Crossing the line with Jesus

Our world thrives on division—political, social, religious. Lines are drawn, sides are chosen, and outrage becomes the loudest voice. But when we look at Jesus, we see a different approach. He didn’t fight division with more division. Instead, He crossed the lines with love.

We explore 1 John 2:1-6 and what it truly means to follow Jesus in a culture addicted to outrage. How do we live like Christ in a world that demands we take sides? How do we step across the barriers that separate us without compromising truth?

Join us as we unpack the power of God’s perfect love—a love that transforms hearts, heals divisions, and calls us to walk as Jesus walked. The question is: What lines do you need to cross?

Linkoln shares his story on why he started coming to Ravenna Church of the Nazarene and shares why you should consider doing the same.

Ravenna Church of the Nazarene
530 Main Street, Ravenna, KY 40472

Enjoy this message? Consider visiting Ravenna Church of the Nazarene where Pastor Jason is the Senior Pastor. Have a prayer need? Want to share something with Pastor Jason?

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Chapters

• 0:00 Trailer
• 0:15 Theme song--"The Dirt Path" by Jeremy Edwards
• 1:20 Podcast greeting
• 2:30 Introduction: A divided world
• 7:20 Reading of the Passage: 1 John 2:1-6
• 8:29 v1-2 Jesus our advocate and example
• 14:02 v3-5 Knowing God means obeying Him
• 20:17 v6 Living as Jesus lived
• 21:51 What does this teach us?
• 35:19 Invitation: What line does Jesus want you to cross?
• 36:57 Closing prayer
• 39:22 Outro

Transcript

CROSSING THE LINE WITH JESUS

     Our world is divided. And to be honest, it thrives on the division. Politically, are you a Republican or a Democrat? Socially, are you a minority or white? Immigrant or citizen? Religiously, are you a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, or something else? Whatever the division, lines are drawn and we are expected to pick sides. In their tribes, people scream about why their side is right and everyone else is wrong, verbally or through the keyboard. There is so much noise and outrage, that it can be difficult to navigate.

     The trouble is that many believe that the louder their outrage, the more “right” they are. It is why society is addicted to outrage and division. But studying the gospels, we notice that Jesus does not fight with outrage. Instead, He crosses lines with love.

     If we are followers of Jesus, then this is how we are called to live. But how do we that in a culture addicted to outrage and division? How do we walk as Jesus walked and cross lines? 1 John 2:1-6 reveals how we live counter-culturally.

     1 John 2:1-6(CEB):

1 My little children, I’m writing to these things to you so that you don’t sin. But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world. 3 This is how we know that we know him; if we keep his commandments. 4 The one who claims, “I know him,” while not keeping his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in this person. 5 But the love of God is truly perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know we are in him. 6 The one who claims to remain in him ought to live in the same way as he lived.

This is the word of God

For the people of God

Thanks be to God

     John refers to the readers as “little children” because he is the last surviving apostle, somewhere between eighty and ninety years old. The readers are his responsibility to train as disciples. He begins in verse 1 by explaining what he is not excusing, writing, “I’m writing these things so you don’t sin.” Jesus did not come to make excuses or allowances for sin. Sin separates, kills, and destroys. This is the opposite of what God wants, it is the opposite of Christian living. Jesus does not advocate for our sin but for our transformation.

     Verse 2 says, “He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world.” When Jesus died on the cross, he took on himself every sin that had been committed and every sin that will be committed. He came to break down the walls sin had created and bring reconciliation to us with God. This means that salvation is available for every single person, and anyone outside salvation is there because they choose to be. It is not that anyone becomes incapable of sin, it is that out of love the heart chooses not to sin.

     Verse 3 continues, “This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments.” Jesus is mentioned as righteous in verse 1 because kept God’s commands. He was human like us, faced trials and tribulations like us, but did so without sinning. It was not Jesus’s actions that made Him righteous, it was because He loved God with His whole being and that was demonstrated through His actions. Love for God is not a feeling or thought, it is demonstrated through obedient action.

     Verse 5 adds, “But the love of God is truly perfected in whoever keeps his word.” The more we demonstrate our love for God through obedience, the more completely our hearts are transformed and our minds are renewed. Jesus did not just teach this, He demonstrated it, even when it meant crossing social, religious, and political lines.

     John is saying that Jesus is our example. In verse 6, John writes, “The one claims to remain in him ought to live in the same way he lived.” Jesus did not respond to sin with outrage, He responded with truth and love. And if anyone is to follow after Him, they are to follow the pattern Jesus set.

     What does this teach us? How does this help us navigate a culture addicted to division and outrage? The call of God is lofty, it is for us “to be holy as He is holy.” Jesus said in Matthew 5, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” But this perfection is not about sinlessness, although it is impossible to achieve with sin. Perfection is about becoming mature and complete in the love of God, which transforms our hearts. Instead of pursuing sin, we pursue God. This call to perfection is about loving the way God loves, loving the way Jesus has demonstrated. And Jesus meets us where we are, but He does not leave us that way. He helps us grow in obedience, not for obedience sake but for love’s sake.

     For us to navigate this culture of outrage and division, it will take true Christian living. Christian living is living as Jesus lived, a life rooted in perfect love with God. Sin divides and destroys, only making us more like the world. Living like the world we cannot claim to know Jesus. This means we have to give up our addiction to outrage and division.

     Division draws a line in the sand, focusing on all the reasons why we should be separated. Jesus does not do that. God did not do that. God did not send Jesus because He was angry at us for our sin, He sent Jesus because He loves us and wants us to be set free. Sin divided us from God, and Jesus stepped across that line. This was not Jesus accepting our sins or helping us to live with them, it was so He could walk with us and help us grow in love so we could live in obedience. We see this with Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4. She had been married five times and was shacking up with a guy. In their interaction, Jesus does not excuse her sinful lifestyle, but neither does He respond with outrage. He crosses the line to speak with her, and it ends up being a life-changing conversation.

God’s love is perfected in us when we stop seeing the lines that divide and instead walk across them in love, knowing God cares for those on the other side. We do so knowing that if God’s love can transform us, it can transform anyone.

     Outrage stems from a culture that believes its side is right, and if they can just shout the loudest their truth will prove more true. Jesus is the Truth, a point He did not argue to prove before anyone. He did not yell loudly to demonstrate His love for God, Jesus had conversations with people. This did not make their sins any less sinful, but instead, it allowed the love of God to cover a multitude of sins. Love is perfected in us when we do the same. The fires of hell were put out in our hearts because Jesus threw the blanket of God’s love over them. His love was too heavy for the flames to find any oxygen. This is what the people of this world need, and we know who holds the blanket.

     Crossing lines with Jesus requires our hearts to be rooted and perfected in the love of God. The love of God is perfected in our hearts and minds when the dividing lines stop becoming boundaries we refuse to cross. Again, this is not a call to sin or accepting sin. John is clear, Christian living leaves sin behind because loving the God who loves us brings us greater joy and blessing. Instead of seeing enemies who need to be vanquished, we see them as someone who is sick and in need of a doctor. The same Divine Physician who healed and is treating us.

     What lines do you need to cross? Maybe crossing those lines means you need to forgive someone. Is your heart being perfect in the love of God? May you need to lay down your anger and outrage. Or perhaps, maybe you know about God and can give all the Sunday school answers, but your love for God is not greater than your love for sin. Jesus can help you with that. He has already crossed the line to reach you. Will you step forward in obedience rooted in love?

     If we claim Jesus, we must live like Jesus. Ask yourself: How can I cross a dividing line in my life with the love of Jesus?