Are You Really Saved?
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Introduction
Introduction
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
The Devil is the best counterfeiter there has ever been…Satan, the great counterfeiter, has attempted to imitate and Christ. He has done so by counterfeiting the Trinity, and the unique Father-Son relationship that God has. His followers, like God's, are called children. Satan has his own false apostles, and he marks his own with a symbol of ownership as the Lord has done. In so many ways, he has attempted to counterfeit the true character and works of God.
I want you to know that Satan would just as much send you to hell from the pew as he would from the gutter…It doesn’t matter to him, as long as he gets you. As a matter of fact, I think he would rather have you to have a form of religion but not have genuine and REAL SALVATION.
The curse of the modern age is that we have many churches that are filled with empty people who have never been saved.
They have CULTURE but they don’t have CALVARY.
They have RITUAL but they don’t have REALITY.
They have FORM but they don’t have FORCE.
They have RELIGION but they don’t have RIGHTEOUSNESS.
It’s a serious problem. And using this text tonight, we are going to answer the question about real salvation…Are You Really Saved? It’s a question I want you to ponder in your heart as we see what God has to say in these verses. Take your life and put it up against what the Bible says and see how it looks.
I-The Description of Sin
I-The Description of Sin
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Our society has developed an “anything goes” mentality. “You only live once, so you might as well enjoy it.” “Everyone else is doing it, so what will it hurt.” Few see the significance of sin and the dangers associated with it.
What is sin? John declares that sin is a transgression of God’s law. It is utter rebellion against the holiness and expectations of God.
• Man calls sin an accident; God calls it an abomination.
• Man calls sin a blunder; God calls it blindness.
• Man calls sin a defect; God calls it a disease.
• Man calls sin a chance; God calls it a choice.
• Man calls sin an error; God calls it an enmity.
• Man calls sin a fascination; God calls it a fatality.
• Man calls sin an infirmity; God calls it an iniquity.
• Man calls sin a liberty; God calls it lawlessness.
• Man calls sin a trifle; God calls it a tragedy.
• Man calls sin a mistake; God calls it a madness.
• Man calls sin a weakness; God calls it willfulness.
You can call it what you want, but it doesn’t change what it is...
Sin is a transgression of the law and when we transgress we break God’s law and God’s heart because God loves us.
There is a lawless spirit in all of us. Some people have open defiance. They rape, murder, hate, and commit violence. We call those kinds of people outlaws.
But all of us are outlaws because we have all transgressed the law and that is sin.
There is not a person here that would say I have never broken God’s Ten Commandments.
Sometimes we are a little bit more sophisticated about our sin. We tell a white lie. We have sin of the spirit, but it is still sin.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We need to understand, sin is in the heart!
A man is not a liar because he tells lies. He tells lies because he is a liar.
A man is not a thief because he steals; he steals because he is a thief.
The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart…
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
A man is not a sinner because he sins; he sins because he is a sinner.
II-The Destruction of Sin
II-The Destruction of Sin
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Here, John reminds the church of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to save us and forgive us of all our sins. Jesus came and took our sins away.
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Jesus came with a purpose and lived with a purpose and died for a purpose and rose again for a purpose.
Jesus destroyed sins penalty and power for us. Jesus didn’t come just to live a good life, Jesus didn’t come just to be a good example, Jesus didn’t come just to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and raise the dead. Jesus’ primary purpose for coming to the earth was to take our sins.
We were separated from God because of sin. Sin when it is finished brings forth death. Hell awaits those who die in their sin. These are the works of the devil. Jesus came to cleanse our sin and reconcile us to God. Through His substitutionary atonement and victorious resurrection, Jesus defeated the works of the devil.
Notice, verse 6 says,
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
The Bible says if we are saved, if we are in Him, we are not going to sin.
We have a lot of people who say they are saved and on their way to Heaven, but there has been no change in their life—none at all. Something is wrong with that...
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
If your religion has not changed your life you better change your religion.
You’re saved when you bow your knee to Jesus Christ and you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
That is an act of faith and it will change your life.
A.W. Tozer wrote, “It appears that too many Christians want to enjoy the thrill of feeling right but are not willing to endure the inconveniences of being right.”
Verse 6 poses a problem for many…Many people take it and teach something called sinless perfection, but that isn’t correct.
None of us will ever be sinless this side of glory. You study the Bible and look at the saints—they sinned.
Abraham lied about his wife.
Moses lost his temper.
Peter denied the Lord.
David was unfaithful.
The Bible shows the saints of the Old and New Testaments—their sin, their failures.
The word sin here is in the present tense which refers to a continuous action. This word denotes a continuous and habitual lifestyle of sin.
John is saying that those who abide in Jesus will not practice sin.
Jerry Vines wrote, “The child of God does not practice sin. I did not say the child of God does not commit an act of sin. Certainly there are times in the life of a Christian when we do something we ought not to do; we commit an act of sin. But the Bible teaches that the child of God does not practice sin. The Bible is teaching that in the life of a believer sin is the exception and not the rule.”
Those who practice a lifestyle of sin have never been saved, never experienced the grace of God, the forgiveness of sins, and the freedom from the burden and weight of sin. Jesus does not save a person so that that person can keep on living in sin.
If you know Jesus today it will be seen in the way you live! You will not live a lifestyle of sin.
III-The Departing of Sin
III-The Departing of Sin
We are redeemed from the PENALTY of Sin –
We are redeemed from the PENALTY of Sin –
5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Jesus took the penalty of sin away. He was manifested to take away our sin.
We are redeemed from the POWER of Satan –
We are redeemed from the POWER of Satan –
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
John is saying if you are still living like the devil it is because you still belong to the devil.
He delivers us from the PRINCIPLE of Self -
He delivers us from the PRINCIPLE of Self -
9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
He died for my sin. He died for me, what I am, Self. The principle of Self – vs. 9
I have a new DYNAMIC – I am Born again = that is, I have a new life.
First birth, physical life; second birth, spiritual life – John 3:6 “6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Everybody has had a fleshly birth but not everybody has had a spiritual birth. I was born of my physical parents, that would be Dale and Brenda Bass.
My spiritual parents are the Spirit of God and the Word of God in the Womb of Grace –
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
I have a new DESIRE –
1 John 3:9 (KJV 1900)
9 ...his seed remaineth in him:...
I have a resemblance to my father. That works physically and spiritually...God’s nature abides in me. What is God’s nature? God’s nature is holiness, and he commands us to be holy...
If you do not have a desire to live for God, don’t let anybody deceive you. He that committeth sin is of the devil. Check up—don’t be deceived.
I have a new DETER ANT –
1 John 3:9 (KJV 1900)
9 ...and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
If you are born of God you cannot habitually live in sin. The Bible does not teach that a child of God can never sin, but that a child of God can not live in sin.
Remember Lot from this morning? Lot was a righteous man who lived among the wicked, seeing and hearing their evil behavior. The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah continually grieved and vexed Lot's soul.
We may sin, but we cannot get away with it. The Holy Spirit, God’s seed, will rebuke us and bring us to repentance.
The Bible knows nothing of Christians backsliding and staying backslidden and living in a backslidden condition.
Peter backslid, but he didn’t stay backslid.
David backslid, but he didn’t stay backslid.
John Mark backslid, but he didn’t stay backslid.
The more we walk with Jesus and the longer we abide in Jesus the more we will want to depart from sin.
Don’t be deceived! Those who practice sin is of the devil!
Conclusion
Conclusion
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
These things we’ve looked at tonight separate the truth from the lie...
Tonight, we’ve learned about the description of sin, the destruction of sin, and the departing from sin.
Have you accepted God’s view of sin?
Have you thanked God for sending Jesus to destroy the works of the devil?
Does your life show that you appreciate what Jesus has done by the way you live?
Have you departed from sin?
Is there sin in your life come and confess it to Jesus and He will cleanse you?
Is there a sin that keeps tripping you up and causing you to stumble?
Come tonight and ask the Lord for strength and wisdom to depart from that sin.