As we approach the end of our series on the book of 1 John as a guide to the character and personality of God, Glenn Hoburg leads us through what it means to know a true and living God. Unlike many modern understandings of faith as a private narrative you can tell yourself for comfort, John does not leave room to conform a faith to you. Instead, true faith in the true God changes you. And in the process, it delivers you from the fatality, force and foolishness of sin.

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There is perhaps no greater evidence of faith than prayer, yet fewer dimensions of the Christian life are more frequently misunderstood. Because the gospel reveals to us a God whose character is unique among the images of god painted by the other philosophies and worldviews around us, it also invites us to pray differently—with greater freedom and clarity—than we ever have before. And it also provides us with a compelling confirmation of those prayers.

Christianity did not start as a movement of people dedicated to a theoretical spirituality. Instead, it got its start through real people providing testimony about and evidence of actual experiences and encounters. Throughout the Bible, God doesn’t just call his people to un-anchored faith, but instead challenges them with evidence of his presence and character. One of the hallmarks of true faith is a response to this kind of testimony.

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Everyone has faith in something—some kind of foundational beliefs and assumptions that are impossible to test—and things that are true continue to be true whether you believe in them or not. So, what do the beginning of true faith in the God of the Bible look like? Where does that faith come from? And what advantages, resources and promises come along with it?

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Everyone lives their life according to some degree of faith—some core assumptions taken as self-evident, the validity of which we never test. The book of 1 John, though, offers us the opportunity to test the basic assumptions in which we place our trust, and shows us how what we put our trust in relates to how we understand God’s character and personality. This week, we look at what false faith is, why it occurs and where we get the confidence to resist it.

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Note that there is no discussion guide this week. Instead, please learn more about Winter Term and sign up for a class.

It’s easy to forget that the Psalms are meant to be sung, especially when the songs are dedicated to subjects that we aren’t used to praising musically. One such psalm is Psalm 119, which praises God’s law. But when we read that psalm through the lens of Christmas, it’s easy to see why such laws can move us to song (and what they tell us about the King who handed them out).

The love of a parent, mentor, friend or lover often bolsters our confidence. But, as we saw last week, God’s love is perfect. And if we truly understand that perfect love, it won’t just make us confident—it will make us fearless.

The book of 1 John claims that love comes from God, and the love that comes from God can provide us with a new beginning to our lives. But far too often, we turn love into our god rather than letting God be the measure by which we understand love. John goes on to point us toward God’s perfect demonstration of his perfect love.

We’ve looked at the priority of love to the character of God, and we’ve looked at ways love can be mis-directed in our lives. But John’s letter doesn’t just lead us to consider love itself—it also prompts us to consider the opposite of love: Who is it from? How does it work? And what does it ultimately show us?

Last week, we looked at how central love is to God’s character. But what happens in our own lives when we love the wrong things first? Glenn Hoburg leads us through the objects of such false love, the heart behind that false love and what brings that false love to an end.