WALKING IN PROOF
1 John 3:1-10
The United States Treasury Department has a special group of men whose job is to track down counterfeiters. These men need to know a counterfeit bill when they see it. How do they learn to identify fake bills? They are not trained by spending hours examining counterfeit money. Instead, they study the real thing. They become so familiar with authentic bills that they can spot a counterfeit by looking at it or sometimes even by just feeling it.
Our text warns us that there are counterfeit Christians in our world; but instead of listing all of their characteristics, our text describes what a real Christian looks like. 1 John 3:1-10 shows us what the Trinity has done and is doing in Christians.
God The Father Loves Us
God’s love for us is unique. Although we were God’s enemies, He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us! The motive for God’s gift of salvation is love. 1 John 3:1-3 gives us three descriptions of how God’s love affects believers.
1 John 3:1 (NIV)
1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1 John 3:1 (MSG)
What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.
This is what we are as Christians. We are God’s children.
1 John 3:2 (NIV)
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3:2 (MSG)
But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him.
This is what Christians will become. We will become like Jesus when He comes back.
1 John 3:3 (NIV)
3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
1 John 3:3 (MSG)
All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.
This is what Christians should be. We should be pure. Our text now moves from God the Father’s love for us to God the Son’s sacrifice for us.
God The Son Died For Us
Verses 4-8 give us two reasons why Jesus left Heaven and came to this earth to die.
1 John 3:4-6 (NIV)
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
1 John 3:4-6 (MSG)
All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God’s order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They’ve got him all backwards.
Jesus came to this earth so that the sins of the world could be taken away. Does this passage mean that true Christians will never sin and if they do they lose their salvation? We must remember that when a person is saved the blood of Jesus is sprinkled upon their lives. When Satan goes to God and accuses a believer of sinning, God sees the blood of Jesus.
1 John 3:7-8 (NIV)
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
1 John 3:7-8 (MSG)
So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways.
Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan. This is separating the two choices in life of whom to follow. You either follow Christ or Satan.
The last two verses of this section answer the question, “How is it possible that sinful people can live like a perfect Jesus”?
God The Holy Spirit Lives In Us
The moment a person is saved the Holy Spirit comes into their life.
1 John 3:9-10 (NIV)
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
1 John 3:9-10 (MSG)
People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. Here’s how you tell the difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love brother or sister. A simple test.
Not only does the Holy Spirit live within each believer; but the new believer is also given gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are used so that the Family of God can be built stronger and so that lost people will be drawn to Christ. When a believer is living in the will of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be evident in their lives (Galatians 5:22-23). Romans 7:7-8:39 is a wonderful passage that reiterates our text of what the Trinity has done and is continuing to do in our lives. As you read this passage ask yourself this question, “Is the evidence of my life say Christ like or Satan like”?
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Series: Light In The Darkness [#5]
Sunday Evening Bible Study August 17, 2003
Bel Aire Baptist Church
