Open your Bibles, if you would,
to 1 John. The name of the message is, in
Him, that being Christ, is no sin. In Him is no sin. How we often wonder in awe at
the fact that we are sinners right now and yet saved. And how we are astonished with
the fact that when God looks upon us in Christ, He does not
see our sin. He does not see our sin, even
though right now we're sinners while we're on this earth, aren't
we? And we're going to sin, unfortunately, because we don't want to sin.
We don't desire to sin. But it's from the top of our
head to the bottom of our feet, isn't it? Even after we're saved.
But God doesn't count our sin against us. And so we're going
to look at that in light of these words. In Him, being Christ,
is no sin. What does that mean for us? What
does that mean for we who trust and rest in Christ? Well, we're
going to see the answer for that today from the Scriptures. And
I'll tell you why. If you're a believer, your heart's
going to leap for joy. It's amazing. 1 John 3. Look
at this in verses 1-5. Now remember who's painting this.
This is John the Apostle. He saw very wondrous things,
hasn't he? He was at the Mount of Transfiguration.
He saw Christ die on the cross. And he heard the words of the
Savior saying, Behold your mother. And to Mary, behold your son,
talking about John. He behold all these wondrous
things. The miracles of our great God.
The miracles that our Savior wrought while He was here on
this earth. He was an eyewitness to them. And He was an earwitness
to His words too, wasn't He? So we can be eyewitnesses to
things by seeing it on TV or something but not actually being
there. But John was there, he was an ear witness and he was
an eyewitness. He saw it right there in real
time. And this is the one who's penning
these words right here. And by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit of God he pens, Behold what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us. Who's he writing to? He's not
writing to the whole world, is he? He's writing to those who
have been born again by the Holy Spirit of God. He's writing to
believers, and he says, behold, what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us. So here we are 2,000 years later,
and we can read these words. Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon you who believe. Us. And you notice
what John does? I love this about the apostles,
and we all need to be like this. He says us. Again, right back
to what Scott said. It's all level. It's amazing. It's a wondrous truth. We're
all on the same level, standing, gazing at our Savior at the foot
of the cross. And he says, Behold what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew him not. You want to know why God's people
are despised in this world? Because they didn't know our
Savior. And they look at us and go, what happened to them? Beloved,
Now look at these words, okay? Not in the future. Beloved, now
are we the sons of God. Right this second. Right now
are we the sons of God. Not when we get to heaven. Right
now. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. And it doth not yet appear what we shall be. We're going
to be sinless one day. In the presence of Christ. Isn't
that going to be wonderful? We're going to be sinless in
the presence of Christ. Right now we're saved sinners. But
at that time, we will be sinless. But we know that when He shall
appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is,
as His second coming. And every man that hath this
hope, who is there hope in? Christ. Only Christ. And every
man that hath this hope in Him purifies himself, even as he
is pure. Now here is a verse which we'll
look at later on. Whosoever committeth sin to ingress
is also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. There's
the level ground that all have fallen on Adam. Everybody. Because
there's not one person on the top side of this earth that doesn't
transgress the law of God. Look at this though. Look at
verse 5. Here we go. Look at this. And you know that
He, being Christ, was manifest to take away our sins. Wonder of wonders. And in Him
is no sin. Perfect. Spotless. No sin at
all. Whosoever abideth in him, I am
the vine, ye are the branches. Whosoever abideth in him, sinneth
not. Whosoever sinneth, hath not seen
him, neither know him. Little children, let no man deceive
you. 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 manifest, that he might, what, destroy
the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him,
and he cannot, because he is born of God. Now this is an absolutely
wonderful portion of Scripture. This is a wonderful portion of
Scripture. There is so much truth here. for God's people to rejoice
in. And this passage so clearly brings
forth the free and sovereign grace of God in Christ, and the
mercy of God which has been bestowed upon God's people. For those
who believe the Gospel, this is a wondrous report here, isn't
it? This is a wondrous portion of
Scripture. For we who have believed the
report that Isaiah spoke of, which is that Christ died for
sinners. And he was buried, and he rose again the third day.
And we only believe that because of God's given faith, right?
That's the only reason we believe that, is because God's given
us faith to believe. But this passage so clearly brings forth,
in awe and wonder, God's mighty work. If a person believes this
report, the gospel, If a person believes the great work of Christ,
that He justified us, that He sanctified us, that He redeemed
us, that He made us acceptable before God in Him without any
personal input by us, then this portion will make you rejoice.
For any who profess Christ, to know Christ, and yet believe
in any way that they contribute to their justification or their
sanctification or their righteousness, this passage becomes an exhortation
to them to a holy conversation and a walk and a continual reminder
of their inadequacy and their guilt. It brings forth the utter
depravity of mankind and yet shows the mercy of God on full
display. Take note that the first two
verses in this passage set up what is to be declared in the
remainder. Again, look at verse 1. John is astonished at the
manner of God's love towards him. He's absolutely astonished.
Because He writes these words, Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, bestowed upon us by His free
and sovereign grace, based upon absolutely nothing in us. Wonder
of wonders. This is free grace on display.
This is the freeing, sovereign grace on display in words. Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. He's given
us faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He sent Christ
into the world to redeem us from all our sins. His love is manifested
to us, isn't it? Clearly. Now, he's in awe here
that we should be called the sons of God. Thereby the world
knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. And the same in this
verse is true for we who believe on Christ right now. Are we not
astonished? Are we not astonished that Christ
loves sinful people like us? That He's had mercy upon us?
Does it not leave you in utter awe, knowing who we are, knowing
what we are, that God loves us and that He calls us the sons
of God? And all this comes in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ in Him alone. There is no other way
we could be called the sons of God except in Christ. And not by anything we do either.
As I said last week, you put a stitch of your own works in
there and you've ruined grace. This is all by the mercy and
grace of our great God. And note the word manner. This
word is very important in our text. It reveals a specific way
that God's love is manifested to us. in a specific way is manifest
in what John sees as a blessed contradiction. As John knows
that in his nature and likewise his frailty and his weakness
as a saint of God, and therefore he's astonished that God would
call us sons of God. See, he's dealing with the same
thing Paul dealt with, isn't he? O wretched man that I am,
who shall deliver me from this body of death? Romans 8, 1, there
is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus who
walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Isn't that
wonderful? He's astonished, just like we are, that God would be
pleased to call us the sons of God, all in and through Christ.
He was astonished that the thrice holy God would call him such,
sons of God. And is this not true for we who
are born again today? Are we not astonished that God
calls us sons of God? Are we not astonished at the
fact that God has loved us in Christ from eternity? It's astonishing,
isn't it? Are we not astonished that God
planned and purposed our salvation in Christ in eternity? It's amazing. Are we not astonished that right
now you and I as believers are called the sons of God? It's
incredible, isn't it? It's absolutely astonishing.
And it was just as truly astonishing for John and for the believers
in Christ that he wrote to as it is for we who are saved by
God's grace and mercy 2,000 years from then. They marveled 2,000
years ago that they were called the sons of God just as we marvel
today, 2,000 years later, that we are called the sons of God.
It's incredible. One of the key words in this
first verse, too, is the word called. Called. Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should
be called the sons of God. Called. Again, our dear brother
John is astonished at the fact that he and his brethren are
called the sons of God. Because he says, behold. Behold
what manner of love is being manifested to us. Behold this
in awe and wonder. And this statement can stand
alone as a wonder. But it does not because it's
connected with the previous verse in chapter 2 that declares doing
righteousness. Look over in chapter 2 at the
very end, verses 28 and 29. We'll read verses 28, 29, and
verse 1. Now, doing righteousness, people
would look at that and say, well, that's doing works. No, that's
believing on Christ. That's just believing on Christ.
Because we can't do any righteousness, can we? Not at all. 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. If you know that He is righteous, and we've been taught
that, right? We've been taught that Christ is righteous. He's
the only one who's righteous. You know that everyone that deals
with righteousness is born of Him. Brother Tim James says that's
just believing on Christ. That's just trust in Christ.
And then tie it into our verse now. Behold, what manner of love
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God. Therefore, the world knoweth
us not, because it knew him not. And note in verse one of chapter
three, and ask yourself, who does the calling? Who gives us
the name Sons of God? John's not saying, well, I call
myself the Son of God because I did this, now I'm a Son of
God. Or I did that, now I'm a Son of God. No, he doesn't say that,
does he? And the unbelieving world doesn't call us Sons of
God. We see that in that verse too. God and God alone is the
one who gives us that name. The Father calls us in Christ
the Sons of God. It's wondrous. Brother Tim says,
God calls it as He sees it. And He sees things as they are.
I like that. He calls it as He sees it. It's
wonderful. He sees us as sons of God in
Christ. Oh, let's read verse 2 now. Beloved, now. Right now. Remember, He's writing
to various believers and He says, right now. Now. Now are we the
sons of God. And it doth 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. John states here
that he believes it is God who has made us the sons of God by
stating that right now we are called the sons of God. Right
now. So if you're a believer, resting
and trusting in Christ alone, this scripture declares that
you are a son of God. Right now. Not when we get to
heaven. Right now. Again, I'm going to use that
word. It's astonishing, isn't it? It is. Leaves us almost speechless,
doesn't it? He doesn't offer up any evidence.
But he receives this by God through faith. By God-given faith that
we are called this. It has nothing to do with improving
one's walk. or nothing to do with the fact
that God's people are the sons of God. It's God and God alone
who calls us this wonderful name. It's He who's done this. And
this is a title of the people of God. Sons of God. It's not
a title we seek, but it's a title God bestows upon us. It's like
we're called heirs of salvation. It's incredible. Look at verse
3 and 4 now. And every man that hath this
hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. Verse 4,
whosoever committeth sin transgresses also the law, for sin is the
transgression of the law. Verse 3 brings forth the hope
that each believer has. And we've been taught by God
the Spirit that our hope is only in Christ. In Christ alone. Our
salvation is only in and through Christ and Him alone. Our hope
is in and through Christ alone. But look at verse 4. It brings
forth the universal condemnation of all the sons and daughters
of Adam as we have all broken the law. We've all broken it.
Whether in action or in thought We've all broken the law. Therefore,
natural man comes into this world, dead in trespasses and sins,
and guilty, guilty under the law of God. Now look at verse
5. Oh my. This is a verse I'd like
us to consider today. And you know that He, being Christ,
was manifested to take away our sins. And in Him, in Christ,
is no sin. None at all. He's spotless in
His birth. He's perfect and spotless in
His life. He's perfect and spotless in
His death. He's perfect and spotless in
His resurrection. And He's perfect and spotless
right now in glory interceding for us. He's perfect and spotless. And in Him is no sin. None. What wonderful words. What wonderful
words for we who are the redeemed. Let these words sink deep into
your soul, beloved. Let them give you comfort now
and through the week. in the weeks to come. This is
my prayer that we can leave here today just rejoicing in the Lord.
Rejoicing in what He's done. Rejoicing in the truth of this
verse. That our wondrous Savior was manifest. And each believer
can say, to take away my sins! Hallelujah! That's glorious,
isn't it? That He was manifest to do that.
And you know what? He did it. Why did He cry? It
is! Manifest to take away our sins
by His complete sin atoning work in His work alone. Oh, let these
wondrous words sink into your soul. This is the good news of
the gospel. This is good news, isn't it,
for sinners. This is wonderful news. He was manifest to take
away our sins. and him is no sin. The only one
who could satisfy the justice and law of God is a sinless man.
The only one who could live a perfect life is a sinless man. Well,
we're in a heap of trouble, aren't we? Because verse 4 tells us,
my, oh, my. Look at verse 4. It tells us,
Whosoever commits a sin transgresses also the law, for sin is the
transgression of the law. And the Scripture says to break
one of God's laws, you're guilty of them all. Why? A wonder of
wonders. He was manifest to take away
our sins. He was manifest to do that. In
Christ, there's no sin. Sin is our great concern, isn't
it? As people on this earth, sin is our great concern. Now,
before we're saved, it's not really our great concern. We're
just going along. But when the Lord starts dealing with you,
my goodness, we're like David then. We say, my sin's ever before
me. And even as believers, saved by the grace of God, our sin's
even more before us now, isn't it? So sin is a major concern
for us. But this first brings forth the
glad tidings which the angels spake when they said, we bring
you tidings of great joy. What's the great joy? He was
manifest to take away our sins. That's great joy for a sinner,
eh? That'll make your heart leap. In Christ there is no sin. What
was the publican's concern? When he cried out to God, he
said, God be merciful to me, the sinner. His concern was his
sin, wasn't it? That's what our concern is. And
you know He was manifest to take away our sins. And in Him is
no sin. What did the thief in the cross
say to the other thief? He said, we're here justly. His
concern was about his sin. And he said, Lord, just remember
me. Just remember me, Lord. Oh, my. What a wondrous statement. Can we grasp the full meaning
of the statement here too? In Christ there is no sin. Can
we have our minds around that? That leaves you in awe. God incarnate
in the flesh. No sin. The God-man. Fully God
and yet fully man. In this wondrous verse here in
verse 5, it brings forth the absolute holiness of our great
God too. It brings forth the holiness
of our Redeemer. In Him was no sin. None at all. Remember, He was tempted in all
points as we are, yet without sin. So we know this is chiefly
talking about his character in his life. Who are we chosen in?
We're chosen in Christ, aren't we? We're chosen in Christ. Scripture
says we're crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, we live. Scripture
says we're now seated in the heavenly places in Christ. Scripture
also says we're now accepted in the beloved. That's Christ.
We're accepted by God the Father in Christ. Now we're called sons
of God. Now we acknowledge, again, that
we are sinners by birth, nature, and choice. And we acknowledge
that we are but sinners saved by grace, don't we? We acknowledge
that. We acknowledge that as believers. We've been taught
that Christ is the head and we're the body. And we're found in
Him now. We've been taught also that we're
complete in Christ, aren't we? We're complete in Him. Listen
to this wonderful statement by Brother Henry Mahan on this verse.
He says, So what is said of Christ is also said of His people. What
is said of Christ is also said of His people. In Christ there
is no sin. So in Christ, all who are in
Christ have no sin. Can we even enter into that?
He goes on to say this, no sin. Past, present, or future sin. Because we are complete in Christ. Now we know we're sinners, don't
we? We'd be the first to admit that we're sinners. And we'd
be the first to say we're Sinners saved by the grace of God. But
when Paul writes, you're completing Christ. Remember that Greek word
means to be filled up, to not be able to put another drop in.
You're completing Him. So when God looks upon us, right?
He does not see our sinfulness. He sees the righteousness of
Christ. How do we know that to be truth?
What's in the Old Testament? When they put that blood on lentils,
remember? What did the Lord say? He said,
when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Now, they were still
sinners inside there, right? Those Israelites were sinners
just like we were and like we are, right? But God said, when
I see that blood, I'll pass over you. When God the Father sees
the blood upon us, beloved, He just passes it over us. Even
though we're sinners, it's that precious, precious blood that's
made us to differ. And that's God's doing. That's
God's doing. Do you know what Scripture declares?
Listen to Ephesians 1 verse 4. We are holy and without blame
before Him. How? in Christ. Jude writes this,
He is able to keep you from falling, to present you faultless before
His presence. How can Christ present sinners
faultless before the Father's throne? Because they're in Him.
And their covering is the righteousness of Christ. And when God sees
that blood of Christ, It passes over. Now you're the sons of
God because of the mercy and grace of God in Christ. So, no wonder it's written, there
is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. No
wonder Paul penned those words. Now we have a better understanding,
don't we? Why those words are in Scripture. And marvel at this.
I love this little portion here in Romans. Who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Anything! Now, people say all
kinds of stuff about us, don't they? Right? Who can lay anything
to the charge of Godless life? Who is it that condemneth? Well,
man condemns man, right? And we've all condemned other
people sometimes. Not in a sending them to hell
kind of thing, but we've condemned their actions sometimes and their
words. And yet, we're just sinners too. but for God's people. Who
can lay anything to the charge of God's elect, God's born-again,
blood-washed people? Who is He that condemneth? It
is Christ died, yea, rather is living again, who is even at
the right hand of the Father, who maketh intercession for us.
We are in Christ, beloved, and we are complete in Christ. There
is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. How can you say
that? Because there's no condemnation in Christ. Because we're in Christ. That's the key. And that's the
only reason Why we can proclaim there's no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the spirit, only because we're in Christ. If God does
not see our sins, because they've been bought and paid for by the
Lord Jesus Christ, then there's no curse upon us. The curse of
the law, the claims of the law, find no fault in us because of
the righteousness of Christ, because of what he's done. So
we're not under the curse of the law anymore. It's been removed.
Scripture says Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.
He purchased us out from under the law. The law had a rightful
claim on us in our natural state. It had a rightful claim on Wayne
Boyce. Christ has redeemed me from the curse. Put your own
name in there if you're a believer. Isn't that amazing? He's redeemed
us, beloved. He's purchased us. What was the
purchase price? His own precious blood. When
I see the blood, I'll pass over them. Wonder of wonders! You know, in Christ, we don't
face no judgment. I often hear people talking about believers
coming to the judgment. Do you know that the believer
will not face judgment? Not at all. How do we know this?
Well, the scriptures declare in John 5.24 from the Master's
own lips. And proof from the scriptures
is what we want, right? He that believeth on the Son
shall not come into condemnation. You know what that word condemnation
means? Judgment. That's good news, isn't it? That's
wondrous news. We don't face a judgment. Why?
Why don't we face a judgment? Beloved, all our sins were judged
at Calvary's cross. All of them. Past, present, and
future. They were all bought and paid
for. Remember, all our sins, for we who are believers here
in 2021, are all our sins were future. They were all future,
weren't they? So did Christ pay for all our
sins on the cross? Or did He not? Scripture declares
He paid for them all. Hallelujah. So our sins were judged at Calvary,
beloved. They were bought and paid for.
They were purged at Calvary. And in Christ we have no sin.
God looks upon us and does not see us as sinners, but sees us
as sons of God. That's remarkable. It's absolutely
amazing. Do you see what good news this
is? This is good news, isn't it? Oh, it's good news. Oh, this is the gospel of God's
grace. This is the gospel of God's grace. This is good news. Glad tidings for sinners. All
our sins are forgiven in Christ. How? All by His mighty work alone. And although I am a sinner saved
by grace right now, All my sins are forgiven and all yours too,
if you're a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're born
again, they are all forgiven. That's what the scripture says.
That's not my opinion. Wonderful, isn't it? And what
we hear today called the gospel is not good news at all. You
know why? Because it gives the hearers
an impossible task. You know what it tells them?
It demands a righteousness and then requires them to produce
it. But I can't produce that. Can you? It demands a righteousness,
again, that's of man's doing. We can't do it. It demands a
holiness. And it requires me to produce it. Modern religion.
I can't produce it. I'm made holy in Christ and Him
alone. It presents a perfection and requires us to produce it.
We can't produce perfection, can we? We're sinners. We saw
in verse 4, we're all transgressors of the law. But look what verse
5 presents to us. The truth. Look at the truth
that's presented in the Scriptures. And you know that He was manifest
to take away our sins. He did it all. And in Him is
no sin. He was manifested. He came into
this world to take away my sin. It says right here, in Christ
there's no sin. Are you interested in this mercy
and grace? Are you interested in this? This
grace in Christ? I don't see how anyone can fail
to be interested in such mercy. Such mercy. Such grace. Such
good news. You know what the psalmist wrote?
He said, blessed is the man or woman to whom God will not charge
sin. That's those who are in Christ.
Will not charge sin. But Lord, I'm a sinner from the
top of my head to the bottom of my feet. But by the mercy
of my grace and by His compassion. He says, you're forgiven. Forgiven
because of the work of my Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. My sins
are ever before me. Are your sins ever before you?
All the time, aren't they? But you know what? Those of us
who are covered in that blood, our sins are not before God.
They're ever before us, but they're not before God. That's what John's
bringing forth here. He's bringing forth this wondrous
grace and this mercy. So if we're sinners saved by
the grace of God, then in God's sight, even though I'm a sinner
saved by grace, He sees me in Christ. Even though I'm a sinner.
With His spotless garments on, I am as holy as God's Son, one
hymn writer wrote. And then another hymn writer
wrote this. My sins, oh, the bliss of that glorious thought. My sins, not in part, but the
whole, are nailed to His cross, nailed to His cross, and I bear
them no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh, my soul. So think upon this. In Christ there is no sin. Marvel
at His words. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Rest. Total rest. Eternal rest. Complete rest. Your sins may
be as scarlet, double-dye red. Here, make your wife snow if
you come to Him. I'll make a covenant with them.
I'll forgive their sins and remember them no more. I'll blot them
out and I'll cast them behind my back. I'll separate them from
your sins, from you as far as the East is from the West. And East and West never meet.
If you go East and you keep going East, you'll never meet West.
If you go West and you keep going West, you'll never meet East.
As one commentator said, our sins are tossed into the sea
of God's forgetfulness. Oh my! My oh my. So happy. Happy as the man or
woman who God will not turn sin against. We're happy. All my
sin. Past, present, and future. Blotted
out. Remembered no more by God. My
oh my. In Him there's no sin, verse
5 says. Look at verse 5 again. But He
hath appeared. He's been made manifest. It says
there. And you know that He was manifested.
appeared to take away our sins. And in him is no sin. What a
wonder. What a wonder that Jesus loved
me. And what a wonder that Jesus found me. What a wonder that
he came into this world. He was manifest to take away
my sin. It's wondrous. Out in the darkness,
no light I could see. Oh, what a wonder he put great
arms under me. And wonder of wonders, he saved
even me. Wonder of wonders, he saved even
me. So are you concerned about your
sin? David said, my sins are ever before me. And against thee,
and only thee, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight."
So again, this is our great concern, isn't it? Our sins. A Christian's
concern and view of sin is that we've sinned against God. I never
thought of that before the Lord saved me. But after the Lord
saved me, I realized, by His mercy and grace, that it was
Him I sinned against. And this is what produces genuine
repentance and godly sorrow when we realize that our sins, our
thoughts, our rebellion, our temperament are sins against
God. And we were like that before
we were saved. And we're still sinners after we're saved. But
that was the guidance of our life, wasn't it? We were moved
and swayed by whatever we desired. And our sin, beloved, was against
God. Sin, we know, is a transgression of his law. So all the world
in our natural state is guilty before God. Again, that's brought
forth clearly in verse 4. You know what we humans like
to do? We like to put sin into categories. And you know, that's
a fatal mistake. That's a fatal mistake. We like
to categorize things. We see great sins, middle sins,
little sins. We see big lies, little white
lies. We've divided all these sins
up. We've categorized one to be greater than the other. But
you know, sin is sin in God's eyes. What we would consider
a little sin brings upon the same condemnation as a great
sin. And sometimes someone will commit a little sin and there
won't be Hardly any repercussion for him. But then another person
will commit the same sin, and there'll be great repercussions
for them. See, sin is sin. It's a sin. In God's eyes, it's
all a transgression of his law. And we know the scripture declares
to offend in one point. We've been taught this. To offend
in one point is to be guilty of the whole law. Therefore,
all who are the sons and daughters of Adam are transgressors against
the law of God. We're sinners against God. And
sin is just not an outward action. People think that sin is just
an outward action. You know, it's an inward attitude.
It's not just an outward conduct. It's inward behavior, thoughts
and imaginations. And even all that sin is against
God, whether it be an action or whether it be inward. All
the things on the outside are but byproducts of sin. See, the
things that we do when we commit sin with our actions is but byproducts
of sin that is within us. The apple trees out here, if
they produce no fruit in the summer, they're still apple trees,
aren't they? They're apple trees in the summer,
they're apple trees in the fall, they're apple trees in the winter,
and they're apple trees in the spring. Even if they don't produce
any apples, they're still an apple tree. See where I'm getting
to? I may be in a wheelchair looking straight ahead, not even
be able to move my neck and my head, not to go one side or the
other. But sin, emotions, the attitude,
the imaginations, rebellions, the evil, the heart still goes
on, still goes on. God looks at the heart, doesn't
he? He doesn't look at the outward countenance. Man looks at the
outward countenance and says, well, soul, look at that. Look
at that fella. Religion does that. They judge by the outward
or judges by the inward. He looks on our hearts. He sees
all the imaginations of our heart. He sees our rotten, dirty thoughts
in our heart. The Scriptures declare out of
the heart proceeds evil thoughts. That's what Christ said. Pride,
covetousness, envy, jealousy, malice, hatred, all these things
live and survive in the heart of men, women, and children.
And this is what makes verse 5 such wondrous news. And you know that He was manifest
to take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. So let
the truth of this verse just sink deep into your heart, beloved. Again, remember that John is
writing to born-again, blood-washed saints. They've been granted
faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, let
we who believe look at this verse. Let's look at it again. And you
know that He, being Christ, was manifested, appeared, came into
this world to take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. Here before
us is cause for great rejoicing for the people of God. Christ
was manifested, the second person of the Trinity, the Word of God
was manifest to take away our sins, to die on Calvary's cross
in our place by the will and purpose of God. And He came here
willingly to do that because He loved you and I who are His
people. He was manifest to take away
our sins. He was manifest to die on the cross. To have the
wrath of God poured out upon Him. That wrath that was due
you and I. He was manifest to do that. To
go to the cross. To bear our sins. And praise
God to raise from the grave for our justification. So what confidence
the believer has in Christ alone. And you know that He was manifest
to take away our sins. How many of them? All of them.
Every single one of them. Everyone, starting back with
Adam, we fell in Adam, didn't we? We fell in Adam. And in our
lives, we shook our fists at God. In our lives, in our own
sinfulness, and even the sins we commit now and in the future,
the Lord Jesus Christ was manifest to take them all away. Wonder
of wonder. He was manifest to take away
our sins. And it was our sins that sent
Him to Calvary. It was our sins. So marvel at
the love of God if you're one of His people. Christ was sent
by the Father willingly. He came willingly. He was manifest
in the flesh. The Word of God came down here
to this earth. The express image and the brightness
of God's glory. The image of His person. And
we sinful men spit in His face. And you know, if we were there
in our natural state, we'd have done the same thing as they all
did. We'd have cried, crucify him, crucify him. We'd have done
the same thing. It's only God's grace that made us differ. It
was for our sins that he suffered, because we see in him was no
sin. None at all. He's perfect. He's spotless.
He's the Lamb of God. His back was lacerated for our
sins. He was beaten for our sins. A
crown of thorns was plated, which means they hammered it on his
head for our sins. So marvel at His great love for
you. Take that away from this today. Marvel at His great love
for you as a believer. He was manifested to take away
our sin. Hallelujah. What a Savior.