May 15, 2015
1 John 5:6-8
This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
CONSIDER THIS
In my brief career as an attorney, nothing was more thrilling than to bring closing arguments at a trial and ask for verdict.
That’s exactly what John is up to here in the fifth and final chapter of his case. John has brought forth witness after witness in his masterful case against the false teachers and in support of the truth of the Gospel.
In today’s text, he’s pulling it all together. He’s rehearsing the case by reminding the jury (i.e. the young church) of the testimony from his star witnesses: the water and the blood and the Spirit.
False teachers attract a lot of followers, but they tend to be their own best witness. John is bringing not one or two but three authoritative witnesses to refute the witness of the false teachers.
So why does this matter to us in 2015? Thanks for asking. It matters because every age has its own variety of false teachers. 1 John sounds the siren to steer clear of them. They sound plausible. They garner popularity. Rarely do they blatantly disregard the Truth as much as they slightly shade it. It’s these subtle shades of the truth that steer entire communities toward shipwreck. They can sound so reasonable; even impressive. They can sell thousands upon thousands of books.
Paul once wrote a letter to Timothy that sounded the same alarm. We will do well to rehearse it here:
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the time has come. People are not putting up with sound doctrine. False teaching abounds. We live in an age of itching ears. I join the Apostle John in asking you for a verdict. Stand with the Truth. Stand on the Word of God. Stand in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Never depart from the faith once handed down to the Saints. No matter what. Church, we cannot abide a miscarriage of justice. We cannot afford a hung jury. Will you receive the testimony of these faithful witnesses?
What say you?
J.D. Walt writes daily for Seedbed’s Daily Text. He serves as Seedbed’s Sower in Chief. Follow him @jdwalt on Twitter or email him at jd.walt@seedbed.com. Get the Daily Text delivered to your inbox fresh every morning. Subscribe HERE.