In Christ There Is No Sin

Let's turn in our Bibles this
morning to the book of 1 John, chapter 3, verse 5. I want to
speak to you on this subject. In Christ there is no sin. Now, this is good news. This
is the good news of the gospel. These are the glad tidings of
which the angels spake when they said to the shepherds, we bring
you glad tidings of great joy. In Christ There is no sin. Sin is our great concern. It
was his sins that concerned the public and the temple. God be
merciful to me, the sinner. It was his sins that concerned
the thief on the cross when he said, I'm receiving just what
I deserve. It was his sins that concerned
David when he wrote my sins ever before me. Now, if we can find
out what this is all about, it can be good news. In Christ,
there is no sin. There is no sin. I'd like to
be there with you where there is no sin. Well, that's what
it says in 1 John 3, 5. Now, let's look at it. And we
know that he was manifested to take away our sin. And in him there is no sin. Isn't that great? And he, we
know that he was manifested, revealed. to take away our sins,
to take them away. And in him there is no sin. Can
you grasp the full meaning and the riches of that short statement?
In Christ there is no sin. Now, I know that this is cheaply
talking about the absolute holiness and purity of his character and
his life. He knew no sin. He was tempted
in all points, as we are, yet without sin. So this is chiefly
talking about Christ and his character and his life. But what
is said of Christ, what is said of Christ may also be said of
those who are in Christ. Now, what is said of Christ may
also be said of those who are in Christ and those who are represented
by Christ. For we are in Him, we're chosen
in Him, we are redeemed in Him, we are crucified in Him, buried
and risen in Christ, and the Scripture says we are seated
with Him in the heavenly, and we are accepted in Him. So 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, no past sin, No present sin and no future
sin. We're complete in Christ. Listen
to Ephesians 1.4. We are holy and without blame
before him. Listen to Colossians 1.22, talking
about in the body of his flesh, to present you holy, unblameable,
unreprovable in his sight. Listen to Jude 24. He is able
to keep you from falling and to present you faultless. before
his presence. Our sins are forgiven. The scripture
says blotted out, remembered against us no more, cleansed. The blood of Christ cleanses
us from all sins. So having no sin, we have no
condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus, who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect. Who is he that condemns? Yea
rather is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us." There's no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus, who are in Christ Jesus, because
there's no condemnation upon Christ. That's the reason. In
Christ, we have no death. Having no sin, we have no death.
The sting of death is sin. The wages of sin is death. So having no sin, then we have
no death. That's the reason Christ said, he that believeth on me
shall never die. Oh, we shall sleep these bodies
some day, shall go to sleep, and our souls shall leave them
and go to be with God. But that's not death. That's
just leaving this place and going to another place. If we have
no sin, then we have no curse. The curse of the law has been
removed. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us. There's no curse now on Christ,
is there? Well, there's no curse on me.
In Christ, we face no judgment. I hear people talking about believers
coming to the judgment. We have no judgment. John 5,
24 said, He that believeth on the Son shall not come into condemnation,
which is the word judgment. He that believeth on Christ shall
not come into judgment. We don't face a judgment. Our
sins were judged at Calvary. They were paid for at Calvary.
They were purged at Calvary. We have no sin. What are we going
to be judged for? Why should we be brought to judgment,
shall not come into judgment? You see what good news this is? This is the gospel. The gospel
means good news, glad tidings. What I hear today called the
gospel is not good news to me. It gives me an impossible task.
It demands a righteousness and then requires me to produce it,
and I can't. It demands a holiness and it
requires me to produce it, and I can't. It presents a perfection
and requires me to produce it, and I can't. But here it says
in Christ there's no sin. No sin. Are you interested? You
know, I don't see how anyone can fail to be interested in
such mercy and such grace and such good news. The psalmist
wrote, Blessed is the man to whom God will not charge sin. I tell you, I'm interested in
that. Blessed, happy is the man to whom God will not charge sin.
Sure, my sins are before me, and I'm sure they're before you,
and I'm sure they're obvious to you, but they're not before
God. If I'm in Christ, I have no sin. One songwriter wrote
it this way, With his spotless garment on, I am as holy as God's
Son. And another songwriter said,
my sins, oh, the bliss of that glorious thought. My sins, not
in part, but the whole, are nailed to the cross and I bear them
no more. Praise the Lord. It's well with
my soul. In Christ, there's no sin. Come unto me, he said, all ye
that labor in a heavy laden, I'll give you rest, total rest,
complete rest, eternal rest. Though your sins be as scarlet,
I'll make them as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool. God said I'll make a covenant
with them. I'll forgive their sins and remember them no more. I'll blot them out. I'll cast
them behind my back. I'll separate them, your sins,
from you as far as the east is from the west." Let's look at
this text. There's something here. He was
manifested to take away our sins. And in him there is no sin. If you can get to the heart of
that, if you can appropriate that by faith, if you can make
that yours by faith, if you can enter into this treasure of Christ
Jesus by faith, you'd be the happiest person who ever lived,
happiest man to whom God will not charge sin. All my sins,
past, present, and future, blotted out, remembered no more, forgotten
into the depths of the sea. In him there is no sin. That's what it says. Now, there
are five divisions to these verses. Start in 1 John 3, verse 1. A cause for wonder, wonder. He says there, Behold, what manner
of love, behold, look with wonder, what manner of love God has bestowed
on us that we should be called sons of God. And then there's
a cause for rejoicing. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, right now. And it does not yet appear what
we shall be, but when he shall appear, we shall be like him.
And then a cause for hope. He that hath this hope in him
purifies himself. But then there's a cause for
concern. Whosoever practices sin transgresseth the law, for
sin is the transgression of the law. And then there in verse
5, but he hath appeared, he hath been made manifest, he hath been
revealed to take away sin, and in him there is no sin. If we'd
quit arguing about the finer points and the minor points,
and began to look at the person of Scripture, the Lord Jesus
Christ, we'd find some comfort and some peace and some joy.
We'd quit following men and start following Him. Well, let's look
at these five things. First of all, a cause for wonder.
Behold, look with wonder what love the Father hath bestowed
on us. You know, John, the apostle, lived with wonder. From the time
of his conversion to his exile on the Isle of Patmos, he lived
among wonders. It was John who wrote, The Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. What a wondrous incarnation. It was John, along with Peter
and James, who went to the top of that mountain and saw the
Lord appear, talking to Moses and Elijah, transfigured in his
glory. It was John who stood at the
foot of that cross and saw his Lord suffer and die and heard
him say, John, behold your mother, woman, behold your son. It was
John who rose up Christ. It is I, myself, be not afraid,
handle me and see. I'm not a ghost. Look with wonder. John lived with wonder. He saw
men raised from the dead. He saw the blind see and the
lame walk. But here was the greatest wonder.
He said, Behold, look with wonder, wonder of wonders, that God should
love us, that God should love us. Behold what manner of love
the Father hath bestowed upon us of all people, chief of seven,
dregs of society, outcasts of the world, that we should be
called the sons of God. Oh, what a wonder that Jesus
loved me. Oh, what a wonder that Jesus
found me. Out in the darkness, no light
could I see. Oh, what a wonder he put his
great arms under, and wonder of wonders, he saved even me. I don't believe there's a true
believer anywhere who is not filled with amazement at the
fact that God should save him. Now, if you can find in yourself
any reason the merit, the mercy of God, it's questionable whether
or not you know what mercy is. If you can find in yourself,
from head to toe, anything that merits the love and mercy and
grace of God, it's questionable that you even understand what
grace really is. What wonder! That's what John
said. Behold, what amazing grace that God should love us. That
we should be called sons of God. Who calls us sons of God? Well,
the Father does. He said, I'll be a father to
them, and they'll be sons and daughters to me. Christ called
us sons of God. He said, I go to my father and
your father. He said, when you pray, you say
our father who art in heaven. Who calls us sons of God? The
Holy Spirit does. We have received the spirit of
adoption whereby we cry, Father, Father. Who calls us sons of
God? Our trials call us sons of God. If you endure chastening, God
deals with you as a son. What love, what manner of love,
what amazing love, what infinite love, what immutable love, what
eternal love, that I should be called the Son of God. Look at
the second thing, a cause for rejoicing, verse 2. Beloved,
now are we the sons of God. It doth not yet appear what we
shall be, but when he shall appear, we'll be like him, for we shall
see him as he is. There are three prominent words
in this verse that give us the key to understanding it a little
bit. The word now, the word yet, and the word when. The word now
says, Now are we the sons of God. Not going to be. We are
right now sons of God. Any man who is faith, faith is
now. The new birth is now. Salvation
is now. The love of God is now. Now is
the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation.
He that believeth, heareth my word and believeth on me, hath
everlasting life. That's right. Right now we're
sons of God. We don't look like it, do we?
Sometimes we don't act like it. Sometimes we don't talk like
it. And that's what he's saying next. He says, now are we the
sons of God? And it does not yet. The little
word yet. It doesn't yet appear what we
shall be. I'm not what I'm going to be.
I'm not what I ought to be. I'm not what I want to be. I'm
not what I'm going to be. But thank God I'm not what I
used to be. It does not yet appear what we
shall be. This is neither the time nor the place for God to
reveal to us what we shall be. That's reserved for another time.
and another place when he shall appear." When? See that word,
when? Now are we sons of God. It does
not yet, not now, appear what we shall be, but when he shall
appear, when he comes back. Oh, eye hath not seen, ear hath
not heard, neither hath it entered the heart of man the things God
prepared for them that love him, but he hath revealed them to
us. We see through a glass dimly, darkly. We know in part, but
we do know. We prophesy in part, but we do
pray. But when that, when, see that word when, when he shall
appear, when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in
part shall be done away. And we shall be like him, like
him in his body, in his resurrected body. We're going to be like
him in his holiness. We're going to be like him in
his happiness. We're going to be like him in
his inheritance, because we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Isn't that amazing? What hope? All right, that's
the third point, a cause for hope. Look at verse 3. And he
that hath this hope in him purifies himself. I often hear men preach
from this third verse of 1 John 3 on the second coming. That's
all right, too, but that's not what he's talking about here.
The blessed hope is this, the hope of seeing the Lord. The
blessed hope is the hope of seeing him in his glory. The blessed
hope here is the hope of sonship. The blessed hope here is the
hope of being like him. He that has this hope in him.
What hope? I'm going to be like Christ.
When he comes again, I'm going to be like Christ. God has set
his love upon this worm of the dust, this son of Adam, this
rebellious creature. And God has made this creature
a child of his. Now, I am a child of God right
now. And you can't tell it by looking
at me. Because it doesn't yet appear what I'm going to be.
Someday he's going to show the exceeding riches of his grace
and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, but not yet. But
when will it take place? When he comes back. When he comes
back, that's what's going to happen. My body's coming out
of the grave. It was sown in corruption, it'll be raised in
incorruption, it was sown in mortality, it'll be raised in
immortality, sown in change, raised in honor, sown in weakness,
raised in strength and power. And when that takes place, I'm
going to be like Christ. And every man that has this hope
in him, that he's going to be like Christ. What does it do
for him? Well, first of all, it sanctifies
him. He purifies himself. He purifies
himself. He seeks to live for God's glory. He seeks to do in word and deed
those things that will bring glory to his Father. He seeks
to walk on this earth as a child of the King. He is a child of
God. And he seeks to conduct himself as a child of God. What
else does it do? It gives him boldness. Boldness
before God and boldness before men. We have boldness to come
before the throne of grace. Why? Because we're sons of God.
And a son not afraid to come to his father? We have boldness
before God and we have boldness before men. We're ambassadors
of Christ. I don't need to apologize for preaching the word of God.
These are the words of my father. I believe these words. God wrote
these words. And therefore I do not speak
with flattering tongue and flattering lip. I tell you what God says,
because he's my Father. And this battle is already won.
This war is already over in the mind and purpose of God. We have
no cause to be afraid. I'd a whole lot rather be a failure
in a cause that I know is going to be successful than successful
in a cause I know is going to fail. And I've read the last
chapter of this book of Revelation. I know what's going to happen.
God is going to be victorious. And every rebel is going to be
put under his feet, and every son is going to be exalted with
his son. So we have boldness. This hope
gives a man boldness before God and before men. And it gives
happiness. Happy is the man whose hope is the Lord. That's what
David wrote. Happy is the man whose hope is
the Lord. Not just in the Lord, but whose
hope is the Lord. And then this hope gives assurance.
It gives us confidence. And this hope puts the world
in its proper place. Paul said, I've learned in whatsoever
state I am, whether it be in joy or sorrow, prosperity or
adversity, whether it be in sickness or health, I'm content. Because
I'm just a pilgrim passing through here for a little while. This
life will soon be over. No use picking your tent too
firmly, no use digging your roots too deeply, no use putting Any
stock in this earth, it's just a passing fancy, the fashion
of this world passeth away. We're moving toward a city made
by God. We're just here for a little
while, just a little while, like a rose that's blooming today
and gone tomorrow, or a vapor of steam, or a shadow, just a
day. But there's hope in Christ. All
right, what's this fourth thing now, cause for concern? Right
in the middle of all this is a verse Verse 4, which says,
Whoso committeth practice of sin transgresseth the law, for
sin is the transgression of the law. My friend, our great concern
is sin, our sin. Now that's what we need. We needn't
talk about the sins of the world and the sins of our generation.
I hear all these people talking about the sins of our generation
and the sins of the world. Sin is the same. I don't think
there's anything new under the sun. I'm not too alarmed. I'm
really not. Because I don't think it's any
different than it was years ago. It's just exposed a little more. It crops up here and crops up
there. But sin has been here since Adam fell. But what I'm
concerned about is not the sins of our generation and the sins
of our nation and the sins of our world. I'm concerned about
my sins. Are you concerned about yours?
David said, My sins are ever before me, against thee, and
thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.
This is our concern, our sins. And I'll tell you something else.
A Christian's concern and view of sin is that it is against
God. That's right. Now, our concern
is to have a correct attitude toward other people and a correct
behavior toward other people, but our great concern better
be this. our relationship with God. Our sins are against God. We sin against God. This is what
produces genuine repentance, is a godly sorrow. When we realize
that our sins, our thoughts, our rebellion, our temperament,
these things are sins against God. Sin is a transgression of
His law, of His law. And my friend, another thing,
a Christian view of sin, sin is never to be judged by its
result. or by its consequences. Sin is
to be judged by the person against whom we have rebelled. Sin is sin, no matter what the
results are. In other words, I may commit
a certain sin and the results be minute. Another person may
commit the same sin and the results be catastrophic. Well, it's the
same sin. I'm as guilty as he is, though
it didn't cost me as much and though the results weren't as
traumatic But I'm just as guilty. It's like a railroad brakeman.
He may throw a switch and a train run down a hill and kill 200
people. That's terrible. But another brakeman may throw
the same switch and the train stops. Well, you say that first
brakeman did the worst thing. He did not. He threw the same
switch. But the results were greater. But the sin is the same.
This is what I'm saying. A Christian view of sin, my sin,
against God. And the result has nothing to
do with it. The consequence has nothing to do with it. The cost
has nothing to do with it. I may steal a dime or ten million
dollars. It's still theft. I may despise
someone and shoot that person and kill them. I may despise
them and not shoot them. It's the same thing. That's what
Christ said. It's sin against God. We've catalogued
sin, and it's a fatal mistake. We've got it pigeonholed. We've
got great sins and middle-sized sins and little sins. We've got
black lies and gray lies and white lies and all this. Sin,
to offend in one point is to be guilty of the whole law of
God. And therefore we are transgressors of the law, God's law. We are
sinners against God. You sin in the last five minutes
against God. imagination, thoughts, in my
flesh, well, it's no good thing. In the flesh, no man can please
God. Will we please come to understand
this, that sin is not just an outward action, it's an inward
attitude also. It's not just outward conduct,
it's inward behavior and thoughts and imagination. It's motive. Sin is against God. All of these
things on the outside are but byproducts of sin, are but the
fruits of sin. The tree may not have an apple
on it, but it's still an apple tree. It's an apple tree in the
dead of the winter. And you may not, I may be in
a wheelchair looking straight ahead and can't move my head
one way or the other, but sin, the motions, the attitude, the
imagination, the rebellion, the evil of the heart goes on. Some
people think you can stay out of a picture show and not watch
the TV and not smoke a cigarette, not drink a beer, and not go
on the dance floor or play cards. You're pretty near perfect as
God. Well, God looks on the heart. He looks not on the outward countenance.
He looks on the heart. And he sees our rotten, dirty
thoughts in our heart. Out of the heart proceeds evil
thoughts. That's what Christ is. Pride,
covetousness, envy, jealousy, malice, hatred. All these things
live and survive in the heart. Oh, that's what makes the next
verse good news. Listen to it Here's a cause for rejoicing
cause for confidence and you know that he was manifested to
take away our sin All of them Starting back yonder with Adam
when we fail when we shook our fist in the face of God and said
we'll be like God All the way down yonder to Calvary when his
blessed son came down here to this earth the image, the brightness
of his glory, the express image of his person, and we spit in
his face. That's right, and we lacerated
his back, we put a crown of thorns on his head, we mocked him and
slapped him and nailed him to a cross and stood back and laughed
while he died, even that sin was put away. And all my sins
from the time of my youth, even as a baby when I lied to my mother,
When I cried, when there wasn't anything wrong with me, when
I was selfish and thoughtless and unmindful and ungrateful
and unthankful, and all the way through my life, every sin I've
ever committed, He was manifested to take it away. They're all
taken away. My sins are all taken away. Jesus' blood cleanseth us from
all sin. What shall we say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? Who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who
is he that condemns? It is Christ that dies. In Him,
there's no sin.

In Christ There Is No Sin

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

In Christ There Is No Sin

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book