God Greater Than Our Hearts

Sometimes, when we come before the Bible, we can find ourselves in a place of pretty deep despair and condemnation. How do we deal with that? Well, John talks about that here in 1st John chapter 3.

Open with us and follow along. Amen! Praise the Lord! Would you mind standing with me and taking out your Bibles? If you don't have a Bible this morning, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We are in the book of 1st John in the New Testament, and we're moving at a really fast pace through this book. 1st John is near the end of your Bible, so open to the very last book, Revelation, and then turn just a little bit to the left. You'll find 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John.

1st John chapter 3 is where we're at. We'll pick it up today at verse 18. There, the Apostle writes, "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God, and whatever we ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

And this is the commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave us commandment. Now, he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. By this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Father, we pray. I pray that You would give us wisdom by Your Spirit as we consider this text this morning. God, we trust that Your word is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword; that it is inspired and useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, so that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The Scriptures remind us that You have prepared good works for us that we should walk in them. So, I pray, God, that the good works that You have...

Prepared for each and every individual standing here this morning, we ask that you would further equip us for those things by the working of your Word and by the power of your Spirit. We ask this today in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

If you have been following along with what John is saying here in this letter, specifically in First John, and what we have been looking at as I have been preaching through this letter thus far, if you are not a little concerned about your own spiritual condition and your own salvation, then you may not actually be paying attention. As my wonderful dad says, if you're paying anything, pay attention. It is important for us to consider what the Scriptures say.

However, it is a reality that as we consider what the Scriptures say, there are certain things that can be very challenging and convicting for us. This is really clear when you look at what John says in this section of First John. John's core point, as we have been examining this text, is that there are two distinct groups of people in the world. Inspired by the Spirit of God, John states that there are really only two groups: the children of God and the children of the devil. It is a very stark contrast.

He describes how we can identify the children of God versus the children of the devil. The children of God do righteousness; they practice righteousness. He elaborates on what he means by the practice of righteousness, stating that the ultimate demonstration of this practice is to walk in love—to love one another with a certain kind of love, a self-sacrificial love, which he has been describing in this passage.

If you look at verse 16, it says, "By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." This self-sacrificial love is the manifestation in the life of a person who is practicing righteousness, and this, he says, is a demonstration of what a child of God is. Then he states that the children of the devil do not.

Practicing righteousness requires the characteristic of love. In the absence of this self-sacrificial love, hatred can manifest, sometimes even as murder. The story of an Old Testament character named Cain illustrates this point. Cain is one of the earliest figures in the Bible, one of the first human beings to demonstrate this manifestation of hatred in the book of Genesis, specifically in Genesis chapter 4, which is the first book of the Bible.

John's point is very clear: if you do not practice righteousness as demonstrated through sacrificial love, then you are not a child of God; you are a child of the devil. It doesn't matter what you say about yourself or your personal proclamation; what is more important is what the demonstration of your life says about you.

With that kind of clarity, it's hard not to feel at least a little rattled or challenged by what the text says. One Bible commentator on this passage, John Stott, noted that the Christian's serene assurance may be disturbed by this text. I think that's an understatement. The Christian's serene assurance may indeed be disturbed by this text, especially when you truly grasp what John is saying in this passage. Stott suggests that this feeling of disturbance may not be unusual or infrequent.

In a couple of English translations of the Bible, verse 20 states, "if our heart condemns us," as seen in the New King James Version. Other translations say, "whenever our heart condemns us." This indicates that feelings of condemnation and conviction, this rattling sensation, may not be uncommon.

As a side note, if you find yourself unsettled and disturbed when you read the Scriptures, you are actually approaching them the right way. If there is a heaviness due to the conviction that comes from the Scriptures, that is not a bad thing; it is a good thing. However, if you come to the Bible and only find a list of things that your spouse needs to fix, you are not reading it correctly. The Bible is filled with convicting words, and it should be so for us.

More of a mirror by which we see ourselves than a lens through which we see others, the Bible can lead us into the danger of thinking that it is something that other people need to engage with. We might hear a convicting Bible message and think, "So-and-so really needs to hear this. I'm going to send them a link to the YouTube video." However, God wants to speak to us directly.

One of the earliest writings of the New Testament is the Book of James. In this book, the Apostle James tells us very clearly that we come to the Scriptures as a mirror to show us who we are, so that we might not just be hearers of the word but doers of the word also. We can be very challenged when we come to the Bible. God's Word will rattle you, as the Book of Hebrews says; it is like a sharp two-edged sword that divides between joint and marrow, soul and spirit. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, revealing the true condition of our hearts. Sometimes, it can be frightening to see this true condition, and it may lead us to question whether or not we are the children of God. We might even question our salvation.

Now, that is not to say that a Christian won't have assurance of salvation. I believe that we can and should have assurance of our position with God. This is really what John is driving home in his text; his hope is that we would be assured of our place with God. However, for us to truly have that assurance, we need to do the very thing that the Apostle Peter prescribes. In one of his letters, either 1st or 2nd Peter, chapter 1, verse 10, he says, "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure."

We need to exert some effort and diligence to make our position with God certain. Now, how do we do that? This is the obvious question when you read Peter's words in 2nd Peter, chapter 1, verse 10. He prescribes a certain grouping of steps that we ought to take as followers of Jesus to achieve this. John does basically the same thing right here in 1st John, chapter 3. We read it just a few minutes ago: "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed."

In truth, by this we know that we are of the truth, and we shall assure our hearts beforehand. Point number one: love displayed in deed and truth assures me of my standing before God. This is essentially important, and this is what John has been driving home in this text. When we see love demonstrated in our lives, not just in word, it is quite a bit different to walk that out in deed and in truth. However, when we see that love displayed in our own lives, it assures us of our standing with God.

Now, why is this true? I think there are two possible ways to answer the question of why this point is true. One is the religious way. When I say the religious way, the religious answer would suggest that I earn my good standing with God by my good works. Many of you may have lived your life for a certain period of time thinking that if you just did A, B, C, X, Y, Z—if you did these things the right way, even if they were good Bible things—then you would earn your right standing with God. That is the religious approach to these matters.

Now, this religious approach is problematic for at least three reasons. First, it bolsters pride. This religious approach bolsters pride because we have a certain set of rules or ordinances. If we just keep these rules and ordinances to some standard, then we believe we will have a right standing with God. But how do we judge whether or not we are keeping these rules and ordinances to the right standard? We look at other people and try to find those who don't keep them as well as we do. We are really good at picking out, "Oh, I'm doing way better than that guy." Occasionally, we might see someone doing better and think, "Well, I could do a little better," but we quickly dismiss that because we feel we are way better than all these other people.

This religious formulation, if you will, really bolsters our pride, at least as it relates to interacting with other people. Not only does it bolster pride, but it also destroys peace at an internal level. On the outside, we can put up a show; we can make it seem like we are doing pretty well, doing better than others.

Than the next guy, but when we are alone in any form of contemplation, we find ourselves distressed. There is no peace in that place of religion; we're never at rest because we always have to do more to try and catch up to get to this level. When we are in that place of private time, we realize we're just not there yet. I think this is part of the reason why we live in a culture that so wants to distract itself with the constant drone of things going on, so that we never have to wrestle with the internal struggle that is there: that I'm just not living up to the standard that I ought to be.

The person who wants to live in this way before God, religiously, bolsters pride, destroys peace, and as a result, there is no fullness of joy. Our series through John has been called "Fullness of Joy" because of what John writes in First John, chapter 1, verse 4: "I write these things so that your joy may be full." However, he writes a series of things that puts us in a kind of distressing place. Living religiously, after a series of rules and patterns of laws to try and make ourselves right before God, will never lead to that fullness of joy.

The religious answer is, I believe, the wrong approach to the question of why love is displayed. Indeed, untruth assures me of my standing before God; it's not because of our religious efforts. So, what is the right way? I think the right way is the scriptural answer that John has been giving us here in this text. It's given to us in a few different places.

In First John, chapter 3, verse 10, we looked at this a few weeks ago: "In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother." He hits the point again in verse 14: "We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren." Then again, in the text we read a few minutes ago, in verse 18: "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this, we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before Him."

So, John's point is clear. Point number two: the genetic marker of sacrificial love is the proof that I am God's child. When God makes us His children according to His love by grace through faith, He...

Transforms us from the inside, and it begins to go on through our entire being. We begin to see the genetic marker of sacrificial love, and that begins to be approved to us—His Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are indeed the children of God. We begin to see a transformation that is a God-wrought transformation, and that is proof to us that God has changed us.

The Apostle Paul says it like this in his letter to the Galatians. In Galatians chapter 5, verse 22, he writes, "The fruit of the Spirit is love." The evidence that God's Spirit is in me or in you is love. Here’s the amazing thing about the fruit of the Spirit, which is love: it produces everything that religion cannot produce. The fruit of the Spirit is love, and it produces joy, peace, patience, kindness, and self-control—things that religion cannot produce in us. The love of God at work in us produces these qualities. I cannot emphasize this point enough: we do not earn our position with God by our devotion or by our love. He has given us our position as His children by His love.

We saw this at the beginning of 1 John chapter 3. Look at 1 John chapter 3, verse 1: "Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God." That you are God's child today is according to His great love and not my devotion or my sacrifice to try and earn that position. He has made me His child according to His love. Behold what manner of love! What manner of love is it? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.

Then, in 1 John 3:16, we read, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

Now, all this brings us to the focus of our text today. John has created this extreme stark contrast, this dichotomy, between the children of God and the children of the devil. The children of God walk in righteousness, as supremely evidenced by sacrificial love in their lives, which is a product of the Spirit of God working through them. In contrast, the children of the devil do not practice righteousness, and they do not have this love.

They might have hate, which sometimes is manifested as murder. In light of these stark contrasts, we can find ourselves more than a little disturbed in our hearts and in our minds. The fact is, as we look at ourselves in light of the Scriptures, there are times when we question whether or not we have this love in us. We find ourselves in a place of uncertainty, thinking, "Well, I believe I'm a child of God, but I'm not entirely sure."

We can struggle with this. We read the words, "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." We might say, "Well, I'm trying to do this." By this, we know that we are of the church, and we assure our hearts. Yet, there are times when our hearts do not feel all that assured. There are moments when we wonder and are more than a little concerned.

You don't have to raise your hand, but have you ever wondered, "Am I really displaying the love of God in my life? Am I really a child of God?" We begin to feel internal condemnation. The questions abound in our hearts and minds: Where am I with God? This often comes when we find that we do not live up to the standard that the Scriptures give us.

When we find ourselves irritable or angry, and someone in our home, office, or on the construction site, or maybe on the 15 freeway does something that triggers us, we suddenly see something come out of us. We might ask, "Where did that come from?" We realize, "I know where it came from; my heart." Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts and evil actions. Jesus made it very clear in Mark chapter 7.

We find ourselves in a place of conviction and maybe even condemnation. John says in 1 John 3:24, "If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things." There is a good chance that as you walk with the Lord and seek to live out the life of Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, you will find yourself in a place where your heart condemns you, just as mine does me.

But point number three is God's proclamation that I am His child.

Supersedes the condemnation of my heart. John says God is greater than our hearts, our heart that can condemn us and does condemn us. When we look at that word "condemned," it means with damnation; there is a way in which our heart damns us when we see ourselves in light of what the Scripture calls us to. But he says God is greater than our heart, and he knows all things.

Now, I think the best demonstration of this reality is found in an exchange between the Apostle Peter and Jesus, which is recorded at the end of the Gospel of John, in the very last chapter. If you are in First John, would you turn to the left in your Bibles about two-thirds of the way through the Bible or the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? We are looking at John chapter 21, the last chapter.

As you are turning there, a little bit of context will be helpful. Peter and Jesus are having a conversation in John chapter 21 as they sit by the Sea of Galilee, having a breakfast meal together. The events that preceded this conversation are important because Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection come before this. Just before that, there was a conversation with Jesus and His disciples in which He said, "Listen, all of you are going to be made to stumble because of me tonight." They all speak up, proclaiming their devotion, and Peter jumps to the forefront. He says, "Lord, though all others stumble, I would never stumble. I would die with you." So said all the disciples; they were like, "Yeah, yeah, we're with Peter. We would die with you too."

Jesus says to Peter, as recorded in the Gospels, "Peter, you're going to deny me three times before morning comes, before the rooster crows." Peter insists, "I would never deny you. I would die with you." Well, if you've read through the Gospels, you know the story. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. Peter, before the sun came up the next day, denied Jesus, even cursing, "I do not know the man," swearing, "I do not know the man." He denied the Lord, and the Scriptures say that after he did, the rooster crowed, and he realized this and went.

Peter wept bitterly. This is the restoration of Peter by Jesus. Do you think that maybe, in that moment after Peter had denied the Lord three times and gone and wept bitterly, his heart condemned him? Do you think he questioned his devotion to the Lord? He swore he would die with Jesus, and then he denied Him three times. His heart was certainly condemning him, and he was questioning whether or not he was even a true, genuine follower of Jesus.

But Jesus reaches out to him and has this conversation with Peter. In John 21:15, after they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?" There is discussion among commentators about what is meant by "more than these." Perhaps Jesus is asking if Peter loves Him more than the other disciples who are present. I want to suggest that Peter probably had a really hard time with that question.

Peter replied, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus responded, "Feed my lambs." He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?" Peter answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep."

He asked him a third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because Jesus asked him a third time, "Do you love me?" He said to Him, "Lord, you know all things." Would you underline those words in your Bible? The same words we find in 1 John 3:20: "God is greater than our heart because He knows all things." Peter continued, "You know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."

Now, the full picture of this passage is not entirely clear in English. This is one of the rare occasions in the Bible where our English translations fall far short of the original. You can trust your English translations; the translators do a great job. However, there are certain places where the original language, in which this was written—the Greek language—is much more helpful. In our language, we have a deficiency where the word "love" is concerned. We say things like, "I love tacos," "I love my car," and "I love my wife," but I hope that my love for my wife is far better than my love for tacos.

Amen. We recognize there's a deficiency where love is concerned in our language. In the Greek language, however, there are at least four words for love. C.S. Lewis's book, "The Four Loves," is really good on this topic.

When Jesus says to Peter for the first time, "Peter, do you love me?" he uses the Greek word "agape," a verb that expresses a deep, devotional, sacrificial love. This love is most beautifully defined by Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, where he says, "Love is patient, love is kind." Those words are often spoken at many weddings, and they reflect the essence of agape love.

Jesus asks this former denier, the one who pledged his devotion by saying, "I would die with you," if he loves Him with a self-sacrificial devotion. Peter responds, "Lord, I phileo you," which is a Greek word that denotes brotherly love and affection. However, he could not come up to the level that Jesus asked. Jesus inquires, "Do you agape me?" Peter replies, "Lord, you know that I phileo you." At this moment, Peter is even questioning his devotion to the Lord.

I am so grateful that even in light of the lesser degree to which Peter expresses his love, Jesus still says to him, "Feed my sheep." A second time, Jesus asks, "Peter, do you agape me?" Peter responds again, "Lord, you know that I phileo you. Tend my lambs."

A third time, I can only imagine that Peter remembered it was three times that he denied the Lord. Now, a third time, Jesus asks, "Peter, do you phileo me?" At this point, He is actually questioning the degree to which Peter loves Him. Jesus comes down to Peter's level, asking, "Do you phileo me?" That’s when Peter says, "Lord, you know all things."

I want to suggest to you that in his heart, Peter was totally condemned at that moment, wondering about his devotion. Yet, Jesus reassures him, saying, "Feed my sheep." Even in our hearts, there can be doubts.

Minds can often lead us to question our devotion to the Lord, especially when we see that it is far below what we think it ought to be. We may start to wonder whether we are truly His children. Perhaps we are manifesting more of the characteristics of the children of the devil than the children of God.

Peter's heart condemned him after he denied the Lord. He failed to love Jesus with self-sacrificial devotion, even after boldly proclaiming, "Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you." He denied the Lord, but Jesus came back to him. Why? Because Jesus's relationship with Peter was not dependent upon Peter's devotion or his ability to love as Jesus loved him. This is essentially important for you and me as we seek to walk with the Lord.

Decades later, the same Peter, who had that seaside chat with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee, wrote these words in 1 Peter 1:3: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us." He did not say, "God, so great according to my devotion and my great efforts, has made me His child." No, God the Father, according to His abundant mercy and love for me, made me His child.

He has begotten us again to a living hope. My hope to be with God for eternity in heaven is not dependent on my ability to live perfectly for God; it is dependent upon what He did according to His mercy and grace for me. He has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

In 1 Peter 1:4, we read about an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled, one that does not fade away, reserved for you in heaven. We are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time.

In 1 Peter 1:6, we are reminded that we greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, we are grieved by various trials. The genuineness of our faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tested by fire, may be found to the praise, honor, and glory of Jesus Christ.

At His revelation, whom having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving in the end of your faith the salvation of your souls.

How do you move from being a denier, self-condemned, to confident with that kind of confidence? It is not according to your own works, but according to His grace. So, back to First John 3, we can live with this kind of confidence to the point that John says, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God."

How can we live in a place where we are not condemned in the heart as it relates to our relationship with God? We recognize what the Gospel has to say for us: that our relationship with God is not because we have been so devoted to Him, but because He has been so devoted to us. It is not because of what we have sacrificed for God, but for what He has sacrificed for us. Therefore, we can live in a place without this condemnation, as Paul would write in Romans chapter 8, verse 1: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus."

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

Point number 4 on your outline: My standing as God's child gives me confidence to come to Him without reservation. As a child of God, I can come boldly before the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in my time of need. There is no hesitation because I am His child. I am His son; you are His son; you are His daughter. We have the ability in Christ to come before Him at any time.

We do not have to go through the catalog of questions: "Have I been really good this week? Did I read enough chapters in the Bible this week? Did I give enough? Did I serve enough?" We do not have to go through all of those things to try and come before God because Christ has made the way open for us according to His mercy.

So, my standing as His child gives me confidence to come to Him without reservation. In verse 22 of First John chapter 3, it says, "Whatever we ask, we receive from Him." Now, there is so much in that, and we will save that until we get to another passage in First John chapter 5 in about eight years. But there is another passage there that deals with this, so we will dig deep into it. I can't do that today, but he says, "Whatever you ask, we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight."

Now, does that mean that we receive good things from...

God blesses us because we do good things, not because we merit it. It is all according to grace. John Stott again says that obedience is the indispensable condition, not the meritorious cause, of answered prayer. God continues to bless His children as they walk in obedience to Him and His commands.

What are these commands? Let’s look at what He says in 1 John 3:23. This is the command: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave commandment. His command is to trust in the Lord and love one another.

In verse 24, we see that he who keeps these commands abides in Him. Jesus told His disciples in John 15 to abide in Him, and He in them. The branch cannot bear fruit apart from the vine; neither can we if we do not abide in Him. Therefore, we need to abide in Christ, and the Christian is encouraged to do so.

What does it mean to abide in Christ? It means we trust in Christ and love one another. As we abide in Him, He abides in us. In verse 24, we know that He abides in us by the Spirit whom He has given to us. His Spirit in us proves that we are abiding.

Point number five: my place with God is on the basis of my faith, as evidenced by my love. Religion says my place with God is based on my hard work and good efforts. Christianity says my standing with God is based on my faith, as evidenced by my love. My trust in Christ has given me access to God, and He has placed His Spirit in me. The Spirit of God produces love in us, and all of this is according to the great love of God.

His love, demonstrated for us, is why it is so important and central to the Christian faith that we continually hold before us the reality of the love of God. It is all according to the love of God demonstrated in Jesus on the cross that we have this access, this assurance, and this place and standing with God. Our dependence and trust are upon Him.

Finished work. This is why Jesus, on that night when Peter said, "Though all are made to stumble, I will not stumble. I will never deny you. I would die with you," and all the other disciples echoed that sentiment. It was on that night that Jesus took bread, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "This is my body, which is broken for you." He then took the cup, saying, "This is the blood of the new covenant, my blood that is shed for you, shed for many for the remission of sins."

I invite our worship leaders to come back up this morning as we partake of communion. We take this little piece of bread as a reminder of Jesus's body broken for us, and we take this little cup of juice to remember His blood shed for us. There is no removal of sin apart from Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, apart from His blood shed for us. All of this was to demonstrate God's love for you and for me, His grace towards us.

Father, I am so grateful that we can have assurance in You. We can have peace, rest, and fullness of joy because of what Your love has accomplished for us. I pray this morning that You would help us to keep the picture of Your grace and love at the forefront of our minds. Lord, prepare our hearts now by Your Spirit for this time of communion. We are so thankful that You, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we could receive righteousness, Your love, and Your grace, and be called Your sons and daughters. Help us to rejoice in that today, we pray. We ask this in Jesus's name. Amen.

Our worship leaders are going to lead us in a song. Would you just hold on to the bread and the cup as we partake together?

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