The objective of this lesson: To increase or stimulate the sense of privilege of being a part of God's family.
Why do some men and women devote a portion or all of their youth to military service of their country in times of crisis? Why will these men and women do so in the knowledge that such a commitment might cost them their lives? Why will some people attend college, acquire a specialty degree, begin a career, and then willingly (by choice) become a "stay-at-home" parent? Why will some people willingly (not of force or necessity) devote themselves to a cause? You likely could multiply examples of such types of commitment.
Ask your students for examples of people being motivated by a sense of privilege.
Those types of commitment occur for many reasons. High on the list of reasons, likely number one for some, is the sense of privilege. People will make sacrifices for "the sense of privilege" that they would never make for material considerations. The motivation for "privilege" exceeds any motivation for any material considerations.
Ask your students to contrast motivation that comes from a sense of privilege and motivation that comes from an aggressive pursuit of material ambitions.
Among Christians, in far too many considerations, we have lost our sense of privilege. Our Christian message has exchanged privilege for terror. In our desires (a) to convert people to Christ and (b) to motivate Christians to a greater involvement in service, we resort to terror rather than privilege. We try to scare people to heaven by terrorizing them with hell. We try to terrorize Christians to participate in projects "near and dear to our hearts" by implying their salvation is at risk if they do not get involved.
Discuss the fact that Christians as individuals and congregations have either never been exposed to the motivation of privilege or have lost a sense of privilege. Have them offer ideas of why this has happened.
It is easy for Christians to: (a) Do what they have always done in the congregation they grew up in, or (b) Do what seems to be necessary at the moment for achieving desired results. For both reasons, it is easy to substitute fear for the sense of privilege. Fifty years ago (or more), fear was a much better immediate motivater than it is today. Then it was much easier "to push a person's guilt button" and motivate people through a sense of guilt. Now people commonly resist feelings of guilt about anything. For example, then people felt guilty for having or acquiring. Now, even those who are extravagant feel no guilt for possessing.
Changing people in our society requires conversion. Attempts to find and pursue shortcuts to conversion produce spiritual disaster.
Christianity pays terrible prices because several generations have substituted terror for privilege.
Price # 1: We have made God an enemy who punishes instead of a caring being who is the source of merciful hope. This becomes abundantly obvious in a Christian's attitude when he/she approaches death. For many, meeting God is a dreadful, anxious moment, not a hope-filled moment.
Price # 2: Too many people substitute membership in a congregation to escape hell for conversion to Christ in appreciation for what God did/does. For many, Christianity is a matter of escaping rather than a matter of embracing. Too often, a person's motivation is more terror than it is appreciation.
Price # 3: We do too little to emphasize that salvation is a matter of grace, not accomplishments. The result: Christians live in little hope. While we say we cannot earn salvation, we act as though we can. The point of being in Christ is to move us from hopelessness to a life filled with hope expressed in healthy expectation.
Price # 4: We find terror steadily decreasing in effectiveness as a method of motivating people. Terror has a "shelf life." People eventually get tired of living a terror-filled life and rebel against the terror lifestyle. That weariness comes even more rapidly if no immediate consequences are endured for rebellion. If one serves God only because of terror, he/she has no reason to continue service when he/she is no longer in terror.
Challenge your students to think rather than react; to understand rather than assume. A general example: in certain circumstances or situations a well-meaning person had a "good idea" to meet an immediate need he/she saw. The "good idea" was successful and effective. Add some time, and the "good idea" became theological perspective. The theological perspective increased in popular acceptance. It became accepted thinking and procedure to the degree it made the transition from a theological perspective to "the correct way" to approach the original need or problem. Since no one could possibly disagree with the established "correct way" of doing things, the problems produced by the "good idea" could not possibly be the result of anything associated with the original "good idea."
Using the concept of being evangelistic in the paragraph above, long ago someone decided that the goals of evangelism could be achieved more readily if people were terrified into being evangelistic. With time, terror responses became the core of evangelism's theology. More time and terror responses become the "correct way" to approach evangelism. Since terror is the accepted "correct way" to do evangelism, who dares suggest conversion involves a sense of privilege instead of a sense of terror?
Consider: For years, the American Christian has regarded the American church as the source of material support for world evangelism. What happens when material need exceeds the American church's ability to respond? Does God's world evangelism collapse? (This is not even a suggestion that Christians should fail to be generous or moved by the needs of others. It is the challenge NOT to measure spiritual success in terms of material planning or to evaluate evangelistic success on the basis of material criteria.)
While John was filled with objections to living a lifestyle of sin, he is also first filled with a sense of privilege. Remember who John is! He was one of the first who followed Jesus (Matthew 4:18-22), and one of the "inner three" of the twelve (Matthew 17:1-3). This man actually followed, heard, and saw Jesus as he listened to Jesus teach and saw him perform miracles. He had his view of God transformed by Jesus. He grasped (on earth) the majesty and perfection of God in a way we, as humans on earth, are unlikely to ever grasp.
Seek to make John come to life as a person to capture his sense of awe generated by God making it possible for humans to be in His family.
To John, it was astounding that God the Father would invite humans to be a part of His family with the status of children. To him, it would have been a privilege to be slaves in God's household, or servants to Him--but children??? Unthinkable!
Since humans are the hosts of sin and God has no sin in Him, the fact that God could welcome the hosts of sin into His family is astounding. As John verified in 1 John 1:5-10 the reality of sin in human life does not stop at baptism. If forgiveness is not ongoing, the human situation is hopeless. The understanding that God would allow that which makes Him sick (sin) [see Revelation 3:15, 16] to be present in His family members defies John's comprehension.
Since we live in a society that does not have slaves or servants as they did, since we live in a society that is unlikely to see the privileges of elite families regularly, it is difficulty for us to "see" what John "saw" that filled him with amazement. He wanted his original readers to know two things. The first: Christians are God's children in God's family. The second: one of the benefits of being in God's family is the assurance that when Jesus appears, we shall be like him.
The realities of our social situation and the realities of John's society are not the same.
Every Christian is a part of God's family. Every Christian will have the form of the eternal Jesus when the resurrected Jesus returns. See I Corinthians 15:35-44 to note there is a spiritual body.
Characteristic of John's writing, he also stressed responsibility. With privilege comes responsibility. The responsibility: An awareness of the privilege of being in God's family immediately produces a commitment to God's concept of purity. (This concept understands that sin is the opposite of what God is and causes God revulsion. No child in a healthy relationship with his/her father wants to cause his/her father to be offended by his/her presence. For the Christian, respectful behavior involves a commitment to purity.)
The privilege of forgiveness does not excuse irresponsible behavior.
In the rest of John's thought in this paragraph, he emphasized: (a) That a sin lifestyle has no place in God's family. (b) One cannot live a righteous lifestyle without devotion to righteous behavior. (c) Hatred for a member of God's family is the ultimate expression of a sin lifestyle.
This is intended as a summary focus of the rest of John's points in the paragraph. Please expand the emphasis as you wish and time permits.
John walked the tight rope that all teachers of scripture walk. He wanted his original readers to understand the incredible adequacy of God's forgiveness. Thus, he stressed God's perfect solution to human sinfulness (1 John 1:5-10); our Advocate and propitiation (1 John 2:1,2); forgiveness in Jesus Christ (1 John 2:12); and the privilege of being in Jesus Christ (1 John 3:1-3). At the same time, he stressed that God's marvelous forgiveness does not give the Christian the right to rebel against God by deliberate sin (1 John 2:1; 1 John 2:15-17; 1 John 3:4ff).
It is a challenge to every student of scripture to draw the line correctly between God's incredible forgiveness and rebellion against God's values. That line runs between God's forgiveness and the responsible behavior of the obedient person in Christ. The challenge is to understand God's balance.
The objective of accepting God's incredible forgiveness and the adequacy of Jesus Christ is to embrace God's purity. The Christian escapes sin in Jesus Christ. He/she does to run to sin or justify sinful lifestyles. It is the responsible acceptance of a gift. We become righteous in Jesus Christ to commit ourselves to a righteous lifestyle. Those who have found life in Jesus Christ through the patient God's mercy want nothing to do with sin!
The objective of the person in Christ is to pursue purity based on God's standards. The Christian does not justify sin, but seeks to run from sin. Consider the impact of God on a person's life by considering Joseph's reaction to Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39:7-18. We are not forgiven of sin in order to justify our sinfulness.
Our importance to God is seen in His extending us the privilege of being members of His family.
God endures a lot to allow us to be children in His family!
For Thought and Discussion
Commitment motivated by a sense of privilege.
We too often have exchanged privilege for terror. This is done in a desire (a) to convert people or (b) to motivate Christians.
He was a follower of Jesus, one of the inner three, a witness of Jesus' miracles, a hearer of Jesus as he taught. He grasped God's majesty and perfection.
It is difficult for us to grasp what John grasped because our society is different from John's society.
He also stressed responsibility.
He walked the tightrope between God's incredible forgiveness and rebellious sin.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 4