I want to talk to you this morning about holiness. And particularly, I want to talk about the freedom that living a holy life will give you from the power of the enemy.
Some Christians are beaten and harassed by the enemy, and they don’t seem to know how to gain the victory. And they read in the Bible where it says: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you”, but they don’t know how to resist him.
A great part of claiming and walking in victory is simply the decisions we make to be holy – to live holy lives.
READ: 1 John 5:18-21
The whole subject of holiness is so absolutely vital; especially in the days we are living in. The Church needs to always be reminding herself of this is God’s great requirement of us – but the message becomes all the more urgent for us as we see the days getting darker.
Jesus is clearly coming very soon, and we must be in a state of readiness for His return. To be unashamed when He comes.
What is holiness? I guess most of us would have an idea of what we mean in a Christian’s life when we talk about holiness, but let me just briefly define it for you this morning. In it’s most basic and literal understanding, to be “holy” is “to be set apart”. Holiness is the condition or the state of being “set apart”, being “removed” from all that is sinful or worldly.
The need for us to be holy is grounded in the holiness of God. The most central attribute of God is His perfect holiness.
A.W.Tozer wrote … “God’s holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God’s power and admire his wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine.”
God is holy. “My thoughts are not your thoughts. Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) He’s holy – He’s set apart from the ways and thoughts of sinful man.
It’s important to realise the imperative that Christians have to live lives of holiness - and WHY we are to do so. God does not say: “Be holy, and I’ll make it worth your while.” Not even “Be holy, and I’ll bless you.” NO. God says in His law (Leviticus 11:44 – and it’s reiterated in the New Testament in 1 Peter 1:16) … “Be holy FOR I AM HOLY.” Holiness is God’s essential character. The journey of the believer is INTO HOLINESS. It’s about becoming more and more distinct and separate from the fallen condition of this world. The opposite of holiness is “SAMENESS”. To be unholy is to be just the same as everybody else. Our lives should be a stark contrast to those around us who have not come into right relationship with God.
So here is the race the Christian runs. Hebrews 12:14 commands us to “pursue … holiness without which no person will see the Lord.” Everything in God’s presence is holy – set apart for Him, sharing His holiness (e.g. the angels). All in His presence is holy.
Now the thing that makes us holy and fit for His presence is the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. His blood that was shed for us. We are made holy by the Lord Jesus when we believe on Him and receive Him. When God looks at the believer He sees His own Son, their Saviour – standing in their place, and He declares that we are holy.
But Jesus does more than just make us “look” holy. When He comes into our lives by His Spirit He begins the process of changing us from the inside out so that we are empowered to live holy lives – to BE holy in every way.
What is God’s #1 agenda for your life today? CHANGE! He is making you holy. Every day He’s making you to be more like His Son Jesus. He’s setting you apart to be uniquely His – separate from all that is Ungodly.
And I testify today that a life of holiness is a DELIGHT, not just a duty. It brings marvelous joy. True holiness brings us into close, uninhibited fellowship with God. And that in itself is where real joy and fulfillment is found.
You see, the blessings and the gifts and the rewards of God are wonderful - but there’s something far better … GOD HIMSELF. Knowing HIM is the great thrill and enduring happiness of eternity. In Genesis 15:1 God said to Moses: “I am your shield, and your exceeding great reward”.)
Now I could talk about the general theme of holiness all morning … but I want to get to my particular topic for this morning – that holiness brings us freedom from the powers of evil.
That statement assumes that there IS a real enemy. A personal being whom the Bible calls the devil or Satan, and he is our adversary.
When we talk about the devil being our adversary, we’re talking about not only him but all the demons of hell who serve in his rebellion with him. Because, you see, Satan is a finite being – he was created by God as an angel. So his abilities are not at all like God’s. He is not omnipresent – he can only be in one place at a time. He doesn’t know everything – he can’t see the future, he only knows what God has said. He can’t read your mind at all.
So, when someone says, “The devil’s really been opposing me,” it’s unlikely that he himself has been at them personally – but his forces most certainly are always at work to oppose us.
The wonderful thing about being a Christian is that we have tremendous freedom from their schemes. We are called to live in victory, and not be led a dance by the enemy.
Here in this passage we read together, 1 John 5:18-21, notice the phrase: “we know”. That is the key phrase of this whole letter that John wrote. It appears 15 times through the five chapters. 1 John, you see, is a letter about assurance – the certainties of the Christian life. The things we can “KNOW” and be absolutely confident in.
In these last few verses of the letter, John climaxes with three great “we knows” – three things that the Christian is certain of. Right here he sums up the whole of the letter, and he puts us in no doubt as to our freedom from the powers of evil. Look at these three “we knows” with me.
The first thing “we know” is that …
1. We are set apart from SIN.
Verse 18 - “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin;”
That’s a big statement isn’t it? Do we NEVER sin? I know I still fall into sin from time to time. I’m certainly not perfect, and I’m sure you would say the same. So what does this mean?
Well, obviously John understood that Christians are not perfect, because he wrote in chapter 1:9, “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In chapter 2:1, he says, “If anyone sins we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.”
But note his language is “IF” we sin, not “when” we sin. Sin ought to be the exception to the rule for the Christian. And as we grow in our relationship with God it ought to be less and less a part of our lives.
So when John says, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin” – he is talking about HABITUAL sin. Sin cannot be the normal course of our lives if we claim to be born of God. “IF” we sin, it is an abnormality – an aberration.
What John is saying here is linked with the previous verses (16 and 17), which speak about “sin leading to death”. Now that’s a big subject in itself, but suffice it to say that this refers to the willful rejection of Jesus Christ.
IF I sin as a Christian, I am not willfully rejecting Jesus as my Saviour – I have fallen for temptation. But the person who sins habitually is not living as a follower of Jesus at all – so they are still in willful rejection of Him. They cannot have truly been born of God.
So, we know (says John) that whoever is born of God does not sin. This gives us assurance that we are protected against Satan’s attack: “… but He who has been born of God keeps him and the wicked one does not touch him.”
[Comment on “keeps him” – not “keeps himself” (scribal error)]
What a promise here about the security of the believer. The enemy doesn’t touch him. We are protected – the enemy cannot have any access he desires into our lives (cf: Job).
You see, the entry point for the enemy’s attack in our lives is sin. (eg: Eph 4:26-27 … “In your anger do not sin … give no place to the devil.”) When we sin we give a place for the enemy to work.
The number one way the enemy works is through accusation and condemnation. When we sin, he condemns us to bring guilt, and break our fellowship with God and send us into the spiral of sin.
Through holiness – living the normal Christian life of fleeing from only sin – we have freedom from the enemy. He has no place to attack us – we are secure in Jesus’ hands.
The second thing “we know” is that …
2. We are set apart from the WORLD [verse 19]
“lies in the lap of…” - the picture here is of a baby lying in it’s mother’s lap being suckled at her breast. What a horrific image! The world is being nursed and nourished by Satan.
But this is NOT our position. We are not under the sway of the wicked one – in his kingdom and under his rule (we used to be!). NO! We are now “OF GOD”. He is our King. We are citizens of another world.
This gives us assurance that we are exempted from Satan’s authority.
Hear me very clearly this morning – SATAN HAS NO AUTHORITY OVER YOU IF YOUR ARE A BELIEVER. Jesus has the authority. When you live a holy life it gives a great assurance that you live with – you are God’s child, and Satan has no right to rule you.
Whenever I see a Christian who is always fearful that the enemy is controlling them – or might control – I know that one of two things is true: either (1) they have not been taught correctly what the Bible says and they don’t understand their true position, OR (2) they are living with sin in their lives, and so their assurance is being eroded.
Thank God – we’re not under Satan’s dominion any longer. We are children of God.
Then, the third thing “we know” is that …
3. We are set apart from FALSEHOOD [verse 20]
2:20 “You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things”
Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice – they don’t hear the voice of a stranger.” Even the newest child of God can have God’s protection from lies and falsehood.
We know the truth. The coming of God’s kingdom is likened to the entrance of LIGHT – it dispels all the darkness.
This gives us assurance that we are enlightened to Satan’s deceit.
Satan is the father of lies … when he lies he speaks his native language. He binds people up in deceit – people become victorious over the enemy and start living in victory when they have a “truth encounter”.
Jesus said: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
CONCLUSION:
Verse 21
