Real Faith: Real Gospel

1 John 1:1-4

 

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.

 

Real or fake?

 

That’s the question many people have started to ask themselves every time they turn on the TV or read a piece of news. Am I reading real news...or fake news?? Can I trust this source or should I change the channel? But how do we know? How do we know what is real and what is simply made up? How do we know which sources to turn to for real, verifiable news?

 

As our Easter celebration continues at St. Mark, we are entering into a new sermon series on 1 John titled “Real Faith”. The book of 1 John is all about distinguishing the real from the fake. When it comes to the Christian faith, how do we distinguish what is genuine and what is not?   

 

Real Faith begins with Real Gospel.

 

1 John opens with an affirmation of the truth of the Gospel based on real evidence. In no uncertain terms, John confirms that the experiences of the apostles with Jesus were true and verifiable. They actually saw him with their eyes, touched him with their hands, and heard him with their ears. No illusions, no tricks, no gimmicks.

 

Jesus, the Son of God, who has existed eternally with God the Father, was actually made manifest among us by becoming one of us. This Jesus, who was fully God, also became fully human in order to bring us new and everlasting life.

 

He walked with people, he talked with people, he ate with people, he healed people, he prayed with people. He died a very real death on a very real cross and was really and truly  resurrected and really overcame the stranglehold sin has on us. That’s the real Gospel. Jesus coming to save his people by overcoming death and transforming us into people of joy and hope.   

 

Scripture Reading:

During this devotional series, read through the book of 1 John once each week. (It’s only five chapters...you can do it!) How does John distinguish what is real from what is fake?