Hi, this is the Hymn We Proclaim podcast. As a child of God, do you sometimes still live in fear or shame about things about your past? According to John Fawnville, when a child of God is being crippled by shame and guilt, it's not life, it's hell on earth. Christians sometimes say they dread the day when Christ returns because of their past failures. The series we're currently in explores why children of God do not have to worry about that day.
In contrast, the followers of Satan on that day will have much to face. Let's look at the next episode called Children of God and Children of the Devil. Here's part one. If you have your Bibles, which I hope you do, turn to the book of 1 John 2, verse 28 through chapter 3, verse 10. This passage is just loaded.
with massive amounts of comfort. There's so much good news here. It's shocking really when we get into it. What is the major theme? What is John saying here in this passage?
This is what he's saying. He's saying, the major theme is doing what is right. In this context, when he's talking about doing what is right, He's talking about what the secessionists were failing to do. It's the opposite of what they were doing. What what has he told us that they were doing?
He tells us that, first of all, he begins this letter in chapter 1, verses 1 through 4, they were failing to hold to the gospel as proclaimed by the apostles. Second, in chapter two, verses twenty-two and twenty-three. He tells us that they denied that Jesus was the Messiah, that he was the Son of God come in human flesh. He tells us in chapter 2, verses 1 through 2, he tells us in chapter 5, verse 6, that they failed to believe that his death was real and vicarious for sinners, that he was a substitute for sinners. Back in chapter 1, verse 5 through chapter 2, verse 2, he tells us that they failed to confess their sins.
They claimed sinless perfection. Here in chapter 2, verses 4 through 11, he says they failed to keep God's commandments, which was trust Christ. He says, right, he says, chapter 3, verse 23, what are his commandments? Trust Christ, and he says, love your fellow believers in the church. Chapter 2, verse 19, he says that they were schismatics.
He says that these secessionists who had left the church, they brought division and disruption into the church. And John in this section of his letter shows that the secessionists were not doing what is right. He tells us that they not just had heresy. But they also had the wrong type of lifestyle. He says they do what is wrong.
They are the children, he says, of the devil. It's a very powerful statement at the end in verse 10. Throughout this passage, mostly either John says that they practice lawlessness. Let me just comment on that because this is very important to get what John is talking about. What is this mean that they practice lawlessness.
It simply means this. Rebellion. John says in this passage that they have Opposition to God. They're rebellious towards God, like Satan, who rebelled against God. In chapter 3, verse 8, John says that they were children of the devil because they were rebelling just like the devil himself.
But he also says this, which is very striking. He says that they have this rebellion because The devil has put it into their hearts to sin this way. That's why they practice sin. They practice rebellion. And John says, the devil has put it into their heart to do this.
In chapter 13, verse 2, John writes this about Judas. Listen to what he says about Judas. He says, during the supper, the devil has put it into his heart, the heart of Judas Iscariot, to betray him. And this is what John is saying. Just as the devil had put it into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus, so the devil has put it into the hearts of these secessionists, these people who have left the church.
The devil has put it into their hearts to rebel against God, to be rebellious, to practice lawlessness. And this is John's point. This rebellion is destructive of righteous living. They're not doing what is right. And John tells us in this section.
What he meant in chapter 2, verse 19, when he says they went out from us. He explains to us that though these secessionists were former church members who were a part of the body that John had established with the apostles by preaching this gospel to them, he says they went out from us. And John is going to explain in this section why they went out. And so what happens is this, is this rebellious living by the secessionists. It brings up this question.
in this section that John's answering. Who are the children of God? Who are the children of God? And John answers this question by contrasting four characteristics of the children of God with four characteristics of the children of the devil. He draws this clear contrast between the two.
He says in verse 10, he says, This contrast, my this, the children of God and the children of the devil. Are obvious, it's evident, it's plain, it's clear. You can clearly see it. He draws this contrast for two reasons. First, He's teaching his children not to live like the secessionists.
But second, And he draws this contrast to assure his children of their salvation. And so, when he assures his children of their salvation, this. motivates them to live righteously, to do what is right. But John says in chapter 3 verse 10, these distinctions between the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious.
So with this context in mind, this question before us is, who are the children of God? John tells us, he begins in chapter 2, verse 28. Look at it. In chapter 2, verses 28 through chapter 3, verse 3, John tells us who the children of God are. And this first characteristic of the children of God is in verse 28.
Who are the children of God? He says, there are those who abide in Christ. And because they abide in Christ, look at the benefit, they have confidence to stand before God when Christ returns. Look what he says in chapter 2, verse 28. He says, Now, little children, he says, abide in him.
Why? What is the purpose?
So that when he appears, that's his second coming. Look at this. When he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink. away from him. in shame at his coming.
Look at chapter 2, verse 27. In this previous section, John had concluded that section with this exhortation to his children: he says, Abide in him. At the end of verse 27. Abide in Him. And then he comes back to this new section and he reminds them again.
He says, Abide in Him, abide in Christ. What does that mean in this context? It means this. Don't be like those who left the church. Don't be like those who don't trust Christ for their salvation.
He's he's in. Abide in Christ. Remain steadfast in the gospel that the apostles proclaim to you from the beginning. And he says the purpose of this exhortation is this: that you, when he appears, you can have confidence. Confidence.
I want to come back to this moment, but listen carefully. Jesus is coming back. He is coming back. And the question is: do you have confidence?
So that you don't have to shrink back in shame, he says, at his coming. What does it mean to be confident? John tells us, he says, it's so that will not be put to shame. To be confident is equivalent to not being put to shame. John tells his little children, he says, the assurance of eternal life, what does it entail?
confidence. Confidence that you can stand. In the Presence of a holy and righteous God without any fear of being put to shame.
Now is that good news or what? Not being put to shame. Why? Because of my sin. Listen carefully.
Shame is a powerful thing. Shame is a powerful thing. One of the profound and paralyzing problems. that many people have is a sense of shame. for their sin.
People are tormented by a sense of shame. And this is true for a variety of reasons. Shame can result from our sin. But listen carefully, shame can result from sin done to us. Think of a child who's been abused and has to grow up in life dealing with that.
It's crippling. I think all of us here today knows what it feels like to have our consciences weighed down with the painful memory of the history of our shameful record of sin. All of us here today have done something, committed some type of sin for which if it was to be broadcast here today, we would be crushed by shame. And John, what does John say shame does? It makes us shrink away from God.
Shame makes us. Run and hide from God, just like Adam and Eve. What happened when they sinned? They discovered their guilt. They hid from God.
Because the Bible says they were naked, and kids in church always laugh about that passage. Oh, they were naked, you know. That's not the point. The physical nakedness is not the point there. Listen, what it's saying: the biblical text is telling us that they were fully exposed to God who was righteous and holy in their guilt and shame, and they had no mediator.
to exercise on their behalf. They were fully exposed to the gaze of a holy and righteous God. in their guilt and shame, and they couldn't hide it, so they hid. And so, shame makes us do this. Shame makes us shrink away from God.
Shame makes us shrink away from people, run and hide from people. Why? Because we don't want to have to face the reality and consequences of what we've done. It's just too painful. It's too shameful.
Listen to me carefully. I want you to hear this. I have served, as I said last week, in churches since I was 18 years old. In almost in every single case I've ever seen since I was 18, when a person commits grievous sin, do you know what they do? Do you know what their response has always been almost every single time?
Leave the church, hide, and never come back. That is the exact wrong response. And the people who I've talked to and said, why didn't you come back? Because I'm too shamed. I'm too embarrassed.
It's too painful for people to see because they know what has happened. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, you don't understand. The visible church is exactly. you must come back and stay. Because Christ's sacrament His baptism, his Lord's Supper, Christ's preaching of his gospel to you as your means of salvation and grace.
Come join the whole entire church who has committed all sorts of shameful things. Come join us. Yeah. There's no judgment. Come and receive an embrace, not just from your fellow believers, but from.
Christ himself. Don't Run away. Yeah, this is what the enemy does to us. The enemy of our faith used shame to isolate us and keep us away from the church and keep us away from the means of grace. Shame destroys our confidence before God.
It causes us to have this slavish, unhealthy fear of God. Shame is the devil's playground in which the enemy of our faith just wreaks havoc in our lives. And I want you to listen to this morning. what John says about that. He tells us that the assuring good news Is that those who abide in Christ, those who are trusting the gospel?
They're not perfect because he's told you in chapter 1, verse 5 to chapter 2, verse 2, you're going to be confessing your sin until you die or until Jesus comes back. You're never going to be perfect. But those who abide in Christ, those who are believing the gospel from the apostles, which the anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches you, chapter 2 verse 27, those who abide in Christ can be confident and they don't have to be afraid of being put to shame when Christ appears. Look at 1 John chapter 4, verses 17 through 18. What all of this means is best understood in light of this passage in chapter 4, where John speaks about having confidence on the day of judgment.
I have talked to so many people who have told me, Christians who have told me that they live in complete fear. of the day when Jesus returns. They have no confidence. They're afraid. of Jesus returning.
And John is teaching us the exact opposite here. Look what he says in 1 John 4, verses 17 through 18. He says, By this, love is perfected with us. Look at the purpose that we may have. Confidence in the day of judgment.
We may have confidence in the day of judgment. Why? Because as he is, so also are we in this world. Verse 18: there's no fear and love. But perfect love casts out fear because Fear involves punishment.
And he says, and the one who fears is not perfected. In love. John teaches that believers who are perfected. In love, they have confidence and they experience no fear as they face the day of judgment. And so here's the big question: What love is John referring to?
Look back at chapter 4, verses 9 and 10, and John tells us. Look at what he says. He says in chapter 4, verse 9, he says, by this, the love of God was manifest in us, that God the Father has sent his only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through him. Look at verse 10. And this is love.
Not that we love God the Father, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. In verse 9, John speaks of God the Father showing his love to us because he has sent his only begotten Son into the world so that we might have life. Listen to this. Crippled by shame is not life. It's hell on earth.
Jesus came to give you life and to rid you of that chain. Verse 10, John explains that God the Father shows his love to us by sending his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. What love is this, right? For what love? John assures his little children, he assures us that we do not have to fear the day of judgment when Christ returns because of God the Father's love for us.
John says, in this love, listen, out of love for us, he has sent his son into this world. to give us life the opposite of shame The opposite of fear. Confidence. that will never be put to shame. when Christ returns.
In chapter 4, verse 10, John says, God the Father sent his Son, listen, to be the propitiation for our sins. God the Father reveals his love by providing Jesus as our substitute. The theology is in the prepositions. Listen carefully to what he says here. to be the propitiation here it is Boar.
Our sins. The theology of comfort and assurance is in this prepositional phrase, for Our sins, say that with me together this morning. Uh Our sins. That's it. Propitiation, what is it?
It addresses the wrath of God, the judgment of God. Propitiation is the work of Christ saving us from God's wrath by fully exhausting it in his own person as our substitute on the cross. God the Father loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We do not have to fear being put to shame for all of our failures. None of it.
When Christ returns in judgment, because God's wrath, his judgment, has been propitiated, exhausted by Christ for our sins now and forevermore. John liberates our consciences from the painful memory of the history of our shameful record of sin. John says the children of God have Confidence on the day of judgment. Because why they abide in Christ. Who has taken their judgment upon himself and who shields them from future judgment?
John has it in mind, I think. He takes us all the way back to the Garden of Eden. He's compared and contrasting the first and second Adam. Go back to the garden. The first Adam sinned and found himself naked before God, fully exposed to a holy and righteous God in all of his guilt and shame.
And John says, Jesus, who is a second Adam, chapter 3, verse 5, in whom there is no sin. Jesus had nothing to be shamed about. He had no guilt. John says he was crucified in a most shameful way. Jesus died on the cross to be the propitiation for our sins.
He he died, listen. Fully exposed to a holy and righteous God, taking upon himself all our guilt and shame and exhausting in himself God's wrath against us for our sins. He did this for our sins. Why? So that we could have confidence when he returns.
Jesus took upon himself shame on the cross so that he could give us confidence in the day of judgment. Shame for Jesus. Confidence for us. I want you to turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 27. Verses 35 and 36.
I want you to see this. Matthew chapter 27. Verses 35 through 36, and this is what Matthew says, verse 35, when they had crucified him, they divided up his garments among themselves by casting lots. Verse 36, and sitting down, they began to keep watch over him there. What is Matthew telling us?
Matthew is telling us that Jesus was publicly stripped naked. and shamed publicly. They took off his garments. They took off his clothes. In his commentary on Matthew Craig, King Error says this: He says, Romans crucified their victims naked.
And public nakedness could cause shame, especially for Palestinian Jews. Listen to this. Anyone so executed could not brush flies, could not brush flies away from wounds. Nor control bodily functions while hanging naked for hours and sometimes. Days.
That is. That is grossly shameful. Beautiful religious art deceives us. As to what truly took place when Jesus was crucified as a propitiation for our sins, Isaiah in Isaiah 53 tells us that he was so marred we didn't even want to look upon him. It was so shameful.
The second last Adam Jesus was crucified in shame. He was crucified naked. There's no religious art that will ever portray him that way. Rightfully so. The second and last Adam was stripped naked and fully exposed to the gaze of the soldiers and all who passed by.
Matthew 27, verses 39 through 44, and they jeered at him. And just like the first Atom. Who was naked and fully exposed before God in all his guilt and shame? The John here in 1 John and Matthew, and Matthew's gospel tells us that Jesus was naked and he was fully exposed to the gaze of his Father. He was fully exposed to the gaze of those who looked upon him and passed by.
Publicly humiliated, shame. Profound shock. Shame. And as he was fully exposed to the entire public in the holiness of a righteous God, he was receiving in himself the penalty of that sin, where he became a propitiation for our sins. This is why he cried out with a loud voice during those awful hours.
As he hung on the cross as a propitiation, he says, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? God the Father forsook God his Son incarnate so that when Jesus returns, he'll not forsake you but receive you. During these awful hours, Jesus hung. In public nakedness and shame on the cross, and the cup of God's wrath was completely turned upside down. And he exhausted the cup of wrath against us.
John says, for our sins. Let me say it like this. War. our Shame. This is good news.
That the gospel writers in the John here in 1 John set forth Jesus exposed in total shame. This is good news. Jesus bore our shame on the cross. And because of this, John says we can have confidence to stand before Christ when he comes again to judge the living and the dead. We will not be put to shame when Christ returns because Jesus, John says, was put to shame for us on our behalf for our sins.
And so, as we reflect on this first characteristic of the children of God this morning, what is it? John tells us that the children of God is this. The children of God are those who abide in Christ, who believe the gospel. who cling to Christ. And because of this, the children of God have confidence to stand before God.
When Christ returns, there is so much here. Here's the first lesson we get from this. Listen carefully to me. There is a day of judgment that is coming for which you must be prepared. There is a day of judgment coming for which you must Be prepared.
1 John 2, verse 28, twice John tells us he speaks of Christ appearing and Christ coming. Both of these terms refer to the future return of Christ, which is why John exhorts his readers. Don't abandon him. Stay in him. He's coming back.
So you've got to have confidence. You don't want to shrink away and be put to shame. The New Testament speaks of the future coming of Christ as a conquering son of man in fulfillment of Daniel's vision in Daniel chapter 7. over and over and over. Let me just give you two passages in the New Testament.
I want you to listen to what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 24, verse 27. He says, just as. The lightning comes from the east. and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Verse 29, he says, Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.
And the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Verse 30 and And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. And then all the tribes of the earth mourn. And what And he says, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. Listen to this one in Revelation chapter 6, verses 12 through 17.
John explains the sixth seal, which is the greater earthquake. John tells us that Jesus, his second coming, will suddenly come. just suddenly appear will suddenly happen and and he's talking here about the end of history. And he says, Christ, just like Christ says in Matthew 24, he says here in Revelation 6: Christ will return in power and glory with terrifying signs to those who are not. Abiding in Christ now.
This theological significance of this earthquake is rooted back in the Old Testament. When God descended upon Mount Sinai to deliver his law to Moses, it was accompanied by an earthquake and terrifying signs. Listen to what the author of Hebrews says about that event. In Hebrews chapter 12, verses 18 through 21, he says that when God descended on Mount Sinai, listen to how he describes that event. Verse 18, it was a blazing fire.
It was darkness, which is amazing because you have a blazing fire, yet you have darkness. He says it was gloom. in a whirlwind like a tornado. Verse 19, there was a blast of a trumpet and the sound of words, which sound was such that those who heard this word begged. begged that no further word be spoken to them.
So terrifying was that word. Verse 20. They cannot bear the command if even a beast touches a mountain it will be stoned Verse 21, so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I am full of fear and trembling. When Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God, it was terrifying to him. And here in Revelation chapter 6, verse 12, this earthquake and darkness reappear again with the future coming of Christ.
Verses 15 through 17 of chapter 6, John says this as I paraphrase it: everything stained by the devil's touch in this world and all human sin will be swept away before the face of God and before the wrath of God. of the Lamb.
So taking it. Terrifying is the return of Christ and those who are not abiding in Him now. The terrified sinners try in vain, listen, to hide, to shrink back, to shrink away, just like Adam and Eve. And John says they try to hide and listen from the presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb because why are they hiding? They're hiding because the great day of their wrath.
has come. Listen to that carefully. The great day of their wrath. Their judgment has come. They have no confidence to stand.
Which is why in verse 17 In a desperate plea, as Christ has returned, they cry out, who is able to stand? Such is the response of those who are not abiding in Christ now. Just like the secessionists who denied that Jesus is the Christ, denied that Jesus is the Messiah, come in human flesh. To give himself as a propitiation for our sins. They walked away from the church and denied it.
And John says, this is the end of those who do that. And so the question that this passage sets before us is this: are you? Able to to stand in confidence that you will not be put to shame when Christ returns. Do you have that confidence today? Do you have that absolute certain confidence that John is talking about today?
That if Christ were to return before this church service ends, may he do so? Do you have that confidence that when he appears? You can stand with confidence. Do you have that confidence today? You can have it.
Trust. In Christ, abide in him. Look to him as your propitiation for your sins. And you're going to have that confidence today. Here's the second lesson as we finish.
The coming of Christ to judge is not terrifying for the children of God. The coming of Christ and judge is not terrifying for the children of God. John says confidently, those who abide in Christ now, who are the children of God, are safe from the wrath to come because Jesus is their propitiation. Those who don't abide in Christ, Revelation 6, the day of their wrath has come. When has the day of your wrath come if you're trusting and abiding in Christ?
2,000 years ago on Calvary, that's when your day of wrath came. And it wasn't poured out on you. It was poured out on him so you can have confidence when he comes again. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 9. He makes a similar statement to John.
He says, For God the Father has not destined us for wrath. But for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. No one who abides in Christ is destined for wrath on the day of judgment because Jesus exhausted God's wrath against us when he died for us on the cross. In the Apostles' Creed at baptismal events in our church, we confess the Apostles' Creed together as a church. And this is what we confess about Jesus: that he has ascended into heaven.
He's the conquering, reigning king. He ascended into heaven, and he sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. And from there he shall come again to judge the living and the dead. Listen carefully. And for those who abide in Christ, the coming of Christ to judge the living and the dead is good news.
This is good news. Christ's return for his children, the children of God, is not terrifying. There's nothing to be terrified about. Nothing, absolutely nothing. In his exposition of the Apostles' Creed, Caspar Oliviana says that Christ, our Lord, desires that with real caution.
Confidence of mind. We lift up our heads in anticipation of his coming. Stand tall. Put your chest down. Take a great big deep breath and just say, come Lord Jesus and look straight up at him in all of his glory and just gaze there because he's going to make you stand.
Look with it with great joy and anticipation in your heart. How can we do this? Because John says he was sent to be a propitiation for our sins. Listen, as we finish, listen to what Cass Limiana says about this. He gives three reasons why the coming of Christ to judge us is not terrifying.
Here's the first. He says: First, the reason for his coming to judge is a comfort to believers. I want you to listen carefully. The main purpose of Christ coming to judge is the glorification of his church. That's you and me.
To be made so glorious, it would blow your mind if you saw what will be in the future. The main purpose of Jesus coming to judge is the glorification of his church. It is not, listen, it's not wrath for us, it's vindication, it's glorification. And so he says, When sin and death have been fully abolished, and the enemies of the kingdom of Christ have been assigned to eternal punishment by a just judgment, and thus all the offenses and obstacles that held back the glory of the sons of God have been removed. God can appear in His saints fully.
perfectly glorious without any hindrance. Christ makes this reason and purpose clear to us. when he says in Ephesians 4.30 and calls that day the day of redemption. Second, the very person of the judge removes all our fear. It's a great thing that the Father has given all judgment to the Son.
as the Gospel of John says. It's a great thing that Jesus is coming to be the judge. He says, For the Father handed over all judgment to the Son as a Son of Man from Daniel 7, so that he might calm our consciences and remove all terror of condemnation. This is because we believe that he will be the judge, and also because with our eyes we will gaze on him and whose body our sins have been atoned for and the entire curse removed. Then here's a third and final reason we can have joy.
And not dread. Christ's commandment and promise delivers us from all dread. The commandment is found in Luke 21, verse 28. When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads. Matthew 24, verse 6.
And it will be that when you hear wars and rumors of wars, see that you're not troubled. Don't be troubled for all these things must come to pass. The promise is found in John 3, verse 18. He who believes in the Son is not judged or condemned. And so he says, Surely, since all the articles of the faith have been handed down to us for our comfort, this article.
Article on the Judgment 2 has been handed down not to shake our faith, but to build it up and to establish it. Let me just finish with Jude 24 and 25. And I want you to listen carefully to this doxology.
Now, to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, that is, fall away forever. Listen to him who is able, who is able, who has the power to keep you from stumbling and to make you stumble. Mm-hmm. Stand. In the presence of the presentation.
of his glory. Blameless. with great joy. He says, To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time, and now and forever.
Okay. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your Son, that you have revealed your love and shown your love to us and sending your Son into this world, your only begotten Son, to give us life through him. We thank you that you have sent him To be a propitiation for our sins. To die this public, shameful death.
fully exposed your gaze. receiving the full wrath in himself.
So that we in return could have Confidence. when he returns. And so we thank you that you were able to keep us from stumbling. We thank you that you're able to make us stand. In your presence, blameless.
With Great. Joy. Let us taste that joy here today as we come to your table and we pray that you would take these simple signs and seals. And apply them to us, we say, as we receive Christ by faith, and apply it to us, and comfort us. and tell us all that we've heard today for us is true for us.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks again for listening to the Hymn We Proclaim podcast. Please subscribe if you haven't already for all our new episodes. And if this message was just what you needed to hear, please let us know in the comments and share it with a friend.
