ANOTHER TEST

JOHN IS TRYING TO ENCOURAGE THE CHRIST-FOLLOWERSHOW TO KNOW YOU ARE REALLY A

BELIEVERTEST 1: RIGHT VIEW OF CHRISTTEST 2: RIGHT VIEW OF SINTEST 3: ….TESTTESTTODAY’S TEST: ARE YOU LIVING A

RIGHTEOUS LIFE?

THIS “TEST” IS PARAMOUNTTHIS TEST IS FOUNDATIONAL TO WHAT

COMES LATER… SO DON’T MISS WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SAYING TO US

MANY PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES “CHRISTIANS”… SKIP OVER THIS CRITICAL TEXT

LETS READ THE TEXT….

I JOHN 3:4-10“EVERYONE WHO PRACTICES SIN ALSO PRACTICES

LAWLESSNESS AND SIN IS LAWLESSNESS. AND YOU KNOW THAT HE APPEARED IN ORDER TO TAKE AWAY SINS AND IN HIM THERE IS NO SIN. NO ONE WHO ABIDES IN HIM SINS, NO ONE WHO SINS HAS SEEN HIM OR KNOWS HIM. LITTLE CHILDREN, LET NO ONE DECEIVE YOU. THE ONE WHO PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS, JUST AS HE IS RIGHTEOUS. THE ONE WHO PRACTICES SIN IS OF THE DEVIL FOR THE DEVIL HAS SINNED FROM THE BEGINNING. THE SON OF GOD APPEARED FOR THIS PURPOSE THAT HE MIGHT DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. NO ONE WHO IS BORN OF GOD PRACTICES SIN BECAUSE HIS SEED ABIDES IN HIM. AND HE CANNOT SIN, BECAUSE HE IS BORN OF GOD. BY THIS THE CHILDREN OF GOD AND THE CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL ARE OBVIOUS. AND ONE WHO DOES NOT PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT OF GOD, NOR THE ONE WHO DOES NOT LOVE HIS BROTHER.”

ANY QUESTIONS?I ASKED HOWARD, SAM, PETE AND DR.

SAM WHAT THIS PASSAGE MEANT… AND THEY SAID IT WILL BE ALL CLEAR “ONCE YOU TAKE TWO YEARS OF GREEK”.

SO STARTING LAST WEEK, I TOOK TWO YEARS OF GREEK…. AND NOW I AM READY…

SO LETS BEGIN (YOU WILL SEE WHAT I MEAN SHORTLY)

FIRST, DO YOU REMEMBER APRIL 26, 1986?CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT NO.4 WAS

UNDER GOING A SPECIAL TEST…YOU SEE, IF THE PLANT HAD A POWER OUTAGE… THEY

HAD DESIEL GENERATORS TO COME ‘ON LINE’ AND PRODUCE ELECTRICAL POWER FOR THE WATER TURBINES WHOSE PURPOSE IS TO COOL THE REACTORS … THE TURBINES SUPPLIED 7,400 US GALLONS/HOUR FOR EACH OF THE 1,600 FUEL CHANNELS … TO KEEP THE REACTOR COOL(ER).

ISSUE: IT TOOK 75 SECONDS FOR THE DESIEL GENERATORS TO FULLY BE ABLE TO DRIVE THE WATER TURBINES. SO THEY WERE TESTING A PARTIAL REACTOR SHUTDOWN WHILE THE WATER TURBINES WERE RE-ACTIVATED.

WERE NOT SUCCESSFUL… REACTORS GOT TOO HOT AND EXPLODED…. DISTRIBUTING RADIO ACTIVE MATERIALS ALL OVER THE WORLD… INCLUDING U.S..

GROUND AND WATER CONTAMINATED.

REACTOR #4

CHERNOBYL, BELARUS

Russia was less than honestThey did not report the nuclear blast… till the

rest of the world reportedSweden noticed that their employees (at their

nuclear power plant) that were coming to work the next morning … had high levels of radiation on their clothes. They first thought their own reactor was leaking….. And after several hours of testing.. Reported it to the world. Finland should have noticed the radiation… but their Gov’t workers were all on an illegal strike. Finally Russia fessed up.

BUTRUSSIA GIVE NUMEROUS BRIEFINGS

AROUND THE WORLD THAT THE BLAST WAS DUE TO “HUMAN ERROR”.

ABOUT 10 YEARS LATER THE UN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION… INCLUDING THE US PUT OUT A REPORT… THAT THE ACCIDENT WAS TOTALLY DUE TO DEFECTIVE DESIGN.

EARTH CONTAMINATED4000 DIED SO FAR… EXPECT 10,000 TOTAL100’S OF THOUSAND’S OF BABIES BORN

DEFORMED38 MILE DIAMETER CLEARED… NO

PEOPLEU.N./US/RUSSIA/UKRAINE/BELARUS ARE

BUILDING WORLDS LARGEST MOVABLE DOME TO COVER THE REACTOR… EXPECT COMPLETION IN 2013.

PARALLEL TO WHAT JOHN IS TALKING ABOUTFALSE DOCTRINE (LIKE RADIATION)

SPREADS FAST AND IS FATAL.ISSUE: SOME WERE CALLING THEMSELVES

CHRISTIANS… BUT CONTINUOUSLY LIVING “IN THE WORLD” … I.E. LIVING A LIFE OF HABITUAL SIN. grunt

REMEMBER, SATAN IS CONTINUOUSLY TRYING TO CONTAMINATE THE TRUE GOSPEL.

BUT THESE WERE PASSIONATE THAT THEY WERE “CHRISTIANS”…. JOHN SAYS: DON’T BE DECEIVED.

MANY CRITICIZE BILLY GRAHAMSome go forward …. Then continue to live as

before… (Are they saved?)John is going to answer this

Others like our sister-in-law, Jane, have never been the same, since going forward, Her life is righteous to all and very loving to all….

This false doctrine embracedby leading seminaries. (NOT MASTERS OR TALBOT Seminaries)They have published the following:

Repentance is just a synonym for Faith. No turning from sin is required for salvation.

Saving faith is simply being convinced or giving credence to the truth of the gospel. It is confidence that Christ can remove guilt and give eternal life. It is not a personal commitment to Him.

Christians can lapse into a state of permanent spiritual barrenness.

Christians may fall into a state of lifelong carnality, born again people who continuously live like the unsaved.

Disobedience and prolonged sin are no reason to doubt one’s salvation. …

and on and on… (leading this apostasy is Dallas Seminary)

They maintain:If someone has ever “prayed a pray”, “raised

a hand”, walked an aisle, had some experience with Jesus … that that settles it forever.. And it doesn’t matter how you live the rest of your life.

John will rebut that assertion.

Key in this section is Verse 10“By this the children of God and the children

of the devil are obvious”Only two categories…

One is the tests of practicing righteousness, and of loving your brethern.

The other is ‘LIVE IN A CONTINUAL PATTERN OF SIN’.

Verses 4 – 10 “Sin versus Righteousness”verses 11- 24 “Love” (next week)

The GREEK WORDS MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT JOHN IS SAYING….WORD TRANSLATED

“COMMITTETH/COMMITS” (VS 1) KJV: MEANS ALSO “DOETH” .. ONE WHO LIVES CONTINUALLY AND HABITUALLY (doeth sin)”

WORD TRANSLATED “PRACTICE” (VS 4,7) – ESV & NASB … MEANS … ARE YOU PRACTICING SIN – NOT AN OCCASSIONAL MISHAP BUT AS THE HABIT OF YOUR LIFE?

(like Dr. Vance…. He practiced medicine)

Understanding these words are foundational to this text“everyone who makes a practice of sinning also

practices lawlessness: sin is lawlessness” esvGod has set forth the law so that we can know what

He requires.. That is one of the major purposes of the law… never given to “save”… BUT TO REVEAL TO MAN THAT HE IS A SINNER. (It makes demands, but gives no power to perform).

SIN is basically and fundamentally that which is contrary to the will of God… and breaks fellowship with GOD.

SIN is a disregard for the law Maker, God Himself.Stott: “The first step toward holy living is to

recognize the true nature of wickedness of sin”

“He was manifested to take away our sins” (vs 5)Remember SIN is self-will and rebellion against

the person and law of GOD.CHRIST DEATH DID NOT JUST “COVER” …

LIKE IN O.T. SACRIFICES…. BUT “TOTALLY TAKEN AWAY”

Angel Gabriel promised Joseph: You shall call His name Jesus, FOR HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS. (Luke 1:21)HE TOOK THE PENALTY OF OUR SINSHE TOOK THE POWER OF SIN AWAYHE TOOK THE PRESENCE OF SIN AWAY

When HE shed HIS BLOOD in death in your/my place ..

“In HIM there is no sin” (vs 5b)Jesus had no sin…. THEREFORE HE COULD

TAKE AWAY OURS… BY SUBSTITUTION/PROPITATIONSUBSTITUTION: REALIZED DEATH IN OUR

PLACEPROPITATION: HE TOOK THE WRATH OF

GOD ON HIMSELF… THAT WAS DUE YOU (AND ME)

ARE YOU READY TO THANK/PRAISE HIM YET?

“NO ONE WHO ABIDES IN HIM KEEPS ON SINNING: “NO ONE WHO KEEPS ON SINNING HAS EITHER SEEN HIM OR KNOWN HIM.” (VS 6) “Keeps on sinning”… a life style (a decision for

Christ made, but no life style difference… CAN’T BE says John.. And the Holy Spirit).

How many are depending on a decision or an experience… and continue to live in sin… John says they are NOT CHRIST-FOLLOWERS bound for heaven.

The Devil/deceiver keeps on deceiving….Worst of all situations….

Paul’s teaching in Roman’s 6A great example of this principle… He shows us

that when a person comes to Jesus, when their sins are forgiven and God’s grace is extended to them, they are radically changed (new creation).

The old man is dead, and the new man lives.So it is utterly incompatible for a new creation

in Christ to be comfortable in habitual sin.A true Christ-follower can only be temporarily in a

life-style of sin, and even then with great guilt.

Consider 2 Cor. 5: 21“FOR HE HATH MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR

US, WHO KNEW NO SIN; THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM.”

CONSIDER HEBREWS 9:26 “BUT NOW ONCE IN THE END OF THE WORLD HATH HE APPEARED TO PUT AWAY SIN BY THE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF”

CONSIDER ISAIAH 53, HEBREWS 10:12

Little children, let no one deceive you, Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as HE is righteous.”(vs 7)The early church was confronted with false

teachers that spoke that they knew God, but lived a life of gross sin. John was telling them don’t be deceived by these folk… if one is truly a Christ-follower, his life will be one of righteousness.

Charles Spurgeon said it well: “The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul”.

John wants to emphasize what he is saying…Vs 8 “Whoever makes a practice (habitual) of

sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”who’s your father? … the devil or God (the only alternatives)

Look at your life and you can tell (and so can others)

If you say… I have trusted in the shed blood of Christ… and live in habitual sin… you lie.

John (not MacArthur) the Apostle

Again he states: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil”.God repeats things in scripture to emphasize..

E.g. HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, which means that God is absolute purity… absolutely no taint of sin.

In verse 5, “He was manifested to take away our sins”, now, John gives us another reason:

That HE might DESTROY the works of the Devil.

Not to neutralize them, not to alleviate them, or not to limit them; HE CAME TO DESTROY THEM.

YOU HAVE A GUARANTEEIN HIS DEATH, CHRIST TRIUMPHED OVER

THE DEVIL.THUS IT IS A WONDERFUL TRUTH THAT

HE GUARANTEES TO US DELIVERANCE FROM THE POWER OF THE DEVIL, i.e. You do not have to sin…. (You have the power of Christ to resist… if you are abiding in HIM). If you let yourself be seduced by the “lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride of life” … you are NOT ABIDING.

NO ONE BORN OF GOD MAKES A PRACTICE OF SINNING, FOR GOD’S SEED (sperma) ABIDES IN HIM, AND HE CANNOT KEEP ON SINNING BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN BORN OF GOD. (VS 9)

WHO IS GOD’S SEED.. THAT ABIDES IN the CHRIST-FOLLOWER?THE HOLY SPIRIT … According to the Greek

lexicon, it is the Greek word, “sperma” … HE has been planted in us. (#4690 of Zodhiates)

Our “new creation” has the characteristics of GOD (OUR FATHER). (Just as a child has the characteristics of the parents).

VS 10 “BY THIS IT IS EVIDENT WHO ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD, AND WHO ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL: WHOEVER DOES NOT PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT OF GOD”SUMMARY OF A CRITICAL PERSONAL

TEST THAT YOU/WE (AND OTHERS) MAY KNOW THAT YOU/WE ARE A CHRIST-FOLLOWER.

examine your life in the quietness of your closet … who is your father?

AND AN ADDITIONAL TEST…. (NEXT WEEK)

LETS PRAY