So, in this little section, John is helping us to see that righteousness matters, but
perhaps we can turn that into a question, perhaps a question many people, at least in
society, are asking if they ever think about it.
Is sin really a big deal?
I think in this text, John can help us to answer a key question for the Christian faith.
Perhaps we've had that conversation with a friend or a colleague, a family member, a
classmate, you know, the kind of conversation that would suggest that the idea of sin is
outdated, sounds kind of primitive and restrictive.
You know, why is the church always talking about it?
Why bother with it?
We live, of course, in a culture that encourages personal freedom.
It's my body, it's my choice.
And when many people look at Christianity today, their instinct is to think that we are on the
wrong side of social issues, and so perhaps we have very little to say about what is right
and what is wrong.
sin a big deal in our day and age.
How does it come up in Christian circles?
Again, maybe you've had some of these conversations or you've heard them being spoken about.
You know, if a person is saved by God's grace, does it really matter how we live?
Have we ever heard obedience being spoken about negatively?
That sounds an awful lot like legalism, whereas the God of the Bible is all about love and grace.
Many churches, many churches, many Christians have been tempted and have given way and have redefined sin for our generation in a bid to try and make the message of the Bible more acceptable.
And that's why I think John's text is really helpful.
And just to point out that right in the middle is where we see this coming out.
Verse 7, right in the middle of our text, Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.
So there is a temptation here.
There is pressure coming, and we know that it's coming from false teachers who we've met throughout the letters so far.
And John responds to the temptation by saying,
The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Jesus Christ is the righteous one.
To belong to him is to live a life of righteousness.
But the false teachers are saying something quite different.
They're saying what we do in our body, that's no big deal.
We're all about the Spirit.
We're all about higher knowledge.
So the humdrum of what we do day in, day out is no big deal.
You can be righteous before God without living a righteous life.
That's the claim that John is tackling here.
And as we have seen John do so many times in this letter, he's going to do some fact-checking.
Is this in fact accurate?
Is it possible to say, I have been saved by grace, that I can be righteous without in any way pursuing righteousness?
And John's going to tell us, actually, no.
That's a dangerous lie from these false teachers.
And he's going to make clear to us in lots of different ways that righteousness in our lives does matter,
that sin truly is a big deal.
And to help to make his point, there's a repeating pattern within our text.
In a sense, he gives us three ways to approach the question.
So we can think about John asking the question, what is sin?
There in verse 4, but also in verse 8.
He helps the church to think about why did Jesus come in relation to sin in verse 5 and verse 8.
And then he helps Christians to ask the question, what family are we a part of?
In verse 6 and then at the bottom in verses 9 and 10.
So we're going to look at those questions and see that repeating pattern.
And as we do, we will see that because Jesus came to defeat and destroy sin in the lives of his people,
righteousness matters.
And that God's family are both called and empowered to reflect his righteousness in our lives.
But let's begin with this first question, what is sin?
And John gives us one of the key New Testament definitions here in verse 4.
Everyone who sins breaks the law.
In fact, sin is lawlessness.
Sin is to be anti-law.
And of course, the law in view here is the law of God.
So John, in line with the Bible teaching, understands that God gives his law.
That law is summarized in the Ten Commandments.
That law is then summarized by Jesus.
Love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
And God's law is a reflection of his character and his will.
So it is unchanging and it is good.
But sin is lawlessness, which means people in sin rebel against that law.
That if God is the king and says, do this, sin is when we would seek to overthrow God's government, God's rule over us.
And when we do that, we're rejecting both the goodness of God's law and there is a rejection of the lawgiver himself.
We're going against the grain of the universe.
We're going against the grain of how we were made.
We were made to live under law and to experience freedom and joy within the proper limits that God sets.
That was life in the garden.
We're going against the grain of the earth.
It's also there whenever in a moment we find ourselves in a situation and we're reflecting and we can say, well, I can choose to obey.
And maybe life will get a little bit more hard and uncomfortable for me.
Or I will choose to go another way.
Then the lawlessness of sin is being shown in our own lives.
We're made to live under God's law.
But sin is lawlessness.
And so every day and throughout the day, you and I will find ourselves choosing, am I going to reflect God the Father's will in this place, in this conversation, in this situation?
Or am I going to reject His will in this place, in this situation?
What is sin?
Sin is lawlessness.
But that's not the only description of sin that John provides.
We can go down to verse 8.
The one who does what is sinful is of the devil.
Because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
So sin is devilish.
And John, again, is explaining to us the devil is the arch sinner.
He is the great sinner.
In fact, if you were to ask the question, where did sin and rebellion come from?
You know, the only answer that we get in the Bible is the devil.
That there is anti-law in heaven.
That Satan, the devil, persuaded some angels to rebel against the rule of God the King.
He wanted worship and glory for himself.
With the result that he has been cast out.
But he is still intent on destruction and opposing God.
And so his strategy?
Well, let me drag people to an anti-law way of thinking.
So that people would rebel against the God who made them.
So that people would rob God of glory and seek glory for ourselves.
And imagine that that brings freedom and that brings fulfillment.
I don't know if anybody's read Milton's Paradise Lost.
A very poetic, extended reflection on the strategy of the devil.
And John is saying really clearly that choosing the way of sin and saying that sin is a minimal issue and it's no big deal is choosing the way of the devil.
And that's to face the same outcome.
That just as the devil is cast out from God's presence, so we will find ourselves if we continue in habitual sin without repenting of it.
And so John knows how important it is to help the church in his day and how important it is for us in our day to understand that what we do with our body is very important and it's very important to God.
That our obedience and our righteousness really does matter.
That our talk about sin is not extreme and old school and primitive.
We need to let John, we need to let God's Word instruct us that sin is to be an active rebellion against God and His Word.
It's to place ourselves in the same camp as the devil.
And so perhaps the next time that we are tempted and we wonder to ourselves, well, does it really matter?
We can let John's warnings ring in our ears.
Sin is a big deal.
That it would serve as a fire alarm making us run to safety.
To see that the devil would have us to turn our back on God and reject His ways.
But it's dangerous.
Because sin is lawlessness.
Moving from there, but very much connected in John's logic, is the question, why did Jesus come?
So here's a second way into this question, does righteousness matter, is sin a big deal?
And it's all about understanding the person and work of Jesus.
Because actually this is crucial to giving a good answer, does sin matter?
Perhaps we've noticed that one of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they write biographies of Jesus.
And one of the unique aspects of the Gospels is that while they give almost no attention at all to Jesus' early years,
you know, most modern biographies that we read will have extended things about where they were born and their school years and those kind of things.
And even the emphasis doesn't fall principally on the great achievements of Jesus' life, which are many.
Most attention is given to Jesus' death.
That's unique in the way biographies are written.
And it's really interesting as well to understand that Jesus himself lives his life anticipating his death.
He lives under the shadow of the cross.
And we know this as early as John chapter 2.
So the very first miracle that Jesus performs, turning water into wine at the wedding of Cana,
there is a point where he turns to his mother and says,
my hour has not yet come.
And that phrase, my hour, repeats throughout John's Gospel in the lips of Jesus,
referring to the time of his suffering, his death, and then his resurrection.
And so right at the beginning of his public ministry,
Jesus is anticipating the climax, his death on the cross.
The goal of his life is his sacrificial death.
And I think that's really helpful.
If we happen to have the privilege of reading the Gospel with a friend, with a family member, with a colleague,
one thing that we want them to discover is that,
that Jesus is so much more than a wise teacher and a miracle worker,
though of course he is those.
He is the Son of God who came to save by his self-giving love.
And John here wants to show us really clearly why Jesus came.
He actually uses the appear language for those of you who were here last week.
We thought about that language in the context of his second coming, the time when he returns.
So just to go back, 1 John 2, 28,
And now, dear children, continue in him so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed,
anticipating his return.
But this time, John will use the language of appearing with the focus on Jesus revealing his glory
in his earthly life and his ministry and especially his work on the cross as he goes to war on sin.
So verse 5, we find it there the first time,
But you know that he appeared, appearing with a display of glory,
so that he might take away our sins.
And in him is no sin.
So Jesus is the sinless one, the only sinless person who ever lived, the eternal Son of God.
And he has come to take away our sins.
Just as in the Old Testament there were those animal sacrifices provided to take away sins,
anticipating this still greater sacrifice.
Jesus is a far greater sacrifice than those animals.
He is perfect.
He has a sinless will.
He gives himself to die for his people.
Jesus is the only one who can truly say,
To do your will, I take delight.
Every point in his life, including at his death.
Jesus appeared so that he might take away our sins.
He dies in the place of sinners.
He takes our rebellion.
He dies for our rebel will.
And he gives forgiveness.
He gives his righteousness.
So that when we come to him and we trust in him,
our debt is cancelled and our spiritual account now reads that we are spiritual billionaires.
Loved like Jesus is loved.
So Jesus appeared to take away our sins.
And then down in verse 8, we hear the same language, reappear.
Second part of verse 8, the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
And so this in a sense connects us with Daniel 7.
If you were here this morning and this idea of this battle,
spiritual battle that rages through all creation and through all history,
the battle between good and evil,
the theme of so many of our great stories,
is the theme of the apocalyptic writing.
And it's the theme for John here.
And it's important, and we saw this this morning,
to recognize in this spiritual battle,
as Jesus comes to destroy the devil's work,
it's not a battle between equals.
Not even close.
God alone is on the throne.
God sets limits for the devil.
God is the judge.
That the victory of God and of good is never in doubt.
And what becomes clear in John's presentation
is that there is a crucial moment in the battle within history
connected to the appearing of Christ.
Connected to His mission at the cross.
That Jesus, as He goes to the cross,
destroys the work of the devil.
And it's interesting that that word,
it can be used to speak of something being untied and set free.
So you can think of an animal untied and set free.
But it's so resonant for us.
As Jesus dies and pays the penalty for our sin,
it's like our sin burden has been untied.
We are set free, no longer slaves to sin,
when we are trusting in Him.
But that language of destroy is also used of the tearing down
and destroying of buildings and of kingdoms.
And it reminds us that in Jesus' death on the cross,
the kingdom of darkness is conquered.
We heard it in Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 and 15,
where the author there reminds us that the Son of God
became truly human in order to die for us,
and in dying for us, breaking the devil's power.
Since the children have flesh and blood,
he too shared in their humanity,
so that by his death,
he might break the power of him who holds the power of death,
that is the devil,
and free those who all their lives were held in slavery
by their fear of death.
When Jesus dies on the cross,
the devil's power is broken.
For the people of God,
we no longer need to live with a fear of death and condemnation,
that it is a rescue out of the kingdom of darkness
and we're brought into God's kingdom.
So when we're discussing,
you know, why does the Bible,
why does the church make a big deal about sin?
Isn't that so old school?
Or when perhaps we find ourselves
tempted to ignore, to reject,
to minimize God's will,
John will say to us,
here's what to do in that moment.
Go to the cross of Christ.
Understand that it took nothing less
than the eternal Son of God
suffering and dying in our place
to break the power of sin in our lives.
If sin didn't matter,
why in the world would the Father send His Son
to go through all that He did?
Why would Jesus embrace a life of betrayal
and rejection and humiliation
and suffering and death?
But God knows,
and Jesus knew,
this is the only way
to save a people for Himself.
And in love, He did it.
And so we know that sin matters
because Jesus came to wage war
and to win that war,
to offer grace and forgiveness
and life
to all who will trust in Him.
And that takes us
to our third question,
our third way into
the larger question,
is sin a big deal?
Does righteousness matter?
And it's the question,
what family are we part of?
So John returns to this theme
a few different times
in this letter,
drawing on the fact
that just as in human families
there is a family likeness,
you know,
sometimes that's in terms
of our appearance,
sometimes that's in terms
of character traits,
and He says,
so it should be
in the family of God
that children should be
like their Father,
that we should be like
Jesus our Savior.
So last time,
John was talking about
Jesus as the righteous one
and the pure one.
And John continues
that language of righteousness
and belonging to the righteous one
to remind us
that those who belong
to the righteous Lord Jesus
should share that character,
will share that character.
And again,
this isn't perfectly,
John is very honest
about that.
In fact,
John will say in chapter one
that if we say we have no sin,
we're calling God a liar
and the truth is not in us.
But by God's grace,
that righteousness
within the people of God
is real
and it will be growing.
And so John wants to say
there is this test
of righteousness
that can be applied
and it can be applied
to the believer
to give us assurance
assurance
that we belong to God.
And we begin to notice
that, you know,
John loves these contrasts,
light and darkness.
And now he's drawing
this contrast
between those
who belong to God
and those who don't.
And he's been doing it
all the way along.
By the time we get
to chapter three
verses nine to ten,
we really get
to the climax
of his thinking.
So just read
those verses again.
No one who is born
of God
will continue to sin
because God's seed
remains in them.
They cannot go on sinning
because they have been
born of God.
This is how we know
who the children of God are
and who the children
of the devil are.
Anyone who does not do
what is right
is not God's child,
nor is anyone
who does not love
their brother and sister.
So he presents
a picture of two families,
two families who could not
be more different,
either side of the tracks.
And as the Bible
will make clear,
we are all part
of one family
or the other.
And John says
to the believer,
you can apply
the test of righteousness
to find assurance
that you belong,
that lifestyle
is one way
to show
which family
we are a part of.
So he's been developing
this as he's gone along.
So in chapter 2
and verse 29,
he talks about
those who are righteous,
everyone who does
what is right
has been born of him,
versus chapter 3,
verses 4 and 5,
everyone who sins
breaks the law.
So there are those
who pursue a life
of righteousness
and there are those
who pursue a practice
of sinning.
That's distinct.
Chapter 3, verse 6,
there are those
who live in Christ
and there are those
who because they
continue in sin
have not seen him
and do not know him.
Chapter 3, verse 7,
there are those
who do what is right,
following the one
who has saved them,
the righteous one.
Chapter 3, verse 8,
by contrast,
there are those
who do what is sinful.
Chapter 3, verse 9,
there are those
who do not continue
in sin,
but then there are
those who do.
And we see it
because they do not
love God's will
and they do not
love God's people.
They do not love
the church.
And so as John
develops this contrast,
what does he want
to say to the church,
to the believer?
He wants to encourage us,
I think,
to reflect our father
in our lifestyle.
And again,
this is a familiar idea
when we think about
our own families.
As parents,
perhaps we remember
as children,
that talk,
you know
our family values.
Let's see you live
them out.
Sometimes a sibling
may be called in,
for example,
look at your elder brother.
Why not follow
his example?
It may not always
work so well
depending on our situation,
but that's what God does.
God,
our Father,
says,
listen,
in my family,
we do righteousness.
You're my child.
Pursue righteousness.
Christ,
my son,
your elder brother
that are in the faith,
he is the righteous one.
Follow his example.
Because as Christians,
we have this wonderful
privilege of bearing
the image of God,
the image of Christ
in our lives.
As we have been
saved by grace,
as we've been set free
from our sinful loves
to now love God,
we're being restored
into the image
of God.
Our love for God
is growing.
And one reason
why sin matters
should always matter
to us
is because we don't want
our Father
to look bad.
We don't want
his name
to be dragged
through the mud.
Because we,
as his representatives
on the earth,
are living
in deliberate sin.
So by God's grace,
we choose
obedience
for the sake
of making Jesus known,
for making him
seem like good news,
for giving glory
to God
as we pursue
his will.
God's grace.
And related to that,
and this is especially
in verses 9 and 10,
John says
to the Christian,
be who
you truly
are.
What does he say
to those
who are saved
by grace?
What does he say
is true
of us?
He says
in verse 9,
we are born
of God.
He says
God's seed
remains
in his children.
That reality
of spiritual life
that leads
to growth
is in
his children.
And that means
that we have
a new power,
both to say
no to sin
and to say
yes to righteousness.
And so we cannot
go on sinning
because this new
life in us
is telling us
that righteousness
is better
by far.
And again,
of course,
John is not
saying that
we can expect
perfection
in this life
that waits
until we are
with the Lord
himself.
But it does
mean we don't
want to sit
comfortably with
sin.
We don't want
to settle
and say,
well,
that's just
who I am.
We don't want
to settle
for half-hearted
commitment
to pursuing
God's way,
God's will,
holiness.
And so we need
to expect
that God's
going to speak
to us
and going to
remind us.
Just as happens
in a family
or perhaps
we find ourselves
in a new company
or we get promoted
with a different team
and sometimes
we'll get those
reminders.
That's not how
we do things
here.
There will be
mistakes.
But there will
be growing
righteousness
because that
seed of life
has been planted
in us.
Because as a
child of God
we've been
given a love
for him
and given
a new heart
and that
leads to
new loves.
So at the
end of verse
10,
anyone who
does not
do what
is right
is not
God's
child,
nor is
anyone who
does not
love their
brother and
sister.
To turn
that on
its head
and to
make it
positive,
anyone who
does what
is right
is God's
child.
Those who
love their
brothers and
sisters,
that's evidence
of belonging
in the
family of
God.
Now we
love God's
love, not
in a legalistic
way, well if
I work really
hard then
perhaps God
will accept
me.
No, we
know we're
accepted by
grace and
gratefully we
respond.
And part of
that response
is love for
our spiritual
family.
We share the
same DNA.
We're bound
together by
the Spirit
in Christ
and so
there is
a new
love.
It's in a
big deal.
Does
righteous
living
matter?
In these
few verses
John gives
us a very
clear yes
in these
three different
ways,
reminding us
that sin
stands in
opposition
to God,
who in
Christ has
come to
love and
to save.
He puts
it in
terms of
the work
of Christ.
He came
specifically
to wage
war, to
win the
victory over
sin and
without that
reality, without
the gospel, we
would be slaves
to sin.
We'd be heading
for the same
judgment as
the devil
himself.
And John
reminds us
the Father
by His grace
places His
life in
His
children,
adopting us
by His
grace.
And as
David Jackman
so helpfully
puts it,
sin is
inconsistent
with
sonship.
So we're
invited to
take sin
seriously,
we're invited
to gratefully
receive the
work of
Christ,
and we're
invited to
live our
days as
God's
children,
gladly
pursuing
righteousness
as we've
been saved
by the
righteous
one.
whoever