Reclaim Identity - Christians of Fellowship

The fence image sets the whole issue right in the middle of the pasture. Satan promises everything on one side, God stands as Creator and Redeemer on the other, and the man thinks sitting in the middle will keep both options open. The devil’s answer, “I own the fence,” names the danger of a life that tries to keep one foot in the world and one foot with God.

Jesus gives the fence its biblical edge when he says, “Whoever is not with me is against me.” First John presses that same line in the most loving way possible. God lavishes love on his children, calls them his own, and still says sin cannot be treated like no big deal. God is love, and God cannot tolerate sin.

Laodicea supplies the picture of lukewarmness. Cold water and hot water both traveled about five miles, and by the time they reached the city, both had become lukewarm. Jesus’ warning to Laodicea sounds like a warning against fence sitting, because he wants his people to choose, decide, and get clear about sin.

First John also turns the heart toward readiness. The last days may be near, and the wise bride has oil in her lamp. Jeremiah 31 keeps God’s faithfulness to Israel in view, because the God who does not bail on his covenant people will not bail on his children in Christ. God will forgive iniquity and remember sin no more.

The warning about renamed sin hits hard. Lying becomes “being smart,” abortion becomes “choice,” pride becomes “self love,” and disrespect becomes “just being real.” Sin becomes most dangerous when a person stops calling it sin. Jesus said to take up the cross, not rename it.

First John 5:13 becomes the cradle of confidence: “that you may know that you have eternal life.” The word “know” changes everything. When a person knows, then a person can grow. Assurance does not make sin light; assurance gives the heart room to repent, receive forgiveness, and start seeing gentleness, kindness, and the fruit of the Spirit grow.

First John 5:18-20 says everyone born of God does not keep on sinning, not because sinless perfection is possible, but because the Spirit keeps poking the conscience. The final command, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols,” gathers the whole thing together. Idolatry is Jesus plus anything. The call is Christ alone, get off the fence, confess sin, and stop the fence talk.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The devil owns the fence. The fence image exposes a false middle ground that feels safe but belongs to the wrong master. Jesus does not treat neutrality as neutral, because failure to gather with him becomes scattering against him. The life that keeps options open may actually be refusing the Lord who stands on one side as Creator and Redeemer. [42:05]
• 2. Love tells sin the truth. First John does not separate God’s love from God’s hatred of sin. The Father lavishes love on his children, and that love is exactly why sin cannot be renamed, excused, or kept as a private arrangement. Grace is tender, but it is not vague. [42:57]
• 3. Knowing gives room for growing. First John 5:13 gives assurance as something believers may actually know, not merely wish for. That confidence does not produce laziness; it opens the soul to real growth because fear no longer has to drive repentance. The Spirit can build gentleness where anger used to speak first. [61:23]
• 4. Grace does not rename sin. The modern heart often softens sin by giving it a more comfortable label. But a new name does not change the thing before God, and “everybody else is doing it” never becomes the Holy Spirit. Repentance begins where the soul stops editing the commandments. [55:57]
• 5. Christ alone, not Jesus plus. The final warning against idols reaches beyond carved images and temple worship. Idolatry also appears when Jesus is kept as part of salvation while works, giving, morality, or religious performance are added as the real confidence. Obedience matters deeply, but Christ alone saves.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [40:29] - The Fence Dream
• [42:05] - Getting Off the Fence
• [42:57] - First John and Lavished Love
• [44:33] - Whoever Is Not With Christ
• [46:25] - Laodicea and Lukewarm Faith
• [49:15] - Warning Signs and Readiness
• [52:08] - Jeremiah and Israel’s Covenant
• [55:25] - Renaming Sin Instead of Repenting
• [57:49] - Knowing Eternal Life
• [61:23] - When Knowing Leads to Growth
• [64:24] - Sin Leading to Death
• [68:34] - Born of God and Convicted
• [70:43] - Keep Yourselves From Idols
• [73:51] - No More Fence Talk

Bible Reading

1 John 5:13
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” [57:49]

Matthew 12:30
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” [44:55]

Revelation 3:15-16
“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

1 John 3:1
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” [42:57]

1 John 5:18-20
“We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” [01:08:34]

1 John 5:21
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” [01:10:43]

Jeremiah 31:34
“And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” [52:42]

Observation questions

1. In the fence picture, what was on each side of the fence, and what did the man think he could gain by staying in the middle? [40:29]
2. In Matthew 12:30, what two opposite outcomes does Jesus describe for a person who is not with him? [44:55]
3. What details from Laodicea help explain why “lukewarm” was such a sharp warning? [46:25]
4. In the examples of renamed sin, what are some of the old sins and the new labels people give them? [55:25]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me.” How does that challenge the idea that a person can stay spiritually neutral for a long time? [44:55]
2. First John 3:1 says believers are called children of God, and 1 John also speaks strongly about sin. How do those two truths belong together instead of pulling against each other? [42:57]
3. First John 5:13 says believers may know they have eternal life. Why does that kind of assurance often lead to growth and repentance rather than spiritual laziness? [01:01:23]
4. First John ends with, “keep yourselves from idols.” If idolatry can mean “Jesus plus” something else, what kinds of things are most easily added to Christ as a person’s real confidence? [01:11:13]

Application questions

1. Where is the strongest temptation right now to sit on the fence—to keep one foot with Christ and one foot in an old pattern, habit, relationship, or mindset? What makes that fence feel so attractive? [42:05]
2. Sin becomes especially dangerous when it gets renamed. Is there any area where there has been a softer label used instead of calling something what it really is before God? [55:57]
3. God lavishes love on his children, and that love tells the truth about sin. Is it easier right now to believe that God loves you, or to believe that he wants to change you? Why might both be needed together? [43:22]
4. “That you may know that you have eternal life” gives room for peace. Is there confidence in Christ’s saving work, or is there still a habit of living in “maybe”? How does that uncertainty affect daily obedience? [57:49]
5. When the Holy Spirit pokes the conscience, believers should not keep brushing that off. Has there been a repeated nudge from God about an attitude, word, or action that keeps getting excused? What would honest repentance look like there? [01:08:51]
6. “Keep yourselves from idols” can include trusting Jesus plus works, morality, giving, or performance. When life gets shaky, what is most tempting to lean on besides Christ alone? [01:10:43]
7. “When you know, then you’ll grow.” Looking back over the last season of life, where has God already been producing gentleness, kindness, or some other fruit of the Spirit? Where is there still a need for freedom and growth? [01:01:40]