How to Stop Sinning
1 John 2:1-6
5 things you can expect as results of this study:
- Greater fullness of joy
- Deeper fellowship with other believers
- More intimate relationship with the Lord
- Power over sin and temptation
- Confidence and assurance of your salvation
19th century theologian Robert Law called his studies of 1 John The Tests of Life and suggested 1 John gives us three tests by which we may assess whether or not we have authentic, saving faith.
- The Theological Test: Do we believe Jesus is the Son of God?
- The Moral Test: Are we practicing righteousness?
- The Social Test: Do we love others?
Remember, these tests are not a list of the requirements for salvation but rather, the results of salvation. They are not a way for us to attempt to earn salvation. They simply offer us a means to identify evidence of salvation. Grace is opposed to earning but grace is not opposed to effort.
John connects knowing God with obeying God, and both of those increase through our union with Christ.
What happens when we stumble or fall? 1 John 2:1 assures us that we have an Advocate with the Father.
“An intercessor stands between two parties; an advocate doesn’t simply stand between the two parties but steps over and joins the one party as he approaches the other. Jesus is not only an intercessor but an advocate.”
Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly
“I do not get to know God, then do his will; I get to know him more deeply by doing his will.”
Philip Yancey, Reaching for the Invisible God
“The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It’s a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God.”
John Piper
