God Came

Introduction

Recap Series

John is writing a letter to the church of Ephesus in about 85 AD, written to believers

written with a Pastor’s heart - two main themes

to know that you know God and believe in His gospel

recognize false teaching

Today - God Came

I believe that is one of those facts that we know, or at least say we know, yet forget all at the same time

what we will see in this passage today, if we really believe that God came, this should effect how we live

if this does not change how we live, maybe we do not really believe that He came, maybe we are not his children, maybe we are not the born again people that we think that we are

1 John 3:4-10 Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins,, and there is no sin in him. 6 Everyone who remains in him does not sin;, everyone who sins has not seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works. 9 Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.

PRAY!

The Sinless Came to Free the Sinful

Motive are a funny thing

we question motives of people that we disagree with, accusing them of doing something for attention, promotion or something else that we deem negative

we get upset when people question our motives

as if we are above such things that we would assign to somebody else

as if our motives are always pure and never selfish

so people understandably ask, why did Jesus come

the simply answer is to be tortured and die for a people who do not deserve it

1 John 3:4-6 Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Everyone who remains in him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen him or known him.

All are sinful

lets be humble enough to admit that we are all flawed people who are in need of God’s grace

we do not want to water down passages like this in attempt to justify ourselves

at the same time we do not want to make our faith so legalistic that we forget about the grace of God

what does John mean here by saying commit sin

on its face, we are all in trouble

not isolated sin

1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one.

John acknowledges that we will sin, and lets us know that Jesus is advocating for us

NASB and ESV use the word practice

what does practice mean

like a practicing doctor, what we do, how we live

it is not something we do until we are real good at it

An invading God

the creator of all things, the one who gave the law, came to earth

why - so that he might take away sins

why - because you sinned, because I sinned

planned all along

Genesis 15:17-20 the covenant

Isaiah 53:9 - died sinless

John 3:17 - did not come to condemn, but that the world through him might be saved

he did not come and sin as we are sinful

he obeyed the law…

every point in both action and intent

both big and small

he did not change the law when he had to live under it

he did not use his power or position as an excuse to disobey

see Nancy Pelosi

John clarifies who he is speaking of

those who do not sin

all who abide or live in Him

meaning an active relationship with Jesus

those who are with Him want to be perfect as he is perfect

we are spiritually bankrupt without him and he saves us, our sin brings us to a point of mourning and he comforts us

those who sin

they simply do not know him

word studied previously - ginosko - intimate

those who practice or live in sin simply do not know Jesus

if you have seen him, his love, his grace and his glory you cannot help but to love him

to love him is to obey him

The Son Came to Defeat the Seducer

to seduce somebody is to attract somebody to a belief or a course of action that is inadvisable or foolhardy

so a seducer would be the one seducing somebody into inadvisable action

I thought for a little bit that we are more seducible

conversation with Heather just yesterday that we are easily fooled, or believe things without actually studying ourselves

too much news taken from opinion people on social media and cable news that we do not learn and think for ourselves

I am afraid this is happening in the church today too

we have so many TV or internet teachers and preachers, so many devotionals we do not know how to study the Bible ourselves and hear from God

we must live with a constant knowledge that Satan is out there constantly trying to deceive us

1 John 3:7-8 Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works.

John reiterates

those who are righteous or do what is right

Matthew Henry explains that this is living out our religion, or the practice of what we say we believe

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

loving those that have nothing to offer you

and not loving the world, looking like the world to fit in better

the ones who commits sin

John is not talking about atheists

we might call them carnal christians, backslidden

people who pretend or profess Jesus but do not live it out

the overall passage is written so that the reader might consider which one they are.

These are the one two types of people in the world

those who know God, have been redeemed and are righteous

they belong to God nothing can remove them from his love

those who live in sin belong to Satan

what does it mean living in sin mean

living in a way that is contrary to God’s law

with no regret or desire for change

those blinded by Satan to the truth about God

Jesus came to defeat Satan and set the captive free

if Jesus accomplished his purpose why aren’t all saved

God will not force his will on anyone to accept his grace

it is a gift not a decree

many will choose to believe the lies and schemes of satan

his works have not changed from the garden

lust of the flesh, the eyes and the pride of life

he tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden and Jesus in the desert and everyone all around our world today.

Satan is defeated, on a rope for a time, but Jesus is coming

The Sovereign Came to Reveal the Sincere

There are parts of the church that frustrate me, by church I mean the global church

I get frustrated with evangelists and mission trips that seem to put more emphasis on getting people to pray a prayer than to make sure we have sincere believers in Christ

This is why I loved the Billy Graham Association… follow up was a very big deal to them

I am very careful about giving gospel presentation to kids,

I never want anyone to believe that they are saved when they are not… to simply point to a time when they prayed a prayer, so they are saved, yet did not see life change

Our goal is to see as many saved as we can possibly rescue and present them as mature believers in Jesus

1 John 3:9-10 Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.

John spoke of antichrists

anyone against the saving grace of God, who change what the Bible says about Jesus

those teaching there is any other way to God than grace alone through faith alone

God’s children are redeemed, or born again

we are a new creation, our old self is dead and gone

Baptist Faith and Message - regeneration or the new birth is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. it is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord of Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to him as Lord and Savior.

this is where every new believer starts

you do not work on it

this new birth, new creature is implanted with a seed,

the Holy Spirit, the gospel message,

it is the new us in these bodies growing into the image of Jesus

nonbelievers are obvious

how do they live

we lie… I have heard a lot of pastors preach funerals that you could swear was Jesus in that casket

who do they love… themselves

Jesus came to defeat Satan’s schemes to blind all of humanity to the truth

you are loved

you have been died for

examine yourself, your heart and know for sure that you have been born again