Well, it's just a delight to
be with you. Would you turn back to 1 John chapter 3? I have entitled this message,
Believers Do Not Sin. Believers do not See. Now, I've looked at this
passage of scripture for many times over the years, and I fear
that I've. Looked at it, trying to figure
out what it means, what it says, what it doesn't say. Could mean
this must mean that just kind of. Trying to figure out what
it meant. without actually seeing what
it says. Now read this verse of scripture
with me. Verse 6. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not." Now, it does not say that the man or woman who abides in
Christ has their sins forgiven. It does not say that the man
or woman who abides in Christ doesn't have their sins charged
to them. It says, whosoever abideth in
him sinneth not. Now, our conscience says it couldn't
mean that. Our experience says it couldn't
mean that. But what does it say? What does
God's Word actually say? Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not. Now, I've heard people explain
this away by saying what they mean by that is they don't commit
the sin of unbelief. They believe and therefore that's
the sin they don't commit. But look at the context of the
passage of Scripture and let's see what John meant by sin. when he says, Whoso abideth in
him sinneth not. Look with me at verse 4 of 1
John chapter 3. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law. For sin is the transgression
of the law. God's holy law. The Ten Commandments. Loving
God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength.
Not committing idolatry. Never taking the name of the
Lord God in vain. Always reverent. Keeping the
Sabbath. Resting completely. Honoring
your mother and father. Honoring all authority. Never
lying. Never murdering. Never committing
adultery. Never stealing. Never bearing
false witness. Never coveting. A perfect standing
before God's holy law. Not just a perfect standing before
God's holy law. Being able to say, honestly,
all these have I kept from my youth. up. How can that be? As I said, my
experience doesn't go along with that. My conscience doesn't go
along with that, yet God's word says in abiding in Christ, I
do not sin. Look in verse five. of 1 John
chapter 3, and you know that he was manifested to take away
our sins. That's why he came. He came to
take away our sins, just like the high priest put his hands
on that scapegoat. and it signified the transference
of sin. And a fit man led that goat into
a land not inhabited. Where is it? I don't know, but
it's gone. He comes back and the sin has
been taken away. Now, did he do it? When he bowed
his head, that mighty head, and said, it is finished, my sin
was taken away. It can't be on me and on him. If it was on him, it's no longer
on me, and he took it away. Now look what the next phrase
in verse 5 says. In him is no sin. If I'm in him, I have no sin. Not merely my sins are forgiven,
not merely they're not charged to me. I have no sin. You're looking at a man without
sin. And that's what it says. I'm
not asking you to understand it, but I'm asking you to believe
You know, we can't really understand this, but we sure believe it.
It's what God says. And we believe what God says.
You know, the gospel is far too awesome and too profound to where
we can really intellectually get hold of it all, isn't it?
If I could comprehend it all, there wouldn't be much to it.
But I believe what this passage of Scripture says. In Him is
no sin. If I'm in Him, I have no sin.
Abiding in Him means that I, in my person, do not sin. That's what it says, sinneth
not. Hold your finger there and turn to Psalm 119. Here's a description
of every believer. Psalm 119. Verse one, blessed are the undefiled
in the way. who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep His
testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart. They also
do no iniquity. They walk in His ways. Now my conscience, while I'm
preaching this, Well, I'm seeing what God's Word says. My conscience
tells me that all I do is sin. If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. They're
the words of noun. If at any time I say I have no
sins, no sinful nature, I'm deceiving myself. I've lost all credibility.
The truth's not in me. If we say we've not sinned and
they're the words of verb, anything we do is a sin. Don't care what
it is. If I do it, that makes it a sin.
If we say we've not sinned, we make him a liar and his word
is not in us. But the word of God tells me
that in abiding in him, I do not sin. Look in verse six again. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen
him, neither known him." You can't see Him if you have sin
on you and sin in you. You can't see Him. Little children,
let no man deceive you. Verse 7, He that doeth righteousness
is righteous even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of
the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this
purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works
of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin. Now somebody says that means
a believer doesn't practice sin. That ain't what it means. That
ain't what it means. It means he does not commit sin. He doesn't do it at all. For his God's seed remaineth
in him. He cannot sin. He lacks the ability
to sin because he's born of God. Now, is that what this passage
of Scripture is saying? Now, the first thing that I want
us to consider is this thing of in Christ. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not. Now, this is the biggest thing
in the Bible. Isn't that right? In Christ. This is the biggest thing in
the Bible. And every time I attempt to speak
of this, I feel a measure of frustration and a measure of
failure in trying to deal with such a awesomely profound thing in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Let me give you some scriptures.
In Colossians chapter 2, verses 9 and 10, we read, In him, in
the Lord Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
in a body. That's what's in Christ. That's
who's in Christ. And you are complete in Him. You see, it pleased the Father
that in Him should all fullness dwell. That's hard to explain
what all that means, isn't it? It can't be done. All of God's
love is in Christ, so that Paul said, nothing shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. It's all in Christ and it's not
anywhere else. Outside of him, there is no love.
Listen to this scripture, Colossians chapter two, verse three, in
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We read in 2 Corinthians 1 that
all the promises of God in him are yea and amen to the glory
of God. Every promise of God in him,
you can't mess up. You can't take away the efficacy
of it. There's no condition you need
to meet in order for that to be fulfilled. They're all yea.
They're all amen unto the glory of God by us. All of God's purpose. Notice not all of God's purposes,
but all of God's purpose is in the Lord Jesus Christ. We read
in Ephesians chapter three, verse 11, according to the eternal
purpose which he hath purposed in Christ Jesus, our Lord. All spiritual blessings are in
Christ. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
one. Remember, he said, whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. Ephesians, chapter one, verse
three. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who hath blessed us. With all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, now all spiritual
blessings are in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we got them all.
Every single one of them. There's not one spiritual blessing
that any believer does not possess. We have them all in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He goes on to talk about some
of them. Verse four, according as he has chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love, having predestinated us into the adoption
of children. by Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in
whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of His grace." All of God's blessing,
all of God's purpose, all of God's salvation, all of God's
person, is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, is it any wonder
that Paul said, Oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him. When God comes looking for me,
there's one place I want him to find me in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, what is this thing of being
in Christ? What all does it mean? And let
me give you a couple of scriptures that have helped me a great deal
in understanding something about what it means to be in the Lord
Jesus Christ. First turn to Hebrews chapter
7. Hebrews chapter 7. Verse 9. And as I may so say, Hebrews
7 verse 9, and as I may so say, Levi also who was not yet born,
who had no existence, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham."
Now, it doesn't say, it says, if he paid tithes in Abraham. It didn't say tithes were paid
by Abraham for him. It says he himself paid those
tithes. when he was in the loins of his
father Abraham. Levi paid the tithes. Whatever
Abraham did, whoever was in Abraham, they did it too. Let me show
you another scripture. Turn to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. Verse 12. Wherefore, as by one man, sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and so that death passed
upon all men, for that Adam's sin was imputed to every one
of them." I didn't read that right, did I? It says, wherefore, as by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned. When Adam sinned, I sinned. Whatever Adam did, I did. Wherever Adam went, I went. If I'm in Christ, when He kept
God's holy law perfectly, I did too. Now, what is this thing of abiding
in Christ? Now, I understand what Paul meant
when he said, oh, that I may win Christ. He said, yea, doubtless,
I count all things but lost to the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of
all things in New Canada, but done that I may win Christ and
be found in him when God comes looking for me. Someone says, I'd like to be
found preaching or witnessing or praying or reading the Bible
or something. No, I want to be found in the
Lord Jesus Christ. I want it to be so all God sees
is Jesus Christ. Oh, that I, when he shall come
with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in him be found, dressed in his
righteousness alone, faultless to stand before God's holy throne. Now, we see what an awesome and
glorious concept this thing is of in Christ. In Christ. Now, what's it mean to abide
in Christ? He says, whosoever abideth in
him sinneth not. Now, this word abideth is translated
by six other words in the New Testament. It's translated continue. Whosoever continueth in him sinneth
not. It's translated by the word dwell.
Whosoever dwelleth in him sinneth not. It's translated by the word
endure. Whosoever endures in him sinneth
not. It's translated remain. Whosoever
remains in him, they don't leave, sinneth not. It's translated
stands. Whosoever stands in him Abideth
not, it's translated, tarry. Whosoever tarries, you know you
tarry someplace where you like being, don't you? You tarry because
you don't want to leave. You like being there. Whosoever
tarrieth in Christ, sinneth not. Now what is this thing of abiding,
dwelling, enduring, remaining, standing and tarrying in Christ?
Now listen real carefully. Hear this. May the Lord enable
me to hear it. Abiding in Christ, is a conscious
desire to not be anywhere else. Abiding in Christ. It's not just
a passive thing. It's an active desire. It's a desire to not be Anywhere
else there's no other place you want to be and you determine
in your heart You don't want to be anywhere else because there's
nowhere else that can compare being in him is better than anything
else Now you came into this room Half hour ago 45 minutes ago
you came into this room Now what if in this room? That you're
in You found everything, comfort, security, pleasure, safety, good
food, great friends, a great encouraging atmosphere, peace, complete satisfaction,
beauty, No sin. No trouble. No pain. No wrongdoing. A place of absolute
justice. A place of pure mercy. A place
where your highest goals are realized. And none of that was
outside of this room. Would you ever want to leave? Would you ever want to leave
this room if you had everything in this room and nothing outside
of this room? Would you ever want to leave
this place? No. No, I want to abide. I want to remain. I want to continue. I want to endure. I want to tarry
in Him. You see, all of God's blessing
is in Christ in this place, and you never want to leave. Truly, you have nowhere else
to go. No place you want to go. Now,
whosoever abides in Him, do you have that conscious desire to
only be found in Christ, where God, when He looks at you, all
He sees is His blessed Son. He sees nothing else. Oh, I want
to be found in Christ. Now, whosoever abideth in him
sinneth not, because in him is no sin. You're looking at a man without
sin. Literally? Yes. Actually? Yes. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not. Now, this is what the Bible calls
justification. Justification is not a piece
of paper that says I'm something that I'm really not. In Christ, I have no sin. I sin not. Now. The only thing I can do
with this. Is believe it. I can't really
figure it out. But I can believe it. It's what
God's word says. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not. Now turn to 1 John chapter 2.
I want us to look at a few scriptures regarding this thing of abiding
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 28. And now, little children, abide
in him. Have a conscious desire to not
be found anywhere else. Now, little children, abide in
him that when he shall appear, we may have confidence. Now that word confidence is the
same word that's quite often in this same epistle translated
boldness. Boldness. Look over in 1 John
4, verse 17. Herein is our love made perfect
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Now, the
only way I can have boldness in the day of judgment is if
I have no sin. If I have any sin, I can't have
any boldness. I can only have fear. As He is, how is He? Sinless. Is Jesus Christ sinless? Is He
utterly without sin before the Father? Is He utterly righteous
before the Father? As He is, so are we in this world
right now. Therefore, we have this boldness. Back to 1 John chapter 2. And
now, little children, Abide in Him that when He shall appear,
we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His
coming. Now, the only way I can not be
ashamed is to have nothing to be ashamed of. You want to know
the truth about me. You want to know the innermost
secrets of my heart. If you want to know the real
skinny on me, read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And that's my
life before God. I'm not ashamed for it all to
be seen. I've got nothing to be ashamed
of. That can only be realized by
faith. You know, I think of what David
said in Psalm 1715. He says, As for me, I'll behold thy face in righteousness. The only way I can behold his
face, if he looked at me now and I'm conscious of sin, I can't
behold his face. I'd look down. I'd be so ashamed.
I'd think of all the things that run through my heart, my mind,
the things I've done, the things I'm going to do. The only way
I can behold his face is in righteousness. He said, I'll be satisfied when
I awake in thy likeness. Paul said in Ephesians 1, 12,
in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the
faith of him. Now, we won't be ashamed for
this one reason. We have nothing to be ashamed
of. No sin. Whosoever. Don't you love that
word whosoever? That's one of my favorite words
in the Bible. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.
It doesn't say Todd, it might be a different Todd. It says,
whosoever, I'm one of them. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not. Abiding in Christ enables us
to have this attitude of confidence toward Judgment Day. Look in
1 John 2, verse 27. But the anointing, the anointing
which you've received of him, abideth in you, and you need
not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth
you all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it
hath taught you, you shall abide in him." Now here's the anointing
of the Holy Spirit. It's when somebody says, oh,
that I may win Christ and be found in him. That's the divine
unction of God the Holy Spirit. If your desire in your heart
right now is to only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ, that's
the divine unction. That's the work of God the Holy
Spirit in you. That's above the strength and
energy of this flesh. Look in verse 19 of this same
chapter, verse 20. But you have an unction from
the Holy One, and you know all things. Now, verse 26, He says,
These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce
you, There we're going to be seduced to be to go outside of
Christ. Paul said. I. I'm scared to death, that is
the Satan beguiled into a subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted
from the simplicity, the singleness, the wholeness, the completeness
that's in Christ Jesus, our Lord. But having this unction from
the Holy One, you won't leave. You'll continually cry out, oh,
that I may win Christ and be found in him. Now, it's that
one who keeps his commandments that dwells or abides in him.
Look in 1 John 3, verse 24. And he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth, that's the same word, abides in him and he in him. It's that person who keeps God's
commandments. I don't mean he admires God's
commandments or can quote God's commandments, but it's that person
who keeps God's commandments that abides and dwells and continues
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we don't have to speculate
as to just what he meant by keeping his commandments. Somebody wrote
me a letter recently and he said, if we got to keep his commandments,
tell me which and be specific. And I said, OK. And I turn to
this passage of scripture, verse 23. And this is his commandment
that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ. And love one another as he gave
us commandment and he that keepeth his commandments dwells in him. Now I do, by the grace of God
right now, believe on the name of his son. I believe His name
is the name I... Well, let's put it this way.
Let's put it this way. When my name is called, I'm not
going to answer. I'm going to wait for Him to
answer for me. And His name, that's the name
I believe. Not my name. His name. I believe
that His name is my only way into glory. And I do love everybody
who loves him. I really do. If you love the
Lord Jesus Christ, I'm a big fan of yours. I really am. I
mean, I think you're great. I'm thankful for you. He that
loveth him that begat, loveth him also that's begotten of him. Look in 1 John chapter 4, verse
16. And we have known and believed
or relied upon the love that God has to us. That great love
wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins. He quickened
us together with Christ. That's what I'm relying on. His
saving love. And we have known and believed
or relied on the love that God has to us. God is love and he
that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. Now this is the life of faith,
eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He said, he that eateth
my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him. He's my food. I can't live without eating and
drinking him. Faith in him. Turn to John chapter
15 for a moment. John Chapter 15. Our Lord says, I am the true
vine, John 15, and my father is the husbandman. Every branch
in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more
fruit. Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken
unto you. Abide in me. Abide in me. Same thing. And
I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can you except
you abide in me. I'm the vine, you're the branches.
He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit. If you abide in him, if I abide
in him, we will bring forth much fruit. You can't help it. It's
the necessary consequence of that. Look in John chapter 15
verse 6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch,
and is withered, and men gather them, and cast them into the
fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words
abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done
to you. You have the very ear of God
abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I'd like to conclude this
message with an IF and an OUGHT. IF you abide in me and my words
abide in you. IF you abide in me. IF is a condition. If I was in one of those houses
with the blood over the door, you know something I wouldn't
do? I wouldn't even stick a finger out the window. I'd stay in the house. What happened
to somebody if they went outside? They died. The only place of
safety was in the house with the blood over the door, if you
abide. If you continue in my word, then
are you my disciples. Indeed, whoso transgresseth and
abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. If you continue. if you abide
in Him. There's no mercy for that one
who does not abide. And there's a whole lot of folks
I've seen over the years who seem to abide, but they're not
here now. They went out from us, but they
were not of us. For if they'd been of us, they
would have no doubt continued with us. But they went out that
they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us.
That's the if. Now look in 1 John chapter 2.
Verse six. He that saith, he abideth in
him. I'm saying it. I'm saying it. He that saith, he abideth in
him ought himself, also so to walk even as He walked." Now
you take that just as far as you want. He walked in complete
dependence, in complete submission, in humility, in obedience, in
reliance, in love, in zeal, in mercy, in faithfulness. You go
on talking about how He walked. Now he that saith, he abideth
in him, he ought also so to walk, even as he walked. If we abide in him, we ought
to walk like him. Whosoever, whosoever abideth in him, Sineth not. Believers do not sin. Amen.