“Tell me about this one!”  It took me a while as a young father to learn to ask this question when my children proudly posted a drawing on the refrigerator.  And as a Hospice Chaplain when asking the dying patient about the pictures on their wall.  Recognizing our child’s picture and a dying patient’s place in the family album before sickness and pain made its mark can be difficult.  So, we never ask, “who is this?”  Or “what did you draw there?”  We say, “tell me about this one!”

Abstract ideas can be equally difficult to recognize. And even harder to define with precision.  What makes ‘love’ love?  How wise must wisdom be?  How good is good?  And how bad is bad?  And for Christians we often ask, “just what is faith?”  Is it the content of information about God and His ways?  Is it an inner feeling that the God of our expectations will cause things to work out?  Is it a quality or quantify of belief within us?  Or is it just a ritual we practice consistently? 

What is faith?  What does it look like and how can we know we have it?  These are questions all Christians ask.  And God knew we would ask them.   So, he provided answers in his Word, especially in the letter of 1 John.  Heretics, false teachers, and anti-Christs were supplying lies in answer to the question what is faith and do I have it?  So, the aging Son of Thunder, the Apostle John takes up the mighty pen, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to counter popular lies with the truth about the basics of faith and assurance that we possess it. 

John’s letter describes a series of tests that provide assurance.  John’s tests were theological, moral, and social.  The theological test was to trust in the Apostolic witness as the source of truth about the person and work of Christ.  The moral test was to live a transformed life in obedience to the commandments of Christ.  And the social test was to love our brothers, not just in words, but in deeds. 

John begins to close his letter after a thorough discussion of love and then opens his final chapter with a discussion of real faith – its nature and its knowledge.  Just what is faith?  And how do we know we have it?   Join us as we examine 1 John 5:1-12 and consider the nature and knowledge of our faith. We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join our livestream on YouTube.