Right Action – 1 John (Winter SWO)

1 John 1:6–7

[6] If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 2:10–11

[10] Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. [11] 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.

1 John 3:23

[23] And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

1 John 4:1–6

[1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. [4] Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. [5] They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

What’s The Point?

As we have looked through 1 John so far, we have seen that our thinking and our affections matter. The things we believe and our convictions are the basis of our faith. If we believe a lie, put our faith in something untrustworthy, or set our desires on evil then we are not thinking rightly. 1 John focuses so much on our knowledge. John summarizes the book saying, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (5:13). But of what value are knowledge and belief if they don’t lead to action?

1 John is not silent about this. John’s words are quite adamant that right knowledge and right affection must lead to right action. We are going to look one-by-one at the Bible verses above and see what they tell us about living out our faith.

1 John 1:6-7. John is arguing that our belief is not true belief if it doesn’t lead to an action in line with that belief. If you claim to know Jesus, if you claim to be a believer and then walk in sin, John is saying that you are a liar. That’s a bold claim, but it makes sense. No one likes a hypocrite. All John is saying here is live in accordance with what you claim to believe. Christians should look different than the world because they claim to know Jesus.

1 John 2:10-11. This verse is similar to the one we just discussed. If we claim to know Christ then we must love our brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s not an option to hate other people that Jesus died for. Our belief in Jesus will affect our relationships—it has to! If the way you treat your brothers and sisters in Christ is no different from how the world treats people John says you are not in the light, you are in darkness.

1 John 3:23. This verse echoes the two we have already looked at, but look how John lumps belief and obedience together. What are the two commands in this verse? Believe and love. Scripture links our thoughts and actions inseparably together. If we claim to believe something and it does not lead to action or affect our actions then we do not truly believe it.

1 John 4:1-6. This passage is not directly about our living rightly as believers, but it gives very practical instruction on how we are to live in the world. The world we live in is constantly trying to push its ideas and beliefs on us. John warns us, we cannot just accept the world’s ideas; we must test them. The world will tell you lies about Jesus, marriage, sexuality, and identity, but it often tells them in such a way that we do not realize we are being lied to.

Social media and entertainment are very effective tools for infiltration because they bypass our intellect and go straight to effecting our emotions. C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, said, “I saw how stories of this kind could steal past a certain inhibition which had paralyzed much of my own religion in childhood.” What does this mean? Things that entertained him affected him in a way that his religion didn’t. Lewis later called this, “to steal past watchful dragons.”

We must be aware of entertainment’s ability to do this and be on guard against it. As the world’s ideas come to us and try to inform us, we must test those ideas. We must test them against Scripture. If the world is saying something contrary to Scripture, we cannot believe it. Does this belief or action bring glory to the Lord? Am I being told to seek something that is eternally good or only temporarily pleasing? These are good questions we can and should ask to test the teachings of the world.

Our actions matter because they show what we truly believe. If I say I believe in Jesus, my life and actions should be Christlike. If I say I have faith in the Lord but live a life of immorality, I am lying about my faith. This is a huge deal and something that all believers will have to wrestle with! Let’s be people who know what we believe and believe it in such a way that it affects the way we live our lives.

Scripture Memorization

“[6] If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Prayer

Lord, I want to know you, love you, and live my life for you. Bind those things together in me so that I will live my life in worship to you. Let my actions be informed by a right belief and love of you. If I live in a way that goes against your Word, convict me. I do not want to live in sin or have idols in my life. Expose pride, selfishness, lusts, and any evil desire in my life, and help me to uproot those things from my heart and mind. Take my life and do with it whatever you want, Lord, and help me to trust and obey.

Reflection

1. What we believe should really affect what we do? What do your actions say about your beliefs?
2. What entertainments or enticements are most likely to draw you away from Christ? What are you doing to combat that?

Discussion Questions

1. How are our thoughts, affections, and actions linked together in our faith?
2. What are some ideas that have gotten past your “watchful dragons,” and influenced your thinking, affections, or actions?