Grosey's Messages

Call To Worship  Psalm 1   Law Grace Reading: Ezekiel 36:22-29

Bible reading 1 John 3:4-10    Are You Slapping The Lord In The Face?

Benediction: 1 Corinthians 16:22-24  If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

 

Anything Goes, is a song by Cole Porter. It was revived by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga! 2014.  Celebrating Profanity and nudity it represents the moral relativism of our society today.  Porter wrote show tunes in 1915 sung by people like Frank Sinatra: Ive got you under my skin, Don't fence me in. I get a kick out of you.  After making it all he became drugged, drunk depressed and diseased.  The bible anticipated the decadent times like our present age. There were people in John's time who said, it doesn't matter how you live. Live it up. Get as much as you can while you can.

And some of these were in the church.   There is a lot of confusion then as now about the relationship between purifying ourselves, holiness, and our state as declared righteous by God.  Some people err to much on one side to say "Well you have to be holy or you are not getting to heaven."  They tend to deny justification by faith. That we are completely pardoned by what the Lord Jesus, God the Son did at the cross.  Others say "Well we now we are set right by God through what Jesus did, sin doesn't really matter that much!"   Well that is wrong too. Sin matters more now.

The appeal for holiness is always made in terms of doctrine.  Some want to say "Well doctrine doesn't matter that much anyway, what matters is love!"  I heard that this week at the Penrith Pastors Meeting.

For the apostle John,  holiness and love has everything to do with who Jesus is and what He came to do.  Holiness, purifying ourselves,  is an inevitable consequence of a true understanding of our position in Christ Jesus.  Holiness is a matter of working out what we claim to believe;  failure in practise does suggest a failure truly to understand the doctrine, and is an indication that there is something essentially and fundamentally wrong with one's view of Christ, and therefore something wrong of our view of the Christian life.

Now the particular failure with which he is concerned here is the failure really to understand the nature of sin.

John doesn't want us to regard sin lightly, dismissing it in some inadequate way as if it were something that really does not matter very much so long as one is a Christian. But John is careful to guard very strongly against that. He says, 'Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness' (v.4). 'You must be right, therefore,' says the Apostle, 'about this whole question of the real nature of sin, because if you are wrong there, you must be wrong on your doctrine of salvation, and then you are wrong everywhere.' And so his great emphasis at this point is that sin is lawlessness, the breaking of God's law, rebellion against God, disobedience, a failure to live our lives as God would have us live them.

That is the very essence of sin. It must not be thought of as just a sort of weakness or failure on our part; it must not be regarded as some sort of poor evolutionary bit of us which we have not yet evolved out of. No, John says It is the transgression of the law; it is disobedience to God and His holy will with respect to us. 'So if you fail to realise this,' says the Apostle in effect, 'then it does just show that you are muddled and confused in your thinking about the whole principle of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into this world. And it seems clear that your whole conception of salvation must be entirely false and erroneous'—and then he proceeds to deal with that.

'Man's essential trouble,' says the Apostle, 'is that he is guilty and condemned by the law of God. Sin was introduced into this world by the devil; the devil came at the very beginning and tempted man to disobey God. That is lawlessness: he tempted him to break God's holy law, and man in his folly listened to him and did so. That is a part of the work of the devil, and its effect has been to make us break the law of God and to render us guilty in the sight of God and His holy law. There we are, under the wrath of God, meriting and awaiting punishment. That is the position,' says John, 'so that if you do not view your sin in that way, then it is quite obvious that you cannot understand anything else because the Lord Jesus Christ was manifested, or appeared, in this world because of that.'

John makes two separate statements with regard to the object of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 'You know that he was manifested to take away our sins' (v.5), and 'For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil' (v.8). That is the whole purpose, and we must view His coming in the light of those two great statements.

John is going to raise a mirror to your life about the issue of sin in this passage! And how to keep clean from sin! In verses 4 through 10, of First John chapter 3, the Apostle John mentions the word sin ten times; ten different times in 7 verses.   We've all got to daily address the reflection of sin and our fallen predisposition to sin and the marring effects of sin.  There's no need hiding it . . . let's not redefine it . . . Let's expose it for what it is and then deal with it.

Calvin Coolidge was the president of the United States in 1923. He was known for being a man of few words – in fact, somewhat renowned for never using an unnecessary word. One Sunday morning, he returned from a church service and a white house staff member asked him what the preacher had preached about in his sermon that morning. "Coolidge replied with one word, "Sin!" The staff member waited for a little more information and when none came, he asked "Well, what did the preacher say about it?" Coolidge responded, "He was against it."

There are a number of definitions of sin by the way, in the Bible:  The devising of folly is sin (Proverbs 24:9);  All unrighteousness is sin (1 John 5:17);  To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17);

It is the attack on God's justice, His very nature as sinless.  Jesus was without sin! But we all have sin!

John Bunyan said Sin is the dare of God's justice, the rape of His mercy, the jeer of His patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of His love.

Sin then is repudiating – denying – disobeying – refusing to apply the standards holiness established by God.  The word John uses here for sin (hamartia) literally means to fail to hit the target – to miss the mark; which is primarily a classical Greek definition of the word. What's typically lost in that definition is the fact that throughout the New Testament, the word hamartia has the added characteristic of open rebellion – an attitude of hostility against the authority of God.

In other words, sin is wilful rebellion – it isn't an unfortunate choice or a mistaken accident – it is wilful, deliberate deviation from the target of God's righteous standard. That's what John means here when he writes, notice in verse 4, "sin is actually lawlessness." That is, sin is breaking the law of God.  Some folks wonder how close to the edge of the cliff they can go without falling over. Dumb isn't it? Some Christians wonder how far into sin they can fall and get away with it.  John is going to tell us that that is just plain dumb. Be against it!  Why should you be against sin?

5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin

Sin is a Slap in God's face about Christ's purpose in coming into the world. Sin is the rape of His mercy, Bunyan says.

He came to deliver us from sin. 3:4-6  Sin is the great enemy and problem of humanity and only God can rescue us and solve our problem. There is a universal truth John sets before us in v. 4: "Everyone (no exceptions) who makes a practice of sinning (pre. tense) also practices (pre. tense) lawlessness (Gr. anomian)". And, sin is lawlessness, rebellion, a defiant disregard and rejection of God's rightful rule as Lord over your life. In your practice of sin you rebel against your rightful King and say, "I hate your law." Sin is nothing less than personal treason against the Sovereign of the Universe. And it is not a onetime offense, it is the habit and settled disposition of your heart and your life. You are "an outlaw against God." And Jesus came into our world to deal with our sin problem!

5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin

Because our predicament was so great, a great rescue was required. We know this is why Christ came in the incarnation. This is why "he appeared to take away sins" (v. 5). Can't you hear John the Baptist at the Jordan River heralding to the top of his lungs, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). By his bloody death on the cross Jesus lifted up, removed and carried away our sins. The Son of God came to provide full and forever forgiveness of sins to all who trust in Him.   The contempt of His love!

Listen, one author wrote, if mankind's true need was education, God would have sent us a host of teachers;   If mankind's greatest need was advancement in technology, He would have sent us engineers and inventors;   If mankind's greatest need was sickness, He would have sent us medicine and a doctor;   If mankind's greatest need was finances, He would have sent us a financial planners and economists;   But our greatest problem is sin . . . so He sent us a Saviour.

He only could do what He did because He only is who He is: sinless. "In him there is no sin." Not even one! This is a consistent theme that resounds throughout the Bible. John, himself, has already taught us he is the righteous one (2:29) and the pure one (3:3). Now he affirms Jesus in the sinless one.

2 Corinthians 5:21  "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." The author of Hebrews agrees. In Hebrews 4:15 he tells us, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" and in Hebrews 7:25-26 he says, "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens." And, Peter agrees because in 1 Peter 2:22 he writes, "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth." He came to save you from your sin, this also means separating you from your sins.

If you indulge in your sins, you are despising the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for your sins. It is a slap in the face, a rebellious act, against Him who loved you and died to redeem you.

Redeeming you means getting you out of the bog of your sin.

Sin is a Slap in God's face in His very presence!

6 Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.    So what does John mean in verse 6 – No one who abides in Him sins.

John is referring to someone whose lifestyle is sinful. He isn't talking about big sins or little sins – he's describing someone who maintains ongoing, unrepentant, unremitting, unashamed sin.

SINNING DEMONSTRATES ALIENATION FROM THE INDWELLING CHRIST.

Remember last week we talked about being born again?

John 1:11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

You received the Lord Jesus Christ into your life. You became a child of God. He came to reside and abide in you.   He abides in you!  How can you go on in some sins that you choose to go on in, when you have a holy guest living inside you?

God's Holy Spirit abides in you.  The Lord Jesus abides in you and you abide in Him!

Remember, if you are keeping close to Him, if you are holding His hand, there are sinful things you will not do! Sinful places you will not go! Sinful things you won't watch!

 SINNING DEMONSTRATES ALLEGIANCE TO THE ENEMY OF CHRIST (VV. 7-8) 

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.         Why would the Christian ever want to be involved in sinning – because in sinning, you are actually supporting the enemy of Christ; you are actually deferring to the enemy who delights to use our sin to bring:  dishonour to Christ and reproach to His name  and discredit to his gospel  and scandal to His church.  Someone openly rebelling against God is acting just like the devil openly rebelling in an attempt to overthrow God and reign in heaven, whereupon God removed him from heaven and his fallen angels with him. Which one are you going to demonstrate? Sin or the Saviour?

3. THE SAVIOUR'S POWER IN US WILL DESTROY SIN

8 … The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil's works. 9 Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God.     The slight of His power!
Born of God!  Born of God.   John 3: Jesus answered a Pharisee named Nicodemus "3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.7 Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Evangelist George Whitefield was asked "why do you preach so often that you must be born again?" He replied, "Because you must be born again!"

 The new birth, being born again, being born from above (john 3) which the Lord Jesus promised. John draws attention to the new birth, to the doctrine of regeneration. Re means "again"; generate means "to be born." We are regenerated. We are born again. One of the distinguishing marks of the Christian is the new birth, that he has been converted, born again, regenerated.  What is regeneration? What does being born of God mean? The BF&M 2000 says, "Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour."  Regeneration is "a drastic act on fallen human nature by the Holy Spirit, leading to a change in the person's whole outlook. He can now be described as a new man who seeks, finds and follows God in Christ." (New Bible Dictionary p. 1005).  There is something supernatural that took place in me when I was saved: I was born again. It took place in you, and that seed is there, and it gives you a new nature. John teaches us this happens because "God's seed abides in him," in the believer. Without the new birth it is impossible for us to live like new people. Sin will dominate us. Satan will have his way with us. Hate and not love will fill our hearts.  However, as a result of the new birth, the Bible says we cannot "make a practicing of sinning" and we "cannot keep on sinning because we have been born of God."  He will pick me up and get me moving again in the right direction. I am destined to be like Jesus (3:2)! Neither sin nor Satan will have the last word.  These words humble me because if it were not for Christ, His atonement, His advocacy, His victory, I would forever be enslaved to Satan and sin. Any righteousness I do flows from the righteousness of Christ poured into my life by means of the new birth. Your Sin is a Slap in God's face about His powerful new birth.

4. THE SAVIOUR'S PRINCIPLE WILL DESTROY SIN    CONTEMPT FOR HIS LOVE.

10 This is how God's children—and the Devil's children—are made evident.  Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother.  11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another,  12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's were righteous.

Romans 13:8--"He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." The objective of the Christian life is to obey God and fulfill His will.

Galatians 5:14--"All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (cf. James 2:8). That states the simplicity of fulfilling the law through love.

Galatians 6:2--"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law."

Your Sin is a Slap in the Lord's face about love. Do you love Him? Do you love others? If you continue in your cherished sin, you have put someone else before the Lord who loved you. We love Him because He first loved us. Do you love Him or not?

Love makes all things easy.

A little secret.  I have always found mowing the lawn frustrating.  From  my grandmothers mower, aged 12 that just wound;t start.  TO a part time job that had a working mower locked in a garage, but the mower they left out for me just didn't work. To a mower in Glen Innes, where after hours of trying to make it go, I picked it up above my head to throw it down on the ground (as a deacon walked up).  When I mow the lawn, although I hate it, I remember that I love my wife Lorelle, and a mown lawn makes her happy. So mowing the lawn becomes easy.  And I am so glad growing season is over for another 6 months! And all the men said "Hallelujah!"

The theme of this book that we're studying  is blessed assurance. And one way that I can have that blessed assurance that I'm a child of God is that I know—I know—that God is delivering me day by day from sin. And I know that God is causing me day to day to live righteously. Oh, I haven't attained; I'm not already perfect. But I know that something has happened in my life. Has that happened in your life? Have you been saved? Has there been a time in your life when you knowingly, consciously, wilfully invited Jesus Christ into your heart? Has God forgiven your sins? Does God's Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God? (Romans 8:16) And are you now living as a child of God? Are you behaving the gospel that you say that you are believing? Are you? If so, you can have that blessed assurance that Jesus is yours.