John 1:6-9
Actiones Secundum Fidei
The Gospel of John is the fourth section of what some call the four-fold gospel, with four voices giving different perspectives on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Christian writers as early as Origen (a.d. 185-254) understood that there are not really four gospels, but there is one four-fold gospel.
The Gospel of John was probably the last of the four written, and written in view of what the previous three had already said. This is one reason why John’s account of the life of Jesus is in many ways different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
There are significant events in the ministry of Jesus that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include yet John leaves out, including:
· Jesus’ birth, baptism, temptation in the wilderness, · Confrontations with demons, · Jesus teaching in parables, · The Last Supper, and The Ascension.
John is a Gospel written for a specific purpose: that we might believe.
Tonight we continue to dig into the gospel of John with a message entitled Actiones Secundum Fidei, which is a Latin phrase that states we act according to what we believe or believe (ourselves to be).
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
What do we believe? Why do we believe it? And most importantly how does that belief play out in our day to day lives? These are important questions. I submit to you that the actions we make and take on a daily basis derive directly from what we believe and what we believe ourselves to be.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. Now this is specifically referring to John the Baptist not John the Apostle and Gospel author. John typically refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. We will spend many a Wednesday discussing that particular title, but not tonight. These verses here are specifically about John the Baptist.
What do we know about John the Baptist? His background and motivation is covered in more detail in Luke and Matthew. We see John The Baptist as the herald of Jesus the King. We see miraculous circumstances regarding his birth.
John was no "crowd pleaser." He willingly confronted the hypocrisy of the religious establishment ( Matt 3:7 ; Luke 3:7 ). He did not hesitate to expose the immorality of Herod and chose to die a martyr's death rather than compromise his convictions. Yet, what do know most about him? He baptized people! Most importantly Jesus. Interesting that’s not the focus her in verse 6. Who was he? A man. Where did he come from? He was sent from God.
Sent here is ap-os-tel'-lo. Sent to an appointed place, on a mission. Who is the sender? This is of vital importance here! Who is the sender? God! The sender is always of much greater importance than who is being sent or where. I spent 16 years doing IT. When I was still at my manufacturing job the CEO would come to visit about once a month. I would let the people I worked with know “Hey the CEO will be down next week. My availability will be limited.” True Story: I once got a call from the team lead of the QA Lab. He was down and couldn’t do his job and the call went like this: No, I’m at the lake. I’m doing something for the CEO. I’m setting up WIFI on his boat. Yes, you heard me correctly. No, I’m as serious as Gary Oldman. Sorry, That’s a Harry Potter joke. I’ll come by when I’m done.
Now beloved in my five years in manufacturing IT how many times did I tell the CEO that what he wanted me to do had to wait because I was busy with other things? How many times? Zero times! Why is that? Because I wanted to stay employed. Now, next question. How many of co-workers went and complained directly to the CEO that I wasn’t available to them because I was to busy working on His stuff? Zero! Why? Because they too wished to stay employed! He was the boss! He outranked everyone there! You did what he said, or you got another job, bottom line.
Why is it that we pay so much respect to earthly bosses whom the majority of could care less for us, but when it comes to the almighty creator who died on our behalf we constantly tell Him that we are to busy, too tired, or that He’s got the wrong person and to send someone else? The unmitigated gall we possess as sinful human beings!
This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe
What did God send John to do? To be? A witness! Not John The Baptist but John The Witness! What does it mean to be a witness? We talk about being a witness and witnessing but what does it really mean? It means we share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people in word. It also means that our actions match those words. Does that mean we are perfect in all things? No! It’s impossible. It does mean that when we fall short though we confess, we repent and reconcile whenever possible.
The Greek here for witness is mär-tü-rē'-ä. It actually has three meanings. In a legal sense it’s a witness giving testimony to a judge. In a historical sense, it refers to a historian giving testimony to the past. In an ethical sense, it refers to giving testimony to someone’s moral character.
Here in Person County, in the year 2020. If you belong to the Lord you also are sent as a witness. You are sent to work, you are sent to school, you sent to family and friends. You are sent all over the county, state, country and even the world! As a witness!
In a legal sense, we tell people for Jesus the righteous judge that will one day hold us accountable for our sin.
What do we tell people? We talk about Jesus in the ethical sense as the one who lived that perfect moral life! That everything He does is good and how much He knows us and loves us!
In a historical sense we tell them that this is the Word of God and these things really happened! That there is hope for us because of what Jesus did. What about Genesis and creation and evolution and the flood etc. etc. We’ve been covering some of these questions in Sunday School and my dear friend and brother, Chad Hayes said the following “Either way I think it clearly explains at the end of the day it not so much how it started but who started it. God created it, and more importantly how it was finished on the cross at Calvary.”
Also, there’s a 4th key element to being a witness that we often overlook, listening. If you’ve ever been to or in a trial as a witness you know the amount of time you spoke was minor in comparison to the amount of time you spent listening. For the longest time I’ve heard that the reason people aren’t in church is due to hypocrisy. There’s actually a new complaint arising in those studies now and it says that the main reason our evangelism fails is not hypocrisy but our unwillingness to listen. Lost people feel that you were only nice to them to give them a sales pitch and move on.
Barna research group validates what this theory. Listening without judgment is the number one thing not-yet Christians want but very rarely experience when talking to Christians. In an increasingly polarized culture, the great need of the times is found in James 1:19 to be “quick to listen and slow to speak.” If we truly want to be witnesses to Jesus Christ we need to use our ears as much, if not more, than we use our mouths. In a society where discourse consists of yelling at people louder and louder until they agree or go away, this is going to be a challenge. It’s also going to be a wonderful witness that God will use and bless.
John’s witness was not of himself, as frequently we get caught up in want to lift up our leaders on high instead of letting them point to the One on high.
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world
Verse 8 gets overlooked sometimes. Yet it’s a key element to the whole John the Witness narrative. Who is he to witness to? Everyone! He is a witness, testifying about Jesus as the light of the world and that light is for anyone and everyone who seeks it.
Daniel Harrell with Christianity Today says “As Christians, we hang crosses on our walls and around our necks to remind ourselves how mercy is nonnegotiable. Jesus died on a cross for our sins and we didn’t deserve it. Theology labels the cross the passion of Jesus, a righteous anger that’s righteous because it bends toward the reconciliation of all things, a fierce power that taps into long-suffering, motherlike mercy for the cause of new birth”
In 2016 I counselled many people struggling with outrage over the election and all the divisiveness it brought with it. I heard on more than one occasion, “I don’t see how anyone could vote for “blank” or the “blank party” and be a Christian. Do you realize the essence of that statement? Vote for the right person or your going to hell. I have something very important to tell you, Jesus is neither a registered democrat, nor republican, He’s not even American! We tend to live our lives as if God was created in our own image, not vice versa. We are all on equal footing at the cross.
Galatians 3:26-28 “26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Those of us that believe that, it is well beyond time to put that into Action.
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