Written ~ 11-24-2023
1 John 3:18-22
18 “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.
22 And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him.”
Well, these verses are packed full, aren’t they?
Let’s go verse by verse today…
Verse 3:18,
18 “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
When Jesus commanded us to love one another, He wanted us to love with purity of heart. Not with ulterior motives, not with any kind of deceit, but to love because we know the Savior, because we know the truth of Jesus Christ. We learned just a few days ago from our study in 1 Peter 2:21-25 that we are to use Jesus as our example of how we are to live. We are to strive to be Christ-like. Jesus is love, that is the description that precedes every other description. Everything He does is because He loves us so much. No matter how horrible people were to Him, He loved them. So, when the Apostle John tells us in verse 18, to not merely “say” we love each other, because at times just words alone can come across as meaningless. Instead, we are to show our love and the knowledge of the truth residing within us by our actions. Our actions speak volumes.
Verse 3:19,
19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
As believers, we belong to something much bigger than ourselves. We belong to the body of Christ. We are used as instruments within that body to show the truth of who Jesus is. Look back on our studies in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 and 12:27-31, there we find out how we fit within the body of Christ, the church. We belong to the Truth and because we belong to the Truth we can stand confident in the presence of Almighty God. We can be assured that when we go the Lord with anything, He will bend His ear to hear what we have to say. When you are particularly confident in something, how does that make you feel? Are you confident in your job? Are you confident in your athletic aspirations? Are you confident in how you raise your family? Are you confident in your walk with the Lord? When we have confidence in something, our heads are held high, our shoulders are pulled back, we speak with boldness, our actions are done with strength, our words are filled with power. We have confidence because we know the subject matter of which we speak. Do we have the same confidence when we bow our hearts humbly before the Almighty God? That’s what it’s implying in verse 19! When we belong to the Truth, we will be confident before our Father in Heaven. And our actions are what show we belong to the Truth. Is your “Truth” showing?
Verse 3:20,
20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.
All of us have something that might cast a guilty shadow. We all have things deep within us that might cause shame or guilt and could cause our confidence to waver a little bit. Look at what verse 20 says, “Even if we feel guilty…”meaning at times we will have a guilty conscious about a particular action or something we have said, but even in guilt, look what the verse continues to say, “…God is greater than our feelings…” so we may feel unworthy, or we may feelguilty over something we have done or said, but God sees past all of that, “…He knows everything…” We can be assured that by us belonging to Jesus, God sees the truth first and our guilt and shame is completely wiped away.
Verse 3:21,
21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.
Here’s the “Ah-Ha” moment, “…IF we don’t feel guilty…” And how can we come to the point of not feeling guilty? To confess immediately of any wrongdoing! Don’t let anything weigh you down so much that your confidence begins to falter. We have a Savior who has washed away all sin, guilt and shame. We are no longer guilty in the eyes of the Almighty God; we shouldn’t continue to carry all that guilt since putting it all at the foot of the cross. Without having regret hanging over us from our less that admirable actions, “…we can come to God with bold confidence…” See what this verse adds? The word BOLD. So not only can we go to the Lord God Almighty with confidence, without the feeling of guilt standing in our way we can enter into the presence of God BOLDLY. What does that mean to you? Do you pray with whispered tones and with your head hanging down? Or do you raise your head, eyes focused on Heaven and “shout” your praises and your requests before Your Father? What’s the opposite of confidence? Insecurity. Self-doubt. Apprehension. What’s the opposite of bold? Timid. Cowardly. Cautious. Shy. Wary. Let’s all have Bold Confidence when we bring our requests to God. Anything other than bold confidence can leave us desperate and afraid. And that’s no way to live when we belong to the Truth.
Verse 3:22,
22 And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him.
What is the result of going to our Father in Heaven, the Almighty God, with bold confidence? Verse 22 says, “…we will receive…” And why will we receive what we ask for? Because belonging to Christ Jesus means we will obey what He commands. We will do the things that please Him. Our actions will show we are one with Christ. If we are not obeying the Word of the Lord, might that cause guilt or shame? If our actions or words are not showing the love of Christ, are we able to have the kind of confidence God is expecting from us? Each of us need to search our own hearts. Is there anything that is holding you back from entering the presence of God with bold confidence? If there is, bring those things to the Lord, have Him help you take care of those things and bring any guilt or shame you are cowering under into the light, let Christ take it from you for good. Then… Stand up! Hold your head high, chin up! Shoulders back! Raise your hands towards Heaven. Go to your Father with confidence. With BOLD confidence.
~AMEN~