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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.)
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.
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).
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!
Our importance to God is seen in His extending us the privilege of being members of His family.
For Thought and Discussion
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 4