Idolatry, part 2

Today and tomorrow, we will each share personal examples of what modern "idols" we are tempted by. We pray that by sharing our struggles, that it will encourage you to identify any idols you may have and be honest in dealing with them biblically. Would you share what you are tempted with? How do you use Scripture to overcome the temptation? How have you grown spiritually because of this struggle? Please share!

Idolatry

As we end our study of 1 John, we read John's words, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." What is an idol? It is anything that draws our attention away from God. What occupies my heart's desires - is it God? Or do I desire something else? So think through this with us for the next few days. What consumes you? What are you willing to sin to get? Hopefully you can use these questions to determine if you desire something other than our loving God.

How Can You Pray?

What are specific ways you can pray for a sinning brother? We encourage you to pray Scripture for the sinning brother in Christ. Here's some of the verses that we mention today.

• Psalm 32:1-5
• 1 John 1:9
• Romans 2:4
• Psalm 51:2
• Romans 6:1-2, 12-13

As you pray Scripture for this person, it will help you to think biblically about the situation. And when you do go to them to confront the sin, you can tell them how you have been praying for them. So do you have any other thoughts? More verses to share?

What to do?

We ask the question today, "If I see a brother sinning, what do I do?" Here's how we answer:

1. Ask questions! Maybe you need to find out some more facts of the situation before you determine if they are sinning.
2. Pray! The text of 1 John 5:16-17 tells believers to pray....enough said!
3. Follow Matthew 18 - but check your life first (Matthew 7:1-5)
4. Remember the goal of confrontation is to see the sinning brother restored (Galatians 6:1), so be sure to go with a spirit of gentleness.

Prayer for the Sinning Brother

As we look at 1 John 5:16-17, we want to encourage you to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ who are in sin. These two verses talk about a sin not leading to death, which we will not take time to study. Rather, if you are curious as to what this might mean, please study on your own and then share with us what you found out! We know that sin is any wrongdoing. Anything that violates God's will is sin and so when a believer is in sin, these verses tell us to pray for them! Is there someone you can pray for today?

Confidence of Eternal Life

As we work through 1 John 5: 13-15, we ask, "How can we be confident that we have eternal life?" Have you ever doubted your salvation? Have you ever wondered if you truly confessed Christ as your Savior? As we answer this question today, we hope that you have been encouraged by the truth of God's Word! Our confidence in eternal life is shown throughout the entire book of 1 John. How many times does John write, "so you may know"? Evaluate your life...are you confident in your salvation?

Eternal Life

As we move through our discussion of 1 John 5, we want to take some time to reflect on the Gospel. How can a person receive eternal life? We know that many of us are familiar with the gospel and eternal life, but we want to share some more detailed thoughts as we answer this question. We'll be also sharing some thoughts from the "God's Bridge to Eternal Life" tract. You can find a link to this tract on the right side of our blog under "Bible Study Tools." We want to encourage you to pray about someone who you can share this truth with. Share any thoughts you might have - we'd love to hear from you!

Water, Blood & the Spirit

Have you ever read this section of 1 John and wondered, "what do these terms mean?" We have! We enjoyed digging into verses 5: 6-8 to discover what each of these terms mean. Here's what we found out: Water - refers to Christ's baptism. Blood - refers to Christ's death. These are two external witnesses to validate Christ's life here on earth. The Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit which lives within the believer. The Spirit gives testimony to the believer of the truth of Jesus Christ. These 3, the water, blood and the Spirit agree to the truthfulness of the person Jesus as the Christ. What a blessing it has been study this passage! And as we seek to apply this section, we ask "How are you doing listening to the Spirit today?"

1 John 5:6-12

As we move into this next section of 1 John 5, we wanted to take some time talk about the words, "testify" and "testimony." Did you notice how often John uses these words in these verses? The word "testify" means to "bear witness," "to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something." John uses this word in other parts of 1 John to show the importance of his testimony of Christ to the believers. Now, he will use these terms to help the believers understand external testimony (vs. 6-9) and internal testimony (vs. 10-12). So join us as we study this section!

Victory!

"You Christians do not have to walk around defeated, because Jesus Christ has made you victors! He has defeated every enemy and you share in His victory. Now, by faith, claim His victory." (Warren W. Wiersbe) Isn't that powerful??? Because of the faith we have in Christ, we are victors over every enemy, every trial, every sin. John 16:33, "Take heart! I have overcome the world." Because believers are in Christ, we can have hope! But it is only through Christ. It is not through me, it is not through worldly philosophy, but it is only through Christ. Claim the victory over sin and do not walk defeated. I know we all go through difficult times, where God stretches us and uses circumstances to "be conformed to the image of His Son." (Romans 8:29) Yet, we do not have to frown or worry through these times....we are victors! What hope and testimony that can give to unbelieving family, friends, co-workers or neighbors when they see the faith and confidence you have in your Savior. Claim that victory today!

Loving God and His Word

Oh, ladies, if you haven't caught our heart's desire yet for you it is that we pray that you will grow to love God and His Word so much that it is your treasure. Today we start talking about the importance of cultivating an attitude of loving God and His Word. Read Psalm 119 and you will catch David's heart as you read about his love for God and His Word. Does your heart mirror David's? Do you love His law (Ps. 119:97)? Do you rejoice in the Law (Ps. 119:14)? Do you delight in it (Ps. 119:16)? Do you find it sweeter than honey (Ps. 119:103)? Do you turn God's statues into songs (Ps. 119:24)? My friend, God's Word is our strength, it is where we can find help in time of need. Regardless of your circumstance, trial or test, go to His Word. Delight in it, love it, pray for understanding and God will give you the strength to obey His commands joyfully.

How can I joyfully obey?

To obey is one thing....but to obey joyfully is another! We have seen in children how they might obey their parents, but have a grumpy heart doing it! Christian adults are the same way! Do we obey our Heavenly Father with a grumpy heart or do we joyfully obey His commands? Over the next several sessions we are going to share with you some ideas that we think will help you joyfully obey God's commands. Tell us what you think or if you have other ideas to share, let us know! The full list with verses can be found on our study notes. For reference, I have a simple list here as well. 1) Check your heart! 2) Recognize that obedience is a family matter. 3) Cultivate an attitude of loving God and His Word 4) Choose to be joyful 5) Don't live based on your feelings 6) Focus on the future

Examples of Obedience

The next couple of days we are going to share with you some Biblical examples as well as recent examples of people who have obeyed in difficult circumstances. We hope you are encouraged by these examples and that they will give YOU encouragement to obey! Can you share with us an example?

Easy or Difficult?

Many Christians think obeying God is difficult. Why is that a misconception? Remember Matthew 11:30, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"? The Christian whose will is united with the will of God, will not find obedience to God's will a task. Rather, the Christian will find obedience a joy because he loves to serve and please his Savior. We need to recognize that attitudes of defeat and sorrow over what God has called you to do is sinful thinking. We must take our thoughts captive and chose to believe God's Word - that what He has called us to do, He will give us grace to do. So, how are you doing? Do you think that obeying God is difficult? How have you see God's grace working in your life as you seek to obey God?

Obeyable Commands

Verse 3 in 1 John 5 tells us, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome." What an amazing and encouraging truth this can bring us as we seek to obey God's commands. We can be confident that His commands are obeyable because He promises that they are not burdensome! We spent some time today defining the word "burdensome." The thought behind it is that a burden is "heavy," "oppressive," or "grievous." These are not characteristic of God's commands. We read in Matthew 11:30 that Christ says "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Praise God that what God has called us to is bearable, obeyable and can be done using His strength! So, how are you doing with YOUR calling? Are you trusting in this fact that His commands are not burdensome? Or, are you allowing your mind to be overwhelmed with the worries and cares of this life? We pray that this time of study would be an encouragement to you as you seek to fulfill God's calling for your life.

1 John 5:1-5 - Introduction

We begin studying 1 John 5 today and want to introduce the first 5 verses to you. As you read these verses, do any of these verses sound familiar to you? We have talked about many of these things already and again John is weaving these truths in this passage as well. Here are some 3 important themes John mentions again in this section: 1) Faith 2) Loving & Obeying God 3) The Victorious Christian Life We pray that you will find encouragement again from John's words as you study along with us.