Prove It 2 // 1 John 2:7-12

A message by Rev. Dr. Mark Jordan | Pastor

Last Week:

  • Darkness is not just evil in the world but also the search to cover for sin.
  • Yes, we struggle with sin, but we can’t quit the struggle!

1 John 2:7-12 (ESV) | 7 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. 8 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. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 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. 12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

A Closer Look

  • Stumbling: we set baited traps for ourselves.
  • Blinding Darkness: we set smokescreens to give us cover

The Commandment, Old and New

  • Mark 11:30-31 (ESV) | Jesus answered, “The most important (commandment) is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
  • John 13:34-35 (ESV) | A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

The Darkness Redux

  • It is passing away because the Light of the World is in the world (John 8:12).
  • It might be passing away, but it is progressively advancing.
  • This advance works to deceive us and cause us to stumble.

“Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence good.” ~ Charles J. Chaput

Satan means Accuser, Deceiver, and Liar

  • Knows he is going down
  • Wants his hellish kingdom to be as big as possible for his own pride
  • Wants to hurt God’s heart

So, What Are We to Do?

  • Acknowledge our own vulnerability to deception
  • Do not take pride in the things of this world.
  • Commit to studying God’s Word to know God’s Will and go God’s Way.

Reflection Questions:

  1. How have you thought about darkness being something we participate in as we seek cover for our own sin?
  2. How does John connect the commandment of God from the Old to the New Testament?
  3. Now that we better understand the work of darkness, how can it simultaneously be passing away and progressing?
  4. How have you experienced, or seen play out, the idea from the Charles Chaput quote that “Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence good”?
  5. What can you do this week to push back on the work of the enemy in your life?