The Test of Righteousness -- 12/17/06 (Eternal Realities)

Sunday, December 17, 2006

THE TEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
I John… esp. 2:29-3:10

We are reading and meditating on passages from I John. There is a book about I John written by William Law. Though I don’t remember much that was in the book, the title has always intrigued me. He entitled his commentary on I John "The Tests of Life." I think that is very appropriate, for in I John we do find principles that test whether or not we have real life. Remember that admonition of Paul in II Cor. 13:5, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith…" But by what standard can we examine ourselves? Perhaps there is no better standard than the tests of I John. While we might disagree on the number of tests that are found here, there can be no question that the three we are looking at loom large in this letter. And what are these three tests? Belief, righteousness/obedience… and we haven’t named the third one yet.
Two weeks ago we began to speak about the test of righteousness, or obedience. Again this morning, let’s read from I John about this test of righteousness.

1 John 1:5-7 "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin

1 John 2:3-6 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked
1 John 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever
1 John 2:28-3:10 "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. 1. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Why do we need this strong message? Because there is a heresy on the loose in our day, a heresy which says: "It doesn’t matter how we live. The only thing that really matters is whether or not we accepted Jesus. The only way to get to heaven is to make a decision for Christ." When I use the term "heresy" for that kind of thinking, I am not speaking too strongly, for that is heresy. I didn’t say there was no truth in those statements; I said that the whole of it is heresy.
That is, taken together, such a line of thinking presents a dangerous lie.

We can never find the scripture teaching that it doesn’t matter how we live. The heresy in this line of thinking is the idea that we can divorce following Jesus from obeying Jesus, that we can separate being a Christian from living a righteous life. You see, this kind of thinking tells us that we can belong to Jesus without being like Him, that we can be a Christian without living for Christ.

That is why we desperately need to spend time in I John. When we read and meditate on this little letter, digesting its truth under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will never be able to divorce the profession of our mouth from the life we live form day to day. I would challenge you young people to carefully memorize this entire letter. I know a young man who did so, and it has shaped his thinking in a godly manner.

So, how do we deal with these strong passages, especially 3:4-10? Again, we are confronted with strong statements that immediately catch our attention. "He that commits sin is of the devil" (8). "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin… and he cannot sin" (9). "Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God" (10). These statements are difficult because John has already said, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceived ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1:8), and "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us" (1:10). And if the true believer cannot sin, then when 2:1, "My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not"? These are difficult questions.

Down through the centuries, interpretations have varied and there have been two extremes. One extreme has taken this to mean that the true Christian will attain sinless perfection. In other words, he will not sin at all. He will rise above all sin. The other extreme disregards these passages, saying they cannot mean what they say, thus allowing us to live in such a way that we are no different than the rest of the world. Both of these extremes are dangerous and deadly.

Most translations of I John 3:4-10, recognizing the difficulty, will in some way emphasize that John is talking about habitual sin, sin that becomes a lifestyle. For example, the New King James, the Amplified, and the New American Standard all make use of the term "practice sin" to emphasize that John is not talking about single acts of sin. In the NIV we find phrases like "keep on sinning," "go on sinning," and "continues to sin." These translations are not without foundation. The Greek language tended to be very precise with verb tenses, and throughout this passage the present tense is used. For the most part, the present tense emphasizes continuing action.

This is in contrast with 2:1, where John says, "My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not." There the verb tense use emphasizes a single act. While the present tense could be illustrated with a line, the tense used in 2:1 would be illustrated by a point. In 2:1, John says he is writing these things to us so that we will not commit a single act of sin. However, if we do, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, who is the propitiation for our sins. But in 3:4-10, that tense is not used at all. Rather, John uses the present tense, which speaks of a continual action. While there are some objections to this interpretation, it seems to ring true when compared to 2:1 and in light of our own personal experience.

It seems that John exhorts us to an attitude something like this: "Don’t expect to sin. The goal is not to sin at all. If you do sin, confess your sins, knowing that God is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1:9). But if you continue to sin, if sin is a way of life for you, then realize that you are not born of God; you are still a child of the devil."

Now having said that, what we tend to do is just throw out 3:4-10 and not consider it any more. We feel like we know what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that a Christian cannot commit isolated acts of sin. But what about the bigger question – What DOES it mean? I ask you this morning – What does God want to say to us through this passage?

Surely the Spirit of God is saying that the person who does not live a righteous life is not of God, regardless of what he says with his lips, regardless of how much he goes to church, and regardless of how much Bible knowledge he possesses. It means that the way a person lives his life will demonstrate whether he truly knows God. The one in whom is seen a life of righteousness is the one who is righteous, and the one who practices sin is of the devil. Let no one deceive you. Don’t let anyone lead you to believe that a strong profession or an emotional and tearful cry that you love Jesus means you are right with God, when the actions of your life say otherwise.

Years ago there was a woman who attended services. After a time, she expressed a desire to be a part of the church. She was faithful in her attendance and was a nice lady. Should she be able to join the church? That wasn’t the issue. The real issue was this: did she know the Savior? You see, though she strongly professed to be a Christian, she had a man living with her, and he wasn’t the first. But she professed that she had been saved at some point in the past. Someone may say, "You can’t judge her." So does that mean that just anyone can become a part of a local church? Should this lady be evaluated upon the profession of her lips or the lifestyle that she is pursuing? Regardless of what she says with her mouth, we must remember that the person who isn’t doing righteousness is not of God (3:10). The one who is practicing sin has not seen God nor known Him (3:6).

So you are here this morning and you are trying to deal honestly with the truth of God. You look at I John 3:4-10 and you say, "But I fear that I am not living a righteous life. There are certain sins that seem to get the best of me over and over. Am I really saved?"

Friends, this is where I come to you with much fear and trembling. I know that I am standing on holy ground. Here is what my flesh wants to do. Norman comes to me and says, "Ron, in light of this passage, I’m just not sure that I really know the Lord." My flesh wants to look at Norman and say, "Oh, Norman, you’re all right. You don’t have to worry." On the other hand, another brother comes to me and says the same thing. I haven’t evaluated him so highly, so I tell him I will be praying with him about it. That is wrong. After all, Norman is here for every service. I have heard Norman preach the gospel, so I have a tendency to say he is all right because of it.

I heard a man make a statement that I have thought about quite a bit. This is what he said: "We don’t tell men and women that they are saved. We tell them how to be saved. God is the only one who can tell them they are saved." How much trouble we have brought upon the church of God by trying to give people an artificial, man-made assurance of salvation. "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God" (Rom. 8:16). And the basis for that witness of the Spirit is the Word of God, which the Spirit Himself authored.

Listen to the principle stated by Paul in 2 Cor 10:12, "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." When we measure ourselves by ourselves, setting up our own standard, and compare ourselves among ourselves, we are not wise. It is when we hold to man-made standards and compare ourselves with others that we tend to throw out strong passages of scripture like I John 3.

Conclusion – Let’s walk through the passage, beginning in 2:29…

2:29 "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him." Because Jesus Himself is righteous, we know that the person who is born of God lives a life of righteousness. While he may occasionally commit a sin, sin is not his way of life.

3:1 "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." Imagine that – God has given us the privilege of being called His children. Wow! Children of the living God. And because we are children of God, the world does not recognize us. Because the world didn’t recognize and receive Jesus, the world will not know us in that way. We don’t fit in with the world. Back in 2:15, John tells us not to love the world. And, in fact, if anyone loves the world, you can be sure that the love of the Father is not in him. We cannot love the world and love God. Anyone who thinks he can do that is deceived.

3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be lilke him; for we shall see him as he is." Can you hear the longing of the heart within these words? It is a longing to see our Lord face to face. We groan here in these earthly bodies, a stranger and pilgrim in this world, but the day is coming when we shall be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.

3:3 "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." Where is the hope? He isn’t talking about a man having this hope within himself. Rather, he is speaking of the one who has this hope in Jesus (see the context, especially the end of verse 2). Everyone who has this hope in Jesus, the confident assurance that He will some day be like Jesus, purifies himself, even as Jesus is pure. Again, this goes deeper than outward conduct. This is the deep cry of the heart. Because I long to see my blessed Savior, who is absolutely pure, I purify myself. Some day I will be absolutely like Him (even without sin), but I long to be like even now. Because of that longing, I purify myself. My conduct is a demonstration of what is in my heart.

3:4 "Whosever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law." Literally, "Whoever practices sin also practices lawlessness; for sin is lawlessness." Now John begins to address the problem he faced in his day. There were false teachers who were proclaiming that it didn’t matter how a person lived his life. As long as he had special knowledge of God, he could live any way he wanted. What might be considered sin did not touch the spiritual being of that person who had this special knowledge of God. But John tells us clearly that the person who is doing sin is doing lawlessness. He has no regard for the law of God.

3:5 "And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin." Again, we have a tendency to take this verse to mean that Jesus appeared to bring us forgiveness of sins. He certainly did that. As a matter of fact, the word here translated "take away" is the same word that is used in Jn. 1:29, "Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world." There can be no doubt that in that context John the Baptist was speaking of Jesus bearing our sin on the cross, as the perfect Lamb of God. Forgiveness is in view. But that does not fit the context here. John has spoken about that sacrifice back in 2:1-2, where Jesus is said to be our advocate and our propitiation, if any man sin. But here, it is a righteous life that is in view. Notice that Jesus was manifested to take away our sins (in contrast to "sin" in John 1:29). Jesus appeared in order that we might not go on committing sins, as we had done in the past. This is an echo of the first New Testament promise in Matt. 1:21, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." That particular promise was not that Jesus would forgive us of our sins, but that He would save us from our sins, that He would deliver us from the power of sin in our everyday lives. In light of the fact that in Jesus there is no sin, remember 2:6, "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."

3:6 "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him." Those are strong words. The desire of the believer is to abide in Christ, as we read of in John 15 and other places. Such a person does not live a life of habitual sin. The one who lives such a life of sin demonstrates that he has not seen Christ nor known Him, regardless of the claims he makes with his lips.

3:7-8a "Little children, let no man deceive you – he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning…" This was not only the test for their own lives, but also the test for the false teachers who were making erroneous claims. As Jesus said in Matthew 7, judge them by their fruits, even as you judge your own life by its fruits. If they live righteous lives, they are righteous. If they live sinful lives, they belong to the devil. Do you see the contrast between Jesus and the devil? Jesus is righteous; the devil has been sinning from the beginning. Just as we see certain similarities between a parent and a child, so it is spiritually. The one who practices sin proves that he belongs to the devil; the one who practices righteousness demonstrates that he belongs to the Lord, who is righteous. Don’t let anyone deceive you; don’t let anyone tell you differently.

When someone comes and says, "Don’t let the devil make you doubt. You were saved when you were young. You may not remember it very well, but I remember it. I remember how sincere you were. I know you gave your life to the Lord…" you remember these words: "he that practices righteousness is righteousness, even as Jesus is righteous; he that practices sin belongs to the devil."

3:8b "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." This is not the only statement about why Jesus came into the world. Jesus Himself said in Luke 19:10, "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." But praise God that we have this statement of His purpose. One of the reasons He came was to destroy the works of the devil, that one who has been sinning from the beginning and leading others into sin. Surely by "the works of the devil," John is talking about the devil’s work in the lives of human beings. Remember that he is our adversary, walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (I Pet. 5:8). What a number he has done on the human race. Praise God that Jesus appeared that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Do you see how this goes hand in hand with the statement of verse 5: "And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins." Taking away our sins and destroying the works of the devil go hand in hand. The devil is hard at work to lead us into sin. Our Lord works to frustrate His purposes and deliver us from a life of sin.

So understand that this passage is not about forgiveness of sins. This passage is about the kind of lives we live day by day. Jesus came into this world not only to bring forgiveness, but also to rescue those who have been forgiven from the power of sin in their everyday lives. Praise God! He has this hope in Jesus Christ purifies himself, even as Jesus is pure. But we can’t do it on our own. The good news is that Jesus Himself is the One who is taking up our cause, even destroying the works of the devil and delivering us from the power of sin.

3:9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Remember, John is not talking about isolated acts of sin. Literally, "He who is born of God is not doing (practicing) sin." And why doesn’t he practice sin? Because God’s seed remains in him. We are not told what that seed is. Is it the Word of God he is emphasizing? Is it the life of God? Perhaps it is the Spirit he is referring to. Whatever his precise emphasis, the fact is that the person who is born of God is not the same; there has been a fundamental change in his life. There is something there (the seed) that was not there before.
John then makes an even stronger statement: "And he cannot sin, because he is born of God."

Please think with me for just a moment. What does he mean by "He cannot sin"? Does he mean that it is impossible for this person to sin? Let’s look at another passage or two. Consider Mark 2:19, where Jesus is answering the question about why His disciples were not fasting at that time. "And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast." We think of "cannot" as referring to a physical impossibility. If I cannot do something, I am absolutely not able to do so. But we see that is not the case here in Mark 2:19. The disciples of Jesus had the ability to fast. There was no physical restraint put on them. So why did Jesus say, "They cannot fast"? Because it was unthinkable. If the bride is celebrating her marriage with the bridegroom, she cannot fast. That doesn’t mean it is a physical impossibility; it means that it is unthinkable. It would be totally out of place. So it would have been for the disciples to fast while Jesus was walking with them.

Or consider Luke 11:7, where Jesus tells the story about the man whose friend comes to him at midnight to borrow supplies for the traveler who has shown up on his doorstep. "And he from within shall answer and say, ‘Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.’" Was it physically impossible for the man to rise up and get some food for the man knocking on his door? No. He was perfectly capable of getting up and providing what was needed. So why did he say, "I cannot rise and give thee"? Because if he had done so, he would have disturbed his entire household. It would have been unthinkable for him to do such a thing.

Are you beginning to see? "And he cannot sin, because he is born of God." It is not physically impossible for the child of God to sin, even to keep on sinning. Nevertheless, the person who has been born of God cannot sin. Why not? Because he has been born of God, and it is absolutely unthinkable for the one who has been born of God to go on sinning. Friends, this is not about ability; it is about our "want to." The last thing in the world the child of God wants to do is sin. Because He is longing to see His Lord face to face, this inward hope leads him to purify himself, even as Jesus is pure. Such a person cannot sin, because that would go against his very nature as a child of God.

This passage is not just about physical deeds; it goes much deeper than that. It is about the heart of the one who has truly been born of God. Such a person hates sin. I’m not just talking about hating abortion, immorality, and injustice in the world. I am talking hating even the smallest sin in our own lives. This is the life that has been born of God. O yes, sin trips us up, and far more often than we would like. Nevertheless, if you are a true child of God, you hate it with a passion.

Someone may ask, "What about the person who professes to be a Christian, seems to be living a life of sin, and doesn’t hate it at all?" I confess that I don’t have the answer to that question. However, if such a person is truly born of God, he can expect to be disciplined by his Lord, for the Lord corrects His children. On the other hand, the professing Christian who flirts with sin will not have assurance from the Lord, for His assurance is based on the witness of the Spirit which comes primarily through the Word.

3:10 "In this the children of God are manifested and the children of the devil; whosoever doeth not righteousness if not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." This is conclusion. If you want to know whether you belong to God or to the devil, look at your life. Are you living a life of righteousness? Don’t look at a past experience as the gauge, but look to your present life. This is the test.