24-0929: Real Christ-followers live by faith in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to walk as he walked. John writes his letter out of a deep abiding with the Lord Jesus and from a deep affection for His followers, to remind them that the foundation for all his message is the unending, abounding, overflowing love of God in Jesus Christ. This becomes evident in the titles he uses to address his readers, such as the “My Little children” that he begins with here. His aim is to implore you to abide in Christ. Once he establishes this deep sense of affection for his reader, he then states, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin,”. His statement is one of high vision for the life of every Christ-follower, followed by the reality in which they live. The tension between these two statements leads the reader to ask, “But how does one live by such a high vision of following Christ?” In this message, Pastor Lane identifies three roles of Jesus Christ by which every Christ-follower is empowered to abide in Him. We pray this message helps and encourages.