1 John 3. I did not plan these
two messages. I did not think ahead and plan
them to bring them together, but they're so much alike. This
morning's Bible study and the second message are very, very
much alike. I believe the Lord, I know He
did. He brought these things up in His Word at the exact same
time. Look at verse 10 of 1 John 3. I'm not going to go as far as
I wrote in the bulletin. He said, In this the children
of God are manifest. It's apparent. The children of
the devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness
is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. He says the children of God are
revealed, and the children of the devil. I know religion talks a lot about
the devil and Satan, and he has really become a laughing matter
to this generation because ignorant Religious people speak, Scripture
says, evil of dignity, things they don't know about, and they
speak about him. I saw a man come in to Walmart
yesterday, and he had on his shirt, Not Today, Satan. That tells me he's under his
dominion, that he doesn't have any fear. Ask Adam and Eve about Satan.
Ask David. Ask all of God's people. Ask
Michael, the archangel, who would not contend with them. The archangel. The children of God are revealed.
The children of the devil. Scripture very plainly tells
us that all human beings are not God's children. God is not
the Father. He's the Creator, but not the
Father of all mankind. God said that in the garden.
He began saying that in the garden. He spoke to Satan. He said, I'll
put enmity between her seed and your seed. The seed, the offspring
of the dead, Satan. Our Lord Jesus Christ said this.
He turned to some and said, If God were your father, you would
do the works of your father. Right? That's what John is talking
about. He said, if you're of your father,
the devil and his works, that's what you do. So this is what
John is talking about. Can we know whether or not we're
the sons of God or of the God of this world, Satan? Can we?
Yes. This whole book, 1 John, I'm
so thankful for it. Hereby we may know. that we've
passed from death unto life. By this we may know that we're
born of God, begotten of God. And there's several ways, but
two principal ways we want to look at this morning. So scripture
plainly tells us that the true children of God are manifest,
are revealed, It's not completely apparent and obvious to everyone,
but 1 Corinthians 2 talks about those who are spiritual, that
is, mature in their understanding. They have discernment. Their
eye is single. Their whole body is full of light.
And they have some discernment. They can discern between the
true and the false. Not infallibly, mind you, because
some of these works are easily imitated outwardly. in speech and works and so forth. God's not mocked. He sure knows. He looks on the heart. On the
heart, that's where the issue is. Love. We're going to talk
about that. We may know, and here's what
Paul told us in 2 Corinthians 13 and 5, examine yourselves
whether you be of the faith. Know ye not your own self? Whether
Christ be in you, except you be reprobate. So, do you want
to know if you're a child of God? Do you want to know? That's a good sign. The people of the world don't
know and they don't care. They're not asking that question.
They're not asking. So it's a good sign. Give diligence. They give diligence to make their
calling and election sure. Paul said this, one thing I want. I want one thing. And I'm pressing. I want to be found in Christ.
I want to win Christ. I want to know Him. I am not
there yet, he said. I haven't arrived yet. I haven't
attained yet. But this one thing I do. Didn't
David say that? So do all of God's people. All
of them without exception. That's one way you know. They're
not playing games here. This is life or death. They want
to be found in Christ. They've been warned like Noah,
and they move with fear, and they get in Christ's ark, and
they don't want to get out. Two principle ways that John
deals with here. Verse 10. In this, the children
of God are manifest, the children of the devil. Now, you go to
John chapter 6. Now, he just said, little children,
let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is
righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sins of the
devil, never sinneth from it again. Let no man deceive you. Why would he say that? Let no
man deceive you. Because, sad to say, some men completely explain
that away. to mean that it doesn't matter
how you live at all. It has nothing to do with salvation.
Rather, it's not the means of your salvation, but salvation
is unto good works. Salvation is to take an unrighteous
people and make them righteous, make them like Christ. Not in
principle, not in theory, not just spiritually, but in thought,
word, and deed like Jesus Christ. Let no man deceive you. Let no
man explain this away. And Paul said it in the other
epistle. Paul said it. He said, let no
man deceive you. Because of these things cometh
the wrath of God on the children of disobedience. Adultery, fornication,
all of these things. Drunkenness and so forth. And
such were some of you. But you're washed. You justify. You sanctify. You change. You're a new creature in Christ.
If there's no new creature there, God didn't save that person.
They're not of God. Is that right? That's why he
said, don't let anybody deceive you. And it's obvious, you look
at a person out there that has no interest in God, that they're
sitting on the bar stool at 10 a.m. at Applebee's. That's their
life. It's obvious that person doesn't
know God, is there? Right? Clearly, the works of
the devil are manifest. Galatians 5 says that works of
the flesh are made manifest. But the fruit of the Spirit is
also manifest. Children of God are manifest.
It's obvious. For this purpose, Christ came
to destroy the works of the devil. To suppress that old man in you,
create a new man in you for his glory. That's what salvation
is all about. It's unto good work, not because
of them, but unto them, which God hath before ordained that
we should walk in them. Let no man deceive you. Let no
man teach you otherwise. I'm so thankful I had a pastor
that preached the Word as it is, what it said. Barnard used
to say, it doesn't say what you think it means, it says what
it says. Why would anybody explain this away? I love what John Newton
said. I love it. We all love this.
I am not what I ought to be. You know, that's why the scriptures
keep exhorting us, exhorting us, exhorting us. Jesus, that's
what the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, leads us and guides us
in holiness and godliness and Christ-likeness. Be holy, I'm
not. I'm not what I ought to be. I'm
not what I'm going to be. It does not yet appear, John
said, what we shall be. I'm not what I'm going to be.
I'm not what I want to be. Like David said, I'll be satisfied
only when I wake with His likeness. Like Paul said, O wretched man
that I am, I just want this old man gone. But thank God, John Newton said, I'm not what I used to be. Is that self-righteousness? No,
it's acknowledging what God has done. Brethren, I wouldn't be in this
building if God hadn't done something for me. It's the furthest thing
from my mind and heart years ago. But God. To God be the glory. Great things
He hath done. It's obvious when He does it. It's obvious when God does something. When God does something to somebody
like Moses, they come out from the Word of God, born again,
and their face is shy. Their countenance is shy. They're
a new creature in Christ. Now, what I said before, it's
not perfectly obvious or manifest or infallibly known, but it is known. Where are we? John 6. Now he talks about doing
righteousness. Doing righteousness. Here, John
chapter 6. The two ways we're going to look
at this morning. The children of God are known
to manifest, and the children of the devil. The children of
God do righteousness, and they love. They love. Really. It's unfamed love. It's not fake. They're not putting
it on. And we're going to see who and
what they love supremely. John chapter 6, doing righteousness. In verse 28, some said to our
Lord, John 6, 28, they said unto him, What shall we do that we
might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto
them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he
hath sent. Number one, doing righteousness. Doing righteousness is dealing
first and foremost with faith. That's what it's talking about.
Alright? Believing, trusting Christ. Look at Romans 4. Romans
4. You see, remember Titus 3 says,
it's not by works of righteousness which we have done according
to His mercy. See, even this faith is not of
yourselves. It's the gift of God. I believe
God, but I didn't just decide to. It wasn't my free will. It wasn't my choice of Him. It
was His choice of me. It was His will. Okay? If I believe
on the Lord, He did it. He did it. But I do believe. I do believe. Yet not I. You
understand what I'm saying? If you don't believe on the Lord,
you're not saved. You won't be saved. If you don't
call on the Lord, you won't be saved. You're not saved. Well,
who calls? Those the Lord calls. Who believes?
Those the Lord gave faith, but they believe. Romans 4 verse 1. What shall
we say then that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the
flesh, hath found? If Abraham were justified by
works, he hath whereof something to glory in, not before God.
What sayeth the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it
was counted. It was reckoned. It was charged. It was imputed unto him for righteousness. He believed God. That's a work
of righteousness, as God said, justified from all things. For
what? Believing. Where did he get this faith?
Abraham was 75 years old and an idolater. He didn't know God.
He wasn't looking for God. But God came looking for him.
And God found him. And God revealed himself to him.
And God gave him this faith, see, of God are all these things. Verse 5, verse 4, Now to him
that worketh is a reward not reckoned of grace, but of death.
You see, by grace we're saved, not work. This doing righteousness,
and you know these things. Am I saying something new to
you? I know. It's new to those who've never
heard it before. Not God speaking. You know these
things. that we keep stressing them,
though. Why? It's God's glory. Now, verse
5, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. This is doing
righteousness. Number one principle, doing righteousness. Galatians 3, we don't have time
to turn there. I'm going to turn for you. In
Galatians chapter 3, over and over, it says, now listen to
it, Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Again, he's saying the same thing. Don't you know that they which
are of faith the same are the children of Abraham? And verse
26 says you're all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. I tell you, the children of God
are manifest. by this work of faith in them. They do righteousness, but it's
not them. They believe, but it's not them.
He gave them this faith. This faith is a result of salvation. It's not the cause. Okay? And this gives me hope. This
really gives me hope that I'm a child of God. I really do believe. Who do you say that I am? Simon
Peter said, we believe, no, we're sure, that thou art the Christ,
the Son of God. They knew Him. They believed
Him. They walked with Him. They listened to Him. They strove
to do what He told them to do. They loved Him. They depended
upon Him. He was their life. Brethren,
I can say the same thing. If you'd ask any of them, you'd
say, what's your hope of heaven? Simon Peter says, him. It's him. But Peter, you're a new man.
That's not my hope. If I'm a new man, he did it.
I didn't do it. He did it. He was a new man,
wasn't he? Peter went from a longshoreman
to a Christlike man. John Newton. Read his story sometime. Well, faith, faith, faith. Now
faith worketh. Galatians 5 says this faith that
God does, it's His Word. But this faith He puts in them
worketh. How? By love. Which brings me to the next thing.
The next thing is work of righteousness, work it by love. Go back to our
text, 1 John chapter 3. It says in verse
10, Whosoever doeth not righteousness
is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. This
is the message, verse 11, that you heard from the beginning.
That we should love one another. He says we should love one another.
We should. Our children should love. Our children should do what we
say. Well, they do. But we tell them they need more. They need to grow in this thing.
They do. If they don't, they're not. If
we don't love, we're not God's people. And we do. But oh, how little is our love. How small is our love. These
things need to be perfected, or matured, or grown, that we
might grow into the measure of the stature, Ephesians 4 says,
of the fullness of Christ, a perfect man. We're created in Christ
Jesus unto good work, for we grow in grace and the knowledge
of Him. And this is, as we noted last
week, it's not something washing. Remember washing? You don't wash
yourself. The soap washes you. The water
washes you. This means that the Lord says
to use the Word. And He says, so desire the sincere
milk of the Word that you may grow thereby. Do you make yourself
grow? No. The Word does. You grow in
faith. You grow like crack. There's
a passage in 1 Corinthians that says, we all behold as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, and we're changed into the same image. Beholding the glory of the Lord.
We really don't know it, don't realize it, but we are being
changed in His image. The more you look at Him, the
more you look to Him, the more you look at Him, the more you
become like Him. The child grows up. grows up,
is it pretty evident that that John Cheesley back there is the
son of just John Cheesley? If you came in here and nobody
knew these two men, and I asked, who's that man's son up there?
It's manifest. Well, what about the work of
God? Sure it is. Sure it is. All right. Now, let me just say
this before we go on to love. Scripture speaks much of good
works, doesn't it? Many things. And some of those
things can be imitated. As we said last week, Janice
and Jamboree, the magicians of Pharaoh, they had their tricks
and they threw their rod down and became serpents and tricks. Fooled a lot of people. Fooled
the Egyptians. They thought they were white
tricks, schemes, sorcery. It appears to the naked eye,
but it's not. It's not. So a lot of good works. And here's why the Scripture
says, listen to this, the plowing of the wicked is evil in the
sight of the Lord. Now farming is a good, honest
vocation. Aren't you thankful to the farmer?
But he said the plowing of the wicked, that man who doesn't
know God, who doesn't give thanks to God, who doesn't worship God,
who does not give God the glory for everything that he has, him
out there plowing his field and not glorifying God for that field
is wicked, evil in the sight of the Lord. Whatsoever is not
of faith is what? Sin. Sin. God's not getting the glory
for it. All of it. There's nowhere it's
more subtly deceptive than in religion. Because it's in the name of God,
and they use Jesus' name and all that, and that's why it says,
many will say unto him in that day, look what we've done. And
our Lord said, it doesn't matter, it's evil in my sight. You call
it good works? The Lord said, I say it's evil
because it wasn't done for my glory. Right? All right? So this brings me
to the next thing. It's manifest. And rather than
you, those who have clear eye can discern the difference. You
can smell it. You can smell man's glory. You
can smell You can smell the exaltation of man. And you can feel it and
you can hear it when God's being abased in man's immediate. And
it makes you ill, not sick. There's signs. David said, the
transgression of the wicked saith within my heart clearly tells
me, clearly manifests to me that there's no fear of God before
their eyes. And this is the clearest sign of all to me in religion
today. No fear. They talk about God,
but it's not in fear, not in reference. Well, I've got to go on, because
there's a group that are so close that if it were possible, they'd
receive the very leg. And this is the thing that I
know in them. No fear. They're clever, they're cute,
they're even comical. And they've got the doctrine.
But there's no fear of God when you're trying to be clever, cute,
and comical, and you don't have a burden for the Word. If you're
not serious about this, God didn't send you. And I'm listening to
these fellows, and I'm thinking, our Lord didn't preach like that.
The apostles didn't preach like that. It's too serious. I've been reading
the burdens of the Word of the Lord in Isaiah, seven or eight
burdens. Read it. No laughing matter. It's good news, all right, but
there was a lot of woe before he got to chapter 40, and Isaiah
did. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people. My people. All right, love. 1 John 3. This is manifest. He that loveth not his brother.
This is the message. Now, is love to the brethren
the first thing? Our Lord said all the law is fulfilled in one
word, love. The first four tables of the law, the moral law, is
to God, toward God. The last six are toward man. In this, the children of God
are manifest and the children of the devil. God's people really
do love God as God. All things work together for
good to them that love God as God. Let such as love thy salvation,
thy glory, thy name. David said, Unite my heart to
fear thy name, to never use thy name in any way but in fear and
reverence. Why? Because they love His glory. They love His name. They love
His truth. They love His truth. They don't
just believe it. They love it. They've received
the gift, the grace of God. They've received a love for the
truth. They don't just say, Oh, I believe man is to pray. They
know it. They don't just believe God elected people. They know
it and they love it. They know that if He had elected
me, I wouldn't have chosen Him. They know and they believe that
Christ died for His people and the blood of Jesus Christ. They
believe in particular, effectual, eternal redemption of Christ.
They believe and they love it. It's a hope. They believe in
irresistible grace. Oh, they love it. Because they resisted, they resisted,
they resisted. But then when God said, no more. Here are the two shall you come.
No further. They love it. They love that. And perseverance
of the same. Perseverance, as Brother Crabtree
called it. Perseverance. They don't just
know it. They love it. If I get the glory,
brother, it's because Christ got me there. One hundred percent. Ask the people on the ark, how
did you get to this promised land? The ark! We didn't swim afoot. We were found in the ark. These aren't just doctrines in
the head of God's people. They're the joy and rejoice of
their heart. We speak of Him who loved us
and chose us and called us and washed us and preserved us. They love Him and they love His
people. They love His people. They love
His kingdom. They love His king. Here's the thing. Here's the
true children of God are manifest. Faith in Christ, I mean they
really do trust, believe Christ 100%. Cut into the heart of a
believer and what you'll find is Christ. They're not looking
to anything, anyone but Jesus Christ. There are no exceptions. No exceptions. Faith in Christ,
love for God as God. Buddy, when you start preaching
and exalting God, the sovereign God, to His people, His children,
they rejoice to high heaven. They're so glad. Rejoice the
Lord is King. They love God as God. They love
His truth. It endureth forever. They love
it. They love the things of God.
They love the kingdom of God. Their mind, their heart is set
on it. They want it. They desire it.
They're looking for it. They want to be in it. They love
the worship of God. These are the things of God what
we're doing right now. This is what are we doing? We're preaching
Christ. We're preaching. We're not doing anything. I'm
not entertaining you. There's no programs for you. It's one thing. Is this one thing
needful for you? Is this the one joy and rejoicing
of your heart? Is this the one thing that you
must have that is the joy and rejoicing of your heart? Is it
not it? Him. The children of God are manifest. The children of the devil. Our
Lord said of Satan, Thou shapers not the things that be of God,
but the things of man. So that's what you have to use
to appeal to the people of the world. What's that? Music, entertainment,
programs, food. President, this is our food in
it. Fun. I wouldn't call, I don't,
again, I don't use likeness or cleverness. This is not fun,
per se, as in a game we're playing, but this really is the enjoyment
of God's people. You can't fake it. And you will
for a while. You can for a while. But not
forever. Until finally somebody, Christ,
the love of Christ is not in them, the things of God is not
in them, what they'll say is, I'm looking for something else. And they leave. And they find
all those things, programs and this and that and the other.
What do you want for your children? What do you want for your children?
One thing. And that's what we do here. You
know what my wife is teaching your children downstairs right
now? Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53. This is how the children of God
are manifest. And love for one another. Now,
he's going to deal with this more in depth, and so will I,
with more time. But love for the brethren. It's
not fake. It's unfeigned love for the brethren.
You go in these places, and some of you have been in it, and I
love you, brother, and they're stabbing you in the back. They don't say it all the time,
but you know it. How? Because they'll prefer you
over their blood kin. And I'll deal with that a little
more in the next message. And that's a God. That kind of
love is a God.