Knowing The Father And The Son Through The Holy Spirit (4)

OVERCOMING THE PREVALENCE OF SIN IN YOUR LIFE!

1 John 3:8-10 The one who practices sin is of the devil—No one who is born of God practices sin—Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God!

One of the main hindrances to Knowing the Father and The Son Through the Holy Spirit is SIN.

One of the four reasons John said he was writing to his audience was to address the Prevalence of Sin among Believers:

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin—I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake!

Today, we need to address the truth about sin in the life of a Child of a Child of God. Notice two verses of Scripture that SEEMS to say two different things:

1 John 3:6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins knows Him or has seen Him!

1 John 1:9 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is no in us!

So, does the Bible teach that a Child of God is SINLESS, or does the Bible teach that a Child of God will SIN-LESS and LESS as he or she matures as a Believer?

In order to help us resolve this tension in our lives, there are three principles I call to your attention:

I. The PURPOSE of CHRIST is Discussed!

3:5 You know that HE appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin!

Christ is God and is the second person of the Trinity. In the eternal counsel of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit chose to create. The crown jewel of their creation is man and woman, and each was created in the image and likeness of God!

God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), is Spirit and man and woman are spirit, have a soul and live in a body!

When God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), chose to create mankind, God knew mankind would be given the ability to choose to obey or disobey.

God also knew that mankind (Adam, Eve), would choose to disobey the Word and Will of God and this is one of the works of the devil.

With this truth in mind, the Apostle John reminds us of the first assignment Christ received from the Father:

A. To DEAL with the WAGES of sin!

3:5 You know that HE appeared to take away sins, and in Him, there is no sin!

Christ is God and God is Spirit, but John reminds us that Christ made an appearance, He was manifested to us on earth in order to take away sins!

This is an important truth to understand; the O.T. sacrificial system was designed by God to COVER our sins temporarily until the Lamb of God would come and TAKE AWAY our sins!

What does it mean to Take Away sins? We all have a sin account and our account must be paid in full before we die!

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death (separation from God), but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!

When Christ died on the Cross, He offered His sinless life as a payment for the sins of the world!

Three days later, when Christ arose from the dead, Heaven knew the Father accepted the payment for sins!

Three days later, when Christ arose from the dead, Hell knew the Father accepted the payment for sins!

Today, the question is, do YOU know the Father has accepted the payment for your sins!

John said it this way, You KNOW that He appeared in order to take away sins and in Him there is no sin! BAM!

B. To DESTROY the WORKS of the devil!

3:8 The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil!

What does the word DESTROY mean? It does not mean to annihilate, but rather it means to render inoperative or to rob of its power!

1. Satan desires to TEMPT you to sin!

2. Satan desires to TRAP you in your sin!

3. Satan desires to TORMENT you in your sin!

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory! Christ has appeared to take away our sin and Christ has appeared to destroy the works of the devil! BAM!

II. The PRACTICE of BELIEVERS is Described!

3:8 No one who abides in Him sins, no one who sins has seen Him, or knows Him!

We need to discuss:

A. The CONFUSION from the STATEMENT!

3:6 No one who abides in Him sins, no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him!

If this verse means exactly what the English translation of it means, WE are in eternal trouble!

Our own personal experience confirms that to us that none of us is without sin AFTER we repented of our sin and received Christ’s payment for our sins!

Is there a deeper truth that we need to be able to see in order to reconcile this statement?

We need to acknowledge:

B. The CLARIFICATION from the SCRIPTURE!

3:8 The one who PRACTICES sin, is of the devil!

3:9 No one who is born of God, PRACTICES sin!

3:9 Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God!

Our NASB translation correctly uses the word “practice” or “practices” to convey the proper meaning of the present tense verb with continuing action in this verse!

Kenneth W. Wuest states in his Greek commentary on 1 John that character is shown by one’s habitual actions, not the extraordinary ones!

*A proper translation of 3:6 could be: Everyone who habitually is abiding in Him, is a saved person, and everyone who habitually is sinning, is an unsaved person!

It is not the occasional sin that we all will commit that identifies our true character or spiritual condition.

But rather it is the practice, habit or lifestyle, that is a more accurate revealer of our spiritual condition.

The dog returns to his vomit and the pig returns to its pin and so does everyone who has not truly been saved.

How can this be true? How do we know God is truly satisfied with the payment that has been made for “the wages of our sin?”

III. The POWER of CONVERSION is Declared

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things have passed away, behold, the new things have come!

When a person is converted, born of God, there are at least three things that begin to manifest or appear in, to and through you:

A. A new DIMENSION is RECEIVED!

3:9 Whoever is born of God does not sin!

This new dimension is added to your life immediately upon your conversion or being born of God!

This new dimension is what some call the New Nature.

B. A new DETERRENT is REALIZED!

3:9 For His seed remains in him!

When we are converted, born of God, the new dimension received, which is the Spirit of Christ, and the Holy Spirit begins introducing Himself to us!

Romans 8:9 If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him!

Romans 8:10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness!

The Spirit of Christ, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Holiness becomes our deterrent to sin!

C. A new DESIRE is REVEALED!

3:9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him and he cannot (habitually), sin, because He is born of God!

When we are born of God, there are at least two new desires that are revealed within us:

1. A new desire NOT to SIN!

2. A new desire TO do RIGHT things!

In closing, how can we SIN-LESS and LESS in our daily lives? There are two Adam’s or two dimensions within us: The first Adam and the Last Adam!

1 Corinthians 15:45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit!

When we are tempted to sin: If we send the first Adam (our old nature), to face this temptation, we will sin!

But if we send the last Adam (our new nature), we will defeat the temptation! BAM!