Not Burdensome

Sermon. Pastor Shad Baker. Carlisle Evangelical Free Church.

1 John 5:1-12

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

v3
- commands seems burdensome

- brief review of the history of God's commands
-- 1st command - don't eat from tree of knowledge of good and evil
---adam and eve break it; sin and death enters the world
---command is a burden because it brings death
-- 10 commandments
--- afraid of dying (Exodus 20:18-19)
--- penalty for breaking law = death
--- why the 10 commandments then? Deuteronomy 6
-- about 600 other commandments
--- seems burdensome

David loved them - Psalm 119:47-48
- still a burden
Pharisees with Christ
- to love is the greatest commandment
Paul
- Romans 7 - law is impossible to keep
- how then are the commands not burdensome?

God's commands are impossible to follow
- meant to drive us to Christ because by ourselves it is impossible
- law can't give us life because we earned death
- only through Christ's death (our penalty) and resurrection (our life) can this burden be removed
- if only way was the law, then they're a burden
-- we're set free by Christ from the burden
-- God's free gift offered only through Christ
--- what we cannot earn has been freely given

How does faith remove the burden?
- same job (to keep the law) is no longer a burden because we love God
-- love changes our approach (driving an hour to work vs driving an hour to see a girlfriend)
--- we do it out of love for God and it is desirable because it pleases him
--- when we do it out of fear of death, it is a burden
--- KEY: focus on God and not the command!

How do I see the law?
- when it feels like a burden, I am focusing on myself
-- I've lost sight of Christ and his loving sacrifice
--- I must confess and repent of this self-focus
--- recall God's generosity and Christ's sacrifice
---- "Thou shalt not covet" becomes "I don't want to covet"
- Love comes only from Christ and through our faith in him we gain this love
-- our faith sets us free from the burden of the penalty of not fulfilling the law and at the same time gives the love that lets us seek to abide by it in order to please God