Difficult Passages- Lake Geneva conf.1984 - Part 4 — William MacDonald

The Difficult Passage in 1 John 3

In chapter 3, verses 4 -9, it says of the King James, "...whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin.

Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not, whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.". Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

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. 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.

Well, I don't have to emphasize that that last verse has certainly been used to unsettle the hearts of many of God's people. And it is a difficult verse, isn't it? 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.

Enough to make you doubt your salvation, isn't it? So, we want to ask ourselves the question this morning, what does this verse mean? Oftentimes in handling difficult Bible portions, a good way to begin is to determine what it doesn't mean, and we can do that with this verse.

Why 1 John 3:9 Does Not Teach Sinless Perfection

We can prove from this very epistle it doesn't mean sinless perfection. It doesn't mean that a Christian never sins. How do you know? Well, go back to chapter 1 and read verses 8 and 10. Verse 8 of chapter 1 says, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Verse 10, If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. I'm glad for those two verses, aren't you? They help. And then look at chapter 2, verse 1. It says, 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, and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world.

Now, in the first part of that verse, it says, My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. God's will for us is that we should not sin. And you know, God had to write the verse that way.

For instance, if the verse had said, My little children, these things write unto you, that you sin just a little, that wouldn't be God speaking. Because God is perfect, and God is holy, and God is righteous, and God cannot condone any sin.

So, when God writes, he says, sin not. And incidentally, I cannot sin, but I cannot say I have to sin either. It isn't really doctrinally correct for me to say I must sin, because what I'm saying is that the Holy Spirit is not powerful enough to deliver me from sin.

He is, if I call upon him. If I call upon the Lord in the moment of temptation, he will deliver me from sin. So, I mustn't say I have to sin. It's not correct to say I never sin. That's not correct, either.

But I mustn't say I have to sin. But notice that provision is made for failure. It says, If any man sin, we have an advocate for the Father. First of all, that shows that whatever the verse in 1 John 3 means, it doesn't mean that the Christian never sins, because it says, If any man sin, we have an advocate, notice, with the Father.

Even if a believer sins, God is still his Father. That's a comfort. It doesn't say, If any man sin, we have an advocate with God. It says, If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole.

Sin as Lawlessness Rather Than Sinless Living

What does the verse mean? What does the 3 verse 9 mean? Well, first of all, I think it's speaking about sin in its character of lawlessness, and I'd like you to go back to verse 4. I read it in the King James, but if you read it in almost any other translation of the Bible, it will say, Whosoever committed sin doeth lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.

Not all of the law. Sin existed before the law was given. There was sin before there was law. But I think John here is speaking of sin in that character of lawlessness. I don't care what God says, I'm going to do it anyway.

That is not typical of the child of God, that spirit of lawlessness. We do sin. In our frailty, we do sin, and when we sin, we're ashamed to our tiptoes of what we've done. Sin does not have the character of lawlessness.

I think this is very important to see. There's a difference between a Christian sinning and an unbeliever sinning. Listen to the Christian who sins. In Romans chapter 7, the Apostle King there, he says verse 15,.

For that which I do I allow not, for what I would that do I not, but what I hate. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not, the evil which I would not, that I do.

Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin in my members, O wretched man that I am!

Who shall deliver me from this, the body of this death, or this body, the agony of a Christian with sin? And then I think you have it also in an Old Testament Saint in Psalm 32, that I think this is very, very significant, and it will ring a bell in your own heart as well.

Psalm 32, verses 3, confessing his sin,. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me, my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.

That is not characteristic language of an unsaved man. It speaks of the anguish of heart of a believer when he sins. But 1 John 3 .9 is speaking especially about sin in its character of lawlessness, and it's saying that when a Christian does sin, when a Christian does commit an act of sin, there's a different attitude of heart.

There's an agony of soul. The other thing, of course, characterizes, King James is a bit unfortunate, continuous fear that characterizes a person's life. And that's really true of the child of God, isn't it?

Sin is not the dominating influence in the life of a child of God. The Christian is not sinless, but he does sin less. And when he does sin, he's filled with guilt, sorrow, shame, and discouragement, and he wants to fly to God in repentance and confession.

A believer does not want to practice, and if I may say so, he does not commit sin with the same freedom he had before. He does not sin with the full consent of his will. I believe there's a freedom to sin that an unsaved person has that is not true of one who belongs to the Lord Jesus.

The Two Natures and Personal Responsibility

Now, I should say that many people believe that what John is speaking about here are the two natures, and what he's saying is that the new nature doesn't sin. The old nature does, but the new nature doesn't.

And of course that's true. It is true that the new nature doesn't. We have the divine nature spoken of here as his seed, God's seed. God's divine nature remains in him that is in the believer. The only trouble with that explanation is that God holds the person responsible, not the nature.

So when I sin, I kind of say, well, that wasn't my new nature. That was my old nature. The legend of the man that was brought before the judge for speeding, and he was a very devout believer, of course, and when he was accused, he said, well, judge, that was my old nature that was guilty of speeding.

And the judge said, well, I fine your old nature $50 for speeding. And he said, I fine your new nature $50 for being an accessory before the fact. Now, if he had just kept his mouth shut, he'd have only had to pay $50.

We can't blame the nature. We as individuals are responsible for what we do before God. It is true the new nature doesn't sin. It is true the old nature can't do anything but sin. Those things are true.

But I don't think that's the explanation in this particular passage. I think that John is speaking of that which characterizes dominating influence. But some young person might say to me, brother, that's just a problem.

You say practice sin, and yet I have this besetting sin in my life, and I cannot find I think we can all empathize with that situation. All made of flesh, made of iron and clay. How do you answer that?

Well, I answer it, first of all, that for the child of God, there is no sin. But the Holy Spirit cannot and will not give victory. We have an omnipotent Holy Spirit. We have an omnipotent Lord. And there's no sin in the child of God, whatever besetting sin you have.

Confession and the Word of God in Resisting Sin

So I'd like to spend a little time this morning just with some practical advice as to how we can know victory over that besetting sin. How do we come to know victory? And first of all, I would suggest this, that we must confess and forsake just that it has come into walking down the street or a random thought of evil comes to my mind.

I stop right there. I drag it out in the open before the Lord. I call it by its wretched name. I say, Lord, that was sin. I reject that. Confess it. When we do that, that's in my heart. It's wonderful how the Word of God acts as a monitor in our life.

Every day of life, we're faced with temptation. We're reading the Word of God in the morning. Before we start out in work, we read the Word of God. During the day, that very subject comes up. And we say, no, I can't do that.

I can't do that. However, if I get away from the Word of God, I become insensitive. I lose that sensitivity to the Lord. And incidentally, the worst thing about sin is the affront. The worst thing about sin is an insult to the majesty.

I think it's interesting the way in our passage where how John brings in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know that he was manifested to take away our sin. And in him is no sin. The work and person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And really, the real test for any sin anyway is how it appears in his sight, not how it appears in my sight. The real test for anything is how it appears in the sight. Redeemer. Memorize, study, meditate on and obey the Word.

It's a tremendous preventive agent in my life and in your life as far as sin is concerned. Pray without... I'll tell you, if any man, any woman is going to be holy, that person must keep us as holy as is possible for people to be in this life.

Prayer and Yielding to God

Pray that God prevents the opportunity to sin and the temptation to sin from ever coinciding. Sometimes we have the temptation to sin, but we don't have the opportunity. Sometimes we have the opportunity, but the temptation isn't there.

Temptation comes in waves. Pray that the temptation to sin and the opportunity to sin will never coincide. That's when it's really... Pray that he will keep us from sinning even when we want to do it.

Pray in desperation that God will take us home to heaven rather than let us fall into sin. That's what God wants, is blood earnest prayer. Pray that God will take us home to heaven rather than let us fall into sin.

Pray the prayer that the Lord Jesus taught the disciples. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. You know, that's a puzzle, isn't it? Why do you pray that? God would never lead anybody into temptation.

I know it. I know it is perplexing, but what it says to me is, when I pray that prayer, I say, Lord, left to myself, I'm sunk. Keep me from the very temptation. Deliver me. Then the next thing is, I think we must constantly be yielding ourselves to the Lord, committing ourselves to the Lord.

Romans chapter 12, verses 1, and presenting your body a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Be not conformed to the world, but be transformed. I want to tell you, dear friends, if you confess and forsake sin constantly, you're clean.

And if you yield yourself to the Lord constantly, you're available. And if you're clean and available, God will use you and keep you. Believe that. Just as simple as that. Next, maintain regular fellowship with Christians.

Christian Fellowship and the Purpose of God’s Commands

People say, I can go it alone. I can be the lone wolf. No, you can't. God knows better than that. I want to tell you, there's a sanctifying influence in being with other Christian people. There was a sanctifying influence in being together here this week with other believers.

I didn't hear a single cuss word there at the volleyball court, watching Christians playing volleyball. I didn't see a single display of temper. It was terrific. You almost forgot what the world was like.

It was really wonderful. There's a sanctifying influence. I want to tell you, there's a sanctifying influence in the weekly remembrance of the Lord. God knows what he's doing. Let us remind ourselves at the close of this conference, the commandments of God are for our good, not for his.

You ever think of that? People are always raising the cry of legalism. Legalism. First of all, let me define legalism. Legalism is doing things in order to obtain merit before God. That's what real legalism is.

But it has come to have another meaning. Anything that you're forbidden to do that you want to do becomes legalism. But God is not a legalist, and all the commandments of God given in the Bible are for man's good, not for God's.

The great God existed long before man did. He got along very well. But God's laws are kindly laws. They're compassionate laws, and the more we obey them, the better life. It means avoiding the evil men.

Says 1 Corinthians 15, evil companionships corrupt good manners. How true it is. Every once in a while, you say, what happened to that young fellow? Oh, he fell in with the wrong crowd. You ever hear of that?

He fell in with the wrong crowd. Then I think we have to keep busy for the Lord. I think that the moments of greatest temptation in life are the moments when we're well-fed and well-slept. And I think there's tremendous sanctification in keeping busy for the Lord.

Idleness, David’s Sin, and Discipline of the Body

Remember David. It was at the time when kings go forth to war. David didn't go forth to war. He stayed home. He let his eyes wander. He became lustful. He pampered the fellow into the dual sins of adultery and murder.

And one of the sins of Sodom. When we think of Sodom, we think that it was just a collection of gays. But one of the sins of Sodom was an abundance of idleness. Interesting, isn't it? Tell you the word of God is a wonderful book on an abundance.

I find in life that keeping busy for the Lord is a great thing. It's called sublimation, where you take one drive and sublimate it, redirect it into the service of the Lord. And it works. Next, I would say we have to discipline the body.

I discipline my body. I keep it under. I bring it into submission. Less having preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. And I want to tell you, you know it as well as I do, that the highway of the Christian life is littered with corpses these days.

Many prominent men, men whose names are household words in Christian circles, have fallen because they didn't discipline the body. Speaking to a graduating class recently, he said to them, three don'ts.

Don't, the woman, the money. And I'll tell you, he said a mouthful when he said that. Don't touch the glory. That means avoid petty familiarity, endearing words even. Avoid anything that lowers our resistance to sin.

I believe that God has built us with an inner resistance to sin. And certain things like alcohol and drugs lower that. Why do you think oftentimes men drink? Why do you think they take drugs? They want to do things that ordinarily they'd be inhibited in doing.

And so, the Christian has to be on guard against this. That we should respond to sin exactly the way a dead body would. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. Alive unto God through Jesus Christ.

I'd like to have a meeting sometime and start preaching and then have some men bring in a casket with a dummy in it. And just set the casket down there. Then I'd like to come talking to that dummy in the casket there.

And suggest various things. You know, go out on the town and all the rest. That's exactly the way I should be when temptations come knocking at my door. I should respond just the way a corpse would. That's how we reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.

Saying No to Temptation and Swimming Against the Tide

It means learning to say no 10 ,000 times a week. I don't think that's an exaggeration. Learning to say no 10 ,000 times a week. It's said in Daily Bread. The average number of times a man says no to temptation is once weekly.

W-E-A-K-L. The average time man says no to temptation is once weekly. And that, of course, means that we have to be willing to be different. If I'm going to say no to temptation 10 ,000 times a week, I'm going to have to be different from the herd.

Now, that's tough. It's tough for young people. It's tough for young people in high school and college. There's a tremendous pressure. The world exerts tremendous pressure on us to conform. And the world hates nonconformists.

That's why it crucified the Lord of Glory. Because he wouldn't conform to its ways, its lifestyle, and all that it had to offer. And I want to tell you, if you swim against the tide, the world won't love you, but it'll never forget you either.

You have to learn to say no if you're going to be a holy. In fact, the word holy means different. You ever think of that? Sanctifying means set apart. Well, if you're set apart, you're different. You're set apart from...

I think we should remember that every time we resist sin, it becomes easier to resist it. And every time we yield to temptation, it becomes easier to yield to temptation. The strength of response, a bell in my heart.

Each victory will help you... An act reaps a habit. A habit reaps a destiny, in a few words. Another thing we can do is to maintain the blessed hope. I have always believed that the hope of the Lord's imminent return exerts a sanctifying influence on the life as well.

The Blessed Hope and Christ’s Return

He that has this hope set on him purifies himself even as he... I think all Christians believe in the second coming of Christ. Not all Christians believe or agree on the details that is coming. But I for one never want to abandon the thought that the Lord Jesus could come today.

That's what we call the pre-tribulation rapture. The pre-tribulation rapture is the only view you can hold and still believe that Christ could come before midnight tonight. But I believe that has a purifying influence on the life of the child of God.

He's coming. Would I like to be found doing that when the Savior comes back again? I know that that hope has kept me from many things in life. Somebody says to me, yeah, but what do you do in the moment of fierce temptation?

Calling on the Lord in the Moment of Temptation

And we all have those moments, don't we? That moment when temptation comes like a colossus and we feel so powerful, so powerless that is to resist it. What do we do in a moment like that? Well, a verse that's been a great help to me is Proverbs 18 and 10.

It says, the name of the Lord, the righteous. And that says to me that in that moment of temptation, that moment of fierce temptation, I'm to call upon the name of the Lord. Every time I do, he saves me.

I think of Peter. When Peter began to sink under the water and he cried, Lord save me. Did he do it? The only trouble with me is I don't always call beneath. So God has given us some very practical ways in which we can.

I believe that God wants me to be holy, but I don't think God will make me holy without my cooperation. I know there are a lot of formulas for holiness today, the faith rest life, where you just sit back and sit in hopes all day and expect it to come like some mystic experience.

It's never been that way in my life. To me, the life of holiness is something very practical and things in the Bible that I'm told that I must do. God will do his part, but he's not going to do my part for me.

And God will not make me holy against my will. Now, I just like in closing to go back to 1 John 3, our passage and go over it and suggest again that it does not mean sinless perfection. It could mean the two natures, but I don't think it does because God holds the person responsible, not the nature.

Habitual Sin, Lawlessness, and the New Birth

I think John here is talking about what is habitual behavior, what is practice in a person's life, what is the dominating influence in the person's life. And he's saying the child of God is not characterized by sin.

And I think that idea of habitual behavior is borne out by the latter part of verse 8, or not the latter part, but in the middle of verse 8, speaking about the devil, it says, "...he that doeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning.".

He's speaking about what was characteristic behavior of the devil, and he says that characteristic behavior of his children, like father, like son. And then also, I think that John is speaking of sin in its character of lawlessness.

The Christian doesn't have that lawless attitude. He does sin. He does commit acts of sin, but his attitude in doing it is different from the attitude of the world. He doesn't sin with the same freedom that the man of the world does, that the sinner does.

And when he does sin, he's ashamed of himself. He thinks, that's what nails my Savior to the cross, and here I've gone on and done it again. And he confesses his sin, and he forsakes his sin, and he picks himself up from the dust.

He may fall seven times, but he rises again, doesn't he? Difference between the one who isn't. So, let's just read it again, and try to read some of these thoughts into it. Whoever practices sin practices also lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness, a defiant attitude against the Most High.

You know that he was manifested to take away our sins, the work of the Lord Jesus, and in him is no sin, the person of the Lord Jesus, the sinless Son of God. Whoever abides in him, that is, whoever is born again, whoever is a true believer, does not practice sin.

Whoever practices sin has not seen him, neither known him. Children, let no man deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that doeth sin, he that practices sin, the one in whose life sin is a dominating influence is of the devil.

The devil has been sinning from the beginning. He's been practicing it. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever is born of God does not practice sin, for his feet, God's feet, the divine nature remains in him, in the believer, and he cannot go on sinning as a dominating influence of his life because he is born.

May the Lord steal home these portions to our hearts today. May we go out with a new determination to live lives of separation and holiness that we might be and not. Father, we just thank you for our little time together here at the close of this conference.

The Christian’s Warfare and Prayer for Holiness

That we're going back out into the conflict once again, and we know that the conflict is fierce. We know that we're in warfare. In warfare, there are casualties, and Father, we pray indeed that we might put on the full armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

We pray, Lord, that you'll make us as possible as as holy as it is possible for men and women to be on this side of heaven. We pray that we might be fitting representations of the Lord Jesus to those about us.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.