Get Rich Quick (1 John 4:17-21)
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We’re warned over and over in life to be skeptical of easy solutions. There are so many get rich quick schemes to avoid, right? I had a friend who tried to get me sucked into one while I was in college. I went with him to an informational presentation that was supposed to be a great employment opportunity. By the end of the presentation, I had no idea what they were selling, or what service they were providing, only that they wanted me to give them $200 so that I could then get other people to give me $200. I said no thanks.
The Bible describes one way to truly get rich quick, but it’s not talking about money. When we trust in Christ, we instantly become more rich than the wealthiest people on the planet.
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:1-5)
The beginning of chapter 5 begins to sum up and reemphasize what John has written up this point. Salvation comes only through believing in Jesus Christ (v. 1). He uses slightly different terminology, but the message is the same. Loving God practically means loving the people God has placed in our lives (v. 2). Those who have been saved by God’s grace will then go on to obey God (v. 3a).
But then John hits us with something new (v. 3b). Really? How could His commandments not be burdensome? The Old Testament contains over 600 commandments to obey! But even if we just focus on the obeying a summary of the commandments, that still seems impossible to do! How are we possibly to obey all of God’s rules?
The reality is that we have great strength in Christ (v. 4a)! Who has been born of God? (v. 1a) Everyone who believes in Jesus! We’re not merely to believe that Jesus existed or even that He was the Son of God. But we’re to put our faith in Him and trust Him as Savior. And He will save us. You see, when it comes to salvation, we can’t do anything to get it! But once we have it, we can say with the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!” And having Christ’s strength now working through us, we now overcome the world!
Think about that. Isn’t that amazing? This should give you unbelievable hope in the midst of whatever you’re facing right now. Think about all the possibilities! Overcoming the world means that we will have small as well as great victories! Small victories, if you can call them small, such as seeing answer to prayer. Great victories such as helping lost people find Jesus. But the text names the greatest victory we have in overcoming the world (v. 4b).
When you think about all the things working against you, it’s a wonder anybody has faith in Jesus! We’ve been sinful since birth. Temptations bombard us constantly. The world wants us to be just like them! So us even having faith at all is the greatest victory that we can have.
This is also true to the extent that to not have faith in Christ means that we cannot possibly have victory over the world (v. 5). Answer? No one. This life is full of challenges. But Christ gives you hope despite challenges, because greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world.
Pastor Chris Huff has been with us since July 2009. He and his wife, Abby, have four children. Chris is originally from St. Louis, MO and even though he was raised as a city boy, he has a small town heart. Chris is all over the internet, so you can find him on Facebook, Twitter,… (read more)
