Sermon Tone Analysis

1 John 3:1-10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Caswell © 2001

Detecting Fake Currency

 

The United States Treasury Department has a special group of men whose job it is to track down counterfeiters.

Naturally, these men need to know a counterfeit bill when they see it.

/How do they learn to identify fake bills?/

Oddly enough, they are not trained by spending hours examining counterfeit money.

Rather, they study /the real thing./

They become so familiar with authentic bills that they can spot a counterfeit by looking at it or, often, simply by feeling it.

This is the approach in 1 John 3, which warns us that in today’s world there are counterfeit Christians.

John calls them /children of the devil./

John warns us about false Christ's in chapter two.

Now he deals with false brethren in chapter three.

How can you distinguish true believers from mere pretenders.

In John's day people were claiming to be Christians whilst living sinful lives.

John tells us to evaluate their works not just their words.

A summary of this passage is found in verse 10. *1 John 3:10:* /In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

/Today will see */The Characteristics Of God's Children/* and */The Characteristics Of Satan's Children./*

/Firstly,* */   The Characteristics Of God's Children

 

/a.

Justification/

 

*1 John 3:1: */Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him./

The first characteristic we see is that Christians are called God's children.

Through the new birth mentioned in *1 John 2:29* we enter God's family.

The Holy Spirit comes into our lives and makes us new creatures.

At this time a number of things happen.

/Firstly,/ John says that God justifies Christians.

/He declares us righteous./

All of our sins are forgiven and washed away and we are pure in His sight.

We are saved from the penalty of sin.

Through faith in Jesus Christ we receive a new birth, a new name and a new nature.

God calls us His children.

All of this marks a complete change in our lives.

We leave our old family and become part of God's family.

Instead of being God's enemies we are God's friends.

This involves a radical change in our allegiance.

Instead of loving the world, we love the Father.

God's children are called out of the world.

In fact we are very different to people in the world.

Although the Father loves us and showers us with His blessings, the world doesn't understand any of this and it turns against us.

Verse 13 says the world hates God's children.

This is because we see the world the way that God does.

We see the sin and wickedness that God hates and avoid it.

*/Firstly, our new privileged position as God's children motivates us to live holy lives./*

I Will Be Good

 

On March 11, 1830, a little English girl was doing her lessons with her tutor, and the lesson for that day had to do with the royal family.

As she studied the genealogical chart in the book, she became aware of the astounding fact that she was next in line for the throne!

At first she wept, and then she looked at her tutor and said,*/ I will be good!/*

The fact that little Victoria would one day be queen motivated her to live on a higher level.

Christians are God's royal children.

/If we will reign with Christ one day, shouldn't we be holy now?/

/ /

/b.

Glorification/

 

*1 John 3:2-3:* /Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure./

The second thing that John talks about is the Christian's hope for the future.

The Bible tells us that Christians will be transformed at Christ's appearing.

*Philippians 3:20-21*: /For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

/John says that we will be changed to be like God's Son.

Our glorified bodies will be just like Jesus' resurrection body.

Our new bodies will be sinless, immortal and incorruptible.

They will be perfectly suited for eternal life in God's glorious presence.

*Romans 8:29-30:* /For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

/The Christian's future is truly glorious.

In fact we earnestly look forward to spending eternity with the Lord.

We will be delivered once and for all from the presence of sin.

*/Secondly, the Blessed Hope further motivates us to overcome sin./*

 

/c.

Sanctification/

 

*1.

Christ's Sacrifice*

 

*3:5:* /And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

/

/ /

In verse 3 John says that this hope motivates us to be holy.

In the following verses John explains this in more detail.

John gives three good reasons why believers don't sin.

The reason that Jesus came was to take away our sins.

John the Baptist said this, /Behold the Lamb of God who take away the sins of the world./

Jesus came to remove our sin and restore us to fellowship with God.

To do this He had to give His life.

/Why would believers want to be entangled by the very things that separated them from God in the first place?/

Jesus Christ saved us from the penalty of sin on the cross.

He also saves us from the power of sin in our lives.

We don't have to sin anymore.

Believers can claim his victory and overcome sin.

After a person has become a child of God, born again by faith in Jesus Christ, he cannot practice lawlessness!

For one thing, Jesus Christ was without sin, and to abide in Him means to be identified with the One who is sinless.

And even more than that, Jesus Christ died to /take away/ our sins!

If we know the person of Christ, and if we have shared in the blessing of His death, we cannot deliberately disobey God.

The whole work of the Cross is denied when a professed Christian practices deliberate sin.

/ /

*2.

Christ's Fellowship*

/ /

*1 John 3:6-7:*/ Whoever abides in Him does not sin.

Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

Little children, let no one deceive you.

He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

/

The */second/* reason a believer won't sin is fellowship.

A believer abiding in Christ won't sin.

By this, I mean that he won't make sin a way of life.

The verb for sin is in the */present continuous tense/*.

The word */commit/* poiew means */to do, to perform, to practice./*

In chapter one John says that sin breaks our fellowship with God.