Whose Child, are You?

Introduction:

Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 John 3. We are going to read verses 7-10 this morning. And as you are turning there, I would like to ask you a question. It is the sermon title and that is ‘Whose Child, are You?’ That may seem like a silly question. As I have gotten to know you, I have learned very quickly that there are many family connections here. The correct answer on a human level is that you would be a child of your earthly parents.

But what about our relationship with God in Jesus Christ? What is the family dynamic in God? We have seen our role in the spiritual family, and we have seen the love that the Father has for the Son. What more about family in the spiritual sense can we learn? We have looked at what it means to be children of God.

My hope this morning is to look at this text in a personal way, and not under a large umbrella. My hope is that we would examine ourselves as we see the text laid out in front of us. I want us to do this in three ways. First in that there is ‘Only One way to Live’ (v.7), second, ‘As a child of the devil’ (vv.8, 10), and third, As a Child of God’ (vv.8, 9-10).

1. Only One way to Live (v.7)

Verse 7 begins with another warning. John warns his “little children” not to be deceived. In what way are they to not be deceived? As we have seen in the verses prior to this, there has been a heavy emphasis on the topic of sin. It is not explicitly stated, but there had been deceivers that were attempting to dissuade people that there could be sin in their lives and yet still be pleasing to God. That God would understand that there may be some sin because they are imperfect people.

How do we figure this from the text? Look at the end of verse 7 for a moment. What is the warning? The warning is to not be deceived into thinking that unrighteousness and righteousness co-habit. He says at the end of verse 7 “Whoever practices righteousness is righteous.” Notice what word is missing? Yes, unrighteousness. Nowhere in this verse is the concept of unrighteousness and righteousness working together found.

There are other implications here for us to consider. But before we do, let’s look at one absolute statement in this verse. See, that John says the one who “does righteousness is righteous.” Do you see that there is no wiggle room to stuff any unrighteousness in here?

So, what does it mean to “do righteousness?” “To do justice or “righteousness” is used for willingly, earnestly, and joyfully walking and living as one whom God has justified” (NTSK). Thus, in Romans 4:3, Abraham believed in God. Because Abraham believed in God, God counted Him righteous. Abraham lived a faith filled life that pleased God. For us, we should live as Abraham did, and live faith filled lives that would please God. We are counted as those who “do” righteousness because God has made us righteous. The same is true for Abraham. He did not earn his righteous title. God did not wait for Abraham to do the work needed for righteousness. God has already attributed His righteousness upon Abraham.

To do righteousness means simply to have faith in everything that God has promised. And as we live in this manner, the overflow of this righteousness reaches into the hearts of other people as the gospel is proclaimed. This was said of Abraham. The nations that surrounded him, knew him to be a righteous man. Remember Noah? How is Noah described? Genesis 6:9 describes Noah as “a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” Do you not think that the life of Noah was noticed to other people? Of course, it was! For the world back then was the same as it is today. Genesis 6:5 “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” So, what was the state of the earth? It was wicked. Noah’s life shined amidst the wickedness.

Noah was not righteous in and of himself and neither are we. Look at the end of verse 7 with me. We are righteous “as He is righteous.” This tells us two things. 1. That we are declared righteous by God in Jesus Christ. 2. That we do righteousness because we have been redeemed by Christ. This has been a constant theme in our study. It is Christ who is righteous. We are not. John reiterates the fact that we are righteous because Christ is. I believe John tells us this because not only are there people out there who deceive based on righteousness living with unrighteousness. But there are those out there that deceive in thinking that there is some kind of righteousness in us as people. There is good that is in every person. There are many that are deceived into thinking that way.

John clears all of this up saying that righteousness is found in Christ alone and that we are declared righteous in Christ alone. Manny Paquiao one of my favorite boxers put it this way, “Being called a Christian means accepting Christ as your Savior, your God. That’s why you are called a ‘Christian.’ If you remove Christ, there’s only ‘IAN’ and that means ‘I am nothing.’”

What is the course of the earth today? It is the same. It is wicked, it is evil. What does that mean for us? It means that our lives are to shine in the way that Noah’s did. Might it be said of each one of us that have trusted in Christ that you and I would be blameless (which means to be accounted as righteous) in our generation and that we would be known to walk with God.

I said that there were other implications that this verse offers us. John tells us that those who do righteousness are righteous, therefore, those who do unrighteousness are unrighteous.

They are the “cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars” (Revelation 21:8). The unrighteous have the same desires as those of old. They live in their boastful pride. Isn’t this true today? I mean, we don’t need a tower of Babel to show the pride that humanity boasts. We see unrighteousness every day. And with all the technological “advances” of our day, people continue to have more and more accessibility to unrighteousness. The more I see movies that are geared towards children the more I see the unrighteousness of men being poured out to the youngest of the young. Childrens movies are rated PG because they have ‘crude humor’? There are jokes that are meant for adults that they put into kids’ movies so that the adult can be engaged. What happened to enjoying a kids’ movie to enjoy time being spent with the child?

By no means is this an exercise for us to discern what movies we watch. There are two sides of the coin righteousness and unrighteousness, and they are carried out in two completely different ways.

The first point of the sermon is: Only One way to Live. There is a choice that is made. A person either lives righteously as Christ is righteous or a person lives unrighteous following the prince of this world. Revelation 22:10 summarizes this well saying, “Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

As we look at the idea of having only one way to live, I want us to break that sentence down into two subcategories that the text presents.

2. As a child of the devil (vv.8, 10)

The first subcategory is living ‘As a child of the devil.’ We are going to look at verses 8 and 10 as we dive into this topic. Look with me in verse 8. The text is clear that the person who is a child of the devil is one who continues in his sin. As we saw last week, there is a difference between struggling with sin and a willful desire to obey sin and be enslaved to it.

We are shown in verse 8 the parallel of sin and the devil. Turn to Ephesians 2 and let’s read verses 1 and 2. As you are turning there, I would like to point out that Paul has a similar message to John’s. Read the verses. Notice the difference between our text in 1 John and this text in Ephesians 2. The difference between the two is that Ephesians talks about who we formerly were. It is not descriptive of who we are now. But if you look at verse 2, whom does Paul say that we formerly followed? That’s right! It is the prince of the power of the air, in other words, Satan, himself. Now, it is not that we used to follow Satan as our master. We were formerly enslaved to our sin. But for those who have not turned from their sin, they are enslaved to it and thus follow Satan who is also enslaved to his sin. Have you ever thought about that? Yes, Satan has some power, but he is enslaved to his sin as much as a human being on this earth is enslaved to his sin. There is no difference, whether it is an angel who sins or a human. The penalty is the same. Both angels and humans who do not turn from their sin are going to spend eternity in a lake of fire.

Turn back with me to 1 John 3 and look once again at verse 8. At the end of verse 8, John writes that Satan has been sinning since the beginning. What does this mean? We must clarify that all sin that has been committed by humans goes back to Adam in the garden. Satan is NOT our federal head in which sin is inherited by every human after.

However, Satan sinned in heaven before Adam was created. Isaiah 14:11-14 makes this clear. Let me read the verses for you. Satan had tempted Adam because he was already full of sin. He would go after Job because he desired that Job would sin against God. Every act that Satan has ever done following his sin has been for the purpose to see others fall in sin alongside of him.

This is why Jesus can tell the Pharisees and anyone else who continues in their sin that they are of their father the devil. This is why, when we see others around us continue in their sin, they act like their father the devil. The continuation of sin is not bound by specific time periods or people groups. Why do you think that ‘nightlife’ continues to occur? Why are bars still open? Why are clubs filled with people? Why are laws that were put in place to restrain evil being twisted and in some cases revoked? It is because sin continues to run rampant in human beings that are not redeemed.

The devil sinned in heaven when he desired to usurp God’s authority. This occurred in “the temporal beginning of the universe” (Logos). Human beings follow this model in that they long to be like God and not have to submit to Him. This was Satan’s downfall as well. But, as we have seen, it has not stopped, but it continues.

Jump with me now to verse 10. Verse 10 tells us two things. 1. Who the children of the devil are and 2. Who the children of God are. We will come back to verse 10 regarding the children of God. But since we are looking at the children of the devil, what does verse 10 say about that?

We are told that those who are children of the devil do not live righteous lives. They are also guilty of not loving their brother. Let’s work backward. We know that John is not referring to a physical brother, but he is talking about humanity in general. There is no desire to assist a brother in his time of need. There is no longing to deposit truth to a brother in a world of lies and untruths. There is animosity and hatred. There is jealousy, strife, and envy. There are many ways that a brother can go unloved.

Might I make one thing clear. This text is not talking about the hatred of the brothers as in Christians. This is a general selfish love for only oneself and for no one else.

The hatred of a brother can be rooted in self-righteousness. One commentator wrote “An unlovely spirit is also self-condemnatory as being an unholy spirit; in fact, lack of love is lack of righteousness. There are some who profess to be so righteous that they condemn everybody else.” Do you know anyone like this? They are so high and mighty that they are untouchable. Why would someone act like this? Well, if you were to look at verse 10 once more, it may seem like the right thing to do. The text tells us that if one does not practice righteousness he is not of God.

But we know what this means. The child of the devil does not live righteously according to God’s statutes. Hence why John says that it is one who does not ‘practice’ righteousness. It doesn’t mean that he is making multiple attempts to get righteousness right. This means that the child of the devil has no longing to live according to God’s commands. This comes full circle to what we saw earlier in Genesis. The one who does not live righteously does not know God and this is evident.

3. As a child of God (vv.8, 9-10)

The second subcategory is living ‘As a child of God.’ Look at the end of verse 8. It amazes me how Scripture time after time comes together as a beautiful poem or painting. Everything fits and everything comes together just as it should. This is the case with the end of verse 8. John gives a wondrous promise. He says that Christ has appeared so that the devil would be defeated. His works no longer having power over those who would believe in Him. The one who may have been possessed by demons is no longer possessed. The power of Christ has overcome the demonic realm.

We have spent much time looking at the appearance or manifestation of Christ. And yet the appearance of Christ must never be boring to any one of us. It must bring great joy. For without it we are doomed to live in our sin. Not anymore! Christ has overcome the devil with His appearing. The devil has no chance against Christ for He has destroyed the devil’s works.

Who is a child of God? John has told us throughout chapter 2 that it is the believer who has been made righteous in and through Christ.

We see, further, in verse 9 the make up of a child of God. John tells us that a child of God does not continue to sin. Why? What evidence does John give us?

He tells us that God’s seed abides in us. the work that God does in a human being continues. Unlike sin that is not to continue within us, God has domineering power to have His seed continue within us. There is nothing we can do to remove the seed that God has planted within us. The only action that it has is to grow.

What comes to mind when I think of a seed? One thing I ask is what is its purpose? The purpose of a seed is to be planted into the ground. Are all seeds alike? No. There are seeds for pumpkins, flowers, and other foods. What good is a seed if it is planted in the ground and left alone? It needs some assistance does it not? I mean, you cannot leave a seed in the ground, do nothing to it, and expect results, can you? Of course, not! The seed needs to be tended to constantly. It needs to be nourished every day; it needs water. When the mulch that is laid down goes bad, it needs to be changed. This is all to encourage the growth of the seed that will grow into whatever it is that you have planted.

The same is true for the Christian, yes? Are we given a Bible one day and then told to read it and then the person walks off never to answer any questions or walk alongside of you? If you have experienced this, let me say that that is not how to encourage growth. That is not how to disciple and love a brother in the Lord. May this never be said of us!

John tells us that the seed of God abides in us is the Holy Spirit in verse 24. So, God’s seed is planted within us, it germinates and grows finding good soil to nestle down in. God continues to provide the growth as He nurtures and tends to the seed that He has planted. That is, you and me! Believers in Christ are those in whom He has planted His seed. It is not that the Holy Spirit needs growth or nurturing, but it does mean that a new Christian is not a mature believer upon salvation. There is growth that takes place to get to maturity and the Holy Spirit assists us in getting there (1 Cor. 3.2, Heb. 5.12-14, 1 Pt. 2.2)!

John adds at the end of verse 9 that we are “born of God.” Not only do we have the assurance of being a child of God because the seed is planted, but we experience the new man, the regenerated person that we are in Christ. The seed that is implanted in the believer is on the same wavelength as having been born of God. God regenerates a human being as He brings them to Himself. The believer does not believe on his own accord. God must plant the seed first. The same is true with being born of God. Mankind does not produce the qualities in and of himself to be born of God. A human being is helpless and can only sin in his own nature. Thus, he must be born again. Life change, then, must occur, and what comes from that is a new outlook and meaning on life that works itself out with a reduction of sin in the person’s life.

This is why John confidently tells us that the one who has been born of God cannot continue sinning. It is because the reduction of sin and being born of God go hand in hand. If it is not true of you that sin is regressing in your life, but that you continue in sin everyday without a concern, seriously consider where you stand. Pray to God, that He would open your heart and your eyes to see where you sin and then go to war in crushing it!

Look with me at verse 10 and let us see two implications here. John says that the child of God is evident. How so? Verse 10 tells us that the child of God is one who practices righteousness and loves his brother. Where do we see that? Well, we have seen that John is concerned with brotherly love. For John to write that the child of God loves his brother is of no surprise to us. The same goes for living righteously. John has spoken at length on both topics, so we will not go to great lengths here.

One thing I do want to mention before we conclude this morning is this, just because the Bible does not specifically say something does not mean that it is not implied. Now, I want to be careful here. We cannot run off the rails and apply this to every situation. We need to be careful to keep the text in context as we study our Bibles. I thought it would be good to bring this up because we see an example of this in verse 10. Does John specifically talk about the child of God living righteously and loving his brother? The answer is no. He speaks of these things in a negative tense. However, if you were to ask any Christian if living righteously and loving your brother are ways that we can live as children of God, not one would disagree with you.

Conclusion:

Whose Child, are You? The question that must be answered this morning is whether you are a child of God or a child of the devil? Are you a doer of righteousness? Or a hearer only? Do you always love your brother? Do you love your brother when it is convenient for you? Are there are people around you that you may dislike greatly, or even hate?

Friends, the text is clear before us. You are one or the other. There is no in between. Those who may be thinking this morning, that maybe I am a child of the devil. Might I plead with you that it does not have to be this way. You do not have to be a child of the devil. There is power in Christ for you to be liberated from his tyrannical power over you. Christ tells you this morning to repent and turn from your sins, and trust in Him!

Brothers, it is critical for us to remember daily the gospel and to never be tired of it. Martin Luther said, “We need to hear the gospel every day, because we forget it every day.” This is no less true in our day. Might we never rest in doing righteous works for the glory of God. And may they be directed by the precious gospel promise that Christ has come to save us of our sins that we might be “children of God.”

Benediction:

2 Corinthians 6:16, 18- “I will make My dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people…and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me.”