1 John 2:28–3:10

“28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. 1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.[1]”—1 John 2:28–3:10, NASB 95

Abiding fellowship with Christ brings confidence. John says that one day, Jesus will appear again, and we want to have confidence when He does. We do not want to be ashamed. We don’t want to shrink back and not be seen. We don’t want to be Adam and Eve in the Garden hiding and trying to cover up. Jesus Christ is going to return again. It is an actual event that will take place in the future. When Jesus comes, John wants us to have the boldness and confidence from abiding with Christ. We want to have confidence and excitement when we see Christ appear. This confidence is based on the abiding. The relationship is secure. Jesus is coming for those of us who have put our faith and trust in Him and His finished work on the cross. The question is about confidence. Abide with Christ, and we can look forward to His appearance.

1. How does the hope of Christ’s return affect how you live your life?
2. This passage describes three realities of the believer: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. Look at the definitions below and discuss the importance of these theological truths.
3. Justification: Declared Righteous because of faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We could not be good enough or righteous enough. We needed outside help, and God sent His Son, Jesus, to provide us with righteousness.
4. Sanctification: The process of becoming more and more like Jesus. Pursuing Christlikeness. This is the aim of our abiding with Jesus to become like the one we spend time with.
5. Glorification: Future state when God perfectly finishes what He began in us. We will be transformed and fully redeemed from this broken body and world.
6. Russell read from Galatians 5:16-25 and Romans 7:14-20, 24-25 to show the two natures battling inside every believer. Reread these passages and discuss our internal struggle between our flesh and the spirit.
7. Russell closed the sermon by challenging us to spend time with Jesus daily. Take some time and share with the group what your time with Christ looks like. What can you do to make this time with Jesus even more intimate?
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