In This Is Love
IN THIS IS LOVE
Join your Calvary Chapel family today (Sunday, August 17, at 10:00 a.m.) in the main sanctuary or online through our website (www.calvaryinv.com), Facebook, and YouTube (Calvary Inverness) as we continue our series on the book of 1 John (4:7-11).
John had boldly called out the false teachers who had infiltrated his church family. They were heretics with the darkest of souls. They rejected the gospel, Jesus, and everything else related to the faith that John had been teaching the church since he escaped death at the hands of the Emperor Domitian.
When he arrived in Ephesus, he must have been shocked to see the state of the church that had Apollos, Paul, and Timothy as leaders. Those men had turned Asia Minor upside down with the gospel message. For over thirty years, the church had thrived amid the darkness that had surrounded it for a millennium.
Now, the church was just a shell of what it once was. Much had been lost to those who believed the way to know God was not through faith in Jesus but through their secret code, which was only given to a select few who proved themselves worthy.
They threw off all moral restraint, believing that all flesh is evil and thus useless, and that the spirit was all that mattered. So as long as one continued his pursuit of the knowledge of God, it didn’t matter what gross immorality one committed.
After John rebuked the church for bending the knee to these apostates, he called on them to test the spirits and to heed his message about how the true message of the gospel was to trust in God’s only begotten Son.
And by doing so, He would forgive their sins, cleanse them, and set them apart for His good pleasure and purpose. He would transform their nature and give them a love for Him, His Word, and each other.
Therefore, John explained and expanded on the love of God. It was something that couldn’t be earned, but was a gift for those who trusted in Him through faith. He would write His law on their hearts and guide them in His love.
By doing so, they would be able to recognize who spoke the truth and who was in error. The church would once again be a healthy, vibrant New Testament body of believers who shone brightly with the love of God in the Lord Jesus Christ—a testimony to their community and the world.
May our church family realize that the same purpose God had for the early church still applies today. May our love for Him, His Word, and each other, along with our desire to serve, continue to grow until His return.
In His Strong Love,
Pastor
Join your Calvary Chapel family today (Sunday, August 17, at 10:00 a.m.) in the main sanctuary or online through our website (www.calvaryinv.com), Facebook, and YouTube (Calvary Inverness) as we continue our series on the book of 1 John (4:7-11).
John had boldly called out the false teachers who had infiltrated his church family. They were heretics with the darkest of souls. They rejected the gospel, Jesus, and everything else related to the faith that John had been teaching the church since he escaped death at the hands of the Emperor Domitian.
When he arrived in Ephesus, he must have been shocked to see the state of the church that had Apollos, Paul, and Timothy as leaders. Those men had turned Asia Minor upside down with the gospel message. For over thirty years, the church had thrived amid the darkness that had surrounded it for a millennium.
Now, the church was just a shell of what it once was. Much had been lost to those who believed the way to know God was not through faith in Jesus but through their secret code, which was only given to a select few who proved themselves worthy.
They threw off all moral restraint, believing that all flesh is evil and thus useless, and that the spirit was all that mattered. So as long as one continued his pursuit of the knowledge of God, it didn’t matter what gross immorality one committed.
After John rebuked the church for bending the knee to these apostates, he called on them to test the spirits and to heed his message about how the true message of the gospel was to trust in God’s only begotten Son.
And by doing so, He would forgive their sins, cleanse them, and set them apart for His good pleasure and purpose. He would transform their nature and give them a love for Him, His Word, and each other.
Therefore, John explained and expanded on the love of God. It was something that couldn’t be earned, but was a gift for those who trusted in Him through faith. He would write His law on their hearts and guide them in His love.
By doing so, they would be able to recognize who spoke the truth and who was in error. The church would once again be a healthy, vibrant New Testament body of believers who shone brightly with the love of God in the Lord Jesus Christ—a testimony to their community and the world.
May our church family realize that the same purpose God had for the early church still applies today. May our love for Him, His Word, and each other, along with our desire to serve, continue to grow until His return.
In His Strong Love,
Pastor
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