WORD From The Woods
1 John 2:1-27
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am 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. 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. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us — eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him”
This passage is one of my favorite in all of scripture, partly because of it’s clear instruction about walking with Christ but mostly because it contains my favorite word in scripture, “propitiation.” My former pastor, and fellow Christian logger used to say all the time how much he loved the word propitiation, and growing up, I never really understood why he always made such a big deal about it. There are a lot of words in the bible, why was this strange word his favorite? I can remember many times that my pastor would give the definition of propitiation from the pulpit, “all of the righteous requirements of God’s wrath were fully satisfied in Christ’s work of redemption on the cross.” The concept behind propitiation is that when a god was angered, a sacrifice would have to be made to appease the wrath of that god. In John’s day, people in the Roman Empire believed in many different gods, so this concept of propitiation would have really resonated with them. As grew up and grew closer to Christ, I realized why my pastor had made such a big deal about this word. It was a big deal, a huge deal! It’s what the entire bible is centered around. The fact that mankind has sinned and deserves to have the wrath of God poured out on us all because of our sin and God’s plan of redemption through Jesus Christ is what the whole bible is about! This is all summed up in the word “propitiation.” Nothing else in this life really matters if we haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as our savior and Lord, the propitiation for our sins! This passage is about abiding in Christ, which just means to walk in His ways and follow Him. The reason John begins this passage by talking about propitiation is because if we understand what Christ has done, repented and trusted in Him, we will abide in Him. We will have our ups and downs and continue to struggle with sin, but if we truly know Christ, our life will show it by the fact that we abide in Him. John says that if we say we abide in Him but continue to live a lifestyle of sin we are liars. John is pretty clear about this. It may seem like this passage is a bit repetitive, that’s because it is. John says the same thing over and over. He wanted to make sure his readers got the point! We should really take this passage seriously because I know how easy it is to fall into sin, especially with some the guys that we work with in the woods. A lot of times, it seems easier to just do what the other guys are doing, but if we really have been redeemed by Christ, our lives should show it. Our hope for the ministry of FCL is that we can give you some tools and encouragement to stand up and live for Christ right were you’re at and that the people you work around will see the light of Christ in you and desire to have what you have.
God bless, and have a great week! -Terry-
1 John 2:1-27
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am 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. 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. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us — eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him”
This passage is one of my favorite in all of scripture, partly because of it’s clear instruction about walking with Christ but mostly because it contains my favorite word in scripture, “propitiation.” My former pastor, and fellow Christian logger used to say all the time how much he loved the word propitiation, and growing up, I never really understood why he always made such a big deal about it. There are a lot of words in the bible, why was this strange word his favorite? I can remember many times that my pastor would give the definition of propitiation from the pulpit, “all of the righteous requirements of God’s wrath were fully satisfied in Christ’s work of redemption on the cross.” The concept behind propitiation is that when a god was angered, a sacrifice would have to be made to appease the wrath of that god. In John’s day, people in the Roman Empire believed in many different gods, so this concept of propitiation would have really resonated with them. As grew up and grew closer to Christ, I realized why my pastor had made such a big deal about this word. It was a big deal, a huge deal! It’s what the entire bible is centered around. The fact that mankind has sinned and deserves to have the wrath of God poured out on us all because of our sin and God’s plan of redemption through Jesus Christ is what the whole bible is about! This is all summed up in the word “propitiation.” Nothing else in this life really matters if we haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as our savior and Lord, the propitiation for our sins! This passage is about abiding in Christ, which just means to walk in His ways and follow Him. The reason John begins this passage by talking about propitiation is because if we understand what Christ has done, repented and trusted in Him, we will abide in Him. We will have our ups and downs and continue to struggle with sin, but if we truly know Christ, our life will show it by the fact that we abide in Him. John says that if we say we abide in Him but continue to live a lifestyle of sin we are liars. John is pretty clear about this. It may seem like this passage is a bit repetitive, that’s because it is. John says the same thing over and over. He wanted to make sure his readers got the point! We should really take this passage seriously because I know how easy it is to fall into sin, especially with some the guys that we work with in the woods. A lot of times, it seems easier to just do what the other guys are doing, but if we really have been redeemed by Christ, our lives should show it. Our hope for the ministry of FCL is that we can give you some tools and encouragement to stand up and live for Christ right were you’re at and that the people you work around will see the light of Christ in you and desire to have what you have.
God bless, and have a great week! -Terry-