A New Commandment? | 1 John 2:7-11

Context, Grace, and the Two Ditches of Legalism and Licentiousness

Does everybody have their Bibles? Not everybody, but that's okay.

Yeah.

All right, let's turn to 1 John chapter two, but y 'all have probably caught on to my pattern of reviewing. Right? Context. What does context mean, Kennedy? Ha ha! What is context?

It's kind of like a background.

Kind of like the background?

Absolutely.

The surrounding verses, if we're looking at any particular verse, the surrounding text. How important is context, Delaney?

Super important, so you know what you're reading.

Do you mean I can't just quote a verse and just kind of just say, well, it says what it says, and I'm pushing it for this application? See, it says to be baptized over here, so I must have to be baptized to be saved, right?

You have to see the whole picture to know exactly what it means.

Yes. Many of y 'all saw that I had a debate this past week, and a lot of the controversy was around baptism not being a work, so this particular person was saying, well, it's not a work, and I'm like, but it is when we start looking at the context and what God has called us unto.

We were talking about the Sermon on the Mount earlier. We've been called to good work, so the other people can see the things that we do, and we can say, hey, we are living our life in such a way to give God glory, to be salt and light.

Josiah?

Good works through faith, not just good works.

Yes, that's really good, because good works flow from our faith, right? We don't say, well, let's do good works in order to obtain favor with God, and say, oh, yeah, it's also by faith and my works. No, it's by faith, alone in the perfect Savior.

So we're in 1 John chapter two. One big theme we've been talking about, talking about context in chapter one is fellowship. Y 'all have often pointed out how this is a togetherness. This is a participation we have with one another and with God.

So the fellowship that 1 John is talking about is salvation, and then our salvation is shared with one another, with the saints, right? And so if you want joy in your life, what needs to happen? Be a part of the fellowship, right?

Come be with the body. Spend time in the Word. Spend time in your relationship with the Lord. We also talked about God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. What does that mean? Somebody help me.

God is light, Josiah.

Holy.

God is holy?

What do you think, Delaney?

Saying that He is perfect, like Josiah said, holy, and that there is no sin in Him because He is set apart.

He's God, right? God is, He's the standard of all of what is perfect, holy, righteous, and good. And like Josiah said earlier, God is holy, God is light, and God is love. And so that's really what we're seeing John kind of shifting into.

He's talking about love, and this love reflects our Savior who saved us, the transcendent love that God has for us specifically. But if y 'all remember, last couple weeks, we're going to sin. That's just a part of our nature, even as Christians.

But when we sin, what are we to do in light of that? I remember JD talking about we repent. I remember also in chapter one, it says confess our sins, because He has faith on us to always forgive us. But then, help me out back in verse one of chapter two.

When we sin, who comes on our behalf?

Lord?

It says we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.

Advocate.

Do you remember what advocate means?

Hmm.

I'm pretty sure it's like the middle man.

Yeah, it's kind of like the middle man. Remember, I want us to think of that courtroom setting. You got the judge, then you have a prosecuting attorney, which we've said is kind of like Satan, the accuser.

And then Jesus is our divine defense attorney. He brings the best reasoning on our behalf, the middle man, to say, no, he's totally covered. Because who can bring a legal charge against God's elect?

Nobody.

Not Satan, not even your own flesh when our own hearts condemn us. As we're gonna see in 1 John, God knows all things. So when He says that you are covered by the blood and you're cleansed of all of your sin, guess what?

That's true. And for the person that says, well, I know God has forgiven me, but I can't forgive myself, let me fill you in on something. You're not above God. Trust Him. Don't look to yourself and to your brokenness.

When you're trapped in that, look to who Jesus is who set us free from that. Josiah?

I thought about this picture for a little bit, but it's like, so you have God and heaven, and then you, it's a picture I did, so there's like heaven, and then there's hell below, and the earth is in the center, but instead of the earth, there's Christ in the center, and it says, which side do you choose?

Right, because we do have to make a decision if we're gonna follow Christ, but I tell people it's also more than a decision. It's where is your heart going to trust? In yourself, in the things of this world, or are you gonna trust in Christ?

Does that involve a decision? Absolutely, but where is your heart resting in? Right, because that's a little bit deeper than just saying a decision. Right, we wake up every day and make tons of decisions, but what are you trusting in for eternity?

Like, you're kind of getting it. Also talked about something last week. Look with me at verse three, and by this, we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. We talked about two spirits last week that rival the gospel of grace.

Do y 'all remember what those are? Kennedy?

Legalism?

Legalism is one. Somebody else tell me what legalism is. Oh, I saw that hand go away pretty quick there. What's legalism? Why does it rival the gospel of grace, Delaney?

Well, it's like it's taking something that could serve as truth and then making it more rules and more things to follow and taking it into your own hands.

Yes, because that's all the false religions of the world at large that say you have to do some level of works. You have to be obedient to such a point, that's how you get to heaven. That's how you're made right with God.

That's how you get paradises based on your works, based on how well you obeyed or didn't obey something. I like what you said, rules, okay? But Jesus tells us if we love him, then we desire to keep his commandments, right?

And so that's a balance. It's about love and what flows out of that love, not saying, well, if I do this list of rules well, that's gonna be the basis in which I can have my sins forgiven. Christianity says, no, it's all of grace, which is unmerited favor.

Jesus did all the works for us. And if we love him, then we desire to do all of what he's commanded us and it's not burdensome. So that's legalism. Lauren, do you remember the other spirit that rivals the gospel?

Licentiousness.

Licentiousness, does anybody remember what that is? Good job, the two L's, legalism and licentiousness. Also, antinomianism, if that helps, Delaney?

Licentiousness.

What I remember from it was that it's the opposite of that where it's like, oh, well, since God saved me, I can do whatever I want and sin however I want.

Right, it's a license to sin. Licentiousness, you can kind of hear that in that. So remember the picture, remember, Josiah, we're painting a picture here. You got this road, right? And it's walking in the light following after Christ, right?

We're saved by grace and grace alone, baby. And that's why we're trusting in Christ. But there's two ditches on each side of the road that try to rival and try to pull you off center, even though if you're truly resting in Christ, you could never walk in darkness, but it doesn't mean we're not gonna fall into sin, right?

But someone who has a different heart will desire to confess sin, to desire to repent, knowing that we have an advocate that always intercedes on our behalf. But these two ditches on each side, if you veer off a little bit to the left, you're gonna touch legalism and people are gonna say, oh, it says that you have to keep his word.

It says that we have to keep his commandments and we have to say, yes, but that's not legalism, right? There's a transformation internally that we desire, right? And then you got the extreme opposite.

Remember, we looked to Romans chapter six that says, well, if my sin happens and God's grace is gonna cover it, can't I just keep on sinning so God's grace can abound all the more? Paul says, by no means.

He says, no way. How can we who have died to the old self continue to live in sin? And his point is, when you're transformed, you live your life to the glory of God according to how he's told us to live, right?

So that's what John was kind of bringing out is you got the gospel of grace down the middle. We're trusting in Christ. That's why we desire to keep his law. And so turn with me to verse seven in chapter two.

I'm gonna read till verse 11. We're gonna cover a chunk today. Does anybody have a title heading above verse seven? Kennedy?

The New Commandment.

Okay, The New Commandment. I want you to think about this, but it's gonna be contrasted with the Old Commandment. Okay, so follow along. 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 have heard. And 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 he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. But 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 and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Does anybody have any idea what the Old Commandment that John is referring to here? Look back in verse seven. He says, Beloved, I'm writing to you no new commandment, but an old commandment. Bum, bum.

J .D.?

Talking about like love your neighbor as yourself.

He is. How'd you know?

I don't know.

Ha, he came to.

Two most important commandments.

Yes.

Well, we're gonna get into that, okay? So let's piggyback off what J .D. is saying. Someone else, because you're on the money. I gotta let somebody else take over. What are the first two greatest commandments?

Josiah.

Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Boom.

Okay, so the entire Old Testament, all the commandments of the Old Testament is 613 commandments. About half of them are do this, and the other half are don't do this, okay? And so all of the law can be summed up with those two commandments, love God and love neighbor.

Remember that whole vertical and horizontal thing Delaney was doing earlier? She's doing that little dance. That's the sum of the law, and let me ask you this. How can both of those two commandments be summed up in one word?

Love.

Which we're getting into in 1 John, because God is love. And so like Josiah was saying, the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord, your God, with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

If you're loving God from the heart, trusting in him, then that's going to have an effect on how you love other people, okay? And so Deuteronomy 6 .4, the great Shema, that's where we get the first and greatest commandment, and the second one, to love your neighbor as yourself comes from Leviticus 19, verse 18.

So here's a big question I want us to talk about for a moment. Who is our neighbor, according to this commandment? Remember, it was given to Israel, Israelites, and God is saying, love your neighbor as yourself.

So who is our neighbor?

You find it in Luke 10, after verse 29, the good Samaritan.

You, Josiah, like read my mind. So I actually want to turn to Luke chapter 10. Or you cheated somehow over there. Ha ha ha, he said, no, I didn't cheat. Okay, I'm going to put you on pause, Josiah. So someone else help me out.

What does it mean to love your neighbor? Who is your neighbor? I'm getting a lot of blank stares. Luke chapter 10, and you're like, I'm trying to do multiple things here, Jeremiah. And also keep your finger on 1 John.

What were you saying, Aaron?

A fellow saint.

Okay, now, we're going to test that a little bit, okay? Because there is a sense in which John is talking about those who are in fellowship with. I want you to hang on to that, Aaron, because that's getting into the new commandment that Jesus gave us, okay?

So we're talking about now the old commandment that was given, ultimate Mount Sinai, right? You got the 10 commandments. Remember, the first four commandments are vertical, talking about our love for God.

And the second table of the 10 commandments are love for our neighbor, okay? And so we're asking the question, who is our neighbor? Aaron said, possibly, is it a fellow saint? Does anybody else have another thought, okay?

So those are the two options on the table. Is our neighbor other Christians that look like us and talk like us, or is it everyone, everyone who bears God's image? Josiah?

To the mind, the Good Samaritan is Jesus, and the man, which you will read in the story, is the sinners of this world.

We're not told that Jesus is the Good Samaritan.

But, I mean, if we can kind of picture it a little.

We know that Jesus is the, he's God, therefore that he's the only one good. So I'm not saying you're 100 wrong, but you are getting a little bit ahead of me, so I gotta push back a little bit. And I wanna tell people, we don't see that explicitly taught, but we're actually gonna be learning who is our neighbor, primarily.

Do you agree with that, Josiah? Okay. Okay, so do I have a volunteer that wants to read? You can't volunteer someone else. Delaney, would you mind reading verse 25 through 37? So that's a good chunk. Luke chapter 10, and we're reading about the parable of the Good Samaritan.

I want y 'all to pay attention to the question that's being asked to Jesus. So you take it away, Delaney.

Okay.

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him, what is written in the law? How do you read it? And he answered, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.

And he said to him, you have answered correctly, do this and you will live. But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? Jesus replied, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.

Now by chance, a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.

Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? He said, the one who showed him mercy, and Jesus said to him, you go and do likewise.

Thank you, Delaney. All right, somebody raise your hand. What are some details that we heard in this story? What happened? Not Delaney, you read it, of course you know. Josiah, you know everything. We're gonna put you on pause too.

J .D.?

Okay, so it was basically, so there was a man that was tripping feet that's on the side of the road. And a pastor came by, which is known as one of the highest men. Didn't even stop to help him. And then another guy, I forgot what they were called.

You got a priest and a Levite, some of these high guys like you're talking about.

They know that guy. And the Samaritan, and the Samaritans were not known. They were hated.

They were hated because they kind of had mixed parents, mixed lineage of Jew and Gentile. So Jews saw them as detestable.

But that was the only man that stopped by the road to help him. And so the man at the end couldn't even say that it was the Samaritans.

That's such a good point. Did y 'all notice that detail? They said, okay, so Jesus said, which of these three do you think prove to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? Why do you think they didn't say, oh, the Samaritan?

Right, or like J .D. said, they couldn't even bring it to themselves to say it. They just said the one who showed him mercy, okay? And so raise your hand, what's the primary question being asked that compelled Jesus to give this parable?

Do y 'all remember? Back in verse, oh, Kennedy?

Who is my neighbor?

Who is my neighbor? Yeah, look at this. So Jesus said, remember he asked him, how do you understand the law? Remember the bigger question being asked is, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

What things do I need to accomplish to be able to have eternal life with God? And then Jesus said, tell me what the law of Moses, tell me how you understand it. And he rightly quoted the information that it rests on the first and greatest commandment, love God and love neighbor.

And then Jesus answered, do this and you will live, okay? Can we do that perfectly, to love God and love neighbor? Uh-oh, we don't, we fall short, don't we? So when he says do this and live, that is something fallen humanity cannot do.

Not perfectly, right? Because you may say, oh, I've loved God most of today. Well, what about when you didn't, right? Because that's a call to perfection. That's actually not a suggestion of a good idea.

Well, you should love God. No, that's a law. That's not a suggestion. And so the point is all men and women fall short of that standard, okay? So I just want you to realize that when he says do this and live, this had to rub this lawyer's skin the wrong way, because listen to what the text says in verse 29, but he desiring to justify himself, okay?

So sometimes when you're caught in a lie or you're really wanting to prove a point, I mean, you're gonna try to justify yourself. You're gonna try to do everything at all costs to win this argument, right?

So that's the detail. He's trying to justify himself, and then he asked the big question, who is my neighbor? So this is the history of the Jews, especially in Second Temple Judaism where we see the Pharisees depicted in the gospels.

They looked at the second greatest commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. They would say, okay, we're going to redefine what neighbor means. It's those that look like us, other Israelites. And guess what they continued to interpret that to mean?

We're gonna hate everyone who doesn't look like us. Do y 'all remember that from the Sermon on the Mount? Remember, he says, you have heard that it was said of all to love your neighbor and to hate your enemy.

I used to read that and think, because it was in quotes, I thought, man, the Old Testament says that? Well, that was a rabbinic interpretation of that command to love your neighbor as yourself. But the extra part in hate your enemy, that's nowhere to be found in the scriptures.

Now, there can be verses take out of context to, since God shows his hatred on the unjust and pours out his wrath, those verses, like people today, take those out of context and try to say, well, we're gonna love those that look like us and hate everybody else.

And so Jesus tells us, no, in the Sermon on the Mount, love your enemies, pray for them who say mean things about you and persecute you, pray for them. Love everyone is the point. And so this parable demonstrates that our neighbor are image bearers of God.

We are to show love even to unlovable people. Why? Because that's a picture of the gospel. I was someone at war with God, yet he demonstrated his love for me by dying on the cross, right? And so this is very gospel-centered.

Our neighbor, we're to show the love of Christ to everyone that God puts in our lives, okay? But I want you to think about this principle. Before Christ came and poured out his spirit, this was a commandment that could not be done, not perfectly, right?

So this old commandment is Leviticus 19, 18, love your neighbor as yourself. And you only see an imperfect example of that even with the saints, right? But who fulfilled that command perfectly? And Jesus, right?

We see the fulfillment of that. And so with that, turn with me back to 1 John. Because like I said, John is saying, I'm telling you an old commandment and I'm also telling you a new commandment. And I used to think this was really confusing.

How can he be telling us an old and new commandment at the same time? Look with me back at verse seven. Beloved, I am writing to you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning.

What commandment is that, Avery?

Love who?

Love God, love neighbor, right? And so that's the old commandment that was written from the beginning. And so let's continue reading. The old commandment is the word which you have heard and 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.

So does anybody wanna take a stab of what this new commandment is? That's also an old commandment. Boom, boom. Isn't this a little confusing? He's writing to us not a new commandment, but an old commandment, but at the same time, it's a new commandment.

And here's a clue. Which is true in him and in you. Kennedy's giving me that look like, I don't know.

Can you repeat the question?

What is John talking about that is an old commandment, but also a new commandment? What does he mean by it's also a new commandment? And the clue that I'm trying to hint at is which is true in him and in you.

It wouldn't be like verses nine and 10, would it?

Okay, so it absolutely ties in to more of the context. I'm proud of you. So look with me at nine and 10. Whoever says 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.

So you notice this phrase. Whoever loves his brother. This is different than love your neighbor as yourself. That's the old commandment that's appealed to all of mankind. Remember we saw that with the Samaritan?

Showing mercy, showing love to this person that is in trouble? Somebody that did not look the same as them? That's the old commandment that we absolutely still do to this day.

And wouldn't he love your brother as yourself?

Well, this is talking about the fellowship of believers. We actually can fulfill this command that couldn't have been done before, but we see it now in Christ. It's a new commandment because it's new and afresh because he's the perfection of it.

But he's also given us the spirit. Now we can fulfill this commandment in a way that's pleasing to God and we can share in this love within the fellowship. So we're supposed to love our neighbor as ourself, show that love to all mankind, but then now there's something special amongst the brethren.

Those within the fellowship of salvation. Does that kind of make sense? The old commandment is love your neighbor as yourself. The Old Testament saints could not do that, right? They couldn't. They kept falling short of that standard.

We all still do. But Jesus says, look, I'm coming to fulfill the law. So now it's a new, fresh, it's still the old commandment, but now it's fresh because Jesus is showing us what that truly looks like.

And now we are walking in the light. We are walking with Christ. We actually can fulfill that commandment, especially in our koinonia fellowship with one another. Josiah?

Basically what I think John is trying to say is whoever says he is in the light but hates the brethren is still in darkness. But whoever loves the brethren in Christ, which the brethren in Christ and the brethren in Christ, abides in the light and in him, there is no cause of stumbling.

But whoever hates the brethren is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he's going because the darkness.

Now, Josiah, you're bringing up a good point. So let me ask y 'all this question. If somebody says they're in the fellowship, says they're a Christian, we're in 1 John, if you need to know. If someone says they're a Christian and in the fellowship, but they actually do not enjoy being with the saints and they have some hatred towards someone else, what's wrong with that picture?

JD?

It's not showing what God prescribes. Like God doesn't hate his neighbor and love all of his, like he loves everybody.

If we are truly saved, if we are truly in Christ, if we've been changed by the grace of God, that necessarily is going to have an effect on how we view the brethren, right? Now, it doesn't mean that someone isn't gonna get, we're gonna get mad at somebody and things like that.

But remember, we've talked about repentance and pointing out sin in each other's life. But ultimately, we desire to love one another the way that Christ loves us, right? But that's the problem. If someone deep down has a hatred towards another Christian, well, then their heart's not in the right place.

They're not resting in Christ. And John would tell us, you're a liar and you've deceived yourself. You're not walking in the light, you're walking in darkness. And that darkness is gonna cause us to stumble, right?

But how do we know how to live in this world? Follow Christ, God's truth, his revealed word. And so, somebody help me out. What does it mean that love is both an old commandment and a new commandment?

Remember what he's saying is, beloved, I'm writing to you no new commandment, but an old commandment. And then verse eight says, and at the same time, it is a new commandment. So what does he mean there?

How can what John is telling us both an old and new commandment? Bonnie?

If both times you're loving your brother or sister in Christ.

So I want us to think about this. The old commandment is, I think you're in the right trajectory, Delaney. The old commandment is Leviticus 19, 18. Love your neighbor as yourself. It's the old commandment that no one could do and please God because it's a law.

It just shows us how we fall short of that standard, right? But the new commandment is Christ's example fulfilling the old commandment. And so Jesus fulfilled it. The new commandment is looking to the person Jesus, God perfectly fulfilling and saying, hey, I'm with him.

I'm following Jesus. That allows me to partake in this new commandment for love for one another in the fellowship. Does that kind of make sense? So I actually want to turn to one more place. You're like, whoa, we're turning everywhere.

Turn with me to John chapter 13. I love this a lot because this account in John 13 is unique to John's gospel and not to all the other gospel writers. And so with that, remember 1 John is written by John and John wrote this gospel.

He wrote other epistles. He wrote the book of Revelation. So this to me stuck in John's mind and we just see this. Remember this thunderous apostle, son of Boa Energies, transform into the apostle of love, okay?

And so we read about the time that Jesus washed the disciples feet. This is the only account is in John's gospel and it didn't make it in the other synoptic gospels. And this is an example of what it truly means to love.

How do we know? We don't look to Leviticus 19, 18, love your neighbor as yourself because that's law. We look to the person of Jesus Christ and by his spirit in us now allows us to love the way that we should in a way that's actually pleasing to God.

So look with me at John chapter 13, starting in verse three. Jesus, knowing that the father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper and he laid aside his outer garments and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet to wipe them with a towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter who said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered him, what I'm doing you do not understand but afterward you will understand.

Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I do not wash your feet, you have no share with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head.