YOU ARE WHAT YOU PRACTICE: CHILDREN OF GOD OR THE DEVIL

Children of God or of the devil?

Review of 1 John

Review of 1 John: Knowing God/Having a relationship with God, How to Know God

Chapter 1, Knowing God trough receiving the gospel

Chapter 2, how you know you can know God

Last week - Why it is possible to Know God. Because of his great love for us.

Knowing God is not a matter of trying harder, you have to be born again and adopted into His family.

Knowing God is not a matter of trying harder, you have to be born again and adopted into His family.

Throughout 1 John, the Apostle John challenge that authenticity of Christians.

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

“4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

, “ 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

The Anti-Christ that came from you...

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The Apostle John wants to flush-out and filter all fake believers so he instructions his audience about who is a Christian and who is not.

Today we are going to look at another standard by which we can know the difference between the two.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order 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.

Defining “SIN” (3:4-6)

“Sin is Lawlessness” vs4

Breaking God’s law, but more than that it means “rebellion” or living as if there was no law or ignoring it.

Omission and Commission: Sinning are actions you do and even those that you don’t.

“whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (Omission)

Sin is missing the mark or without righteousness; in so, sin leads to disobedience and rebellion.

“the Cure” vs5

Only Christ can set you straight to hit the mark and be righteous.

He came “to take away sins” vs5

“no one who abides in him keeps on sinning; (the) one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” vs 6

John makes it clear that Christ came to taken away sins, if you are truly a Christian you will not sin, but if you keep on sinning then you don’t really know Jesus, or you never have.

Does this speak to you today? We sin daily. Doing what we’re not to and not doing want we are to. Do you really know Jesus?

“Practice of sinning” vs 4

Present Tense Verb: meaning that John in talking about a continual habit of sinning. John is not talking about the occasional sin of Christians because we know that we can never be prefect, but he is talking about those who think themselves as believer but continually live in sin. DONT consider yourselves out to quickly.

states that those who become Christians are a “new creation”, created for what? created to obey God, follow Christ, reject the temptations of the world, and display fruits of righteousness in their lives.

A born-again believe does not continue in sin but is transform to obey God and live in righteousness.

You are what you practice (3:7-8)

Again one of the main reasons John in writing this is because false teachers have diluted the church. False teachers have claimed to be Christians and have deceived the church.

False teachers gather and deceive false coverts.

Johns warning “let no one deceive you” vs 7

a clear indication of a false teacher/convert is there practice, is it of righteousness or of sinning?

John points the the fundament understanding that true Christians practice (continually) righteousness, while false-Christians practice sinning.

“13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

Because Christ has died on the cross to transform sinners, those who are truly born again have replaced the habit of sin with the habit of righteous living.

“AS he is righteous” - those who are truly born again reflect the divine nature of the Christ.

those who continue in sin reflect the nature of the devil. “for the devil has been sinning from the beginning”

The true nature of the believer (3:9-10)

Christian don’t continue sinning but are being transformed/sanctified to be more and more like Christ.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

“16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Consecrate: to set a side or dedicate, to be satisfied, pure, holy

Transformation and sanctification does not happen with age but with the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.

Christians grow in holiness!

Christians “cannot keep on sinning”

They are “born of God” vs 9

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Con:

Read Verse 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.”

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.

Only two kinds of Children exist in the world: the children of God and the children of Satan.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

You can’t belong to both.

either God or Satan - and we can tell by the nature they practice, is it of Christ nature or of the devil?