God of my home, God of my good,
I live home. God of my good, I live home. Take my love, my God, I hold
at thy feet, its treasures hold. All right, go back to 1 John now
with me. 1 John 3. This is a difficult passage to
deal with. It's difficult to understand,
let alone try to make it understandable. It's impossible, really, to perfectly
understand this, but I think, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians,
the Spirit is spiritual, or that is, taught by God's Spirit. Judges all things we have a.
Little knowledge of this look at verse 10 verse 10. Will serve
as a. Springboard in this children
of God are manifest and the children of the devil. That is. Made clear manifest means. It's
visible something that you can see something. That reveals itself. This children of God are made
manifest than children of the devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness
is not of God. Neither he that loveth not his
brother. We could not study a more important or profitable passage
of scripture. I know that for a fact. John says of the child of God. that it will be clearly revealed
who are his people. It must be so, because God must
be glorified. Herein is your father glorified.
Christ said that you bear much fruit, right? No fruit, and he's
not honored, not glorified. And so the child of God is made
manifest or clearly revealed to be righteous. to be righteous
by their faith in Christ. A child of God truly trusts Christ
alone. If you would cut into the heart
of a believer, a true believer, you would see Christ written
all over his heart. You ask the believer his creed
or his doctrine or her faith or her belief or all her hope
and peace and rest everything and they would just say Christ. We are righteous by faith in
Christ and the believer is clearly. One of God's people by the acts
the works he does or she does and love to the breath. All right
this is. This is what he's saying here.
You read it with me and perhaps you didn't. After all these years,
you don't. Understand completely when it
talks about he's. Saying not. There's a new creature in every
child of God. This is a fact. It's a mystery,
but it's a fact. There's a new creature, Scripture
says, created in the image of Christ Jesus. A new man that
God sees. That's the man that God Almighty
looks at. And God sees that new man that
he created. That's perfect. It is. He is
that new man. Christ in us, Paul said. Christ
in us. And that new man will stick out. That's what manifest means. Like
that little girl. You remember that illustration,
don't you? That little girl said to her mother or father, dad
or mom, the preacher said that Christ was in us. He said, that's
right, honey. She said, well, if he's, how
big is he? And her father said, well, average
sized man, I guess. She said, well, if he was in
us, he'd stick out. That's right. Simple illustration,
but that's exactly what this is saying. Christ is in you,
you're shut. As a matter of fact, if Christ
is not in somebody, it has to be clear to them. Now that's
just a plain, simple explanation of this whole passage. Keep that
in mind. All right, now look at verses
1 through 3 again. Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, thus, that we should be called
the sons of God. You don't rightly understand
that, do you? But it's true. Therefore, the
world knoweth us not. We don't completely know ourselves,
let alone the world, because it knew him not. Beloved, it
doesn't say we will be the sons of God. It says now. Now are we the sons of God. But
it does not yet appear. We just barely resemble. Barely resemble what we shall
be. It does not yet appear what we shall be. But we know, we
know from God's word, God who cannot lie, that when Christ
shall appear, we will be like him. I mean absolutely, completely. mind, body, heart, and soul,
perfect, sinless, sinlessly perfect, like Him, complete, us, us, everything
about us, perfect. We know that we'll be like Him,
and we shall see Him as He is. All right? Now, every man Now,
you know that whenever it says man, it means woman too, don't
you? A young person, young boy or girl, whoever believes, trusts
Christ. Every man, every person that
hath this hope in him, or that is, who hopes in Christ. Whoever in here, all their hope
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember what we've studied
here, what John has written, don't you? That Christ is our
life, that Christ is our advocate. You remember chapter 2, don't
you? I preached that down in Orlando. I enjoyed it better
that time. But as little children, these
things are right unto you that you sin not. Don't sin. Don't
do it. Like a faithful father that our
Heavenly Father is, He tells His children, instructs them,
don't sin. The consequences of it are terrible.
Bring approach upon your father. Approach upon your brethren. Approach upon yourself, your
family, everything. Don't do it. And the troubles
and the pit that you dig for yourself is terrible. The consequences
are terrible. Don't do it. That's why a father
says, don't go there, don't go with them, that person, don't,
you know, so on and so forth. What kind of father would our
heavenly father be if he didn't tell us what to do and what not
to do? If he'd be without chastening, that is, correction, instruction,
and righteousness, you're bastards. I've heard somebody say, I don't
like to be told what to do. Well, you're not one of God's
children then. That's just fact of the matter.
He says, little children, these things I write unto you that
you sin not. And if any man sin, any man sin,
we have an advocate. Is that where your hope is? An
advocate. He's the only hope for sinners. And then he goes
on to tell us we ought to abide in him and walk as he walks.
Anyone who has this hope in him in our text says purify himself
even if he is pure. What does that mean? It means
just what you read. Just what you read. 1 Peter, go over to 1 Peter.
Every man, every person that had this hope in Christ purify
himself even if he is pure. My pastor always said, and you've
heard me quote him, that scriptures are bifocal. Bifocal. I don't have bifocals yet. I'm
getting real close to getting them. I'm tired of fooling with
these things. Some of you do. You haven't, John? It means you
can see distance with one and up close with another, right?
Same thing with a scripture. You can see the broad view and
then you can see up close. Or, this may be a better way
to put it, the spiritual primary application and then the practical
application. All of God's Word is. God is
spirit, so what he primarily said, first said, the first meaning,
the most important meaning, is the spiritual. Right? But we're
flesh. and we need instructions on how
to live and he gives us that. All right, in 1 Peter, look at
this, 1 Peter 1.22, seeing you have purified your souls and
obeying the truth. Well, I like that, that's also
my smile. That's good. What does it take to be holy
with God? What does it take to be perfectly
righteous before God almighty? Good answer. Faith in Christ. That's it. Martin Luther, he was a Catholic
monk. Nearly everyone in here has heard
this story. Martin Luther was a Catholic
monk, and back then three four hundred years ago they were so
strict in their. Works and devotions and duties
and they would include themselves in these monasteries they do
it now but. They're not strict you know what goes on it's been
revealed that. He was a very devoted man. Very
devoted they would do penance just constantly. trying to do things to chasten
themselves for simple thoughts and feelings and all that. At one time he was doing penance,
he thought. He was crawling up these steps.
There were some steps, I don't know where it was. Where is that,
Ed? Where is that place where he was crawling up those steps?
Supposed to have been the blood room in Rome? Well, he was there
was supposed to be in wherever it was that was the blood supposed
to be the blood of Christ on these steps. And he was crawling.
This is the story goes in. He was crawling on his hands
and knees, kissing those blood spots, trying to appease God
for his sinfulness, trying to do penance. And God Almighty, the scripture
says, or the story says, God Almighty, sent his scripture
that just shall live by faith. In the Martin Luther's mind.
Martin Luther was one of the few men, back then Catholicism
had the Bible chained to a post inside the monastery where the
normal common people couldn't read it. They wouldn't let the
common people read it. Only the monks. And Martin Luther
read it. cover to cover. And that scripture,
God evidently had taken that scripture years before and planted
that seed because he was crawled on his hands and knees thinking
this is going to please God. Look how I'm afflicted myself
for my sin. And he said that verse came flooding
into his mind, heart, and soul as if God spoke it out loud,
that just shall live by faith. It said he jumped up and ran
outside a free man and never went back. What does it take to be holy
with God, to be considered righteous by God, for God Almighty to accept
us? Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
period. Scripture says Abraham believed
God. And what? It was counted under
him for right. He was counted as holy and righteous
justified from all things. Why believe in. That's the good
news of the. Works religion says do do do
do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do the gospel says
done. It's just right. It's good news to sinners it's
not good news to self-righteous people that like what they're
doing for God they don't like that but those that are sinners
they like that. I want you to turn over there
first Romans 4 and I was just quoting Romans 4 where it says
Abraham believed God. Romans 4 look at that now I want
you to look at that that's written about Abraham believe in God
who was a written for. Us to. Romans four verse twenty
three and twenty four now it was not written for his sake
alone that it or that is righteousness was imputed charge to Abraham
but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on. What does it take to be righteous.
Mark it down this is it. One thing. righteousness of Christ,
and put it by faith. Simply receive it. Now, in our
text, it says, he that, or Peter said, he that hath this hope
in Christ purified himself. Or John said that, I'm sorry.
He that hath this hope in Christ purified himself, even as he
is pure. His faith It's what makes you
righteous before God. Trust and cry. God supernaturally
makes you holy and righteous and creates this new creature
in you. All right? Now, he that hath
this hope in Christ purifieth himself, or endeavors to. This is a fact. James wrote a whole book about
this, didn't he? James wrote a whole book saying.
You show you have say you have faith without work. Show me. Show me. Manifest it. That's what James
wrote. Peter, if you'll read it for
yourself, Peter goes on to say, now, after he says that, seeing
you've purified your soul by obeying the truth, he goes on
to say, now, put away malice and all of this. Add to your
faith virtue and all and all and all. What manner of And we
ought to be in all holiness and godliness and all in all, like
that. John, James, Peter, Paul, they
all clearly state this. Look at chapter 4, 1 John 4,
17. You love this verse. I know John
Davis loves this verse. Everybody that heard Scott Richardson
preach this the first time just jumped for joy. The last line
of first John four seventeen said because as he is so are
we. How he's right. Right now. Well he's seated. So are we we're
seated with him how he's crying well he's with the father well
so are we we abide with him how he's crying he's holy righteous
unblameable so are we. How is he he's well pleased so
are we how. in him. We're in him, but I've
and. The last three words here, though.
In this world. In this world. That what that
said, as he is. He's seated in the heaven, so
are we spiritually speaking, as he is, so are we. In this
world. This is what the Lord wrote in
the sermon on the matter spoke in the sermon on the map said
you are the light. Then he said. Don't look so convicted. I'm
going to show you here a little bit how it's a fact. It's the
fact this is not meant to. Bring it down. Christ said you're
the salt of the earth. Children of the Heavenly Father,
just like Christ, just like Christ, by degree. By degree, I mean
a very small degree. Nevertheless, it wasn't there
before. It wasn't there before he put
this seed in here. All right, now look at verse
Go back to chapter three, verse four. It says, say with me, whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is a transgression
of the law. That's just the fact that if
you break the law, you commit one sin, you're a lawbreaker.
We're all lawbreakers. You remember what John said?
He just said, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.
You see there's a bunch of holier-than-thou, self-righteous, sinlessly perfect,
I think, people in the world who actually take this and take
it to mean that you can, after you're saved, you never commit
another sin. Well, that's absurd, isn't it? You know, certainly John
started this whole thing, Brother Henry, by saying that, didn't
he? If we say we don't have sin, we're deceived. He's not changing
his mind, is he? He's not contradicting himself. We say we have not sinned, we
make God a liar. All have sinned. And Paul, we
quote Paul all the time, who was the greatest man I can think
of. And Paul said, oh wretched man
that I am. He said, Paul said, when he was
an old man, he said, I am the chief of sinners. And that doesn't
mean Paul was out, you know, living in a gutter. But we see
that the law of spirit requires and how sinful we are. Well,
all right, so go back to the text. It says in verse four,
just the fact of the matter, whoever commits sin transgresses
the law. San is the transgression of the
law and to defend and one for working. We don't you know you
know that we know that Christ was manifest that he is made
flesh revealed came in the flesh want to take away. That's why. I'm a woman primarily. Chief. Ultimate work was to. put away our sins. How? How are
sins put away? By the sacrifice of himself,
not our sacrifice. But by the sacrifice of Christ,
the only thing God accepts. To live a righteous life and
impute it, charge it to his people, and to go to the cross with be
made sin for them, he who knew no sin, in him is no sin except.
He who knew no sin, he's our spotless lamb. Remember that?
Now look, Remember that? We have a lamb, every man a lamb. Any man sinning, we have a lamb,
an advocate. Christ was manifested to take away, to put away our
sin. He came to pay for sins committed
by His people. That's the penalty. That's the
penalty of our sin. Sin says, die. Christ said, I'll
die instead. And he did, poured out his soul
unto death. The soul of sin must die. He
did. Now he says, you won't. You don't
have to. Christ endured hell on Calvary's
tree, so we won't have to. No purgatory, no anything like
that. No, no. Christ put away sin,
the sins of his people, by the sacrifice of his death. You ever
get tired of hearing that? I don't get tired of telling
it. But he's our substitute. In him is no sin. He's the spotless
Lamb of God. That's why he can do that, because
he is God. See, God can't die, but man must. Man can't live holy, but God
can. So God became a man. God to live
perfect, holy, man to die. Forgotten in him and. Not but. He was manifested to take away
the power. The power of him for the first
time since he committed the sins of the devil the devil sent from
the beginning for this purpose was the son of God was manifested
they might destroy the works of the devil. We all love Ephesians, don't
we? Book of Ephesians, well, and it says this about us. It
says, you, they were dead quick. You, in time past, walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince, power
of the air. That is, you were willing subjects, willing subjects
of Satan. What John's talking about, power,
the work of Satan. That's willing subjects. unwilling,
not doing what you didn't want to do. Doing what you wanted
to do. Loving it. Living for it. Living in sin and living for
sin. Is that right? Some of you are being very honest
with yourself. Living in sin and living for sin and hating
God and anything to do with religion. Don't give me that stuff. I don't
need it. So, no, we won't change much. I'm going to be your master now.
No man can serve. All right. No man can serve. And Scripture says, Christ said,
sin shall not have an end. If you want to heal, don't do
it. He came to take away the power of So, all in Christ by
faith, that's a mystery. It's a mystery. But they're holy
and righteous before God, and they live, walk, talk like Christ
by the grace. Until finally they shed this
body of death, this stain of flesh, and then they're perfectly
conformed to His image. But that's why God saved us,
is to make us like Christ. And that's what we want saving
from it and say from the old man or six is in whosoever abided
in Christ in a. Whoever's in crime. Whoever trust crime. How many
times you say in crime. I go back to the reasons again
how many times you say in crime. It says that we should be holy
and without blame before him in love, in Christ, in whom we
have redemption. The riches through his blood,
the forgiveness of sin, on and on it goes, in Christ, in Christ,
to those who are in Christ by faith. It says they are without
sin, sinneth not. And this word sin here, now this
is BIPOC, it also means You know, so many. That's the end, you
know, since the Senate. Senate. That word is a continual
thing, it's a it's a it's it's. It means as a way of life, as
a tenor, as a direction, as a pursuit, as something you live in and
live for and so forth Senate. who's never abided in him doesn't
live for sin. Sin is a way of life, as a pursuit,
as a practice. That's just the fact. Christ
came to put away sin for us and in us. Now, I'm not talking about,
and he's not talking about, and I'm not talking about salvation
here. We're holy and righteous before God,
by Christ's righteousness, imputed to us by faith. And even that's
not of yourself. It's a gift of God according
to the workings of His mighty power. God, to God be the glory. great thing he had done. We had
nothing to do with passive. I remember the first time you
heard passive righteousness. It thrilled you to no end that
passive righteousness standing over the side and God just makes
you right. And we're being conformed to
the image of Christ. What kind of salvation would
it be? if there wasn't a real change?
Huh? What kind of Savior would Christ
be if there wasn't a real change? He came to save us from our sin,
yet there He is still in the gutter. There She is still in
the gutter. He's not much of a Savior, is
He? That doesn't bring Him much glory
nor honor. Somebody's lying. Look at Titus with the book of
Titus. This is what it says the gospel
teaches us. What the grace of God does. Book
of Titus chapter 2. Now it says here in Titus 2 verses
11 and following it says the grace of God that bring us salvation. That's what it takes to save
a state, grace. By grace are you saved. Hath
appeared to all men, that is all, every tribe, kindred, nation,
and tongue under heaven. Read on. Teaching us, this is
what the gospel of God's grace teaches us, denying ungodliness
and worldly love, that we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly. Looking for that blessed hope,
read on, and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior,
Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that is manifest, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity, put away our sin, take away our
sin by the sacrifice of himself, and purify unto himself a peculiar
people. How are they peculiar? They're
jealous of good works. And the more this world continues
the worse it gets doesn't it? The more it continues the
worse it gets. God has a people that are not
like this world. They're being removed from it
and it from them. They're being crucified to the
world and the world to them. That's fact. It's fact. No, you
know, don't get too distraught because you're not, you know,
it's not perfect yet, but I'm going to give you a poem here
in a moment that will explain it all. Now, he says to young
Titus, these things speak and exhort and rebuke with authority.
Don't let anybody despise you. Tell them what I told you. And
this is what Christ said. Be ye perfect as your Father
in heaven is perfect. Right? Be ye holy, God says. I'm holy. Yeah, but I am not. Stretch out your hand. I can't. Stretch it out. Be ye holy. I'm a sinner. Be ye holy. What kind of father
would he be, Nancy, if he didn't say that? Did your father ever
say, he'll be good? There's nothing to do with good,
no. Be good. That's not a contradiction, is
it? Not at all. It's an exhortation. All right,
verse 7. Verse 6 and 7. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen
him, neither known him." This is what he said in chapter 1.
You say you have fellowship with him and walk in darkness? Here's
a person that says they're in the light. God, dwelling with
God, who's holy and black, and yet they're out in the world
living in filth and darkness and with people. How can light
have fellowship with people of darkness that have no way? Can't.
Can't. He says, he that says that's
a liar. Liar, we lie, do not, and do
not the truth, do not the truth. Well, here he says, now, whosoever
sinneth, that is, sin is the bend of their will and the tenor
of their life and the course of their, their pursuit, and
this is what they live for and live in, and that's, they don't know God. A person
doesn't know God. It's very clear that man and
this is the children of the devil man you run into people to work
with people out on the street that don't have a care for God
don't care anything about. God's law or. God's word. It's obvious it's obvious that
they don't know God. Well. We don't. verse seven little children let
no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is
righteous even as he is right now. There's some Pharisees that came
and said what shall we do that we do the works of God you remember
what Christ said this is the work of God if you believe on
him. Once again how are we righteous
before God how are we saved How are we accepted by God in Christ
alone, period. And the natural, or the consequences,
or the fruit of that, or the facts of the matter is, those
that are that way, righteous in Christ, act like Christ. They act like Christ. They walk
like Christ. They talk like Christ. I love
Christ people what John goes on to say that I love it brother
how can he love Christ when Christ his own family came to him and
said we want to see him he said that I'm with my family. So you see it's really very simple
it's just stating the fact that. Those that are righteous by faith
in Christ a They act like Christ. Those that trust Christ, they live like
Christ. They love Christ. That is what motivates them.
Not the law, but love. Love. Love. We do as He did,
because we love how He is, and we want to be like Him. Brother
Marvin preached from the Song of Solomon, Chapter 5, and he
is all together lovely. I may deal with that Sunday,
I don't know. I want to deal with it soon. But it touched me, because
I don't think it's ever touched me before. But that is what God's
people see in the Lord Jesus Christ, what they want to be. He's altogether, everything about
Him, I want to be that way. Don't you? I see, not only see
in Him all that I need, but I see in Him all I want to
be. I want Paul Mahan dead and gone
forever. I want to be just like Jesus
Christ. How about you? Because he's altogether less
than me. And we're going to be. Well, here it says in verse 8,
He that committed sin is of the dead. That is, it's a way of
life. Now, this is talking both about
the A new man in Christ cannot see
this is a mystery I can't explain I've never heard good. It's the
creature in Christ that God say it's a mystery how the two people
in it. I've never heard a man. Ever
heard a man. Deal with it in such a way that
everybody could perfectly understand because it's a mystery. So Mr. And he that committed sins of
the devil, the devil sinneth from the beginning, and this
is the purpose the Son of God was manifest, that he might destroy
the works of the devil. Satan marred the image of God,
didn't he? He marred the image of God, and we bear that marred
image of the first Adam, don't we? We're born in Adam, all die,
and we are dead and trespassed in sin, the second Adam. Christ
came to restore that. to restore his image that God
said let us make man in our image and Christ came sent by the Father
with the Holy Spirit and said let us remake, regenerate man
in our image. Restore that image. Light, countenance, love and
so forth. All right, John Newton. Here
I can illustrate it with a poem, everything I'm trying to say.
John Newton said this, you love this poem, you've heard it before.
John Newton said, I am not what I want to be. I am not what I should be. Or going to be. But thank God. All praise then to God. I am
not what I used to be. Is it so with you? He wouldn't be here. For most
of you, he would not be here if it were not so. Here was a
man, John Newton. You need to read his story sometime.
John Newton was about as wicked as they could come. He was a
sailor, a slave trader. He was a slave trader. He was talking about a scum of
the earth. somebody would go and apprehend human beings and sell them. Take a man, woman,
and child and split them up and sell them like property. That man doesn't have a conscience
or a soul. He's dead, isn't he? That was
John Newton. Cursed like a sailor. We all love John Newton, don't
we? We sing his song. He wrote, Amazing Grace, how
sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost. He could tell you what lost means.
But now I'm found. I was blind but now I see. And he continued from that day
forward to call himself the old African blasphemer. You know
that he himself became enslaved. His ship load of slaves was captured
by somebody else and he got enslaved and they took him to Africa and
made a slave out of him. A slave to a black person. Oh, but God saved him from that. And now and then John Newton
lives From that time on, lived by faith in Christ and did not
live in sin, was saved from sin's penalty and power. So that's
what this is saying. Verse 9 says, Whoever is born
of God doth not commit sin, for that he is like the world doth.
He that committed, see that, verse 8, committed sins of the
devil, whosoever is born of God, for that new man, that seed that's
in us, cannot sin, cannot commit the unpardonable sin, cannot
live percent and I remain insane because that's the whatever God
does shall be perfect. I'll be perfect he's born of
God whatever God begins you know. And this is why the children
of God are manifest the children of the devil let me just read
in closing what my pastor said in his commentary I looked at
John Gill. Matthew Henry. Henry Mayhem and
they all agree that everything that I thought looked at tonight. It's what men wiser than me all
agree that this is the same. What my pastor wrote here is
a paraphrase of what Gill and others wrote and it's good all
right. On these verses he said a man who practices sin dishonesty
drunkenness malice envy lies disobedience to the commandments
of Christ is not of God. He's imitating Satan. Satan is the one in control of
him or her. Now he says God all God's people
have committed and will commit all of these sins. Lot and Noah
got drunk but they weren't drunkards. David committed adultery, but
he wasn't an adulterer. That wasn't his tenor of life.
Peter lied, denied the Lord. He wasn't a liar. He that is regenerated by the
Spirit of God in whom Christ is formed is a new creature in
Christ. He does not make sin his practice in the course of
his life. He's not without sin. within or free from its thoughts
words and deeds in his life but he does not give himself to. A life of sin is distasteful.
To the child of God and pants after holiness desires to be
like this. And he says either is a person
who does not love others he's not of God either. So the absence
of these things is evidence of the absence of grace. Let's get
back to the matter. And as one Savior, as one hope
for all of us, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners,
saves us from our sin, penalty, and bless God for power, and
someday we'll finally be saved completely from its presence. Okay, stand with me. Our God, our Father, in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, we thank you for
your word and ask that you would apply it as only you can and
must. Send your Holy Spirit to take the sword of your word,
the arrow, sharp, pierces asunder, dividing asunder, soul and marrow. Lord, discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. Lord, take it and let us examine
ourselves whether we be of the faith, whether we truly trust
Christ. And Lord, conform us to His image.
Take that sword of Your Word and cut off the dross and mold
us and make us and shape us and form us to His blessed image
for Your glory. The glory of God promise my word
glory to your son in his name we pray amen.