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Living in a World Focused on Sin
August 24, 2024

For the past several weeks we have been exploring topics that are closely related. Three weeks ago, we considered how the Kingdom of God is not of this world, and two weeks ago we explored how not everyone is now called and chosen of God. Last week we reviewed the resurrections of the Bible. Circling back to our present situation, today we will consider what it means to live in a world that is focused on sin. Because too many who call themselves Christians are not clear on the concept that the Kingdom of God is not of this world, that not everyone is now called and chosen of God, and do not understand about the resurrections taught in the Bible, those who call themselves Christians respond to living in a world focused on sin without the understanding of the Bible and that causes unnecessary hardship and friction for both the believer and non-believer alike.

Living in a world focused on sin can be distressing to those who God counts as the righteous, and in the modern era God would count among the righteous all who are called and chosen. Living in a world focused on sin can be distressing because we who are called and chosen see so many people missing out on peace and happiness in their life today. We are acutely aware of the typical result of sin, death, and the pain and suffering that sin brings. Because we understand the resurrections which we looked at last week, we can temper that awareness of the result of sin with the knowledge there will be a future resurrection even for those who are not yet called.

We know that Satan caused a third of the angels to rebel against God, and that these fallen angels will be ultimately punished by God. Noah, called a preacher of righteousness, was saved along with his family from the flood that destroyed the evil and ungodly who enveloped this world. Later, Lot would find himself living in Sodom, and was deeply bothered by what he saw and knew was going on there and knew all of that went against what God expected from the people. If we have ever felt like our neighborhood was so bad that our family and ourselves were only safe in our home, then we might understand a little of how Noah felt. Within our community, if we have ever seen anything that causes us to cringe because of the associated sin, then we might also understand a little how Lot felt. Whether holed up in our home or living within our greater community, we can take comfort knowing that God knows how to deliver the godly from temptation just as much as He can bring punishment to the unjust.

2 Peter 2:4-9
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds; The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

Looking more closely at Noah, and the time in which he lived, from Peter’s letter we know Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and from Genesis we know this happened in a world where the hearts of people were only focused on evil. People were so evil it was even distressing to God who wanted to kill all living people except for Noah, who found grace in the eyes of God. Noah found favor because he was a just man and there was nothing scandalous about him or his family. He had three sons, and his family and him lived in a world filled with violence, corruption, and evil.

When we compare the world of Noah’s day to the time in which we live, we might conclude that there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference. Noah was told by God that people and animal life would be killed by God by a massive flood at the same time he was also given instructions on how to build an ark. God told Noah to bring his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law on the ark along with all the animals that would be on the ark. Noah did everything God told him.

Genesis 6:1-22
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

What we won’t find in Genesis is an account of Noah preaching about the impending flood and God’s intent to wipe all people and animals from the face of the earth. Yet Peter called Noah a preacher of righteousness. Sometimes we preach through words and sometimes we preach through the actions we take. With Noah, there is no record in the Bible that he preached as we might think of a pastor today preaching. Noah probably endured ridicule for building the ark. When asked why he was building the ark, Noah probably shared with those people everything God told him. There is no record that these other people took Noah at face value, until the rains came and poured over the earth. When the ark was sealed with Noah and his family inside along with all the animals, and people began to die, it was then that those on the outside understood that the construction of the ark served as a reminder of how different Noah and his family were from everyone else on earth.

Lot was another person from the Bible who along with his family lived his life much differently than everyone else where he lived. We can catch up to the account of Lot living in Sodom and see that before any action was taken against Sodom, God came to visit with Abraham along with two angels when he was living in the plains of Mamre. They were interested not only in Abraham but also Sarah and promised Abraham that Sarah would one day have a son, and this was said well after the age when women had children. This caused Sarah to laugh which led to a light-hearted conversation between God and Sarah regarding her laughter.

When the men got up to leave, they looked to Sodom, and Abraham went with them to show them the way. God already knew why He was going to Sodom and debated whether to tell Abraham. Eventually, God did tell Abraham that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had great and grievous sins, and God was visiting to confirm if what He heard was true. Abraham stood in God’s way and asked if God would destroy righteous people along with the wicked, eventually getting God to agree that if ten righteous people could be found in the city, the city would be spared.

Genesis 18:1-33
And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

That day, God sent the two angels travelling with him to go to Sodom and they saw Lot at the city gate. Lot went to greet them and asked them to stay the night at his house, and to leave early the next day. The angels instead wanted to spend the night on the streets, and after much cajoling, the angels spent the night at Lot’s house, where they enjoyed a wonderful meal. Before they turned in for the night, the men of Sodom, men of all ages and from every neighborhood of Sodom came to Lot’s house asking to have the men step outside so they could have sex with them.

Lot greeted the crowd and didn’t want the men to assault the angels. He begged them not to act wickedly, but that request fell on deaf ears. Lot interestingly offered his daughters instead, which seems very curious when reading today. It looks as if Lot was saying don’t have sex with these angels. Have sex with my daughters. Lot told the crowd that these daughters had not had sexual relations with a man even though later it was revealed they were married. Maybe their husbands liked having a wife, but when it came to sex preferred men. The crowd at Lot’s house became agitated and they demanded access to the angels. The angels opened the door and pulled Lot back in quickly before the crowd could enter the house. They used so much force they nearly broke the front door open. Defensively, the angels blinded the crowd and that stopped them from finding the door.

The angels knew at this point destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was assured and asked Lot to gather his family together so they could be spared the harm to come. Lot approached his sons-in-law and warned them of the upcoming destruction. It was hard for them to listen to Lot as they thought he was mocking them. From their perspective, Lot had just recently offered their wives to be to satisfy the sexual needs of their neighbors, so they ignored Lot. When morning came, it was a quick exit out of Sodom. The angels grabbed hold of Lot, his wife, and daughters, and before they knew it, they were outside the city. They were told to escape to the mountains for their lives and to not look back. Lot was concerned about going to the mountains nearby and asked if he instead could take his family to a nearby city, and the angels told him that would be fine. Once they got to Zoar, God began the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s wife looked back at the destruction and became a pillar of salt. Afterwards, Lot’s daughters decided to get him drunk and then have sex with him so that they could preserve the family bloodline. The people of Moab and Ammon are descendants of this sexual encounter.

Genesis 19:1-38
And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, is it not a little one? and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben–ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Lot lived in a city that was hyper focused on gay sex to the point when he offered his daughters instead of the angels, the men who came to Lot’s house were not interested. The views of sex were very distorted and some of that seemed to rub off on his daughters who decided to get their dad drunk so he would have sex with them to preserve the blood line. From the stories of Noah and Lot we can see God protects the righteous when harm comes to the evil. Noah and Lot were the only righteous people along with their family who were spared in each situation, which tells us it can be strange and lonely sometimes to be of the faith as we live in a world focused on sin. Like Lot and Noah who both suffered at the hands of their children, people of the faith today might have close family members who are more influenced from the evil of this world than is readily apparent and that can add to hardship today.

Living in a world focused on sin should give us reason to approach our life like the Apostle Paul recommended to the Romans. First, Paul was not ashamed of the faith he had as he knew faith reveals the righteousness of God. Without faith we can never hope to know the righteousness of God. Paul also talked about the wrath of God. With Noah there was the flood and with Lot there was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He explained that the wrath of God is revealed against ungodliness and unrighteousness who hold the truth in unrighteousness. This shows that people may not be of the faith, they lack faith, and yet know the truth. These people may not value the truth as we of the faith do, and when they hold the truth in unrighteousness, they have the truth and do not repent, God’s wrath is on the way.

What does a person who holds the truth in unrighteousness look like? They know about God but do not glorify God. They make God out to be common like just another person or animal. They lack gratitude for what God has done for them and begin to worship themselves with vain imaginations. Fantasy outweighs reality and thoughts become focused on a dystopian future instead of the hope we have in the Kingdom of God. Because people hold the truth in unrighteousness, sexual sins are prevalent as people become focused on the creation, what today is called the environment, instead of the creator.

Because people hold the truth in unrighteousness, they have knowledge of the truth but do not repent. They may not be of the faith, they lack faith, and yet know the truth. These people may not value the truth as we of the faith do, and when they hold the truth in unrighteousness, they have the truth and do not repent, remember, God’s wrath is on the way. As an immediate consequence for their actions Paul shows that God gave the people to homosexual and lesbian sex, and if that isn’t enough, there are other types of punishments that get added that make sexual sins seem like nothing. We should not be surprised living in a world focused on sin when moral values hit rock bottom. Paul tells us every kind of sin we can expect to see. It was true during Paul’s time as much as it is true today.

Romans 1:16-32
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Jesus didn’t pray that we be taken out of this world to avoid encountering sin, but that we be kept from the evil. We will still live in a world of sin and are shielded from that sin.

John 17:13-19
And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Having been called at this time and living in a world focused on sin does not give us reason or excuse to sin. In his first letter, the Apostle John wrote that we sin not, and that if we sin, we have Jesus Christ the righteous as our advocate who died so that we might have eternal life.

Living in a world focused on sin, if we want to hold the truth in righteousness as opposed to those who hold the truth in unrighteousness, we must do something with that truth we hold, and John simply writes we need to keep the commandments, and when we do the love of God is perfected in us.

Living in a world focused on sin, if we want to hold the truth in righteousness as opposed to those who hold the truth in unrighteousness, we must have love for other people, those of the faith and those not of the faith. We cannot live our lives in a silo selfishly focused on just ourselves because the commandments of God teach us how to love God and how to love other people.

Having love for other people does not mean we love this world. Living in a world focused on sin means we do not love this world as sin is not aligned to God. This world collectively is opposed to God and right now God is not calling this world to the faith though he is calling individuals from this world to the faith. What this world can offer us is based on our human existence. What God offers us is spiritual and meant to be eternal.

Living in a world focused on sin means we cannot ignore Jesus Christ. Yes, we know God the Father who called us to the faith and Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died so we can have eternal life, so that our sins can be forgiven. If we ignore Jesus Christ, if we deny Jesus Christ, it is as if we say we don’t need forgiveness of sins because we are without sin, and that is enough to align us more to how this world lives. This world is so focused on sin it has embraced sin as something to be accepted. As people of the faith, we may sin, but we never embrace sin. We always fight sin never surrendering to it.

Living in a world focused on sin should give us reason to be different and to focus on eternal life. We must abide in the faith. We must endure to the end and when the world in which we live in is focused on sin, we must be focused on righteousness, and doing what is righteous in the eyes of God.

1 John 2:1-29
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him.

We live in a world that is focused on sin, and that can be distressing to those who are of the faith. We know the peace and happiness that living God’s way of life brings and we know that all who do not know God do not have the peace and happiness that we have been given by God. Because we understand the resurrections which we looked at last week, we can temper that awareness of the result of sin with the knowledge there will be a future resurrection even for those who are not yet called. So, living in a world that is focused on sin, how and when do we share our faith with others? How do we respond to sin when we see it in our life, in the lives of those of the faith, and in the lives of those who do not know God? We’ll look at that more next week.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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