I. Children of God (v3:1-4) See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practice

I. Children of God (v3:1-4)

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

a. V1 Because of God’s love

i. We are His Children

ii. The world does not know us

1. They are of their father the devil

2. Did not now Jesus

-Rejected Jesus as the Messiah

iii. We are not yet what we will be

1. When we see Him we will be like Him

a. Seeing Him as He is

2. We will purify ourselves when we Hope in him

a. Jesus is pure

b. -Paul writes about cleansing ourselves before the Lord’s Supper

c. Living is sin is not living in purity

i. Practice living in sin-is to live in lawlessness

1. There are professing Christians that routinely live in lawlessness claiming that they are above the law because they are Christian that the laws of this world do not apply.

—there are laws that we must disobey-Acts 5 We must obey God rather than men.

2. Sin is lawlessness, lawlessness is sin

It is putting myself above the law

3. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

4. Righteousness reveals righteousness

5. Lawlessness reveals lawlessness

6. Lawlessness is sin

7. Practicing sin without conviction from the Holy Spirit is an indicator that we are not born of God

8. Children of God do not practice sinning

a. Practicing sin is of the devil-the devil has been sinning since the beginning

iv. Jesus has overcome the devil at the cross,

1. To destroy the works of the devil

2. We imitate our parents as children

a. Amy Grant “Father’s eyes”

‘b. Philips, Craig and Dean: “I want to be just like you”

Lord, I want to be just like You 'Cause he wants to be just like me I want to be a holy example For his innocent eyes to see Help me be a living Bible, Lord That my little boy can read I want to be just like You 'Cause he wants to be like me

C. are we living as a child of God, or a child of the devil

b. Since our heavenly Father has no sin, if we are imitating our Father, how can we make it a practice to sin.

c. The indwelling Holy Spirit is inconsistent with sin

d. Someone who claims to be a Christian but keeps up their sinful ways, is living contrary to the indwelling nature of God, and our Father’s nature.

e. If we do not practice righteousness, or we don’t love our brother, we demonstrate that we are not of God.

i. Love of brothers is a transition to the next point

II. Love One another v5-18

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.

11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

a. John refers back to his gospel A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

i. Reflects back to where Cain kills his brother. Why:

1. Cain’s actions were evil

2. Abel’s were righteous – brought a sacrifice as God had directed.

3. Consequently the world will hate you when you walk in righteousness v13

a. We tend to hate what is different or we don’t understand

i. Example: of different Operating systems

b. V14-15 John is contrasting love and hate—

i. Loving our brothers is evidence of having passed from life to death

ii. Hating our brother is evidence equivalent to murderer and murders have no place in heaven

1. In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus equates Hate with murder

4. The greatest example is love is set forth in v16

a. Jesus laid down His life for us

i. Even while we were still his enemies, He made the greatest sacrifice in our place. On the cross, it should have been me….and you.

ii. Christian love does not come from character, but from experiencing the love of Christ

iii. Someone that has not experience Christ’s love, cannot exhibit such selfless love.

Iv. 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

b. We should be willing to sacrifice for others

i. V16 lay down our life for our his brothers

ii. V17 give of our plenty to our needy brothers and sisters

1. This is not just monetary wealth but can include emotional wealth, time wealth, and knowledge wealth.

2. When someone is in need as believers we should not walk, but run to their aid.

3. Needs can very, but we have a duty to be there for one another

iii. V18 Love is more than talk, it is shown in deed

- 4 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

iv. The concept is deeming one another better than ourselves

-Philpians 2:13 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

III. V19 – 24

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

a. V19 “This” refers to love.

i. Demonstrates that

1. We have the truth of God.

2. Reassures our hear before God.

a. Should reaffirm to us that we are in Christ

ii. V20 When our heart condemns us:

1. God is greater than our heart

-Our heart can tells us when we are out of fellowship with God because of something that we have done/not done.

-Sins of omission v sins of commission

- God is able to convict, forgive, reassure us

2. God knows everything

-there are no secrets from God

iii. V21 when our heart does not condemn us

1. It is at peace with God

2. Whatever we ask we receive

a. Because we keep his commandments

b. Do what pleases Him

c. This is not a blank check. If we are doing what pleases God, we will only be asking for things that are in His will.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

3. V23-24 John revisits “12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

a. Love one another

b. Keep Jesus commands

c. Abiding of the spirit with us. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

A. The Holy Spirit is to point us to Jesus

B. The Holy Spirit guides us in truth

C. The Holy Spirit speaks to us by the authority of God alone

D. The Holy spirit reveals to us

-God’s truth

-God’s direction for me

Conclusion

Old Man’s Rubble written by Elliott B Bannister

Sung by Imperials and Amy Grant

Are you living in an old man's rubble Are you listenin' to the father of lies

And are you trying to live by your emotions Are you puttin' your faith in what you feel and see Then you're living just to satisfy your passions And you better be careful, 'cause you're being deceived

Are you living in an old man's rubble Are you listenin' to the father of lies If you are then you're headed for trouble If you listen too long, you'll eventually die

Are you puzzled by the way that you're behavin'

Do you wonder why you do the things you do And are you troubled by your lack of resistance Do you feel that something's got a hold on you

Well, deep within' you there's a spiritual battle There's a voice of the darkness and the voice of the light And just by listening you've made a decision 'Cause the voice you hear is gonna' win the fight

Are you living in an old man's rubble Are you listenin' to the father of lies If you are then you're headed for trouble If you listen too long, you'll eventually die

If you're living as a new creation If you're listening to the Father of light Then you're living in a mighty fortress And you're gonna' be clothed in power and might

==

Where are you today?

Are you living as the old man? living in rubble? The way that leads to destruction? Are you losing the battle?

Or, Are living as a child of God? Walking faithfully? Avoiding sin and the pleasures of this world? Are you listing to the Father light?

Come to the cross, where all are equal. Put your dependence on Jesus Christ.