If you would, please stand as we say together our memory Scripture for this quarter:
Romans 12:4-5
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
And our memory refresher Scripture is …
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
Please open your Bibles to 1 John 1:5-10, 1 John 2:1-2, 1 John 3:1-10 which we will read in a few minutes.
People all want to be free, isn’t that true?
People who live under the tyranny of a dictatorship or under communism yearn to be free.
Young women and children who are trapped in the sex slave trade yearn to be free.
Those in prison yearn to be free.
Those trapped in slavery to sin also yearn to be free. They may not know it when it starts out but eventually that sin will have them by the throat and they will yearn for freedom from sin.
We know that after we come to Christ for salvation that we CAN sin but should that be our identity?
Are we sinners who should identify ourselves as such or are we people who have been born of God and therefore cannot go on living in habitual sin?
Well … yes and no …
In order to answer that question we need to identify what sin is and what it is not.
Sin is the willful transgression (rebellion against) the known will of God by a morally responsible person.
How do we know that, we know it from Scriptures! We always look at God’s Word!
James 4:17,
“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
By the same token, anyone who knows the evil he should not do and does it anyway, sins.
1 John 3:4 AMPC
“Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God’s law by transgression or neglect - being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will).
------- Illustration -------
The seventh commandment says, “You shall not steal.”
One day, many years ago, Pastor Karenlee and I were stopping off at a shopping mart for a bungee cord to hold up a plastic part of the car that had come loose until we could get home. So we got a bungee cord. While we were there we decided to get some coffee and I absent mindedly stuck the bungee cord into my jacket pocket and got some coffee. When we got up to the checkout I suddenly remembered the bungee cord in my pocket and took it out and paid for it.
What if I had forgotten that it was there and had walked out the door?
Regardless of whether I was caught or not, would it have been a sin?
No, because it did not meet the three criteria of sin, it was not a willful transgression.
This would be a mistake caused by the frailty of a human mind and not a sin.
When would it have become a sin? When I realized that I had it and had not paid for it.
Suppose your two year old child sitting in your shopping cart had picked up a candy bar and stuck it in his pocket. Would that have been a sin?
No, because the child does not know that stealing is against the will of God and the child is not yet a morally responsible person knowing right from wrong.
------- End Of Illustration -------
One of the distinctive doctrines of the Church of The Nazarene is the doctrine of Holiness or Entire Sanctification.
We believe that a person can be so filled with the Spirit of God and have such perfect love for the Lord our God that he is no longer enslaved to sin but is now ruled in heart, mind and action by obedience to the will of God. And, that this obedience is driven by that perfect love.
But, is that even possible???
Let’s check it out by reading … 1 John 1:5-10, 1 John 2:1-2, 1 John 3:1-10
Please keep your Bibles open as we read through these passages verse by verse
(… and make comments along the way)
Vs 1:5-7: light = perfect purity and holiness / darkness = evil and sinfulness
(Re-read verses 5-7 using these definitions)
Vs 1:8-10: this is speaking about someone who claims they have never sinned
(This is NOT addressing someone who claims they are living a sinless life but someone who claims they have never sinned and therefore make Christ out to be a liar)
Vs 2:1-2: It is the Lord’s desire that we will not sin. He does not intend for His children to sin. Just as He said to the woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin no more” or “Now go and stop your sinning” that is his intention for us as well. But … if we Do sin we have an Advocate.
This is NOT a license to sin even once let alone to live a life of continual sin.
Vs 3:1: We are the children of God and His love has been lavished up on us!
That is mind boggling! We should be jumping up and down with joy about this!
Vs 3:2: We shall be like Him (We will not be like Him in that we will part of the Trinity but we will be like Him in purity and holiness and perfection)
Vs 3:3: This hope is also a driving force in our pursuit of living a holy life
Vs 3:4-6 AMPC:
“Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God’s law by transgression or neglect—being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will).
“You know that He appeared in visible form and became Man to take away [upon Himself] sins, and in Him there is no sin [[a]essentially and forever].
“No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains [b]in communion with and in obedience to Him—deliberately, knowingly, and [c]habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].”
Vs 3:7-10: Who is a child of God and who belongs to the devil?
This is NOT to be used to try to analyze people and see who is saved or not …
It might be helpful in determining who should be close enough to you in life to be an influence on your relationship with Jesus …
It probably is most helpful in analyzing your own life; are you in Christ or not?
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So … how can we keep from sinning?
(In our church we have an exit on one side of the front of the sanctuary and I will use that to represent the world and will place a large Bible on the other side of the platform to represent the presence of the Lord.)
------- Illustration --------
We have the Bible over here – this represents the presence of the Lord.
This door over here represents the world and the entry point to salvation;
The unsaved are outside the door and the saved are inside the door.
How do we keep from sinning?
First we must recognize that we live in a world that is saturated with sin, a world that tries to make deadly poison look like your favorite food.
We must always remember that we are not infallible without our infallible God!
(Standing by the Bible)
So to keep from sinning we stay as close to the Lord as possible!
(Move over by the door)
Some people get saved and want to live right here; as close to the world as possible and yet be saved. Do you know that that makes the Lord want to vomit you out?
In this situation you will invariably fall into sin over and over and over until you get so sick of the fight that you either run to Jesus or walk back out the door and slam it shut behind you.
Others may actually still be outside the door and falsely believe they are saved because someone led them in the “sinner’s prayer” at one time in their life or another.
Is it possible to live a life that is holy and pleasing to the Lord?
Yes, by staying right here. (Standing by the Bible …)
Where are you on this spectrum (between the Bible and the door)?
------- End of Illustration -------
OK. Now, God’s Word tells us that it is possible to live a life virtually free from sin.
So, what should we call ourselves when we talk to others?
Sinners?
What does the Bible call us?
Romans 8:14 – Children of God
Ephesians 5:1 – beloved children
James 2:5 – heirs of the kingdom
2 Corinthians 1:1 (and in many of the letters to the churches)
Saints / God’s Holy People
(Collectively) the Bride of Christ – the Body of Christ
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In the past I have heard in other churches that we need less sermons on theology and more sermons on things that will help us in our everyday lives.
Well, the closer you live to the Lord (stand near the Bible) the more help you will get in your everyday life.
NOTHING will help you more in your everyday life than staying close to the Lord!
The closer you choose to live near the world (stand near the door) the less help you will get from the Lord because by your own actions you will have removed yourself from His care.
It’s your choice.
The reason Jesus came and allowed Himself to be brutally beaten and crucified was so that our sinfulness could be done away with and we could live closely in His presence and in His power.
As we come to the time of communion, the time to give thanks to the Lord and remember His great sacrifice, is there anything in your life that needs repentance?
Are you living near the world? Jesus’ arms are open to you …
Further comments as the Lord leads and then Communion
