If I Die Before I Wake
Pastor Bart Blair · Touch Grass, Week 2 · 1 John 2:1-11, 15-17
The audio of this teaching is available on Spotify.
Finding Assurance in Salvation When You’re Afraid You Haven’t Done Enough
How Can I Know I’m Really Saved If I Keep Sinning?
As a kid, Pastor Bart Blair lay awake at night afraid he would die in his sleep and go to hell. He believed in Jesus, and he had been baptized at 11. But he kept sinning, and he kept asking: Is Jesus really enough? Does God love me, or does He just put up with me?
Many Christians carry that same fear. In this message from the Touch Grass series, Pastor Bart walks through 1 John 2 and shows that your assurance doesn’t rest on how well you perform. It rests on what Jesus has already done.
What Was John Addressing in 1 John 2?
The apostle John wrote this letter around AD 90 to the church in Ephesus. At the time he was likely the last living apostle. New teachers had confused the church with two competing messages:
Gnosticism, from the Greek word for knowledge, taught that if you still sinned, you must be missing some secret knowledge about God.
Dualism and asceticism taught that the body is bad and the spirit is good, so you had to whip your body into shape until you stopped sinning.
John cuts through both. Knowing God isn’t secret, and purity isn’t earned. God has given us everything we need to know Him and to be confident in our salvation.
Is John Raising the Bar for Christians in 1 John 2?
On a first read, it can sound that way. John writes “so that you may not sin” (v. 1), calls anyone who claims to know God without keeping His commands “a liar” (v. 4), says we should “walk just as he walked” (v. 6), and warns, “Do not love the world” (v. 15).
But John isn’t raising the bar. He’s showing us that Jesus removed it.
Why Does God Take Sin So Seriously?
Sin separates us from God. Pastor Bart defines sin as anything that deviates from God’s best plan for your life. The word means missing the mark. And God’s plan isn’t for you to become a better version of yourself. It’s for you to look more like Jesus.
The Volunteer Pepper Plants: How Sin Grows in Our Lives
This year Pastor Bart’s garden produced “volunteers,” pepper plants that sprouted on their own from the previous season. He watered them, and they grew into the lushest plants in his garden. But they never produced a single pepper.
That’s how sin works:
It volunteers. You don’t have to go looking for it.
It looks promising. It can seem healthy and attractive.
It takes over when you feed and water it.
It never bears fruit. Sin never lives up to its promise.
What Does It Mean That Jesus Is Our Advocate?
“But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 2:1-2).
The verse doesn’t say “if you behave better today” or “if you follow all the rules.” In the courtroom, the accuser tells the truth about your sin. Jesus doesn’t plead “not guilty.” He pleads guilty on our behalf and points to the debt He already paid. There’s nothing left for us to make up.
Jesus didn’t raise the bar. Jesus didn’t lower the bar. Jesus removed the bar.
If Jesus Paid It All, Why Should Christians Obey God?
Obedience isn’t the price of God’s love. It’s our response to it.
We don’t obey to earn God’s favor. We obey because we recognize how much He loves us and what He sacrificed for us. In John’s words, obedience is the fruit of knowing God, not the root of it.
What the Prodigal Son Teaches Us About Assurance
In Luke 15, the younger son rehearses a speech on the way home: “I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.” But the father runs to him and restores him as a son.
Many of us are still rehearsing that speech, hoping it will be enough to get us in. Pastor Bart’s answer: You don’t obey to get into God’s family. You obey because you’re already home.
Not every person is a child of God. Every person is created by God and bears His image, but “to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God” (John 1:12). Through faith in Jesus, we are adopted as sons and daughters, not hired servants.
What Does It Mean to Walk as Jesus Walked?
To walk like Jesus is to live a life that bears His fruit. Jesus said that if we remain in Him, we will bear much fruit (John 15:5). Paul names that fruit in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Put Jesus next to that list and it describes Him perfectly.
What Does “Do Not Love the World” Mean in 1 John 2:15?
John isn’t telling us not to enjoy creation, our homes, or the good gifts God provides. He’s warning against loving the world’s system: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions” (v. 16).
In North Texas, that system sounds like: get more for you. Bigger houses, nicer cars, better vacations, a bigger retirement fund.
A boat is designed for the water, but it sinks when the water gets inside. We are made to live in this world for a time, but we can’t let the world get into us. “The world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever” (v. 17). That’s solid ground. That’s the grass we need to touch.
Is It Normal for a Christian to Feel Guilty About Sin?
Yes. If your sin bothers you, that’s a good sign. People who don’t know Jesus usually aren’t troubled by their sin. When you feel conviction, the Holy Spirit is at work in you, calling you to repent: to change your mind and change your direction.
You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to be perfect to have a place in God’s family, or in our church family.
Have I Done Enough to Be Saved?
No. You haven’t done enough, and you never will. That’s exactly why God sent Jesus. If we could ever be good enough, there would be no need for the cross. Your assurance comes from His finished work, not yours.
How to Deal With Sin as a Christian: This Week’s Challenge
Name the volunteer. What’s growing in your life that you’ve been feeding and watering, that keeps you from bearing the fruit God wants to grow in you?
Write it down and keep it in your Bible.
Pray about it and give it to God.
Find an accountability partner you trust, someone who won’t judge you and will pray with you.
Key Quotes From the Message
“Jesus didn’t raise the bar. Jesus didn’t lower the bar. Jesus removed the bar.”
“Obedience isn’t the price of God’s love. It’s our response to it.”
“You don’t obey to get into God’s family. You obey because you’re already home.”
“Obedience is the fruit of knowing God. It’s not the root of knowing God.”
“Sin never lives up to the promise.”
“God’s plan for your life is not for you to be a better version of yourself, but to look more like Jesus.”
Scripture References
1 John 2:1-11, 15-17 (main text)
Luke 15:11-32 (the lost son)
John 1:12 (the right to be called children of God)
John 15:5 (the vine and the branches)
Galatians 5:22-23 (the fruit of the Spirit)
Romans 6:23 (the wages of sin)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Christian lose their salvation by sinning?
1 John 2:1-2 teaches that when believers sin, Jesus is our advocate with the Father and the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Our standing rests on His finished work, not our daily performance.
What is the difference between obeying God to be saved and obeying because you are saved?
Obeying to be saved treats obedience as payment for God’s love. Obeying because you are saved treats it as a grateful response to love you’ve already received. The Bible teaches the second.
What is Gnosticism in 1 John?
An early teaching that salvation came through secret spiritual knowledge. John answers it by insisting that knowing God is plain and open, and shows up in how we live.
What does “touch grass” mean in this sermon series?
Touch Grass is a series through 1 John about clinging to an unchanging truth in an ever-changing world. In a culture full of noise and competing voices, our confidence is found in an unchanging Jesus.
Take Your Next Step With Jesus
Not sure where you stand with God? We’d love to talk with you. Reach out to Pastor David or Pastor Bart to set up a time to connect. At Bear Creek Community Church, our heart is to help people find life with Jesus.
Join us Sundays in Lavon, Texas, and catch up on the rest of the Touch Grass series.
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