Thoughts on John - Putting Off, Putting On, and Assurance

I mentioned a connection Sunday between 1 John and putting off/putting on (Colossians 3). We must walk in the light and put off sin, but it's not enough just to not sin. 1 John 2:3-6 says if we truly belong to Him, we will obey his commandments. We shouldn't just avoid doing what we know is wrong, we also have to do what is right - what God's word tells us to do.

I think it's very important to look at the context in which John speaks. He's speaking to believers whose assurance is wavering because of people who had left the fellowship - people who they thought were one of them. Not only have they broken fellowship, but they are trying to persuade those who remain to believe something other than the Gospel. John's trying to show them how their fellowship and their walk is in Christ. He's not saying they must obey to earn assurance (i.e. legalism), he's saying that as a result of loving Christ and walking in the light, they will desire to obey. Obedience is one way we can find assurance of our salvation.

In verses 2:7-11, John expands on obedience to his commandments - specifically the command that we love one another. John, as we'll see here and throughout the book, often presents the same argument in both a positive and negative way. My paraphrase of 2:9-11 - If we claim to be Christians but hate (unforgiveness, disrespect, belittle, hold grudges, etc) our brothers and sisters, we aren't who we claim to be - we are still in the darkness. If we love our brothers and sisters(through forgiveness, selflessness, serving, genuineness, etc), that's evidence we belong to Christ - we are in the light. Even better, if we live that way we are more likely to remain in the light. Love is self-sustaining. John then flips it again. He says that if we do hate our brothers and sisters, we are in the darkness. And, if we live that way we'll just keep stumbling and falling further and further away from the light. Hate, too, is self-sustaining. Our love for others is another way we can be assured.

All that said, I return to the putting off/putting on point. I don't think John presents positive and negative arguments like he does just to be repetitive. He's not simply saying the same thing in two or three different ways. He writes that if we hate, we are in the darkness. We may be tempted to say "I don't hate anyone", "I'm not unforgiving" etc. But putting off hate is not enough. It's only half of the equation. We also must love. It's intentional. It's an action. Again, it's not that we must do it to earn God's approval. Because of our love for Him and his love for us, we will love others. With Christ, it will become natural.

Where do you stand? Is loving others natural for you? Or, do you tend to think you're doing ok because you can honestly say you don't hate anyone? Is that enough?

I'm thankful that we have a God who promises through his abundant grace to help us walk in his light, and through his mercy will search us out when we wander into the darkness, stumble, and fall. He won't leave us in the dark.

In Him,
John