Mothers Are Children Too

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May 11, 2003 - 1 John 2:28-3:10

Open It

  1. In what way(s) are you like your mother?

  2. What was one of the benefits of being the child of your parents as you were growing up?

Explore It

  1. Why did John encourage his readers to continue in Christ? (2:28)

  2. What is true about everyone who does what is right? (2:29)

  3. How has the Father lavished love upon believers? (3:1)

  4. Why doesn't the world know Christians? (3:1)

  5. What will happen to the children of God when they see Christ? (3:2)

  6. What kind of person purifies himself or herself? (3:3)

  7. Why did Christ appear? (3:5)

  8. How is a person who lives in Christ unusual? (3:6)

  9. What does it mean to do what is right? (3:7)

  10. What did John say about the person who does what is sinful? (3:8)

  11. Why did the Son of God appear? (3:8)

Get It

  1. What does it mean to continue in Christ?

  2. What is so great about being a child of God?

  3. How do you reconcile the fact that Christians do sin with the statements that they cannot sin or keep on sinning?

  4. How can we know that we are children of God?

  5. How do you need to change your daily routine so that you may be confident and unashamed before Christ at His Second Coming?

Apply It

  1. What step will you take today to purify yourself?

  2. What area of weakness will you ask God to strengthen this week?

NOTES

The visible proof of being a Christian is right behavior. Many people do good deeds but don't have faith in Jesus Christ. Others claim to have faith but rarely produce good deeds. A deficit in either faith or right behavior will be a cause for shame when Christ returns. Because true faith always results in good deeds, those who claim to have faith and who consistently do what is right are true believers. Good deeds cannot produce salvation (see Ephesians 2:8-9), but they are necessary proof that true faith is actually present (James 2:14-17).

As believers, our self-worth is based on the fact that God loves us and calls us his children. We are his children now, not just sometime in the distant future. Knowing that we are his children should encourage us to live as Jesus did. For other references about being part of God's family, see Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 3:26-27; Galatians 4:6-7.

1 John 3:1 tells us who we are-members of God's family ("children of God"). 1 John 3:2 tells us who we are becoming-reflections of God. The rest of the chapter tells us what we have as we grow to resemble God: (1) victory over sin (1 John 3:4-9); (2) love for others (1 John 3:10-18); and (3) confidence before God (1 John 3:19-24). (see also Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 13:12; Philippians 3:21; 1 Timothy 5:22; James 4:8; 1 Peter 1:22).

There is a difference between committing a sin and continuing to sin. Even the most faithful believers commit sins, but they ought not cherish a particular sin and continually choose to commit it. A believer who commits a sin repents, confesses, and finds forgiveness. We all have areas where temptation is strong and habits are hard to conquer. If we are struggling with a particular sin, however, these verses are not directed at us, even if for the time we seem to keep on sinning. John is not talking about people whose victories are still incomplete; he is talking about people who make a practice of sinning and look for ways to justify it.

Three steps are necessary to find victory over prevailing sin: (1) seek the power of the Holy Spirit and God's Word; (2) identify tempting situations; and (3) seek the help of the body of Christ-be open to their willingness to hold you accountable and to pray for you. All believers still sin, but they are working to gain victory over sin.

We are "born of God" when the Holy Spirit lives in us and gives us Jesus' new life. Being born again is more than a fresh start; it is a rebirth, receiving a new family name based on Christ's death for us. When this happens, God forgives us and totally accepts us; the Holy Spirit encourages the development of new minds and hearts, lives in us, and begins helping us to become like Christ. Our perspective changes too because we have a mind that is renewed day by day by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-24). So we must begin to think and act differently. See John 3:1-21 for more on being born again.

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