what His kingdom offers. Faith is like our “3D glasses” to see the spiritual dimension behind things; that there is more to life. A God-centered way to live life, that helps and serves others. It’s the same world, but the believer sees by faith, eyes open to the spiritual struggle between good and evil. Today on All Saints’ Day, we can see something similar at work in 1 John 3:1-3. Believers with their 3D glasses are “children of God.” But unbelievers stuck in 1D aren’t seeing who God or Christ, or even who Christians really are. They may even be antagonistic to Christians. Read 1 John 3 with our 3D faith glasses on: “ See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are .” “See...

              Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Our verses today from Paul’s prison letter to the Philippians echo Moses’ farewell speech to the children of Israel. Both Moses and Paul were at the end of their life and ministry. Moses had spoken God’s law one last time to Israel. Then he warns that if they forsake God’s commandments and turn back to other gods, they would no longer be God’s children because they’re blemished—a crooked and twisted generation. Paul echoes these words in his letter to his beloved Philippians: “ Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain .” ...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. God calls you children of God, and so you are! God also calls His children saints, or holy ones. God speaks these realities into existence by His all-powerful word, and through the salvation He has won for us in Christ Jesus. Today, let those realities sink into your heart and mind and life, so that you live in what God has given and done for you. God has made us His children, and made us pure saints, in Him—because He is pure. We live out that reality. Talking about “saints” usually leads to some confusion and misunderstandings. One misunderstanding is that saints become so by virtue of their achievements and great example of godliness. This is to say, that they become saints because of their good works. The Bible, however, teaches the contrary view, that we become saints because God has called us to be saints, and because He has loved us (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2). A sain...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. As we’ve been reading through the book of 1 John these past weeks in church, the themes of faith and love have echoed again and again. Last week it was about hearing God’s Word of Truth and believing and confessing Jesus in the flesh. It was about God’s first-love coming to us, and producing love in us in return. Building on that same thought, that faith and love are inseparable, today we hear in 1 John 5:1: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him.” This is family-talk. It’s saying that we are children of God, born of God because we’re believers in Jesus Christ. As part of God’s family we love both our heavenly Father and other believers born of Him as well. Church, your fellow Christians, is your family. Even if your natural family is no longer living or is far from you, your fellow believers are God’s famil...