1 John 5:3-4 (NKJV) — 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 

Pastor Weston mentioned obedience is the act of loving God and we obey God because we love him. When we are obedient to God’s calling and by accepting Jesus as the Christ we have an “inward allegiance” and an “outward proclamation” (extra credit: read Matt. 11: 29-30 and Psalm 55:22). Living in this obedience, our faith in Jesus gives us victory that overcomes the world.

What are God’s commandments and why are they not burdensome to you?

What is your experience of the victory that overcomes the world? 

1 John 5:9-11 (NKJV) — 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

Pastor Weston discussed the 3 witnesses of verses 6-8; water (Jesus’s baptism and ministry), blood (Jesus’s death and completed work), and the Spirit (who identifies and bears witness of Jesus). Along with these 3 witnesses we have mountains of human evidence for the reliability of Scripture, the resurrection of Jesus, and the deity of Jesus. We are moved by God’s personal reach to us and by the truth we witness in Him. 

What witness does God give of His Son and why is God’s witness greater than the witness of men?

What testimony has God given you to show He is not a liar and how would you express that witness to others?