DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

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1 Assurance 596 How to Know You Are A Child of God A. My newspaper headline said, Police Beware of Scams. 1. Usually international news gets the front page... or another supposed scandal in politics 2. But the editors felt that the con artists who are bilking Americans were far more dangerous than the wars in Europe or the Middle East, or the insurgents in Africa They were probably right. 4. Whether you are buying a car or donating to charity or making an investment, you don t want to be deceived. B. But there s one thing worse than being deceived by con artists: 1. And that s deceiving yourself! 2. Deception that steals your money is costly, but deception that steals your soul is fatal. 3. When it comes to personal salvation from sin, don t settle for anything less than full assurance, not false assurance. 4. The Pharisees tho t they were the children of God, but... a. John the Baptist called them a brood of vipers (Mt. 3:7) b. Jesus said they were children of the devil (John 8:44). 5. No wonder our Lord issued this solemn warning: Mt. 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, & in Your name cast out demons, & in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 & then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' 6. What a shock to get to the end of your life & discover that you ve been practicing lawlessness instead of righteousness! a. Instead of being welcomed into the kingdom... You are cast away from His presence! b. This is the tragedy of self-deception! C. But you can know for sure that you are a child of God! That s one reason John wrote his 1 st epistle! -1 Jn 5:13- These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life 1. 7 times in his letter, John used the phrase born of God ; 2....& when they are summarized, they describe the birthmarks of the true child of God. I. Practicing Righteousness

2 When you are born of God, you don t practice sin. A. 1 Jn 3:9 - No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; & he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 1. KJV says, doth not commit sin - but the verb is in the present tense, indicating a continued action... practice sin is not one s way of life Certainly, Christians have the ability to sin, but the point John makes is that we don t have the habitual desire to sin. 3. God has planted His divine nature ( His seed ) within us, & we ve acquired new ambitions & new appetites. 4. I like the way it is stated in 2 Cor. 5:17 (KJV)... old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 5. Christians aren t sinless... & won t be until we see Christ. But we do sin less... & less... & less! - not habitually! B. Christians are tempted, but that s not a sin! (Jesus was tempted & He was sinless!) 1. The fact that we don t consistently yield to temptation (or deliberately try to get into situations where we tempt ourselves) indicates that God has changed our hearts. 2. Sometimes a new convert overcomes a bad habit suddenly! 3. Normally, tho, the temptation continues to be a struggle. a. May keep asking: Am I really born again? b. But since they don t want to cling to the old way is an indication that new desires have been planted in their hearts. 4. John says for professed Christians to love sin & make an effort to enjoy sin is proof that they aren t born of God. a. We expect the lost to live according to the course of this world... fulfilling the desires of the flesh (Eph. 2:2-3). b. But True children of God don t live that way. C. What I Jn. 3:9 states negatively, ( No one who is born of God practices sin, ) I Jn. 2:29 states positively: If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. 1. After your new birth, you discover you have a new desire to obey God & do what s right... in small things as well as large. 2. You become more sensitive to the sins that are in good standing: like pride, gossip, self-will, & criticism. (things not as noticeable as bigger ones!) 3. And you ask the Lord to help you overcome them... D. Not practicing sin, & practicing righteousness are obvious birthmarks of the believer! 2

3 3 II. Loving Others A. When you are born of God your life is motivated by love! 1. 1 Jn 4:7- Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; & everyone who loves is born of God & knows God. 2. I Jn 5:1- Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, & whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. B. Since God is love (1 Jn. 4:8 & 16), & those who are born of God have God s nature within, it s reasonable to expect that the children act like the Father. 1. It s my nature to like hardware store not department One of the first evidences that I had been born again was a desire to be with God s people. When you are one of the Lord s sheep, you want to be with the flock! C. At least 12 times in the NT God commands us to love one another... perhaps we can explore that more deeply later Just keep in mind that Christian love means treating other people the way God treats you. 2. His new nature motivates us in every relationship in life. III. Overcoming the World A. When you are born of God, you overcome the world. 1 Jn 5:4 - Whatever is born of God overcomes the world; & this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith. B. The world is not the world God made & declared good. 1. Like the world of sports or world of finance - 2. It is the invisible system in society that hates God & opposes Jesus & His people. 2. It is society without God... (the Egypt of the OT & Babylon of Revelation... C. Hear what John says: 1 Jn 2: Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh & the lust of the eyes & the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, & also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. 1. Distilled to its essence, this warning tells us what the world is: a.... anything in our lives that keeps us from enjoying the Father s love & doing the Father s will. b. From the human point of view, it might even be a good thing - but if it keeps us from enjoying God & obeying God, it s from the world and it s wrong! 2. This warning also tells us how the world tries to influence us:

4 It puts pressure on 3 critical areas of life: a. The body Lust of the flesh b. The mind Lust of the eyes c. & The will Pride of life 3. The world system pressures us constantly to gratify our desires & act the way the world acts, to abandon God s truth & think the way the world thinks, & to satisfy our egos & promote ourselves the way the world promotes itself.. 4. When I was a young Christian I tho t that worldly Christians were only the ones who drank alcohol, smoked, & went to the school dances. a. I took pride in not being guilty of any of those transgressions b. But I discovered that my pride was just as worldly......& my imagination was occasionally the scene of fantasies that were far from spiritual... c. Even good things like my love of reading & playing baseball often kept me from Bible study, prayer & ministry... D. When I was born the first time, I was born a loser. When I was born again, I was born an overcomer. 1. The crowd that belongs to the world walks by sight... & thinks it s enjoying life & succeeding but Christians walk by faith and overcome the world. 3. We know that this world is passing away, & these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever (I Jn. 2:17, TLB). 4. So, if you have trusted Jesus Christ & have tasted the powers of the age to come (Heb. 6:5), you ll not be too enthusiastic about what s offered you in this present evil age from which Christ has delivered you (Gal. 1:4) 5. You ll see that this is a dark world & you need to be light;...a decaying world where you must minister as salt;... a dead world where you must share the Word of Life. 6. This world is the only heaven your unsaved friends will ever know unless you tell them about the place Jesus is preparing for His own. IV. Withstanding the Devil A. When you re born of God, you overcome the devil. 1 Jn 5:18 - We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, & the evil one does not touch him. B. Before we trusted Christ & were baptized into His body (I Cor. 12:13), we walked... according to the prince of the power 4

5 5 of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2). 1. Satan had us in bondage & the worst part of that bondage was that we tho t we were free! 2. But when we believed in Christ & submitted to Him, God delivered us from the power of darkness & conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Col. 1:13). a. The idea of conveyed is the picture of prisoners of war being moved to another location. b. We once were Satan s prisoners, but Jesus fought the battle & delivered us from Satan s dominion, & now we re citizens of heaven, enjoying the freedom we have in Christ. C. When John wrote that the child of God keeps himself, it is not so much the idea that he keeps himself saved, for that is the work of the Holy Spirit who seals us (Eph. 1:13-14), & of Jesus who intercedes for us (Rom. 8:31-39, Heb. 7:25). 1. But we do guard ourselves to keep ourselves safe! 2. Some people, places, & activities make it easier for the evil to tempt us; & we stay away from them. a. We don t place ourselves in jeopardy & temptation b. When we pray, Do not lead us into temptation... (Mt. 6:13), we are asking God to help us so that we......won t tempt ourselves by disobeying......or tempt God by willfully getting into situations that only He can deliver us from! c. Martin Luther said, I can t keep the sparrows from flying around my head, but I can keep them from making a nest in my hair. D. Not only are we careful where we walk, we re also careful what we wear! 1. We are told to Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Eph. 6:11 2. That armor isn t a luxury for the spiritually elite, it s a necessity for every Christian soldier who wants to be an overcomer. 3. Satan can come as a serpent to deceive (2 Cor. 11:3),...a lion to devour (I Pet. 5:8-9),... or a dragon to destroy (Rev. 12),... and he is always a liar! (Jn. 8:44) 4. But if we are trusting God, the armor will protect us...

6 E. Summary: We bear these four birthmarks... When you are born of God, you don t practice sin! When you are born of God, your life is motivated by love! When you are born of God, you overcome the world! When you re born of God, you overcome the devil! V. Comparing Birthmarks to Deathmarks. A. You may have noticed that those four birthmarks have a definite relationship to the life we lived before we were saved, the deathmarks described in Eph. 2:1-3. Deathmarks of the Old Life Birthmarks of the New Life (Eph. 2:1-3) (I John) We lived for this world (v. 2) We overcome the world (5:4) We were energized by Satan (v 2) We overcome the devil (5:18) We satisfied the flesh (v. 3) We overcome the flesh (2:29) We pleased ourselves (v. 3) We overcome selfishness with love (4:7; 5:1) B. The fact that we ve been born into God s family doesn't mean that we ve automatically defeated the world, the flesh, & the devil once & for all, or that selfishness won t rear its ugly head again. 1. The NT is full of admonitions to believers to fight the good fight of faith & overcome the enemy. 2. In light of that, consider what James wrote to believers in the early church: James 4:1-4 & 7 - What is the source of quarrels & conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust & do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious & cannot obtain; so you fight & quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil & he will flee from you. 3. There were continued struggles with Satan Selfishness corrupted their prayers, robbed their blessings Being born again does not get us out of the battle but it provides the resources to defeat those enemies One is the opportunity to pray for one another... 6