History, Marriage, and Eternal Life

Abiding Forever

(1 John 2:24-25, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 17, 2016)

[24] Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. [25] And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

In the previous verses, John has set before us the contrast between those who are with the antichrists and those who are with Jesus, who is the Christ. Those who are with Jesus have an anointing of the Holy Spirit, who is leading them into all truth. John writes to the Spirit-filled church with the confidence that they know the truth and will receive more and more of the truth.

[24] Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.

He does encourage them to stick with what they have heard—not to wander away in fruitless utopian substitutes for bringing in the resurrection kingdom. Only the true kingdom of God, with Jesus as the Christ, can defeat depravity and death. Every other kingdom will fail.

In this command to let the truth abide in them, John echos something very similar to what Jesus said in His earthly ministry in John 8:31-32 when He was speaking to the Jews who had “believed in Him.” He said, “ If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Abiding in the Word of Jesus is what happens when you let “what you heard from the beginning abide in you.”

If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.

John assures us if we have this honest openness to receive the Word that we will not only abide in the Word, but we will live “in the Son and in the Father.” Isn't this the very connection that John writes of in John 1:12? “To all who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God.” What kind of children? “Born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” As Jesus says to Nicodemus in John 3:3, such “children” have been “born again” or “born from above.” They are “born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5)

Though the imagery and words may be varied, in all of these passages the Lord is telling us about a part of the resurrection life that can be enjoyed right now. Those who allow the Word of God's grace in Christ to live in their souls “will abide in the Son and in the Father.”

[25] And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

This is much more than a temporary blessing. It is eternal life. We are not meant to rent space in God any more than His desire is to temporarily abide in us. He would own us forever, and for all who would receive Him and His Word, there is no reason for them to ever turn away from owning Him as our Savior and our life. The good life begins now for all who will believe and receive. That good life has everything to do with a Word of absolute truth that can be known, shall be known, and sets people free.

If all truth is relative and continually evolving toward better truths, then we have no foundation in God and His Word that will abide forever. Without absolute truth in the Word of God, we are left to sort through the Bible to see what might last, at least for a while, until people discover something better. If His Word is not perfect, our own consciousness must eventually replace the whole of the Bible, just as future scientific discoveries replace earlier “truths” that were not quite right. But we who receive the Word we have heard as perfect and eternal truth, abide in God, who is not capable of improvement. We can safely remain in God's truth forever.

But many have been shrinking from the absolute truth of the Scriptures and slowly replacing that perfect truth with something less than the Word of God. A Christian view of history is different from an evolutionary view of history. Christians believe in a perfect tipping point that took place long ago, and is still testified to, perhaps unknowingly, by all who call this year 2016. Something happened around 2016 years ago that changed everything. All history before was preparatory. All history after has been mission and spiritual warfare. New, it turns out, is not always better. There is a place for loyalty and abiding in what was formative and never to be replaced.

People throughout the world who were once looking to the West for answers are now rightly skeptical. The West has forgotten the right view of history. Yet the promise of Jesus was never about the staying power of Western Civilization, but of the church that would believe, receive, and abide in the Father and the Son by the Spirit of God. God's eternal promises will never fail. This is our confidence in an age when relativism is in the cultural water we drink. But there are better waters from God that will even spring up within us and bring life to others. (John 8:38)

If the church in the West will not abide, if we hide our light under the bushel of relativism, “if [we] keep silent at this time” when we should speak, then “relief and deliverance will rise for the [elect] from another place.” (Esther 4:14) Look at how God is using the Korean church today. Lord have mercy on us for being embarrassed by the treasure of the truth that sets people free—truth that came to us at the tipping point of all time, changing BC to AD.

Perhaps we can help our hearts and aid others around us to adopt the right view of history by making the point more personally. Remember that God has ordered our lives with some defining turning points where an evolutionary view of everything would not serve us well at all. The example of Zach and Olivia Sketchley's wedding comes to mind, celebrated as it was in the traditions of ancient Romanian Orthodox rituals. A wedding is meant to be a defining turning point and not an evolving temporary affection that should be abandoned when something newer is discovered. Yes, there should be progress in any marriage, but the best developments of celebration and suffering will strengthen the lifelong commitment that Zach and Olivia made in Sighișoara, Romania last Sunday, not lead them to throw it all away. As a victorious example, yesterday we said “good-bye” one last time to Edna Hanscom. We remembered a marriage that took place seven decades ago, and we were able to see the honor of ending well.

What will it be for us in our understanding of faith? Will we evolve beyond the perfect husband's commitment to His bride? Will we reject the rightly respected traditions of divine love by looking for a better “new,” abandoning the forever “best?” “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” (Hebrews 10:39) In John's words, “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.” This is the time for the church to shine as lights of truth in the dark abyss of ironic absolutist relativism. Let's not miss that great opportunity.

Old Testament Reading—Isaiah 61 – The Lord will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

Gospel Reading—Luke 8:4-8 – Good soil