First Presbyterian Church                                                                                             Rev. Michael J. Imperiale

Salt Lake City, Utah                                                                                                                     April 30, 2006

                                                                “Why Jesus Showed Up”

                                                             1 John 3: 1-7; Luke 24: 36-48

Introduction

Theologian Bernard Ramm calls it an “offense to reason” as he explores our society’s understanding and attitudes toward sin.  Apparently the editors of the 15th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica agree.  They chose not to include an entry on the word “sin.”  The daily newspapers record the depressing chronicle of crimes in our city.  Essays and books on atrocities, television newscasts of terrorism and political oppression never refer to sin or the sinful nature of human beings.

The biblical doctrine of sin is offensive to most people.  When I was a freshman in college, some guy from Campus Crusade for Christ tried to share the four spiritual laws with me.  I liked the “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” idea.  But when he started talking about sin, my sin, I thought, “Who does this guy think he is?”  (that’s the mild version of what I was actually thinking).

Yet this is the very reason Jesus showed up in our world.  This is why Jesus wants to show up in your life and in mine.  It’s to reverse the curse, turn the hiss into hallelujahs, to deal with the presence, power, and penalty of sin.  As I look back on that Campus Crusade experience, I am thankful for it because it started me really thinking about my own need for a Savior.

In our scripture reading this morning, the apostle John continues his goal to expose those who distort the truth through false teaching in the early church while at the same time reassuring those who are staying the course in faithfulness to the apostles’ teaching about Christ.

I. The Assurance of God’s Love in Christ (vs. 1-3)

John begins with the part I like the most: the assurance of God’s love in Christ.  “What marvelous love the Father has extended to us!” writes John.  “Just look at it – we’re called children of God!  That’s who we really are… And that’s only the beginning… What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him – and seeing him, become like him.  All of us who look to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.”

When talking about his amazing ministry of introducing people to Christ, Billy Graham said, “When we preach atonement, it is atonement planned by love, provided by love, given by love, finished by love, necessitated because of love.  When we preach the resurrection of Christ, we are preaching the miracle of love.  When we preach the return of Christ, we are preaching the fulfillment of love.”

You and I are so used to hearing about God’s love that we miss the amazing and unique nature of this message.  Outside of Judeo-Christian thought, God as love was almost unheard of in the ancient world.  Throughout Old and New Testament eras, the plurality of gods among other Semitic, Greek and Roman cultures led most people into fear and superstition.  There are still many cultures in the world today where god or the gods are seen as vengeful rather than loving.

The biblical revelation of God’s love is life changing.  “I am the Lord your God… showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (that’s Exodus 20:6, the setting of the Ten Commandments).  Multiple times in the Psalms, God’s people sing, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  His love endures forever” (26 times in Psalm 136 alone).  Throughout the Prophets, God’s love for us is proclaimed.  “Though the mountains be shaken and hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of people be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you (that’s Isaiah 54:10).  God’s love is proclaimed, demonstrated and fulfilled throughout the New Testament in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and in the experience of the church.

Here is the assurance that the apostle John wants to share with the second generation of believers in Christ.  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”

II. God’s Love and Truth Distorted (vs. 4-7)

But then John goes on to challenge and correct some false teaching that has apparently made its way into the church.  Remember, I John is a letter; he is corresponding with Christian friends who are asking him questions about things others are promoting.  They turn to John (as we turn to the Bible itself) for authoritative answers because John knew Jesus.  He lived with Jesus, saw him heal the sick, reach out to those in need.  He saw Jesus die on the cross and was with Jesus for forty days after the resurrection.  John knew first hand.

“All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless,” writes John, “for sin is a major disruption of God’s order.  Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin.  There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program.  No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin.  Those who do make a practice of sin have got him all backwards.”

Apparently, there were teachers in the early church who were making a common mistake from misunderstanding God’s grace.  The reasoning goes like this: if God forgives us all of our sins by Jesus and his cross, then we can go on sinning not worrying about judgment or punishment.”  The apostle Paul argued with his opponents about this in Romans 6.  “What shall we say then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means!” says Paul.  “What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?  Absolutely not!” writes this apostle.  “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  But rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.  Sin shall not be your master because you are not under law, but under grace.”

In Plato’s Republic there is a story of a ship’s crew who decided their captain was mad because he took observations of the stars.  They believed that the winds, currents and tides were the important points of identification.  So they locked up their captain in the hold of the vessel and sailed on to shipwreck.

In Jesus Christ, God has given his steady, unchanging, perfect point of reference.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever,” says the writer of Hebrews (13:8).  When our points of reference are limited to the self and to the winds, currents and tides of this world’s opinions, we court disaster.  And this is what the apostle John is warning about here in his letter to the church.

Yet there is a tension in the Christian life when it comes to sin.  On one hand we are urged to lead a life worthy of our calling as Paul writes in Ephesians (4:1).  On the other hand, we know that sin is still a present reality.  Can you or I as a Christian be sinless?  Of course not.  John has already pointed that out.  But here he presents an ideal, a vision of Christian character that we should pursue.  He emphasizes that ongoing, habitual sin (making it a practice) should find no place in the believer’s life.  He refutes the false teaching that Christians are free, free to sin.

Throughout the Bible we are confronted with the reality of sin and the problems it presents.  “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it” (that’s way back in Genesis 4:7).  Recognizing my sin is the part I didn’t like when that Campus Crusade guy spoke with me.  As I said, I look back on that confrontation within myself as an important step to coming to faith in Christ.  To acknowledge our need for Christ is the first step to forgiveness and a life of true freedom, free not to sin.

Conclusion

Jesus showed up, the Lord of the universe became a human being first, to demonstrate the lavish, wondrous love of God and second, to reverse the curse, set us free, forgive and restore, deal with sin and its consequences.

An offense to reason?  Sin certainly is.  To continue to sin, to practice sin in the light of the love of God is insane.  “Who will deliver me from this body of sin and death?” asks the Bible.  The answer: “Thanks be to god who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (see Romans 7 and I Corinthians 15).  Jesus came to set us free from sin and death.  Let us pray together.