Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

From a very young age, our fathers gave us tons of advice. One of the things they tell us is to not be selfish. We’ve heard it from our parents, from our teachers, and even from our friends. We’re taught to not be greedy, and to think about others first. And this is good advice! The Bible contains the same wisdom (1 Corinthians 10:24).

But there’s at least one aspect of life when we should seek out own personal good.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life– the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us– that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” (1 John 1:1-4)

John wrote these things so that his own joy would be complete (v. 4). What do “these things” refer to? John’s letter was very evangelistic. Yet it doesn’t directly mention Jesus dying on the cross. The closest it gets is verse 7 where John mentions the blood of Jesus cleansing us.

Yet the letter is full of admonition to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. In fact, the letter begins with reference to Jesus (v. 1a). Whenever I read this letter, I want to shout at John, “Just spit it out!” The letter is very repetitive! Yet it keeps building upon itself until the last verse of the letter.

John was very intentional in the way he wrote this letter. There’s a mystery concerning Christ that we often neglect to fully appreciate. Jesus did not begin to exist when He was born. Jesus has always existed. He’s from the beginning. He’s God. The language is clearly reflective of the beginning of the Gospel of John. Yet instead of referring to Jesus Himself, John used language to begin talking about the verifiable evidence of Jesus Christ. Many people today want to deny that Jesus existed and did the things that He did, but that wasn’t option for people during the first century (v. 1-2).

Most of the letter, however, focuses on the practical result of the gospel: how we are changed as a result of believing the gospel. John’s letter was full of encouragement. His hope was that his recipients would be built up in their faith.

Yet part of the reason he wrote the letter was so that he himself would receive joy. The good thing about this kind of selfishness is that it doesn’t build yourself up at the expense of others, but builds them up as well. The personal pronoun used before the word joy is the plural “our.” He was working for his own joy, but also the joy of those he was writing to. When we encourage and serve each other, we receive joy, and they receive joy. Our joy is increased when we have more people to share this joy with.

But I don’t think evangelism is what John primarily has in view here, but rather fellowship (v. 3). The result of God drawing people into relationship with Him, by grace, through faith, as a result of faithful believers who share the gospel with them, is that we get to have fellowship with them! We get to bask in the love of God with more people who are recipients of God’s grace!

As John preached, wrote, and worked for his own joy, so should we. Work for your joy and the joy of others! Sometimes this means admonishing fellow believers to stand firm in the faith. Sometimes this means serving people so that they see the love of Christ in you. Sometimes this means telling people the gospel, so that they might come to believe in Christ. Sometimes this simply means enjoying the company of other Christians, being mutually encouraged by each others’ faith.

Don’t think of the Christian life as a burden! Jesus came to take away our burdens, not give us more rules to follow. Jesus came so that we might live lives of joy, receiving God’s grace! The truth is, nobody truly comes to Christ without a bit of selfishness. But in order for this selfishness to be glorifying to God, we must not hoard the Gospel for ourselves. But even in the act of sharing the gospel, we increase our joy! God has our best interests in mind. As we do His will more, He gives us greater joy!

So although I’ve been framing this sermon in terms of selfishness, when applied correctly, it is truly all about humility. It’s about recognizing that God is the Lord, and we need His grace. And His grace is available to us in Christ. When we trust in Christ, we receive grace, and we receive joy. Pursue that joy. But this joy doesn’t cause us to keep it to ourselves, but to share it with others.