Who was the apostle John? Readers of the New Testament are provided with a fair amount of information on this particular disciple since he was one who belonged to the so-called “inner circle” of Jesus. He is sometimes referred to as the one that Jesus loved. But he was also one of the “sons of thunder,” a title that he shared with his brother, James. This fiery and beloved one was a fisherman at the time of his calling, but he was a man who so clearly loved the truth and taught the church to hold to it at all costs. As a seasoned follower of Jesus, he wrote this first of three letters to fellow believers, challenging them to be confident in the truth as they walked in fellowship with one another. Pastor Daniel kicks off this series, introducing listeners to the three tests (tests he later expounds throughout this 1 John series) of authentic Christian fellowship: the truth test, the obedience test, and the love test.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

What is it that joins the church together? What are the members to unite in? John makes very clear from the beginning of his letter that being in fellowship with other believers is far more robust than simply being in close proximity to others in the body or just getting along with others in the pews. John and the other apostles passed along their knowledge about the truth of their Savior, and in that truth everyone who believed was united. Pastor Daniel emphasizes this reality when he states, “Common confession fuels joyful fellowship.” He provides three principles for application for believers to consider. 1) True Christian fellowship is marked by the common confession that Christ is Lord. 2) True Christian fellowship is marked by deep relational commitment. 3) True Christian fellowship is marked by joy.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

How dangerous is sin, really? It is easy to judge actions in life according to how tragic or immediate the consequences are. In other words, a person might view sin as not that big of a deal if he isn’t struck with a serious illness or experiences great loss immediately afterward. But the Bible speaks of sin in a far different way, a way that needs to be understood if one is going to follow Christ wholeheartedly, walking in communion with God. In his first of two sermons covering this particular text, Pastor Daniel puts forward the “truth test,” stating, “How you view sin reveals if you are truly in fellowship with God.” Laying the foundation for the wrong thoughts people can have about their sin, he picks up on John’s message about God being light, the One who is completely good.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Each day presents new sets of temptations for Christians to process. These temptations will either take root in one’s heart or will whither based upon what is believed about the nature of sin and a person’s participation in it. To combat wrong understandings about sin, the Apostle John presents his readers with some clear teaching about who God is (and is not) and who people are (and are not). Pastor Daniel addresses these truths by explaining the wrong thoughts that Christians can have about their sin. It is of great importance to understand these concepts correctly because, he maintains, “How you view sin reveals if you are truly in fellowship with God.” He argues that the wrong thoughts to be avoided are 1) I can walk in sin and walk with God, 2) I am not a sinner, and 3) I have not sinned.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

The Apostle John was able to speak affectionately toward the churches addressed while also dealing very directly with an issue as serious as sin. The people to whom he wrote were his “little children,” who needed to understand that propitiation for their sin (even sin that they would yet commit) had been accomplished through Christ. How were they, and how should saints today, respond to such a message from this seasoned apostle? Pastor Daniel calls listeners to deeper rest in Jesus: “I can trust Christ to completely deal with my sin.” Understanding that, according to John, everyone will continue to sin, he provides three truths to remember when sin has been committed. 1) I don’t want to sin. 2) Christ is advocating for me and has dealt completely with my sin. 3) Others need me to tell them about the salvation found in Christ alone.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

What does it mean to actually know God in a personal way and to have any assurance that such a “knowing” is real? The Apostle John was committed to helping the church sort through such a question and providing an answer that is every bit as applicable to believers today. Pastor Daniel supplies John’s answer in his own words by stating, “My obedience or disobedience to Christ reveals the genuineness of my salvation.” Fleshing that out through a closer look at the text, he sets forward some criteria that help one evaluate whether or not his salvation is genuine or false. He first puts forward the point that, “Persistent refusal to obey Christ reveals that I am a liar.” But then conversely, he emphasizes, “Persistent desire to obey Christ reveals that I am a Christian.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Test taking doesn’t end when one graduates from high school, college, or even graduate school. In fact, for Christians, self-administered tests in light of the standard of God’s Word should be a daily part of life. The test of love is one such test, and “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” the Apostle John, was perfectly suited to provide his readers with material by which their charity could be examined. Pastor Daniel summarizes this “test” that John provides by stating, “If you are in Christ, you will love like Christ.” This love he then describes in three ways, laid down as principles to guide one’s love. 1) Loving you means I commit to an ongoing, sacrificial relationship with you. 2) Loving you means I speak sound doctrine to you. 3) Loving you means I say hard things to you when you are disobedient to God.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

John’s letter was for the whole church. He wanted to make sure his recipients knew that whether they were younger or older, parents or children, men or women, all could be encouraged in the truth that God was at work among them; He was near and knowable as their Father. Though John’s words were very direct regarding how far away people were who didn’t pass the truth, obedience or love “tests,” he also knew that his audience was mostly made up of those who had truly given their allegiance to Jesus Christ. And so, with this in mind, Pastor Daniel emphasizes the point, “God’s children find joy, assurance, and motivation as they see God work in their lives.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Making choices when dealing with very weighty matters does not come easily for most people. Often two options seem equally valid, the plusses and cons concerning either option seem balanced, or it feels like a decision has to be made between the lesser of two evils. Sometimes though, a person can be filled with that desire to “have it all” and opt not to make a choice. When it comes to what we will ultimately fix our deepest love on though, John says that picking more than one thing is not an option. The love of the world and the love of the Father are incompatible, John writes. Pastor Daniel reiterates this in stating, “When you try to love God and the world, you really are just loving the world while trying to ease your conscience.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Pastor Daniel continues a look at 1 John 2:15-17 in Part 2 of his message on “Two Incompatible Loves.” He continues to work within the main idea that we “can’t love God and the world because these loves come from two very different hearts.” He fleshes this out by making three key observations. 1) Loving the world means you are unwilling to resist your physical desires. 2) Loving the world means you covet what your eyes see. 3) Loving the world means you take pride in your things. Pulling it all together, he emphasizes, “Loving God and the world is really just loving the world but trying to make yourself feel good.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Sometimes you can learn a great deal about people simply by watching where they go. So it is with those related in some way to the church. It might seem for a season that an individual is connected to the body of Christ and desires fellowship therein, but over time it becomes clear that intentions are quite otherwise. Judas Iscariot was perhaps the earliest example of such a person—someone who was physically present with Jesus and the rest of the disciples but who ended up showing that he was in every way against the Lord (or anti Christ). As anyone considers the reality of this problem, he rightly should look to his own heart and ask, “Am I committed to Christ and His body?” Pastor Daniel brings perspective to this topic by stating, “I remain in Christ because of His anointing.” Over the course of this message and the next, he unpacks this truth from 1 John 2.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

The Apostle John gave his readers many firm warnings throughout his letter, but he would just as quickly turn around and reassure them of his confidence in their belief. In this portion of his communication, he reminded them of the continuity and connectedness between the Son and the Father and of the power of God’s hold on each of them, His anointed ones. Continuing to reflect on what John also writes about our confidence in this section, Pastor Daniel remarks, “I remain in Christ because of His anointing. No power can separate me from Him.” Having examined in the previous week the nature of antichrists as being deserters of the faith, he characterizes them next, showing from the text that such people are also deniers of the faith and deceivers of others.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Walking through the Christian life day after day, it can be easy for believers to forget why it is exactly that they have hope and what it is that they are looking forward to. This is why followers of Jesus need the truths of the gospel reinforced to them, not just at the beginning of their journey, but every day following. One key component of this glorious message is the righteousness of Christ—a righteousness that permits every saint to stand before a holy God, a righteousness that gives each one hope for the eternity a disciple will enjoy with Him. Pastor Daniel explains the attitude that believers enjoying the imputed righteous of Jesus should have: “In Christ, I long to boldly approach Him when He returns.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

John didn’t beat around the bush concerning the consequences of sin—sometimes his words might even give true Christians a start or make them scratch their heads. Though this passage might elicit a similar response, he also provided some points of clarification about sinful behavior and how we should examine it in terms of patterns or consistency. A bit of that clarification is found here. The practice of sinning is the distinguishing factor he mentions, a distinction that helps believers as they inspect their own hearts and then also seek to admonish one another. The true Christian life must be a life of continual repentance, repentance from the sins that will undoubtedly be committed, even by the genuine believer…the genuine believer who will not be OK with continuing in sin. Pastor Daniel emphasizes, “There are reasonable yet terrifying conclusions we can draw about the eternal destiny of the person who is committed to rebellion against God. We can learn much about a person’s relationship with God by that person’s relationship with sin.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Few people would want to think of themselves as murderers. It’s one of those sins of which almost everyone can say, “Well, I’m an OK person; it’s not like I’ve ever killed anyone!” But the Apostle John, as he addresses his readers, presses in on the topic of murder much harder than this. Equating a hateful heart with this most heinous crime is the difficult reality he puts before the church. “You might as well be Cain” is the message he presents to those who would want to dismiss any harbored disdain for a brother. Pastor Daniel brings out the extreme nature of John’s language by emphasizing the main idea, “The one who doesn’t love his brother hates him.” There is no middle ground to walk in between love and hate. The fruits that flow from either a loving heart or a hateful one will be consistent with that particular heart.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Just as hatred for a brother reveals itself through one’s actions, so is there consistency between a declared love and an active love for others in the body. “Talk is cheap” as they say, and at least as it pertains to the topic of love, the Apostle John would agree. Through putting forth both an example of how love must be equally voiced and displayed, and through a gentle command to put love into action, he communicated the necessity of genuine love within the Christian body. Pastor Daniel brings John’s emphasis forward by stating, “Sacrificial love is not abstract or theoretical but practical and costly.” There are three key implications this will have for the disciple. 1) It means I joyfully embrace my obligation to sacrificially care for my brother. 2) It means I lay down my life for him in practical ways. 3) It means God’s love abides in me.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

There are a million reasons that any given person might provide for why he/she is uncertain or in need of reassurance. The problems of tomorrow might be entirely different than the ones of today. One’s own stability as a competent and capable person is threatened by an unstable world. But John has an encouraging message for the Christ follower: God is greater; He is even greater than our own restless hearts. Pastor Daniel elaborates on this truth by stating, “Our assurance is ultimately rooted in a relationship with Jesus the Messiah. Our trust is in Jesus the Messiah, through whom, by God’s grace, we’ve been brought into relationship.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

“Don’t believe everything you hear.” This is advice that perhaps nearly everyone has been given at one point or another, but it’s a statement that has particular application for the church. The Apostle John knew this from experience; as he watched the church develop over the course of a few decades, he observed that people would get “creative” with the truth to the point of abandoning the gospel altogether. In light of this knowledge, he both issued a warning and provided criteria for how each messenger and message should be tested. Pastor Daniel brings these principles to the forefront in stating, “You must proactively evaluate the doctrine and ministry of those who claim to speak for Christ.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

In a continued look at this passage, Pastor Daniel brings forward the words from the Apostle John, challenging believers to “proactively evaluate the doctrine and ministry of those who claim to speak for Christ.” Looking previously at the call to test teachers (V. 1), he now moves further into the text, fleshing out a couple of tests that can be administered to those who proclaim God’s Word. Christians should 1) Look at a teacher’s doctrine and 2) Look at a teacher’s ministry. With those tests in hand, listeners should then think of how to respond to any false teaching discovered. This should be done with “loving, gentle hearts” without being “ignorant of danger and our responsibility.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

With so much confusion in the world today about what love is and where it comes from, John’s words help to cut through the noise and bring beautiful clarity. “Love is from God” he wrote to his brothers and sisters in the faith. Highlighting the implications of this truth then, the aged Apostle wanted to help his readers understand that what you believe about love and how you express love is very central to Christianity. Pastor Daniel reiterates John’s message by stating, “What I want to do is to consider two crucial implications of this truth that love comes from God. Because God is the source of love, two things must happen so that I can love: First, I must be born of God; second, I must look to God for my understanding of what love is.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

John was superb at teaching the necessary connectedness between loves and their outworkings. God’s love affects man’s love and this love serves as a proof that man knows God. But it was never enough for John to just stop there. He needed to return again and again to the original source of love—God Himself. And he tied the gospel to God’s love time and again as he explained how God showed His love in sending His Son. The three verses at hand cover all of these bases. Pastor Daniel summarizes these truths by stating, “God is seen and proclaimed through love.” He further emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit to enable this love so that particulars of God’s divine nature and activity are evidenced.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Correctly understanding love mattered to the Apostle John…it mattered immensely. There is probably no other biblical author that spoke more of it and considered its effects and implications in such detail. And such is the case in view of the present text where John famously writes, “God is love.” This affection that is so close to the very being of God is something that His children have the privilege of participating in, experiencing its life-altering effects. Pastor Daniel emphasizes some of these effects by stating, “God’s extravagant love through Christ gives us confidence that we are free from condemnation for our crimes.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

God’s love is meant to shape a Christian’s life. Believers have experienced it through God’s example and are then commanded it through writings like those of John. True to form, the Apostle took issue with those who thought they could be followers of Jesus and turn up their noses at others in the church—once again, he stated plainly that such people were liars about their love for God. Pastor Daniel brings out the prominence of this idea in 1 John by stating, “In case you doubted it before, love must be part of your life. It is vital that you not fail this test.” He makes the point that we must love 1) because of love’s source, 2) because we’re not idolaters, and 3) because it is commanded.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

True God-focused and God-originating love has great effects upon on one’s life. In fact, John made it clear that one should be able to look at those effects as confirmation that true loving faith in the Lord was present in a person. Love of God means something and it never stands alone. Pastor Daniel puts it this way: “When I love God, I joyfully obey Him. Love means joyful obedience. This is love’s obedience.” Speaking against legalism and challenging listeners toward engaging with God in a way that brings true heart change, John’s words are brought to light as we enter into the final chapter of the Apostle’s letter.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

How strong and victorious is faith in Jesus? Strong enough to overcome the world! At times in life, certain circumstances are not seen for how complex they really are. At other times, people tend to completely overcomplicate matters. John sought to cut through any complications related to standing fast in a world hostile to the gospel by reassuring his readers that their belief in Jesus as God’s Son meant absolutely everything for their spiritual victory in the present age. Pastor Daniel discusses this spiritual victory by declaring, “You are an overcomer through faith in Christ and will receive all the rewards of an overcomer.” Being an overcomer through faith in Christ implies, 1) not everyone is an overcomer, 2) those who do overcome do so by faith, and 3) faith has a specific content.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

“What are you going to believe about Jesus?” That is the foundational question everyone must ask and answer, and where one goes to get the answers to such a question makes all the difference. John reminded his readers that there were testimonies to choose from: the lesser testimony from men and the greater testimony from God. And so, hearing what God has said about His Son is of tremendous importance. Pastor Daniel looks at this interesting text and emphasizes, “God testifies with an authoritative voice that must be believed,” and then concludes with the application, “the only appropriate response to [what God has testified] is, ‘Yes I believe.’”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

In this second look at 1 John 5:10-12, Pastor Daniel continues to relay the great importance of a person deciding what they will do with the revelation about Jesus. He states, “Your entire life—present and future—is shaped by how you respond to the testimony of God concerning Jesus Christ.” With a look at two “characters,” Christian and Doubter, he illustrates the two journeys people can be on as they consider who Jesus is. Christian believes with an ongoing faith that affects all of his life into eternity. Doubter does not believe in Christ and makes God out to be a liar, and the negative consequences of this doubt are just as consequential as that of Christian. There is a call in this passage to escape death and judgment through faith in the One the Father has sent to be the Savior of the world.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Does God answer prayer? What happens if we are/are not faithful in prayer? This subject is one of the most challenging for believers to understand. For many, it is also one of the Christian disciplines that is hardest to practice. Perhaps that is because we don’t know how to answer the question, “Will it matter in any way if I do or don’t pray?” Pastor Daniel acknowledges the challenges surrounding the doctrine of prayer, but also puts forth a charge that followers of Jesus need to hear. Agreeing with John, he states, “We must pray with confidence that God will answer your prayers. Praying with confidence is the only way to live as you are called by God to live.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Having already established that prayer is necessary and has real effect, John now instructs his readers in something that they should pray for, or rather, someone they should be lifting up in prayer—the true brother in Christ committing a sin. Pastor Daniel comments on John’s letter by stating, “If I love my brothers and sisters in Christ, I must be faithful to pray for God to save them from sin.” So how is it then that believers should further show their care for one another? 1) Love one’s brothers and sisters, 2) pursue real relationships with them, 3) don’t ignore the sin in their lives, 4) plead for God to grant life to them, 5) utilize biblical means to encourage them, and 6) don’t minimize sin (sin of the accuser or the accused).

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

As he began wrapping up his letter, John gave a bit more good news to his readers, in some ways he reiterated certain messages he had already put forward. But this news was that sin would not have the victory over those born of God. They were under His protection and had been given minds to know and remain with the true One—Jesus Christ. They had “eternal security,” a phrase that might be misunderstood or misapplied, but an important Christian doctrine nonetheless. Pastor Daniel highlights the good news John was proclaiming by stating, “Jesus Christ completely rescues us from sin’s curse of death and absolutely secures eternal life for us.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

There are a number of common ways to say, “goodbye” to someone at the conclusion of a letter, but the Apostle John chose a line that is perhaps a bit more out of the ordinary: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” The command itself isn’t a strange one, but the location seems just a tad out of the ordinary. But as the Holy Spirit directed John’s message, it was what He knew the original readers (and readers today) needed to be left with as a statement of final impact. Pastor Daniel packages this concluding sentence by stating, “diligently guard against all those things that would prevent you from fulfilling your divine purpose of loving and worshiping God.” These idols that need to be put away from the believer must be removed, “passionately, constantly, and ruthlessly.”

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff