The Law of Love & the Gospel of Faith | 1 John 3:22-23

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lord's Day:</strong> May 18<span class="sermon-listing-detail">, 2025&nbsp; </span><span class="sermon-listing-detail"><strong>Preacher:</strong>&nbsp;<a class="speaker" href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/preacher/p/19307/carlos-montijo" rel="p-19307">Carlos Montijo</a>&nbsp; <span class="sermon-series"><strong>Series:</strong> <a id="series-10" class="series" href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/series/first-john">First John</a></span>&nbsp;<span class="sermon-topic"> <strong>Topic:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/topic/law-gospel-distinction">Law &amp; Gospel Distinction</a>&nbsp; </span></span><strong>Scripture: </strong>1 John 3:22&ndash;23; Matthew 23:23; Psalm 37:1&ndash;9; Romans 8:32; Mark 1:14&ndash;15; Matthew 3:8; Acts 26:20; Hebrews 11:6<strong><br /></strong></p> <p>²²and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He gave a commandment to us. 1 John 3:22&ndash;23</p> <h4><strong>I.&nbsp; I</strong><strong>f God gives us whatever we ask for according to 1 John 3:22, then why do we not always get what we ask for?<br /></strong></h4> <ul> <li>It is not pious to obey one command (e.g., prayer) at the expense/neglect of another (e.g., study)&mdash;it is immature and sinful to neglect the whole counsel of God, or to have lopsided/imbalanced priorities and applications</li> </ul> <h4><strong>II. What does Jesus say about balance?<br /></strong></h4> <ul> <li>He rebuked the false, imbalanced piety of the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew 23:23: &ldquo;Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.&rdquo;</li> <li>Just as you cannot love aright without sound doctrine (the &ldquo;weightier provision of the Law&rdquo;&mdash;because we are commanded to first and foremost understand and believe the truth), so likewise, you cannot pray aright without the truth of sound doctrine</li> <li>Prayer is an outworking (orthopraxy) of our doctrine (orthodoxy)</li> </ul> <h4><strong>III. We must not pray for sinful things, nor with selfish/perverse motives</strong></h4> <ul> <li>James 4:1-12</li> <li>Prayer is relational, how we relate with God</li> </ul> <h4><strong>IV. To pray rightly, in a manner that pleases God, you need knowledge, faith, humility, persistence, patience.<br /></strong></h4> <ul> <li>We worship and bow before God in prayer, to petition Him for help, grace, mercy, forgiveness, strength, support, provision, deliverance, blessings, good things</li> <li>Psalm 37:1&ndash;9</li> <li>God has given us everything already through our heavenly inheritance and union with Christ (Romans 8:32)</li> </ul> <h4><strong>V. What does it mean to &ldquo;keep His commandments&rdquo;?<br /></strong></h4> <p><strong>We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong><a href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/">ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church</a></strong><br />4712 Montana Ave<br />El Paso, Texas 79903</li> </ul> <p><strong>Contact us at:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>web:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/">ThornCrownCovenant.Church</a><br /><strong>call/text:</strong>&nbsp;(915) 843-8088<br /><strong>email:&nbsp;</strong><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></li> </ul> <p>Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB&reg;) Legacy Standard Bible&reg;, Copyright &copy; 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc.&nbsp;<a href="http://lsbible.org/">LSBible.org</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://316publishing.com/">316publishing.com</a></p>