“Birthmarks of the Believer” 1 John 2:3-10
I. Introduction (1 John 2:4-9)
A. Those who are Heaven-born are Heaven-bound and bear certain TRAITS or BIRTHMARKS
B. If we do not bear these birthmarks, then we need to EVALUATE and ask ourselves if we have ever truly trusted Jesus as Lord.
Romans 12:3 , 1 Corinthians 11:28a, 2 Corinthians 13:5
II. A True Believer SUBMITS to the LORDSHIP of Jesus Christ (1 John 2:3-4)
A. Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
B. Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
C. Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
D. To keep His commandments doesn’t mean that we are to be perfect. The word “keep” in 1 John 2:3 means to guard, as you would guard a treasure. We are to treasure God’s commandments and set our course in life by keeping the commandments
E. This does not mean that we will not STUMBLE; but if we have no desire to live by the Word of God and we sin carelessly, flippantly, and without any conviction, then we need the salvation that Jesus offers.
F. We keep His COMMANDMENTS (word), not in order to be SAVED, but because we LOVE Him.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
III. A True Believer SEEKS the LIFESTYLE of Jesus Christ (1 John 2:5-6)
A. We are to WALK as Jesus walked
1 John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
B. What was the LIFESTYLE of Jesus like?
1. A life of HONESTY
6-1John.1.7" class="scriptRef">1 John 1:6-7 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
2. A life of PURITY
1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
3. A life of RIGHTEOUSNESS
1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
C. We seek the lifestyle of Jesus by ABIDING
1. What does it mean to abide?
1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
a. A life of RELIANCE upon Jesus
b. A life of RELINQUISHMENT to Jesus
IV. A True Believer SHARES the LOVE of Jesus Christ (1 John 2:9-10)
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Note: Jesus doesn’t love us because we’re lovely; He simply loves us.
V. Conclusion
*If a person is saved, it will show in his life.
*We are not saved by keeping the commandments; we are not saved by walking as Jesus walked; we are not saved by loving our brother; but if we are saved, these things will be present in our lives.

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