{"id":19140,"date":"2017-02-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-19T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-049\/"},"modified":"2017-02-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-02-19T06:00:00","slug":"soteriology-049","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-049\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 049"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[107],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19140","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-1-john","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 049","sermon_date":"20170219","sermon_month":"2","sermon_year":"2017","sermon_notes":5076,"sermon_slides":4378,"sermon_mp3":4388,"sermon_id":"219171144216","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":107,"chapter_and_verse":"3:9","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nSoteriology 49, 1 John 3:9\n\nFebruary 19, 2017\n\nFather, we thank You for today, we thank You for Your grace and we thank You for Your faithfulness.\u00a0 Thank You Lord for the fact that when we are faithless You remain faithful, You cannot deny Yourself.\u00a0 We ask Lord for the illuminating ministry of the Spirit in this Sunday School class this morning and also in the worship service that follows.\u00a0 And I ask, Father, that You would change the way we think so that we can think the way You would have us to think.\u00a0 We want You to be the authority, Father, in this church and in our lives, and we\u2019ll be careful to give You all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We lift these things up in Jesus name and God\u2019s people said Amen.\n\nIf we could open our Bibles to the book of 1 John, chapter 3 and verse 9, continuing to work through the difficult doctrine of eternal security, and of course we all know that eternal security is the belief that the grace that saved you is the grace that keeps you.\u00a0 So I\u2019m not kept by God based on my own merits (thank God for that, Amen).\u00a0 I\u2019m kept by His grace towards me and if that\u2019s true I can\u2019t lose my salvation.\n\nWe\u2019ve gone through a plethora of arguments defending eternal security, and I didn\u2019t want to end the study there, I wanted to go deeper because when you get into this subject of eternal security you find the body of Christ very severely divided on it so there must be other verses that people use to deny security.\u00a0 What we\u2019ve been doing is spending our time going through a lot of passages, Old Testament and New Testament, which at first glance seem to deny the doctrine of the security of the believer.\u00a0 And of late we\u2019ve been in 1 John.\u00a0 Last week we looked at 1 John 2:3, and this morning we\u2019re going to look at a very, very difficult verse that other than Hebrews 6:4-6, which we\u2019ve gone through, 1 John 3:9 looks really strongly at first glance like you can lose your salvation.\n\n1 John 3:9 says this, \u201cNo one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Now you look at that and it\u2019s a very difficult passage for my point of view, which is the only thing sin can do in the life of the believer is break fellowship between you and God.\u00a0 And lo and behold 1 John 3:9 comes along and said if\u00a0 you\u2019re \u201cborn of God\u201d not only cannot\u00a0 you not practice sin but it even goes on at the end there and says you \u201ccannot sin.\u201d\u00a0 So does that bother anybody?\u00a0 So let\u2019s see if we can figure out what\u2019s going on here in 1 John 3:9; it\u2019s not the easiest verse in the Bible to wrap our arms around.\n\nHere\u2019s sort of an outline I put together to help us navigate our way through this difficult passage.\u00a0\u00a0 A lot of people will tell you that the believer never sins; now why would they say that?\u00a0 They say that because at the end of the verse it says \u201cand \u00a0he\u201d that\u2019s the believer who\u2019s been born again, \u201ccannot sin, because he is born of God.\u201d\n\nNow obviously that can\u2019t be true, can it?\u00a0 We know it\u2019s not true because of the habits in our own lives, right?\u00a0 But go back to 1 John 1:8-10 and let me show you very quickly why this cannot be teaching the believer cannot sin.\u00a0 And this is one of the problems with a lot of Bible interpreters, is they start right in the middle of a book and they don\u2019t pay attention to what happens towards the beginning of the book.\u00a0 1 John 8-10 says, \u201cIf we say that we have no sin,\u201d now \u201csin\u201d there is a singular noun, hamartia<\/em>, and I think when he says \u201cIf we say that we have no sin\u201d he\u2019s basically talking about people who say they don\u2019t even have a sin nature any more.\u00a0 \u201cIf we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.\u201d\u00a0 And then verse 10 of 1 John 1 says, \u201cIf we say that we have not sinned, we make Him\u201d out to be a what? \u201ca liar and His word is not in us.\u201d\n\nSo very clearly when you look at these beginning verses in 1 John they\u2019re not saying that the believer never sins or the believer never has a sin nature.\u00a0 Actually it says the opposite, if you reach a point in your Christian life where you don\u2019t think you have a sin nature that competes with the new nature then you don\u2019t even belong to Christ at all, you could be self-deceived.\u00a0\u00a0 And of course you say well then, if we do sin as Christians what\u2019s the provision God gives us to restore broken fellowship and it\u2019s right there in verse 9, which says, \u201cIf we confess our sins,\u201d now notice John says \u201cour sins,\u201d there was apparently sins in John\u2019s life too.\u00a0 Does that make you feel any better?\u00a0 \u201cIf we confess our sins He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\u201d\n\nSo obviously if 1 John 1:8-10 is true 1 John 3:9 cannot be teaching that the believer never sins or it\u2019s impossible for the believer to sin.\u00a0 Now there will be a phase in your salvation history when you won\u2019t be able to sin at all and that\u2019s not now but it\u2019s in glorification.\u00a0 As long as you\u2019re in your current body the opportunity is always there to return to the old sin nature.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to but the temptation is always there.\u00a0 So obviously these verses can\u2019t be teaching that the believer never sins.\u00a0 If Paul is teaching the believer never sins then Romans 6:12-14 makes no sense.\n\nPaul says in Romans 6:12, \u201cTherefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,\u201d now is he talking here to believers or unbelievers?\u00a0 Believers! \u00a0[13] \u201cand do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as<\/em> instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as<\/em> instruments of righteousness to God.\u201d\u00a0 So the command that \u201cdo not let sin reign in your mortal body\u201d that\u00a0 command would have no meaning if I didn\u2019t even have some kind of ability as a saved person to go back to the sin nature.\u00a0 There probably isn\u2019t a book in the Bible that outlines our current position in Christ and the resources that we have to overcome sin because we have been justified before God, we\u2019re on path to glory, and as we walk moment by moment depending on the Holy Spirit we have the ability even to make progress in the middle tense of our salvation, progressive sanctification.\n\nSo Paul has outlined all of that and yet at the very end of the book of Romans, in chapter 13:14 Paul says, \u201cPut on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.\u201d\u00a0 Aha, \u201cthe flesh in regard to its lusts\u201d must still be resident in me in spite of all the glorious truths that Paul has spoken about me as a Christian in Romans 1-12.\u00a0 So having said all that, 1 John 3:9 could not be teaching that the believer never sins; that would contradict what Paul said and contradict what John said earlier in his book.\u00a0 So we can kind of dismiss that option as a way to interpret \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01 John 3:9.\n\nIf that\u2019s true then what is 1 John 3:9 saying, \u201cNo one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The common interpretation you get from this is the following: The believer cannot habitually practice sin, so if there is a habit of an ongoing sin pattern in your life of some sort, which is never brought into submission to Christ, whatever your vice is or my vice is, then there is room (people say) to open up doubts about whether you\u2019re saved.\n\nSo the Reformed camp comes in and says\u2026 and you\u2019ll hear this all the time from them, they love this verse because it supports their theology, they would say you\u2019re really not a true Christian; they would say you\u2019re what\u2019s called a\u2026\u00a0 you have faith that\u2019s spurious but not real. \u00a0The Arminian camp comes in and says well, you may have had your salvation but because you didn\u2019t conquer a sin pattern in your life through God\u2019s power then what happened to your salvation?\u00a0 You lost it.\u00a0 And that\u2019s how most of them interpret 1 John 3:9.\n\nI don\u2019t think that\u2019s the right interpretation of this verse, and before I give you what I think is the right interpretation let me show you some reasons why I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a correct understanding.\u00a0 For one thing, what is happening here is the present tense and the verb translated \u201cpractices sin\u201d is in the present tense.\u00a0 So people say well, if there\u2019s habitual sin in your life maybe you\u2019re not a Christian, maybe you lost your salvation.\u00a0 I believe that that is an abuse of the present tense verb.\u00a0 The reason I say that is because the present tense is tricky; it does not always mean habitual.\u00a0 The present tense is sometimes used in Greek to describe something that\u2019s current, happening now in other words.\u00a0 In other words, I\u2019m looking out the window and I\u2019m seeing people, present tense, arrive late for Sunday School.\u00a0 See, I just went back to the sin nature, doggone it; so I\u2019m seeing people, now that is not talking about a habit, I don\u2019t sit up here Monday through Saturday and look at the parking lot to see people, I mean, if I did that it might be time for retirement or the funny farm, one of the two.\n\nSo I can use the present tense to describe something that\u2019s happening now, it\u2019s not necessarily describing an ongoing habit. \u00a0Do you see the difference there?\u00a0 And people, when they give you this view they never tell you that the present tense is very tricky, it doesn\u2019t always mean habitual; it could mean seeing something in progress in the present.\u00a0 So my professor, W. Hall Harris III, wrote some commentaries on 1 John and I don\u2019t think he really agrees with the view that I am teaching here but he\u2019s an honest Greek scholar and he makes a statement in his commentary about the abuse of the present tense.\n\nHe says, \u201cA popular interpretation of these verses distinguishes between occasional sin (which every Christian commits) and a continuing lifestyle of sin, which a genuine Christian cannot pursue. Appeal is usually made to the present tense to support this view. The Greek present tense describes ongoing action (action in progress). The problem with this view is that the author of 1 John does not appear to distinguish anywhere else between lifestyle of sin and occasional acts of sin<\/u>. Also, to make a significant interpretive point on the basis of the Greek text alone is extremely subtle. One can only wonder whether John's readers would've gotten the point.\u201d [1, 2, 3 John: Comfort and Counsel for a Church in Crisis <\/em>(Biblical Studies Press, 2003), 143.]\n\nSo what he\u2019s acknowledging here is you can\u2019t build\u00a0 your view of 1 John 3:9 just on the present tense.\u00a0 The present tense is tricky, it doesn\u2019t always mean habitual and people that use 1 John 3:9 to support Calvinism or Arminianism never tell you that.\n\nAnother problem with how 1 John 3:9 is used is they\u2019re ignoring the book ends of 1 John; the book ends are the beginning and the ending.\u00a0 Both bookends open the door to the possibility of regular sin in the life of the Christian.\u00a0 Notice 1 John 1:9, we\u2019re already read it, \u201cIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Now when he says \u201cif we confess\u201d that is in the present tense, so that is acknowledging that there could be regular confession of sins in the life of the believer.\u00a0 So that opens the door to present tense sin being in the Christian.\n\nAnd then notice the end of the book, the opposite bookend, 1 John 5:16 which says, \u201cIf anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.\u201d\u00a0 Now what is the \u201csin leading to death\u201d?\u00a0 We\u2019re going to talk about that, probably next week and I wasn\u2019t bringing it up to get into what is the \u201csin leading to death,\u201d what I\u2019m trying to point out is what I\u2019ve got underlined there.\u00a0 \u201cIf anyone sees his\u201d what? \u201cbrother,\u201d is the person that is seen here a believer or an unbeliever?\u00a0 A believer.\u00a0 \u201cIf anyone sees his brother committing a sin,\u201d now \u201ccommitting a sin\u201d is a verb that\u2019s in the present tense, see that?\u00a0 So the ending of the book and the beginning of the book both open up the possibility that present tense sin can exist in the life of the child of God without calling into question the justified status of the child of God.\n\nNow when I talk like this people misunderstand and they think I\u2019m saying it\u2019s okay to have present tense sin in your life; I\u2019m not saying that at all! What I\u2019m saying is that shuts down the middle tense of\u00a0 your salvation, not the first tense of your salvation, or the third tense of your salvation.\u00a0 Are you with me on that?\u00a0 So the use of the present tense to support a theological point, to my mind, contradicts the book ends of\u00a0 1 John.\u00a0 It also contradicts a plethora of biblical examples.\u00a0 There are an awful lot of people in the Bible, and this is one of the reasons I believe the Bible has to be from God, because it gives the whole story of the good, the bad and the ugly.\n\nI mean, aren\u2019t you glad you weren\u2019t around in biblical times where your story would be recorded for the generations to see.\u00a0 I mean, there\u2019s high points in my life, low points in my life and you see in the lives of people whose salvation is not in doubt sometimes ongoing sin patterns.\u00a0 Abraham had a problem with lying, there\u2019s two occasions where Abraham says Sarah is my sister, which is sort of true, she actually was his half-sister, if I remember the genealogy right, but he was trying to get out of being killed because the pagan king wanted Sarah and wanted to get Abraham out of the way and he said oh this is not my wife, she\u2019s my sister.\u00a0 Now he does this at least twice and sometimes after great victories that he\u2019s had, like right after the height of his faith in Genesis 22 where he\u2019s willing to sacrifice Isaac.\u00a0\u00a0 You can\u2019t get a higher point of your progressive sanctification than that and in the very next chapter he\u2019s telling a lie.\n\nMoses, I think had an anger problem, I don\u2019t know if I can blame Moses for that, how would you like to wander around with these people for forty years and them complaining all the time.\u00a0 But he lost his cool, I think that\u2019s what\u2019s going on with the striking of the rock. David, as you know, committed adultery and murder and people say well, he repented.\u00a0 Yeah, he did, after like a\u00a0 year or so.\u00a0 But he walked around and just pretended like nothing was wrong for a whole year; he was practicing sin.\u00a0 Peter denied Christ three times and you say well wait a minute, Peter came back.\u00a0 Well yeah, he did come back, but have you read Galatians 2 lately?\u00a0 Peter, in Galatians 2 (this is post cross, post resurrection, post ascension, post the day of Pentecost) is feeling the heat from the unbelieving Jews and he starts to move into legalism that was so severe that Paul the apostle had to confront Peter to his face.\n\nAnd you know, with these examples I\u2019ve given, of course you could find examples where they did repent and come back but I can show you many examples in the Bible of people that never repented of sin.\u00a0 Like for example, Lot, there\u2019s no doubt Lot is saved because Lot is called a righteous man three times in 2 Peter 2:7-8.\u00a0 [2 Peter 2:7-8, \u201cand if<\/em> He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men [8] (for by what he saw and heard that<\/em> righteous man, while living among them, felt his<\/em> righteous soul tormented day after day by their<\/em> lawless deeds)\u201d].\u00a0 And yet how does the story of Lot end?\u00a0 With him drunk with his daughters committing incest.\u00a0 So you can take the man out of Sodom but you can\u2019t take Sodom and Gomorrah out of the man.\u00a0 And that\u2019s how the sad story of Lot ends.\n\nYou get into the story of Solomon with his many wives and concubines and all the things he got involved in in the last part of his life.\u00a0 You read 1 Kings 11, there\u2019s no evidence (in that chapter anyway) that Solomon returned to the Lord.\u00a0 You have Ananias and Sapphira and I\u2019ve explained before that I\u2019m pretty sure Ananias and Sapphira were believers because when they were slain in the Spirit the whole church fell into fear, Acts 5:11 and yet they were taken home early by God because of the sin of lying to the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 So there\u2019s an example of people that didn\u2019t end their life on a positive note.\u00a0 [Acts 5:11, \u201cAnd great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.\u201d]\n\nAnd then you have the whole Corinthians, now I think the whole Corinthian church is saved, that\u2019s why they\u2019re called saints in chapter 1, verse 2. Their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, chapter 6:19.\u00a0 There is no gift lacking in their midst, 1 Corinthians 1:7, and yet Paul talks about some Corinthians that were drunk and disorderly at the Lord\u2019s table and the Lord killed them.\u00a0 So they did not go out on a high note spiritually? [1 Corinthians 1:2, \u201cTo the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:\u201d\u00a0 1 Corinthians\u00a0 6:19, \u201cOr do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?\u201d\u00a0 1 Corinthians 1:7, \u201cso that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d]\n\nMy point is if you get into this idea of there can never be an ongoing pattern of sin in the life of a Christian for a person to be a legitimate Christian you have a lot of problems because you\u2019ve got plenty of biblical examples of ongoing continuous sin in the life of people that to me are very clearly called believers.\n\nAnd another problem with how these two camps, Calvinism and Arminianism, are using 1 John 3:9 is a practical problem.\u00a0 1 John 3:9, going back there just for a minute, which is the key text that we\u2019re looking at this morning, 1 John 3:9 once again says, \u201cNo one who is born of God practices sin, [because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.\u201d]\u00a0 There\u2019s a practical problem here; how many times do I have to sin before it becomes a practice?\u00a0 Who makes that determination?\u00a0 I mean, is it once, is it twice, is it three times?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t once enough?\u00a0 For example, there\u2019s people that are convicted of the crime of murder in this country and they can\u2019t go before the judge and say well judge, I only did it one time, it\u2019s not an ongoing habit.\u00a0 So you have a practical problem with defining what actually constitutes a habit.\u00a0 Doing something once is severe enough.\u00a0 So the whole thing gets very subjective.\n\nAnd the Reformed camp basically comes in and says you know when you come to Christ your faith is not even yours, it\u2019s a gift, God basically regenerates you first so you can believe, and if that faith is real then in essence your life should be improving, you should be sinning less and less, that\u2019s their point.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re not sinning less and less then you\u2019re not a Christian, is what they say, you don\u2019t have the real faith, you\u2019re not one of the elect, you don\u2019t have the gift of faith.\u00a0 Now let me ask a simple question, if that\u2019s true, if God coming into my life makes me sin less and less shouldn\u2019t it also be true that I shouldn\u2019t sin at all?\u00a0 I mean, if their doctrine is true I should not sin ever.\u00a0 So when they say well, you\u2019ve just got to sin less and less to prove you\u2019re saved I think they\u2019re hedging a little bit on their own way of thinking.\n\nWhat I\u2019m getting at is you have, if you get into this subject of if there\u2019s ongoing sin in\u00a0 your life you\u2019re not a Christian mindset, you\u2019ve got a host of problems practically that you have to start thinking about.\u00a0 And one of the reasons I like to talk about this subject is because to me this is not a theological\u2026 it is a theological issue but this is a pastoral issue because people go through the church their whole lives wondering if they\u2019re saved.\u00a0 And I believe that if you\u2019re going through your Christian life wondering if you\u2019re a Christian or not then you\u2019re living beneath your privileges because one of your rights as a child of God is the assurance of salvation.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just having the promise of eternal security but it\u2019s actually going a step forward and knowing you actually possess that promise because a lot of people will say I believe in eternal security, I just don\u2019t know if I\u2019m one of the elect.\n\nJohn Piper, I kind of call him the Pied Piper because he has so much influence.\u00a0 I mean, churches everywhere are doing these John Piper studies and John Piper groups and John Piper videos and going to these John Piper conferences.\u00a0 And I\u2019m not denying that the man doesn\u2019t have some good things to say but anytime someone comes into this church and wants to promote John Piper I\u2019m very nervous about it because John Piper says some things that are just frankly a denial of the assurance of salvation.\u00a0 So John Piper says no Christian can be sure that he is a true believer, hence there is an ongoing need to be dedicated to the Lord, to deny ourselves so that we might make it. \u00a0Notice he says we might make it, he doesn\u2019t say we will make it, he says we might make it.\u00a0 And notice who he puts the pressure on, I\u2019ve got to dedicate myself to the Lord, I\u2019ve got to deny myself, and notice how subjective those terms are.\u00a0 How do you quantify exactly whether you\u2019re completely dedicated to the Lord or not and completely denying yourself?\n\nSo the theology of John Piper, which is five point Calvinism, unlocks the door to people not having assurance.\u00a0 And you have to figure out really fast in your Christian life which John you want to listen to.\u00a0 Do you want to listen to John Piper or do you want to listen to John 5:24 which records the words of Jesus, \u201cTruly, truly I say to you, he who hears My words and believes Him who sent me Me\u201d what, maybe has eternal life, maybe not\u2026 it doesn\u2019t say that, \u201chas<\/u> eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.\u201d\u00a0 So once you believe or trust in Christ then you have the promise of God, who by the way cannot lie, that you have eternal life, present tense, and you have already, it\u2019s not a process, it\u2019s in the perfect tense, one time action in the past with ongoing results, you\u2019ve already passed out of death unto life.\n\nJesus says something very similar a chapter later, in John 6:47, He says, \u201cTruly, truly I say to you, he who believes has\u201d present tense, \u201ceternal life.\u201d\u00a0 There is no ambiguity, there\u2019s no doubt here, and that of course is very different than the quote I put up earlier by John Piper.\u00a0 And just so you don\u2019t think this is crazy talk the way I\u2019m talking here was the foundation of Dallas Theological Seminary founded in 1920 something, Article XI, the assurance of salvation.\u00a0 It says, \u201cWe believe it is the privilege, not only of some, but of\u2026\u201d who? The pastors and the elders and the deacons\u2026. No, it doesn\u2019t say that, \u201cbut of \u00a0all<\/u> by the Spirit through faith who are born again in Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, to be assured<\/u> of their salvation\u201d when? \u201cfrom the very day<\/u> they take Him to be their Savior\u201d that\u2019s very different than what John Piper says.\u00a0 John Piper says no Christian has a right to assume he or she is going to heaven.\u00a0 The Dallas Seminary doctrinal statement, based on those passages from John (not John Piper, the<\/u> John) indicate that you can be assured of your salvation the moment you trust Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s your right as a child of God.\n\nNow where does this come from?\u00a0 This is the key, \u201cand that this assurance is not<\/u> founded upon any fancied discovery of their own worthiness<\/u>\u201d this is the problem, people are looking at themselves which is a very depressing subject when you think about it.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026but wholly upon the testimony of God in His\u201d what?\u00a0 Word, which comes through a liver quiver\u2026 no!\u00a0 \u201cwritten Word<\/u>,\u201d the object of truth of God\u2019s Word is you have the right as a child of God to be assured of your salvation, that is what God has objectively revealed, it is in print, it is unambiguous, and as you look at the promises of Christ rather than your own shortcomings you\u2019ll grow in your awareness of the assurance of your salvation.\u00a0 That\u2019s what God wants, and He wants\u00a0 you to serve Him out of that motive.\u00a0 You\u2019re not serving God because you\u2019re afraid He\u2019s going to rip the carpet out from under you; that would be a fear based relationship, wouldn\u2019t it? \u00a0You\u2019re serving God because you can\u2019t believe what he\u2019s done, which I think is an actually more powerful motive to serve God when you think about it.\n\nSo putting all these things together I don\u2019t think the Calvinist or the Armenian view of 1 John 3:9 is right.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s far better to handle this verse by focusing, not on the issue of justification but on the issue of fellowship\u2026 fellowship!\u00a0 We all know the three tenses of salvation, most people want to look at 1 John 3:9 through the lens of justification. I think it\u2019s far better to look through the lens of sanctification because, and we\u2019ve gone through all of these verses, as\u00a0 you go through these descriptors in 1 John it\u2019s obvious that he\u2019s dealing with saved people.\u00a0 They have the Spirit\u2019s anointing, and they\u2019re called children of God and all of these other things that we\u2019ve walked through in prior classes so I won\u2019t belabor that.\n\nAnd once you move in that direction you start to see why John, at the beginning of the book unloads his purpose statement.\u00a0 The purpose statement in 1 John is in verses 3-4 of chapter 1, \u201cwhat we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have\u201d what? \u201cfellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. [4] These things we write, so that\u201d you can be afraid of going into hell\u2026 no!\u00a0 \u201cThese things we write\u201d to you \u201cso that\u201d what? \u201cour joy may be made complete.\u201d\u00a0 The whole point of the book is to get a saved audience to walk in fellowship with the Lord.\u00a0 I\u2019ve given the example of marriage before, if you\u2019re married to someone and you commit a sin against\u00a0 your marital partner, either in thought, word or deed, something that you\u2019ve done or even not done, and that does not destroy the fact that you\u2019re married.\u00a0 Your position as a married couple is still there.\u00a0 What that destroys is your moment by moment enjoyment of your spouse.\u00a0 So fellowship, until that sin is acknowledged and confessed, is hampered.\u00a0 That\u2019s what 1 John is about.\n\nAnd he makes this very clear because he gives us his purpose statement right out of the gate in verses 3 and 4 of chapter 1.\u00a0 Now that should come as no surprise because who was sitting there in the Upper Room when Jesus taught the vine and the branches?\u00a0 John!\u00a0 Now this was sixty years earlier but he was sitting in the Upper Room along with the eleven other disciples, there\u2019s no unbelievers in the crowd, the only unbeliever in the crowd had left the room\u2026 who was the only unbeliever\u2014Judas, he left the room in John 13.\u00a0 So when Jesus makes this statement He\u2019s talking to eleven saved people.\n\nHe says \u201cabide,\u201d that\u2019s men<\/em>\u014d<\/em>, that\u2019s another way of saying fellowship, \u201cAbide in Me and I in you.\u00a0 As the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine so neither can you unless you abide in Me. \u00a0[5] I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.\u201d\u00a0 [John 15:4-5]\u00a0 So He\u2019s not getting at here the subject of justification, He\u2019s assumed that.\u00a0 He\u2019s moving here into the realm of abiding or the realm of fellowship.\u00a0 He\u2019s not talking about how to become a Christian, He\u2019s talking about the source of power in the Christian life.\n\nNow you might be asking the question, well how do I really know if I as a Christian, who\u2019s eternally secure, if I\u2019m abiding in Christ or not.\u00a0 Well I recommend a very good book for you, it\u2019s called 1 John, because John who heard this is 60 years later unpacking or amplifying on this truth that he heard Christ teach.\u00a0 You say well you can\u2019t trust John to remember all this stuff, I mean, he\u2019s an old man now and it\u2019s sixty years later.\u00a0 But remember the promise of Christ?\u00a0 The Spirit is going to come and He\u2019s going to bring all things to your remembrance.\u00a0 [John 14:26, \u201cBut the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.\u201d]\n\nSo this is what\u2019s happening to John, the Holy Spirit is stirring him up because he\u2019s ready to pass off the scene.\u00a0 He\u2019s the last living apostle and he really writes a book to amplify this truth that he heard Christ speak; he does it in 1 John, 2 John and 3 John.\u00a0 And that becomes obvious when you look at the things John emphasizes in his very short five chapter book.\u00a0 John, in his Gospel, mentions the word \u201cbelieve\u201d 99 times, so his primary purpose in writing the Gospel of John is to get folks saved.\u00a0 And in 1 John, which is a much shorter book, he only mentions \u201cbelieve\u201d 6 times but what does he mention 21 times in 1 John?\u00a0 \u201cAbide,\u201d the Greek word men<\/em>\u014d<\/em>.\u00a0 The purpose statement of John\u2019s Gospel is, \u201cTherefore many other signs Jesus performed in the presence of the disciples which are \u00a0not written in this book, [31] but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have\u201d what? \u201clife in His name.\u201d\u00a0 [John 20:30-31]\n\nThat seems to indicate that he\u2019s writing to people that hadn\u2019t yet believed in Jesus and didn\u2019t have \u201clife in His name.\u201d \u00a0So the Gospel of John\u2014evangelism; 1 John is what?\u00a0 Fellowship--koin\u00f3nia<\/em>.\u00a0 How does a saved person know when they\u2019re out of fellowship with God and how does a saved person get back in fellowship with God?\u00a0 And unless you make these distinctions that I\u2019m making you\u2019re confused your whole life as to what 1 John is talking about.\u00a0 So having said all that how in the world are we going to explain 1 John 3:9 in light of what I just said?\n\nWe\u2019re going to start off by looking at the context.\u00a0 Go back to 1 John 2:28-29 which is earlier. \u201cNow, little\u201d what? \u201cchildren\u201d so they\u2019re believers, right?\u00a0 What does he say now? \u201cabide in Him,\u201d men<\/em>\u014d<\/em> koin\u00f3nia<\/em>, have fellowship with Him, stay in fellowship with Him.\u00a0 If you\u2019re out of fellowship with Him get back in fellowship with Him, that\u2019s the context.\u00a0 [1 John 2:28-29, \u201cNow, little children, abide in Him so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.\u00a0 [29] If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.\u201d]\n\nAnd then you go from there to 1 John 3:6 (which is right before 1 John 3:9) where it says, \u201cNo one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.\u201d Now here in 1 John 3:6 he indicates that the person that\u2019s not walking in sin is not the person that\u2019s saved but the person that\u2019s in fellowship.\u00a0 So 1 John 3:6 is not teaching that the way you figure out if you\u2019re a Christian or not a Christian is you don\u2019t sin.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the point.\u00a0 1 John 3:6 says the way you, as a saved person, a born again Christian, figure out if\u00a0 you are in fellowship with Him or out of fellowship with Him is you ask a simple question\u2014is there sin in my life?\u00a0 One of the things he says is no one who abides in Him hateth his brother.\u00a0 So if I have all these angry thoughts of revenge and all these kinds of things what am I to conclude from that?\u00a0 I\u2019m not to conclude that I must not be a Christian; I\u2019m to conclude from that that at that specific moment fellowship, not salvation, not position, fellowship between myself and God has been severed.\u00a0 That\u2019s why John uses hatred of the brethren as a test to determine fellowship.\u00a0 Do you see that?\n\nNow \u201cknows Him\u201d and \u201chas seen Him\u201d just a couple of words on that.\u00a0 A person cannot abide in Christ and sin simultaneously.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying a Christian can never sin but if a Christian is abiding he cannot be sinning at that point, it\u2019s an impossibility.\u00a0 \u201cSeen\u201d or \u201cknow\u201d is in the perfect tense and a state of being verb, conveying a state of intensity or intimacy.\u00a0 \u201cSee\u201d or \u201cseen\u201d is not talking about oh I just saw someone once as a casual spectator; it\u2019s like talking about I\u2019m seeing someone, so when\u00a0 your grandchildren come home and say I\u2019m seeing someone, or your children, I\u2019m seeing someone, they\u2019re not saying oh I saw someone once, it\u2019s talking about a state of intimacy.\u00a0 And it\u2019s the same with\u00a0 know, that\u2019s the same verb structure which as I said before is a state of being verb.\u00a0 Know is not just oh, I know a fact about something; it\u2019s speaking of intimacy.\u00a0 You remember Genesis 4:1, \u201cAdam knew his wife Eve,\u201d \u00a0[\u201cAnd Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.\u201d\u00a0 Genesis 4:1, KJV]\u00a0 That\u2019s not saying I just memorized a fact about Eve.\u00a0 He \u201cknew\u201d her in the most intimate way a man can know a woman, sexual intimacy.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Because she got pregnant because of it.\u00a0 Cain came forth as a result.\n\nI think that\u2019s what 1 John 3:6 is talking about.\u00a0 [1 John 3:6, \u201cNo one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.\u201d]\u00a0 1 John 3:7 says, \u201cLittle children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;\u201d\u00a0 In other words, if I\u2019m abiding in Christ and I begin to manifest in my daily life the righteousness of Jesus Christ what can the world see in me?\u00a0 Jesus Christ.\u00a0 They can see in me a standard of what righteousness is.\u00a0 Now that is not a promise that accrues to every child of God.\u00a0 That is a promise, going back to 1 John 3:6, 1 John 2:28, it is a promise of the child of God that is abiding in Christ.\u00a0 [1 John 2:28, \u201cNow, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.\u201d]\n\nAnd then finally we come to our verse, and I have to give you all this background because you won\u2019t understand the interpretation I\u2019m going to give you in 1 John 3:9 without this background.\u00a0 This is really part of the problem because people are cherry picking 1 John 3:9 to support their theological system, whatever it may be.\u00a0 They\u2019re not starting the way we\u2019re starting, at the beginning of the book and getting into the background.\u00a0 Most Christians, God forbid, have almost no understanding of all of the things I\u2019ve said for the last 45 minutes.\u00a0 So consequently they are not interpreting 1 John 3:9 right.\n\nSo what then does 1 John 3:9 say? \u00a0\u201cNo one who is born of God practices sin, because His\u201d what? \u201cseed abides in him;\u201d now here\u2019s the way I used to interpret this and I still think it\u2019s a viable option.\u00a0 When John makes a reference to \u201cseed\u201d in you, he\u2019s talking about your new nature.\u00a0 The new nature in and of itself has no ability to sin; the old nature does but he\u2019s not making a statement about the old nature.\u00a0 He\u2019s made a statement about the old nature earlier in the book; here he\u2019s making a statement about the new nature.\u00a0 So that\u2019s how I used to\u2026 I still like this interpretation, it works, it\u2019s a way to understand 1 John 3:9 in light of the fellowship theme that we\u2019ve been talking about, that there can be sin in the life of the Christian, that sin in the life of the Christian does not cancel their justification but damages their fellowship.\u00a0 So 1 John is a tool box on how to know that you\u2019re in fellowship with God as a Christian and how to get back in fellowship with God.\n\nSo 1 John 3:9, if you just focus on the word \u201cseed\u201d meaning new nature, that\u2019s one possible way of understanding 1 John 3:9 in light of the overall purpose of the book.\u00a0 However, I\u2019ve discovered recently a more excellent way.\u00a0 Now I wish I came up with this, I didn\u2019t, I\u2019ve got to give credit where credit is due.\u00a0 It\u2019s in the book that I\u2019ve been using all the way through this study by Dennis Rokser, entitled Shall Never Perish Forever<\/em>.\u00a0 And I was completely unaware of this approach; that\u2019s why I read his book, Shall Never Perish Forever<\/em>, page 277-287, Dennis Rokser, the pastor-teacher at Duluth Bible Church.\u00a0 He uses a phrase that he got from Yarborough, a commentator, called ubiquitous shorthand.\u00a0\u00a0 Can you say that with me?\u00a0 \u201cUbiquitous shorthand.\u201d\u00a0 What does ubiquitous mean?\u00a0 It means everywhere; ubiquitous is something that\u2019s all encompassing.\u00a0 What is shorthand?\u00a0 Shorthand is you make a statement and then when you restate the statement you don\u2019t repeat everything in the first statement, you just give the highlights.\u00a0 So shorthand would go something like this: we would like for you to join us for a meal at 6:00 p.m., can you make it at 6 p.m.?\u00a0 Now when I say \u201ccan you make it at 6 p.m.\u201d what have I just left off?\u00a0 The meal, we\u2019d like for you to join us, so when I repeat the statement I\u2019m using shorthand.\u00a0 See that?\n\nNow he uses this expression \u201cubiquitous shorthand\u201d because biblical writers do this all the time.\u00a0 John wrote to those who were familiar with his teaching.\u00a0 So he doesn\u2019t have to restate everything over and over again, and one of the things to understand is in the ancient world they didn\u2019t have unlimited copy machines, Xerox, faxes, you were scribbling on these little scrolls, you didn\u2019t have a lot of supplies so you had a tendency to use shorthand a lot.\u00a0 John tells us over and over again in his writings that I\u2019m going to use shorthand.\u00a0 Remember what he said in his Gospel, \u201cTherefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201cnot written in this book.\u201d\u00a0 He says you know, I suppose if I told you everything the world itself could not contain the books that are written.\n\nSo in John 20:31 he says I\u2019m using shorthand in this gospel, I\u2019m not telling\u00a0 you everything about Jesus.\u00a0 [John\u00a0 30:21, \u201cbut these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.\u201d]\u00a0 He says it again at the end of his gospel, \u201cAnd there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.\u201d [John 21:25]\n\nSo John has clued us in that he\u2019s going to use shorthand, right?\u00a0 You go to 2 John 12 he says almost the same thing, \u201cThough I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; [but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full.\u201d]\u00a0 I want a face to face conversation.\n\nIf that weren\u2019t enough he says the same thing in 3 John, [13] \u201cI had many things to write to you, but I\u2019m not willing to write them to you with pen and ink.\u00a0 [14] but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.\u201d \u00a0What is John saying over and over again?\u00a0 I\u2019m going to give\u00a0 you short\u00adhand, I\u2019m not going to tell you everything.\u00a0 So you have to put yourself back in the first century as someone receiving this letter.\u00a0 What\u00a0 you will discover as you go through John\u2019s writings is he uses shorthand all the time.\u00a0 He leaves words out all the time.\u00a0 For example, in John 15:4 he says, according to the words of Christ, \u201cAbide in Me, and I in you.\u201d Well how come he doesn\u2019t say \u201cAbide in Me and I [will abide] in you.\u201d\u00a0 See that bracketed part there, I added that; that\u2019s longhand, what he left out is shorthand.\n\n1 John 2:3-5 he uses shorthand.\u00a0 \u201c\u201cBy this we know that we have come to know Him\u201d by what?\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t tell me, I would assume \u201c[by fellowship, 1:2\u20132:2<\/u>], if we keep His commandments.\u201d\u00a0 He goes on at the end and he says, \u201cin him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are\u201d I\u2019m going to add \u201cin fellowship with Him\u201d based on what?\u00a0 Am I just adding that in because that\u2019s my theology?\u00a0 No, that\u2019s what he talked about earlier in the chapter.\u00a0 I\u2019m just giving you examples of ubiquitous shorthand.\n\n1 John 2:7-11, \u201cThe one who says he is in the light,\u201d now I think he could have added, writing in longhand, walking and abiding in the Light.\u00a0 Why would I say that?\u00a0 Because he\u2019s indicated walking and abiding in the Light back in chapter 1, verse 7.\u00a0 So when he repeats something he doesn\u2019t repeat the full panoply of what he said, he uses shorthand.\u00a0 See that.\n\n1 John 2:7-11, a brother who is \u201cin the darkness,\u201d now I think what he meant to say with longhand is walking or abiding in the darkness.\u00a0 Why would I add that?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s what he said about walking in the darkness back in chapter 1, verse 6.\u00a0 \u201cBut the one who hates his brother,\u201d now who\u2019s his brother?\u00a0 A fellow believer.\u00a0 Why doesn\u2019t he tell us the brother is a fellow believer?\u00a0 Because he\u2019s already assumed that we know that.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026is abiding in the darkness\u201d why did I add \u201cabiding\u201d?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s what he talked about back in chapter 2, verse 10.\n\n1 John 3:24, The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s shorthand, if you want longhand it should say \u201cHe abides in him.\u201d\u00a0 Well, why would I add that expression, \u201cHe abides in him\u201d?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s the expression that Jesus used in John 15:4 that John heard Jesus say.\n\n1 John 4:13, \u201cBy this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, [because He has given us of His Spirit.]\u201d\u00a0 Now when he says \u201cHe in us\u201d he left out which word?\u00a0 \u201cabides\u201d why would I just willy-nilly add the word abide?\u00a0 Because earlier in the book he\u2019s identified the need for the believer to abide in Christ.\u00a0 In other words, I know this is something you may have never thought about before and to be honest with you I had to really think about this and pray about it before I introduced it to you, but it is a reality of shorthand happening all of the time in the New Testament writers, particularly John.\u00a0 John has told us he\u2019s going to write in shorthand.\u00a0 And you see, this is the problem of building your technology from 1 John3:9 because by the time we get to 1 John 3:9 there\u2019s a lot of shorthand going on here because he\u2019s already developed his points in 1 John 3:6, in 1 John 2:28.\u00a0 So why would he have to repeat himself by the time you get to 1 John 3:9.\n\n[1 John 3:9, \u201cNo one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.\u201d\u00a0 1 John 3:6, \u201cNo one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.\u201d\u00a0 1 John 2:28, \u201cNow, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.\u201d]\n\n1 John 4:15 says, \u201cWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.\u201d\u00a0 Now what did he just leave out?\u00a0 \u201cabides\u201d I\u2019m pretty confident that\u2019s what he meant because that\u2019s what he said earlier in the book.\n\nDo you follow what I\u2019m getting at here?\u00a0 So what did he say exactly in 1 John 3:6 which comes before 1 John 3:9?\u00a0 Do you guys agree with that thinking that 1 John 3:6 comes before 1 John 3:9?\u00a0 Okay, just checking.\u00a0 He said \u201cNo one who\u201d what? \u201cabides in Him sins;\u201d that\u2019s what He\u2019s saying.\u00a0 He\u2019s not saying earlier in the book that if you\u2019re a Christian there should never be any sin in your life.\u00a0 What he\u2019s saying is here is how you know if you, as a saved person, are walking moment by moment with Christ; you at that point cannot be in sin because if you are in sin it doesn\u2019t cancel your justification, which is eternally secure.\u00a0 What it thwarts is your fellowship with God, your fruit bearing capacities are thwarted at that point.\n\nSo with that in mind and if this ubiquitous shorthand idea is true how do we handle 1 John 3:9, \u201cNo one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.\u201d\u00a0 I think 1 John 3:9 is shorthand for 1 John 3:6 which is long hand.\u00a0 Therefore when I get to 1 John 3:9 I\u2019m not starting my study with 1 John 3:9, I\u2019m starting my study with 1 John 1:1, but by the time I get the author\u2019s points I know that by towards the end of the book (this would be more than at least halfway through the book) he\u2019s using shorthand, so 1 John 3:9 really should say this: \u201cNo one who is born of God practices sin,\u201d I feel comfortable adding \u201cwhen abiding in Him.\u201d\u00a0 Well why would I just add something to the Bible?\u00a0 Because that was his crystal clear point in verse 6.\u00a0 He said something very clearly in verse 6, he\u2019s not going to repeat himself in verse 9 because of this reality of ubiquitous shorthand.\u00a0 [1 John 3:6, \u201cNo one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.\u201d]\u00a0 1 John 3:9, \u201cNo one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed\u201d the new nature, now I\u2019m pretty comfortable adding the new nature after the word seed because earlier, much earlier even in the writings of Peter, Peter indicates that we have become partakers of the new nature.\n\nSo John writing after Peter I think is defining \u201cseed\u201d as the new nature which is resident in the life of the believer.\u00a0 \u201cNo one who is born of God practices sin,\u201d when abiding in Him, \u201cbecause His seed\u201d the new nature \u201cabides in him; and he cannot sin,\u201d when what? when he is \u201cabiding in Him.\u201d\u00a0 Now why in the world would I just add that?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s what he said in verse 6, just a few verses earlier, ubiquitous shorthand.\u00a0\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t have the resources to write everything again, the poor guy is trying to write what he can with a crumply old scroll, he doesn\u2019t have a computer, he doesn\u2019t have the logos program, the internet, he doesn\u2019t have a fax machine.\u00a0 I mean the poor guy didn\u2019t even have Facebook, how can you do the will of God without Facebook?\n\n\u201c\u2026and he cannot sin when he is abiding in Him because he is born of God with a\u201d what? \u201cnew nature.\u201d\u00a0 So therefore I am adding words, I know that bothers some of you to add things to the Bible, and it bothers me too but I\u2019m saying let\u2019s get out of the twenty-first century for a minute and let\u2019s go back to the first century; let\u2019s think about how necessary shorthand is.\u00a0 And let\u2019s think about how he made a crystal clear statement in verse 6, that he, I don\u2019t think is going to contradict in verse 9.\u00a0 I think he\u2019s using ubiquitous shorthand.\n\nSo therefore to my mind that is an alternative handling of 1 John 3:9, that most of the time you\u2019ll never hear that explanation.\u00a0 What people are doing is they\u2019re going to 1 John 3:9, they\u2019re ignoring everything that precedes 1 John 3:9 and they\u2019re grabbing their snowball to support their theological system and they\u2019re hurling their snowball at the other camp.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s going on.\u00a0 And a lot of times in these theological conflicts we\u2019re not Bible students any more.\u00a0 We\u2019re proof texting the Word of God.\n\nSo if you don\u2019t like this ubiquitous shorthand approach you can go back to him making a statement about your new nature only.\u00a0 But I\u2019m just saying there\u2019s another\u00a0 possible option on the table.\u00a0 So therefore 1 John 3:9 does not teach you can lose your salvation; it does not teach you never had your salvation.\u00a0 What it\u2019s saying is if there\u2019s a recurring pattern of sin in your life that will short-circuit your koin\u00f3nia<\/em> with Christ, which will damage your fruit-bearing.\u00a0 All right, I talked so much there\u2019s no time for questions.\u00a0 Do you guys have any quick questions.\u00a0 Just think on it..","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t