Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of 1 John chapter 3. I'd like to deal with
verses 4 to 6. I'm going to start. and go back and say a few things
I said in verse three, but we'll deal basically with verses four
to six. But before we begin, let's ask
our Lord's blessing. Our Father, we thank you again
for another time that we can come together and assemble in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you would bless the
services tonight. Lord, you said we have not because
we ask not and we ask. Lord, as we knock and seek and
ask, finding our hope and help only in You, we pray that You'd
bless the Word. Forgive us where we failed You,
for Christ's sake. Amen. Last time I was in 1 John 3,
we ended with 3rd verse, and that verse says, and every man
that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure."
Now, that phrase, every man that hath this hope, now what hope? was John talking about. It was
the last part of the second verse which says that when He shall
appear we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. Now that hope, that's a hope,
that's a confidence, that's an expectation that we have that
when we see Him And according to the Scriptures, we will. When
He shall appear in His second coming, we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him like He is. Now, every man that hath
that hope in Him purifieth himself. I looked at this last time, but
do you know every time I read that again, every man that hath
this hope in himself, in him, every man that hath this hope
in him purifieth himself. Now that's just a truth that
immediately finds a believer to just perk up. And you know it's so. It's a
phrase of wonder and magnitude of language that a believer says,
now I know that's so. But now, and I know we went over
this. But you know what? Tell me again. Tell me again what we talked
about. I need to hear this again. I
know that we cannot purify ourselves. I know that we cannot make ourselves
pure before God, but the scripture declares us to do so. I know that the blood of Jesus
Christ, 1 John 1.7, cleanseth us from all sin. Now, I know I can understand
by faith that. But there's a precious passage
of Scripture. I'll read this. It's 1 Peter
1.22. And this passage of Scripture
sets forth the very heart of what it means for a believer
to purify himself. Listen to this. Seeing ye have
purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned or sincere love of the brethren. This is the
effect of purifying. That's scriptural language. Purify
yourselves. Now, the scripture says, seeing
ye have purified. your souls. How? By obeying the
truth through the spirit. See that you love one another
with a pure, that is a clean heart, fervently. So I know that
purifying of the soul is an act of God's grace. Whenever the
Lord told Peter in the vision, remember we looked at that last
time that the It was like a sheet came down from heaven, and the
Lord said, Pete, take these four-footed beasts and creeping things and
eat. And Peter says, not so, Lord. And God said, what God hath cleansed,
what God hath purified, that call not thou common. He was
talking about the purifying of the Gentiles. That's what before
Jews always considered Gentiles to be just, you know, not even
humans. You know, there was Jews and
then there was everything else. But you know, he said, don't
you call unclean what I purified. So I know this, the actual act
of purifying the heart by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, that's an act of God's
grace. The Lord does that. But we're
said, to purify ourselves. So this purifying, knowing what
the scripture says, purifying your souls in obeying the truth. So I know that it has something
to do with faith. I know that. In obeying the truth. So here's purifying ourselves. Is the scriptural revelation
or description of one who believes by faith that they have been
cleansed from all unrighteousness. One is said to purify himself
when he believes God by faith that has been given. It's the
manifestation of a new heart, a purified heart. Purify yourselves. Believe the truth. believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. And that belief, that faith,
you know that's not of ourselves, it's the gift of God. So, that
truth right there, verse 3. Every man that hath this hope
in him purifieth himself. Now, that, it, every man that
hath this hope in him, Not in me, but in Him. Every man that has this hope
in Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ, believes God, purifies himself. That's what he's saying. So,
I know that when we look and behold the very truth of being
found in the Lord Jesus Christ, united to Christ, We believe
the Lord, and it's said, therefore, to purify ourselves. So we rest
in the fact that the Lord has purified us by putting away our
debt owed to the broken law, by the shedding of his own blood
at Calvary, robed us in righteousness, and has given us faith to believe
him. So being found in him, every
man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself." I don't want
to sound redundant, but I want us to understand that wording.
And that, by faith purifying our hearts, we actually purify
our hearts by evidencing, by faith, that He's our Lord. I thought of an illustration.
I thought of something I saw one time. There was a squabble
that was going on. He was in a courtroom and it
was over a dog that someone had found. Somebody found this little
dog. It was just a little small dog
and said that it was his. Said it was his dog. Said he
had lost it but he found his own dog and the real owner saw
the dog and said, that's my dog. And so they were going to go
to small claims court. And so you know how the judge,
obviously you know where I'm going with this, the judge was
going to determine whose dog is that. We just got both people
to stand out there in the middle of the room and he just put the
dog down on the floor and the dog immediately ran to its owner. ran right up, jumped on his legs,
and the judge said, OK, that's your dog. That man didn't have
to show pedigree. He didn't have to show a receipt
slip. He didn't have to show any medical
records or something. The very action of the dog proved. That dog proved that which was
his love. That was his owner. He ran to
him. So when the Lord says, purify
yourselves, The scripture declares us to purify ourselves by faith,
by believing the truth. That is the evidence. The Lord
says, my sheep, they hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. Now, were they
chosen before the foundation of the world? Yes, sir. Were
they redeemed by the blood of Christ at Calvary? Yes, sir.
But how do you know all of that was so? How do you know? Right
now, they follow Him. They follow Him. They have purified
their hearts. They've purified themselves by
believing the truth. So John has just set forth the
truth of what does it mean to purify yourself. It is to evidence. that the Lord is your Lord, He's
your God, you believe Him. Then the scripture says, now,
whosoever, verse 4, committeth sin, transgresseth also the law,
for sin is the transgression of the law. Now, almost every
commentator that I've read says this is what this scripture means.
Whosoever habitually has a continual bent towards sinning, whosoever
just maintains that walk of being a sinner is the one that committed
that transgression. That's who it is. It's talking
about those people. But that's not what it says. Here's what
it says, whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. For sin is the transgression
of the law. Are you talking about those that
also purified themselves with belief of the truth? Well, if
they are whosoever, commiteth sin. Everybody, everyone who
commits, who does, who practices sin, is guilty of lawlessness,
is what he's saying. And that is what sin is. Lawlessness, the breaking or
the violating of God's law. It's the neglect of His command
or will. Now let me tell you who is included
in that. All of us. All of us. Whenever the Lord looked down
in Genesis 6-5 and God saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually. Let me tell you who that encompasses. All of us. Is there anyone that
would dare to stand and say, I never see that bent in me. No, everyone that's honest will
say, that's the only bent I see in me. The scripture sets forth
the absolute and undeniable fact that all men born in Adam are
rebels against God, and we all still have that nature, right
now. That nature is still with us. It's not gone yet. By the grace
of God, it will be, but right now, all of us have that nature
that sins. Proverbs 20 verse 9, who can
say, I have made my heart clean, I'm pure from sin. Now every
believer in here purifies himself by believing God. Purifies himself. That's scriptural language that
declares this is the evidence of one whose heart has been made
pure by God in regenerating grace and that heart that believes
God also admits, this is me right here. I got an old man that's
doing the same thing. When Adam fell, we fell. When
Adam rebelled, we rebelled. So in agreement with the absolute
truth of sin being in us, listen to the wording of Paul. Romans
7.24, O wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? That's what it is. Now here's
a believer, one that purifies his heart, that new heart that
agrees with God and believes God, and that's the scriptural
language of purifying yourself. That's the evidence. You're like
that little dog that evidenced who his love was. He ran to Him. And here's a believer that purifies
himself and continually flies to Christ and believes Christ
and admits in himself, this is me. Whosoever committeth sin
transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the
law. And here's the wonder of this thing. A believer is convinced
of that. He knows. That's me by nature. But let me tell you where my
hope is and every believer's hope. Look at verse 5. And you
know that he was manifested to take away our sins. And in him
is no sin. Christ appeared being made flesh,
made of a woman, made under the law, for this purpose, to take
away our sins. To loose them from us, His sheep. To loose the guilt of our sins. The presence of sin is here. It's here. And we feel the anguish
and we resent it. Old wretched man, Job said, I
loathe myself. Whenever a believer sees himself,
like John Newton, looks at everything dark and wild, how can I deem
myself to be one of his purifying his heart, purifying
himself by believing God. Lord, I believe you have taken
away the guilt of my sin. I know you have. I believe you. I trust you. I follow you. I come unto you. And Lord, this
is the reason I come, because I know that I am that one that
commiteth sin. I cannot do anything but sin. I cannot do anything but do that
which that old man dictates. And I hate it. But I know this. Lord, you were manifested to
take away my sins. And in you, there is no sin. Now, I know this. To say that
in the Lord, In Him is no sin. I know that there's no sin in
Him. I know that He was the one that
was spoken of by the prophet that said He made, Isaiah 53,
He made His grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death
because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit found
in His mouth. I know the prophet said that
He was sinless. The Lord Jesus Christ in John
8.46 said of himself, which of you convinces me of sin, which
of you can prove me to be sin, committed sin. The father said
this while he yet spake, a bright cloud overshadowed them and behold
a voice out of the cloud which said, this is my beloved son
in whom I am well, please hear ye him. So I know according to
the scriptures that it him personally There is no sin. But the heart
of our peace is that we being found in Him. In Him. And what does it mean when you
say in Him? You know, we were chosen in Him
before the founder. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that be in Christ. What does that mean? United to. United to. to say that I'm found
in Him, I am united, united to Him, there is no sin. There's a new man. Oh, there's
an old man that does nothing but sin. Oh, but in Him, there
is no sin. Being found united in Him, there
is a new man And I've said this before, I know this by faith,
I know this is so. There is a new man in every believer
that does not sin. That which is born of God sinneth
not. Do you see him in you? Even you
say, I believe Him. Well, I believe Him too, but
I tell you, my belief, I feel so weak. I'm like the one who
said, Lord, I believe, help mine unbelief. Lord, I trust, but
help my untrust. In Him is no sin. And the Scripture sets forth,
we know that He was manifested to take away our sins and in
Him is no sin. There is now no condemnation
to them that be in Christ Jesus because there is no sin to judge that which He died for paid for,
God has pardoned. He's paid the debt. So here's
the conclusion of this matter. I know that every man that has
this hope, in him, in Christ, purifies himself, even as he
is pure. Whosoever committed sin, transgresseth
the law, sins the transgression of the law, and you know that
He was manifested to take away our sins. So I know that they
were there. I know they're there. In Him
is no sin. Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth
not. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen
Him, neither known Him. Whosoever abideth in Him as the
branch abides in the vine, continually abiding by vital union, kept
by the power of God. Whosoever abideth in Him, and
if I'm in Him, God had to put me there, and the Lord has to
keep me there. Whosoever abideth in Him, now
listen, sinneth, that means continually misses the mark, whosoever abides
in him sinneth not. He never errs, he never offends,
never trespasses, never. Whosoever sinneth, that man that
is not in vital union with him hath not seen him, neither known
him. Now that truth can only be understood
and accepted by faith because we know that for the believer
there is a new nature there that does not sin. Romans 7, just
hold your place right there, I'm almost done. Romans 7, verse
22-25. Paul said, I delight in the law
of God after that inward man. There's
a new man there. I delight in the law of God.
Can't keep it, but I delight in it. Is there anything wrong
with the law of God? Love the Lord thy God with all
your heart. What's wrong with that? Love
your neighbor as yourself. What's wrong with that? Don't
commit adultery. What's wrong with that? I delight in the law of God after
the end of man, but I see another law in my members, warring against
the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity, the law of
sin, which is in my members, O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind, that new
mind, I serve The law of God. I thank God that I have a new
mind, a new heart that serves, that bows, that says, Lord, it's
right. It's right. But with the flesh,
He's still thanking the Lord. I'm thankful, Lord, You've shown
me that with the flesh, I serve that law of sin. I'm glad, Lord,
that You've revealed to me what my problem is. I know the problem
is me, so that by faith, whosoever is found in Him sinneth not,
whosoever sinneth, that is, not vitally joined with Him, hath
not seen Him, neither known Him. The life of sin and life of God
They don't mix. They don't mix. Like light and
dark, they don't mix. For the believer, one in whom
is two natures, that old man, that new man, there's a continual
battle going on. That old man does nothing but
sin. That new man sinneth not. Believes God, casts himself on
the mercy of God. Lord have mercy on me. Like that
publican. Only a new man, only a new man
cries out for forgiveness to God because he sinned against
God. Lord, I'm sorry. Have mercy upon me. There's a man that never misses
the mark. And there's a man that never
does anything but come short of the glory of God. There's
an old man that is nothing but that wretched man, that body
death that Paul longed to be free, but the guilt of that sin,
the guilt of God's people that they've experienced, they know
it was born by the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why he was
manifested. Take away our sins. And now almighty
God, justly, justly, Having poured out His wrath upon the Lord Jesus
Christ, bearing the sins of His people, God now justly forgives
us of our sins. Oh, but for those that die having
one nature, that nature with which every man is born in Adam,
that man who does nothing but sin and is still chargeable with
it. There's the mercy of God shown
to us. He's taken away our sins. They don't know the Lord. They
don't know Christ. They have no hope. But for that
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, here's what the Lord says. That
new man. The Lord's given him a new man
that does not sin. He's created in righteousness. because his seed, that is the
seed of the living word of God, remaineth in him. Every man that
hath this hope in him purify himself even as he is pure. You know, I'm going to close
with this. How is it that it can be said of us even as he is pure. Every man that hath this hope
in him purifies himself even as he is pure. Now you've heard
this verse of scripture in closing so many times. Herein is our
love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment
because as he is So are we in this world. Those little bitty
words, as He is, so are we in this world. How can that be? Is He the Son of God in essence? Is He the Son of God in nature? We're the sons of God by adoption. Is He loved of the Father with
an everlasting, unchangeable love? John 17, 23 says that we are
loved as the Father loves Him. Was He hated by this world, afflicted,
tempted of Satan? So are we. Brethren, you believe
that? Purify yourselves by believing
Him. Believe Him. And the believer
says, Lord, I believe you. I believe you. That's what it
is to purify yourselves. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake.