The Evidence Of Salvation

DECEMBER 30, 2020 STUDY NOTES I JOHN 3:6 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE EVIDENCE OF SALVATION 1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. INTRODUCTION (Here we have a good opportunity to review our previous studies) At first glance, 1 John 3:6 can be easily misunderstood or misapplied We must answer the question, who is John describing, the saved, the lost, or both? There are other questions we need to answer: Can those who are saved continue to commit sin? Can those who are saved ever be lost again because of sin? What does it mean to abide in Christ? Can those who are saved continue to commit sin? Let’s look at what John has already said about sin and ask, is he speaking to the Christian? The Christian can walk in darkness, 1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: To walk in darkness is to live the life of a carnal Christian, a worldly Christian, to be backslidden Before we received Christ, our life was nothing but darkness, Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: Because we are now “children of light” we can now “walk in the light” Christians are the only ones who can “walk in the light,” 1Jn 1:7 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. “Light” represents the life that Christians have received because they are saved “In the light” you see things the way God sees them, and you will make right decisions for life To walk in the light means you are subject to the light and influenced by the light There is knowledge of God “in the light,” you will have an-understanding of God and life In the light you are living what you have learned to be the truths of Christ and His Life When we walk in the light two things take place, we have fellowship one with another And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin A Christian living in unconfessed sin is not living the truth of their salvation, 1Jn 1:8 If we say that we (John includes himself) have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Saying, “we have no sin,” refers to someone who is denying the fact of sin in their life To “deceive” yourself means that you have made the wrong judgment about something Sin is normally identified as doing something that God tells us not to do, disobeying God It is easy to identify the sins of commission, doing the things we know we should not do Too often we fail to identify with the sins of omission, not doing what God wants us to do When you don’t do what you know God is telling you to do, you have sinned When we commit sins of omission, we rob ourselves of the blessings of God “Truth” is the manifestation of something as it really is, what you see or hear is the real thing “The truth” of 1 John 1:6 is, you cannot walk in darkness and have fellowship with God “The truth” of verse 8 is that a Christian can and will still commit sin 1 When John says, “the truth is not in us,” he is not saying that Jesus is not in us He is saying that the “truth of Jesus” is not in us, we are not telling the truth about salvation The truth is, Christians must confess their sins, 1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Christians are not without sin in their life, if that were true, we would not need 1 John 1:9 To “confess our sins” means that we agree with God, God said it was sin and we agree John gives us two benefits as a-result of confessing our sins, forgiveness, and cleansing Can those who are saved ever be lost again because of sin? Seven times in 1 John, John calls his readers “little children” It is John’s favorite way of identifying with genuine born-again believers, 1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: If Christians no longer commit sins, John’s words in 1 John 2:1 are not necessary “If” actually means “when” we do sin, which does not refer to a continuous repeated action John does not have in mind the path of habitual sin, the emphasis is upon one single act of sin The Christian will still be a child of God even though a sin has been committed Which is true because “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” First notice that John says, “We have,” referring to each-and every believer John includes himself as one who needs an “advocate with the Father” Those who are lost and without Christ in their life do not have what we have We have “An advocate,” which literally means “one called alongside” One who is there to help, comfort, counsel, encourage, intercede, or whatever the need might be An advocate is one who comes to our side whenever we are in need The next verse explains what Jesus can and will do for us, 1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. “Propitiation” means that Jesus Christ, the righteous, satisfies the righteous demands of God “Propitiation” speaks of the satisfaction of all God’s righteous demands for judgment upon sin The word “propitiation” signifies the turning away of God’s wrath by a sin offering That offering was the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross, one time only (Heb 10:10, 14) Jesus can forgive our sins because He is “the propitiation for our sins” What Jesus has done and will do for the Christian He is willing to do for all sinners Sins are forgiven “for His name’s sake,” 1Jn 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. Sins are forgiven on account of the Person and Work of Jesus, on-the basis of who Christ is The “name” of Jesus is a revelation of Who He is and what He has done We are called Christians because of who we are in-Christ Jesus, Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: Our present position in-Christ is not questionable or temporary, Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Jude explains why our position in-Christ will last throughout the ages, Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, Jude said that God’s protection will “keep you from falling” The word “to keep” has the meaning of providing protection from an external attack Satan is the one who attacks the Christian (1 Peter 5:8) The promise of Jude is that God has provided the way for our protection against Satan and sin 2 Because of God’s love and the work of Jesus we have an eternal security God will not allow us to fall away spiritually and lose our salvation The wisdom of God has provided for our protection against Satan and sin today God has provided for our forgiveness when we do fail to stand faithful to His promises Even though we stumble and fall into sin, God’s wisdom has provided for our eternal security We will now consider what John is telling us in 1 John 3:6 What does it mean to abide in Christ? 1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Whatever John is telling us in 1 John 3:6 cannot contradict what he has already told us Both the word “abide,” and the word “sin” are in the present tense indicating habitual character It is possible for a Christian to commit sin, Christians will commit acts of sin But the Christian who is habitually abiding in Christ will not habitually sin The original reads, “the one who keeps on abiding in Him,” meaning continually and constantly He is the one who does not keep on sinning or habitually living a life of sin Christians sin when they do not continually “abide” in Christ The truth we found in verse 5 helps us to understand what John is now telling us, 1Jn 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our (those who are saved) sins; and in him is no sin. Only those who are saved can habitually abide in Him, meaning “to stand fast in Christ” “Abiding in Christ” is the normal place for a Christian to live, it is home for the Christian To abide in Christ is to stay at home, to be where you belong Home is our salvation, the salvation which God has given us is our New Life We are at home when we are in the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2) We are at home when we are filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) We are at home when we walk even as He walked (1 John 2:6) To abide in Christ is the normal lifestyle of a Christian (1 John 3:6) To keep on living in sin is not normal for a Christian (Ephesians 2:10) Stay at home and you won’t go out to live in sin, sin happens when you leave home Sin is when you allow your eyes; ears; tongue; mind; heart; will; and desires to leave home You begin to sin when you forget about Christ and your Christian daily duties of life Sin is not a normal characteristic of a child of God, it is not of the character of a Christian Continuing to live in sin is not the way of life for the Christian John has told us that Christians can and will sin, when we do, we must confess our sins (1 Jn 1:9) Confessed sins will be forgiven and Jesus’ blood will cleanse us from all unrighteousness John presents to us a very logical explanation of what he has already presented Sin no longer is to be the ruling principle in the life of a Christian The Christian will experience sin, but it is to be an exception and not the normal life The possibility of sin is always present, but so is the Holy Spirit, we can defeat the Devil (Jas 4:7) The Christian should not live-in sin, the lost cannot live in righteousness before God So, what does John mean by sinneth not: Again, John is not contradicting what he has already taught, a Christian can still sin This verse has been used by some to teach the state of sinless perfection, it does not teach that The reference is not to a state of sinless perfection, it speaks of habitual action It does not mean that once a person is saved, he will never sin again John is telling us that the Christian no longer lives in sin as they did before they were saved 3 Christians have been set free from the power and influence of sin (Romans 6:1-2, 6) Sin is no longer the nature of a Christian, sin is no longer the desire of the heart As a result of the New Birth there is a new nature that does not desire sin but loves righteousness The new nature does not keep on sinning, sin is not the rule of life for the Christian The Christian cannot habitually live-in sin and live a normal Christian life But sin is the normal life of those who are lost whosoever sinneth The original presents a continual action, constantly and habitually sinning This is a strong statement of the truth of sin in those who are without Christ It does not mean that the lost cannot do good things that are helpful unto others It does not mean that those who are lost cannot do acts of kindness The difference is Christ in a person’s life, those who are lost do not have Christ in them Christ paid the penalty of sin, Christ in our life is the power over sin Those who are lost still live in a sinful nature and are still the children of the devil Anyone who has not received Christ is a child of the devil (John 8:44) Lost sinners can do good works, but good works do not save a person from their sins Salvation is not of works we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) Sometimes those who are lost are doing more good for others than some who are saved Lost sinners can do good things for others and Satan will use that for his purposes Satan likes to use the good works of the lost as a destruction of the truth of salvation One of the false teachings of Satan is salvation by works Satan wants you to believe that Satan does not care how much good the lost do for others, he wants people to see them Satan is over the world taking over the responsibilities of the church, which is common today Satan does not want any positive recognition given to the church you won’t see it on the news Satan wants you to see a single sin in the life of a Christian regardless of how much good they do Lost people can be good people who think good things and do-good things But they do not see or know the truth of sin and salvation The truth is to live your life without Jesus is to live in sin regardless of how good you might be The reason the lost are living in continual sin is because they have not seen Jesus hath not seen him, John refers to those who are lost when he says, “whosoever sinneth hath not seen him” Those who are lost have no spiritual vision and have not seen Jesus with understanding Jesus explained it to Nicodemus, Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Those who are lost cannot and will not have any perception of or participation in God’s Kingdom They are spiritually blind toward God and the truths of salvation, 2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Those who are blinded spiritually are the opposite of those who are abiding in Christ The reference to seeing Jesus means a spiritual vision of Jesus through faith Moses is an example of faith that can see God (Hebrews 11:27) The one who is born again sees Christ and is spiritually conscious of His presence (1 Peter 1:8) To “see” Jesus is to perceive spiritual truths, to see who He is, to see why you need Jesus It is a “Spiritual Vision” which allows you to see yourself in sin and in need of Jesus You “see” that because of your sin you need a Savior to take away your sins 4 To “see” Jesus is equivalent to “believe” in Jesus The only way to “see” Jesus is to “believe” in Jesus The only way to “abide” in Jesus is to “see” Jesus and “believe” in Jesus Goodness only comes through seeing Jesus and knowing God, 3Jn 1:11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. John says those who are lost have not seen Jesus or “known Him” neither known him. John told us the same thing in the beginning of this chapter, 1Jn 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. John says, those who are lost have not known Him in the past and they do not know Him now To know Him means to have entered-into a personal relationship with Jesus Knowledge of Jesus comes from our personal experience with Jesus Through daily obedience to Christ, we come to know more and more about Him, Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Paul had already known Christ and faithfully served Him for years when he spoke those words Serving Christ day by day is the way to know more about Him The way to prepare for the return of Christ is to learn more about Jesus, 1Jn 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 like him; for we shall see him as he is. Throughout this chapter John explains the difference between knowing and not knowing God Salvation involves knowing Jesus, knowing God, loving Jesus, and obeying God Jesus said that is “life eternal,” Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. To know Jesus is to know the Father, Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Those who are without Christ live in habitual sin and have not seen or known Christ To love sin and live-in sin is the natural way of life for those who are lost John has taught us the truth of sin and the truth of salvation Only those who are saved can habitually abide in Christ Christians can abide in Christ because they see Him and know Him It doesn’t hurt to tell yourself ever once in a while, “I’m saved” Can you honestly sing the song you are going to hear? 5