Does 1 John Teach Federal Vision / Final Justification?

Those who do the federal vision slash final justification, they drop the mic too early.

Oh, they do. Like pick that mic back up and keep reading. Oh yeah, keep talking, keep reading. That's right. All right, so verse seven. Beloved, I'm writing to you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning.

The old commandment is the word that you've heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I'm writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

Whoever says that he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light and in him, there is no cause for stumbling.

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, just to be clear, right? Whoever hates his brother and does not know where he's going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Then, and I'm gonna come back and explain all this. Then he's, then very next verses, I am writing to you little children because your sins are forgiven for his namesake.

I'm writing to you fathers because you know him, who's from the beginning. I'm writing to you young men because you've overcome the evil one.

I'm writing to you children because you know the father. I'm writing to you fathers because you know him. I'm writing to you young men because you're strong and because the word of God abides in you and because you've overcome the evil one.

So he's clearly not writing to the redeemed to freak them out and to scare them. He's writing to say that those who agree with God on the gospel, who agree with God on the law, who see that God's law is good, who strive to conform themselves unto it by the spirit in Christ, not out of fear, but out of love and gratitude and joy, this is true of us.

And what does he say that we need to do? What command does he absolutely hammer? He's echoing the words of Jesus from John 13, 34.

That's right. A new command I give to you, that you're to love one another. And to that - And John's the one who wrote that.

I know. Isn't it wild, John? Isn't it wild? So this is what is often left out of the conversation.

That's right. We just say, obey the commandments, keep the law. And then we don't even go on to explain what

John is really drilling down on. He's drilling down on the second table of the law, love your neighbor. And that is made manifest and obvious through how you love the brethren.

That's right. And well, he sandwiches it too, right? He is your advocate. Of course, with assurance. Yeah, he is your advocate.

So listen, you've been set free from the condemnation of your sin by faith. Now, you're gonna agree with God on the purpose of your life, which is to obey.

And when you fail, grace is there to catch you again. And to love others. That's right.

Philippians 2 does the same thing. If there's any comfort in the spirit, if there's any comfort in his love, do you see what

God has done for you? Then obey. But he starts with the grounding. Ephesians 4, right?

Walk in a manner worthy of the calling you to which you have been called. He's sovereignly called you into him. So you aren't doing this so that you can prove you are saved.

You're doing this because you are saved, right? Sanctification is just as much empowered by the spirit as justification is.

Come on with it. Sanctification is the fruit of your justification. It always has to be in that. Our good works create for us a measure of assurance.

For sure. Yeah, they bolster. Because we're in Christ, we're in the boat, right?

We are floating in safely by faith. As we do these works of love, we can say, wow, look how wonderful it is to reflect

Christ. And man, does that encourage my heart that I reflect Christ in my life, that gives me a sense of assurance.

But you can never say, I know that I'm saved and I should have all of the confidence of my salvation based upon my works.

Now, Justin, people will quote John for that very reason. By this you know.

No, you can't ignore everything he's said before. You can't. You can't ignore all the stuff about confession of sin and forgiveness and Christ as your advocate,

Christ as your propitiation, Christ as your righteousness. Then after the fact where you said the sandwich piece, but you're in Christ, you know the

Father, you know the truth. I mean, even the whole business of like if the word of God abides in you, that whole idea, he then sandwiches it by saying,

I'm writing to you young men because you're strong and the word of God abides in you. I mean, he says that to them, but then here's the other thing, context.

Why did he write the letter? We talked about this last week, mentioned it again this week. He's writing to people who have been affected by false teaching.

They've been around people who have bought into the idea that it doesn't matter how they live. That's right. Right, because the sins committed in the body don't matter because spiritual enlightenment's all that I'm after.

Okay, well, John's clearly blowing that up. He's saying true believers, people who really have trusted

Christ, who agree with God and his law and his word, people who are legitimate, understand that how they live matters.

That's right. Real, real believers do seek to obey God. They will fail, right?

That's why we need Christ, but they do seek to obey God. And how in particular are we gonna really pursue that obedience?

We're gonna love each other. And these people who have bought into the false teaching and oh, by the way, who have left you, have not loved you, right?

That's right. I mean, that has to be understood here. That's right. So that's where the context and the purpose of the letter matter.

That's where the context of the words on the page, as we've tried to demonstrate here, regarding 1 John 2, 3 in a pointed way, really matters.

Well, and I'll just wanna compare this real quick to another examination passage, which I'm about to quote.

So the third one I mentioned already. So Philippians 2, Ephesians 4, 2 Peter, which we like to quote all the time.

What is Peter saying? Verse three, right? God has granted to us all things that pertain to life and Godliness, right?

He assures you. Peter creates the same thing. Here's the boat, go float in it in God's sovereignty.

It's his promises. Now, then he says from that, you're gonna obey. But when you're not obeying, you need to understand why you're not obeying.

You've forgotten you've been cleansed from your former sins. Then he says this. So that's the whole context. But then we ignore those passages and we just jump to verse 10 and 11.

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election. For if you practice these qualities, you will never fall.

2 Peter 1, yeah, it's where you still are. Keep reading 2 Peter 1, 11. For in this way, we will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our

Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You're telling me that Peter starts with, God grants you everything, and then tells you your obedience is what gets you a rich entrance into heaven?

Is the guy psychotic? Talk about the height of biblicism, right? Has he lost his mind? Let's pit some verses against each other.

Right. You have to look at everything. Does he say that? Well, yeah, in context, what he means is these qualities of what has been given to you, right?

Your fruit cannot sustain you. It cannot save you. So what I love about 1

Peter is he does the same thing. He sandwiches it, but in the middle of that sandwich, he goes, you need to agree with God about your obedience.