I John 5:1  Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

John was directed to begin chapter 5 with somethings that he already wrote of in chapter 4. It is obviously important to God that we understand the importance of making a claim to know Jesus Christ. There has been so much deception regarding salvation in my lifetime. As a young person it was difficult for me to understand what I read in the Bible and what I was seeing going on around me. After I was saved I had some clarity, but there was still a lack of clear teaching on what true Christianity looks like.
For me that has been important. Not because I am the judge of others, but because I need to know if I am a Christian. God’s Word is quite clear on the matter of salvation. It is the false teachers who have muddied the waters. It is essential that we base our faith on the sure Word of God. God requires that His pastors teach the truth. What I have discovered and others have told me as well, is that it is difficult to find a pastor that teaches the truth. There are some, but there needs to be many more.
It requires more than just a man who stands in the pulpit and preaches a good message. What does the man believe outside of the pulpit. And also how consistent is he in preaching the truth. A pastor cannot be like a politician. He cannot be governed by the winds of doctrine that people want to hold to. He must be governed by the Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit, Who helps all saints to understand the truth.
In verse 1 we are again reminded of the importance of believing in Jesus as being Christ. The word translated as “Christ” means “anointed”. Jesus Christ is the chosen Messiah. He was chosen by His Father — God, before the world ever began. If I believe that Jesus is the Christ, then I must believe in what He says. In Matthew 16:16 Peter made the following claim:

Matthew 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus approved of that statement and said so. After a few more verses, we read that Jesus was teaching His disciples of the fact that He was going to be arrested and crucified. The same Peter that had just shortly before that made a very clear and true statement which Jesus said he made under the direction of God the Father, took a very different approach. Now he was stepping in Jesus’ way and trying to keep Jesus from doing what He came to do.
Notice Jesus’ response to this action by Peter:

Matthew 16:23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

This is the same Peter who rightly declared Who Jesus is. Yet now he was ready to stand in the way of God’s only way of salvation. Had Peter been able to follow through with what he was saying just prior to Jesus’ rebuke of him, no one would have been able to be saved. Peter was indeed Satan in what he was saying.
The person who believes that Jesus is Christ will not try to interfere in Who Jesus is and why He came. The born again Christian cannot fight against the will of God. Thus again, believing that Jesus is the Christ is more than just making a statement with the mouth. It must come from a heart that has been changed by God in salvation. The person who truly makes this claim will not follow the Charismatic movement nor can he remain in the lies of the New Evangelical crowd.
John went further to declare that the one Who loves Him that begat (that is God the Father), must then also love him that is begotten of Him. It is not possible to be a Mormon, or a J.W. or a Catholic or many other groups and be a true child of God. The reason being is that false religions do not accept God’s gift of Jesus Christ according to the Biblical account. If Jesus is not Saviour and Lord, then you have a wrong Jesus.
In a lesser sense, those who are born again are also begotten of God. We have been given life through the mercy and love of God. Those who are born again turned to God in repentance and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. In verse 2 John has been very careful to write about the love that true brethren must have for one another. This is an essential factor of true Christians.
We see as well that the key to loving the brethren is having the love of God in us. We cannot love others properly unless the love of God is in us. We see as well that this love causes the true child of God to keep God’s commandments. The motivation for keeping His commandments is the love of God in the heart of the saved person.
The Seventh Day Adventists live by law keeping. They are lost. They do not know the love of God. The saved person lives because of the love of God. He keeps God’s commandments because the love of God is in him. He reads God’s Word daily and because he is saved he sets about his day to serve God faithfully. He does not have a check list of do’s and don’ts. He knows the love of God and thus his desires have been changed. He grows in the Lord and the more he grows the more he is aligned with the will of God for him.
The Psalmist reminds us that God’s Word is His commandments. It is not limited to the 10 commandments. It is God’s Word. The true child of God seeks to know God’s Word better every day. His desire is to serve God faithfully.
In verse 3 of our text we see that the love of God is expressed by keeping His commandments. That is His will for those who are saved. We read here that God’s commandments are not grievous. Getting up on a Sunday morning and preparing to attend a true church is not grievous. People get up every day and do various things. They make plans to do certain things. There is a family we know whose children have been talking for a while now of the plans they have of going to the zoo today. That is a bad choice, but that is their choice. They should be saved and going to a good church and then they would see that there are 6 other days they could go to the zoo. The Lord’s day is the day to be in God’s house, learning what the love of God is and how to know that love personally.
A Godly family does not begrudge living for God. A Godly family is not missing out on anything worthwhile when they choose to follow God. They are enjoying His blessings in serving Him.
In verse 4 we read that those who are born of God overcome the world. The world has lost its hold on them. There is still the temptation, but the love of God is greater than the temptation and that is why a true child of God can be faithful in a true local church. There is a stronger pull to serve God than to serve the flesh. We have already been reminded that the true saint cannot love the world. He has been changed and he needs to nurture that new nature.
We are reminded that what guides us in overcoming the world is our faith in God. When a person is saved, they have a different sense of Who God is. He is real to them now. They also know that Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross of Calvary for them. That faith has substance. It is genuine. It is not the pie in the sky type of faith. It is a genuine faith in God that is built upon truth.
In verse 5 we have a further fact of who the overcomer is. The overcomer is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Thus we see again that what we read in verse 1 will be proven by overcoming the world. This shoots the false teaching of so many right out of the water. They love the world and follow the world. So many who claim to believe in Jesus love the world’s music. Most churches have sold out to the world’s music. They love it. They would not have it any other way. They also love the world’s immodesty. They prove it over and over again. They copy the world’s language, etc. It is sad that so many are so deceived. Yet they are not innocent. They can know the truth, but they do not want to know the truth. They scoff at it and they take great offence to anyone challenging their lies.
You can demonstrate your love for God today by the choice you make. It will be evident who truly knows Jesus Christ and who does not. You cannot hide the truth. We are praying that many would see the importance of knowing the true God in these last days.
Pastor Bartel