Peter Barnes | 1 John 5:1-5
SERMON NOTES
VICTORY THROUGH THE THREE TESTS
Deuteronomy 30:1-10; 1 John 5:1-5
1. The rebirth comes first.
– 5:1 (cf. 3:9; 4:7)
– by nature we are dead (John 5:24-25; Eph.2:1-6), ignorant (Eph.4:18), bound in sin (John 8:34), and alienated from God (Col.1:21).
2. The three proofs go together.
– 5:1-3a, 5; they are distinguished but not separated
3. God’s yoke is easy.
– 5:3; note Acts 15:10-11 and Matt.23:4; but Christ’s yoke is one of grace (Matt.11:28-30)
– God’s Word gives light and sweetness (Ps.19:7-10); the world’s way is a counterfeit pleasure (1 Pet. 4:3-4). It is sin that is burdensome.
4. The victory of faith.
– 5:4-5; Rom.8:37-39; Rev.12:10-11
– John Hooper facing burning at the stake in 1555: ‘The life to come is more sweet, and the death to come is more bitter.’