June 2, 2019

Watch the Sermon

1 John 2:1-2

1. We began by noting the phrase John uses throughout the book & in 1 John 2:1, “my little children.” It was said that this phrase should remind us of John’s love for his audience & his age in comparison to his audience. Who are people in your life that have been intentional to encourage your spiritual good that are older than you? What are the benefits of having saints that are older than you be a part of your life?

2. We then got into the rest of the first half of 1 John 2:1. Pastor Nate spent time showing how John’s words were in light of the opposition of the Gnostics & specifically antinomians. Pastor Nate spoke of how this opposing group spoke of sin as being no big deal & that to continue in sin didn’t matter because God is love. Do you see this kind of mentality still in play today? What is appealing about this heretical view? How does 1 John 1:5-10 counter the concept that sin is no big deal?

3. At this point in the sermon, Pastor Nate said, “Followers of Christ are saved from sin, not to sin.” So how has your life reflected this…that you’ve been saved from sin, not saved to sin all the more? More specifically, how has your awareness of sin, your fight against sin, your confession of sin changed since becoming a Christian?

4. Now getting into the second half of 1 John 2:1, we see that Jesus is the advocate with the Father. We looked at Revelation 12:7-11 to see why this role is so vital. As Christians, do we think all that often on Jesus as our advocate? Why is Jesus a worthy advocate, why can’t we be our own advocate?

5. We then moved into 1 John 2:2 & saw how Jesus is our defense: through his work as the propitiation for our sins. How does Jesus taking the wrath for our sin on our behalf shape the way we talk about the love of God? How does this verse cause us to consider the depths of the love of God?

6. Then Pastor Nate moved into the second half of 1 John 2:2 & mentioned that there are various positions concerning this text. When coming to these kinds of texts: what should characterize the Christian?

7. The biggest concern of the second half of 1 John 2:2 is to not land at a position that contradicts the rest of the Bible: namely the position of universalism. What helps you understand specific passages in light of the rest of the Scriptures?

8. We ended with a plead to not run from Christ, but run to Christ when we sin…that this is the action in light of Jesus’ work. How can we, the people of God, purpose ourselves to run to Christ? What does it look like when we seek to run from Christ?