Living as Who You Are.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] The Cow Tipping series is coming. We have a place on our website [0:03] where you can give anonymous questions, where you are in charge of this series, [0:09] whether it be a question about the Bible, theology, lifestyle, [0:12] is something a sin? Maybe if you throw some political questions in there I might [0:17] answer them. Probably won’t, but I could, so give it a shot. [0:20] I won’t back any candidates because that’s just not what I do.

[0:24] But here’s the thing, you guys are in charge of this, but I can only answer the [0:28] questions if you ask them. [0:30] Don’t be embarrassed, it’s anonymous. I promise. One person actually asked this week, [0:34] is this anonymous? On the anonymous questionnaire. If that was you, [0:38] yeah, I have no idea who you are. The other question I’m getting a lot is, why [0:43] am I single?

[0:45] That’s a personal one. We need to have a conversation. It will probably only take [0:49] me five minutes. [0:51] Because I mean, I’ll be straight up with you. [0:54] If you really want to know, I’ll tell you. Especially dudes, man, because [0:59] guys are simple. It’s usually the same thing. Women, you’re a little more complex, [1:04] but nowhere near as complex as you want to be.

[1:08] Which is probably why you’re single. [1:10] But, who knows? [1:14] That series is going to be a couple weeks long, and it depends on how much [1:18] monster I’ve had that day [1:19] as to how saucy I’m going to be. So we’ll see. But here’s the thing, we’re going to be [1:22] knocking over sacred cows.

[1:24] I want it to be the questions that maybe you’re even too embarrassed to ask. [1:29] I’ll answer them. And then thirdly, finally, [1:32] happy Mother’s Day to the mothers out there. I’ve got a great mom [1:37] and she was here for the first service and I’m so thankful for all that she’s [1:41] taught me. I’m [1:42] not thankful for all the whipping she gave me. It’s a personal thing between us,

[1:47] but I probably wouldn’t be where I am now if she hadn’t whipped me. [1:50] I needed that probably, and I’m so thankful for my wife as well. She’s a [1:53] great mother. [1:55] I need her with children. They’d be in trouble [1:59] if it was just me. Let me tell you that right now. But also with that, [2:04] I also understand that Mother’s Day, for some,

[2:08] it’s not a joyous holiday. It’s a painful holiday. There are some of [2:13] you out there [2:14] who maybe you can’t have children. [2:18] Maybe you’re going through a painful time where you’re dealing with that. [2:21] Maybe that day is hard for you. [2:23] Or maybe you’ve got children that are giving you a lot of pain right now.

[2:27] Or maybe you’re a child that doesn’t have a mom and your mom’s gone on to be [2:32] with the Lord. [2:33] Or maybe your mom abandoned you and this is just a tough time for you. [2:36] Here’s what I want to speak in your life right now. [2:40] Jesus is enough that your identity [2:45] is not to be found in what you lack

[2:50] biologically, what you lack [2:52] as being a mom. Even if you are someone that has tons of kids and [2:57] you’re finding your identity in the reality that you’re a mom, [3:01] you’re not supposed to find your identity in that either. Your identity [3:05] shouldn’t be based in this world. It’s what we’ve been learning. [3:07] So to all mothers and to all people who are in pain today,

[3:11] understand that who you are in Jesus is what should define your life. [3:18] Not in your position, in your title, in the state of life that you’re in. [3:23] So I just want you to know that this morning as we go on and as you go [3:26] through this day, [3:27] love Jesus. Find who you are in Him. [3:32] Find redemption in Him. The reality,

[3:35] sons and daughters, is who you are in Jesus needs to be to treat your mom well. [3:40] So be nice to your mom today. I’ll try. [3:43] Who knows if it’s actually going to happen. Depends on how much monster energy I’ve [3:47] drank [3:47] to see how saucy I get. [3:50] First John chapter 3, starting in verse 1. I’ve gone too far.

[3:56] First John chapter 3, starting in verse 1. [4:00] See what kind of love [4:02] the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God [4:09] and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us [4:14] is that it did not know Him. Beloved, [4:17] we are God’s children now and what we will be has not yet appeared

[4:21] but we know [4:24] that when He appears we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. [4:31] And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself [4:35] as He is pure. [4:39] So for the past few weeks we’ve been going through the book of First John and [4:43] we’ve seen the reality

[4:44] of what God has done for us in Jesus, what our identity [4:48] is as followers of Jesus Christ, all that He has done for us and [4:53] for the past few weeks He’s been giving us this reality that [4:56] God has given us through what Jesus has done. He’s anointed us with His Holy [5:01] Spirit. [5:01] He calls us to abide in Him but He’s first said

[5:05] that He abides in us through the power of the Holy Spirit [5:08] and our reaction to that is that we know we don’t live under our own strength. [5:13] We don’t live as those who don’t believe in Him. [5:15] We are changed. We’re called to follow. We’re called to obey [5:18] and it’s through the power that He gives us that He says our reaction must be [5:23] to abide in Him. But in going through that, that kind of begs the question

[5:29] of why? Why should I [5:33] abide in Him? Why should I [5:36] obey God through Jesus? Why should I [5:40] desire God more than I desire the things of this world as He called us to a few [5:46] weeks ago?

[5:48] And what we see in those first three verses [5:50] is a revelation of why [5:54] we should follow God, of what is true for us [5:58] in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that following Him is worth it. [6:02] Because first this morning what we see there is by the grace of Jesus [6:07] God adopts us as

[6:09] His children. And why is that such a great reality? [6:14] He starts in verse 1 and He says, see what kind of love the Father [6:18] has given to us. In the English it doesn’t [6:22] really capture what He’s saying in the original language. [6:26] Because in the original language what that is, and it’s only used seven times in [6:30] all of Scripture,

[6:30] it is a stepping back and saying how great, [6:34] how marvelous, how unlike anything [6:37] of this world is the love of God. [6:42] That this love that we have in God is something that makes us step back and [6:46] just look at [6:47] in complete awe and wonder because it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before,

[6:52] unlike anything we’ve ever known before, and that in this life there is no other [6:57] kind of love [6:58] that compares to what God has done for us in the cross. [7:03] It’s a love that we’ve never seen before. [7:06] And so it is John stepping back in light of everything that he personally saw [7:11] in Jesus, in what he saw Jesus do

[7:15] on the cross, in what he has seen through the power [7:18] of the resurrection in his life. He is just in complete awe [7:22] and wonder and he’s saying that is [7:25] a love that no one knows apart from God. [7:30] It’s greater, more powerful, and offers more good [7:33] than anything else that’s going to come in your life.

[7:37] But note what he says the love of God is. [7:42] He says that this love [7:44] makes us children of God. [7:48] That this love that God has for us is about more [7:52] than mere forgiveness of sins. [7:56] Because that’s what we want to look at the cross and that’s kind of what we’re

[7:58] in awe of and that’s a good thing that God forgives our sins. [8:02] But here’s the reality this morning. Forgiveness of sins is not enough. [8:06] God does not just look at us and say your sins are forgiven. [8:10] Now you have a second chance. Because if given a second, [8:14] third, fourth chance we would fail [8:18] miserably. We would continue

[8:21] in our disobedience. We would continue in our disappointment. [8:25] And we would continue frankly in our rebellion [8:28] against what God has told us our lives [8:32] exist for. Look in John chapter 1 [8:35] verse 12. This is how he puts it at the very beginning of the gospel according to [8:40] John.

[8:41] He says, but to all who did receive him speaking of Jesus, [8:45] who believed in his name, he gave the right [8:49] to become children of God. [8:53] So what John there and what here in chapter 3 verse 1 of 1 John, [8:57] what is unfolding for us is that what the gospel does, what it calls us to, [9:03] what we are believing in is the reality

[9:06] that God makes us his children. [9:11] And what’s the fullness of what that means? [9:15] Look over in Galatians chapter 4. Because this is something that threads [9:18] throughout the entire New Testament, [9:20] not just in the writings of John, but also in what Paul has to say. [9:24] He says in chapter 4 verse 4 of Galatians, but when the fullness of time

[9:29] had come, God sent forth his Son, [9:32] born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, [9:36] so that we might receive adoption as sons. [9:40] And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son [9:45] into our lives crying, Abba, Father. [9:50] What he’s saying there is that the greatness of what God has done for us

[9:54] in Jesus is that he saw us in our sin, [9:58] he saw us in our rebellion, and we are like [10:02] orphans who know nothing but the shame of this world, [10:06] who know nothing but the pain of this world. [10:09] And in Jesus, what he’s doing is, he is adopting us [10:14] into his very family.

[10:17] So much so that he is no longer just the God of the universe to us. [10:22] He’s no longer just the supreme being. [10:25] He’s no longer just the king of all that is. [10:29] Instead, he receives a new title from those who know Jesus. [10:34] He receives the title of Abba. [10:36] And in the language there, what that is, is the most informal use

[10:41] of the name Dad. [10:44] That the God of the universe through Jesus calls us to be [10:50] his sons and his daughters, and we can come to him, [10:54] speak to him, talk to him as just our dad.

[11:00] Romans chapter 8, Paul puts it this way, starting in verse 15. [11:04] For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, [11:07] but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, [11:12] Abba, Father. [11:13] The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit [11:16] that we are children of God.

[11:19] And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, [11:24] provided we suffer with him, in order that we may also be glorified with him. [11:30] He takes it one step further in that passage. [11:35] He says, this is not just some nursery reality where you’re just in God’s nursery, [11:41] where you’re kept by him, where he lords his authority over you. [11:45] No, he appeals to the reality that you are adopted into his family so much so

[11:50] that he calls you heirs to his kingdom. [11:54] What does that mean? [11:56] Well, here in this specific text, speaking of us as children of God, [12:01] Paul uses the metaphor of adoption, not based really on the adoption [12:06] as we may know it in our culture, but rather he’s appealing to their [12:10] understanding of adoption in Rome.

[12:13] In Rome, adoption would happen, and it was all based on basically their last will. [12:21] In Rome, it was legal for people to take their biological children [12:25] and put them out of their homes. [12:28] And so there were many orphans in Rome. [12:30] Orphans would roam the street. [12:31] There was homelessness among children in Rome.

[12:33] And really, one of the first things that the church is known for in the first [12:36] century is that Christians would adopt all of these orphans to show, [12:41] in reality, what God’s doing in their lives, that God adopted them into his family. [12:45] So what greater representation of the gospel than to adopt orphans into their [12:50] families, proclaiming the love that God had for them. [12:54] But in Rome, because of this issue that was popping up,

[12:57] if you were to legally adopt a child, you could never un-adopt that child. [13:05] Therefore, adopted children in Rome, technically, had more rights than [13:11] biological children in Rome. [13:14] Sometimes even in Rome, people would adopt adults as their children, [13:20] so they could move their inheritance away from their biological children, [13:24] whom they didn’t even trust.

[13:26] And so the analogy that Paul is using here is that to be a child of God is to be [13:34] adopted by God into his family and given the full authority of his kingdom. [13:41] And your heiress to his throne is made absolutely sure to where you could never [13:48] lose his love. [13:50] You could never lose his hope. [13:52] You could never lose his promises.

[13:54] It’s made completely sure and held completely intact for you.

[14:03] So when John calls us children of God, he’s appealing to the reality that for those who [14:09] are followers of Jesus Christ, God has a hope for you that this world will not [14:17] understand apart from being in Jesus, because his hope for us is that in his coming kingdom, [14:26] we are not paupers. [14:28] In his coming kingdom, we are not less than, but rather he has chosen to bring us in. [14:36] He’s not stuck with us as many in Rome would look at their biological children.

[14:40] Rather, God looks to us and he chooses us. [14:45] He takes us out of our rebellion. [14:48] And what’s so amazing about this aspect of the gospel is that in our sin, in the reality [14:54] that we are living in rebellion to the way that God designed us to be, he willfully says, [15:01] I want those sinners in my family. [15:04] And he himself makes the decision to bring us into his family and to make us heirs to

[15:11] his kingdom that is coming. [15:13] But note what the text says in verse 2. [15:18] Beloved, we are God’s children now.

[15:27] And what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we shall [15:33] be like him. [15:34] It’s the reality of the already but not yet here. [15:38] An heir to a kingdom is not experiencing the authority in that kingdom yet, is he? [15:47] No, he’s an heir.

[15:50] He knows it’s coming. [15:52] He knows it’s his reality, but he hasn’t experienced it now. [15:56] But when you are adopted into his family, when do you become the child and heir to that [16:02] kingdom? [16:03] Right now. [16:05] And so what John is appealing to here is this reality that you are God’s child right

[16:09] now. [16:09] You have not yet experienced the kingdom of God. [16:12] You have not yet seen the kingdom of God. [16:14] You have not yet touched and tasted and seen Jesus face to face. [16:18] You have not yet experienced the glory that God promises that he has for us yet. [16:23] But he’s saying it has severe and extreme consequences in your life right now.

[16:31] That you do not then become a child of God. [16:35] No, right now is when you are a child of God. [16:38] And when does a child of God begin to act like an heir to the kingdom of God? [16:43] Right now. [16:45] It is not a reality that you cannot live for right now, but rather it is a reality [16:50] that you know now because you know the perfect love of God in everything that you have seen

[16:55] in Jesus. [16:55] John is trying to reinforce our faith for enduring in the faith by showing us what [17:01] God is promising us through Jesus.

[17:06] And so my life then must be built on the promises of God. [17:12] So all that God has for me in Jesus, all that God has for me through he is, I experience [17:19] right now in my identity as a child of God. [17:23] But then he makes an interesting turn. [17:28] One that seems very strange to us if we just read through the text without thinking about [17:31] it.

[17:32] Look in verse 4.

[17:35] Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. [17:40] Sin is lawlessness. [17:42] You know that he appeared to take away sins and in him there is no sin. [17:46] No one who abides in him keeps on sinning.

[17:50] No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. [17:55] Little children, let no one deceive you. [17:57] Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as he is righteous. [18:01] It seems like a totally disconnected thought. [18:04] It seems like a total turn where he is talking about the greatness that I have in Jesus, [18:09] the ultimate favor of God in my life experienced by understanding and believing that I am in

[18:18] God. [18:18] I am his child. [18:20] And then he says, and by the way, stop sinning.

[18:24] That seems odd. [18:26] Unless you connect it to verse 3. [18:28] Look back at verse 3. [18:31] And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. [18:37] What he is talking about here is our identity as children of God. [18:43] That when we believe that we are God’s children, when we believe that we have been

[18:48] called into him, we have a hope for the coming kingdom of God. [18:52] We have a hope for what God is going to deliver to us in the future through our faith in God. [18:58] And he says, and whoever has that hope will purify himself as he is pure. [19:03] As who is pure? [19:05] As Jesus is pure. [19:08] When you are living in the faith that you have the identity of a child of God, that I know,

[19:13] that I have been adopted by God, how am I going to learn how to live out that identity [19:19] when all I have ever known is being a rebellious orphan? [19:23] I am going to look to the one only begotten son of God, Jesus Christ. [19:30] Scripture calls him the firstborn among many brethren. [19:33] So when I want to know how to live out my identity as God’s child, I am going to look [19:37] to the one who is literally God’s child, Jesus Christ.

[19:41] And I am going to begin to live like Jesus. [19:44] I am going to begin to follow Jesus. [19:46] Why? [19:47] I am already God’s child. [19:48] Right, but I need to learn what it looks like to be God’s child. [19:51] So I look to Jesus and I then live my life accordingly as he lives.

[19:56] I make my identity as the same as Jesus’ is. [19:59] Jesus is the child of God and through him I believe that I am the child of God. [20:02] So I am now learning how to be a child of God by following the example [20:06] and ultimately the identity of Jesus Christ. [20:10] So secondly this morning my identity as God’s child changes how I view myself and my actions. [20:18] I no longer live like someone that does not know the awesome power of God’s love.

[20:26] I live for the power of God’s love. [20:30] Therefore what you live out in the everyday reveals how you view your identity. [20:35] The gospel then must impact every situation in our life [20:39] and we must view them all as children of God. [20:44] That when I believe in my mind I am a child of God that is not a reality that I just sit [20:51] and do nothing with.

[20:53] It is not just something that I think about but rather it is a reality that comes out [20:58] into my hands and feet and as I walk through this life what happens to me [21:05] is that I begin to live out what I actually believe through my life. [21:11] I don’t just think I am a child of God I live as a child of God. [21:17] And your actions follow suit with what your identity is actually in. [21:23] Because of that sin problems are ultimately identity problems.

[21:29] If you look back in verse 4 you see that everyone who makes a practice of sinning [21:34] also practices lawlessness. [21:36] Sin is lawlessness. [21:38] It is a throwback to chapter 2 verse 29 where he says that whoever practices righteousness [21:42] is righteous. [21:44] And so what he is drawing us into is the reality that in the righteousness of Jesus Christ my

[21:49] identity is changed to who Jesus is. [21:53] And when my identity changes to who Jesus is so does the practice of my life. [21:58] To pursue Jesus then is to flee from sin. [22:01] It is to embrace and find your deepest joy in that which pleases God because of the gift [22:08] of being his child. [22:09] This identity is what life becomes about because it is what you find great joy in.

[22:16] The gift of God through the gospel is that our loving Father wants us to be in his presence. [22:24] Even if you don’t know what a father should look like in this life because you didn’t know [22:29] a good father but rather you knew a bad father. [22:33] God wants to replace that view of what a father is and he says I will be the good example of [22:38] what a father is to you because I am the ultimate father. [22:42] Even if you had a good father in this life God looks to you and says I am the better

[22:48] father. [22:48] Your earthly father cannot measure up to me so look to me because I am the ultimate father [22:54] who will make you an heir to my kingdom in glory. [22:58] God is our good father who calls us into his presence to know him. [23:03] Followers of Jesus do not live lives defined by sin but rather the love and forgiveness [23:09] and then ultimately the restoration for our lives that we find in Jesus.

[23:15] Because when we live lives following after sin, when we live lives following after anything [23:22] in this world other than who we are in Jesus and what we believe God is going to do in [23:28] the future we practice lawlessness. [23:32] To practice lawlessness is to practice anything that is outside of God’s vision, God’s hope [23:38] and God’s plan for this world. [23:41] And in Jesus we believe that God is going to make everything right that has ever been wrong.

[23:50] But there comes a reality in our lives that we believe that God frees us. [23:56] We believe the grace of Jesus gives us absolute freedom and it does. [24:01] But here is the problem most of our view of freedom is tainted by sin. [24:07] You have to understand something sin is never freedom.

[24:13] Because here is what we do, we want to believe that freedom in God means we can do whatever we want. [24:22] Grace means I can just always be forgiven. [24:26] I can do whatever I want in my life. [24:29] And so what you do is you begin to kind of live a two person reality where well I am the saint, [24:35] I am the sinner, I can do all, I can go back between both realities in my life. [24:40] If I want to choose sin I go down this path and grace is always there for me.

[24:44] If I want to be righteous I go this path and I am still following Jesus. [24:48] So I can just do whatever I want because I have absolute freedom. [24:52] The problem is your definition of freedom is completely faulty. [24:55] Look at Galatians chapter 4 verse 7. [24:58] Galatians 4 says, so you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir to God. [25:07] What is his use of the term slave talking about?

[25:10] He is talking about the reality of what you had before Jesus Christ and that was sin. [25:18] What you did not understand about your sin is that it held you captive in slavery. [25:23] And when you willfully say I am just going to make a decision that I know God does not want me to make, [25:29] I know God would not have me to make, Paul is saying in this text, [25:32] understand you are no longer that slave. [25:36] Being free never goes down the path of slavery because when you choose that identity of sin

[25:43] over the identity as God’s child, you are willfully saying I prefer that identity over the identity in Christ. [25:54] Freedom always chooses the path of God. [26:00] The question is why? [26:03] The answer that John is going to give us is one of the most offensive parts of scripture [26:10] because he is going to compare you to the devil. [26:14] Look in 1 John chapter 3 verse 8.

[26:17] Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. [26:22] For the devil has been sinning from the beginning. [26:25] The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. [26:31] No one born of God makes a practice of sinning. [26:33] For God’s seed abides in him and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. [26:40] By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil.

[26:47] Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God nor is the one who does not love the brother. [26:54] We are going to cover through the first half of verse 10 this week and cover 10b next week [27:00] and following about what it means to love the brother. [27:04] This week what we want to deal with is the reality of living as righteous and living as unrighteous. [27:10] What John says in this text is that you are either of one of two categories. [27:15] You have one of two fathers.

[27:18] Your father is either God or your father is of the devil or is the devil. [27:23] There is no in between. [27:26] There is no other options. [27:28] You are either a child of God or a child of the devil. [27:30] That is offensive. [27:32] It is pretty much nothing worse you could be called in life.

[27:36] So why is John using that as his example here? [27:40] Well it all roots down to what he is talking about in the practice of sin. [27:45] The path to destruction is slavery because you are bound to sinful habits that are never [27:52] deviated from. [27:54] And the act of following Jesus is the act of turning away from that sin [28:00] to the ultimate reality which is the pathway to his kingdom.

[28:05] An heir never sees himself as a slave to anything but an heir sees himself as one [28:13] who has citizenship in the kingdom and has authority in that kingdom. [28:18] Therefore there is no other freedom to be known other than the freedom to be the child of God. [28:25] So finally this morning repentance is a continued turning away from sin [28:29] toward who you are in Jesus. [28:33] When you turn from sin that is the act of repenting from sin.

[28:37] It is to turn away from sin and towards God. [28:42] Here is the reality and here is why he uses the devil as the ultimate example. [28:46] The devil does not feel the need to repent. [28:51] Did you know that?

[28:53] That he according to scripture is the first one who rebelled against God. [29:00] And since that moment he has never once said, [29:05] man I really regret that.

[29:08] If only I could get the grace of Jesus. [29:10] Satan has never said that. [29:12] Satan has never thought that. [29:14] Satan does not know what repentance looks like. [29:18] And you are dealing with someone that knows who Jesus is. [29:22] You are dealing with someone that knows what sin is.

[29:25] You are dealing with someone that knows what the grace of God is. [29:29] And over and over and over throughout all of history [29:32] the devil has decided to do nothing but choose sin. [29:37] Over and over and over again. [29:40] And so a lack of repentance in your life, [29:44] a lack of conviction about the sin in your life,

[29:48] a lack of understanding what sin causes and where it will ultimately find you [29:53] is not a mark of being a child of God. [29:56] It is a mark of being a child of the devil. [29:59] So is John though contradicting himself? [30:04] Because in chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 here is what he says. [30:08] My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.

[30:14] And we are like that totally fits with this passage. [30:17] But then he says, but if anyone does sin, [30:21] we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. [30:24] He is the propitiation for our sins and not ours only, but also for the whole world. [30:30] And so what he is saying there in this text in comparison to that text, [30:33] when he says the term practice of sinning,

[30:36] whoever makes it their practice to sin, [30:38] he is talking about in the original language a continued life [30:43] where you seek after sin rather than seeking after God. [30:48] Where it is just a normal thing for your life to not take sin seriously [30:52] and think that the decision is in your hands, [30:55] the authority is in your hands,

[30:57] the definitions of sin is in your hands. [30:59] So you are free to do whatever you want. [31:01] You can make the decision for sin and you have still got God. [31:04] That is not a sign of salvation. [31:07] That is not a mark of the life of God inside of you [31:11] and that is not what a child of God would experience.

[31:13] Why? [31:14] Because a child of God looks to all that God has done for him, [31:18] looks to all that has been made available in the grace of God, [31:21] looks at the identity as an heir of God, [31:23] looks at the promises that we have in God [31:25] and you just are so thankful and you are so overcome with who God is for you,

[31:31] it pains you to see sin in your life. [31:35] It pains you.

[31:39] Let me tell you, you are going to sin the rest of your life.

[31:44] You are going to. [31:46] That is why 2.1 and 2 says what it says.

[31:50] But the difference between a child of God and a child of the devil [31:54] is what that sin does to you.

[32:01] Do you take it seriously?

[32:04] Do you hate it?

[32:07] Do you despise your own disobedience?

[32:14] What do you say? [32:16] It is no big deal.

[32:20] I just did a little wrong. [32:22] It is not that bad. [32:25] Yeah, I am not living for the mission of Jesus [32:27] but that is not for me. [32:28] That is for super Christians. [32:31] I am not following God but that is not what he has called me to do.

[32:37] He has called other people to do that [32:38] but he has called me over here just to be a regular person in this world.

[32:47] Friends, there are no categories like that.

[32:52] You are either a child of God,

[32:55] or a child of the devil. [32:55] He is the heir to the throne of the most eternal high God.

[33:02] Or your child of the devil. [33:05] Satan will never repent of his sin.

[33:10] He is giving this John is as an ultimate warning to those [33:13] that would teach you that sin is permissible. [33:16] And to shed light on the need of continual repentance [33:20] on the part of the follower of Jesus. [33:23] Note that he says in this text, [33:25] let no one deceive you.

[33:29] In other words, there will be some to come into your life [33:33] to teach you to not take your sin seriously. [33:38] To teach you that God has not put the calling on your life [33:42] to forsake this world and to put everything into following who Jesus is. [33:48] That there will come some in your life that will tell you, [33:52] oh don’t take the Bible that seriously.

[33:54] Take other things more seriously because you know what? [33:57] The Bible won’t feed you. [33:58] The Bible won’t pay your bills. [34:00] The Bible won’t give you everything that you need. [34:03] You need the stuff of this world for that. [34:06] So what you need right here and right now

[34:08] is what you need to focus on more than being an heir to God’s kingdom. [34:12] Because that’s years away.

[34:17] Let no one deceive you. [34:22] You are a child of God now.

[34:33] The reality is that scripture tells us that the ultimate reason that sin is slavery [34:42] is because Satan doesn’t just know who Jesus is. [34:46] He doesn’t just know that the grace of God exists. [34:49] Satan knows his ultimate destination and he doesn’t care.

[34:57] Scripture records that there is coming a day [35:02] where Satan himself will be thrown into the lake of fire. [35:06] And when we allow the false teaching that the controls are in our hands [35:12] and we can do whatever we want, we don’t need to obey God. [35:16] That’s not real freedom. [35:17] God’s a taskmaster.

[35:22] We lock, step, walk behind Satan directly towards that same lake of fire. [35:29] Because the scripture doesn’t show my God as a taskmaster. [35:33] The scripture says he’s my dad. [35:37] The scripture says he knows better for me than I know for myself. [35:41] The scripture says that when I follow Jesus, when I go after God, [35:45] when I repent of my sin, when I struggle hard to find my affections in him,

[35:51] when I seek him with everything in my life, I come to him. [35:55] And he’s my dad who’s adopted me into his family. [35:58] He’s not stuck with me. [36:00] He chose me. [36:02] He wants me. [36:04] He yearns for me.

[36:06] He loves me so much that in my sin, he sent his one and only son into this world [36:13] to suffer for my sin, to suffer for my disobedience. [36:18] That’s not a God that’s waiting to hurt me. [36:22] That is a God that knows nothing but the utmost love and affection for me. [36:28] And that is a God that is worthy of every aspect of my life [36:33] because he sees me on my way to hell and he says,

[36:36] Stop! Be my child.

[36:40] Be my child. [36:42] I love you.

[36:45] And the cross is the ultimate testament to his love for us.

[36:55] The greatness of the Gospel is that there’s coming a day, God has promised, [37:04] where he will throw the evil one, Satan, into the lake of fire. [37:08] But on that day, he will also throw sin itself into the lake of fire.

[37:19] That means that if I trust Jesus, there’s coming a day where I won’t have to repent any longer. [37:28] There’s coming a day where I won’t have to struggle anymore. [37:33] There’s coming a day where I won’t have to make decisions as to whether I’ll follow God [37:39] or whether I’ll follow sin because all I’ll be able to do is follow God because he’s killed sin.

[37:45] There’s coming a day where sin will not exist any longer. [37:49] And here’s the reality.

[37:53] Does that bring you joy or does that bring you a state of mind where you’re saying, [37:59] Oh my sin, I don’t want it to go away.

[38:06] Because here’s the ultimate reality is that there are those who will go in the lake of fire [38:14] chasing after the false hope and the false joys of sin.

[38:21] And some of us are running headlong for it because you’re finding more joy in your sin [38:26] than you are finding in the King of Kings adopting you into his family. [38:30] Oh, what great love the Father has for us that we would be called children of God.

[38:44] Where there is no repentance then, friends, there’s no faith.

[38:52] If the promises of God do not change the trajectory of your life, if you’re not [38:55] convicted of sin and seeking to change sinful habits, and you desire sin more than what God [39:02] reveals are the choices of his children, then you do not have faith in God and you need to be born again.

[39:13] So the question we must wrestle with this morning is are you a child of God?

[39:21] Is your joy found in growing closer to God as he restores you?

[39:28] Or is your joy found in the momentary happiness that sin gives you? [39:36] If you do not find joy in God, then you are not his child.

[39:46] Jesus is better than sin. [39:50] As what this text is screaming at us this morning. Jesus is better because he’s God.

[39:59] Sin kills. Have you ever been to a funeral?

[40:05] That’s the evidence. Sin kills. Because we will all die.

[40:15] All of history shows us that. But Jesus gives life.

[40:25] Jesus cleansed the leper. He healed him completely. Jesus made the blind to see. Jesus made the death [40:34] to hear, the mute to speak, the sick whole, the lame to walk. He looked at the dead and he said, rise. [40:42] And they did. Do you know why he did all of that? To show that he has the power to undo everything [40:52] that sin can cause. That he has the power to make right what sin makes wrong. That in the kingdom [41:02] that he is bringing, he will undo all of the curse of sin. It will be gone. It will be vanquished. [41:09] It will be away. Because Jesus is better. And then ultimately,

[41:16] he rose from the dead under his own power to show that he has ultimate authority over death [41:23] itself. And you can have life in him forever. Jesus is better than sin.

[41:40] Someday, in his kingdom, those who follow Jesus, who are made children of God by his wonderful [41:48] adoption, will see him face to face and spend eternity in his presence.

[42:01] If that does nothing for you,

[42:06] if that awakens no deep affection in your heart, if you hear all of that, if you see the promises [42:15] in his word, and not even a spark of affection for God happens in your heart, you are dead in sin.

[42:32] And I must exhort you this morning that if you find no joy in him, [42:41] repent of your sin and trust in Jesus so that you aren’t condemned to hell.

[42:53] Because that is where sin goes in the end.

[43:03] But thanks be to God in Christ Jesus that we are no longer condemned if we trust in his grace. [43:18] Pray with me as the band comes.

[43:25] Father, I don’t deserve your love.

[43:31] I don’t deserve your salvation. I do not deserve to be called your child.

[43:43] But you give it anyway.

[43:50] Lord, you love us with a love that apart from the cross, apart from trusting in you, [43:56] we can’t even comprehend. Lord, give us the faith to endure through this hard life, [44:05] where sometimes it is hard to trust in the Lord. [44:08] That your kingdom is coming. Sometimes it is hard to trust these promises that you have made.

[44:17] But how great is your love that right now we can be called children of God.

[44:24] Amen. Right now what we do, there are six stations in here.

[44:32] God loved us so much, so much that he came in the person of Jesus Christ. [44:42] And what this represents up here is that he shed his blood and his body was broken. [44:49] Because all of the sin that we have in our lives, all that we are born with, [44:53] all of the decisions that we make in rebellion against him, [44:56] Jesus gladly took them on himself and he paid the penalty for our sins.

[45:02] And he says, you can have my position as a child of God. You can have my righteousness. [45:06] I love you so much, I want you to have it. And it says that for the joy that was set before him, he did it.

[45:13] If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, I want you to come forward today or go to the back. [45:18] And I want you to take the cup, I want you to take the bread. [45:21] And I want you to realize that it is a metaphor when you take it into your mouth. [45:25] That you are taking in the very life of Jesus. [45:28] It represents that you have the life of God in you and he has taken your sin away. [45:35] So that it can’t condemn you anymore.

[45:38] And if you are in here this morning and the scriptures have provoked you to a realization [45:44] that you don’t know God, that you are a slave in your sin, you can know him today. [45:53] That is God calling you to himself. [45:56] That is God saying, I am going to adopt you right now, but you must come to him. [46:03] You must make the decision. You must get up when he says, rise.

[46:11] If that is you this morning, I am going to be standing right over here, there will be some in the foyer. [46:15] I would love to talk to you, I would love to pray with you. [46:17] When you are ready, come.