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Although nearly two millennia have passed since the apostle John wrote this compact letter attacking Gnosticism and affirming the true gospel, in a sense nothing seems to have changed. The enemies of the gospel are still everywhere. While they have repackaged their deceitful message for modern times, the lies they tell bear an evil resemblance to those that swirled around the early Christians to whom John wrote. Yet just as the fundamentals of the conflict have not changed, so also God's response has not changed: he raises up godly men in every generation to fight fiercely in this ongoing war for truth. Having sat under the preaching of the Reverend P. G. Mathew for over twenty years, I can certify that Pastor Mathew is such a man. I believe there are few preachers today who can match either the clarity of his analysis or the force of his response as he surveys the present-day battlefield of so-called Christian ideas. In stark contrast to the thousands of ministers who would simply retreat from the fight or, worse yet, join the enemy and pervert the gospel themselves, in these sermons Pastor Mathew draws a line in the sand and declares his willingness to defend the true gospel no matter what the cost. Courage like this is in very short supply in the evangelical church today. Rather than expose and confront the enemies of the gospel, many ministers today provide them aid and comfort. They do so by deliberately and consciously failing to preach the whole gospel, specifically the biblical requirement for holiness and the tests that John lays out in his letter. The temptation is obvious: Who wouldn't want to make Christianity "easier" by preaching that mental assent to certain claims of Christ is all that God requires? Who wants to tell worldly Christians to stop sinning? Pastor Mathew will not surrender to this temptation. His passion is to preach the whole counsel of God, not to "pack the church" or give people false assurance. Thus, with great precision and great love, he takes us through this wonderful letter verse by verse, ultimately taking us to Christ, who is at the center of the true gospel. It is this combination of theological precision on the one hand and tender pastoral love on the other that makes this collection of sermons such a treasure. For those who may not have the opportunity to hear Pastor Mathew preach in person, they can sense both his rigor and his warmth in these pages. These sermons were delivered by a man who, like the apostle John, can in one minute thunder against the evil men he is not afraid to call "antichrists," and in the next minute, plead with Christians to love one another, because "God is love" (3:16). Anyone who reads these sermons will also be struck by the depth and breadth of biblical scholarship they demonstrate. It is obvious that Pastor Mathew could have had a very successful career as a professor in a theological seminary, with his commanding knowledge of the biblical languages and text, but all who have sat under his ministry are so thankful that he chose the life of a pastor instead. One has to wonder how many books were distilled to produce this collection of twenty-eight sermons, which were delivered as Pastor Mathew neared his thirtieth year of faithful ministry as a herald of the true gospel. In my travels as a military officer, I have had the opportunity to sit under many preachers. While I received some benefit from all of them, I have never encountered one like Pastor Mathew, with his combination of theological brilliance, eloquent and forceful preaching, and sincere love for the flock God placed under his care. So, while this collection of sermons is a unique treasure, so is the man who delivered them. But above all, the greatest treasure for all true Christians is Christ himself, who is clearly exhibited on every page, from the first chapter, in which Pastor Mathew addresses the question of "A New and Improved Gospel?" to the last, where he comforts us with the wonderful thought of our "Freedom from Hell." And so while I commend to you this collection of sermons and the man who preached them, I commend Jesus Christ to you most of all, because John tells us this is the ultimate purpose of his letter: "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (5:13). To God be the glory!
Anthony S.
Robbins, MD, PhD
Dr. Robbins is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force (USAF) Medical Corps and the director of Prevention Research at David Grant USAF Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, California.
Foreword The evangelical church needs a wake-up call! Today she sleepwalks, unaware that heresy and immorality threaten her very life. The first epistle of John warns, "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" (1 John 1:5–6). This epistle deals with orthodox doctrine, practical personal holiness, the Christian community life of love, and assurance of salvation. That today's secular culture hates such uncompromising imperatives is not surprising, given its absolute commitment to moral and philosophical relativism. What is surprising to me is the evangelical church's like-mindedness. Few churches preach orthodox doctrine; even fewer require practical holiness. We hear very little today of sin, repentance, holiness, judgment, or hell. The prevalent view is that mere mental assent to the facts of the gospel constitutes salvation, so that one can accept Jesus as Savior yet continue to live in sin. Any call for obedience is labeled as legalism. "Carnal Christianity" has become the norm. But justification without sanctification is a falsification of divine salvation. John teaches the importance of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. The apostle speaks with authority and clarity: "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. . . . This is love for God: to obey his commands" (1 John 5:1, 3). Unlike the "carnal Christian," the one who is born of God will believe sound doctrine, will live to please God and the brethren, and, thus, will enjoy assurance of salvation. "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). May the Holy Spirit help us to live such a life as described in this epistle! I wish to thank the members of Grace Valley Christian Center in California, where these sermons were first preached between November 2000 and July 2002. I would also like to thank my wife Gladys, as well as Mr. Marc Roby, Dr. Lisa Case, and Mrs. Margaret Killeen for their help in preparing the manuscript for publication. Soli Deo Gloria!
Rev. P. G.
Mathew
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