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  • Informed Faith Comes First | 1 John 3:23-24

    Informed Faith Comes First | 1 John 3:23-24
    2025/05/25

    Lord's Day: May 25, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Faith Scripture: 1 John 3:22–24; Mark 1:14; Matthew 3:8; Acts 26:20; John 6:29, 63; 5:46–47; Hebrews 11:8–10, 17–19; 1 Corinthians 2:16; John 8:51

    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. 24And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He gave us. 1 John 3:23–24

    • Our prayers must be informed and guided by Scripture, just as our faith must be informed and guided by Scripture
    • We are commanded to first and foremost understand and believe the truth (Mark 1:14)
    • Faith always comes first, then good works follow, then we do works “in keeping” with this saving repentance and faith (Mt 3:8, Acts 26:20)
    • Obedience does not follow faith, because believing is the first act of obedience, even though our belief is not our good work—it is the work of God (John 6:29)

    I. There is no difference between believing “in the name of His Son Jesus Christ,” or believing in Christ, or believing Christ, or believing the words of Christ

    II. Do not be misled when people say that true faith is not believing things about Christ, but believing Christ Himself

    III. Take Abraham as a prime example of faith, true faith

    IV. Union with Christ

    • 1 John 3:24 teaches us a universal union with Christ, but also a particular union with Him—a personal one, through faith—by His Spirit, His anointing
    • "The New Testament does indeed teach a mutual indwelling of Christ and the believer. There is a very real sense in which minds interpenetrate. In I Corinthians 2:16 Paul asserts that 'we have the mind of Christ.' Christ dwells in us and we in him by our thinking and believing his doctrines. As John says in his Gospel 8:51, 'He who maintains my doctrine shall not see death, ever.'”[1]

    We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

    • ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
      4712 Montana Ave
      El Paso, Texas 79903

    Contact us at:

    • web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
      call/text: (915) 843-8088
      email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

    Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

    [1] Gordon H. Clark, First John: A Commentary, Trinity Paper, No. 2, 2nd ed. (The Trinity Foundation, 1992), p. 120

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

    The Law of Love & the Gospel of Faith | 1 John 3:22-23
    2025/05/18

    Lord's Day: May 18, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Law & Gospel Distinction Scripture: 1 John 3:22–23; Matthew 23:23; Psalm 37:1–9; Romans 8:32; Mark 1:14–15; Matthew 3:8; Acts 26:20; Hebrews 11:6

    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 3:22–23

    I. If God gives us whatever we ask for according to 1 John 3:22, then why do we not always get what we ask for?

    • It is not pious to obey one command (e.g., prayer) at the expense/neglect of another (e.g., study)—it is immature and sinful to neglect the whole counsel of God, or to have lopsided/imbalanced priorities and applications

    II. What does Jesus say about balance?

    • He rebuked the false, imbalanced piety of the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew 23:23: “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.”
    • Just as you cannot love aright without sound doctrine (the “weightier provision of the Law”—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
    • Prayer is an outworking (orthopraxy) of our doctrine (orthodoxy)

    III. We must not pray for sinful things, nor with selfish/perverse motives

    • James 4:1-12
    • Prayer is relational, how we relate with God

    IV. To pray rightly, in a manner that pleases God, you need knowledge, faith, humility, persistence, patience.

    • We worship and bow before God in prayer, to petition Him for help, grace, mercy, forgiveness, strength, support, provision, deliverance, blessings, good things
    • Psalm 37:1–9
    • God has given us everything already through our heavenly inheritance and union with Christ (Romans 8:32)

    V. What does it mean to “keep His commandments”?

    We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

    • ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
      4712 Montana Ave
      El Paso, Texas 79903

    Contact us at:

    • web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
      call/text: (915) 843-8088
      email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

    Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com
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  • Asking God & Receiving from Him | 1 John 3:22

    Asking God & Receiving from Him | 1 John 3:22
    2025/05/11

    Lord's Day: May 11, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Prayer Scripture: 1 John 3:21–22; Ephesians 3:20–21; Romans 8:26–27; Matthew 6:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18; Matthew 7:7–12; 1 John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 2:15; 2 Peter 1:2–3; Romans 8:32

    21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. 1 John 3:21–22

    I. This passage also distills for us the essence of prayer

    • Baptist Larger Catechism, Q175: “Prayer is offering our desires to God, for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ with the help of His Spirit, praising Him, confessing our sins, and thankfully recognising His mercies.”
    • God works in us to pray, stirs us to pray, and, in our weakness, guides our prayer and intercedes with and for us in our prayers

    II. If God gives us whatever we ask for, according to 1 John 3:22, then why do we not always get what we ask for?

    • Prayer is relational, a reflection of how we relate with God—not the other way around
    • God does not pray to us—we pray to Him—He takes our prayers into consideration and answers them according to His sovereign decree (will) “in the works of creation and providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of His own will,” which includes “His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions to His own glory” (Baptist Larger Catechism, Q16, Q20).
    • Prayer is a means of God’s grace, God answers our prayers and gives us what we ask for through various means, especially through God’s people and church, which administers the means of grace that God has given all of us, “particularly the Word, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer” (BLC Q143)
    • Our theology of prayer and our prayer life—how we prioritize prayer in light of our other duties, our prayer habits, how we pray, what we pray, not just how often or how long we pray—are a reflection of our relationship with God, and of own spiritual condition/maturity
    • Just as you cannot love aright without sound doctrine, so likewise you cannot pray aright without the truth of sound doctrine
    • Prayer is an outworking (orthopraxy) of our doctrine (orthodoxy)

    III. Our Lord Jesus instructs us on what a healthy prayer relationship looks like with our Heavenly Father, as well as some of the things we are called to do “that are pleasing in His sight”

    • We must recognize our own reality through God’s eyes, how He sees us—that we are needy children who should regularly ask our loving Father for good and needful things
    • God has given us everything already—“He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

    We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

    • ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
      4712 Montana Ave
      El Paso, Texas 79903

    Contact us at:

    • web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
      call/text: (915) 843-8088
      email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

    Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com
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  • God Is Greater than Our Heart | 1 John 3:19-22

    God Is Greater than Our Heart | 1 John 3:19-22
    2025/05/04
    Lord's Day: May 4, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Assurance Scripture: 1 John 3:19–22; Proverbs 23:6–7; 2 Corinthians 5:1–4; Proverbs 3:5–7; Ephesians 3:20–21 19 And by this we will know that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him 20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. 1 John 3:19–22 I. What Is the Heart? You need the right source and the right cause for the right effect to follow—GodProverbs 23:6–7: 6 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, And do not desire his delicacies; 7 For as he calculates [thinks] in his soul [spirit/mind, H5315 נֶפֶשׁ nefesh], so he is. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart [H3820 לֵב lev] is not with you.”NET Bible explains the Hebrew word lebab (Dt. 6:5): “Heb 'heart.' In OT physiology the heart was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could think with one's heart."59 Even the Greek word for "heart," kardia, used in Matt. 22, is translated as "mind" in other passages.” II. Verses 19-20 Different possible ways of translating and consequently interpreting this difficult passage, but one typically makes the most sense, especially when taking into account the analogies of Scripture and of Faith—not just the immediate context, but the larger Biblical and doctrinal context as a systematic whole, and by rightly dividing, distinguishing the Word with the right tools—law and gospel distinctionGordon Clark: “Some readers may find all this complexity and analysis not so much lacking as useless and tedious. Remember, however, that we are dealing with God’s Word, and that sincere devotion consists not in the superficial reading of a chapter a day but in the very serious consideration of what God meant. What some people call devotion is simply a shirking of responsibility.”[1] III. Verses 21-22 Even though John’s letter deals with weighty doctrinal matters and big-picture contrasts, and sometimes assumes that the reader is already familiar with large portions of Scripture and its doctrines, he also leaves simple reminders of truths we should already knowEven though our justification is fixed, final, unchangeable, our assurance is not1689 London Baptist Confession 18.4: In various ways true believers may have their assurance of salvation shaken, diminished, or interrupted. This may be because of their negligence in preserving it,1 or by falling into some particular sin which wounds the conscience and grieves the Spirit,2 or by some sudden or forceful temptation,3 or by God withdrawing the light of his countenance and causing even those who fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light.4 Yet believers are never destitute of the seed of God5 and the life of faith, the love of Christ and the brethren, sincerity of heart and conscience of duty. Out of these things, this assurance may in due time be revived by the operation of the Spirit, and in the mean time they are preserved from utter despair. We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am: ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church4712 Montana AveEl Paso, Texas 79903 Contact us at: web: ThornCrownCovenant.Churchcall/text: (915) 843-8088email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com [1] Gordon H. Clark, First John, p. 114.
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  • Love in Word, Deed & Truth—by Faith | 1 John 3:16-18

    Love in Word, Deed & Truth—by Faith | 1 John 3:16-18
    2025/04/27
    Lord's Day: April 27, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: The Christian Life Scripture: 1 John 3:14–18, 1 Corinthians 15:16–18, Romans 5:9–10, Romans 9:16, James 2:14–26, Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 5:6, Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 12:26–37, Colossians 4:6, Titus 1:9, Matthew 7:17–20, Ephesians 4:32– 5:2 16 By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 1 John 3:16-18 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:9–10 I. When judging false doctrine, we must discern primary, secondary, tertiary issues Primary: God, man, salvation, and His Word, some of which have been central to controversies in the early church (God, Trinity, Christology, Man / Pelagianism) and into the Reformation (Salvation, Man, Bible) and beyond II. The beloved apostle continues admonishing us onto the next verse from the last part of verse 16 III. “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” This hypocritical dead faith is not regenerated by the Spirit of God, who grants us repentance and faith, and works in us to perform good works. IV. We must always remember the other side of this coin (faith without works is dead), that we cannot do good works unless we first have saving faith V. How much love for the brothers is required of us, to assure us that “we have passed out of death into life”? W. Arnot: “It is a straitening about [choking] that upper spring of faith that makes the [outflowing] streams of love fail in their channels.” VI. Love in Word, Deed & Truth 2 John 3: “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”You cannot divorce love from truth, because you cannot love apart from the truthTrue love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1Co 13:6) VI. The Bible nowhere contrasts the head and the heart Instead, it contrasts other types of hypocrisy: Heart vs Mouth, Lips (Matt 15:7-9)Mouth vs Works, Actions (James 2:14ff., Titus 1:16)Heart vs Actions (James 2:14ff.)Inner Man vs Outer Man (Rom 7)Flesh vs Spirit (Gal 5, Rom 6-8) We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am: ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church4712 Montana AveEl Paso, Texas 79903 Contact us at: web: ThornCrownCovenant.Churchcall/text: (915) 843-8088email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com ‘@nocoradio True love refutes those who contradict sound doctrine Ti 1:9, which requires sound doctrine, which is Reformed theology. True love rejoices in truth 1Co 13.6, which requires—and is grounded by—the truth of sound doctrine to love biblically. You can’t love aright without doctrine’, Twitter, 20 April 2025 .
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  • He Is Risen | John 20

    He Is Risen | John 20
    2025/04/20

    Lord's Day: April 20, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: Seasoned with Grace Topic: Resurrection Scripture: John 20:1–31, 1 Timothy 4:1–6, Exodus 12:25–27, John 1:29, Jude 1:5, Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 15:1–19, Luke 24:8–27, Romans 4:23–25, Romans 5:9–10, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, Matthew 27:51–54, Matthew 28:18–20

    I. The Resurrection & the Counterfeits

    II. The Resurrection & Its Historical Reality

    III. The Resurrection & the Old Testament

    • Whenever Christ appears in His resurrected body and the day is mentioned, it is always the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1, 9-10; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:1, 13, 15; John 20:19, 26).

    IV. The Resurrection & the Gospel

    V. What happened to the Disciples after Jesus died? Why didn’t they believe in the Resurrection of Christ at first?

    VI. The Resurrection: Its Power, Importance & Significance

    VII. Resurrecting Our Assurance

    We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

    • ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
      4712 Montana Ave
      El Paso, Texas 79903

    Contact us at:

    • web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
      call/text: (915) 843-8088
      email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

    Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com
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  • Reassuring Love Triumphs Worldly Hate | 1 John 3:13-16

    Reassuring Love Triumphs Worldly Hate | 1 John 3:13-16
    2025/04/13
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  • Gospel Assurances from God’s Silent Prophet | 1 John 3:10-12

    Gospel Assurances from God’s Silent Prophet | 1 John 3:10-12
    2025/04/06

    Lord's Day: April 6, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Assurance Scripture: 1 John 3:10–12, Isaiah 46:8–11, Genesis 4:4–14, Jude 1:10–13, Hebrews 11:4, Luke 11:49–50, 1 Kings 18:20–46, 2 Kings 2:11, Hebrews 12:24, 1 Timothy 2:2, Romans 12:1–3, Romans 15:4–6

    I. Concluding Cain and reprobation, then God’s powerful Object Lesson of Righteousness in Abel’s brief life and death

    10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifested: everyone who does not do righteousness is not of God, as well as the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous. 1 John 3:10–12

    II. God’s Progressive Revelation of Scripture into the New Testament does not have anything good to say about Cain, while it does celebrate, honor, and praise Abel's life and death

    • Be sensitive to your own sin. Repent and confess it, whenever your conscience accuses you, a friend confronts you, the Spirit convicts you

    III. Cain is a clear object lesson in what we should not be and do, while Abel is an object lesson in what we should be and do

    • Abel was a righteous, God-believing, God-fearing man, who walked the straight path of the Lord in a quiet, humble, unspectacular way

    IV. Abel was not a radical, Lordship Salvation guy that threw himself into full-time ministry, sold everything he had, and left it all to follow after God

    • Abel, his life and his death, continues to speak to us today

    V. Abel’s death—his blood—signifies death, condemnation, and vengeance for sin and its consequences

    • Abel was a normal, godly unspectacular shepherd, living a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity (1 Tim 2:2), and Jesus called him “righteous Abel”

    We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

    • ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
      4712 Montana Ave
      El Paso, Texas 79903

    Contact us at:

    • web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
      call/text: (915) 843-8088
      email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

    Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com
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