First John chapter 3, I want
to start at verse 9 again and deconstruct it as we were doing
last time. I think we did a fairly acceptable
job. I could tell by the response
afterwards that a number of you were benefited by this, but I
want to just start here so we can work our way through. We
are at verse 8 of 1 John 3. I'm sorry, verse 9. Whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remains in
him. and he cannot sin because he is born of God. John is here
explaining to those who are listening to him the state and condition
of the true believer. He's explaining to us what it
means to be authentic children of God. In fact, you and I know
that the essence of chapter 3 is the distinction between the children
of the devil and the children of God. That's verse 10. In this,
the children of God are manifested and the children of the devil.
So what John does in verse 10 is conclude by saying, There
is a manifestation that is evident for those who will pay attention,
and that manifestation gives us a distinction between the
children of God and the children of the devil. Now, if that statement
is understood properly, here's what he's saying. There is no
mystery as to who are the children of God and who are the children
of the devil if we are willing to take the evidence that scripture
lays out before us as to the distinction between the two groups.
He's saying there is a manifestation of the children of God and there
is a manifestation of the children of the devil and they are mutually
exclusive manifestations by which we can know whether or not we
are children of God. Now we will back up and deal
with verse 9 and bring clarity to it as we did before so that
you guys can understand the real sense of the verse and then we
will follow John's reasoning through the rest of the verses
as we have it in our outline. What we are dealing with, according
to our own outline, is the consequences of a doctrine we call regeneration. Regeneration. We are dealing
with what it means to be born again. To re is a prefix that
means to do over, to repeat or to recover. are to retain, means
to take back, or do over. It's a preposition, prefix, which
means to do over. And when we say that we are born
again, we are talking about being born a second time, being born
from above, and being born anew. For those of you who do not know
it, to be born again means to be born a second time, distinctively
different than your physical birth, to be born from above,
which means the origin of this second birth is from God. That's
the language to be born from above and then to be born anew.
Qualitatively, this second birth is different than your first
birth. Those are three aspects of the new birth that you need
to be able to understand. as a fundamental to this term
which has been stretched out of shape by religion for the
longest. I'm born again. And born again
means nothing in the real biblical sense for those who use the term. To be born again is to be born
from above, is to be born a second time, and is to be born anew. That means your second birth
is not like your first birth, And it means that your second
birth does not come from the same place that your first birth
does. John 1, verse 12 says, as many
as have received him, to them gave he the power to become the
sons of God, to them who have believed on his name, not by
virtue of blood, nor by the will of man, nor by the will of the
flesh, but of God. So what John says is to be born
again is a work that God does Exclusively himself apart from
you and apart from my so when you have a proper understanding
of regeneration This is what you know, you didn't make yourself
born again You didn't contribute to your rebirth no more than
you made yourself born the first time just as a person is born
into this world physically and by the act of someone else. So those of us who are born again
are born again spiritually by the act of someone else. You
didn't cooperate with your parents. You know, you didn't choose the
parents you wanted. You didn't say, God, you know,
I want this man, I want this woman to be my parents at this time in
this place in this way. No, you were born physically by the will
of another having you having nothing to do with it. So it
is in the spiritual dimension. When a man or woman is born again,
they are born of God according to God's will, not according
to your will. Does that make some sense? I
want this to be driven home as we go into the year 2013. There
are going to be some fundamental doctrines that we will revisit
here at Grace over the course of this year so that we can keep
our feet anchored in the truth. And this is the reality that
we are not born of our own will, but of the will of God. It's
his work. is his grace. And that's what
John is actually talking about here when he opens up verse 9
with this insignia. Whosoever is what? Born of God. That's who he's
talking about right now. The category of people that he's
talking about are the born of God people. Life from God. is our term. Geneo is our term. It's actually a longer verb there,
but it means to be brought into life. That word there in the
Greek, gene, is similar to the first book in the Bible called
what? Genesis. Genesis is about the
beginning. It's about life. It's about the
seed. Genesis is the beginning of God's
purpose, of God's creation, of God's plan of redemption. Everything
that God purpose to bring to pass in this world is found in
the Genesis account chapters 1 2 & 3 so the idea of a Genesis
or a beginning or a birth or a Renewal or and here's another
word. We're gonna see in our verse
here in a moment in the same verse That's going to be relative
to what we're talking about. That's the word Seed do you guys
see that so when we talk about? Genesis we are talking about
seed and We are talking about God depositing seed into the
world by which the world comes into fruition, by which the world
flourishes, by which the world unfolds in this scheme of redemption. This is what you ladies are going
to learn deeply and profoundly in theology class this year.
Biblical theology is the unfolding of history according to Christ. And we are going to look at some
extremely important details around that so we can see the world
the way God sees the world. Right now we're dealing with
the individual or the class of people who have been born again.
That class of people who have been born again have been born
of God. Whosoever is born of God. Now here's the next phrase that
I want us to revisit. does not commit sin. Do you see that in your Bibles?
We asked the question before. If you have a different translation,
it may be a little bit better, or it could be a little bit worse.
The way you want to understand that statement, and you can write
it down in your outline, is this way. Whosoever is born of God
is not presently continuing in a course of sin. I want you to
hear that. The one that is actually born
of God is not presently. It's a present indicative. The one who was born of God is
not presently, now watch this now, living in a sinful state
and lifestyle. Now with that particular clause,
what he is doing is saying that when you meet someone who says
they are born again, and you knew them before they were born
again, The life that they were living prior to being born again,
if that's the life they're living after they allege to have been
born again, that cannot be true. You cannot be living precisely
the same way you were prior to this so-called being born again
and yet be born again. This we will unpack today. So
what John is getting at, at the outset of the statement, you
know, this religious cliche, we put on belt buckles and three
by five cards and all kinds of t-shirts, I'm born again. John
says, if you are born again, you are not presently living
the way you were prior to being born again. He actually is speaking
in a very emphatic way of which now he's going to explain. Now
what the text is not saying is whosoever is born again doth
not commit sins from time to time. That's not what the text
is saying. We talked about this last time
and I must make this very plain. When scripture is set forth,
if we interpret scripture rightly, Scripture is going to be able
to not only challenge us as to the ideals that scripture calls
us to, but scripture is going to affirm us in the reality of
our experience right now, because scripture is true. And this is
true. The person who is truly born
again does still from time to time sin. This is true. In fact, The way john opens up
in first john chapter one as we have learned the person who
says that he knows god But but also says that he has never sinned
or has no sin Or does not sin as a liar and the truth is not
in him john opens up first john chapter one explaining that true
believers are the ones who acknowledge quickly that by nature we are
what and that by nature we are prone to sin and that by practice
we find ourselves needing to confess our sins in order to
benefit from that once for all accomplished redemption and shedding
of blood and justification that came by Christ's death on Calvary
Street, of which the father says, it's yours, it's cleansed you,
it's justified you already. For those of you who are willing
to acknowledge that you are not yet at this present state in
a state of grace, perfect. See, there were those in the
church at John's time that were saying that not only did they
not have a sin nature, but that they had never ever sinned. And
we know that's delusional, don't we? But now if that proposition
were true, that they had never ever sinned, then 1 John chapter
three, verse nine could be interpreted this way. Whosoever is born of
God does not sin anymore. Now, you know, you hear religious
folk talking like that, don't you? I mean, they're just, you
know, they're on another planet in a parallel universe talking
about the idea that they don't stretch the truth, they don't
prevaricate, they don't just exaggerate, they don't lust,
they don't have struggles, they don't get angry, they don't get
mad. And you and I understand that
once you start denying these realities of what we call the
struggle in our life, which will impact, you are not walking in
the light. To walk in the light is to stand before God just as
you are desiring God to do for you something you cannot do for
yourself. You guys got that. So what the text is saying is
this, though, when a person is authentically born of God, the
dynamic that brings you into a state of actually be born,
being born of God means that your lifestyle changes. You got that. Here is the reason
why. Part C. Part B rather of verse
nine, whosoever is born of God does not commit sin for his seed
remains in him. Do you see that? For his seed,
that word for the purpose clause, and it's actually strengthening
John's proposition. The seed here is Christ. You need to know that. The reason
why I can no longer behave in the fashion in which I did prior
to knowing God, prior to God entering into my life is because
it's God himself who has now penetrated my heart and taking
place on the throne of my heart so that it is no more possible
for me to simply operate out of the selfish dictates of my
own drives and passion as if there is no Lord reigning over
my soul. Did that make some sense? See,
when you were your own boss, as Jesus told Peter in John chapter
20, Peter, when you were young, you did whatever you wanted to.
You went wherever you wanted to. But when you get older, someone's
going to lead you in a direction that you don't want to go. And
you're going to follow him. And he was talking about the
dynamic of the third person entering into Peter's life, making him
a qualified minister of the gospel, of to which he was not because
he had denied the Lord Jesus and demonstrated a selfish sort
of self-righteous confidence in his own words. I'll never
leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'll never deny you. And
Christ said, hey, you're going to deny me tonight. But once
the spirit of God entered into Peter's life, he became as bold
as a lion. His life changed radically. And
this is what we're talking about. So verse nine is a pivotal point
of biblical truth that you need to get a hold of, because this
is where you have to ask the question, do I really know this
thing of what it means to be born again? If I am born again,
omnipotence himself has deposited his son into my heart called
the seed. The seed, you guys got that?
The seed. So beautiful concept that John is using is the Greek
term sperma, from which we have the male sperm that connects
with the female ovum and produces life. And what he's saying is
God's sperm is in you in the spiritual sense of a renewal
of life that changes the whole trajectory of your course. God's
seed is in you for notice what it says for his seed what remaineth
in him now I want to deal with that too and we'll be going to
first John and looking at it for a moment. The word remain
is a very important term and what it means is when a person
is born of God. and God has deposited the seed
that is Christ by the Spirit of God into the life of that
man or woman who was chosen by God to be born of God, that individual
can never ever spurn that seed. That seed cannot be lost. He
can never abort the seed. Are you hearing me? So the reason
why I'm stopping and dealing with that is because again, in
our churches where we are ignorant of basic doctrine, like soteriology,
what salvation comprises of is this, that you will hear people
say, I used to be saved. Have you ever heard that? This
is religious folk talking, completely ignorant of the profundity of
what it takes to be saved. Now, I was listening to Joel
Osteen today just to check up on him, right? From the beginning
of his sermon to the end of his sermon, it was as far away as
anyone could be from biblical theology. It was as far away
as anyone could be from a Christ-exalting, Bible-based, God-glorifying,
heart-penetrating, sinner-apprehending, saint-comforting message. It was horrific. It was horrific. His jokes and his stories and
his confidence that he's blessing people and Christ was nowhere
in the equation and people were not apprehended and God was not
glorified. I did not experience Coram Dale. I did not see the glory of God.
I did not see Christ preached. I did not see the souls of men
apprehended. There was no preaching that went
on. And right afterwards, he says, if you will repeat after
me, say, Lord Jesus, receive me into your life and forgive
me of my sins. I accept you now in Jesus name.
My friend, if you've done that, you've been born again. You see how cheap we play the
issue of the purpose for which Christ died? and yet hundreds
of thousands of people buy it every day, every day. Like you could be born again,
just that simple. They're just that simple. And so what I'm
getting at with you and I is that it's critical for us to
understand that what John is doing is penetrating into the
depths of the heart of the gospel and sharing with us that to be
born again is nothing less than an absolute transformation of
the soul as a consequence of the invasion of the Spirit of
God and the person of Christ through the gospel penetrating
your heart. For his seed remains in him. And what clause 2 does, what
the second clause does for you and I is this. It tells us that
the cause for which you and I are born again is the work of Christ.
He comes in, and because He's in you, there must be a dynamic,
there must be a change. So the onus of this new life,
this born-again life, is not you or me, it's not our decision,
it's not our choice, it's not our works. The onus or the foundation
or the premise for this new life is the presence of Christ in
you. Christ owns the idea of men and women being born again.
In other words, let me put it like this. When we say that we
are born again, we are declaring that we are the work of Jesus
Christ. When we say we are born again,
we are declaring that we are the direct, personal, subjective
work of Jesus Christ. John's gonna make that plain
in 1st John chapter 5 verse 18 But I'm sharing with you when
you say that you're born of God You are declaring that you and
Christ have been brought into union by his presence in your
life And he has made you compatible to himself having made you born
again So that you are destined by virtue of this new DNA placed
in your soul to eventually Look like him You got that? When you say you're born again,
you are saying that Christ has chosen to take up residency in
you, claim you as his own, and deposit his own nature and life
in you so that you are destined to be like him. Got it? This is much more than the shallow
religious talk that goes on in this present generation that
denies the glory of God. And again, the supreme importance
of a real invasion of Christ in our life. Whosoever is born
of God does not continue in that same course of life because he
has been arrested By a second agent that has entered into his
life and that agent is there to stay You like that? He's there to stay And he cannot
sin do you see that You see that next clause and he cannot sin. We talked about that before is
in what we call a present and this is important infinitive
present infinitive and don't go to sleep on me infinitives
are open-ended verbs the word infinite means open-ended like
verbs have beginnings past tense present tense A present tense
verb is something that's happening right now. It's not something
that happened yesterday. And it's not something that will
happen tomorrow. A present tense verb is something
that's happening right now. Like right now we are studying
the word of God. We're not talking about what
we did yesterday and we're not talking about what we're gonna
do tomorrow. We are in a very limited verb form right here.
Right now we are presently studying the word of God. You guys got
that? But if I were to use a perfect tense, which I'm getting ready
to talk about here in a moment, what I would say is we are people
who have studied the word of God. And what it would imply
is that the whole of our life has been circumscribed by a diligent
pursuit of God so that all that's implied in the pursuit of God
is inherent in that perfect form. That perfect tense. There's nothing
inadequate about it. There's nothing to be resolved.
There's nothing yet left to be fulfilled A perfect tense is
a once-for-all act that encompasses past present and future got it
Now all throughout the gospel of first john all throughout
this epistle wherever john says watch this ladies and gentlemen
he or she or they or whosoever is born of god See that little
phrase is it's in what we call the perfect tense What do you
mean pastor it means that when john describes or declares a
person to be born again He is not merely talking about what
he was at the moment of his conversion Got it Like people say I made
a decision for jesus 20 years ago. So what? It doesn't matter
what you did 20 years ago. Here you are in the year 2013,
January 4th. What's going on in your heart
today? See what I'm getting at? Well, a perfect tense would say
this. I am saved. What that would mean is there
was a point at which salvation took place. I am presently saved
right now. And I will be this way in the
future. And as far in the future as you
will ever look, my state will be that I am saved because salvation
is in, for the believer, the perfect tense. Got it? Whosoever is born of God, was
born of God, is presently born of God, will always be born of
God, cannot ever not be born of God. Got it? Stay right there. It's very important for you to
understand these things. This is not so much about the security
of the believer as it is about the nature of God's work in the
salvation of people. Are you hearing me? I know that
secures us on a philosophical and a theological level that
if I am born again, I never have to worry about having to be born
again a second or a third time like people do when they come
to the altar, recommit their lives after they go and mess
up the next day. You know how they do. Well, when
you are truly born again, such acts are ludicrous. Now, if you
are struggling with that proposition, here's what I will say. Just
as in your first birth, when God created you, he created you
physically forever. You will never, ever not exist. Did you get that? Every human
being that God created, He created them forever. Once you are created,
that was a perfect act on God's part by which you will never
cease to be created. In the same way, this is why
we must respect biblical truth or else we are not honoring God
should we deny and become shallow and careless about biblical truth.
In the same way in which you will always be you for all eternity. in the infinite eons of the future,
you will always be you and no one else will be you. For whatever
God does, he does forever. So it is in our reborn state,
in our born again state. I will always be born again. Again born from above born anew
I can never ever lose that we're getting ready to work that through
But this is what john means when he says for his seed remains
in him. You guys got that now watch this
John's argument is from the nature and character of the believer
But his objective is to demonstrate the impact of what happens when
we're born again you got that his argument is from what we
are by nature and from what we are in terms of the condition
of the rebirth, but his objective is to demonstrate that there
are very clear evidences of what it means to be born again. His
objective is to demonstrate that when a person is actually authentically
born again, that the evidence is undeniable. Got it? So that's where John is going.
This is why in this verse he is dealing both with the nature
of the believers true spiritual status and the impossibility
of the believer appearing to be in his old condition. So what
he's doing at the same time, he's actually conflating both
of the issues, what it means to be born again and what it
means not to be born again. At the same time, that's what
he's doing. He's telling us you cannot be something now that
you weren't then and still appearing to be what you were then, even
now, though you claim to be something new now. Are you guys hearing
me? I want to drive this point home. It is extremely important
that you recognize that the dynamic of the new birth, Christ in you,
the hope of glory completely changes your projectory. So when
he uses this phrase, he cannot sin. He's not saying again, you
and I cannot sin for certainly we can and certainly we do. And
certainly we have. He's saying you cannot continue
endlessly. That's in your outline in the
same course. That's in your outline as in
your prior unconverted state. Is that what we developed last
time? He's saying the one who has Christ in him, the seed in
him cannot any longer Continue in that sinful lifestyle that
he did because something happened. There was an interruption We
talked about that last time remember that an interruption took place
when God saves a sinner He actually interrupts the sinners course
of life Your course of life is interrupted prior to your conversion
you are going in a direction of sin leading to what death
and That's also eternal damnation. That's the direction that you
were going in. Your lifestyle indicated where
you were going. You had what was what I use in
mechanics, a one way clutch. This here is a device in automobiles,
in transmissions. I want to help you see this.
Talked about this years ago, but I want to drive this home.
When you are unsaved, You are always going in one direction.
You're not going back and forth. There's no such thing as one
day serving God, the next day serving the devil. One day honoring
God, the next day honoring the devil. No, when you're not born
again, you're always honoring the devil, even though you may
be pretending to serve God. According to Romans 6, while
as yet you are in an unsafe state, follow this now, you are free
from righteousness. You can't do what's right. A
one-way clutch is a clutch that drives the car in one direction. It's a clutch that operates in
the transmission that allows you to go forward. Are you ready?
It's a clutch, hydraulic clutch, that allows you to freely go
in one direction, but as soon as something tries to stop you
and take you in another direction, it locks up. It locks up. So you can only go in one direction.
You can't go backwards. You got it? That means you're
headed to hell as a sinner. You can't go backwards on your
own. You got that? You see it? That's called a one-way
clutch. That's Romans 6. When you were
without God, you were free from righteousness. In other words,
righteousness had no influence in your life. Religion did, but
not righteousness. Your heart was driven in one
direction. You had no capacity to back up,
put it in reverse, turn around. You were locked in your course.
Did you get the picture? That's Romans chapter six, free
from righteousness, a slave of sin, unable to do what's right. We call that human depravity.
But when Christ entered into the equation, that one way clutch
that only allowed you to go in the direction of a lifestyle
of sin that led to death was broken. The clutch was broken. It was broken down. It was nullified. That one-way clutch was nullified.
It was broken. It's still there, but it was
broken. Now, as a mechanic, we know what
happens when a clutch is broken, a one-way clutch is broken. What
that means is now the car can go in the several directions
of its own wheel. You can put it in drive and it
might just drift backwards because the clutch is no longer assisting
it to go in one direction. Now, that's That's a hazarding
situation because the person who owns the car is not in control
anymore. In the theological sense, in
the salvific sense, in the saving sense, here's what happens. When
God breaks the clutch, that's Romans chapter six around verse
four, our old man was crucified with Christ. That's a legal term,
he was destroyed. That's a legal term. He wasn't
demolished. He wasn't annihilated. Listen
to me. It's a legal term. The word destroyed there is used
in the New Testament for the breaking of a contract. Like
the word is translated several times in the New Testament, disillusion
or disannul. It's the idea of divorcing on
a legal level, the binding elements of a contract that had you under
its obligations. Are you following me? So now
watch this when a person is born again the spirit of God enters
into their life and he destroys the authority and the power of
the Adamic nature To control your life and lead you in the
direction that the Adamic nature wants to go and that's away from
God When Christ enters into the heart he breaks the contract
the legal contract, which says you are no longer under the law. You are no longer under sin,
but are under grace. I'm quoting Romans six. Now here's
what's happening in that context. You are being taught that a new
master owns you with a new contract, taking you in a different direction.
Are you following me? So that we are not talking about
the annihilation of sin or the removal of sin, or the doing
away of sin, we're simply talking about breaking the power of sin,
the dominion of sin that led you in one way only. In the sense
in which that seed has entered into you, his seed is in you
and remains demolishing that old contract, destroying the
Adamic nature, which rules over you. Now you are going in a different
direction, right? We call this repentance. Repentance
is the changing of the mind. Repentance is the changing of
the course of the life. What you used to do as a common
parlance, as the majority of your life, you no longer do.
Once Christ has entered into your heart, has changed your
whole DNA, has changed your point of reference, has given you a
new constitution, you are now in pursuit of God. This here's
the other direction. So you were endlessly going in
a course of sin of which part John says it's impossible for
you to continue Endlessly going in that direction now you are
headed to glory You are on a new course and that course is called
life you've been given life and you now you are in pursuit of
glory now on this course and This is where we are working
through the doctrine of sanctification. And we said this last week, uh,
last in our last class in this course, headed to glory, you
are dealing with an intentional struggle. You got that you are
dealing with an intentional struggle because while the one way clutch
of the old Adamic nature is broken, it's not removed. Sometimes it
tries to engage and stop you. You are going in the direction
of faith and obedience and love for God and the glory of God
in heaven. But that one way clutch interrupts you. So you are engaged
in a struggle. Are you following me? But the
true believer, because of Christ in him, the hope of glory is
still moving him towards his objective goal. Got it. So that
the character of the course is progression towards glory, but
halted impeded by temporary bouts of the old Adamic nature trying
to have its way. You got that? The language that
John uses here says that ultimately he cannot have his way. Whosoever
is born of God is not continuing to live this way for Christ remains
in him and he cannot continue endlessly heading down that direction
wherein he was in his prior state of conversion because he is what? You see how he caps it off whosoever
is born of God because he is born of God whosoever is born
of God Christ remains in him Because he is born of God and
see John is saying the rebirth Demands such a radical change
of destiny Based upon the author of life that has entered in and
changed you that it's impossible for you to say Anything that's
born of God is headed to hell Are you hearing me? Now go with
me in your Bible to first John chapter five. Let's hear what
John has to say over there. And then we'll move forward in
our outline. And I want to make sure that
we move away from the nature and condition of the believer
into the evidence of what it means to be born of God. Now
this language is a little bit tough too, but I'm not going
to spend too much time there because it really is echoing
where we are. I'm going to start at verse 17
of first John five. Are you there? All unrighteousness
is what? That's right. And there is a
sin not unto death. Verse 18, John opens up verse
18 by using this, this Greek term, widow. And it really is
a word that means we understand and we are persuaded. Watch this
now. We understand and we are persuaded.
Here's the subject again. He raises it up, doesn't he?
Whosoever is what? born of God stop right there
circle the word is and right behind right by the word is the
word perfect what I'm driving home is this when John says whosoever
is born of God he's reminding us once again of a work that
God does it's a work that's permanent and it's forever so it's not
a statement that of conditionality on the part of the person who
is born again. He is, she is, they are permanently
born again. So now all he's going to do now,
since the state is permanent, is explain the outcome or effect
of that permanent state. I am permanently, can never ever
be not born again. I am, I will be for all eternity
born from above, born a second time, born anew. This is the
work of God. So now let's go on to what else
is being said about this born again status. We know that whosoever
is born of God, what? Sinneth not. He's bringing it
up again, isn't he? Why is he bringing it up? Because
in the first century, during the apostolic time, one of the
great errors that was dominating the church was we can sin that
grace may abound. That was the fundamental, what
we would call Gnostic and legalistic argument on the part of those
who are trying to make a dichotomy between grace and the indwelling
capacity and desire to live the sinful lifestyle that we always
have. Really, all it is is a justification on the part of religious people
who know a little doctrine to explain why they love to sin.
That's all it is. What it implies is that individual
has not actually received a love for the truth. John's gonna unpack
that. See, when you're born again,
not only does your mind change, your attitude changes. Here here
is what is not the attitude of a true believer I want you to
hear this now the attitude of the true believer is not Cannot
be saved and also sin as much as I want to and still be technically
qualified as say That attitude means your mind ain't saved You
got that your mind has not been renewed and it has not been renewed. I because the love of God has
not given you a priority towards the things of God. See, when
you're born of God, the idea that you want to live as close
to the edge of hell as you possibly can and still be safe is abhorrent
to the new mind. It's abhorrent to the new mind.
In fact, it ought to cause you to tremble. The notion that you
can think and prepare and, as it were, construct an argument
to live like the devil and still be an object of God's mercy and
grace is basically spurning the wisdom and power of God. See
what I'm getting at? See what I'm getting at? All
ye who love the Lord, what? Hate evil. That's what the psalmist
says. So what we're making sure that
we understand is that when John develops the portfolio and classification
of the new birth, as he's doing here, he quickly says, this is
what the new birth does not demonstrate, does not do. It cannot sin. Now watch this. When we talk
about sin, we're not merely talking about the act. We're talking
about the thought. Because to act, you got to think
first. Am I telling the truth? You got
to prepare to sin. So not just, we're not talking
about falling into sin. We're not talking about stumbling
into sin. I'm not talking about inadvertently finding ourselves
tripping up. We're talking about people who
deliberately prepare, premeditate, strategize to live like hell. You're not born again. Got that? The mind of Christ is not in
you. So what John is saying here is the same thing that he said
before. We know, we are fully persuaded, we have an understanding
based upon the compilation of all the biblical truth, that
whosoever is born of God, and it's in the present indicative,
and it means this, he is not presently living a lifestyle
of sin. No one born of God is living
that way, and he could if he wanted to, now watch this, he
could go back to 1 John 3 verse 9 and say, because Christ's seed
is in him. And that would be the end of
the argument. Are you guys with me? The end of the argument would
be if Christ is in you. He's the seed from which all
new birth takes place. He is the quintessential born
again person. He is the quintessential life
giving seed. Everything that proceeds from
him functions like him. Let every seed bearing herb bring
fruit of its own kind. Christ is not reproducing something
that's not like him. He is not reproducing sinners
who don't think like him, who don't love like him, who don't
desire like him, who don't cry out a father like him. Thy will
be done, not by will. He produces men and women in
his own image because this is precisely why he came. Are you
hearing me? He is the first seed to go into
the ground and die and bring forth fruit after his own kind. So to the degree that you and
I are willing to and engage in mooring. the concept of rebirth,
we are engaging in mooring the character and nature of Christ.
For you cannot separate rebirth from him who is the one who is
begotten of God. Got it? I want that to come home. And I'll show you in the text
right here. What John could say in 1st John chapter 5 verse 18
using first John chapter three, nine is because God's seat remains
in him. He cannot live like he used to.
Can't think like he used to. Can't act like he used to. Can't
quite talk like he used to. But this is the way John puts
it. Watch it. We know that whosoever whatsoever, whosoever is born
of God does not presently live a lifestyle of sin, but he that
is what begotten of God Does what keep it himself? Do you
see that now? Really? I want you to watch this
now that clause there is Precisely the same as first John 3 9 where
it says and his seed remaineth in him What do you mean in our
text here? It says we know that whosoever
is born of God you see that first born of God That's talking about
me. Are you if you're born of God? Therefore we are not living
presently an ongoing lifestyle of sin then but he that is see
the phrase begotten That's not a synonym to born-again So I
want to help you there See that phrase begotten But he that is
begotten of God that phrase begotten of God is exclusively designated
for Christ himself Stay with me now We know that
whosoever is born of God is not presently living that same lifestyle,
but he that is begotten of God, and there's only one begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth, this is my only begotten
son. Are you hearing? He that is begotten
of God, now watch this, keepeth. What's the word? Himself. Now, if you want it to be technical
with the Greek, I could. Literally, it would be, he that
is begotten of God keepeth him. Anton is the Greek term for him.
The translators put the word himself because they did not
see the distinction between the born of God as applying to the
believer and the begotten of God as applying to Christ. They
tried to maintain a synonymity between being born of God and
therefore the one that is born of God is keeping himself. Are
you following me? But now I want you to follow
this. The man or the woman that's born of God cannot keep themselves. Got that? In fact, it's not their job to
keep themselves. The man or the woman that's born
of God is kept. They don't keep themselves. That
would be a middle voice in the Greek. To keep oneself is to
actively engage in the preservation of your own eternal welfare.
He that is born of God is not born of God so that he can keep
himself. He that is born of God is born of God so that God can
keep him. Got it? Now watch this. So wherever
you read of being kept in the scriptures, it always depicts
God keeping the object of his love. Remember what Jesus said
in John chapter 17 father. I Have kept those that you have
given me and I have lost nothing except the son of perdition according
to the scriptures How did he keep Peter James and John and
the rest for those three and a half years by his own grace?
By his own power. Do you know how many times Peter
James and John were willing to run off and act a fool? The only
reason they were there at the end is because Christ kept them. Am I telling the truth? Stay
right here now. So the one that's born again
is clearly and explicitly indicated by his love for Christ, by his
hearing the gospel, by when the gospel comes to him in power,
he responds to the gospel in obedience and faith, and he follows
Christ. Isn't that what the disciples
did? So as they followed Christ, in order for Christ to get them
to where Christ was going, which is Calvary, guess what? Christ
had to keep them. didn't he keep them again and
again and again and again isn't that what he does for us remember
Peter made the big mistake the Lord says Satan has desire to
sift you but what I have prayed for you That's an aspect of the
mediatorial work of the one who has begotten of God keeping the
one that's born of God Are you following me? So now watch the
language because it's important. We know that whatsoever is born
of God. That's God's work It's his intention.
It's an act of grace. It's the power of the Spirit
through the gospel to make a sinner into the likeness of his son
in a work of regeneration he He does not continue to live
a lifestyle of sin, because the one that is God's actual son
is keeping him. Got it? Now watch this. And the
wicked one, what? Touches him not. Now I want you
to stay with me right there. Because, you know, if we're shallow
in our Bible teaching, we'll draw wrong conclusions there.
When John says, and the wicked one touches him not, he is not
saying that the wicked one doesn't tempt you. That would contradict
scripture. We believe in what we call the
analogy of scripture, the analogy of faith. That is this. One passage
of scripture saying something and another passage of scripture
saying something else cannot contradict each other. You must
harmonize all of scripture. In fact, whenever a scripture
is stated and you think you understand that scripture, you better test
your understanding of that scripture in light of all the other scriptures.
If you run across a passage of scripture that contradicts the
way you interpret that passage of scripture, you are wrong.
You don't get to have interpretations of scripture that contradict
themselves in Genesis, and then over in Matthews, and then over
in Timothy, and then over in Luke. God doesn't contradict
himself. This is God's word. It's his mind. He's clear on
his thoughts. Told you, if we're having contradictions,
it's the Charlie Harts between our two ears. You need to go
get a massage on the brain and start all over again. We are
flawed interpreters of scripture. So the passage is teaching us
the security of the believer based on the present proximity
of Christ in their life to assist them in their journey to the
place that God has called them to go so that when they get there,
they got to give God all the glory for getting there. Did
that make some sense? Otherwise, you're going to interpret
this verse as well as 1st John chapter 3 verse 9 as something
that is innate on the part of the believer Exclusive and apart
from God so that the believer gets the glory in him being somehow
a superman or a superwoman No They are simply objects of the
mercy and grace of God God has chosen to steward over their
life in such a way that he has put Christ in them, his spirit
in them, in order to keep them and bring them to their eternal
destiny. The word touch there means that
while the devil can tempt you and while the devil can harass
you and the devil can trouble you, I mean some fears, See,
when Jesus says the devil has desired to sift you as wheat,
you know what Jesus did not do? He did not say to Peter, but
I told him you can't. He didn't say that. In other
words, the devil does receive permission from God to take some
of God's people and actually sift them. The sifting process
in that context, Luke chapter 23, chapter 22, is taking the believer, I want
you to follow me now, are you ready? Taking the believer and
allowing them to be harassed by the devil because of an egregious
sin that they have committed against God. A sin they shouldn't
have committed, but nevertheless they did. And before God in his
own prerogative decides to recover them, he lets the devil have
his way in their life. so that when they are recovered,
they are no longer as presumptuous as they were prior to the sin
they engaged in, thinking that it's all right to sin against
God. You can just go to Calvary and
ask for forgiveness. Now, if you're God's, he has
many ways of dealing with you. And one of them is to give you
over for a season to the hand of the devil. Can I talk to you a little bit
longer? Let's take our brother Job. Remember what God said in
Job chapter two, we went through a lengthy series, about 35 messages
in the book of Job. And the devil came to God and
God says, I see you checking out my servant, Job. He's a good
man, he's perfect in Christ. I love him, ain't nobody on the
earth like Job. Job's a good brother. And the devil says,
yeah, but he's only serving you because you're blessing him.
God says, go ahead on, take his money, take his house, take his
family, we'll see. You'll see why men and women
are committed to me as a true and the living God. The devil
saw to it and the providence of God and the permission of
God. The devil can't do anything to you, me or anyone else without
permission from God. He just, he's not a free radical
running this world, doing whatever he wants to do. Please understand
that. Did you guys hear that? Your theology is flawed. If you
think that the devil gets to do whatever he wants to, without
getting permission from God, nothing in the Bible indicates
that. And in fact jesus our mediator was telling peter before it happened
to peter because our mediator observed the devil seeking requests
to tempt peter at the hand of the father And when jesus saw
the devil pursuing the requested tempeter the lord jesus himself
stood in the gap for peter praying for peter mediating for peter
father Don't cause him to lose his faith Let him be tried Because
he needs to get that pride out of his system of thinking he's
better than the other disciples. Remember the look at me, Faith?
We all in the boat now. We all in the boat. The Lord
then told us all go to the other side, together. Peter wanna climb
out the boat and have this special relationship with Jesus so he
can be the archbishop of the church, right? Have the keys,
right? So everybody gotta bow to Peter. Lord said, come on.
Come on. Yeah, come on, boy, come on.
Get off that boat, remember that? Get over out there, come on man,
come on. The Lord didn't tell him to look at me or watch me
or observe me. He just said, come. Peter got
out that boat, feeling good, A type personality. Yeah, I knew
I was special. Took three steps and started
sinking, right? Fastest, most sincere prayer
in the world. Lord, save me. Got it? See a look at me faith will get
you toe up God put him back in the boat Where all the other
disciples were then Christ got in the boat with him and the
next verse says and they were at land They had gotten where
they were supposed to be as Christ had given them commandment to
go Only they got there the way that Christ meant originally
and that is as a group Where no one person is exalted over
the other This is the danger of a look at me type faith. But Peter had to be humble. And
he still wasn't through. So we get right up on Calvary
and Peter denies the Lord. Three times. It crushes him. The devil is sifting his mind.
He's tearing Peter's heart to shreds. See what happens when
pride comes in. You know how you really think
you can work this thing out. You really think you can get
around God's way. You really think you can do it. You're not
asking God, you're telling God. And then when God gives you over
to your lust, gives you over to your sin, he allows you to
wallow in it a long time. Am I telling the truth? He sifted Peter. Peter was done. Peter was done. Peter, the idea
of being Christ representative was no longer a desire in Peter's
life. He went back to fishing. Remember
that? I'm done. I've blown this thing
so bad. I'm done. I'm done. But what the devil didn't do,
and this is what God told the devil concerning Joe. You can
touch his property. I can handle that. The Lord gives,
he takes away. The Lord blesses, he can recover
physical blessings. He can recover jobs. He can recover
material things. This is why you can't get caught
up in material things. The God that gives it can take
it and give it again, 10 times over. The idea of cleaving to
material things is a denial of the God of glory. And then he
says, you can take his kids. Boy, that's tough. But you have
to understand who it is that's giving the assignment. It's God. The God that gives the children
can take the children. Am I telling the truth? Now watch
this, and he can give them back. See, when you have a God that
can raise the dead, it's all right for God to kill anything
you have, because he can raise it again. See, it's all about
your perspective of who the God you serve is. Am I making sense? This is why for this year, the assignment for us, ladies
and gentlemen, of drinking so deeply of Christ to where our
hearts are thankful all the time is critical. It is critical that
you understand the enormity of the God who has called you out
of darkness into his marvelous light and be willing for God
to shape you and mold you the way only God can do it and give
him thanks for it. Because to the degree that you
are thankful, it's to that degree you understand and know God.
There is a whole lot more to it as well. Remember, we're not
talking lip service thank you. That's religion. I'm talking
about a studied heart that is aware of the God who was able
to make all grace abound. And so in the midst of my pain,
in the midst of my anguish, in the midst of my sorrow, in the
midst of my grieving, in the midst of my bitterness, in the
midst of my surprise, I can still thank Him because I have a revelation
of Him, an epiphany, a manifestation of Him. My mind is still clear.
I understand God's on the throne. Am I making some sense? You've
got to understand how important this concept and perception of
God is if you're called by His name. You cannot be swayed by
circumstances to deny the God of glory just because things
don't appear right right now It's easier said than done this
is going to be the hardest assignment for grace that we've ever had
Because we don't naturally know how to thank God for what he
does We like to thank god for what he does for us when we give
him an assignment, right? He joins in on our signs off
on our contract. Thank you jesus He the lord told the devil You
can even touch his flesh It's the word touched touched touch
his flesh But don't touch his life Remember that his life is
mine A glorious, glorious reality that when God chose me in Christ,
before the world began, he secured my soul's welfare, even though
he may have left open the destruction of everything in my physical
life, even my own physical life, because he is the God of the
resurrection. He knows how to get glory out of the destruction
of everything that I have, because he can bring it back. You see
what happened to Job in the latter end of his life. This is what
I'm talking about. So when we say that the wicked
one touches him, not, it does not mean that I'm a child of
God. I'm a son of God. I'm a child
of the King. And that devil can't touch me.
You better watch your mouth because we will be reading about you
in the newspaper. Now watch this. We're going to
be reading about you over at John George spending two years
Licking your spit, acting like a wild animal. And then after
your season of humility, God recover you again and teach you
that he resists the proud and only gives grace to the humble.
Are you hearing what I'm saying? See, this idea of trying to make the
believer to appear to be an untouchable in this life is not biblical
doctrine. There's not biblical. Are you
guys hearing me? What the devil can't do and the word there touch. Expands from everything from
the finger touching to cleaving to you to grasping you to getting
control of you to handling you in fact in the New Testament
the way this word works is It's a word that is used by Jesus
in regards to in regard to his ministry touch where he touched
people and opened their eyes He touched people and healed
them. He touched people and corrected their withered hand He touched
people when they rose again from the dead now, that's a mighty
touch, isn't it? We call that an influential touch. And what God is saying is the
devil won't be able to have the kind of influence over you as
if to own you and control you and dictate to you what you're
going to do for him. This is what Jesus meant in John
chapter 10 when he says, I am the good shepherd and I lay down
my life for the sheep. I give them eternal life. and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone pluck them
out of my hand. Who was he referring to? The
devil. The devil can harass you, tempt
you, try you, persecute you, but he can never take the believer
out of the hand of Christ. Got it? Got it? He can never
take us out. To take us out of the hand of
Christ, would be tantamount to you being born again, then losing
your born again status and returning again to the dark kingdom to
serve the devil, betraying Jesus Christ. Ostensibly, that's what
appeared to occur with Judas Iscariot. Remember John chapter
13? And the same night in which they
break bread, Judas Iscariot seeking to betray Jesus, the text says
in John 13, And Satan entered into Judas's heart. And soon
as Satan entered into Judas's heart, here's what Jesus said,
what you have to do, do quickly. At that point, Judas was sealed
in his doom. He got up under inspiration of
the devil. He left under inspiration of the devil. He went and sold
Jesus out under inspiration of the devil to the high priest
and to the rulers for 30 pieces of silver. According to a thousand
year prior prophecy written in the book of the Psalms and written
in the old Testament, 1500 years before Jesus, Judas Iscariot
was not a saved man. Are you hearing me? He was a
religious man, but he was a religious con. He was an apostle, but he
was a apostolic con He was a devil and he was a child of perdition.
He was not one of God's elect He was not born again had he
been born again. He would have never been able
to betray Jesus Christ like that Do you know why watch this? I
want to hear I want you to hear it watch it Christ would have
kept him There would have been no way
Christ would have left the devil entered into his own object of
love Son or daughter of God the one for whom he would die and
place his DNA in there's no way that your heart can have Occupied
Jesus Christ on one throne and then on the other throne the
devil it can't work. Are you hearing me? This is why
people who will say things like Ananias and Sapphira were born
again. No, sir No, they were not born
again Because the same language about them was used of Judas
Iscariot. How is it that Satan has filled
your heart? It's not possible for the man
or the woman that's born of God that has the seed in him to be
moved out of the way by the devil that Christ created. Take the
throne of your heart when the reason for which Christ is on
your heart is Because he has designated you to eternal life
and now the devil is going to overthrow that work Didn't we
read in first John 3 and we know that he was manifested to destroy
the words of the devil How on earth are we going to construct
a theology that says the devil can destroy the work of Christ?
It's not possible See, our doctrine is all messed up, isn't it? Our
God is not big enough. Our savior is not big enough.
His work is not perfect enough. We don't understand the gospel
and the power of the gospel when we construct arguments that basically
makes Christ a limited savior who can save you temporarily,
but ultimately you can lose your salvation because the devil is
powerful. The devil is wise. The devil,
the devil is nothing but a servant of God. Did you guys get that? He's just a servant. He can do
no more than God tells him to do. And everything he does is
for the glory of God and the advancement of the good of the
people of God. Go with me back to first John,
chapter three. And let me let me talk briefly about where John
is going. And we'll come back here and
pick this up next week. OK. So in your outline, Verses
9 and 10, your outline goes like this. The consequences of regeneration
in the verses are John 3, 3. And then John 3, 5, and 8, where
Jesus tells Nicodemus, you must be born again. That comes out
of the Old Testament promise of Ezekiel chapter 36, Jeremiah
31. This is the new covenant language. I will take out the
stony heart, put in the heart of flesh. I will write my laws on
your heart and your mind, and I will place my spirit in you.
That's called being born again. I will wash you from all your
filthiness, and I will sprinkle clean water upon you. You will
be clean. That's what it means to be born again. Complete renewal
and cleansing and establishing you on a course where you are
headed to glory headed to Regeneration does not do you guys see point
a in that? Regeneration does not watch this now reinforce
the sinful lifestyle. You got it. I want this to be
on record B this is because the nature of the seed who is that
seed is in opposition to it and Regeneration does not reinforce
the simple lifestyle and this is because the nature of the
seed is in opposition to it See when Christ is in you his whole
nature is contrary to the sin nature. Got it See and thus he
that is the born-again believer cannot go on endlessly in the
same direction of sin That's our present indicative present
infinitive as if there was no impartation of the seed the spirit
or the work of regeneration Got it Is that clear you guys? D, because he is now regenerate
in the perfect tense. Got it? To be born again means
that you never, ever, ever have to be what? Born again. So you
have a slash and a question mark. You can put there the conflict
or the warfare. When you are born again, you
know it because God gives you a knowledge of who he is And
then he informs you that you are now engaged in a warfare. One of the evidences that we
are born from above is that we now struggle with sin, with the
devil, and with the world. Got it? Welcome to the warfare. So you see that down at the latter
part of the outline. I just want you to get that.
Because he is now regenerate, perfect tense, He is a spiritual
creature in his soul essence. He has now been engaged in the
warfare. And in Galatians 5, 17 through
24, Romans 8, 13 through 17, Galatians 2, 20, all these verses,
Paul explains the dichotomy or the tension that the believer
has. The spirit left against the flesh and the flesh against
the spirit so that you cannot do what you would. That's the
struggle, right? And so Romans chapter seven says, the good
I would do, I do not, but the evil that I would not, I find
myself doing, right? That's the struggle. What I want to do,
I can't. So what's been revealed to me is this, that in order
for me to do what I want to do, I got to get help. But I didn't
even think this way until I was converted. The idea of wanting
to do God's will, that wasn't my will. But once I was born
again, you know what the scripture says, Philippians two, Verse
12 and 13 work out your own salvation and fear and tremble for it is
God that is working in you the will and to do of his good pleasure
now I want to do it his way But you know what? I'm discovering
right along with Paul that it's a fight How am I gonna win that
battle? Romans chapter 8 verse 1 and
2 there's therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus
who walk after the spirit That's the solution. I need God's spirit. I Need the Spirit of God I need
the grace that comes from a spirit, spirit to be able to walk in
obedience to Christ. See that's, that takes humility.
That's something you will discover if you are a child of God, that
even though he makes you a child, he doesn't make you strong in
yourself so that you can fight the enemy, fight the adversary,
fight the world, fight the flesh. He makes you just strong enough
to call on the Lord for help. And if you want to honor him
in obedience, You need him to come alongside of you, the helper,
the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete, to strengthen you to obey his
will. You got that? To the degree that
you don't call on him, you're sinning. The great model was
Christ and his apex in the Garden of Gethsemane, where the choice
between heading to Calvary are taking the prerogative of taking
his place back on the throne and glory where he was rightfully
with his father. That struggle right there, that
struggle wherein he cried out, Abba father, that struggle by
which he said, if it's possible, that struggle in which he said,
nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. That is a truth
that you got to get in your soul. God had to see God to help God
go all the way don't you think you and I do too? So you can
pretend that you call it on God All you want to is still falling
deep into the mire of your sinful practices. You ain't calling
on God. You just faking Are you hearing me? You playing game
the Son of God cried out the Hebrew writer says and we heard
and that he feared and Calling on God in the days of his flesh
when great trembling was upon him Hebrews chapter 5 We heard
him calling on God. Remember he said Peter James
is not follow me. I need you to pray with me. I Need you to
pray because what I'm about to do now is going to require the
angels of heaven The will of my father and the accompanying
prayers of my brothers and sisters to get me through this we're
talking about God Are you hearing me? We're talking about God.
See, so don't play. Don't don't play. The resources
are there. But God's going to bring you
and I to a place where we are serious about his grace. Are
we going to suffer the consequences of a failure of calling on his
name? Does that make some sense? Very, very important. So here's
what it says now. We're we're almost done. I should
have stopped five minutes ago. Whosoever is born of God does
not Presently live in this lifestyle of sinners now for Christ remains
in him permanently And he cannot continue endlessly in that same
old pattern because he is born of God perfectly born of God
that will never change In this the children of God are manifested
and the children of the devil whosoever is Not practicing righteousness
is not of God. Got it Neither he that what? loveth not his brother So now what John does is he moves
us into the second phase of the manifestation of sonship with
God. And here's how this goes. In
the first phase, being born of God, we have entered into a struggle,
which we have just enunciated for an hour and a half. The second
phase is now you and I are proven to be the people of God because
we love the brethren. That's the next exercise in development
of theological truth by which we determine the authenticity
of our calling. John says, this is how you know
you're not born of God. If you are practicing a lifestyle
of sin, you're not born of God. This is the other way that you
know you're not born of God. If you do not love the brethren,
did you get that? In other words, here's another
way to put it, because I'm getting ready to welcome you next week
to the Cain and the Abel struggle. You guys got that? The Cain and
Abel struggle because this is what John is going to do He's
going to give us the Cain and Abel narrative to help us understand
what it means to be a Christian in this world If I say I'm born
of God But I don't do not have the love of God in me for my
brothers and sisters who are also born of God I'm not born
of God That was the commandment Christ left See to it that you
love one another got it You can talk about being saved all you
want to, but if you are hateful, cantankerous, obstreperous, rascal,
skunk, porcupine, cactus, especially around the people of God, you're
in trouble. First John chapter five says,
the one that's born of God loves those that are also born of God.
So his argument is going to be built around the historic legacy
of the conflict between the believer and the non-believer starting
with Cain and Abel. That's the whole biblical narrative,
isn't it? Now we get to examine ourselves whether or not we're
just playing church or whether or not we love God. Let's close
in prayer. Father, thank you for this time.
Thank you for your word. Thank you for the truth as it is in
Christ. We thank you for the clarity that comes from study
of your word. This matter of professing to
be born of God is such a seriously Profound issue grant us all grace
to be authentic and real and genuine if we're not born again
save us make it real Lord and then give us grace to call upon
your name so that we can honor you in our life for Jesus sake
amen