24. 1 John 3:18-23: The Condemning Conscience

1 John 3, verses 19 to 23, here now, the inspired word of God. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before him. And whenever our heart condemns us, for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. And whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. This is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.

Let's pray. Father, once again, as we come into your word, our prayer is simple, that you would just open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts, that we would see, hear, and understand what you have to say to us.

And that by understanding it and applying it to our lives, that we would become more like our savior, Jesus Christ. It's in his name we pray. Amen. Please be seated. Edgar Allan Poe was one of the premier American authors of the early 19th century.

He wrote mostly short stories, which would be categorized as gothic fiction. He's often considered the inventor of the mystery fiction genre in general, and a serious contributor to the advent of science fiction.

One of his most famous works is The Telltale Heart. It's the story of a man who commits murder and buries the body under the floorboards of his room. And during the police investigation, the murderer begins hearing sounds.

And he is convinced he is hearing the sound of the victim's heart beating. He's also convinced that the police can hear it as well. In reality, the police hear nothing. But the man confesses to the crime and tells the police to rip up the floorboards, and voila, there is the body.

Now of course, a brief synopsis like this doesn't do this story justice. Poe was a master of the mystery and the macabre. As he relates the details of the story, you can almost hear the heart beating yourself.

But what did the murderer actually hear? His own conscience. Now this is a short fictional story. But as any experienced homicide detective will tell you, more than one person has confessed to a murder because the conscience would not let him rest.

We see this principle at work in our text this morning. The heart, biblically speaking, includes the conscience. And last week we spent most of our time in verse 19. We will know by this that we are of the truth and will assure our heart before him.

And we spent a lot of time discussing prayer last week. And we saw that prayer time is a time of intimate communion with our Heavenly Father. And during this time of prayer, it's a special time when our hearts are assured of our real and true faith.

But John doesn't leave us just there. He continues and look at verse 20. In whatever our heart condemns us, is what follows verse 19. In whatever our heart condemns us. What John is saying to us is simply this.

When you come before God in a time of intimate prayer, your own heart, your own conscience condemns you. Now what does he mean by that? Our heart condemns us. Well, this is the reason we spent so much time on prayer last week.

We see in the scripture that there are all types of prayers, all kinds of prayers. There's emergency praying. If you drive on the expressway, you're going to pray some emergency prayers. There's praying just asking the Lord's blessing on the food.

There's corporate praying. Prayers of invocation, prayers of benediction. But John is talking very specifically about the time of prayer that is personal. It's private. It's between you and your heavenly father.

The type of prayer that is necessary for growth and maturity in the Christian faith. The times when, as Jesus admonished us to go into our inner room and shut the door, even if it's only a virtual door.

Shutting out all distractions and it's just you and God. Now keep in mind, too, that this epistle was written to believers. To encourage them to maturity in Christ. And it's during those times, these times of intimate praying that your conscience often will condemn you.

Because it's during these times of intimate relationship with our heavenly father that you really see yourself as you are. There's no pretenses. There's no hypocrisy. You don't come before God and try to pull the wool over his eyes.

Because your conscience testifies to the reality of who you are. You may be thinking, wait a minute. Didn't John read Romans 8 .1? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

And now you're saying that our heart condemns us. Well, I'm sure John read Romans 8 .1. And both John and Paul are in perfect agreement on this subject matter. Paul addresses the Christian struggle with ongoing sin.

A subject that we can all sympathize with. And he concludes with these words in Romans 7. O wretched man that I am, who will set me free from this body of death? And then he answers the question in verse 25.

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So there's our answer. Who's going to set us free from the body of death? It's Jesus Christ. And then he follows that with Romans 8 .1. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Now John is addressing a similar situation. And he will arrive at the same conclusion. But first, the warning is necessary. It's absolutely necessary. Because there are sometimes that the mature Christian is more aware of his remaining sin than the new believer is.

In fact, beware. Beware of the danger of trivializing sin in your life. Because sin must be dealt with. In fact, John has already given us the remedy. He's told us that in Chapter 1. If you say have no sin, you're a liar.

But if you do sin, we say this verse every Sunday morning. And we'll continue. First John 1 .9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

See, one of the dangers of yielding to temptation with the attitude that, well, God loves me. And all I have to do is confess my sin after I sin. And then I'm okay. God's grace is not a license to sin.

And if you think that way, it will affect your prayer life. And that's for sure. For your own heart will condemn you that attitude towards sin. So when you come before God in prayer, if I can use Poe's words, your telltale heart reminds you of your sins.

But that's not all. John continues. He doesn't even just leave it there. He continues in verse 20. And whatever our heart condemns us, for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. That is an interesting verse and one that the commentators don't all agree upon.

In fact, two of the great reformers, Luther and Calvin, disagree on the intent and the meaning of verse 20. For you know that God looks at the heart and knows your most secret thoughts. God is greater.

He knows your heart. There's two schools of thought on the meaning of the second part of verse 20. First view holds that this verse is meant to be great comfort to the Christian. If your heart condemns you, if you have a guilty conscience, so to speak, don't be discouraged.

Don't be downcast. God is greater than your heart. He sees and knows all things. And if you're truly a child of his, he is there to comfort you and lift you out of the doldrums. He is there in his mercy and his grace.

So be confident in your prayers. Take comfort from the presence of God. That's the first view. The second view is exactly the opposite. If my own heart condemns me when I come before God, if my own heart points out my areas of weakness and my struggle with sin, how much more will the presence of God point out my sin?

My heart is not perfect. It doesn't know all things. In fact, I could be sinning in a way that my own heart doesn't perceive. But God is perfect. He knows all things. Exactly the opposite of the first view.

So we have great biblical scholars disagreeing on the intent of the verse. What are we to think? Well, I have my own view. I take a mediating position. I believe that there are elements of both views in the text.

And I think that's the best way to see the text. Remember the context of these verses. John is writing to give true saints assurance of faith. And he is consistently telling them that assurance comes as the change in the heart that occurs at salvation.

Will, in fact, it must be demonstrated by a change in the life of the true believer. That's what we've been looking at in First John. And in fact, most recently, he has made it clear that the true Christian will be known by his love for his brothers and sisters in Christ.

In fact, we've seen no love for the brethren. Don't claim to be a Christian. And it will also be seen by confidence and answered prayer. That brings us to verse 21, which I'll summarize. When you come before God in prayer.

And your heart reminds you of your sin. Remember this. God knows you better than you know your own heart. So take heed to your heart's warnings about your sin. You are not perfect, though you are saved.

Keep your guard up and be cautious of persistent sin. There's a warning. And the scriptures are full of these type of warnings. I'll give you just a few. First Peter 5 8. Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert.

Be on the alert, Peter says. For your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. There's no question that we are warned of sin that is crouching at the door. And then after telling us to put on the whole armor of God, the Apostle Paul says this.

In verse 18 of chapter 6 of Ephesians. With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the spirit. And with this in view, be on the alert. With all perseverance and petition for all the saints. And then in this very epistle of 1 John, the first chapter, verse 8.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. It's a danger of deception. And then in chapter 2 of this epistle, verse 26. These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

So we are told to be on the alert. So it's not uncommon for scripture to warn and even admonish Christians. But at the same time, there's always an air of comfort and encouragement. Knowing that the sovereign God of the universe, the supreme potentate of this world, is our Heavenly Father.

He knows all things. He certainly knows your heart better than you know yourself. And it's comforting to know that when we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive them. Even those pesky sins that so easily entangle us and trip us up.

We see Paul telling Timothy, telling him how in his ministry he should both encourage and reprove. 2 Timothy 4 .2. This is a senior pastor addressing a junior pastor, if you will. Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season.

Reprove, rebuke, exhort, but with great patience and instruction. So I see the two sides of the coin being in that same verse. And so we know that God's discipline and words of exhortation always come from His loving Father's heart.

So we are both warned and comforted as we come before Him in prayer. But John doesn't leave us there either. Look at verse 21. He says, Beloved, if your heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.

Now, regardless of how you interpret verse 20, you can't remain in a condition of uncertainty before God with a condemned heart. Not if you're a believer. It's not a good place to be. Uncertainty runs counter to John's whole purpose in this epistle.

Remember, what's John's purpose of this epistle? Tells us in chapter five, verse 13, these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you may know that you have eternal life.

If your conscience, your heart is condemning you continually, that will affect your assurance. I want you to pause for a minute. Think of your own experience. And I'm including myself in this. Have you ever come to God in prayer and your conscience is bothering you over some sin you've committed?

And you begin to think, what right do I, what right do I, a sinner, who's hiding sin in my heart, what right do I have to come before God and ask Him anything? So you hesitate. Or worse, you even forget the reason you're coming to pray because you're so dwelling on your sin.

And as a result, you often pray a weak, equivocating prayer because you don't want to seem presumptuous by asking God for something. That runs counter to the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father and the fellowship we enjoy with Him.

Those type of prayers run counter to the teaching of Scripture. Because we are told that we are to come before God with a certain attitude, certainly in humility and meekness. We can never come to God in prayer in arrogance and demanding or telling Him, as many faith evangelists will tell you, you tell God what to do.

No. But we are told we are to come before God with boldness, with the expectation that our prayers will be answered. Why? Because He's told us to come that way. That's one reason I believe verse 20 is both a warning and a comfort.

We are reminded that God is greater than our circumstances and is ultimately through His grace that we can come before Him with confidence. Hebrews 10, verse 19. Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, if you're in that condition where your heart is constantly condemning you and you don't feel worthy to come before Him and ask for anything, here's the first thing you do.

Remind yourself who you are. You are a child of God. My friends, that's no little thing. You are a child of Almighty God. And you are entering the holy place, not by the works of your own hands, but by the blood of Jesus.

Dare not one of us ever come before God and say, I'm worthy, I'm coming before you, and I deserve this answer to this prayer. It's because of Christ that our prayers are answered. That's the consistent theme of Scripture.

Hebrews 4, verse 16. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and grace and help in the time of need. We're not coming for wages. We're not coming for something we deserve.

We're coming for something that is mercy and is grace that we're asking for because of what Christ has done. Here's a little ironic twist. The times in your life when you are struggling the most and you feel the most unworthy to ask God for anything are probably the times when you need to pray the most.

And you need to pray with confidence. That's what John is alluding to in our text. Now, I don't want you to misconstrue what I've said. We need to be in prayer constantly in good times and bad. But there are times when prayer is more urgent than others.

Those are the times John is addressing here. And John's not the only one. Look at what Paul says in Ephesians 3. Speaking about the eternal purpose of God in Jesus Christ, he says, In whom we have boldness and confidence, confident access through faith in him.

And James, James weighs in on this discussion with strong words. Addressing the subject of bringing petitions to God, he says this in chapter 1, verse 6. Speaking about the man who comes, he says, He must ask in faith without any doubting.

For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven, tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect he'll receive anything from the Lord. Let me read that verse again. Listen carefully. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord.

Being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. And again, the author of Hebrews, right on target, Hebrews 10, verse 21. And since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.

Having our own hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. For he who promised is faithful. Notice, why do we come with assurance, with confidence?

For he who promised is faithful. So let's look at the next obvious question. I hope it's obvious to you. How do you get past the heart that condemns? When you have a guilty conscience, how do you get by that?

Look back on verse 19. We will know by this that we are of the truth and will assure our heart before him. What John has been alluding to in these first three chapters is assurance of faith. And one of the greatest or best ways to be assured is what we call work out your progressive sanctification with fear and trembling.

The person who makes a profession of faith, the person who repents before God, will face growth in his profession if it's real in general. He will definitely grow. He must grow. God will bless him in many ways.

I can't, I, time would, I would lose time if I were just to try to explain all the blessings you have. E .V. Hill, that great Southern California pastor, who's with the Lord now, started preaching a series.

He said, what do you have when you have Jesus? And had asked him back 20 times to finish the sermon. It was just so overwhelming. If you dwell and think, what do you have when you have Jesus? So God will bless you in many ways.

But the new believer will also face many times of trouble. How he deals with trouble and what he learns from those times will move him to a maturity in Christ. We read from Romans 5 this morning. Here's just a small section of Romans 5 again, starting in verse 3.

And not only this, but we exult in our tribulations. Boy, that's a hard one, isn't it? Rejoice in your tribulation, rejoice in your trouble. But Paul tells us why. Knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance.

And perseverance, proven character. And proven character, hope. And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Now let's not pass over this too quickly.

Notice the continuing theme. Firstly, the continuing theme is the love of God is still present in Paul's writings as well as John's. But tribulation will bring about good character in the form of perseverance and hope.

And at the root of these traits is the love of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now that's our topic for next week, is the Holy Spirit in prayer. And we see, once again, similar teaching in James' epistle.

James chapter 1, starting in verse 2. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect results, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Be joyful when trouble comes your way. James says that under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. How can he say such a thing? Because of who you are in Jesus Christ. These promises and the ones to follow are only for the child of God.

In these first three chapters of 1 John, he has given us several self-tests of true faith. Remember, we've gone through many of these. But here, to answer the question of getting past a condemning heart, two things are necessary.

First and foremost, you must understand that you're a child of God. You have to come to that understanding. And this is crucial because when you pray, you are coming before your loving Heavenly Father.

Who just happens to be the El Shaddai. Who happens to be the Almighty God. Who happens to be the Judge of the Universe. And it's His desire to only give good gifts to His children. Jesus sums this up in the Sermon on the Mount.

These verses are so important. Matthew 7, 7. Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. He who seeks, finds. And to him who knocks, it will be opened.

And he follows that up with these important words. For what man is there among you, whose son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Father who is in Heaven, give what is good to those who ask Him.

Today is Father's Day. So, Happy Father's Day to all the dads. It's a day when we pause and honor our fathers. That's a good biblical principle. The holiday may not be mandated by scripture, but the principle certainly is highlighted in the Word of God.

But it should not go unnoticed that the Bible reveals God as our Father. We've reviewed that principle many times in this pulpit. But there is also a great responsibility that comes with fatherhood. And I'm not talking, dads, just your temporal responsibility on your earthly children.

Of course, you're charged with that. It's a biblical mandate. But your actions as a father testify to the relationship of Almighty God to His children. Fatherhood is a powerful analogy and one that every dad should be aware of.

And if you're a dad, it's your responsibility to accurately represent the image of God as our Heavenly Father. And Jesus uses this picture in His sermon to show the goodness of God to His children. He presumes, He says, if our earthly fathers, who are nothing more than sinful mortal men, know how to take care of their children and know how to be good fathers to them and to give them good gifts, how much more will God give only good things to His children?

And we see that not only from Jesus, but in this magnificent promise. Romans 8 .28 is one of the most thrilling and exhilarating promises in all of Scripture. And we know, notice, we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose.

Do you get that? Too often as we formed Calvinists, we whip out Romans 8 .28 at appropriate times and stick it back in the pocket. We need to dwell in that. If you're a child of God, everything that happens to you, God is going to take and turn it around for good.

Just as Joseph's brothers found out what they meant for evil, God used for good. And of course, we can't forget that in this whole section, we're reminded that as children of God, we must love one another.

There should be no sibling rivalry in the Church of God. You can't call yourself a Christian and not love one another. And then John relates this confidence in prayer to the assurance of faith, the theme of the entire epistle.

Look at verse 22. And whatever we ask, we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. Notice there is a relationship between being obedient children and answered prayer.

Now we've addressed this before, but John brings it up again because it's such an important point. Notice the conditions of answered prayer. Obedience and performing acts pleasing to Him. Many people read this and other verses like it and mistakenly believe, well, this gives me a blank check.

All I've got to do, God gives me a blank check, all I've got to do is fill in the amount and what I want. These verses are consistently misapplied. I'm going to give you two more that are constantly misapplied.

John 15, 7. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. And John 15, 16. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain.

So that whatever you ask of the Father in my name, He may give it to you. Now notice, these promises are given to those who are abiding in Christ. To those who are bearing fruit. To those who keep His commandments and are doing things pleasing in His sight.

And John has already told us the marks of the children of God are obvious. He's someone who practices righteousness and loves his brother. That's what we saw in 1 John 3, 10. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious.

Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. So how do we deal with this when we seem to pray and we don't get an answer to prayer? I'm going to let Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answer that because he did it so much better than I could say.

He writes in his commentary. Does he mean, asks someone, that as long as I live a good life, anything I may ask God in prayer, I am certain and guaranteed to receive? His answer is, oh no. What it means is this.

If I am keeping His commandments, if I am really doing His will, if I love God and my neighbor as myself, if I really am living the Christian life in that way, then I can be certain that my life is a life which is being controlled by the Holy Spirit.

And therefore I know that any petitions and desires I may have, have been created within me by the Holy Spirit. And because my petitions and my desires are produced by the Holy Spirit, I can be certain that they will be answered.

There is your answer. If you are living a life controlled by the Holy Spirit, then your prayers will be answered. We see this in all the prayers of the saints in Scripture. There is a good study. Want to do a good study?

Go through the epistles and take all the prayers that are contained in the epistles in the New Testament. We see this in the prayers of Jesus. Look at verses 22 and 23 one more time. And whatever we ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another just as He commanded us. Edgar Allan Poe's Telltale Heart is one of the most famous of his short stories.

Why is it so popular? Because it rings true to all of us. When we sin, our conscience bothers us. If it doesn't, that's a whole other sermon. It should condemn us, but we need not and should not remain condemned.

The guilt we bear should drive us into the arms of our willing and compassionate Savior who not only forgives sin but gives grace to live productive lives in His kingdom. He has sent His Holy Spirit to guide us into righteousness.

And as John says, the difference between the children of the devil and the children of God is obvious. So Christian, remember, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

To the non-Christian, do you have a guilty conscience? I hope so. Repent of your sin. Listen to the words of the Savior. Come to me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy, my burden is light.