EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03-03-2025
My Worship Time
Focus:
PT-6 Intro. To “How to Recognize an Overcomer”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 5:1-5
Message of the verses: “1 Whoever believes
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the
child born of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God,
when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For
whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has
overcome the world — our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the
world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
I continue quoting from John MacArthur’s sermon in
these verses.
“Jesus
is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the One who is the object of our faith.
It’s not enough to believe the Old Testament. It’s not enough to be a faithful
Jew. It’s not enough to believe the best of the light that you have. People
that are born of God were born of God because they believe Jesus is the Christ,
that He is God incarnate, that He is the eternal second member of the Trinity,
the Son manifest in flesh. This again is not new. Back in chapter 2 verse 22, “Who
is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” Anybody who
denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. “This is the antichrist.” So if
somebody comes along, it might be a well-meaning Jew, might be a Jehovah’s
Witness or a well-intentioned morally acting Mormon who denies the deity of
Jesus Christ, denies the Christ of Scripture, that’s antichrist – that’s
antichrist. Sometimes you hear evangelicals, you know, they get on television
and they say, “Well, you know, these people are going to get there even though
they have a different view.” No, they’re not going to get there if by there you
mean heaven. This is
antichrist to deny that Jesus is the Christ. Verse 23, “Whoever denies
the Son does not have the Father. The one who confesses the Son has the Father
also.”
“Go
over to chapter 4 verse 2 – well, verse 1, “Beloved, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they’re from God because many false
prophets have gone out into the world.” Now how you going to know the
difference? “By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. And every spirit that does
not confess Jesus is not from God, this is the spirit of antichrist.” They’re
not going to fool you, verse 4 again, because, “You are from God, little
children” – children of God – “and you have overcome them.”
“Go
down to verse 14 of chapter 4. “And we beheld – we have beheld and bear witness
that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever
confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God.” It’s
right back to the same thing again. As I said, John cycles back through these things. It is not just
a mere intellectual knowledge of the fact of the incarnation, but a full-heart
acceptance of all that Jesus Christ is. It is to believe that the man Jesus is God, the Anointed
One, the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer, the final sacrifice for sin and to
commit one’s life to Him as sovereign Lord and Savior. It is to
recognize there is no other Redeemer, there is no other Savior. All such are
born of God. They are God’s overcomers. Anybody who believes this way belongs
to God.
“And
then you can jump down to verse 4, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” And
he picks up the same idea that we saw in verse 1, “Whoever believes that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God.” Then verse 4, “And whatever” – or whoever – “is
born of God is the overcomer. And this is the victory that has overcome the
world – our faith – our faith.” And verse 5, “And who is the one who overcomes
the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
It
looks like one more SD will finish this first section on the overcomer, but
then I think that I will continue looking at MacArthur’s sermon as it is pt-2
in the next one.
3/3/2025 9:35 PM
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