1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,640 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,120 Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,880 Let's go ahead and get our Bibles out and turn to First John 10 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,280 one John, chapter number three. 11 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:34,040 We've gone through the first two chapters here in First John, 12 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:38,240 and just by way of review, we have to remember who. 13 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,240 Who is obviously John writing to. 14 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,560 Obviously we would say, well, us, because we're reading this, but 15 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,760 the context of First John is that he's writing to Christians. 16 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:49,000 And. 17 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,880 And I need to clarify that before we get any further because 18 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,640 we're going to get into a very difficult passage here this evening 19 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,680 that some people take out of context and actually will say that 20 00:00:59,340 --> 00:01:03,020 because we believe in God, that we have an opportunity to sin 21 00:01:03,020 --> 00:01:03,620 no longer. 22 00:01:03,620 --> 00:01:03,900 Like. 23 00:01:03,900 --> 00:01:05,580 Like, we don't need to deal with the flesh. 24 00:01:05,660 --> 00:01:09,540 And we're going to see here tonight that if we take it in context, 25 00:01:09,540 --> 00:01:11,020 we understand what. 26 00:01:11,020 --> 00:01:13,380 What John is getting across to us through the inspiration of the 27 00:01:13,380 --> 00:01:13,820 Holy Spirit. 28 00:01:13,820 --> 00:01:17,100 But before we do that, we're going to look at verse one, and verse 29 00:01:17,100 --> 00:01:21,180 one is one of those amazing verses that reminds us of the love 30 00:01:21,260 --> 00:01:25,980 of Christ, reminds us of how much God really loved us, that he 31 00:01:25,980 --> 00:01:30,580 would not only die for us, but then also call us children. 32 00:01:30,820 --> 00:01:31,140 And. 33 00:01:31,140 --> 00:01:35,140 And it says in verse one, behold, take note of what manner 34 00:01:35,140 --> 00:01:39,020 of love or what type of love the Father has bestowed upon us, 35 00:01:39,020 --> 00:01:41,620 that we should be called the sons of God. 36 00:01:42,180 --> 00:01:43,460 And that's a wonderful verse. 37 00:01:43,460 --> 00:01:47,540 That's a verse that we can all maybe memorize or at least remember 38 00:01:48,100 --> 00:01:49,180 the concept of. 39 00:01:49,180 --> 00:01:52,620 When we get into times in our life where we are tempted to think 40 00:01:52,620 --> 00:01:56,220 that God doesn't love us, or we're tempted to think that, you 41 00:01:56,220 --> 00:01:59,540 know, maybe someone else that has stopped loving us has caused 42 00:01:59,540 --> 00:02:02,500 us to lose our worth or our value. 43 00:02:02,580 --> 00:02:02,940 I don't. 44 00:02:02,940 --> 00:02:04,860 I don't know if you've ever struggled with that, but there are 45 00:02:04,860 --> 00:02:07,620 people that wrap up their identity in. 46 00:02:07,860 --> 00:02:10,260 And their value in who loves them. 47 00:02:10,580 --> 00:02:12,220 And, you know, it's great to be loved. 48 00:02:12,220 --> 00:02:15,940 I mean, I love the fact that there are people that tell me that 49 00:02:15,940 --> 00:02:16,460 they love me. 50 00:02:16,460 --> 00:02:19,540 I love the fact that my children love me, my wife loves me, 51 00:02:19,870 --> 00:02:23,390 but at the end of the day, my whole identity cannot be wrapped 52 00:02:23,390 --> 00:02:28,270 up in people's approval of me and love for Me, my identity must 53 00:02:28,270 --> 00:02:30,910 be wrapped up in the fact that Christ loves me. 54 00:02:31,550 --> 00:02:35,150 And I think so many times we go outside of the. 55 00:02:35,390 --> 00:02:37,590 The lines of Scripture and we say, you know what? 56 00:02:37,590 --> 00:02:43,070 I find my worth in my job, or I find my worth in my role as a parent, 57 00:02:43,070 --> 00:02:47,030 or I find my value or my worth in the amount of money that I have 58 00:02:47,030 --> 00:02:47,830 in my bank account. 59 00:02:47,830 --> 00:02:49,950 And all of those things can be good things. 60 00:02:49,950 --> 00:02:53,310 But at the end of the day, what we have to summarize our worth 61 00:02:53,310 --> 00:02:56,990 and our value in is the fact that God loves us and that God has 62 00:02:56,990 --> 00:02:58,830 given his only begotten Son for us. 63 00:02:58,830 --> 00:03:00,590 And therefore our identity is in Him. 64 00:03:00,590 --> 00:03:02,030 I am a child of God. 65 00:03:02,270 --> 00:03:05,110 The very first thing I should do when I'm introducing myself to 66 00:03:05,110 --> 00:03:09,270 people is not, hey, I'm, you know, Josh Massaro, pastor of Middletown 67 00:03:09,270 --> 00:03:09,830 Baptist Church. 68 00:03:09,830 --> 00:03:13,790 I should say, hey, I'm Josh Massaro, child of the one true king. 69 00:03:13,790 --> 00:03:15,470 I am the one who has been forgiven. 70 00:03:15,470 --> 00:03:19,030 And so he says, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed 71 00:03:19,030 --> 00:03:19,910 upon us. 72 00:03:20,470 --> 00:03:21,350 Now think about that. 73 00:03:21,350 --> 00:03:24,150 Think of, think of the type of love that God gives us. 74 00:03:24,550 --> 00:03:27,950 The fact that in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 75 00:03:27,950 --> 00:03:28,230 us. 76 00:03:28,390 --> 00:03:32,110 Folks, this is that beautiful type of love that really can only 77 00:03:32,110 --> 00:03:33,830 be found in, in God. 78 00:03:33,830 --> 00:03:36,830 We're going to see later on in First John that it says not only 79 00:03:36,830 --> 00:03:41,510 is God loving, which we would all agree with, but that God is love 80 00:03:41,910 --> 00:03:44,790 and that we love him because he first loved us. 81 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,200 And so he says, hey, this is what it's all about. 82 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,200 Understanding God's love for us and understanding that when we 83 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,200 come to know him in faith, we are sons of God. 84 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:55,400 We are children of God. 85 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:58,960 And so that's the beauty of it, that, that God has given us an 86 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,600 opportunity not just to be saved from our sin, which is amazing 87 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,640 in and of itself, but then now we are adopted into the family of 88 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:07,000 God. 89 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,080 Now we have all the benefits of being in the family of God, all 90 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:12,740 the blessings, all of the inheritance of being in the family 91 00:04:12,740 --> 00:04:13,300 of God. 92 00:04:13,380 --> 00:04:15,980 And so he says, this is the type of love that God has for us, 93 00:04:15,980 --> 00:04:17,660 that we are his children, that. 94 00:04:17,660 --> 00:04:17,900 That. 95 00:04:17,900 --> 00:04:19,700 That we understand his love. 96 00:04:19,700 --> 00:04:22,660 And it says there at the end of verse one, therefore the world 97 00:04:22,740 --> 00:04:25,620 knoweth us not, meaning we are not of the world. 98 00:04:25,780 --> 00:04:27,300 And you've heard the statement before. 99 00:04:28,340 --> 00:04:30,740 You know, we're in the world, but we're not of the world. 100 00:04:30,740 --> 00:04:34,620 The identity here is that the world cannot understand this type 101 00:04:34,620 --> 00:04:35,020 of love. 102 00:04:35,020 --> 00:04:37,590 The world cannot understand what, what it means to be in the 103 00:04:37,590 --> 00:04:38,270 family of God. 104 00:04:38,270 --> 00:04:38,590 Why? 105 00:04:38,750 --> 00:04:41,950 Because the World, as it says here, because it knew him not. 106 00:04:42,270 --> 00:04:45,110 And we already looked through that in First John, chapter one and 107 00:04:45,110 --> 00:04:45,590 chapter two. 108 00:04:45,590 --> 00:04:48,270 And this idea that we should not love the things of the world, 109 00:04:48,270 --> 00:04:50,750 neither the love not the world, or neither the things that 110 00:04:50,750 --> 00:04:51,230 are in the world. 111 00:04:51,230 --> 00:04:54,190 If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 112 00:04:54,590 --> 00:04:58,070 And so the world cannot understand the love of God because 113 00:04:58,070 --> 00:04:59,150 they rejected him. 114 00:04:59,550 --> 00:05:00,990 And, and that's still today. 115 00:05:01,230 --> 00:05:05,030 We can describe the love of God to people, but until they taste 116 00:05:05,030 --> 00:05:07,270 of that love, till they understand that love, until they 117 00:05:07,270 --> 00:05:10,270 are adopted into the family of God, it'll seem foreign to them. 118 00:05:11,070 --> 00:05:13,550 And then he goes on to say a little bit further what it means 119 00:05:13,550 --> 00:05:14,550 to be a child of God. 120 00:05:14,550 --> 00:05:16,670 That's why we know he's speaking to Christians here. 121 00:05:16,910 --> 00:05:17,230 We. 122 00:05:17,230 --> 00:05:19,430 We know that he's speaking to Christians because he says, hey, 123 00:05:19,430 --> 00:05:20,270 guys, understand. 124 00:05:21,070 --> 00:05:25,070 Recognize the love of God and the love of God that he has for his 125 00:05:25,070 --> 00:05:25,390 children. 126 00:05:25,390 --> 00:05:26,590 Verse two, beloved. 127 00:05:26,750 --> 00:05:28,910 And so he's referencing Christians now. 128 00:05:28,910 --> 00:05:30,510 Are we the sons of God? 129 00:05:31,420 --> 00:05:33,420 And it doth not yet appear what we shall be. 130 00:05:33,420 --> 00:05:35,940 Meaning this, we have the understanding of knowing that we 131 00:05:35,940 --> 00:05:38,620 are children of God, but we don't completely, even at this point, 132 00:05:38,620 --> 00:05:40,460 understand all the benefits of that. 133 00:05:40,860 --> 00:05:43,740 There's no way for us to completely understand what it means 134 00:05:43,740 --> 00:05:46,580 to have the full inheritance of being a child of God. 135 00:05:46,580 --> 00:05:49,420 Now, certainly, the Bible speaks to many different blessings 136 00:05:49,420 --> 00:05:50,660 that we have as Christians. 137 00:05:50,660 --> 00:05:54,020 Ultimately, we know that we have our eternal destination with 138 00:05:54,020 --> 00:05:54,700 him in heaven. 139 00:05:54,780 --> 00:05:57,780 And we ultimately know that one day there will be no more pain, 140 00:05:57,780 --> 00:05:58,940 there will be no more suffering. 141 00:05:59,710 --> 00:06:02,070 But what he says here is that we don't know exactly how it all 142 00:06:02,070 --> 00:06:04,110 will be, but he does say this. 143 00:06:04,190 --> 00:06:08,510 But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for 144 00:06:08,510 --> 00:06:10,590 we shall see him as he is. 145 00:06:11,230 --> 00:06:14,910 Now, there are many people that actually use this verse to, 146 00:06:14,910 --> 00:06:18,190 to teach a heresy, that one day we will all be gods. 147 00:06:18,670 --> 00:06:20,510 And that's not what this is saying here, okay? 148 00:06:20,510 --> 00:06:23,510 So we have to be very careful about this because there are some 149 00:06:23,510 --> 00:06:26,610 people in the world today that will preach and teach that, hey, 150 00:06:26,610 --> 00:06:29,770 if we are believers, we are actually little gods. 151 00:06:30,010 --> 00:06:30,330 We. 152 00:06:30,330 --> 00:06:31,530 We are underneath God. 153 00:06:31,530 --> 00:06:33,130 But, yes, we are still our own gods. 154 00:06:33,130 --> 00:06:36,250 And that can lead us down a really bad path because ultimately, 155 00:06:36,250 --> 00:06:39,050 if we see ourselves as little gods, we'll begin to worship ourselves. 156 00:06:39,050 --> 00:06:42,410 And that's a very humanistic, a very selfish way to see ourselves. 157 00:06:42,810 --> 00:06:43,090 But. 158 00:06:43,090 --> 00:06:45,050 But what is he actually saying here? 159 00:06:45,050 --> 00:06:45,410 He. 160 00:06:45,410 --> 00:06:46,730 He basically says this. 161 00:06:47,210 --> 00:06:50,330 We're not completely left in the dark and knowing about our future 162 00:06:50,410 --> 00:06:50,730 state. 163 00:06:50,730 --> 00:06:54,050 But we don't know completely what it means until ultimately we 164 00:06:54,050 --> 00:06:56,330 will be reunited with Him. 165 00:06:56,970 --> 00:07:00,410 And so this reminds us that even though we are as Christians, 166 00:07:00,570 --> 00:07:01,690 we are justified. 167 00:07:01,770 --> 00:07:04,330 And then we are on the process of sanctification. 168 00:07:04,650 --> 00:07:07,690 And sometimes you'll hear that word sanctification, and that's a 169 00:07:07,690 --> 00:07:10,410 tricky word because it can mean a few different things. 170 00:07:10,410 --> 00:07:14,850 When it comes to Scripture, we have in our salvation what we would 171 00:07:14,850 --> 00:07:16,530 call positional sanctification. 172 00:07:16,530 --> 00:07:19,610 Meaning that word sanctification literally just means 173 00:07:19,610 --> 00:07:24,230 to be set aside for a specific use, set aside to make special, to 174 00:07:24,230 --> 00:07:24,910 make holy. 175 00:07:24,910 --> 00:07:28,430 And so in our salvation, we are taken out of sin and moved to 176 00:07:28,430 --> 00:07:28,990 salvation. 177 00:07:29,230 --> 00:07:29,670 That's. 178 00:07:29,670 --> 00:07:32,030 That's what we would call positional sanctification. 179 00:07:32,510 --> 00:07:35,630 But then at the moment we are saved, we are on a spiritual growth 180 00:07:35,630 --> 00:07:36,030 process. 181 00:07:36,270 --> 00:07:39,070 And many people call this progressive sanctification. 182 00:07:39,230 --> 00:07:40,190 So, so we're all. 183 00:07:40,750 --> 00:07:44,550 Hopefully, if we're walking in the will of God, as First John, chapter 184 00:07:44,550 --> 00:07:47,620 two, talked about, if we're walking in fellowship with God, we. 185 00:07:47,690 --> 00:07:51,210 We are growing closer to him and more like him in that process. 186 00:07:51,530 --> 00:07:55,930 But none of us will reach complete sanctification until one 187 00:07:55,930 --> 00:07:57,730 day we will be in our glorified state. 188 00:07:57,730 --> 00:08:00,010 We will be like him in that regard. 189 00:08:00,010 --> 00:08:03,450 We won't be God, but we will be there in that place where we are 190 00:08:03,450 --> 00:08:09,290 unhindered and in the presence of God and not bound by the flesh. 191 00:08:09,290 --> 00:08:11,690 We're not bound by the things of this world. 192 00:08:13,300 --> 00:08:16,300 And so ultimately, we know that that is the culmination, the 193 00:08:16,300 --> 00:08:18,380 glorification of what we will be one day. 194 00:08:18,380 --> 00:08:20,860 And so when it says we shall be like him, it's not saying that 195 00:08:20,860 --> 00:08:24,460 we will be perfectly like God and we can be our own God. 196 00:08:24,460 --> 00:08:27,380 But what it's saying here is that one day we will be without sin 197 00:08:27,540 --> 00:08:32,060 when we are spending eternity with him, and so we shall be like 198 00:08:32,060 --> 00:08:32,260 Him. 199 00:08:32,260 --> 00:08:37,780 John makes the connection between seeing him as he is and ultimately 200 00:08:37,780 --> 00:08:40,820 understanding that transformation of being in our glorified 201 00:08:40,820 --> 00:08:41,220 state. 202 00:08:42,170 --> 00:08:43,450 And so one day we can. 203 00:08:43,450 --> 00:08:44,730 We can long for that day. 204 00:08:44,730 --> 00:08:46,330 And today we can long for that day. 205 00:08:46,410 --> 00:08:50,010 And then he says, and every man that hath this hope, so the hope 206 00:08:50,010 --> 00:08:53,610 of being with him one day, the hope of glorification, the hope of 207 00:08:53,850 --> 00:08:55,850 completely being reunited with Him. 208 00:08:56,010 --> 00:08:59,450 And every man that had this hope in him purifies himself. 209 00:08:59,530 --> 00:09:02,010 Now, again, we have to be careful with this wording because 210 00:09:02,010 --> 00:09:03,450 we don't purify ourselves. 211 00:09:03,690 --> 00:09:07,890 What it's essentially saying is this in our faith and in our hope, 212 00:09:07,890 --> 00:09:11,820 that that brings purification to our lives, even as he is Pure. 213 00:09:11,820 --> 00:09:15,380 So it's, it's speaking to this idea of being more set aside to be 214 00:09:15,380 --> 00:09:18,740 like God, to walk like him, to desire his desires, to. 215 00:09:18,820 --> 00:09:21,540 To walk not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. 216 00:09:22,020 --> 00:09:26,220 Verse four is where we could get to a place where we could begin 217 00:09:26,220 --> 00:09:31,460 to be confused because it says whosoever committeth sin transgresseth 218 00:09:31,460 --> 00:09:32,340 also the law. 219 00:09:32,900 --> 00:09:34,980 For sin is the transgression of the law. 220 00:09:34,980 --> 00:09:37,230 So that's basically him explaining this. 221 00:09:37,470 --> 00:09:39,870 When we sin, we are breaking God's law. 222 00:09:40,510 --> 00:09:44,910 When, when we sin, we are living in a state of lawlessness. 223 00:09:45,550 --> 00:09:48,630 So before we become a Christian, that is completely what 224 00:09:48,630 --> 00:09:49,310 our state is. 225 00:09:49,470 --> 00:09:52,550 The Bible says in many places that we are. 226 00:09:52,550 --> 00:09:56,830 We are dead in our sins, that we are an enemy of God. 227 00:09:56,990 --> 00:09:58,590 We are separated from God. 228 00:09:58,590 --> 00:10:02,990 And so to live in sin means to live in lawlessness. 229 00:10:02,990 --> 00:10:06,150 To live in sin means I'm breaking myself from the will of 230 00:10:06,150 --> 00:10:08,510 God and doing I want to do. 231 00:10:09,310 --> 00:10:11,870 And, and so that's really what he's explaining here. 232 00:10:11,950 --> 00:10:13,310 He's saying, what is sin? 233 00:10:13,630 --> 00:10:15,230 Sin in its deepest form is. 234 00:10:15,230 --> 00:10:16,830 Is rebellion against God. 235 00:10:17,470 --> 00:10:21,670 And so, so John defines sin in, in what we would say is the most 236 00:10:21,670 --> 00:10:22,430 basic route. 237 00:10:22,430 --> 00:10:28,590 And that is a disregard for the truth of God, a disregard for 238 00:10:28,990 --> 00:10:31,550 not only his law, but the one who makes that law. 239 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,240 And so he goes on a little bit further and says this and verse five, 240 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,520 and ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins, 241 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:43,000 and in him is no sin. 242 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:44,520 So the idea is this. 243 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:49,239 God in verse 5, there God sends His only begotten Son, Jesus, 244 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:53,800 who knew no sin, to take away our sin, so that he paid the penalty 245 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:54,520 for our sin. 246 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:59,240 So this is the immediate accomplishment of God when it shows 247 00:10:59,700 --> 00:10:59,900 of. 248 00:10:59,900 --> 00:11:01,460 Of his love and his grace to us. 249 00:11:01,460 --> 00:11:03,380 Jesus is the perfect example of that. 250 00:11:03,460 --> 00:11:07,020 And he says, and we know that he was manifested Jesus to take away 251 00:11:07,020 --> 00:11:09,460 our sins, and in him is no sin. 252 00:11:09,620 --> 00:11:11,580 So the one who knew no sin became sin for us. 253 00:11:11,580 --> 00:11:12,980 Second Corinthians, chapter 5. 254 00:11:13,860 --> 00:11:17,180 But then again, it goes a little bit further, and this is where 255 00:11:17,180 --> 00:11:19,300 we're going to see something interesting. 256 00:11:20,260 --> 00:11:24,900 It says, Verse 6, Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. 257 00:11:26,350 --> 00:11:32,670 Okay, so if you were to read that verse in an isolated sense, 258 00:11:32,830 --> 00:11:37,870 it would say that if we are believers, we won't sin anymore. 259 00:11:38,430 --> 00:11:39,950 Okay, let's go a little bit further. 260 00:11:40,590 --> 00:11:43,790 Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 261 00:11:44,990 --> 00:11:47,670 So again, if you're reading that on its own, you would say, well, 262 00:11:47,670 --> 00:11:49,070 wait, I sin today. 263 00:11:49,070 --> 00:11:50,670 Does that mean that I don't know him? 264 00:11:51,260 --> 00:11:52,300 I. I sin today. 265 00:11:52,300 --> 00:11:55,180 Does that mean that I have not experienced his grace? 266 00:11:55,740 --> 00:11:57,300 Am I not living in. 267 00:11:57,300 --> 00:11:57,580 In. 268 00:11:57,580 --> 00:11:59,980 In fellowship with him if I commit a sin? 269 00:12:00,540 --> 00:12:02,220 Well, he's going to say a little bit more here. 270 00:12:02,220 --> 00:12:04,700 Little children, let no man deceive you. 271 00:12:04,700 --> 00:12:09,780 He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous. 272 00:12:09,780 --> 00:12:12,820 Meaning those that are doing righteousness are following the will 273 00:12:12,820 --> 00:12:13,340 of God. 274 00:12:13,820 --> 00:12:14,180 Why? 275 00:12:14,180 --> 00:12:16,500 Because God's will is that we are righteous. 276 00:12:16,500 --> 00:12:19,020 And God's just truth is that he is always righteous. 277 00:12:19,500 --> 00:12:22,460 He that committeth sin is of the devil. 278 00:12:23,180 --> 00:12:25,020 For the devil sinneth from the beginning. 279 00:12:25,020 --> 00:12:29,460 So he says, when an individual is walking in righteousness, he or 280 00:12:29,460 --> 00:12:31,180 she is walking in the will of God. 281 00:12:31,500 --> 00:12:34,580 If an individual is walking in sin, he is walking in the will of 282 00:12:34,580 --> 00:12:35,940 the enemy Satan, as it says there. 283 00:12:35,940 --> 00:12:36,620 He committeth sin. 284 00:12:36,620 --> 00:12:37,340 He's of the devil. 285 00:12:37,340 --> 00:12:38,940 For the devil sinneth from the beginning. 286 00:12:38,940 --> 00:12:42,300 For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested. 287 00:12:42,300 --> 00:12:45,720 So the whole reason, as the Bible says here, that Jesus comes 288 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:49,240 to save us is because the devil had the grip on humanity through 289 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:49,520 sin. 290 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:50,440 And he says, why? 291 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:52,800 That he might destroy the works of the devil, that he would 292 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:57,440 destroy evil, that he would destroy all those evil things that 293 00:12:57,440 --> 00:12:58,600 were defining the world. 294 00:12:58,760 --> 00:12:59,559 And verse 9. 295 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:03,160 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. 296 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:09,610 Now, again, this is a passage of Scripture that many people preached 297 00:13:09,610 --> 00:13:13,730 today that basically says that we can reach sinless perfection. 298 00:13:15,090 --> 00:13:15,410 There. 299 00:13:15,410 --> 00:13:15,690 There. 300 00:13:15,690 --> 00:13:19,010 There is a group of Christians today that teach that if you are 301 00:13:19,010 --> 00:13:22,730 holy enough, if you love God enough, you can reach a point where 302 00:13:22,730 --> 00:13:24,850 the flesh has no more effect upon you. 303 00:13:25,490 --> 00:13:25,850 But. 304 00:13:25,850 --> 00:13:26,450 But we're going to. 305 00:13:26,450 --> 00:13:28,890 We're going to dig a little deeper here, because again, that's 306 00:13:28,890 --> 00:13:31,170 going to be contradictory to what John has already said. 307 00:13:31,570 --> 00:13:32,530 Let's go a little bit further. 308 00:13:32,530 --> 00:13:35,170 He says, for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin 309 00:13:35,170 --> 00:13:36,450 because he is born of God. 310 00:13:36,860 --> 00:13:39,220 In this, the children of God are manifest. 311 00:13:39,220 --> 00:13:43,100 And the children of the devil, whosoever doeth not righteousness 312 00:13:43,100 --> 00:13:46,220 is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 313 00:13:46,220 --> 00:13:49,500 So we're going to stop there right now, and I want us just to 314 00:13:49,500 --> 00:13:53,500 go back to a few verses before, a few chapters before, because 315 00:13:53,500 --> 00:13:56,100 this is going to give us an understanding that he's not specifically 316 00:13:56,100 --> 00:13:56,660 talking about. 317 00:13:56,660 --> 00:13:58,580 A Christian can never sin anymore. 318 00:13:58,580 --> 00:14:00,700 If a Christian sins, he loses his salvation. 319 00:14:00,940 --> 00:14:01,580 No, because. 320 00:14:01,580 --> 00:14:02,790 And what, what does it say? 321 00:14:02,790 --> 00:14:03,990 One John, chapter two. 322 00:14:04,310 --> 00:14:06,790 Okay, look at first John, chapter two, verse one. 323 00:14:07,750 --> 00:14:12,630 He's going to explain that there is still an opportunity for 324 00:14:12,630 --> 00:14:13,590 a Christian to sin. 325 00:14:13,590 --> 00:14:17,990 And what we have in that in the hope of our Heavenly Father. 326 00:14:18,870 --> 00:14:21,750 So it says in, in First John, chapter two, my little children. 327 00:14:21,830 --> 00:14:25,670 So we know that he's speaking to believers there, okay, These things 328 00:14:26,070 --> 00:14:28,230 write I unto you that ye sin not. 329 00:14:28,990 --> 00:14:33,110 But then he goes, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with 330 00:14:33,110 --> 00:14:34,950 the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 331 00:14:34,950 --> 00:14:38,150 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but 332 00:14:38,150 --> 00:14:39,390 also for the sins of the world. 333 00:14:39,390 --> 00:14:42,270 So he just says here, hey, Christians, we're writing these things 334 00:14:42,270 --> 00:14:42,670 to you. 335 00:14:42,670 --> 00:14:45,190 I'm writing these things to you so that you don't sin, but when 336 00:14:45,190 --> 00:14:47,390 you do sin, you have an advocate with the Father. 337 00:14:47,550 --> 00:14:52,350 There's forgiveness, there's restoration, there's room for repentance, 338 00:14:52,350 --> 00:14:55,470 there's room for that revival, that change of heart. 339 00:14:55,980 --> 00:14:58,140 And then you might say, well, yeah, but maybe he's just talking 340 00:14:58,140 --> 00:15:01,340 to people that are, are coming to Christ, but they, they haven't 341 00:15:01,340 --> 00:15:02,420 come to Christ completely yet. 342 00:15:02,420 --> 00:15:05,220 And when they understand Christ completely as their advocate, 343 00:15:05,220 --> 00:15:06,220 they will never sin again. 344 00:15:06,300 --> 00:15:07,820 We'll go back a little bit further. 345 00:15:07,980 --> 00:15:10,220 Go back to First John, chapter one, verse eight. 346 00:15:11,340 --> 00:15:14,620 He says, and again, remember, in First John, he's speaking to Christians. 347 00:15:14,620 --> 00:15:20,780 He says, if we say that we have no sin, okay, we deceive ourselves 348 00:15:20,780 --> 00:15:22,300 and the truth is not in us. 349 00:15:22,750 --> 00:15:24,990 If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our 350 00:15:24,990 --> 00:15:26,670 sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 351 00:15:27,150 --> 00:15:30,670 And so just right there, we see in context, he's not talking 352 00:15:30,670 --> 00:15:33,550 about this time in our life where we can finally reach sinless 353 00:15:33,550 --> 00:15:34,030 perfection. 354 00:15:34,190 --> 00:15:37,710 He says, if you say that you have no sin, you're lying, you're 355 00:15:37,710 --> 00:15:39,790 deceiving yourself, and the truth is not in us. 356 00:15:40,670 --> 00:15:43,150 And so what is he talking about there in First John, chapter 357 00:15:43,150 --> 00:15:43,390 three? 358 00:15:43,390 --> 00:15:46,590 Well, we know biblically speaking, because we have to understand 359 00:15:46,750 --> 00:15:47,630 the context. 360 00:15:47,790 --> 00:15:52,950 We have to understand the Bible as one message that all human 361 00:15:53,030 --> 00:15:55,030 beings are born with a sin nature. 362 00:15:55,190 --> 00:15:59,990 The Bible teaches that we are all still dealing with the flesh. 363 00:15:59,990 --> 00:16:02,590 I want you to see a few different passages of scripture that 364 00:16:02,590 --> 00:16:02,990 deal with that. 365 00:16:02,990 --> 00:16:05,270 We already looked at First John, chapter one, verse eight. 366 00:16:05,430 --> 00:16:07,870 We say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth 367 00:16:07,870 --> 00:16:08,550 is not in us. 368 00:16:08,710 --> 00:16:13,190 But if you go over to Romans, Romans chapter seven tells us a similar 369 00:16:13,190 --> 00:16:17,040 thing, that even though that we are saved, even though that we 370 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:20,040 have been born again, even though we've been called to a new 371 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,520 life, we are still wrestling with the flesh. 372 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,640 And Paul speaks of that here in Romans, chapter seven. 373 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,040 And I want you to see this, because anytime we see something 374 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,520 In Scripture that might seem contradictory. 375 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,400 We need to see the bigger picture, and we need to understand 376 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,760 what the Bible says about a specific topic and. 377 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,900 And what I've come to realize in my life, that if I am confused 378 00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:46,620 and if I don't understand and if I think there's a contradiction, 379 00:16:47,020 --> 00:16:48,260 the problem is not God. 380 00:16:48,260 --> 00:16:49,180 The problem is me. 381 00:16:49,340 --> 00:16:52,140 And maybe I'm overlooking something or maybe I just can't understand. 382 00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:54,900 So let's look at Romans chapter seven, and let's see what 383 00:16:54,900 --> 00:16:58,700 Paul says about the sin nature and how we are still dealing with 384 00:16:58,700 --> 00:16:59,660 sin in our life. 385 00:16:59,980 --> 00:17:04,500 Romans chapter 7, verse 14 says, for we know that the law is 386 00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:07,380 spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 387 00:17:07,380 --> 00:17:11,909 For for that which I do I allow not for what I would, that 388 00:17:11,909 --> 00:17:14,709 do I not, but what I hate, that I that do I. 389 00:17:15,189 --> 00:17:19,509 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law 390 00:17:19,509 --> 00:17:23,908 that it is good now, then it is no more that I that I do it, but 391 00:17:23,908 --> 00:17:25,189 sin that dwelleth in me. 392 00:17:25,429 --> 00:17:29,189 For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, 393 00:17:29,269 --> 00:17:31,589 for to will is present with me. 394 00:17:31,749 --> 00:17:35,180 But how to perform which is not, with which is good, I find not. 395 00:17:35,180 --> 00:17:35,580 So. 396 00:17:35,660 --> 00:17:38,540 That's some hard language to talk about, but he basically goes 397 00:17:38,540 --> 00:17:41,500 all the way down here and he starts talking about verse 23. 398 00:17:41,500 --> 00:17:45,380 But I see another law in my members warring against the law of 399 00:17:45,380 --> 00:17:48,500 my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which 400 00:17:48,500 --> 00:17:49,260 is in my members. 401 00:17:49,500 --> 00:17:54,100 Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body 402 00:17:54,100 --> 00:17:54,820 of this death? 403 00:17:54,820 --> 00:17:57,260 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 404 00:17:57,340 --> 00:18:00,140 So then with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but 405 00:18:00,140 --> 00:18:02,320 with the flesh, the law of sin. 406 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:03,200 And so what does he say here? 407 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,120 He says there's still that battle that's going on between the 408 00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:07,800 law and sin and. 409 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:08,840 And the Spirit. 410 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,120 And then there's this idea that, okay, I can't keep the law 411 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:13,360 and I'm not perfect. 412 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:14,080 So what does that mean? 413 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,480 Does that mean that the Spirit's not strong enough? 414 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:18,480 The Spirit is not going to change me? 415 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:18,680 No. 416 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:22,280 The Bible says that there's that battle between the sin and the 417 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:24,360 flesh and the spirit. 418 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:28,040 So this applies to unbelievers, but I believe it applies 419 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:29,000 to believers as well. 420 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:34,430 And so the difference is, is that before we come to Christ, we 421 00:18:34,430 --> 00:18:35,990 can't do anything else but sin. 422 00:18:35,990 --> 00:18:36,790 That's our nature. 423 00:18:37,270 --> 00:18:40,350 But as Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17 tells us that 424 00:18:40,350 --> 00:18:41,070 we are changed. 425 00:18:41,070 --> 00:18:42,430 The Holy Spirit now indwells us. 426 00:18:42,430 --> 00:18:43,350 We're new creations. 427 00:18:43,590 --> 00:18:47,150 And so Romans chapter Six says that we are no longer slaves to sin. 428 00:18:47,150 --> 00:18:48,590 We're no longer a servant to sin. 429 00:18:48,590 --> 00:18:49,190 That means this. 430 00:18:49,270 --> 00:18:53,630 We'll still have a battle, but we no longer have that as our identity 431 00:18:53,630 --> 00:18:54,230 anymore. 432 00:18:54,310 --> 00:18:55,910 Sin is no longer our identity. 433 00:18:55,910 --> 00:18:57,150 Our identity is the Spirit. 434 00:18:57,150 --> 00:19:02,350 So a Christian should never be complacent and comfortable and regular 435 00:19:02,350 --> 00:19:03,150 in sin. 436 00:19:03,230 --> 00:19:04,670 So that's what he's talking about here. 437 00:19:04,670 --> 00:19:08,830 So the Holy Spirit empowers believers to live for righteousness. 438 00:19:09,630 --> 00:19:13,150 So I don't believe that sinless perfection is a, is, is attainable 439 00:19:13,150 --> 00:19:13,870 in this life. 440 00:19:14,270 --> 00:19:16,430 And so what, what do we, what do we. 441 00:19:16,430 --> 00:19:17,630 How do we reconcile this? 442 00:19:17,710 --> 00:19:20,710 Well, if you go back to the original Greek and you look at the 443 00:19:20,710 --> 00:19:24,870 tense in verse number nine and really up even higher, where in verse 444 00:19:24,870 --> 00:19:27,720 number six, when he's talking about abiding, he's specifically 445 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,400 talking about living in or making it your identity, making it 446 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:32,400 your lifestyle. 447 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,480 And so what we can see here is that, yes, sin is evil. 448 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:38,640 God does not want us to sin. 449 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:43,320 And even as we see in verses 4 through 10 in First John, it strongly 450 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:43,920 condemns sin. 451 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:48,280 It warns believers that after salvation, there's no excuse that 452 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:49,040 we do sin. 453 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,320 We can't just say, well, I'm a human so I can get away with my sin. 454 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,110 No, the, the reality is, is that we're still dealing with that, 455 00:19:56,270 --> 00:20:00,790 but the believer should have a new desire for good, a new desire 456 00:20:00,790 --> 00:20:01,590 for righteousness. 457 00:20:01,590 --> 00:20:02,670 And so what is he saying here? 458 00:20:02,670 --> 00:20:04,270 He's essentially saying this. 459 00:20:04,590 --> 00:20:07,470 Whether you agree with this or not, I believe that he's saying this, 460 00:20:07,710 --> 00:20:11,670 that a Christian cannot live and abide and sin forever and feel 461 00:20:11,670 --> 00:20:12,510 no conviction. 462 00:20:12,990 --> 00:20:13,630 Okay? 463 00:20:13,630 --> 00:20:16,590 A Christian can fall into a sense of backsliding. 464 00:20:16,590 --> 00:20:20,030 A Christian can fall into a sense of carnality. 465 00:20:20,110 --> 00:20:22,830 But in that carnality should come conviction. 466 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:25,440 Now, some people say, well, how long should that last? 467 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:27,280 I don't have an answer for that. 468 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,360 And some people say, well, how long can a Christian be backslidden? 469 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:33,360 I don't know if I can look at that and say, well, at three years, 470 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:35,600 if they're still backslidden, they're probably not Christian. 471 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:36,880 That's not my job to say. 472 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,120 All I'm saying is that the Scriptures say that if there's a 473 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:43,320 person who is born again that has the Holy Spirit indwelling them 474 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:48,320 and is abiding in the truth, they will no longer be comfortable 475 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:48,840 with sin. 476 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:52,000 It will not be something that they will desire for an extended 477 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:52,800 amount of time. 478 00:20:53,610 --> 00:20:56,370 And, and so this is difficult for many of us because we've been 479 00:20:56,370 --> 00:20:59,730 taught that if a person just Prays a prayer and believe, and, 480 00:20:59,730 --> 00:21:02,730 and says that they believe in God, that hey, they're, they're going 481 00:21:02,730 --> 00:21:03,370 to heaven. 482 00:21:03,610 --> 00:21:06,650 And, and I, I'm not there to say that a person can't believe and 483 00:21:06,650 --> 00:21:07,890 then continue on in sin. 484 00:21:07,890 --> 00:21:10,290 But what I am saying is that the Bible says that that is not the 485 00:21:10,290 --> 00:21:12,810 character, that is not the identity of a Christian. 486 00:21:13,450 --> 00:21:16,050 And so, so this is a challenge for me because there's, there's, 487 00:21:16,050 --> 00:21:18,690 there's many people in this world that I want to believe are 488 00:21:18,690 --> 00:21:19,050 saved. 489 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,080 They said a prayer, but if you look at their life, there's no conviction, 490 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:24,240 there's no repentance. 491 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,440 They're comfortable in sin, they're hungry for sin and sin is 492 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:28,160 where they're comfortable. 493 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:29,520 That's what they're identified as. 494 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,280 The Bible says here that that individual is in a dangerous place 495 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,640 because they're in contradiction to Scripture. 496 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:40,560 So, so giving into sin is no longer a norm for a child of God. 497 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:42,160 That's what it's saying here. 498 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,360 And so if you go back to that verse, he says whoso abideth in him, 499 00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:48,380 meaning living in him, living in fellowship with Him. 500 00:21:49,260 --> 00:21:53,500 That opportunity to, to walk with him means that if we are walking 501 00:21:53,500 --> 00:21:55,420 with him in the Spirit, we will not sin. 502 00:21:55,900 --> 00:21:58,460 But none of us can completely walk in the Spirit. 503 00:21:58,780 --> 00:22:02,340 The, the Bible, if you, if you have time and you want to look this 504 00:22:02,340 --> 00:22:06,340 up, look at Galatians chapter 5 and you will see really throughout 505 00:22:06,340 --> 00:22:08,740 all the book of Galatians, you're going to see that the Bible 506 00:22:08,740 --> 00:22:12,060 says that if we are walking in the Spirit, we will not sin. 507 00:22:12,330 --> 00:22:14,410 You can't be walking in the Spirit and sin. 508 00:22:14,410 --> 00:22:16,250 It's when we go into our flesh. 509 00:22:16,810 --> 00:22:19,610 And so that's the whole idea of Galatians chapter 5. 510 00:22:19,610 --> 00:22:24,010 And even throughout that book is this understanding of if, if we 511 00:22:24,010 --> 00:22:27,050 are walking in the Spirit, we will have those, the fruit of the 512 00:22:27,050 --> 00:22:28,570 Spirit manifested in our life. 513 00:22:28,810 --> 00:22:30,810 If we're walking in the flesh, what's going to be? 514 00:22:30,810 --> 00:22:32,650 Man have manifested the works of the flesh. 515 00:22:33,370 --> 00:22:35,250 So, so what is it saying here? 516 00:22:35,250 --> 00:22:39,830 It's saying this genuine Christians DNA is not to live a life 517 00:22:39,830 --> 00:22:41,030 of unrepentant sin. 518 00:22:41,030 --> 00:22:44,350 A genuine Christian DNA is to hunger after the righteousness of 519 00:22:44,350 --> 00:22:44,710 God. 520 00:22:44,710 --> 00:22:45,670 Will they stumble? 521 00:22:45,670 --> 00:22:46,070 Yes. 522 00:22:46,150 --> 00:22:47,190 Will there be failures? 523 00:22:47,190 --> 00:22:47,590 Yes. 524 00:22:47,590 --> 00:22:51,910 But going back to 1 John 1:9, it tells us what to do when we sin. 525 00:22:52,150 --> 00:22:54,790 If we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us our 526 00:22:54,790 --> 00:22:56,470 sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 527 00:22:56,470 --> 00:22:58,390 It brings us back to that fellowship. 528 00:22:59,430 --> 00:23:05,040 And so a, so a person who claims to be a Christian, but says, 529 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:06,480 I don't feel conviction. 530 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:08,880 I don't feel sorry for my sin. 531 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:10,920 I don't even think this is a sin. 532 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,960 But they're openly in rebellion to God and there's no conviction. 533 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:19,520 The Bible says that that is not the character of a believer. 534 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:22,320 Now, I'm not preaching lordship salvation. 535 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,560 What lordship salvation is is that if you're not fully walking 536 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:26,920 in the will of God, you can't be saved. 537 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:28,000 That's not what I'm saying. 538 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,560 What I am saying is that what the Bible says is that the character 539 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:35,160 of a Christian should not be just to continue on in sin and just 540 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:36,080 be comfortable in that. 541 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,080 The way that I had it explained to me one time from. 542 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:40,640 From one of my mentors was this. 543 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,680 You can go fishing and you can catch a fish. 544 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,880 And maybe for some reason, someone catches and releases a fish, 545 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:48,200 okay? 546 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:50,200 Maybe it's not the right size and they pull it out, but they still 547 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:51,120 want to take a picture. 548 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:55,240 That fish can live outside of the water for a specific period of 549 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,080 time, but that's not the way that they've been designed to live. 550 00:23:58,240 --> 00:23:58,640 Okay? 551 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,240 If you keep a fish out of water for a certain amount of time, 552 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:02,360 they're eventually going to die. 553 00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:04,480 It's not in their identity to be outside of that water. 554 00:24:05,740 --> 00:24:08,260 And when you put that fish back in the water, they're back into 555 00:24:08,260 --> 00:24:09,660 the state that they are in. 556 00:24:09,660 --> 00:24:12,100 That's their natural state, the way that God ordained it to be. 557 00:24:12,100 --> 00:24:14,540 And he explained it to me that way in the fact that a Christian 558 00:24:14,540 --> 00:24:16,260 can live outside of the will of God. 559 00:24:16,260 --> 00:24:19,060 But it should be so uncomfortable, it should be so different, 560 00:24:19,060 --> 00:24:21,900 that they're longing or at least fighting the conviction of 561 00:24:21,900 --> 00:24:24,060 the Spirit to come back to the will of God. 562 00:24:24,860 --> 00:24:26,860 And so believers have the power. 563 00:24:26,860 --> 00:24:29,900 Now, see, see, before a person is a believer, there is no power 564 00:24:29,900 --> 00:24:30,940 to overcome sin. 565 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:33,520 So there's nothing we can do other than sin. 566 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,640 But as a Christian now we have the Holy Spirit living within us 567 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,440 so that we can conquer sin through the power of God. 568 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:44,040 And so believers have the power through God to overcome sin 569 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:44,760 and temptation. 570 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:45,080 Why? 571 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:46,880 Because the Holy Spirit lives within them. 572 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,240 I want you to see a passage of scripture that speaks to that. 573 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:50,960 It's First Corinthians, chapter 10. 574 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:53,600 First Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 13. 575 00:24:54,400 --> 00:25:00,990 It tells us this idea that God empowers the believer to always have 576 00:25:00,990 --> 00:25:05,190 an opportunity to have victory over sin in their life. 577 00:25:06,070 --> 00:25:06,670 Okay? 578 00:25:06,670 --> 00:25:07,190 Because what. 579 00:25:07,190 --> 00:25:10,550 What happens sometimes with us as Christians is that we have. 580 00:25:10,790 --> 00:25:13,830 The Bible says we have sins that more easily beset us. 581 00:25:14,790 --> 00:25:18,030 There's some sins that people are tending to lean to because of 582 00:25:18,030 --> 00:25:19,750 their certain fleshly inclinations. 583 00:25:20,470 --> 00:25:21,270 What does that mean? 584 00:25:21,270 --> 00:25:21,590 That. 585 00:25:21,590 --> 00:25:24,030 That means sometimes that Christians can get comfortable with 586 00:25:24,030 --> 00:25:28,200 certain sins and justify certain sins, but then hate other 587 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:28,600 sins. 588 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,040 And the Bible says, though, and I've even heard some Christians 589 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:32,760 say, you know what? 590 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,000 That's one sin that I just can't get victory over. 591 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,640 Well, that can be a statement in the fact that maybe you're not 592 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:40,240 relying on God to give you that victory. 593 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,800 But the Bible says, theologically speaking, that there 594 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,240 always is an opportunity for victory over sin. 595 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,160 Doesn't mean that will be sinless, but it means that that sin 596 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,040 will no longer have bondage over us. 597 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,090 And so in First Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 13, it says this. 598 00:25:53,890 --> 00:25:57,970 There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. 599 00:25:58,130 --> 00:26:03,050 But God is faithful who will not suffer or allow you to be tempted 600 00:26:03,050 --> 00:26:07,330 above that you're able, but with what will, with the temptation 601 00:26:07,410 --> 00:26:11,570 also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it. 602 00:26:11,970 --> 00:26:15,410 And so the Bible says here that through the power of the Spirit, 603 00:26:15,410 --> 00:26:18,510 he always gives us an opportunity to, with the power of 604 00:26:18,510 --> 00:26:20,310 God to overcome a sin in our life. 605 00:26:21,190 --> 00:26:25,470 And so a child of God that is growing in maturity, a child of God 606 00:26:25,470 --> 00:26:29,750 that is growing in fellowship, will, I believe, increasingly grow 607 00:26:29,750 --> 00:26:33,950 closer to God and reflect God's character in his life or in 608 00:26:33,950 --> 00:26:34,390 her life. 609 00:26:34,790 --> 00:26:38,550 And so if a person claims to be a Christian but that lives in 610 00:26:38,550 --> 00:26:42,870 rebellion against God's word and pursues that, that sin, willfully 611 00:26:42,870 --> 00:26:48,240 wants that sin, it is one of the signs in Scripture that says 612 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:50,280 that that person might not be a believer. 613 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:53,320 Now, again, I cannot go into someone's mind and know if they're 614 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,360 willfully sinning or they're sinning and they're struggling with 615 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:55,640 that. 616 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:57,240 That's not my job. 617 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:00,080 Okay, so let's say someone's sinning and I look at them, I go, 618 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:00,960 they want that sin. 619 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:02,200 So they're definitely not safe. 620 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,560 Who knows what kind of struggle that they're going through 621 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:05,000 in their life. 622 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,320 God might be making them miserable through the conviction 623 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:07,960 of the Spirit. 624 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:10,760 And, and so again, that's not my job to sit here and go, every 625 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,720 person that's sinning can't be a Christian. 626 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:16,000 No, I, I again cannot know the heart of an individual. 627 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,080 All I can say and teach is this. 628 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,480 The Bible says that a Christian will desire the things 629 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:21,040 of God. 630 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:23,040 And so believers are born again. 631 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:25,440 They've become new creations. 632 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:28,880 The old has left, as 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 says, and 633 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:30,200 so what we can see here as. 634 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,360 As what first John is saying is that if you want to walk in fellowship 635 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:36,080 with God, if you want to say that you're walking in fellowship 636 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:37,800 with God, you have to say that you're walking in his will. 637 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:40,270 And if you're walking in his will, you will not be living in a 638 00:27:40,270 --> 00:27:41,550 place of unrepentant sin. 639 00:27:42,670 --> 00:27:45,590 Again, I say unrepentant sin because the idea that we all will 640 00:27:45,590 --> 00:27:45,830 sin. 641 00:27:45,830 --> 00:27:49,310 But what does one John one say come back in repentance, brokenness. 642 00:27:49,550 --> 00:27:51,230 That's why conviction is such a. 643 00:27:51,870 --> 00:27:54,430 We don't often talk about the beauty of conviction. 644 00:27:55,790 --> 00:27:59,350 We talk about the comfort of the Holy Spirit, which is. 645 00:27:59,350 --> 00:28:00,790 Which is one of his greatest works. 646 00:28:00,790 --> 00:28:01,270 The comfort. 647 00:28:01,270 --> 00:28:02,030 He's the comforter. 648 00:28:02,750 --> 00:28:04,750 The Bible also says that he's the convictor. 649 00:28:05,410 --> 00:28:08,810 And a lot of times we stiff arm, we push away the conviction 650 00:28:08,810 --> 00:28:09,570 of the Holy Spirit. 651 00:28:09,650 --> 00:28:12,450 But actually, the Holy Spirit's conviction is a tool, It's 652 00:28:12,450 --> 00:28:15,650 a blessing, It's a demonstration of the love of God 653 00:28:15,650 --> 00:28:16,450 in our lives. 654 00:28:17,250 --> 00:28:19,650 And so one of the things that I've been working on recently and 655 00:28:19,650 --> 00:28:23,090 I've been striving to do is that when that Holy Spirit conviction 656 00:28:23,090 --> 00:28:24,370 comes, don't run from that. 657 00:28:24,690 --> 00:28:27,090 Embrace it and say, lord, what do you want me to do? 658 00:28:27,090 --> 00:28:29,410 What do I need to change to get back right with you? 659 00:28:30,290 --> 00:28:32,290 And that's the whole importance of this. 660 00:28:32,830 --> 00:28:38,190 It's not a matter, and I would word it this way, it's not a matter 661 00:28:38,190 --> 00:28:40,350 of whether or not a Christian will sin. 662 00:28:40,990 --> 00:28:45,670 It's a matter of how the Christian responds to that sin in 663 00:28:45,670 --> 00:28:46,430 his or her life. 664 00:28:47,310 --> 00:28:48,350 That's really what it is. 665 00:28:48,990 --> 00:28:51,990 We will sin, but how do we respond to that sin? 666 00:28:51,990 --> 00:28:55,230 Is it something that we've become desensitized to? 667 00:28:55,710 --> 00:29:00,630 The Bible speaks of a seared conscience, which essentially comes 668 00:29:00,630 --> 00:29:02,270 through quenching the Spirit. 669 00:29:02,990 --> 00:29:05,910 And the Bible says grieving the spirit, meaning rejecting the 670 00:29:05,910 --> 00:29:06,310 conviction. 671 00:29:06,310 --> 00:29:08,390 And the Bible eventually says that there's going to be this place 672 00:29:08,390 --> 00:29:11,470 in our life where I believe a Christian can get to a place of a 673 00:29:11,470 --> 00:29:12,430 seared conscience. 674 00:29:12,590 --> 00:29:15,830 But the Bible then speaks of that being a place where it's miserable. 675 00:29:15,830 --> 00:29:20,070 I mean, we don't want to be one of the examples that I've used 676 00:29:20,070 --> 00:29:20,350 before. 677 00:29:20,350 --> 00:29:22,470 Some of the most miserable people that I've been a part of, 678 00:29:22,470 --> 00:29:25,030 and some of the most miserable points in my life have been in the 679 00:29:25,030 --> 00:29:27,870 fact that I know the love of God and I know the presence of God, 680 00:29:28,180 --> 00:29:29,700 but yet I'm not in that place. 681 00:29:30,260 --> 00:29:33,060 And so a Christian that's living in sin should be uncomfortable. 682 00:29:33,300 --> 00:29:35,380 It should be a place of like, this isn't right. 683 00:29:36,020 --> 00:29:38,980 And eventually getting that as quickly as possible right with God. 684 00:29:39,060 --> 00:29:44,580 And so it's how we deal with sin, how we view sin do. 685 00:29:44,900 --> 00:29:49,060 It's so easy for us to buddy up with the sin that feels comfortable 686 00:29:49,060 --> 00:29:51,140 in our culture or in our society. 687 00:29:52,180 --> 00:29:53,820 I get it, I understand it. 688 00:29:53,820 --> 00:29:55,100 It's all around us. 689 00:29:55,100 --> 00:29:57,410 And one of the things that would happen. 690 00:29:57,650 --> 00:29:59,490 I, I think I've used this analogy before. 691 00:29:59,490 --> 00:30:01,890 I only have so many analogies, so be patient with me if you've heard 692 00:30:01,890 --> 00:30:02,370 this one before. 693 00:30:02,610 --> 00:30:06,050 But when we were, when I was in college, we, our freshman dorm, 694 00:30:06,530 --> 00:30:08,210 we were all in the freshman dorm. 695 00:30:08,370 --> 00:30:12,730 And I don't know if you've ever been around a freshman boys 696 00:30:12,730 --> 00:30:15,210 dorm, but there's some stenches that come out of that dorm. 697 00:30:15,210 --> 00:30:16,930 And I remember being like, I can't go. 698 00:30:16,930 --> 00:30:18,370 We had this communal shower room. 699 00:30:18,370 --> 00:30:18,930 We had this. 700 00:30:18,930 --> 00:30:21,170 And I had, you know, we had roommates and there was like all 701 00:30:21,170 --> 00:30:21,890 this like, smell. 702 00:30:22,100 --> 00:30:25,340 But after a while, like, I started getting used to that smell 703 00:30:25,340 --> 00:30:26,740 and I didn't even think about it anymore. 704 00:30:26,740 --> 00:30:28,900 And then we would have visitors come in. 705 00:30:28,900 --> 00:30:30,620 My parents would come in, they'd be like, man, what's that 706 00:30:30,620 --> 00:30:30,980 smell? 707 00:30:31,060 --> 00:30:32,460 You guys do your laundry? 708 00:30:32,460 --> 00:30:34,260 And it's like, no, it smells fine in here. 709 00:30:34,340 --> 00:30:38,059 It's like when we're, when you're around something so much and 710 00:30:38,059 --> 00:30:41,980 it's permeates our culture and it permeates our world, we get to 711 00:30:41,980 --> 00:30:45,260 a place where it no longer becomes like, obtrusive. 712 00:30:45,260 --> 00:30:47,860 It no longer becomes detestable. 713 00:30:47,860 --> 00:30:48,860 We go, oh, that's okay. 714 00:30:48,860 --> 00:30:49,540 I'm used to it. 715 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:53,240 And I'm not saying that we have to go around living like a monk 716 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,680 and avoiding the world because we're in the world. 717 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:57,520 But the reality is, is that it should still. 718 00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,280 Sin should still shock us. 719 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,640 We no longer live in a world where there's shame. 720 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:06,800 I mean, just turn on any, any like device. 721 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:09,000 There's no more shame anymore. 722 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:09,920 And there should be shame. 723 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:12,960 We should be ashamed of our sin. 724 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,240 I should be ashamed when I don't respond the way that God's 725 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:17,720 will tells me to respond. 726 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:21,600 And so as a Christian, okay, the unsaved world is going to act 727 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:23,800 with, with that mindset. 728 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:24,040 Why? 729 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:25,560 Because they don't have the Holy Spirit. 730 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:29,400 So it's, it's completely understandable that an unsaved person 731 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:30,600 will live with no shame. 732 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:35,280 But the problem comes is when a Christian lives like an unsaved 733 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:36,440 person and there's sh. 734 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:37,480 And there's no more Shame. 735 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:40,680 And so I, I want to just go back to First John chapter three 736 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,560 and I want us to read these verses again with that frame of mind, 737 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:46,600 okay? 738 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:51,280 Because when I read First John chapter three many times, even recently, 739 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:54,160 I'm like, man, that kind of sounds a little legalistic, like 740 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:55,000 we can't sin. 741 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:57,240 Like I, I can't. 742 00:31:57,240 --> 00:31:59,240 Who, how many of us could hold that standard? 743 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:01,560 None of us could live without sin. 744 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:03,400 So we know that that's not what he's talking about. 745 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,840 So let's go back with that frame of mind abiding. 746 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:07,400 Remember what Jesus said in John 15. 747 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:11,760 He says, Abide in me, live in me, fellowship with me. 748 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:16,520 So let's go back with that in mind and read verses 4 through the 749 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:17,680 end of verse 10. 750 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:21,040 It says whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. 751 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:25,240 So again he's defining sin, for sin is the transgression of the 752 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:25,520 law. 753 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:29,040 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins 754 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:31,320 and in him his sin is no sin. 755 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:32,080 So meaning this. 756 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:34,560 The only hope to our sin is Jesus Christ. 757 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,240 The only hope of being in bondage and having our identity in 758 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,930 sin is Jesus Christ, verse 5, or excuse me, verse 6. 759 00:32:42,570 --> 00:32:45,850 Whosoever abideth in him lives. 760 00:32:45,850 --> 00:32:50,330 I mean that's talking about living your life, your extended amount 761 00:32:50,330 --> 00:32:50,690 of time. 762 00:32:50,690 --> 00:32:55,849 So the Greek tense would be happening now and continuing on like, 763 00:32:56,490 --> 00:32:58,650 like it's your lifestyle, it's your identity. 764 00:32:58,650 --> 00:32:59,130 Okay? 765 00:32:59,370 --> 00:33:01,770 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. 766 00:33:02,890 --> 00:33:06,460 Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 767 00:33:06,460 --> 00:33:11,220 Meaning if you are walking in a lifestyle of sin, you're not recognizing 768 00:33:11,220 --> 00:33:12,940 him, you're not recognizing his will. 769 00:33:13,260 --> 00:33:15,260 Little children, let no man deceive you. 770 00:33:15,420 --> 00:33:17,780 So what that means is that there's going to be people who try 771 00:33:17,780 --> 00:33:18,860 to deceive you in this. 772 00:33:19,020 --> 00:33:20,300 Let no man deceive you. 773 00:33:20,300 --> 00:33:24,500 He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous. 774 00:33:24,500 --> 00:33:27,340 Now again, there is non righteous, no, not one. 775 00:33:27,340 --> 00:33:28,940 So where does this righteousness come from? 776 00:33:28,940 --> 00:33:31,740 It's the righteousness of God imparted to us in our life. 777 00:33:32,350 --> 00:33:33,630 It's the fruit of the spirit. 778 00:33:34,350 --> 00:33:36,830 It's what God empowers us to be. 779 00:33:37,150 --> 00:33:39,590 If you we'll go to let's really quickly. 780 00:33:39,590 --> 00:33:41,870 I know I'm taking a long time here, but I want you to see this 781 00:33:42,030 --> 00:33:42,990 in John 15. 782 00:33:44,670 --> 00:33:46,190 This is an amazing truth. 783 00:33:46,910 --> 00:33:50,990 It actually when I read it, when I wasn't walking with God because 784 00:33:51,150 --> 00:33:52,110 transparency time. 785 00:33:52,110 --> 00:33:54,870 There have been periods of my life prior to ministry as a young 786 00:33:54,870 --> 00:33:58,190 man, as a teenager, where I wasn't desiring the things of God. 787 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,760 And when I read this verse, it made me upset. 788 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:03,280 My flesh got mad. 789 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:05,200 John 15:5. 790 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:06,960 John 15:5. 791 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:10,040 When I read this verse, when I was walking outside of the will of 792 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:13,280 God, I was like, no, I don't want, don't want that. 793 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,560 Because our flesh wants to fight against what this verse says. 794 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:17,000 It says, I am divine. 795 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,560 Jesus says, I am the vine, ye are the branches. 796 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:27,610 He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much 797 00:34:27,610 --> 00:34:28,090 fruit. 798 00:34:29,130 --> 00:34:30,570 This is what got me upset. 799 00:34:31,290 --> 00:34:33,050 For without me, you can do nothing. 800 00:34:33,130 --> 00:34:34,730 Meaning you're hopeless without me. 801 00:34:35,050 --> 00:34:36,730 You can't do anything without me. 802 00:34:37,530 --> 00:34:40,010 That means you can't even be righteous without him. 803 00:34:40,810 --> 00:34:42,490 You can't do good without him. 804 00:34:42,650 --> 00:34:46,250 And so when we go back to first John, chapter three, he says, 805 00:34:46,330 --> 00:34:48,210 okay, let no man deceive you. 806 00:34:48,210 --> 00:34:52,190 He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous. 807 00:34:52,190 --> 00:34:55,510 Meaning you, you can't expect to do your own righteousness. 808 00:34:55,510 --> 00:34:56,830 It's the righteousness of God. 809 00:34:56,830 --> 00:34:59,670 That is a proof of God working in our life. 810 00:34:59,830 --> 00:35:03,270 When I, when I, when I live like Christ, when I act like Christ, 811 00:35:03,510 --> 00:35:06,390 when, when I have the fruit of the Spirit manifested in my life, 812 00:35:06,470 --> 00:35:09,590 it just means that I'm tapped into the power of God. 813 00:35:09,590 --> 00:35:11,430 He is the vine, we are the branches. 814 00:35:11,910 --> 00:35:15,870 He that committeth sin, again, long term commitment, living in sin 815 00:35:15,870 --> 00:35:16,630 is of the devil. 816 00:35:16,630 --> 00:35:20,150 Meaning I'm in rejection to God, I'm in rebellion to God. 817 00:35:20,150 --> 00:35:21,510 For the devil sinneth from the beginning. 818 00:35:21,510 --> 00:35:23,230 That's his character, that's his life. 819 00:35:23,230 --> 00:35:24,870 That's all he can do is sin. 820 00:35:25,270 --> 00:35:29,550 For this purpose, the Son of God, Jesus was manifested. 821 00:35:29,550 --> 00:35:33,350 Jesus came that he might destroy the works of the devil. 822 00:35:34,390 --> 00:35:36,150 Whosoever is born of God. 823 00:35:36,710 --> 00:35:40,190 Okay, New life reborn in Christ. 824 00:35:40,190 --> 00:35:40,830 John 3. 825 00:35:40,830 --> 00:35:48,000 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit or live in sin, for his 826 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,520 seed remaineth in him, meaning my identity is in him. 827 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:51,560 I am a child of God. 828 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:54,800 And he cannot sin because he is born of God. 829 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:58,719 In this, the children of God are manifest and the children of 830 00:35:58,719 --> 00:36:01,200 the devil, meaning they will show themselves. 831 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:04,040 They will show who they are following by what they do in their 832 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:04,320 life. 833 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:08,080 Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God. 834 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,000 And then this is where he tags it along here. 835 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:14,000 Because a lot of people say, well, I love God and I'm doing righteousness, 836 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,040 but I cannot stand other people. 837 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:19,080 All right, there, that's, he's, he's gonna get to the point 838 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:19,560 of this. 839 00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:26,760 You, you love the way you love other people is showing how you love 840 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:27,160 God. 841 00:36:27,720 --> 00:36:28,600 That's what he's saying. 842 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:31,800 He says, neither he that loveth not his brother. 843 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:35,770 And then he goes on to talk about loving and deed and in truth 844 00:36:35,770 --> 00:36:37,530 and in word, and indeed. 845 00:36:37,610 --> 00:36:38,810 And he goes on to talk about that. 846 00:36:38,810 --> 00:36:41,810 We're going to come back to that passage a little bit later on 847 00:36:41,810 --> 00:36:42,570 in our studies. 848 00:36:42,730 --> 00:36:48,250 So, again, this is a difficult passage, and if read in an isolated 849 00:36:48,250 --> 00:36:50,729 setting, would be the place where, hey, you can. 850 00:36:50,729 --> 00:36:52,890 You can be perfect, and if you're not perfect, there's something 851 00:36:52,890 --> 00:36:53,530 wrong with you. 852 00:36:53,690 --> 00:36:56,130 Let me just give you the understanding that none of us are 853 00:36:56,130 --> 00:36:58,890 perfect, but the one that we are trusting in is perfect. 854 00:36:59,290 --> 00:37:02,290 But that doesn't give us an excuse to continue on in sin. 855 00:37:02,290 --> 00:37:03,730 We're going to talk about this on Sunday morning. 856 00:37:03,730 --> 00:37:05,360 Come back for Romans 6. 857 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,200 Because Romans 6 is a challenge to say, you know what? 858 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:09,720 We live in a society today. 859 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:14,240 I've heard pastors get up and say this, that, hey, we're all just 860 00:37:14,240 --> 00:37:14,840 humans. 861 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:16,000 You're going to sin. 862 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:16,920 We all sin. 863 00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:18,120 So just, you know what? 864 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:18,440 Just. 865 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:21,240 You give, not give into it, but essentially like, it's going 866 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:21,560 to happen. 867 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:22,360 Expect it. 868 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:25,160 Don't ever expect sin. 869 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:27,240 Don't ever get desensitized to that. 870 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:29,320 Never get to a place where it's like, well, you know what? 871 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:30,120 It's okay. 872 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,320 Yeah, we all are sinners, but it's not okay. 873 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:37,840 That's why we need to fight as hard as we can in the power of God 874 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:40,320 to live pure and righteous, holy lives. 875 00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:42,280 It's. 876 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:42,640 It's. 877 00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:44,960 Someone said, well, God already knows that we're going to 878 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:45,200 sin. 879 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:47,760 Why do, why do we need to try to not sin? 880 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:49,120 Isn't he all in control? 881 00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:53,440 Well, God has laid out the perfect standard for us. 882 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:54,480 The perfect standard. 883 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:56,240 That's his desire and his heart for us. 884 00:37:57,930 --> 00:37:59,170 Does he know that we're going to sin? 885 00:37:59,170 --> 00:37:59,450 Yes. 886 00:37:59,450 --> 00:38:01,890 But that doesn't mean it's a justification just to continue on 887 00:38:01,890 --> 00:38:02,370 and sin. 888 00:38:02,370 --> 00:38:05,490 Do I know that my children are going to keep disobeying me in my 889 00:38:05,490 --> 00:38:05,770 life? 890 00:38:06,730 --> 00:38:07,210 Yeah. 891 00:38:07,530 --> 00:38:08,010 Okay. 892 00:38:08,010 --> 00:38:10,410 I'm not under the impression that my children are perfect. 893 00:38:10,490 --> 00:38:12,810 I'm not under the impression that my children will ever reach 894 00:38:12,890 --> 00:38:14,890 that place where they're perfectly obedient. 895 00:38:15,130 --> 00:38:17,970 But does that mean that I stop trying to get them to a place where 896 00:38:17,970 --> 00:38:21,330 I want them to become more obedient and better citizens and 897 00:38:21,330 --> 00:38:22,050 better Christians? 898 00:38:22,050 --> 00:38:22,410 No. 899 00:38:23,030 --> 00:38:26,270 That just shows, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed 900 00:38:26,270 --> 00:38:28,190 upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. 901 00:38:28,190 --> 00:38:28,710 Meaning this. 902 00:38:28,870 --> 00:38:31,990 God loves us so much that he wants to keep perfecting us to that 903 00:38:31,990 --> 00:38:35,630 place of maturity so that one day we can get to a place where we 904 00:38:35,630 --> 00:38:38,910 are ultimately culminated in him and grow in that relationship 905 00:38:38,910 --> 00:38:41,830 with him and then ultimately be glorified when we see him face 906 00:38:41,830 --> 00:38:42,230 to face. 907 00:38:42,230 --> 00:38:44,710 And so it's a difficult thing. 908 00:38:44,790 --> 00:38:48,030 It's a difficult thing to preach because sometimes when we 909 00:38:48,030 --> 00:38:51,790 preach holiness, people get upset because they say, well, that's, 910 00:38:51,790 --> 00:38:54,670 that's just a bunch of legalism, bunch of fundamentalists. 911 00:38:55,070 --> 00:38:58,430 At the same time, sometimes that preach, people that preach holiness 912 00:38:58,430 --> 00:39:00,030 will be legalistic. 913 00:39:00,510 --> 00:39:05,310 So the idea would be, is to not go on either side of the fence 914 00:39:05,390 --> 00:39:07,150 when it comes to the problem. 915 00:39:07,470 --> 00:39:07,990 Okay? 916 00:39:07,990 --> 00:39:10,110 The problem for some people is they're too lax. 917 00:39:10,430 --> 00:39:11,710 Just do whatever you want to do. 918 00:39:12,910 --> 00:39:15,590 The problem is, is that that, that can lead to a place of living 919 00:39:15,590 --> 00:39:16,310 in open sin. 920 00:39:16,310 --> 00:39:17,310 Specifically for Christians. 921 00:39:17,590 --> 00:39:19,230 The other side of the fence is you can never sin. 922 00:39:19,230 --> 00:39:20,270 And when you sin, you mess up. 923 00:39:20,270 --> 00:39:22,110 And God's he's going to keep punishing you. 924 00:39:22,110 --> 00:39:23,190 He's going to keep punishing you. 925 00:39:23,190 --> 00:39:24,870 Well, that's not what the Bible says either. 926 00:39:24,950 --> 00:39:27,470 The Bible says that we should strive for holiness, but when we 927 00:39:27,470 --> 00:39:30,950 stumble, we rely on the strength of God and the conviction 928 00:39:30,950 --> 00:39:33,350 of the Holy Spirit to bring us back to a place of restoration. 929 00:39:33,750 --> 00:39:36,230 It's always about restoration and bringing us back to fellowship 930 00:39:36,230 --> 00:39:36,630 with him. 931 00:39:37,110 --> 00:39:39,350 And that's how we should treat other people that fall into sin. 932 00:39:39,670 --> 00:39:40,990 Like, we all want grace. 933 00:39:40,990 --> 00:39:42,110 We all want patience. 934 00:39:42,110 --> 00:39:44,760 We all want, we all want people to be patient with us. 935 00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:46,400 We all want God to be gracious to us. 936 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:47,640 But then what happens? 937 00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:50,400 Sometimes when someone sins against me, I just go, well, that's 938 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:52,320 it, you know, cutting them off. 939 00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:56,280 We, we should extend the same type of grace and patience and forgiveness 940 00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:59,520 and restoration that God extends to us every time we fall 941 00:39:59,520 --> 00:39:59,840 short. 942 00:39:59,920 --> 00:40:01,960 And I think that that could be something that we can learn from 943 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:02,560 as well there. 944 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:06,480 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 945 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:07,040 podcast. 946 00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:09,820 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 947 00:40:10,380 --> 00:40:12,660 If you would like to find out more information about our church 948 00:40:12,660 --> 00:40:16,140 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 949 00:40:16,460 --> 00:40:19,020 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 950 00:40:19,740 --> 00:40:24,620 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro, Middletown BaptistChurch.com 951 00:40:25,180 --> 00:40:28,660 if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 952 00:40:28,660 --> 00:40:31,500 along for future podcast and updates. 953 00:40:32,140 --> 00:40:33,020 Thank you so much. 954 00:40:33,260 --> 00:40:34,060 God bless. 955 00:40:34,300 --> 00:40:35,580 Have a wonderful day.