Set Free from Besetting Sin through the love, death and resurrection of Christ.

LOVE, NEWNESS OF LIFE, DEAD AND RAISED TO FREEDOM FOR SLAVERY OF SIN, FREEDOM FROM ENSLAVEMENT OF LAWLESSNESS. FREEDOM THAT WILL BE EVIDENT BY THE POWER OF THE SEED OF GOD THAT IS IMPLANTED (IMPREGNATED) INTO THE PERSON OF EVERY ADOPTED CHILD OF GOD. THIS IS A LIVING, BREATHING, WORKING SEED THAT WILL DRIVE YOU TO A BROKENNESS REALIZATION OF YOUR DEPRAVITY, AND GIVE YOU A HATRED OF SIN that you can never obtain or desire apart from Christ. YOU CAN ONLY STAY IN YOUR BESETTING WILLFUL SINFUL STATE AND AVOID THE CHASTENING OF THE FATHER IF YOUR NOT SAVED. THERE IS COMFORT IN KNOWING THIS AND HAVING FAITH IN HIS WORD THAT THIS IS TRUE.

ARE YOU A CHILD CHRIST

DO YOU HAVE A DESIRE TO BE SET FREE FROM THE SLAVERY OF SIN

DO YOU HAVE THE SEED OF GOD, THAT ONLY HE CAN GIVE, INSIDE OF YOU? IF YOU DO, THEN I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU FROM GODS WORDS - NOT MINE

WE ARE GOING TO BOUNCE BACK AND FORTH THIS MORNING BETWEEN 1 JOHN 3 AND ROMANS 6

Lets pray before we read our text this morning.

1 John 3:1–3 (ESV)

THE LOVE OF THE FATHER

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. 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. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

WOW!!

“while it will consist in our sharing in the Redeemer’s power, the Redeemer’s joy, and the Redeemer’s honor, yet, from the connection of the text, it lies mainly in our being spiritually and morally like Him—being purified, even as He is pure All true hope is hope in Christ. If your hope lies in yourself, it is a delusion. If your hope rests on any earthly priest, and not on this one great Apostle and High Priest of our profession, your hope is a lie. If your hope stands with one foot on the work of Christ and the other foot on your own resolutions or merits, your hope will fail you

Spurgeon, C. (2014). Spurgeon Commentary: 1 John. (E. Ritzema, Ed.) (1 Jn 3:3). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.Spurgeon, C.

SEE - John was one who had SEEN many wonders, from his visit from the Lord on the Island of Patmos to the saving from the martyrdom when thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil and he came out unscathed. Yet he uses the word “see” which is a word of wonder.

John implores the readers to ponder, to weigh, to mark, and to behold that the Lord calls us children, “and we are”.

John is imploring us to “see” the act of God’s adopting of a man to be a son of GOD which involves SO MUCH LOVE that he is asking you to fix your eyes upon this love and to notice it.

To be called a SON by God is LOVE to the highest degree., and it is an undeserved love

This is an everlasting love - a servant does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides always. If God makes you a son, that is done, and done forever.

This is an infinite love - a love that lasts forever, a love that is not contingent upon your merit of worthiness or works.

The death of Jesus is not what moved the heart of the Father to love us, rather it was the Father’s love that was the reason Jesus was given.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? WHAT IS THE APPLICATION? I UNDERSTAND THAT GOD LOVES ME, THIS IS PERHAPS A GOOD REMINDER TO FOCUS ON HIS LOVE AND ADOPTION BUT WHAT IS THE APPLICATION? WE ARE CALLED HIS CHILDREN AND BY HIM WE ARE PURE AS HE IS PURE BOTH NOW AND IN THE TIME THAT IS YET TO COME.. THIS WILL BE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER IN THE REST OF OUR LESSON.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE AND ADOPTED AS HIS CHILDREN IN REFERENCE TO BEING FREE FROM SIN??

BECAUSE “ WE ARE NOW HIS CHILDREN” THIS MEANS WE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE. A PRICE SPOKEN OF IN ROMANS CHAPTER 6.

TURN TO ROMANS 6!

Romans 6:1–10 (ESV)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

WHAT IS NEWNESS OF LIFE? (GREEK - kainotes - the quality of being original and of a kind not seen before).

Have you ever experienced the “newness of life” you have heard of in “church” settings but thought of it as not truly attainable, or perhaps something theoretical and not necessarily attainable and tangible??

I HAVE.

I HAVE ASKED QUESTIONS LIKE:

HOW DID I GET HERE : as i have sat in the midst of the fruits of my sin

WHERE IS THE FREEDOM FROM MY BESETTING SINS

WHERE IS THE LONG TERM VICTORY THAT I SO LONG TO BE FREE AND HATE MY SIN

I GUESS THIS IS THE FATE OF MAN, NEVER TO BE FREE FROM BESETTING SINS

WHY IS THERE NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THE THINGS THAT REALLY GO IN MY HEART, THE THINGS I STRUGGLE WITH.... MAYBE NEWNESS OF LIFE IS JUST CHURCHY LANGUAGE OR PERHAPS I’M NOT SAVED AT ALL..... THIS WAS MY LONELY IGNORANCE…I DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE DICHOTOMY OF WHAT IT MEANT TO BE SET FREE FROM WILLFUL SIN VERSUS THE PROCESS OF CONTINUAL SANCTIFICATION

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

.. WHEN YOU READ THIS DO YOU THINK FREEDOM IS ONLY FIGURATIVE IN THE PRESENT? I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT NEVER SINNING…Our old sinful man is crucified on that cross and although we do not immediately cease all sinning, we strive along the continuum in the victorious contest of our faith!

I AM TALKING ABOUT NEWNESS OF LIFE AND HATING MY SIN, FREEDOM FROM THE ENSLAVEMENT OF SIN, THAT HAS NO THOUGHT OF CHRIST OR GRIEVING...

THINK ABOUT IT ......... WHY WOULD GOD DIE FOR YOU, SAVE YOU, PLANT HIS SEED IN YOU, AND OFFER YOU NO RELIEF FROM SIN? THATS THE POINT.. HE DOESN’T… LETS MOVE ON...

Now lets flip back over to 1 John 3.

We have been called to “SEE” by John, the depth of meaning in being loved by GOD.

We have seen the gift of NEWNESS of life in Romans 6:1-10 and the application of being set free from the slavery of sin in our present and future.

LETS END TODAY IN 1 JOHN TO LAY OUT THE LITMUS TEST FOR YOU TO BE CLEAR ON WHERE YOU STAND OR TO BE ASSURED OF THE SEED OF GOD THAT RESIDES IN YOU. I WANT TO STRESS TO YOU TODAY THAT YOU CAN HANG AROUND THE CHURCH, LISTEN TO PODCASTS, ATTEND CHURCHY FUNCTIONS, AND LIVE A LIFE APART FROM THE SEED OF GOD, APART FROM THE NEWNESS OF LIFE, AND WONDER WHY PEOPLE KEEP TALKING ABOUT A FREEDOM THAT SEEMS TO BE ONLY CHURCH LINGO AND NOT SOMETHING REAL...... I HAVE BEEN THERE.... I PRAY THAT IF YOUR THERE TODAY AND LIVING A LIFE OF WILLFUL SIN THAT ISNT BURDENSOME AND ISN’T CONVICTING… THAT YOU WILL PRAY AND ASK GOD TO PLEASE DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO SET YOU FREE FROM A LIFE OF SIN AND TO GIVE YOU A NEW LIFE IN CHRIST. IF YOU ARE COMPARING YOURSELF TO ANYONE OTHER THAN CHRIST YOU MAY MISS THE POINT. IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT HOW YOU HAVE NEVER HAD BIG BAD UGLY SIN IN YOUR LIFE, LET ME TELL YOU YOUR NOW STRUGGLING WITH THE SIN OF PRIDE.... ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALLEN SHORT OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST AND ANY SIN IS A SIN AGAINST A HOLY PERFECT RIGHTEOUS GOD.

SO far we have covered Love of God for his children, the sacrifice through Christ’s death and resurrection, the freedom recieved when we partake of Christ’s sacrifice, and now the admonishment to flee from lawlessness through the power of the one that loved us, adopted us, and was sacrificed to set us free from sin.

1 John 3:4–10 (ESV)

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 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. 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. 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.

This is the source of the Christian’s hope, God’s appearance in human form. If it is so that the great God Himself came to earth, and to take the form of a man—if it is so that the ever-blessed Second Person of the Divine Trinity was actually born of the Virgin, that He might become man like us—if it is so that He came here to fight evil, and that He has put His foot down against the advance of the enemy, then I have hope for mankind; I have hope for myself; I have hope that sin may be overcome.

Everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him That is to say, if sin is the habitual course of our life, we do not truly know the Lord. He who walks with God tries with all his might to be free from sin, and he is sanctified by abiding in Christ.

If there are any of us that say we never have sin and no longer commit sin, then perhaps we don’t understand sins definition. SIN is any lack of conformity to the perfect mind of God. As it says in our text “sin is lawlessness” and every transgression of the law is sin. Every sin breaks Gods law.

In Richard Baxter’s classic work The Reformed Pastor, he asks Two typical questions that he would ask each member of his parish upon his half-hour visit were as follows. First, “Can you truly say, that all the known sins of your past life are the grief of your heart, and that you have felt that everlasting misery is due to you for them; and that, under a sense of this heavy burden, you have felt yourself a lost man, and have gladly entertained the news of a Saviour, and cast your soul upon Christ alone, for pardon by his blood?” In other words, have you recognized yourself to be a damnable sinner and therefore do you come freely and joyfully to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins? (have you been broken)

Second, “Can you truly say, that your heart is so far turned from sin, that you hate the sins which you once have loved, and love that holy life which you had no mind to before; and that you do not now live in the willful practice of any known sin?

Is there no sin which you are not heartily willing to forsake whatever it cost you; and no duty which you are not willing to perform?” Said simply: Do you practice righteousness? In light of the appearance of the Righteous One and our future perfect righteousness, do you practice righteousness by abiding in Christ?

We should ask and answer these same questions ourselves. Past sins should grieve our hearts. Do we feel that heavy burden of conscience? Do we acknowledge what lost, damnable sinners we would be without our Savior? And present holiness should thrill our souls! Have we turned from the sins that we once loved? Do we rejoice in our sanctification—the freedom of turning from willful sin to holy habits? Do we practice righteousness?

I ask these simple questions, they are powerful, and perhaps offensive. But they lend themselves to clarity in the inner most honesty and align with todays readings in both John and Romans. There is a vast dichotomy between continual sanctification and intentional unrepentant hidden sins that you are not willing to relinquish and value higher than the call of Christ. There is also a great deal of confusion for many that attend church service after service, function after function, and have no change of heart besides the desire to be a “good person”.

There is a vast difference between the dichotomy of continual unrepentant sin, or willful sinning, and grieving over our sins and hating our sins.

There is also a vast dichotomy in solo boot strapus and being set free from the slavery of sin and lawlessness.

Lets go back now and finish with

Romans 6:12–20 ESV

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 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. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.