Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. Welcome to our program. Now today,
the message will be brought from 1 John, the book of 1 John chapter
three, and the main text is verse nine, 1 John chapter three. The title of the message is Christ
Seed Remaineth. Christ Seed Remaineth. And I
took that from 1 John 3, nine, where it says, whosoever, is
born of God, doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in
him. Christ's seed remaineth in Christ. And he, that person who is born
of God, cannot sin because he is born of God. Now what a verse
of scripture to consider. This message is one of us in
a series that I've been preaching on the eternal security of the
saved. And teaching from the scripture
that once a person is truly saved, that person remains saved eternally. He's eternally secure. He or
she is eternally secure in the grace of God. And I've mentioned
the objections in the several messages. If you haven't heard
the rest of the series, I urge you to get these messages, just
order them. And I've talked about the objections
that people raise. I've got a couple of more messages
I'm gonna preach on this subject after this, where I'll deal with
scriptures that people use to try to disprove the eternal security
of the safe. But as you know, one of the main
objections is, well, if that's true, then it doesn't matter
what we do. It doesn't matter whether we
obey or fight sin. And that's a sham straw man. objection because I've talked
to you about how sinners, truly saved sinners, they're saved
by the grace of God. They're preserved, kept by the
grace of God. They'll be brought to glory by
the grace of God. But that grace not only involves
what God does for them through the Lord Jesus Christ, but it
also involves what God does in them, in the heart, in the new
birth. in the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit and
in giving them a new heart and a new spirit. So once they're
saved, once they're made alive, they stay that way by the grace
of God. And that's certainly not an excuse
for sin. In fact, one of the messages
that I preached on this was to show that that's the only right
motive for obedience that's acceptable to God. If you're serving God
out of fear of punishment, or promise of legal mercenary earned
reward, that's a bad motive, that's an evil motive. That's
legalism is what that is. But the truly saved sinner serves
the Lord as motivated by love, by grace, by gratitude. He's
not trying to pay a debt to God. that he owes to the law, he's
serving because his debt's already paid by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so that's what we're talking
about. Now, here in 1 John 3, he's talking about those who
are born again, truly born again by the Spirit of God. Sometimes
we talk about the three R's of salvation, the three R's of grace. First of all, the first star
would be ruined by the fall. We fell in Adam in the beginning,
and we all fell into sin. The book of Romans chapter five
and verse 12, for example, when it talks about that in Adam,
all have fallen into sin, into death and sin. And as a result,
we're born dead in trespasses and sins. And we have no spiritual
life by nature. The natural man receives not
the things of the spirit of God, neither can he know them. They're,
they're spiritually discerned. And the scripture teaches that
we must, we must be born again. But, but second are the first
are ruined by the fall. And that that's what total depravity
is all about. You know, people say, well, I
don't believe people are totally depraved. Well, you've got to
understand what total depravity means. You see, total depravity
does not mean that everybody is as bad as they could be. I
mean, there are restraints that God has put on even the unregenerate
world. There's restraints of society
and law, restraints of conscience, all of that. But it doesn't mean,
now there's some people who go the length of what sin and evil
can do. And if we don't, like I said,
it's only because of the restraining hand of God. But total depravity
simply means that we don't have righteousness, we can't work
one by our best works, and we don't want one God's way. That's
why we don't believe the gospel by nature. That's why man left
to himself will not believe. I don't care what any preacher
tells you on that. There's none that seeketh after
God, no, not one. You see, believing on the Lord
Jesus Christ is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit under
the preaching of the gospel to give life. And that's when sinners
come to believe in Christ. So there, that's total deprivation. So ruined by the fall. The second
R is redeemed by the blood. There's a price to be paid. to
the justice of God for the sins of His people. What was that
price? Well, that price is not your
obedience or my obedience. That price is not our reformations. It's not our tears of remorse.
The price is not our baptism. The price is the blood of the
Lamb, period. That's the price. And by the
blood of the Lamb, Those who are truly saved are redeemed
totally. The price is fully paid and righteousness
has been given to them. The imputed righteousness of
Christ. That righteousness charged to them. accounted to them, and
they stand before God in Him. And the third R is regeneration. That's the new birth. You must
be born again. Well, this passage here is talking
about those who are saved, who are born again. And the reason
that the apostle is talking about this is these people lived in
a day where they saw many people claim to believe the gospel,
claim to be believers, claim to be saved, But then, because
of either persecution or some kind of test of their faith that
they couldn't stand, they left the gospel. They totally left
the church. They left the truth, some even
to the point of calling Christ accursed. That's how bad it got. Now, back then, they didn't have
the constitutional privileges that we have today. Back then,
the state could come after them, the government, you know, they
lived in a time when the Roman Empire and also the Jewish Sanhedrin,
the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Jewish, the general population. They hated Jesus of Nazareth.
They hated Christ and they came after him. So these people were
attacked. And it's only by the grace of
God that many of them remained secure in the faith. But that's
the grace of God. But many who claim to believe
the gospel left. And it perplexed these people.
They'd say, what's happening here? Well, back over in 1 John
2, we have the answer. Look at it in 1 John 2 in verse
18. Now, I could read more scripture
here, but I don't have time in the time allotted for our program,
but look at 1 John 2, 18, and listen to what he says. He says,
little children, it is the last time. That means the last age. Now that last stage refers to
the time that John was living in and these people were living
at that time, but it also refers to our time. The last stage is
the time in between the first coming of Christ and the second
coming of Christ. And he says, little children,
it is the last time. And he says, and as you have
heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists,
plural, whereby we know that it is the last time. Now, Antichrist
means against Christ. And you know, people today, they
have their minds on what they call the Antichrist. You know, the term Antichrist
is not even found in the book of Revelation. There certainly
is an anti-Christian spirit exposed there. But John said, the term
Antichrist is found right here, and that's it. And John is saying
that It was foretold Christ mentioned this. He said that many will
come in the name of Christ, but they will really be deniers of
Christ. They'll come in the name, but
they won't really believe. They'll have him in name only.
And boy, we're living in a day like that. This is a day of anti-Christ. Because there's so many who name
the name of Christ, but they deny the doctrine of Christ.
That's why John over in 2 John made this statement. He said,
he that cometh unto you and bringeth not this doctrine, the doctrine
of Christ, he hath not God. You see that? So there's a lot
of people who claim to be Christian and who claim to be saved by
the grace of God, but they deny it in their doctrine. And that's
why I'm so intent on showing you the issue of the eternal
security of the believer. But look, look at what John said
in verse 19. Now there's many antichrists
whereby we know it's the last time. Verse 19, they went out
from us. They left. And that doesn't mean
just geographically, that doesn't mean they just went out the door,
they did, but they left the gospel. They claim to believe the truth.
The doctrine of Christ. And then they just left it, forsook
it, and went with the world. Now look at it again, verse 19.
They went out from us. Now this is John writing by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit. He says, but they were not of
us. Do you see that? They weren't
of us. They were with us in the same
place. They came to the worship services.
They heard the same gospel that we heard, but they weren't of
us. And you might ask the question,
well, John, how do you know they weren't of us? Well, look on.
He explains it. Verse 19, for if they had been
of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. They would
have remained. Now that's what I'm talking about.
Christ's seed, his children, remain in him. They don't leave
him. They may stray for a while, but
they don't leave him. He won't let them go. He's got
them on a leash. They're in his hand and no one shall pluck them
out. But John says, for if they had been of us, they would no
doubt have continued with us, but they went out that they might
be made manifest that they were not all of us. Now they went
out. They left it, and what does that
reveal? What did that make known, manifest? That they weren't of us, they
were never truly saved. But then John, speaking to the
true believers, he says in verse 20, but you have an unction,
that's an anointing, from the Holy One, and you know all things. Now that anointing from the Holy
One is the new birth. You've been born again by the
Spirit of God. And over in verse 29, he makes this statement of 1
John 2. If you know that He is righteous,
in other words, if you know that Christ is righteous, you know
that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him. What is it to
do righteousness? It's to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and rest in Him for all righteousness. And those who
do that are born of Him. Now look at 1 John 3 and verse
1. He says, behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Now that's his
subject now. The true sons of God, children
of God. Therefore the world knoweth us
not because it knew him not. The world doesn't recognize and
really know what a true Christian is. And that shouldn't surprise
us because it didn't know the Lord. I've heard people say,
well, let others see Jesus in you. My first gospel pastor used
to say they didn't even see Jesus in Jesus. They looked at him
and called him a blasphemer. They called him a devil. When
we hung him on the cross, we called him a malefactor, a criminal. So it's not surprising the world
doesn't know us. Verse two of 1 John 3. Beloved,
now are we the sons of God. And it does not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is. You see, being
a child of God is not something that a saved person has to wait
on or develop into. He's already a child of God. Now, there are things we have
to wait on, and that's final glory, the perfection of final
glory in heaven. You see, I'm right now saved
from all my sins, washed in the blood of Christ. I am right now
righteous in Him. 1 John 4, 17 says that. As He is, so are we in this world.
I am as righteous as Christ right now, not in my own person, not
in my character and conduct. but in Him as my substitute,
my representative, my surety. He is the Lord, my righteousness.
I'm as righteous as He is because He is my righteousness. You understand
that? I stand before God in Him. Paul
talked about that. I want to know Him and be found
in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ. But I'm not yet perfect
in myself. I'm not yet, I don't yet have
my new spiritual body. I have to wait on that. And that's
what John is saying. It doesn't yet appear what we
shall be. We haven't seen that in its fullness.
We know something about it because the word of God tells us something,
but we don't know much. But we know that when he shall
appear, when he comes the second time, we'll be like him and we'll
see him as he is in the perfection of glory. And verse three says,
and every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself
even as he is pure. In other words, we're purified
by the blood of Jesus Christ applied to the conscience. Wash
free from all our sins. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
And that's the purification he's talking about. So look at verse
four. Whosoever commit a sin transgresses
also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. That's
what sin is. It's a transgression of the law.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The wages
of sin is death, all of that. But he says in verse five, now
listen to this. In other words, we're sinners
now. If God would mark iniquities, none of us would stand. If God
were to ever judge us based upon our character and our conduct,
even at our best, we would still be sinners. But verse five says,
and you know that he was manifested. Christ was made known, came into
the world to take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. Christ
came to take away the sins of His sheep. He died for the sheep.
He died for God's elect. And in His death, He took away,
He bore them away. He was made sin, Christ who knew
no sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. So He took our sins, the sins of His people were imputed,
charged, accounted to Him, and He died for them. He satisfied
the justice of God. He paid the debt in full. And
He established the only righteousness whereby God could be just and
justifier. So as I stand in Him, No sin. Now I'm a sinner in myself. John
had already dealt with that back in 1 John 1. If we say we have
no sin, we make God a liar. Because we are sinners. I'm a
sinner saved by grace. But in Christ, as I stand in
him, washed in his blood, clothed in his righteousness, I have
no sin. God, and that means this, God
cannot and will not charge me with sin. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. As I
stand before Him as a righteous judge, He lays no sin to my charge. Why? Because He charged it to
Christ. And Christ satisfied justice. He paid the penalty. As I stand
before God as a righteous judge, He looks upon me, a sinner, as
righteous. And he's not pretending. I'm
really righteous as I stand clothed in the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. In him is no sin. So look at verse six now. Now,
based on all of that, that's the security of it, see? He says,
whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. Now what does he mean? Well,
he's talking in the context there of those who left the gospel,
who left Christ. He's not saying that we will
never sin if we abide in Him. But He is saying, whosoever abideth
in Him has no sin charged to him. He's saying, whosoever abideth
in Him will not leave Him. He says, whosoever sinneth hath
not seen Him, neither known Him. If you claim to believe in Him,
you leave Him, you never knew Him. You've never seen him. Little children, let no man deceive
you. He that is doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
If you follow Christ and rest in him for all salvation, you're
righteous in him and based on his righteousness imputed. That
can never be contaminated. That can never be taken away.
Verse eight, he that committed sin is of the devil. Those who
left Christ. They're 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.
So here's verse nine. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin. What does he mean by that? You'll
never leave Christ. How do you know that's what he
means? Look at it again. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot
sin because he's born of God. If you've been born of God, you
look to Christ for all salvation. If you've been born of God, born
again by the Spirit, you rest in Christ for the forgiveness
of all your sins, His blood alone. If you've been born of God, born
of the Spirit, born again, you rest in Christ for all righteousness,
for all forgiveness, for all eternal life and glory. And you'll
never leave Him. It says, his seed remaineth.
That word seed means his offspring. It means his children. That's
what he's talking about. Behold, what manner of love it
is that we should be called sons or children of God. We who are
saved are his children, his seed. The generation of Jesus Christ,
born of him. His death is our life. You see,
He died, but He arose from the dead. And out of His death comes
life for His children, His seed. Isaiah 53 10 says, He shall see
His seed and be satisfied. That means everyone for whom
Christ Jesus died on the cross will be given life. They will
be born again. He said, and I, if I be lifted
up, that is on the cross, will draw all unto me. He will draw
his people unto him. How? In the new birth, under
the preaching of the gospel, they'll be brought to Christ.
And if they're born of God, whosoever's born of God, they will never
leave Christ. His seed remaineth in him. Now, those who leave Christ,
Those who claim to be saved. They may look to you as if they
have gone through great reformations of character and conduct. Their
attitude may have changed. Their behavior may have changed.
They may have stopped drinking or stopped doing this or quit
doing that. They may have had dreams and
visions. They may have gone through all kinds of experiences that
seem to you and me miraculous. But here's the key, and it's
very simple. My friend, if they're truly born
again, they'll stay with Christ. They'll plead His blood and righteousness
continually, forever and ever. And they will not leave Him.
They will not leave Him. Do you think that anyone might
take a truth like that and go berserk with it and just run
off into all kinds of sin and bad habits? Do you think somebody
can do that or will do that? And the answer is yes, they can. But my friend, does that mean
that they know Christ? No. Does that destroy the doctrine,
the truth of eternal security, of the truly saved? No. with
the truth, in twisting it, perverting it, or denying it, has nothing
to do with the reality of it. You cannot base your belief or
your doctrine on what people do, whether they believe it or
not, whether they pervert it or not. To do that is unwise. We have to base our doctrine
totally on what this word says. And what does the word say? It
says, his seed, Christ's seed, his children, the ones whom God
gave him before the foundation of the world in electing grace. the ones whom he redeemed on
the cross of Calvary, putting away their sins, the ones whom
he sends his spirit to give them life in the new birth and bring
them to faith in Christ, his seed remaineth in him. That's what that means. And then
he goes on, he says, that's the way you tell the difference between
the children of God and the children of the devil. See, those who look to Christ,
and rest in Him and stay with Him. They're the children of
God. Everybody else is the children of the devil. And they may be
religious. They may name the name of Christ,
like Antichrist, the spirit of Antichrist. They may claim to
be Christian. They may have stories to tell
about their lives that'll make the hair on the back of your
neck stand up. But if they're not looking to
and resting in Christ, for all salvation, for the forgiveness
of all their sins, for all righteousness, eternal life, and glory. My friend,
they are not children of God. The children of God look to Christ,
rest in Christ, and remain there. And it's all by the grace of
God. The reason that the ones who did not go out and leave
the gospel remained was not because they were better people. It was
because of the grace of God that saves them, preserves them, and
will bring them to glory. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia, 31707. contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
or email us through our website at www.theletterofgrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.