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This is the manuscript final sermon in the series “Celebrating the Life that Christ Makes Possible”. The sermons have been "Celebrating Supernatural Living", "Christ the Only Hope", "The Secret of Facing Need", "Christian Rewards", "Free at Last". The last five sermons in the series highlight the new life that is possible through Christ. The titles of those sermons, with this being the last are, "Where is Jesus?", "The Living Christ and the Church", "What the World Needs Now is Love", "Cry for Revival", and this final sermon "Living at a New Address"
1 John 3:5-6 NIV But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Scripture Reading:
1 John 1:5-10 NIV This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
1 John 3:4-10 NIV Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one 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. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 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 God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
Text:
1 John 3:5-6 NIV But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Introduction
Being a Christian is like living at a new address. A Christian is someone who has moved from the house of sin and death into a new home with Christ.
I. The living Christ brings death to sin.
A. The living Christ is the remedy for sin
Man has always sought relief from the crushing weight of sin. It brings guilt, death, and shame.
The question is how can the sin problem be handled?
One approach is to place the blame on someone or something else. Adam and Eve played this ancient game called “pass the buck.”
Genesis 3:8-13 NIV Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Adam passed the buck) Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (again Eve passed the buck)
Some people attempt to handle sin by doing good works in an effort to balance the scale.
Matthew 19:16-22 NIV Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
The works themselves may be good and they may in fact bless others, but new sins keep upsetting the balance.
All sin is ultimately against God.
Listen to what Joseph said when Potiphar’s wife wanted him to sleep with her
Genesis 39:8-9 NIV But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
It doesn’t matter if it is done in secret or against other people. All sin is against God because all sin is a rebellion against His commands.
Presenting a sacrifice to appease the offended individual, in this case God, is futile effort.
Psalms 51:16-17 NIV You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
John in our text gives us the absolute remedy for sin:
1 John 3:5 NIV But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
When the angel appeared to Joseph when he was thinking about divorcing Mary he prophesied about Jesus’ work:
Matthew 1:21 NIV She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
John the Baptist introduced Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 NIV The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Here’s what Paul said in his second letter to the church in Corinth
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The living Christ is the remedy for sin
When Jesus’ critics said that only God can forgive sin they were right.
Mark 2:1-7 NIV A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
They were right that only God can forgive sin which means that Jesus is God, because He told this man his sins are forgiven. To prove it He then told the guy to get up and walk and the guy did just that.
Mark 2:8-12 NIV Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus’ death and resurrection are the only adequate remedy for sin. Since death is the wages of sin, a dead Christ would be powerless over sin.
Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:17 NIV And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
His resurrection means victory over sin and death.
1 Corinthians 15:56-57 NIV The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
B. The living Christ also means the defeat of the devil.
We know that sin is the work of the devil
1 John 3:8 NIV The one 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.
Jesus came to defeat the work of the devil.
There was a time that Jesus sent 70 men out to evangelize.
Luke 10:1-2 NKJV After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
When the Seventy returned from their successful evangelistic assignments, and gave their report here’s what Jesus said
Luke 10:17-20 NKJV Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Christians have power to resist and defeat the devil’s temptations using the authority that Jesus gives them to defeat the work of the devil which is sin. Keep in mind that Satan continues his work of deception, but Jesus is more powerful than the Satan and He has given you the authority over the works of Satan.
II. However let’s be real today, we still battle with sin.
A. Christians are not perfect
1 John 1:8 NIV If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:10 NIV If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
How do we reconcile the fact that there is still evidence of sin in our lives with what it says in our text, “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Kinda makes you go hmmmmmm doesn’t it?
Let me see if I can help.
Power over sin does not mean sinless perfectio
B. However, we do have a different pattern of life
Let’s look at
1 John 3 again and lets start at verse 3 and read through verse 10 NIV No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one 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. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 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 God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
The verbs in this section are in the perfect tense and refer to continuous, habitual action.
But Genuine Christians exhibit a new pattern in their lives. New desires, direction, and destiny are clearly evident.
In other words they live at a new address
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
III. Though we battle with sin we do have victory over sin.
A. We walk in the light
The way to daily victory over the pull of the old life is to “walk in the light.” The closer we are to the Lord, the further we will be from sin.
1 John 1:5-7 NIV This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
B. We need to constantly confess our sin and accept God cleansing.
Whenever we sin, we need to confess it to the Lord and accept his cleansing.
1 John 1:9 NIV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness..
Conclusion
The apostle Paul expressed what every Christian has experienced.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What a great gift we have been given, as well as a great responsibility to bring others to Christ.
Let's pray, Thank You, Father, for finding me when I wasn’t looking . . . for loving me when I wasn’t worthy . . . for making me Yours when I didn’t deserve it. In Jesus' name Amen.
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