Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / Practice makes Righteous (1 John 3:4-10)- Mr. Dalton Vetter

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Practice makes Righteous (1 John 3:4-10)- Mr. Dalton Vetter · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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This morning, we will be taking a small break
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from Ecclesiastes, and we will be in the book
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of 1 John, and we'll be in chapter three, 1 John
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chapter three. Now, I know 1 John might seem...
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to be unfit to parallel Ecclesiastes or to go
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alongside Ecclesiastes, but it actually fits
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with Ecclesiastes very well, because 1 John,
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like Ecclesiastes, tries to encourage believers
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to believe in their faith, but it also strives
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to help believers in how they ought to live.
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And so it will be in 1 John chapter 3, but before
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I read here, we need the Lord's help in this
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to understand how we are to live according to
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his word. So let me pray. Our father, you are
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holy and you are righteous. You are all powerful.
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You are the king of kings and lord of lords.
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Lord, you have given to us a great salvation
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in your son, who through his blood, we can be
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forgiven of our sins, but also receive your righteousness,
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to receive your holiness through him. And we
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thank you for your Holy Spirit that helps us
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day by day to grow closer to you, to understand
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who you are and how we are to walk according
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to your word. Lord, we pray for your help this
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morning to help us understand everything that
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you have hidden in your word so that we can live
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by it. We pray all of this in Jesus name. Amen.
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If you're anything like me, you grew up, playing
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different sports. You maybe started with soccer
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and developed a discipline for running. But it
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was too much running, so you decided to change
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the tempo and play baseball. But then baseball,
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as a young boy, was a little too slow paced.
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You got put in the outfield, and when you're
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a little kid, balls don't get hit to the outfield,
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so you stood there most of the time. So you asked
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your parents to play a different sport, and they
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moved you to basketball because that's what the
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church offered. And you enjoyed basketball, but
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then by middle school, everyone got their growth
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spurt, but you did not get yours. And so you
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didn't know what to turn to next. Well, you did,
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but your parents said, maybe not yet. You're
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not quite old enough. But they eventually gave
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in and let you play football. And so in the eighth
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grade, you got to enter football, having these
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disciplines from other sports of running and
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push -ups and what to do with your arms and knowing
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that they're attached to your body. But you didn't
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have the disciplines of a football player, the
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characteristics of a football player. You didn't
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know how to tackle or... where the ball is meant
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to be on the field at what times. On kickoff,
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you don't really know whether you tackle the
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guy or you just let him run by you. You don't
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really know what's going on. You don't have those
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characteristics. So you spend time and you practice
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and you develop until you have those characteristics.
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And then you're a football player because you
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can tackle. You know where you're meant to be
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on the field and where other people are meant
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to be. Or maybe sports was never really your
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thing, but you wanted to be a baker or a chef
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or a barbecue pit master. And so you learned
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how to bake cakes or cook lasagna or grill a
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full rack of ribs. So you could be like those
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things. Or maybe neither of those, sports or
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cooking, were not your hobbies, but you loved
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music. And so you spent time and you developed
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the characteristics of a musician. You learned
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how to play guitar or how to play banjo or how
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to play the piano or the flute or whatever your
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heart desired so that you could be a musician.
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Our faith is just like these things. There are
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certain characteristics that mark us out as Christians,
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just like certain characteristics mark you out
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as a baker or as a football player or as a musician.
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And so this is what 1 John chapter three talks
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about. Let me go ahead and read. And I'm going
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to begin in verse one, even though the sermon
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will focus on verses four through 10, just to
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give us a little bit of background. See what
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kind of love the father has given to us, that
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we should be called children of God. And so we
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are. The reason why the world does not know us
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is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are
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God's children now, and what we will be has not
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yet appeared. But we know that when he appears,
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we shall be like him, because we shall see him
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as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him
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purifies himself as he is pure. Everyone who
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makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness.
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Sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared
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in order to take away sins, and in him there
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is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on
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sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has either
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seen him or known him. Little children, let no
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one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness
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is righteous as he is righteous. Whoever makes
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a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the
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devil has been sinning from the beginning. The
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reason the son of God appeared was to destroy
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the works of the devil. No one born of God makes
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a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides
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in him. He cannot keep on sinning because he
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has been born of God By this it is evident who
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the children of God are and who the children
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of the devil and who are the children of the
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devil Whoever does not practice righteousness
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is not of God nor is the one who does not love
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his brother So John here in chapter 3 is is really
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addressing the climax of the letter He's getting
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to the central point of the letter and the beginning
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of the letter. He taught believers how to walk
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in the love of God and taught them about the
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love of God. And then he went from chapter one
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and as he got into chapter two, he talked about
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the forgiveness we have in Christ and the life
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that we have in him. We actually saw that in
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our pardoning grace passage already this morning.
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And then he taught us about those who walk against
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Christ, who are the antichrist. They walk in
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opposition to who Christ is. Not just a specific
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person, but a type of spirit. that goes against
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everything Christ is. And then as we just saw
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at the beginning of chapter three, he tells us
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to look forward to the return of Christ, the
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day when Christ will come and all sin will be
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dealt with and we will be transformed when he
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comes and we are being transformed as we wait.
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And then in this passage here in verses four
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through 10, John is going to explain what the
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moral implications are and what it means to be
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transformed by Christ and how it should look.
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And what we'll ultimately learn is those who
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belong to Christ will practice righteousness.
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Now I want to say that one more time. What we'll
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learn is that those who belong to Christ will
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practice righteousness. Now we'll look at this
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under three headings. But before we can understand
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what it means to practice righteousness, to be
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disciplined in righteousness, we must first understand
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the practice of lawlessness in verses four through
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six. Here in verse four, John begins by telling
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us, whoever practices sinning also practices
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lawlessness. If you have a different translation
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from the ESV, like the New King James or the
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King James, what you'll read is something that
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seems more solid, it omits the word practice
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and it just says, whoever commits sin commits
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lawlessness. It ties them together, just like
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the end of the verse will do. And so to understand
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what John is getting at here with children in
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the room, we need to define our terms. We need
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to remember what sin is because sometimes as
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Christians, especially us who are older in the
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faith, we get used to just using these blanket
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terms and we forget the true definition. And
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so we'll begin with the definition of sin, and
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I'll borrow it from the shorter catechism. Sin
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is any want of conformity unto or the transgression
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of the law of God. Now I know that is still a
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bit complicated, so let's break it down a little
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bit further. Sin is any thought, word, or deed
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that either accidentally or willfully, purposely
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violates the moral law of God that violates the
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Ten Commandments. Any action, any thought, any
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word. or deed that goes against the Ten Commandments.
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And then we have this word lawlessness. Now if
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you take lawlessness and you break it into its
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two parts, lawless, you get the idea that there's
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the law of God, the moral law that places commandments
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on us of how we are to live. And so those who
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would be lawless, without, would be people who,
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without the gospel, without the law, maybe they
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haven't heard it. But what John is going for
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here in his letter is actually something more
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than that. It's not just this idea of those who
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have not heard the gospel or who have never received
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the law of God. It's actually a Greek word, enomian.
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And enomian is not just a general law breaking
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or someone without the law. It's actually talking
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about those who willfully go against the law
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of God. They know the Ten Commandments. They
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know that they are to worship God and God alone.
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They know that they are not meant to covet, that
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they are to give everything to the Lord, that
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they are to love. They're not meant to steal
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from their neighbor or lie to their neighbor.
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It is those who know these truths, but who refuse
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to obey them. They have zero regard for who God
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is and His righteousness. They have zero fear
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for God, and they choose to live against Him
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and against His authority. And so when we bring
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this idea together, sin is lawlessness, as John
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says here in his letter, we learn that sin is
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lawlessness. Anyone who commits sin is actually
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in the act of defiance of the law of God. But
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this actually seems discouraging because in the
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first part of chapter three, and even in chapter
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one of John, we're told we're forgiven of sins.
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So is John trying to discourage? discourage us
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here. No, he's not. He's trying to point out
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a truth, and he's trying to warn believers against
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those in the church who claim the name of Christ,
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but fail to live like it. They know the law,
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they know what the word commands, but day by
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day they choose to go against it. And John is
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really combating here what false teachers, they
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were the Gnostics or the dotetics back in that
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time. And that group, the Gnostics, what they
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were known for is separating the body and the
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flesh. So they said on one hand, the human flesh,
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our body as it is, is evil and it is corrupt.
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And it will always sin. And we cannot really
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combat that sin. It will just be evil because
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it's flesh. But then there's spirit on the other
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hand, the things of God. the things that belong
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to a realm outside of this earth. Those are the
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things that can be holy. So they would use this
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distinction to say we will always send and use
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it as an excuse, not just acknowledging that
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we will be sinners and saints, that as we go
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through this life we must become more like Christ,
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we must look more like Christ, but these are
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people who put no reins, they put no fence around
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their sin, they just allowed it to roam freely
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and do what it pleases. saying the day will come.
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And we do see this in our society today, not
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necessarily under the title of Gnostic or Dotetic,
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but just in general principles. We hear Christians
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at times say, well, I'm just going to live how
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I want, and I know before I die that God will
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forgive me because I'll repent then. I even had
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a dear friend that I grew up with from second
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grade till college who, he had grown up in the
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church. We had even taught Bible lessons together
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at our public school in a little club. But as
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we got to the end of high school, he began taking
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this mindset of, I've had this life, I've tried
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to follow the Lord, but I'm struggling to get
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a girlfriend. I'm struggling to get a newer car.
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I'm struggling to look like the popular kids.
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So I'm going to live how I want. I'm going to
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listen to the music I want. I'm going to hang
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out with the people that I want. Because they
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get me popularity, they do something for me.
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But then towards the end of my life, or maybe
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when I'm a little older, I'll come back to Christ,
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and I'll repent, and I'll let those things go,
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and I'll start going to church again. And I warned
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this friend of mine at the time, you know better
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than this. Scripture tells us we must live according
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to the word of God. We're not meant to take the
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grace of God for granted. Yes, what Paul will
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say in Romans 7, believers will wrestle against
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sin, but that doesn't mean we give permission
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to it, that we make a habit of it. But he did
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not listen. I still pray for his repentance to
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this day. But we all know people like this, or
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we've heard of people like this, or maybe we've
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heard it put a little differently. You as Christians,
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all you need to do is love people. And not the
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type of love that pushes them towards the gospel,
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not warning them from hell. but just accepting
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them how they are and the lifestyle that they
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want to live. It's giving them an excuse of,
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well, God calls us to love, so as long as you
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love them, the rest of scripture doesn't really
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matter. We'll do away with that. And so we hear
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of these people today. These people, though,
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they're ultimately apostates. They're people
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who willfully mock the God that they claim bought
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them, the God that they claim salvation for from.
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And it goes against the very purpose that Christ
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came. Going back to the text, the reason, verse
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five, you know that he appeared in order to take
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away sins and in him there is no sin. The very
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reason that Christ appeared was to do away with
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sin. The reason he came down, just like the hymns
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we sung this morning, was to purchase us, to
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purchase his bride. And it was actually prophesied
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all the way back in Isaiah 53 talking about the
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suffering servant. He was pierced for our transgressions.
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He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment
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that bought us peace was upon him, and by his
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wounds we were healed. Christ took on a true
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body, a body of flesh just like ours, and a reasonable
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soul, one that knows good and evil, very similar
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to ours, so that he could come down to this earth,
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be humiliated, Live under the law that is the
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ten commandments and keep them in our place because
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we as Humans will always sin we will always go
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against God and we see that all the way back
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in Adam and Eve Adam and Eve were able to choose
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whether or not they ate from the tree But they
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chose that they chose to listen to the serpent
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over the Lord We as humans will always choose
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evil, but Christ came in our place to do what
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we could not to keep the law perfectly, to worship
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God perfectly, to love God and love neighbor
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as himself. He did not break one law, and if
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he did, he could not be our savior. But we know
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that there was no sin in him. He kept the law.
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John actually, in his gospel, tells us in John
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chapter 19, talking about Jesus and Pilate, Pilate
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went out again and said to him, him out to you
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that you may know that I have found no guilt
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in him. Pilate, who was a Roman, he worshipped
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a plethora of gods, he knew nothing but sin,
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looked upon Jesus and saw his sinlessness. He
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saw that there was no guilt in him, there was
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no transgression in him. But what we do know
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is there is plenty in us. And so Jesus took our
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sin on himself, and he became a curse for us.
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He was placed upon that cross, and he bore the
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full weight of our sin, the full weight of our
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lawlessness, our active rebellion against God,
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our active fight against God, so that we could
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have union with him. John actually uses the word
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propitiation. We saw this again in our confession
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this morning. And propitiation actually points
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back to the Old Testament. and the day of atonement
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where a spotless sheep would be brought to the
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temple and people would lay their hands on the
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sheep. And they're laying on the hands of the
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sheep, they would confess their sins. And then
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they would let that sheep go and that was the
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idea that their sins are being removed from them.
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So pulling on that propitiation works off of
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this idea that Christ is the perfect sacrifice.
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He takes our sin on us, but unlike the lamb on
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the day of atonement, he actually gives us his
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righteousness. He gives us his good works and
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his holiness so that we can live according to
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his word and live life that is pleasing to him.
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John 15, going back to the gospel to John again,
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says that Christ is the true vine and that we
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as believers are united to him and we grow out
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of him and we should be like him. Now, Christian,
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I want to stop and pause and ask you a question.
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Do you still meditate on this truth, the truth
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of the gospel, that the sinless savior came for
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you, that he came to be among the sickness, to
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be among the poor and the broken and the needy,
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and to live in our place so that we could have
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union with him? I know many of you grew up hearing
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this truth, hearing this truth of the gospel.
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But do you still meditate? Do you take time to
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think on it daily? To be still and know that
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God is God. Or have you forgotten the gospel?
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Have you ceased stopping about it? Do you maybe
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on Sundays come and think about your savior,
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but then the rest of the time forget about it?
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I hope that's not the case. Because the gospel
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is our only hope in being free from sin. And
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it's our only hope and living righteously. And
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so we must be like Christ, verse six. No one
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who abides in him keeps on sinning. No one who
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keeps on sinning has either seen him or known
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him. Christ is holy. He is set apart from the
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things of this world. He is righteous. He is
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morally perfect in every action that he does.
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And we must be holy like him. If we wish to abide
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and rest in Christ, we must let go of our sin
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and cling to the Savior. We cannot rest in the
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arms of a spotless Savior if we still wish to
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go wallow and rest in the mud with the pigs.
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We cannot dirty our Savior, and He is holy so
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we must be holy. And if you choose after hearing
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the gospel, maybe even partaking of the Lord's
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Supper, to return to your sin, it is evident
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that you have neither known him, you have no
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relationship with him, you have forgotten the
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gospel, or maybe you never understood it in the
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first place, and you have not seen him, there
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is no light in your mind that helps you understand
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scripture, that helps you understand the good
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things that God is calling you to. Because if
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you had seen the light, the darkness that is
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in your mind or was in your mind would not be
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all that great. The darkness would be replaced
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with the majesty of Christ. So do not claim the
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name of Christ if you prefer your sin over the
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Savior, if you prefer the things of this world,
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if you prefer taking time to go to the bar overcoming
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the church, or use your free time to scroll on
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your phone and go to the places of the internet
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that you know you should not be going to. Or
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maybe in the actions with your spouse, you choose
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to rebuke them harshly. and expect them to be
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perfect even though you're not. If you prefer
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living that way and living in those things, do
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not claim the name of Christ. Now to those who
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can confidently name the name of Christ, you
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follow after the Savior. John wants to give us
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a warning about lawlessness. Now he will do this
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in verses seven and eight. He will give us a
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warning about lawlessness. And he begins this
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section as he does often. in his letters. He
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says little children. He does not come alongside
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the church as an apostle, someone with great
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authority, someone who's building the church,
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who's setting up the boundaries that the church
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is to work in and how they are to operate. He's
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actually coming alongside of them as an elder,
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someone who's meant to shepherd the church, watch
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out for the church and lead the church like an
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apostle, but just to be a shepherd, be like a
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father to those in the church. And so he gives
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them this warning, little children, do not be
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deceived. It's just like a father when they see
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their son or their daughter reaching for the
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hot stove, knowing that they just shut that stove
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off. So they warn their kid, don't touch that
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stove. You are going to burn your hand. He comes
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alongside them just like this. They are going
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to get hurt. And he tells them, do not be deceived.
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by people who claim the name of Christ but walk
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opposite to it. And so he's going to give three
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statements here as part of his warning. He's
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first going to say that the righteous will act
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like their father. This is the second part of
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verse seven. Whoever practices righteousness
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is righteous as he is righteous. So whoever walks
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according to the word of God, who takes time
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to worship God from a pure heart, who make sure
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there's no idol standing in their way, who takes
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time to love their neighbor, to serve them from
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a heart that loves God. Those people are righteous,
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just like Christ, just like God, their father.
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And righteousness, if you haven't caught up to
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it or if you've forgotten the definition to it,
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dictionaries will say that righteousness is behavior
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that is morally justifiable or right. But God's
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righteousness is perfect. It's not just justifiable
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or right. It's perfect actions, perfect thoughts,
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perfect deeds. It really gets the core of who
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God is. Now, are we righteous because we do righteous
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things, because we act, talk, and walk a certain
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way? No, we're not righteous by our works. This
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is not work -based salvation that John is trying
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to set forth here or to tell us about. No, we
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are to be righteous like our Savior. We are to
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be tied to our Savior going back to John 15.
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And the true vine, Christ is the true vine. And
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every branch that belongs to Him, He will prune.
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He will shape. He will cut off that sin and cause
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them to walk in the love of God and the walk
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of, and then the love of neighbor. He will make
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the branches that are in Him more like Him. So
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those who are righteous will walk righteously
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and we do so because we know Christ and we know
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God the Father. But then John in this warning
24:39
talks about the lawless. The lawless actually
24:43
act like their father. John 15 also tells us
24:47
the opposite of those branches who seem to be
24:50
a part of the true vine but they have no fruit.
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They will be cut off from God. God will reject
24:56
them as they have rejected them. They are children
25:00
of the devil. This is verse eight. Whoever makes
25:04
a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the
25:06
devil has been sinning from the beginning. So
25:10
the lawless children who claim Christ but walk
25:13
opposing are actually children of the devil.
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We actually see this in Jesus' interaction with
25:19
the Pharisees. The Pharisees tried to push their
25:21
man -made laws on Christ to say this is how you
25:24
need to live according to our law. but they forgot
25:27
the law of God. They forgot the grace of God
25:30
and the love of God and the mercy of God. And
25:33
these people do it just like their father who
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has done it from the beginning. Now, being in
25:38
1 John and you hear this word beginning, maybe
25:40
you think back to the Gospel of John, where in
25:44
the beginning of the Gospel of John, we hear
25:46
that the Word was God and the Word was with God
25:49
from the beginning. The devil is not from the
25:53
beginning like God is from the beginning. The
25:56
devil is only from the beginning of creation.
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He is a created work. And that's why in scripture,
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the first time we see the devil is in Genesis
26:04
three, when the serpent comes to tempt Adam and
26:08
Eve to eat of the tree. And what he actually
26:11
does is he twists the word of God. He asks Eve,
26:15
is that really what God said? Did he really say
26:18
that you couldn't look at that tree, that you
26:20
couldn't eat of that tree? Or was he just trying
26:22
to deceive you? The devil, Satan, Lucifer, was
26:27
an angel. He knew what God required. He knew
26:30
the words of God, but he twisted them to have
26:33
others follow him. And this is what false teachers
26:38
do or false Christians do when they try to tell
26:40
us that we can just live how we want to. It's
26:45
a twisting of the law of God. Oh, just love.
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Don't worry about the rest. Just love and accept
26:52
and be all gracious. Forget about that God will
26:56
judge. Forget about that God is righteous and
26:59
that we need to be righteous. We must follow
27:03
our Savior, otherwise we prove ourselves to be
27:05
children of the devil. And we must watch out.
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That's what John's warning here is. We must look
27:11
and we must examine. Now there are times where
27:14
believers will fall into sin and they get stuck
27:18
in it for a while. Westminster chapter five,
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the confession actually tells us. that sometimes
27:24
God will allow Christians, born again believers,
27:29
to be overcome by sin so that they can remember
27:33
his mercy. So we need to give people grace in
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our judgment and we must not be quick to call
27:40
them evil or to call them sons of the devil,
27:44
but we also need to call a spade a spade. And
27:48
so Jesus gives us a hope here though as we deal
27:50
with people. Who claimed Christ but walk opposing
27:53
to him he gives he ends this warning by a message
27:56
of hope in Verse 8 the second part of it He comes
28:02
back to the Son of God the reason the Son of
28:04
God appeared was to destroy the works of the
28:07
devil He goes back to why Christ Christ came.
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He is the Son of God one who is united to God
28:13
He has no beginning or no end. He is eternal
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with the Father and he came to destroy he came
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to annihilate He actually fulfilled, he completed
28:23
Genesis 315. He came to crush the head of the
28:26
serpent, and he did just that. He conquered death,
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the greatest work, or the greatest work of the
28:32
devil, the work that came upon Adam and Eve.
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We hear from Christ himself in the book of Revelation
28:39
as John listens to Christ. What he hears in chapter
28:42
one is when I saw him, I fell at his feet as
28:45
though dead, but he laid his right hand on me,
28:48
saying, fear not. I am the first and the last,
28:51
the living one. I died and behold, I am alive
28:54
forevermore. I have the keys to death in Hades."
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So Christ destroyed death. He has the keys to
29:01
death, and he destroyed every work that goes
29:04
against God. All acts of sexual immorality, all
29:09
impurity, all idolatry, that chasing after something
29:12
other than God, every hatred that goes against
29:16
the love of God, the pure love of God. Every
29:20
jealousy or every fit of rage, every selfish
29:23
desire and ambition, Christ has destroyed so
29:26
that we can be united to him, that there's nothing
29:29
standing in our way from being one with God.
29:33
As long as we have faith in him. Christ is victorious.
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The reformer said, Christ is victor. Christ is
29:45
victor. They shortened it by one word, they thought
29:49
that was necessary. Use a little Latin in there,
29:51
sound like good theologians. That Christ is victor,
29:54
he has conquered every unclean thing, every unclean
29:57
spirit. Now I know what you're thinking. Well,
30:01
what about the fact that there's still sin? Not
30:04
just in me, but in the rest of the world. If
30:06
Christ has conquered, why is sin still ruling?
30:10
Well, God in his providence for a time has allowed
30:13
the devil to still have some power on this world.
30:16
The devil in Ephesians 2 is called the prince
30:18
in power of the air. He's still a prowling lion
30:22
that seeks to devour. He has not yet been thrown
30:26
into the pit of hell where he will be condemned
30:28
and judged once and for all. But the devil is
30:33
bound. Even though he's not reached the day of
30:36
judgment, we have not reached the day of judgment,
30:39
he is bound, he is limited. He was already limited.
30:42
We see in the book of Job, we talked about this
30:44
this morning in Sunday school with the youth,
30:47
that in the book of Job we see that the devil
30:49
is already limited. He needs the authority of
30:51
God to do anything. But in the New Testament
30:54
with Christ conquering, he is even more limited
30:56
than before. And so Calvin reflecting on Christ
31:02
as victor, talking about unclean spirits, he
31:05
says that unclean spirits will combat believers.
31:08
They will ambush them, invade their peace. beset
31:12
them in combat, and also often wary them, rout
31:15
them, terrify them, and sometimes even wound
31:18
them, yet they will never vanquish or crush them.
31:22
So as we wrestle with sin and in ourselves and
31:24
in the world, and as we think of Christ being
31:27
victor, we can have confidence that as we wrestle
31:30
against sin, and sometimes even habitual sin,
31:33
that Christ is victor, and as long as we flee
31:36
to him, he will forgive us. Believers are not
31:40
crushed by sin. They cannot be crushed by sin
31:42
or the devil or in any unclean spirit. And so
31:46
they must practice righteousness. This will be
31:50
verse nine. No one born of God makes a practice
31:54
of sinning. Now, this is the third time that
31:57
John is making the statement of making a practice
32:00
of sinning and really the fourth time where he's
32:02
talking about not sinning. In any time we see
32:05
something in scripture, that's mentioned three
32:08
times in a row, it's meant for emphasis. It's
32:11
an exclamation point of, you need to focus on
32:15
this right now. This is the most important part.
32:17
If you get nothing out of this letter, no one
32:20
born of God makes a practice of sinning. So does
32:24
this mean we need to deal with this because he
32:26
said this three times? Is John here teaching
32:29
a doctrine called perfectionism, which is this
32:33
idea that believers in this life in this world
32:36
can be made holy. They can get to a point in
32:39
their older years as they walk with Christ that
32:41
they will not sin. They will not lie. They will
32:44
not be harsh with their spouse. They will worship
32:48
from a pure heart every single time they come
32:50
into worship. That is not what John is teaching
32:53
here. That's not what scripture teaches. And
32:56
I know this because in 1 John chapter eight,
32:59
or yeah, 1 John chapter one, verse eight, John
33:02
says, if we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
33:05
and the truth is not in us. So John says that
33:09
if we say we have no sin, the truth is not in
33:11
us. And then towards the end of the letter, in
33:14
1 John 5, he talks about praying for believers
33:17
who battle and wrestle against sin. And then
33:21
as I already mentioned, Romans 7, that even the
33:26
apostle knew that his sin at times made him do
33:28
things that he did not want to do. The apostle,
33:31
the one who was meant to lead the church and
33:33
establish the church, the one who I know in our
33:35
own study, we think of, that's the pinnacle.
33:37
If I could just be like the apostle Paul or the
33:39
apostle John, I would be good. Even the apostle
33:43
wrestled against his sin. So John is not making
33:46
a contradiction here, either with himself or
33:49
the rest of scripture, but the practice of sinning
33:52
actually seen in the ESV translation is the correct
33:56
way of interpreting it, of understanding it.
33:59
It's a practice. It's an action that you go after.
34:03
It's a habit. In the Greek, this is actually
34:05
a present active tense. And what that means is
34:09
it's happening now and then it's ongoing and
34:12
it keeps going. It's just like showing up day
34:16
by day to practice football or getting in the
34:18
kitchen day after day to learn how to bake or
34:20
practicing on your guitar day after day after
34:23
day to be a good musician or be a good baker
34:26
or be a good sportsman. It's this practice, it's
34:29
a habit. So no one born of God, no one who belongs
34:32
to God makes a practice of sinning. Now, why
34:37
do we not make this practice? Well, we make it,
34:41
we do not make this practice because we have
34:44
the spirit, the seed of Christ who is living
34:47
in us. It's the spirit who dwells and guides
34:50
and directs us. We do not by our own will and
34:54
our own desires and our own power have to chase
34:56
after God. We have to trust in the spirit and
34:59
he will cause us to chase after God. He will
35:04
cause us to confess our sins and seek forgiveness.
35:07
He will stir us up and praying for one another.
35:09
He will cause us to meditate on the work of Christ
35:12
and he will help us to cease chasing after sin
35:16
like a dog chases after a bone. When a dog buries
35:20
his bone in the backyard, at some point he will
35:22
decide he wants to go back to that bone and he
35:25
will dig hole after hole after hole after hole
35:27
trying to find this old nasty bone that's half
35:31
chewed and it's been in the dirt and the dirt's
35:34
not coming off of it and other animals have maybe
35:37
gotten to it. That is the chase of sin. But the
35:41
chase of righteousness, the one that believers
35:43
make, is one where we stop chasing that bone.
35:47
and we walk with the spirit. Galatians 5 tells
35:51
us, walk by the spirit and you will not gratify
35:54
the desires of the flesh. For the desires of
35:57
the flesh are against the spirit and the desires
36:00
of the spirit are against the flesh. For those
36:03
are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing
36:06
the things that you want to do. We might want
36:10
to sin at times. We might want our own ambitions,
36:13
our own pride to go above everyone else, above
36:16
everything else. but as we walk in the spirit,
36:18
he will help us not to do that. We, as we grow
36:23
into the true vine, as we grow with Christ, the
36:27
spirit will take away every weed that seeks to
36:31
choke us out. And so John brings this to a conclusion
36:36
here. And really just what is evident, and what
36:39
I've already said, it's evident that those who
36:42
belong to Christ will practice righteousness.
36:44
He gives us a marker of believers and those who
36:47
are against believers, unbelievers, the children
36:49
of the devil. By this it is evident who are the
36:52
children of God and who are the children of the
36:54
devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness
36:59
is not of God, nor is the one who does not love
37:03
his brother. Those who are children of God, we
37:07
who are children of God, we practice true religion.
37:11
James 1 tells us religion, that God our Father
37:14
accepts as pure and faultless as this, to look
37:17
after orphans and widows in their distress and
37:20
to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
37:24
We who are believers, we walk in the love of
37:27
God and as we learn to love God more and we learn
37:30
what his love means, we begin to love others
37:33
out of that. That is pure religion. That is what
37:37
marks a Christian as a Christian. that marks
37:40
a Christ follower as a Christ follower. They
37:42
won't be perfect, but when they're not perfect,
37:45
they will repent and they will seek forgiveness
37:47
and they will seek to make things right with
37:50
God and with others. But then those who do not
37:54
belong to God, even though they might claim the
37:56
name of Christ, if they do not practice true
37:58
religion, they are not of God. If they refuse
38:01
to praise God, they refuse to love God, to build
38:04
habits, to take time and daily to read scripture
38:08
and pray and to worship with their family. They're
38:12
not Christians, or they at least need a lot of
38:15
shepherding. And if you're someone here who's
38:20
walking in your sin, loving your sin more than
38:23
Christ, you're mocking God. And I want to encourage
38:29
you to cease from doing that. Whether you have
38:33
once known God and have strayed, Or maybe you
38:36
have never known the gospel. Today is the day
38:38
of repentance. The day is the day you stop chasing
38:41
after that bone of sin. That you stop returning
38:45
to the vomit that is sin. And you follow after
38:48
Christ. Because Christ has forgiveness for you.
38:51
He is the propitiation, the sacrifice. Not for
38:54
just us in the room, but for anyone who comes
38:57
to believe. Anyone in this world. And if you
39:01
ask for his forgiveness, he will forgive you.
39:05
Now believers Maybe you're saying I am trying
39:09
I'm repenting daily. I'm doing devotions daily.
39:12
It just seems like it's not working. I Still
39:17
want to return to that side online or when my
39:20
wife talks to me. I still just snap something
39:22
breaks in my brain I don't know what it is Don't
39:25
give up don't stop doing good every time you
39:29
talk with your wife or with your husband Seek
39:32
to change that interaction. Show them the love
39:34
of Christ. Show them the love that the church
39:37
shows to Christ. Put up the right parameters
39:41
on your phone. Seek repentance. Follow Christ.
39:46
Don't grow tired of growing weary. Don't grow
39:50
weary of doing good. Never grow tired. Chase
39:54
after Christ and Christ will sustain you. He
39:57
will give you life and he will forgive you of
40:00
every sin. And so we look forward to the day
40:03
when there is no more sin, when there is no more
40:06
weeping, there are no more tears, there is no
40:08
more sickness, and we can be one with Christ.
40:11
But until that day, we have hope in Christ that
40:14
he will transform us as we look forward to his
40:17
return. Let us pray.