I. Introduction The Christian and Sin May 31, 2015 1 John 2:1-6 John had several purposes in writing The Letter of First John: as we just read in verse 1: I write this to you so that you will not sin. Later, in 1 John 2:26 he wrote, I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. And then in 1 John 5:13, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. In other words, John was writing to Christians who, because of false teachings, were questioning their salvation, their eternal life and even how to live as a Christian. The Christian life is more than just rhetoric or talk ; the Christian life is a way of living or walking. As John wrote in chapter 1, if we are in fellowship with God, i.e. if we are walking in the Light, our lives will confirm what our lips are saying We will walk the talk. But if we are living in sin, i.e. walking in darkness, then our lives will contradict what our lips are saying we will be hypocrites. The New Testament often calls the Christian life a walk. This walk begins with a step of faith when a person trusts Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. But salvation is just the beginning of spiritual life. Walking involves progress, and Christians are supposed to advance in their spiritual life. Just as a child must learn to walk overcoming difficulties as he learns, a Christian must learn to walk in the light, i.e. overcoming obstacles that come his or her way. The major difficulty to walking in the light is sin missing the mark or falling short of God s expectations. Sin is missing the mark. Sin isn t just outward rebellion, sin is also an inner rebellion or desire turn to 1 John 2:15-17. Sin is refusal to submit to the Law of God. Lawlessness or independence of the Law is the root of sin. If a believer decides to live an independent life a Lawless life, he can t walk with God as Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 59:2, Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. In the first verse of today s Scripture, John makes it clear that Christians do not have to sin, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But we all fall, we all do what we don t want to do we sin. John understood this, he wrote in chapter 1:8, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we want to have fellowship with God, if we want Him to hear our prayers, we need to confess our sins and pick ourselves up and continue our walk and our growth in developing 1
into mature Christians. In today s Scripture, John wrote about The Christian and Sin as he first wrote of Jesus actions and then the believer s actions regarding sin and salvation. II. Jesus Actions A. He is our Advocate. John wrote, But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. The first part of this verse could be translated as If anybody sins, and it will happen John recognized that although Christians don t have to sin, they will. But he went on to say that Christians don t need to fear divine justice, they have someone who speaks in their defense they have an advocate Jesus Christ is our advocate. Hebrews 4:14-16. Hebrews 7:25 says, Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 2 Turn to Jesus finished His work on earth when He gave His life as a sacrifice for sin. Today, He has an unfinished work in heaven. He represents us before God s throne. As our high priest, He sympathizes with our weaknesses and temptations and extends His grace to us. As our Advocate, when we confess our sins to God, because of Christ s advocacy God forgives us. He is our Advocate and B. He is our propitiation. John wrote Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. In some translations we read that He Himself is the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation is a better choice of words. When Jesus died on the cross He didn t just pay the penalty for our sins; when Jesus died on the cross he also turned God s wrath from sinners to Himself, thus taking away guilt and condemnation. Jesus is our Propitiation. Christ s sacrificial death on the cross satisfied the demands of God s justice, thus appeasing His holy wrath against believers sins; turn to Isaiah 53:5-6. Jesus is our Advocate and our Propitiation, but there are expectations of Christians as well. III. Expectations of Christians A. We must be obedient. Since one of John s purposes for writing was to give assurance of salvation to those who might be doubting, he wrote in verse 3, We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. Walking in the Light being a Christian means obeying God s will. To walk in the light means to spend time daily in God s Word, discovering His will, and then obeying what He says. Psalm 119:105 says, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path Seeking to obey God s Word God s commands is proof of our love for Him. There are 3 different reasons for obedience. We can obey because we have to, because we need to, or because we want to. A slave obeys because he has to. If he doesn t obey, he will be punished. An employee obeys because he needs to. He many not enjoy his work, but he does enjoy getting his paycheck. He
needs to obey because he has a family to feed and clothe. But a Christian is to obey his Heavenly Father because he wants to the relationship between him and God is one of love. A Christian obeys because he loves God. He wants to do what pleases his heavenly Father. Jesus said in John 14:15, If you love me, you will obey what I command. Obedience to God s Word is proof of our love for Him. Baby Christians may need to be warned or rewarded. But mature Christians listen to God s Word and obey it simple because they love Him. They want to do what pleases Him. We must be obedient. B. We must evaluate or test ourselves. John also wrote that as a person goes about his Christian walk, he should evaluate himself. This is the second expectation: we must evaluate or test ourselves. This is a pass or fail test. There are a lot of people who say they are children of God, but they don t keep God s commands. John wrote in verse 4 that such a person is a liar and the truth is not in him. Such a person fails the test. Turn to James 2:14-17, 26. In Titus 1:16 Paul wrote about such people: They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. John went on to write in verse 5 that if someone obeys God s word, God's love or the love of God is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him. This is what Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10, That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Salvation consists of two things: believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, i.e. believing on His death and resurrection in your place and 2) making Him Lord of your life, i.e. obeying His commands. This is walking in the Light. This is how one can have fellowship with God. C. We must walk as Jesus did. Walking in the light involves obedience, honesty, and love; it also involves following the example of Jesus and walking as He walked. This is the third expectation: we must walk as Jesus did. Don t be mislead no one becomes a Christian by following Christ s example; but after we become part of God s family through faith in Jesus Christ, we are to look to Jesus as the one great Example of the kind of life we should live. As Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:21, To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. To live in Christ means to depend completely upon Him for all that we need in order to live for Him and to serve Him. It is a living relationship. Just as a branch gets its life by remaining in contact with the vine, so believers receive their life and strength by maintaining fellowship with Jesus 3
Christ. As Jesus lives out His life through us, we are able to follow His example and walk as He walked. Christ lives out His life through us by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. It isn t through imitation that we live in Christ and walk as He walked. It is through incarnation Jesus living in us as Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Later Paul wrote in Galatians 5:16, Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Our strength comes from the Holy Spirit. Obviously, unlike Jesus, a believer s obedience will not be perfect. We cannot do or be all that the Lord Jesus did or was, but He established the pattern every believer is to follow. If anyone claims to know Him and live in Him, it will be evident in that person s life. Such a person a Christian will walk in the light, i.e. he will walk in truth and holiness and will obey God s commandments because of his love for God and God s truth. IV. Conclusion Romans 3:23 says, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We can never lose or change the sin nature the old man we were born with it, but we don t have to obey its desires. As we walk in the light and see sin as it actually is, we will hate it and turn from it. And if we do sin, we immediately confess it to God and claim His cleansing. By depending on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we live in Christ and walk as Jesus did. Before we can walk in the light, we must know ourselves, accept ourselves, and yield ourselves to God. It is foolish to try to be deceptive, God already knows what we are. When you walk in the light, you live to please only one Person God. Jesus said in John 8:2, The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him. This makes things easy. If we live to please ourselves and God, we are trying to serve two masters, and this never works. If we live to please men, we will always be in trouble because no two men will agree and we will find ourselves caught in the middle. Walking in the light living to please only God simplifies our goals, unifies our lives and gives us a sense of peace. Salvation is not just saying the sinner s prayer or coming to the front of a sanctuary and making a profession of faith, it s not even being baptized or being a member of a church as we read earlier in Romans 10:9, salvation is making Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord. Jesus is your Savior if you admit to yourself and God that you are a sinner and that you can t save yourself from an eternity in hell; that you are saved only because Jesus died and rose again to pay the penalty for your sins. The Lordship of 4
Jesus means that to the best of your ability, and with the strength of the Holy Spirit, you try to obey God s commands commands like Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.and to Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40) and the Great Commission from Matthew 28:19-20: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. John writes that then you have eternal life in 1 John 5:12 he wrote, He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. So the question is Is Jesus your Savior and your Lord do you have fellowship with God? Is Jesus lordship seen in your life by what you do and don t do? What is your relationship with sin? Where does God rate in your life? What about the priorities in your life? In Luke 14:26 Jesus said, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be my disciple, i.e., Jesus and His work are to have first priority in a Christian s life. So let me ask you again, is Jesus really Lord of your life 24/7 or only when it s convenient? When it comes time for you to stand before God, what are you going to say about the things that were first in your life? Are you really walking the talk? 5