“The Old-New Command” (1 John 2:7–11)

“The Old-New Command” (1 John 2:7–11)

Pastor Cameron Jungels

Eastside Baptist Church

Sunday AM, May 22, 2016

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister1 is still in the darkness. 10Anyone who loves their brother and sister1 lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. (1 John 2:7-11, NIV)

1. How can something be old and yet new (vv. 7–8)?

a. It is old… 

i. because love for one another was built into our moral consciousness, being made in the image of God.

ii. because love for neighbor was a part of Israel’s Law and reiterated by Christ in the two great commands (Lev19:18; Matt 22:34–40

iii. because the command to love is a part of the Gospel (message you have heard) of Jesus that has been preached since the beginning of this new age.

b. It is new… 

i. because Jesus’ self-sacrificial love has given love a new standard and example.

ii. because the new age of the age of Christ and his Spirit has come.

iii. because it is a command that is renewed every day in the life of the believer in Christ. It should never grow old or boring because it is the highest goal of Christlikeness that we can strive to attain.

2. What is one of the clearest indications that you are a Christian who is walking in the light (vv. 9–11)?

a. A person who hates is not a Christian and is still in darkness (v. 9).

i. Your life can be accompanied by a number of other righteous looking traits, but if you do not love others your religion is a fake.

ii. A person characterized by hatred of others is not a Christian and has never been a Christian (in darkness until now). 

b. A person who loves others shows that he is a Christian and that he is walking in the light of God (vv. 10–11).

i. Those who walk in the light will not stumble, because there is nothing in the light to cause him to stumble (v. 10).

ii. Those who walk in darkness are blind and are prone to stumbling and falling (an image of judgment) (v. 11).

Big Idea: One of the clearest indications that you are a Christian and have the assurance of eternal life (1 John 5:13) is if you love other people.