Teaching Emmanuel

John is helping believers to prepare for the inevitable season of doubt where there is a struggle with assurance of salvation. The struggles can come when the Spirit convicts us that we aren’t loving perfectly or that we are managing sin instead of fighting it.

The gospel does not merely offer forgiveness to sinners. The gospel transforms them in to people who love one another.

In this last hour, God’s children are to abide in Christ, resist the devil’s lies, and walk in righteousness as we await the return of Christ.

And by way of summary of the entire letter, what is it in a counterfeit Christian that is illuminated by the Light according to the entire letter of 1 John? Failure.1. A failure to acknowledge and agree with God about their sin (confess)2. A failure to remain in fellowship with God and His people leading to rejection of the truth about Jesus the Messiah3. A failure to grow in righteousness by continually practicing lawlessness 4. A failure to grow in love for the brothers and sisters in Christ5. A failure to grow in rejecting the loves of the world and its characteristic sinThe last two will be in focus this morning as we walk through 1 John 2:7-17 which has the main idea: Prove genuine through growth in love for God’s eternal people and in rejection for the love of the temporal world.