Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast

What do we fear? Spiders? Public speaking? Punishment? Punishment by whom? Parents? Law enforcement? God? Preachers have used and in some cases still use divine punishment as currency to push people into repentance; however, people who are saved often fear divine punishment unnecessarily. 

Minister Aaron Hill walks listeners through three verses in 1 John 4 that show that those who have been saved have no reason to be terrified of God's judgment. John tells us that "perfect love casts out fear." John is clear earlier in his letter that saved people still sin. When he calls us perfect, he does not mean flawless. Since God's love is perfected in us, we can have confidence in our salvation. If we are walking in God's love, fear of punishment has no place. God's love is unconditional and transformational. It can change us!

As he continues the series on 1 John, minister Aaron Hill points out that John's purpose in the book is to give his audience confidence in their salvation. John offers at least three proofs: the giving of God's Spirit, the saving confession, and the love of God. We are sanctified by the Spirit, and the Spirit guides us. He gives us gifts as He will. We confess Jesus, that He came in the flesh. We must believe this in order to confess it. Finally, we can't abide in God's love if we don't believe in the love of God. These three don't provide an exhaustive list of proofs, but John uses them to provide his audience with confidence in their salvation.

We can know about someone without actually knowing the person. To know a person, we must have contact with them. We must dwell with them in some fashion. Minister Aaron Hill shows his audience how this principle works with God. We can know about Jesus without knowing Jesus. We can know about God without knowing God. In 1 John 4 we find that if we don't love like Jesus, we don't know God. We must love one another because love is from God, because we've been born of God and know God. Loving others is more than just being nice to them. Jesus was more than nice. He loved all the way to the cross. We can't know God if we don't love. The love of God is perfectly revealed in Jesus.

Many today will claim there is no absolute truth. It is said that we each have our own truth, but is that really so? Jim Corner, a guest speaker from World Bible School in Garland, Texas, refutes that claim and reminds listeners that God has commissioned all of us to share the gospel truth.

"Tell me the story of Jesus. Write on my heart every word." Eddie Beene uses the well-known song "Tell Me the Story of Jesus," as the basis for his sermon to tell listeners how Jesus came to repair the relationship between ourselves and God that we couldn't fix. Throughout the Bible, God seeks to redeem His people, and it is through Jesus, who willingly went to the cross, that we have an opportunity to restore our relationship with God our Father. "Love paid the ransom for me!"

Minister Aaron Hill takes a detour from 1 John this week to focus on the Shema in the book of Deuteronomy, a book that reiterates the commandments given in the book of Exodus. He points out that the Old Testament isn't just a list of laws and commands. It isn't just about doing the right things. Jesus came to set the Jews straight. Of course, we need God to give us rules, but what is the purpose? The law shows us we're sinners. It shows us we can't be justified by the law. God's intention is that our hearts be aligned with Him. God's law was never about the outward acts. It has always been about the heart and turning our whole being over to God. 

Continuing his series on the book of 1 John, minister Aaron Hill begins in chapter 4 in which John instructs his readers to "test the spirits." So, how do we know what is right? Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life! He is NOT a way, a truth, and a life. John warns that we are not to believe every spirit. Ephesians reminds us that the battle we are in is spiritual warfare. We are to TEST the spirits, judge them. Just as we would evaluate ourselves and our motivations, we are to evaluate the spirits. Hill leads us through a discussion of how we can know if the spirits are from God or from the world.

It is important that we ask questions. Sometimes we can know the answers to our questions. Sometimes we cannot. We can know the answer, however, to why God answers prayers. Eleven times in the book of 1 John, the author uses the phrase "by this." These verses instill confidence in Christ's followers. If we have the fruit of love in us, we know we have confidence in our salvation. 

Minister Aaron Hill continues in 1 John 3 as he continues his series on the book of 1 John.

How can we know we abide in Christ? How can we have confidence? Abiding is more than hearing, believing, repenting, confession, and baptism. Abiding is more than a list of steps we must complete. Included must be sanctification and glorification. These are works of God. 

Minister Aaron Hill addresses these points as he continues his series on the book of 1 John.