John piper christmas6/9/2023 There’s the first gift, a purpose to live. Trusting Jesus and loving people the way Jesus and his apostles taught us to love. Notice the singular “commandment”-“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” These two things are so closely connected for John that he calls them one commandment: believe Jesus and love others. If you ask, “Can you give us that positively, instead of negatively?” the answer is: “Yes, it’s all summed up in 1 John 3:23.” It’s a great summary of what John’s whole letter requires. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 John 2:1). Negatively, it is simply this: don’t sin-don’t do what dishonors God. The first implication is that you have a clear purpose for living. I give them to you briefly as Christmas presents. If the Son of God came to help you stop sinning-to destroy the works of the devil-and if he also came to die so that when you do sin, there is a propitiation, a removal of God’s wrath, then what does this imply for living your life? Three things. Ponder this remarkable situation with me.
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