Grace vs. Responsibility

I love the book of 1 John. Probably because it seems to be an easy read compared with some of the others but also because of his clear explanation of difficult subjects. I've always struggled with grace and guilt, guilt and the right to approach the Father. John tackled the subject with simplicity and clarity, with an almost unspoken tenderness when other writers sometimes overcomplicated the concept.

Matthew Henry: "The design appears to be, to refute and guard against erroneous and unholy tenets, principles, and practices, especially such as would lower the Godhead of Christ, and the reality and power of his sufferings and death, as an atoning sacrifice; and against the assertion that believers being saved by grace, are not required to obey the commandments. This epistle also stirs up all who profess to know God, to have communion with him, and to believe in him, and that they walk in holiness, not in sin, showing that a mere outward profession is nothing, without the evidence of a holy life and conduct. It also helps forward and excites real Christians to communion with God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to constancy in the true faith, and to purity of life."

1 John 1:5-7 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 2:1-2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

And here's something we've missed in our preaching - and I'm going to mention it here because it's bugged me for years:
1John 3:16-18 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Anyone other than me had daydreams about sacrificing yourself to save the damsel in distress? Romantic I know - but cool points don't matter all that much when you're dead (or do they?). Anyways, what I've never heard preached is why verse 17 follows so closely to 16. I think we can easily accept 16 simply because none of us really expect to be asked to do it. Few of us find ourselves in movie situations faced with a deadly choice today, or even in a lifetime. When reading verse 16 most of us probably get lost in a heroic daydream and in turn miss the reality and explanation in 17: everything in between. This in essence, to me, equals servant-hood. Read the rest of the book.

As Chris Martin states on the new record, "if you love me, won't you let me know."