Tests of Salvation Part 2
Notes
Transcript
Intro
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
I. Cleansed People
I. Cleansed People
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Elsewhere in
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
But How, How do we walk in the light?
A Spirit Enabled Walk
A Spirit Enabled Walk
Those who walk in the Light do so because they have been regenerated by the working of God in their life. Because they are “new creatures” a “new creation.”
But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.
Believers walk or behave themselves in such a way that reflects the Power of God in their lives. We walk in the light because we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God.
By show of hands, How many of you here today struggle with sins of one kind or another?
PAUSE
This passage does not mean that believers are perfect and no longer struggle with sin.
In Fact, it says that The blood of Jesus Christ Cleanses us from ALL Sins.
Cleanse is Present Active here meaning a current and continuing action with no end. Not that He needs to die and shed His blood continuously, but that His shed blood on the cross actively cleansed all of the sins of mankind past and continues to cleanses us every time we confess our sin to him and ask for forgiveness both now and until we see Him in Glory. This is Sanctification
Hear me on this, As a believer, you are completely forgiven of your sins past present and future. You cannot in any way loose your salvation. What does happen is that by choosing to sin, we willingly break our fellowship with God, and must seek reconciliation.
As a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, your every day pattern of actions and attitudes should reflect the new nature that you have been given.
II. Confessing People
II. Confessing People
As I mentioned a moment ago, when do sin, we must confess our sins to Him and ask forgiveness.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
For someone to even be able to walk in the light as John is talking about here, they must First confess their sins to God, Repent or turn 180* from those sins unto God and Believe that Jesus Christ has paid the Debt that their sin required through His sacrificial death on the cross.
It all starts with confession.
Without confession there could be no justification (positional salvation).
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Without confession of sins, there can be no sanctification (progressive salvation).
But this is not because God’s forgiveness of our sins is conditioned upon our asking, or anything outside of His grace and love toward us. This verse reemphasizes God’s promise that He will, because of His character, forgive our sins.
To confess literally means to “to say the same thing.” It is agreeing with God about our sins. That our sins are real and they are a transgression of His law and a violation of His will for our lives.
John is telling us here that because believers are forgiven, we will continually confess our sins. or, we could say that as believers, we are not forgiven because of our confession, but rather our confession comes because of the forgiveness God has given us and the transformation He has done in us.
But this confession is not a simple “I’m Sorry.” Its not “I’m sorry IF I did something.” True confession is a sorrowful “I am Sorry that I …” that is followed with a real longing to turn from that action toward God and His will.
Paul writes in
I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
worldly sorrow is feeling bad about the consequences that come from the sin which leads to despair.
Godly sorrow is a true brokenness over the offence itself which leads to repentance.
Biblical repentance then carries with it the strong desire for God to remove the sin from the believers life at all costs, even if it means drastic measures.
True believers are people that are not perfect, but are constant confessors of sin in their life.
III. Conquering People
III. Conquering People
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
The New Testament is clear that true believers are no longer slaves to sin. They are no longer under the dominion of darkness nor are they destined for eternal separation from God.
True believers have, through Christ conquered satan sin and death. Not only that, true believers have been given the spiritual means by which they can have victory over sin in their life.
Speaking to the believers in Rome, Paul says in
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
The Law, while perfect, provided no hope or help to fulfill it, only demands.
Jesus promised to send a Paraclete, a comforter, a helper just like Him. When He did so, He was promising to send the Holy Spirit to dwell within believers and enable them to live the lives that they were called and designed to live. The Holy Spirit enables believers to follow God’s will for their lives. The Holy Spirit enables believers to have victory over the sin in their life.
The Holy spirit enables believers to be conquerors over sin in their life.
This is evident in John’s statement that he is writing these things that the hearers would not sin anymore. If it weren’t possible to have victory over sin, then John could not make such a statement.
Conclusion