In our sermon series, we've entered the section of 1 John that deals with the theme of "God is life". We have eternal life - abundant-meaningful life - through our relationship with Jesus. I gave some thought to Music Monday given this argument. A few songs that have found their way to CCM radio popped into my head. But none of them really resonate with me. I mean, God is life. That's awesome. Theologically that truth is EVERYTHING.
It is the core of our faith and the transformative consequence of the Gospel. It deserves a real song to announce it. It needs the kind of song I would have listened to in order to pump myself before a basketball game.
There's really only one choice:
Considering this song was released and became popular around 9/11 adds emphasis to it's greater message of joy and appreciation of life.
With two parents who were passionate and skilled musically, my childhood was filled with songs and the radio being constantly played. A lot of those songs have stuck with me. One came to mind with our passage in 1 John. It is shorter than I remember, but this is the exact version that plays in my head when I think of these verses. I guess I have Maranatha Kids! to thank for it. It is short but sweet - and definitely to the point of an important command for all Christians.
In May of 1999, just a few weeks away from graduating high school, I fulfilled a life-long dream by attending a dc Talk concert at the Ft. Wayne War Memorial Coliseum.
We had ground level tickets near a secondary stage that the group used throughout their concert, but predominantly for an unplugged worship set mixing their own songs and others.
It very much resembled this:
I had the good fortune to be able to be right up next to this secondary stage during their whole set and it was phenomenal. It will always be the best concert I have or will ever attend. It was my favorite band at the height of their significance and artistry.
I'm sharing this walk down memory lane not just to reminisce, but to also share that classic song. We're beginning a sermon series at church in 1 John which deals with fellowship with God and "walking in the light". God as light and walking in the light are major themes of the book to the extent I could use this song to connect to multiple passages in this letter.
As the passage which Toby Mac read reminds us, we can claim to be in good standing with God all we want. But if our actions do not match our profession, we are just hypocritical liars. 1 John 1 especially calls us to address our sin - to confess it rather than rationalize it (1:8-9), to depend on Christ rather than deny our problem (1:10-2:2).
Do we? Are we?
Let us be in the Light as He is in the Light. Let us shine like the stars in the heaven.
A couple weeks ago, our worship team led us in singing the popular hymn, "Faith is the Victory". It matched well with the message from Galatians 2 about how we are freed through our faith in Christ. It is a tune that is very typical of hymns of previous generations. It has a slow pace to it, mixed with notes that I don't find all that easy to sing. Yet it has a theme that is repeated consistently throughout - that we find victory through our faith in Christ.
Reading 1 John 5 in my devotions this morning, I was reminded of the clear biblical basis behind this classic.
"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory has overcome the world - our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" 1 John 5:4-5
I like what Glen Barker says about this verse in his commentary:
"Our being born of God is God's act on our behalf, the event through which he moves to overcome the world...By faith we now have access to what was once accomplished by and through the appearance of Jesus on earth."
Gaebelein, Frank E., J. D. Douglas, Walter C. Kaiser, Leon Morris,
Donald W. Burdick, Edwin Blum, Glenn W. Barker, Edwin Blum, and Alan F.
Johnson. The Expositor's Bible Commentary. With the New International Version of the Holy Bible, Hebrews--Revelation Volume 12 Volume 12. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Pub. House, 1981. pg. 349.
We can experience God's victory over sin, death, and evil through our faith in Jesus Christ. "O, glorious victory that overcomes the world!"
