Back in 1st John, someone told me one time, if
you have something to say to somebody, and it's a very important
thing to be said, write them a letter. And it'll give you
a chance to think through what you want to say. and it'll give
them an opportunity to read it and then go back and read it
again. We have a letter that was written
by a man as the Spirit of God moved upon him to write. John
the Apostle is writing this letter to God's people. And as we consider these three
verses that I read earlier today, this service, I pray that God
give us some understanding to the benefit of God's people
and to the glory of Almighty God. Now, the Lord had a reason,
obviously, in moving upon John to write. In this passage of
Scripture, at least six times, the Apostle John says, I write
unto you, or I have written unto you, because. So there's a reason, there's
a revelation of a blessing in what the Apostle John says this
morning through the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Now he said
in verse 12, I write unto you, little children, because your
sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. He said, I'm going
to write this to you, and here's the blessing. Your sins are forgiven
you for His namesake. Now the next verse, verse 13,
He's going to address little children again, but the word
that He's going to use in that next verse is a different word
that he's using in verse 12. In verse 12, the word that he uses concerning
children. I write unto you little children.
The word there means students. I'm writing to you students. Your sins, students, are forgiving
you. Now, in that next verse, in verse
13, that word that he's going to use there, in the latter part
of verse 13, I write unto you little children, that word right
there means infants. So he's going to address God's
people. And in this address this morning,
he's addressing actually Three stages, if I can say it like
that, of a believer. Three stages of growth in a believer. Children, young men, and fathers. Now, this group that he's speaking
to, all of us, all of us, students. We need to be reminded of something,
and it does not matter whether we are, and when I talk about
a babe in Christ, I refer to this group because of the interpretation
of the word newly formed. Whether we be newly formed babes
in Christ, young men, or fathers, We need to be reminded of this
truth. Your sins... Now, let's grab
hold of a word here that is unbelievably blessed to hear. Are. Forgiving you for His name's
sake. Now, I don't speak Greek. I told
you that before. I don't have a hard time with
English. But I do, I can look up a word. And this particular word, it's
a verb. And the verb right here, the
Greek dictionary says, I'm not trying to impress you, I'm just
going to tell you how ignorant I am. But here's what I'm going
to tell you. That word, the Greek dictionary
says, is aortas, future. I had to look it up too because
I don't know what aortus future means. Here's what it is. A past action that has no future
limitation. So it means that word right there,
it means whatever it meant in the past or the present or the
future, it means the same thing right now. Now here's the blessing,
students. Here's the blessing, little children,
young men, fathers. Your sins are forgiven for His
namesake. We were all born in sin. All
God's people. Now I'm talking to God's people. I don't know who they are. But
I'm talking to God's people. I'm talking to the elect of God. I'm talking to the church. I'm
talking to the bride chosen in the Lord Jesus Christ before
the foundation of the world. And I don't know who they are. I've got a good idea in this
congregation, but I don't know. I don't know who God's elect
are. Here's what I'm called to do, preach the gospel and to
tell God's people what Almighty God has said concerning their
state before God. And I'm going to have to just
trust the Spirit of God to reveal to God's people who they are. I'm a messenger. I'm an ambassador
of Christ. I speak to you in Christ's stead. And I don't know to whom I speak. But I know this, whoever God's
people are, if I be one, I'm talking to me. If you be one,
I'm talking to you. But I'm telling you that no God,
we were all born in sin. And so therefore, we're sinners
by nature. I know this, that we all practice
sin. Therefore, we're sinners by choice.
And sadly, the body of sin, our old nature, is still with us.
But I have a blessing from the Lord for you this morning. Your
sins are forgiven for His namesake. And the forgiveness of those
sins is found to arise totally from the abundant mercy and compassion
of Almighty God and His good pleasure and His will to forgive
you for Christ's sake. By the shedding of His own blood,
by His sacrifice at Calvary. So, your sins, For His namesake. Not ours. Not ours. Let me be
real clear right here. There's not one thing that you
or I have ever done that has ever merited God's forgiveness.
Nothing. Nothing. We've never done anything
perfectly. In ourselves we're not holy.
In ourselves we're not righteous. And in ourselves we've never
pleased God. The best thing we've ever done
is nothing but filthy rags. Nothing. You understand that? Nothing that you claim, I did
this, that or the other. You hadn't done anything. We're
all just rebels against God. But God Almighty would be pleased
to forgive us to pass over, to cast behind His back, to throw
into the depths of the sea of His forgetfulness. This is a
thought that's too high for me. But to realize that the Lord
has been pleased to forgive us our sins for His namesake is
a blessing that all three groups need to hear. Not our past and
present sins, not our secret or obvious sins, not the sins
that we will commit, and we will if the Lord allows us to be here. We're going to sin, but they're
forgiven right now, already. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth. us from all sin. You say, well, won't God have
to wait until we commit them before He'll forgive us? Almighty
God is eternal. We're creatures of time. We're
just, we're walking through the only thing we know right now.
We have to go from one minute to another. God doesn't go from
one minute. He says, I am. So your sins are
forgiven for His namesake. So here John writes to students,
all students, but then he's going to address three different stages,
still believers, all believers. He's going to write to us in
the way that we perceive ourselves. He's going to write to believers
and he's going to address us concerning the measure of the
Spirit of God's work of grace in us. And he's going to speak
according to the degree of our maturity in Christ. And not at any stage of a believer. has anything to do with his state
or unity in Christ. A babe in Christ is as much a
part of the body as the oldest of God's saints in this congregation. Let me ask you this, what is
more part of a tree? The farthest, tenderest, little leaf that was just formed
today. Or the oldest branch on that
tree. Which is more part of the tree? They're both part. They're just
as much a part of the tree. They're both supported by the
vine. They both gain their nourishment
from the trunk. And so a spiritual babe in Christ
demanded the same sacrifice as the oldest of saints. We were
all just God's sheep. But in every congregation, there's
different stages by the grace of God of spiritual growth. And it's not according to physical
years. It's according to the Holy Spirit's
pleasure to call God's people out of darkness. But He reveals
the same message, the same gospel, To everybody, everyone that God
calls out. Who was more a child of God's
mercy? Was it Moses or blind Bartimaeus? Was it Paul? Or was it the thief
on the cross? Which one? They were all God's
people. So as we consider these three
groups, I want us to just consider those groups for just a minute
and realize Almighty God has brought us from the beginning
of our awareness of God's mercy and grace until the time that
we leave this earth, Almighty God has taught us concerning
His mercy and His blessing right here. Your sins are forgiven
you for His namesake. And before I just look at them
for just a minute, no believer ever exhibits one quality of
maturity. Meaning this, a babe in Christ,
you think, well, they'll always act this way. Then a young man
will always act this way. And then the fathers will always
act this way. Nope. In every believer, you're
going to find the qualities, the same qualities, immaturity,
strength, old age, maturity in the Lord. Whenever God called
Solomon to be a king, he was a young boy, Samuel, young fella. But these men, by the grace of
God, were wise beyond their natural years, because God taught them. You say, well these are just
young men, but yeah, the Lord gave them wisdom. But then you
had a Peter who should have exhibited consistent maturity and was sitting
down with some Gentiles and Paul the Apostle walked in and he
was sitting with some other Jews and Peter, when he saw these
other Jews walked in, he jumped up and wouldn't sit with the
Gentiles anymore and Paul rebuked him for it. Here, you'd say,
well, he shouldn't have acted like that, I know. How many times
have we not acted as we should have? You say, well, I should
have known better. I agree, we all should have known
better. But then there was a David, a man after God's own heart.
A man that knew God, walked with God, taught of God, he would
never, never act with such immaturity and disrespect, would he? Nathan the prophet came to David
and told him, he said, you're the man. You're the man. And David said unto Nathan, I've
sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, the
Lord? Hath put away thy sins. I looked that up. The Lord has
not charged those sins to you or imputed those sins to you. Why? Because He charged them
to Christ. He said, I'm going to have mercy
on whom I'll have mercy. I'm going to have compassion
on whom I'll have compassion. Did David deserve that? No, sir.
And I didn't either. And you didn't either. God Almighty
has mercy on whomsoever He will. So as we reverently consider,
let's be thankful for that which the Lord has taught us here.
Alright, verse 13. I write unto you, fathers, because
you've known Him, that is from the beginning. I write unto you,
fathers, because you've known the God of all grace in Christ,
who forgives sins for Christ's sake. You know, there's in every
congregation, whether we can look here, you go ahead and be
like me. Just start trying to think and
trying to relate these scriptures right here. to those that the
Lord was pleased to, years ago, call out of darkness and has
taught and matured and sustained all this, you know, these fathers. That's what it's talking about.
It's talking about those that have long proven the faithfulness
and compassion of the Lord to keep His people and to keep them
from themselves, to keep them from the seducing power of the
love of this world and from the consuming wiles of the devil.
They've learned some things. They've long since seen the sustaining
grace of God and God's kept them. And now, here, they are in the
course of their life, and they're seeing the effects of sin, and
they know that, but for the grace of God, I wouldn't be here. But for God's grace, I would
have long since, these fathers, who have beheld." That's what
he's saying. I write unto you, fathers, because
you've known Him that is from the beginning. Fathers, well
taught, kept by God's grace, and quick to acknowledge it. They're the first ones. They'll
say, as David said, I've been young and now I'm old. Yet have
I not seen the righteous forsaken because of their sins, nor his
seed begging bread." I tell you there's much deeper meaning in
that, his seed begging bread. What they can say is this, I
have never witnessed, I'm a personal witness to this truth, I've never
seen God's people knocking and asking and seeking at the door
of the bread of heaven, and not be answered, and not be kept,
not be given that which they desire and require. So John repeats
this to these fathers in verse 14. He said, I've written unto
you fathers because you've known Him that is from the beginning.
You know, not being redundant. But let me ask you this, how
many times do we need to hear the same thing over and over
and over? And he said the same thing in
two verses back to back. That's what Apostle Paul says,
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord, to write the same
things to you. To me, indeed, is not grievous,
but for you is safe. We need to hear. Tell me again,
because I need to be reminded. that my sins are forgiven, me,
for His namesake. We need to be reminded of God's
sustaining grace. Why? Because we're weak. We're
frail creatures. And we experience the effects
of sin and weakness in our bodies. But remember, your sins are forgiven
for His namesake. Then he says in verse 13, I write
unto you, young men, because you've overcome the wicked one.
Here the Apostle Paul is speaking to men and women in the flower
of their youth. You know, I think of how Marvelous
it is. And you think, I mean, this is
absolutely the way that things are in every congregation. And
he's writing to this church. He's writing to the church, to
the believers. So we see ourselves as we began
to get older and we don't have the ability to think I remember when Brother Scott
would tell me, he said, Marvin, I just can't think like I used
to. And I think to myself, I'm so
glad he said that, because I wasn't thinking either, like I thought
I used to. And I think, here's the effects
of seeing it. But I'm thinking, but there was
a time when not only Brother Scott, or for me, or for many
of you, When we could say back in the flower of our youth, in
verse 14, again James speaks to these young men, I've written
unto you, young men, because you're strong, and the Word of
God abideth in you, you've overcome the wicked one, but the blessing
to those in the flower of their youth, those who've been found
to be faithful, faithful, oh, the wonder of beholding the faithfulness
of God to keep His people and to see how God keeps in the prime
of their life, if I can say it like that, but He reminds them. of where their strength originates. Have you overcome the wicked
one by your power? By your might? Those that have been kept were
the bulk of the responsibilities of the work of the ministry.
God calls people, men and women, He places them in positions wherever
He's pleased to put them in the body, lively stones. Where did
you get that strength? Where did you get the strength
to do what you do? How do you continue doing that? The things that are done here,
the prayers that are offered, the faithfulness to support the
ministry. Where did you get that strength?
Did you come up with it? The Scripture says that you've
overcome the wicked one. But you've overcome the wicked
one totally, being found in Christ, your head. who he himself overcame
Satan's hold and power over God's people because of their sin. Here we are, we're weak creatures,
frail creatures of the dust. Dust, we have no power. Listen
to this, here was our problem. The cause of the weakness of
our flesh We had no power to be obedient to God. No power
to keep God's law. Listen what Almighty God, the
Savior Himself, done for us. He says, blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us. Now, just think for a second. The handwriting of ordinances
that was against us. What was that? It was the law.
The law. that we had disobeyed. We had
disobeyed God and therefore we were subject in ourselves. Subject to its penalty. Captive
to Satan. Captive because of sin. Paul says the things that I would,
I can't do them. I want to be obedient. I don't
want to be disobedient. But I don't have any power to
do that. But I've disobeyed God's law. He blotted out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us when we disobeyed God. When
we disobeyed God's law. We were found to be lacking in
faithfulness. Do you understand that? And the
Lord took that which was against us. That is, the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us. We're guilty. And what did
He do? Those things that were contrary
of us. He took it out of the way. How? The scripture says,
nailing it to His cross. I'll bear that. I'll suffer that
penalty. And having spoiled principalities
in power, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them,
and we in Him too. You young men. John says, I write
unto you young men, you've overcome the wicked one. How? In Christ. by the blood. Verse 14, I've written unto you,
young men, because you're strong. How strong are you? Strong in
the Lord. And you want to know how you
realize how strong you are? God's taught you something about
how weak you are. Paul says, when I'm weak, that's
when I'm strong. When I know that I have no weakness
in myself, I mean no power in myself, that's when I know. He
says in 2 Corinthians 12, 10, therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses for Christ's sake for when I'm weak. Then I know
that only in the Lord am I strong. He's not going to leave me. We're
more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Therefore,
to the young men who've overcome the wicked one, who are strong,
to those in whom the Word of God abideth, listen to me, you
that are bearing the bulk of the work, the ministry that God's
called you to, remember this, your sins are forgiven you for
His namesake, and your strength's not in yourself. And finally,
the apostle writes to the newly formed in the Lord, the babes.
The latter part of verse 13, I write unto you, little children,
because you've known the Father. Here's a beautiful word I'll,
in closing, share with you. Because you've known the Father. to become heartfully acquainted
with the Father and His will and affection by which He redeems
His own in Christ. You've known who the Father is. John concludes this portion of
this letter to God's people, to the students, To the fathers,
to the young men, and to the children, with this blessing, your sins are forgiven you for
His namesake. But there's one thing that I
thought about that I want to share with you that I think will
really set forth. To you fathers, that have long proven the faithfulness
of God to keep you. To you young men who Almighty
God has proven His faithfulness to you and has shown you that
your strength is only in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to you
children, to the children, to you little children, I write
to you because you've known the Father. Have you ever been in
a group, let's say a group of people, adults, and there's a
little six-month-old, four-month, six-month-old child. And somebody's holding that little
child. And that little child is just
there and it's just frantically looking around. And all of a
sudden, that little baby's mama walks up. Do you know who that little baby's
gonna know and go to? He's going to his mama or daddy.
Why? Because he knows them. He knows
them. To you little children, to those
newly formed in the faith. Listen to this blessed passage
of Scripture. Our Lord was teaching. John 10, verse 4 and 5. He says, When He, speaking of
Himself, the Good Shepherd, putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth
before them, and the sheep follow Him, and they know His voice. And a stranger will they not
follow? but will flee from Him, for they
know not the voice of strangers. When Almighty God calls His people
out of darkness, when He newly forms them, He teaches them the
voice of the Savior, the voice of the Master. He teaches them
when they hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak through His Scriptures,
they recognize His voice. when He's set forth as God Almighty,
Sovereign, Merciful, Compassionate, the Savior of sinners, never
leaving their salvation to themselves, never setting Him forth as one
that's trying to do anything. Whenever you hear somebody say,
well, the Lord's trying to... Well, no He's not. He ain't trying
to do nothing. He does as he will in the army
of heaven. Whenever you hear someone speak
of a God that wants to say, if man will, that's not the voice
of the shepherd. And I'll tell you this, the sheep
won't follow him. But when they hear the voice
of the shepherd, They know that voice. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never faint. Brother Scott has told us all,
he said, since I heard the good news, he said, I hadn't heard
any bad news. Now listen, listen. It matters
not little children, young men, or fathers. It matters not. If
the Lord who orders all things, He does all things well. It doesn't
matter wherever we are. We are where we are by the grace
of God. By the grace of God. And no matter
what we're going through, I've got some good news for you. You
that know Him, your sins are forgiven you for His namesake. Lord, bless this word to our
heart for Christ's sake. Amen.