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All right, we're in 1 John chapter 3 this evening. We're continuing with the book of 1 John and quite a bit of doctrine found in this book in regards to walking in the Spirit, walking in the light, making sure that we have fellowship with the Father by confessing our sins daily and abiding in Christ. Now chapter 3 of 1 John is probably one of the chapters in the Bible that's the most misconstrued, you know, a lot of false prophets and false teachers will try to use 1 John chapter 3 to teach this lordship salvation. Basically say, well, if you continue in sin, if you commit sin, you're not really saved because those who are born of God, those who are Christians will not sin. And they'll often use this chapter to reinforce that teaching. And you know, if you have like an elementary understanding of the Bible, you can come across this passage and read it and kind of wonder, what does that mean? You know, but let me just say this is that the book of John, the Gospel of John, you know, it's meant for new believers, right? It's very elementary, puts the cookie on the bottom shelf, but first, second and third John, though they're shorter books, you know, has a lot of meat and a lot of doctrine, a lot of deep and dark sayings. And it requires for somewhat of maturity, spiritual maturity to be able to dissect and decipher what's being stated here. So we're going to go over that this evening and just debunk what a lot of people say regarding this passage of scripture. As I mentioned in the previous chapters, the book of first John really emphasizes walking in the light as he is in the light. The importance of walking in the spirit, having fellowship with the father and with one another. Now look at verse number one of first John chapter three says, behold, what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. For the world knoweth us not because it knew him not. I want you to focus on that phrase right there, that we should be called the sons of God. He says, man, you got to understand the type of love that God has bestowed upon us, that he's willing to call us his children, right? His sons, his daughters, this is a great love that he has for us, that he's willing to claim us as his own. Now when you, if you remember reading through, you know, the Gospel of John, the Bible says specifically in John chapter one verse 12, but as many as received him to then give you power to become the sons of God, even unto them that believe on his name. And automatically that debunks this whole teaching that, well, all of mankind are children of God, right? Don't you hear that a lot? Sometimes if you go soul winning and people have a general understanding of God or something, or you know, you run into Catholics, they'll often say, well, we're all children of God, we're all sons of God. And they automatically think that because we're God's creation, that automatically puts us in the category of being his children. But this is false. You see, the only people who are God's people or the only people who are God's children are those who have believed on his son. And it tells us that, that as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God. The stipulation there is that we have to be saved. Stipulation is that we have to be believers upon Christ in order to be sons of God. It goes on to say, go with me if you would to Galatians chapter number four, Galatians chapter four, hold your place here in first John chapter three, I'm going to reach you from Romans chapter eight, verse 15. It says, for you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father. Look what it says in Galatians chapter number four, verse number four, it says, but when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because he our sons, God had sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying Abba Father, wherefore thou are no more a servant, but a son and of a son and an heir of God through Christ. Now, what is this telling us? Well, it's specifically saying that because we believed on Christ, we become sons, but it also gives us the privilege to be able to say, Abba Father, what does that mean? We can pray and God will hear us because you know, a lot of people out there think, well, if I just pray to God, even though I'm not a Christian, even though I'm not a believer, God's going to hear what I say. Not necessarily. You know, the Bible says that his face is against them that do evil, but his ears open into the righteous. You see, and righteous is synonymous with being a child of God, not because we're righteous in and of ourselves, not because we are great people. We do great works. You know, our righteousness comes from Jesus Christ. The Bible says that he made him to be sin who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And so those who are children of God are the only ones that have the privilege and the access to be able to go before the throne of grace, to obtain mercy, to help in a time of need. God only hears his children. So you know what that tells me, you could get a bunch of queers together to have a prayer meeting in the city of El Monte and they can cry out day and night if they want. God would not hear them because they're not sons of God. Oh, you think you're just so proud. You're just saying that only God hears you. No, he doesn't just hear me. He hears everyone in this room who's saved and anybody all around the world who has believed on Christ, he hears them as well. Now I will say this is that obviously there's times in a Christian's life that they can be so far from God. They can be so backslidden and involved in sin that the heavens become as brass. You know, God does not, it's not necessarily that he doesn't hear their prayers. He doesn't answer their prayers. Okay. But that's a lot different than just having some regular Joe Schmoe who's not saved. They don't believe on Christ. They're part of some other religion and they're praying unto God. God's not going to hear that. And in fact, there's only one prayer that God will hear from the unsaved. And that is the prayer to trust Christ as their savior. You know, the Bible says that, you know, if they confess with their mouth, the Lord Jesus and believe in their heart that God has raised them from the dead, they shall be saved. And whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's the only prayer that God will listen to from the unsaved. And at that point, they receive the adoption. They become sons and daughters of God. God will listen to their prayers because now he is, they are his children. Okay. So he says there that we can cry, Abba, Father, wherefore, there are no more to serve him but a son and of a son and an heir of God through Christ. So we don't become heirs of God because of our righteousness, because of how good we are, or because, you know, we live a moral life or because we're conservative or because, you know, we have, we're outstanding, outstanding citizens of society. No, it says that we become heirs of God through Christ. Amen. Okay. It's through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It's through him that we are accepted, the Bible says, in the beloved. Go to 2 Corinthians chapter number six, 2 Corinthians chapter number six. So folks, behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon you and I that we should be called the sons of God. I mean, you really meditate upon that. Think about that. That the God of the universe, the one who created everything in existence, the God of God and Lord of Lords, he's willing to call us his sons. What manner of love that is. Amen. He would be willing to say, I'm related, they're related to me and I'm related to them. It's a privilege. Not because again, nothing that we've done on our part, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy saved us. Now look at 2 Corinthians chapter six and verse 14. Before I read this, in 1 John chapter three, it's not necessarily reemphasizing the fact that we're believers in Christ. Really the main thrust of chapter three or even the book of 1 John is the importance of walking in the spirit, walking in the new man, walking in the light. Okay. With that being said, look at 2 Corinthians six, verse 14, it says, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion has light with darkness and what Concord has Christ with Belial or what part has he that believeth with an infidel. What agreement at the temple of God with idols for you are the temple of the living God is God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. So what is this specifically teaching us here in verses 14, verses 14 through 16, this is saying we need to be separate, right? We live a separated, holy life where we're separated from those sons of Belial, where the temple of God is separate from the idols of this world. You know, we're not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, right? It says in verse 17, wherefore come out from among them and be separate, say the Lord and touch not the unclean thing. And I will receive you. And look what it says in verse 18 and will be a father unto you and he shall be my sons and daughters, say the Lord almighty. Now this is pretty meaty right here. And you can see how someone can take this and say, that's why we got to keep center in our lives. You know, because if not, you can lose your salvation and no longer be a child of God. God will no longer be your father. You'll no longer be a son because you're not being separated from the things of this world. You can see how people can twist this to mean that, right? But hold on a second. If we have a thorough understanding of what first John chapter three is saying in conjunction with this, it makes perfect sense. Because what it's telling us here is that when we are walking in the spirit, when we're living a separated life, what is that? That is the son of God in me manifested. You understand? I'm not walking in the flesh. I'm walking in the spirit. And when I'm walking in the spirit, guess what? It's as though God is my father and I am his son and he receives me because I'm not walking in the flesh. You understand? And really that is the main teaching of first John chapter three. It's telling us, look, God has bestowed this privilege upon you that you are the sons of God. You need to walk as such. Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. You need to walk as a son of God. You need to walk as a daughter of God. And when you walk in the flesh, it's as though you're not a son of God. But you obviously are because you have the spirit of God dwelling within you. But it's the flesh being made manifest when you're walking in the flesh. When you decide to be separate, when you decide to keep sin out of your life, when you decide to do that, which is pleasing in his sight, at that point, it's the son of God being made manifest to the world. Go back to first John chapter three. First John chapter three, verse number two. So yeah, it's great the fact that we are the sons of God. It's great the fact that he would call us that. But really the main emphasis is this, then walk as a son of God. Keep sin out of your life. Now if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ, the righteous, he's the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. But hey, the goal should be to keep sin out of your life, you understand? To walk in the new man. Look at verse number two, beloved, now are we the sons of God. And it does not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. So what is he saying? Look, we're the sons of God now, even though we have the flesh, right? So look, this automatically debunks everything that everyone else is saying regarding, oh, you know, you can lose your salvation because he's saying, look, we're still the sons of God now. What's the difference? We don't know what that son of God looks like within us, right? He's saying there, it does not yet appear what we shall be. Why? Because what's the only thing that we see? The only thing that we see within us is the flesh. You know, you see my flesh, I see your flesh. We don't see the new man within us, you understand? We can't see each other's hearts. We can't see each other's new man. We can't see that it does not yet appear what we shall be. Now what is the resurrection, the rapture? When the rapture takes place, it's the resurrections of our body. And at that point, the sons of God, right, are made manifest because we receive our resurrected body. Right now, we're waiting to with the redemptions of our body, okay? He says, it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, referring to the rapture, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. This is referring to the second coming of Christ. So they which are dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up with them together in the clouds, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. It's at that point that we receive what's called our glorified bodies. We receive the redemptions of our bodies. Our corruptible shall put on what? In corruption. And then we're manifested, the transaction, so to speak, is complete. Because if you remember, when we first get saved, the Bible says, in whom you also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. So we say, look, when you get saved, the spirit of God comes to live within you, and that's like a down payment on you. Spirit of God comes to live within you. We have a sinless spirit, and he's there until the redemptions of our body, when the payment is made in full at the rapture. Now that's great. You know why? Because it gives us a lot of hope. Because any Christian who walks with the Lord and is in this world, the longer you're a Christian, the longer you're trying to serve God, the more frustrated you become with your own flesh. Because, you know, any Christian who reads the Bible and wants to serve God, they love the Lord, you know, they get frustrated when they make mistakes or they displease the Lord or they do things that are not pleasing unto God. And we, as the Apostle Paul often will say within ourselves, you know, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? The longer you're here, you're just like, man, I hate this flesh. I hate this corruptible body. This is a wretched man that I am. But the hope that we have is the fact that one day this corruption shall put on incorruption. You know, this corruptible body will one day be glorified and changed into, it'll be the Son of God manifest. We will be glorified. Okay. Now, turn with me, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Hold your place there again in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. And this really debunks this whole teaching that, well, once you get saved, you just will never desire to sin. You'll never desire to sin. You'll never desire... If you do, you're not really saved. Well, you know, I would agree with that if, like, as soon as you got saved, you died. That's the only way that's possible. As soon as you get saved, you just, like, drop dead, then, yeah, I agree with that doctrine. Because at that point, you won't desire to sin because you're going to be with the Lord. The flesh dies and just goes in the ground, and you just await the redemption of your body. But, folks, when you get saved, you know, the old Bruce Mejia doesn't go away. It stays there. The old man is there. Yeah, he's crucified with Christ. But the difference is that sometimes he comes down from the cross. Not just sometimes, every day. This is why the Bible is constantly talking about telling us to die to self, to mortify the deeds of the flesh and the body. Constantly put Bruce Mejia to death, okay? You know, that's why in order for us to serve God, we have to die daily. You know, whoever comes after Jesus, we need to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. The mere fact that he's saying, take up your cross, the insinuation is this, die. If you really want to follow me and be a fisher of man, you really want to follow me and please God, you need to die. You need to be crucified with Christ. Now, notice he said that before he was crucified, right? So he's telling them, hey, you need to take up your cross and follow me, deny yourself, die to self, you know, be a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is a reasonable service. The problem is too many Christians today are just living, just living, right? They're just living in the flesh, just doing their own thing, not serving the Lord. That's not what God wants for our lives. Now, look what it says in 1 Corinthians 13. This is often referred to as the love chapter, chapter on charity. Look at verse 9, it says, for we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. Now, what is this referring to? Well, when he says in verse 9, we know in part and we prophesy in part. It's basically referring to the fact that today, because we're in our flesh and though we're saved, you know, we know part of heaven, don't we not? We know it because the Bible talks about it. We know it because we have faith that it exists. We know of God, even though we've never seen him with our own eyes, we know that he's there, okay? We know in part, and even myself, I prophesy in part. I preach to you about heaven, the millennial reign, the new heaven and the new earth, and I preach about these things, but it's only in part because I've never been there. But when that which is perfect is come, which is what is, what is that which is perfect? Was referring to our resurrected bodies. When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. You know, right now we see through a glass darkly. You know, right now if I were to tell you to describe heaven, you'd probably say clouds, I don't know, like, you know, like just a coliseum of angels or something, and just everything's white, everything is just bright, loud, you know, I don't know, everyone in white, we don't really know. We could only, we see in part, we prophesy in part, but there's gonna come a day whether when you die or when Jesus Christ comes back and you're raptured, when that which is perfect is come and that which is in part shall be done away. It's not like, well, I'll just know in part, now we will fully know what heaven is like, we will fully know what the millennial reign is like, we will fully know what the new heaven, the new earth is like, we will fully know what God is like. We will see the fullness of God, right? And he says, when I was a child, I was fake as a child, understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things, and you often think of a child maturing into an adult is when he becomes complete. So in like manner, we can be likened unto a child spiritually speaking because we are not yet complete. We will be one day complete when we go home to be with the Lord or when he raptures us away. He says, for now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Right now we see like, you know, these windows, what is that? Is that a train? That's a train or, you know, is that a vehicle? What is that? It's like, we can kind of make out what eternity is gonna be like. We can speculate, we can surmise, we can look at the scriptures and try to explain it as best as possible. We see through a glass darkly, but there will come a day when we will see face to face and we will know even as also we are known, okay? So just as Jesus Christ knows us perfectly, one day we will also know him perfectly as well, face to face. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. So again in 1 John chapter three, it says in verse number two, beloved, now are we the sons of God. It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when we shall appear, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. So, you know, I don't know if you've ever thought about this, like what is my resurrected body gonna be like? Am I finally gonna get that six pack or, you know, am I gonna have that long luxurious hair? You know, am I gonna be the right skin tone that I've always wanted to be? You know, am I gonna be nice, tall, dark and handsome or something? Cause I think that's what glory really looks like, you know? Folks, I'm sure it has zero to do with any of those things, okay? Cause God doesn't care about those things. Glorified means sinless. Okay? And you're like, well, yeah, I mean, that's what I'm saying, you know? Sinful man, wretched man that I am. Some of you think you're already glorified, right? Like, this doesn't pertain to me, right, okay? But what does a glorified body look like? We don't know. We have no idea. It's just a body that's without sin, capable of standing in the presence of God. Folks, if you were to stand in the presence of God right now, you would just completely just die, you're just dead, okay? Can't stand before the holiness of God, whereas in the new man we can. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Look at 1 Corinthians 15, which is the resurrection chapter in verse number 37. Paul the Apostle is seeking to explain what the resurrection will be like, it says in verse 37. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bear grain, and may chance of wheat or of some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body, so what is he saying? You know, when you plant a seed in the ground, you shouldn't expect for a huge seed to just come out of the ground, right? Obviously something completely different is gonna come out of the ground. And he says in verse number 39, all flesh is not the same, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial. But the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars, for one star differth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in corruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown in natural body, it shall be raised, spiritual body, there is a natural body, there is a spiritual body. So what is he saying? You know, we don't really know exactly what that's gonna look like. Just know this, it's completely different from what you see yourself right now. I'm not saying you're gonna have like four eyes and like, you know, six arms or something. It's just saying it's completely different. And the reason we can't imagine that is because all we've ever known is corruptible flesh. Right? It's like trying to explain to a fish what it's like to be a human. It's like a fish in a fish bowl looking through a glass darkly, trying to imagine what it's like to walk on two feet. It's impossible, right? Well, in like manner, this is the same thing. And the only difference is that, hey, you know, some people when they resurrect will be brighter than others. Some people's celestial body will be completely different from others and brighter in glory than others based upon the souls that they win, the works that they do, their service for God. Go back to 1 John chapter three. Hey, the resurrection is a glorious day. You know, because we will, you know, Bruce Mejia, that old man will finally die. He'll be gone forever. And I'm glad about that. And the son of God will be made manifest. We'll have a resurrected body. We can be with the Lord. And at that point, we shall see him as he is. Okay? Look at verse number three. It says, and every man that hath this hope in him purify himself even as he is pure. So what does that do when you heard all these verses and this teaching on this subject makes you want to purify yourself. It makes you want to say, man, I need to start like really getting serious about the things of God. I really need to start winning souls to Christ. I really need to make sure that I'm reading the Bible and I'm serving God and I'm getting sin out of my life because, you know, I want a good resurrected body. I want to resurrect and, you know, be rewarded for the things that I do. It purifies you, okay? It helps you to realize that whatever, you know, offense or grudge or things that you're struggling with really doesn't really matter. Put those things away from me because, you know, there's something better to shoot for in this life. Okay? Verse number four. Whosoever committed sin transgresseth also the law for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins and in him is no sin. So what does this mean in verse number four? Well, first and foremost, this basically debunks this whole saying that, you know, mainstream Christianity likes to say where it's like, well what's sin for you is not necessarily sin for me. And what's sin for me is not necessarily sin for you. Wrong! Sin is the transgression of the law, folks. And whatever God says is sinful for you, it's sinful for me too because if God says it's a transgression of the law, that's what it is. We never want to go down this path of teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. And say, well this is sinful, and you know, this is sinful, and you know, doing this is sinful when you can never point to a verse in the Bible that specifically says this is a transgression of the law. You understand? But also, what it's really doing right here in verse number four is it's building up to what he's gonna talk about in the next couple verses. Now, when he says whosoever committed sin transgresseth also the law for sin is the transgression of the law, you gotta keep in mind that when we sin, it's not our spirit that sins. When we sin, it's not our flesh, it's not our, excuse me, when we sin, it's not our spirit, it's not the new man, it's not the son of God. When we sin, it's only our flesh that's doing that. Okay? So who's the only part of our being that transgresses the law? Our flesh. Why? Well the Bible says in Romans chapter eight that the flesh is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So your flesh cannot subject itself to the law of God, it will never do that. That's why it's foolish to say you're just gonna, you will yourself to obey God, you're just gonna make your body, just obey the law, your flesh doesn't wanna do those things. You know, in order for you to obey God, you gotta be filled with the spirit, you gotta walk in the spirit. Because we delight in the law of God after the inward man. The flesh does not desire to be under the laws of God, but the spirit does. The spirit desires to fulfill the law of God. It delights in the law of God. You know, your flesh doesn't wanna hear preaching. Your flesh doesn't wanna hear hard preaching. You know what wants to hear hard preaching is your spirit. You know, when you come to church and you hear a sermon on doctrine, or a topical sermon on the Bible, you know, your spirit loves that. And you say, well, I don't really delight in that, then you probably walk it in the flesh. You're probably walking in the flesh. But folks, if you're walking in the spirit, you won't despise prophesying. Even if I'm preaching against you. Like, are you preaching against me? Yes. Anytime someone's coming to me and say, you're preaching against me, I'll be like, yup. Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing when we come to church? Yeah, but you're talking specifically about me. Yeah, I'm glad you know that. So change. Get right with the Lord then, you know? I won't tell him all that, but I want to. But isn't it true? And you know what, the spirit loves the truth. It loves the Bible, it loves the truth. Now don't go around asking people, so did you like it or not? Are you in the flesh or in the spirit? You know, examine yourself. If you feel like I'm stepping on your toes and you don't like what's being said, hey, don't kill the messenger. It's just showing you that you're probably in the flesh. And here's how you correct it. You just repent of that, and then you delight in the law of God after the inward man. The Bible says in Galatians five verse 19, now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envies, murder, drunkenness, revelings, and such like of the witch I tell you before, as I have told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Now notice that the works of the flesh are not Bible reading. They're not living a holy life. It doesn't say going to church attendance. It doesn't say soul winning. It's all these transgressions of the law. Because that's the only thing the flesh can produce. It doesn't produce anything else other than the works of the flesh. The Bible says in Romans seven verse 23, but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. And look folks, you have these lordship, salvation people out there, and what are they doing? They're trying to cause their flesh to subject itself under the law of God. That's what they're trying to do. Oh no, we always desire to do right. We always desire to read the Bible. We always desire, no you don't. That's a lie, because if you're not even saved, you don't even have the new man. You only have the spirit, you only have the flesh. Your spirit is dead and trespasses and sin is not even alive. You're dragging your spirit carcass everywhere you go and making the flesh do those things. Because you're still dead. You're quickened by the spirit when you believe on Christ, and at that time, you're no longer under the law, but under grace. You have the ability to serve the Lord in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter, the Bible says, okay? Romans eight seven says, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. So look, you can have some holy roller out there, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't do all these things and tries to live a holy life and is self-righteous. They don't please God. They can't please God. In fact, the Bible says that the plowing of the wicked is sin. Plowing is just like a regular job that you do. It's just like, but you know what? Because he's in the flesh, it doesn't please God. The only people that can please God are Christians, and more specifically, Christians that are walking in the spirit, okay? Go back to first John chapter three. So that's what he means there, when he says, whosoever committed sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. He says in verse number six, whosoever abideth in him, sinneth not. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Our flesh will never see God, our flesh will never know God. The only aspect of our being that can see God by faith is our spirit, that knows God is the spirit, okay? Now we're gonna talk about the manifestation of the devil, the sons of the devil and the sons of God, okay? Verse number seven, look what it says. Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committed sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose, the son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. In this, the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil, whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. So a couple things here. Now, as I mentioned in the beginning, this is often misinterpreted, misused by false prophets to teach, once you get saved, you're just always gonna do right. Obviously that's not true. But let me just mention a couple things here because it gives you two pretty extreme examples, right? He says, look, he that committed sin is of the devil. And then it says in verse nine, whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. And you can kind of see when people read that and be like, whoa, hold on a second, so am I of the devil if I'm committing sin? Is that what this is saying? Well, first and foremost, you gotta take into account that in this chapter, it's giving you two extreme examples and it really manifests who that's talking about later on. It's talking about Cain and Abel. Cain is of the wicked one, Abel's obviously a son of God, okay? Now, when he says there, he that committed sin is of the devil for the devil's sin is from the beginning. What I believe this is referring to are reprobates. Okay? Now you say, why is that? How do you know? Because we commit sin. So if this is saying that, doesn't that say that we're committing sin or we're the sons of the devil? Let me explain what this means here. First and foremost, an individual who's not saved, okay? Not saved, you know, they're not a reprobate, they're not a child of the devil, they're what the Bible refers to as a child of disobedience, okay? They're a son of man, so to speak, okay? They're a child of disobedience. The Bible tells us that you have the quick and who were dead in trespasses and sin, wherein in time past he walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in time past and in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. So what is this telling us here? Prior to salvation, we were just children of disobedience because it's not that we hated God, it's just that we were only in the flesh. We were natural people. You know, the Bible says the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, neither can he know them for the spiritual to discern. So an unsaved person who's not a reprobate is simply known as a natural individual. They do that which they are naturally inclined to do, which is to sin, okay? Now we know that when that individual is given the gospel, they receive it, they get saved, they become a son of God. But there can come a point when an individual rejects God so much, they begin to hate God that that person actually becomes a reprobate. And they transition from becoming a child of disobedience to becoming a child of the devil, okay? And the children of the devil are mentioned throughout the scriptures, both Old, New Testament. In the Old Testament, they're referred to as children of Belial, sons of Belial. In the New Testament, they're just referred to as the sons of the devil, okay? Ye are of your father, the devil, the lust of your father, what you do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, for the truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. He's referring to a group of people that are not just children of disobedience, they're just children of the devil who hate God, okay? And this is what this passage of scripture is referring to. Now, you say, well, yeah, but that still doesn't explain why it says that, that whosoever committed sin is of the devil. Well, think about this, in verse number nine it says, whosoever is born of God does not commit sin. Now, what aspect of our being is that referring to? Spirit, right? Because the spirit does not commit sin. It's an extreme sinless aspect of our being. Because in the spirit, we never commit sin. And once our spirit is disattached from our body, that spirit will be forever with the Lord and it's still just never sinned. It just constantly does right. It's constantly righteous. It's constantly obeying God. It's constantly delighting in the law of God. It never sins, right? Well, what would be the extreme example of that? An extreme example of that would be a person who is a reprobate, or as the Bible says, a son of the devil, and they're filled with all unrighteousness. They have a spirit that just constantly does evil. Constantly does unrighteousness. Revels and delights in doing unrighteous, wicked things. And look, that's not everyone in this world. Right? Because regular human beings who are not reprobates, I mean, don't you know moral people out there? Not saying they're saved, but don't we know just like regular people out there who are just moral, they stay married, they don't commit adultery, they don't drink, they don't smoke, they just live a moral life because maybe that was part of their upbringing. They're not reprobates. But folks, the person who is a child of the devil is filled with all unrighteousness. They cannot restrain themselves from doing unrighteous things. Because that's who they are. They have the spirit of Satan dwelling within them. So when it says he that committed sin is of the devil, he contrasts that with the person in verse number nine where it says whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. So just as the spirit of the individual who's saved doth not commit sin, in like manner, the spirit of the unsaved, reprobate, commits sin all the time. That's all he knows how to do. So look, doesn't he have like a double whammy? Because his members want to commit sin, but not only that, the spirit that dwells within him wants to commit sin. Every aspect of his being, he's twice dead plucked up by the roots. He's not only dead in his flesh, but he's also dead in his spirit. And his spirit can no longer be saved. It can no longer believe on God. It's not subject to the law of God. And in fact, it can only commit sin. And some of the worst iniquity this world has ever known, okay? Go to Romans one. And look, for this purpose, the son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. He says, for whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for a seed remaineth in him. And he cannot sin because he is born of God. In this, the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil. Now, when it says that the children of the devil are manifest, that's true and it's, I mean, that's super clear right there. Because when someone's a reprobate, you know that they're a reprobate. They may be able to hide it for a time but eventually it just comes out, does it not? Some wicked reprobate false prophet or some sodomite, some disgusting pervert, just, I mean, most sodomites are just out in the open at what they do, right? You see there, you're just like, yep, that's a child of the devil right there. His folly is made manifest. The false prophets want to hide it. They want to like deceive people but eventually their folly shall be made manifest as well. Why? Because their spirit can help but just do that which is wicked, okay? They're literally possessed by devils. Look at Romans 1, verse 28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers, backbiters, haters of what? God. I know someone who wants to be a Christian and they're sodomites and they're haters of God. Well, are you trying to say they're liars? Well, it says here that they're full of deceit. So that means that they lie about it. Despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedience of parents without understanding, that's why you should never witness to one. It's like talking to a rainbow brick wall. You're just never gonna get it. They're without understanding. That's why Jesus told us not to cast our pearls before swine, because they're without understanding. Covenant breakers, what is covenant breakers? They're not loyal. You know, just ask Mayor Ocona about that. She tried defending these sodomites in Omani and now they're turning on her. Covenant breakers without natural affection, yeah, we know that. Implacable, yeah, that's why we don't kowtow to them, because they're implacable. And if you apologize, you kowtow, they'll just, you give an inch, you'll take a foot. So just do what I did and don't apologize and laugh. Unmerciful, who knowing the judgment of God, oh, I know someone who wants to know, no, no, no, no, they don't want to know God, they just, they know already that God's gonna judge, they know the judgment of God. They can claim that they're atheist or agnostic, they don't have a religion, they know the judgment of God. That they which commit such things are worthy of death not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. So we see a list of things that they're capable of, and really what Paul is saying here in Romans chapter one is that they're just evil people. They're just capable of the worst, heinous, iniquity known to mankind because they're possessed by a devil. They have the spirit of a devil within them and they commit sin because they are of the devil. Now go to Romans eight, Romans chapter number eight. So it gives us that contrast there. And it says in this are the sons of God manifest as well as the sons of the devil. So what does that tell us? Well, this is why the Bible tells us let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. You know, obviously our main ministry here is soul winning. We want to go out there and preach the gospel and see people saved, but not at the exclusion of just you living this wicked life where you're not, you know, being a good testimony, you're not letting your light so shine before men. God wants you to have a good testimony. You know, he wants you to have the breastplate of righteousness. You see, you never want to be a Christian who just is shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace, but you don't have the breastplate of righteousness. Moral living, letting your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, that's how you're made manifest. That's why, you know, if you dress like a Christian here, you should dress like a Christian when you're out there. You know, often we're in a grocery store with my family, my kids, and people see that and they just kind of like stare at us like, okay, these aren't just like regular people, you know, because we're dressed different, we act different, we look different. You know, I'm sure Brother Albert's family stands out just a little bit when they're out and about, right? And you know what, that is a testimony, okay? That's why we should make sure that we, well, I don't care what people think about me. Yeah, but you kind of should a little bit though, right? Because aren't we ambassadors for Christ, right? Aren't we representing the Lord? And don't we want to have this disposition and this thing where people can see us and say, are you a Christian? Oh, okay, what church you go to? And it's kind of like an icebreaker, right? Now, we don't believe in lifestyle evangelism because some people only do that and they don't even want to witness to them. They just think by their glorious appearing that they're just going to win a bunch of people to Christ, doesn't work that way. We use it like an icebreaker. People see us and like, man, this person must be a Christian, spark up a conversation, you could witness to them, et cetera, okay? Now look at Romans eight verse one. There is therefore no condemnation to them, which are in Christ Jesus. Now that's true, when it comes to us being saved, we will never see condemnation in hell. But look what it says, who walked not after the flesh, but after the spirit, that's interesting. You're saying, look, there's no condemnation to people who are in Christ, but as long as you're not walking in the flesh. Now, what is this telling us? It's telling us, yeah, you'll never face the condemnation of hell, but if you're walking in the flesh, you will face condemnation here on this earth. Amen. Why? Because if you're sowing to the flesh, ye shall of the flesh reap corruption. But he that sows to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. So we see here that there is condemnation to those who walk after the flesh. So this should motivate you to live a holy life. This should motivate you to not walk in the flesh, to not backslide, to not get out in the world, not get involved in things that are displeasing to God, because if you do, there's a condemnation waiting for you. Verse two says, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, and that I was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walked not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Do you have peace in your life today? You know, are you filled with life and peace? If you are filled with anything other than that, it's probably because you're carnally minded. Says in verse seven, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by the spirit that dwelleth in you. So he's basically saying this, look, there's a condemnation if you walk in the flesh. You have life and peace if you walk in the spirit. But just know this, at the end of the day, the spirit that dwells within you will one day quicken your mortal body. Because he knows that within each and every one of us, there's this constant battle, there's this constant frustration with the old man, and he's basically giving hope to say, look, one day your spirit will quicken your mortal body. You will change one day. You will know, it's not always gonna be this way. Go back to 1 John chapter three. So whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, it's true because the only aspect of our being that is born of God is the spirit. Our flesh is not born of God yet. One day it will be at the redemptions of our body, and at that point, it will no longer sin. And so people wanted to use this to teach a sinless perfection, but that's a false doctrine. It's not what the Bible's talking about. The Bible's emphasizing walking in the spirit versus walking in the flesh. He goes on to say in verse 11, for this is the message that you heard from the beginning that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of that wicked one and slew his brother, and wherefore slew he him, because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. So isn't it interesting that you have Cain and Abel, Cain being of that wicked one, Abel being righteous, right? And yet Cain slew Abel, who was his brother. And when I think about this, I think about all those reprobates who have been threatening me and wanted to take my life. And every time they try to correct me about my doctrine, they say, don't you love your brothers? There's a lot of truth to that, isn't it? Because they're seeing me as a brother who like Cain saw Abel, who he wants to slay. And why are they saying that? Because they are of that wicked one, that's why. Yeah, oh, don't you love your neighbor? And these are your brothers. They want to make it seem as though we're related, but really what they're saying is this, we want to slay you like Cain slew Abel. And that's why he says don't marvel if the world hate you. Because if the world hates you and you're marveling at that, you obviously haven't heard of Cain and Abel. Cain slain Abel, it says in verse 14. We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. So one of the key qualities of a Christian when they get saved is they just have this natural love for the brethren. You know, you come to church and you're just like, man, I love being around the brothers. Man, I love the fellowship with the brethren. And there's like a longing to be with the brothers. There's a longing to fellowship with the people of God. Why is that? Because we're taught of God to love our brothers. We have the spirit of God and my spirit resonates with your spirit, your spirit with my spirit. And when we fellowship, we delight in that company. Okay? And we have love one toward another. Not because I'm brown and you're brown. Not because we come from the same cultural background. Why? Because of God and his word. Because of our beliefs. Because of our core doctrines. And what does that show? It shows us that we've passed from death unto life because we love the brethren, the Bible says. Verse 15, whosoever hated his brother is a murderer. And he know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Now, this is also showing us that a Christian can hate his brother, right? It's showing us that he can hate his brother. And look, if a person hates, if a Christian hates their brother in Christ, what does it show? It doesn't show that they're walking in the spirit. It shows that they're walking in the flesh. Why? Because the works of the flesh are made manifest and one of them is murder. Hatred, variance. You understand? So what should we take from this? What we should take is this, is that we should never hate one another. And along with that, we should never be bitter against one toward another. Hold grudges one toward another. Don't let this turn into like a drama church. Okay? Talking to you ladies out there. Yeah, I said it. And some of you men who act like some of those ladies. You know, it should never be a church where there's cliques here and you don't like this individual here and you're mad at this person because he said how fat you were or he didn't like, you know, your forehead or something. You know, you hold these grudges. Folks, if you're mad at a brother in Christ, go get it right. Well, you know, yeah, we got it right. Yeah, but do you love your brother though? Do you love your sister in Christ? Or do you still hold a grudge against them? Can you fellowship with that brother? Can you fellowship with that sister in Christ? If you can't, then it's gonna be very difficult for you to be in this church. Right? We wanna fellowship with people who we go to church with. It's not like, what's going on, John? And I'm just looking at Ray like phew. You know, just kinda like mad at him. Folks, it should be that we just get along with everyone in the church. And I'm not saying you have to be best friends with every single Tom, Dick, and Harry in our church, obviously. Okay? I'm not saying that, but what I am saying is that, hey, we should have love one for another. We should be able to leave you in a room together alone and you guys have sweet fellowship together. It's not like you're there and that person's over there, or you're like, I'm gonna go on the other side of this new building. Just I don't, where are you fellowshiping? Because wherever you're fellowshiping, I wanna be on the opposite side of that building. Two miles down the road or whatever. You know? Don't hate your brother. Okay? And in fact, John 13, 35 says, by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another. So how do people see that we're Christians when we go to In-N-Out or Raising Cane's? Because we just love one another. We go there, we're just loving each other, we're ragging on each other, we're just kinda like laughing and having fun and talking. They're like, either this is a family or they're a church. And we're like, it's both. But if there's strives and contentions among you, you know, what does that show you? It shows you that you're walking in the flesh, not in the spirit. Okay? So look, ladies. Okay? If some lady offended you in our church and you're just like, and by the way, I haven't heard anything, okay? But yeah, I'm talking to you though. And you hear, oh, you know, this lady's just mean to me and I just, you know, I get what you're saying, pastor, but you know, I just don't wanna talk to that person. I'm not ready or whatever. Put that away from you. Grow up. Grow up. Put on Christ. Walk in the light. Walk into the spirit. Cause you know what? Your spirit wants to reconcile those things. Your spirit desires to forgive that individual. In fact, your spirit wants to fellowship with that person that you have a grudge against. And you know what you're doing when you don't fellowship with that person? You're quenching the spirit. You think of something that's being quenched as like fire that, you know, you're putting a blanket over it. Well, the spirit is always on fire. It always wants to fellowship. It always wants to see that sister. It always wants to see that brother in Christ. It always wants to fellowship, hear the word of God. And when you choose not to do those things, you're quenching the spirit. And if you're quenching the spirit, you're probably walking in the flesh. So don't be a murderer. Don't hate your brother. Don't hate your sister. You know, I hope that tonight, you know, if you have a grudge, you go to that sister, you know, you go to that brother and say, look, I've been mad at you and I'm sorry. You know, I'm really sorry about that. You know, I wanna fellowship with you. Can I treat you out to a coffee or a meal tonight? Can we talk? And look, there's been times in our church where there has been grudges and like offenses. And I've been very impressed with the reaction of the people in our church when like, you know, sometimes I have to get involved and I have to referee the fight. You know what I mean? Like, you know, all right, you give a lick and then you give a lick. No, I'm just kidding. It's just like, but you know, there's been times when there's been grudges and you know what? Those people have actually become some of the best friends, greatest friends in the church. Because you know, it's like when you fight with your physical brother, you just become that much more closer. As long as you're willing to reconcile it. And so you actually benefit. You win your brother over, you gain a brother. When you decide to put that away from yourself, you don't, you put your pride aside, you put all that nonsense aside and you give in to the spirit, okay? Verse 16, hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Now in the most literal sense, it's just like you die for your brethren, right? But you know what? This could also be interpreted as this. You know, dying a self for the sake of reconciling my relationship with my brother, right? But whoso hath this world's good and seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion for him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? I have so much love in my heart. Well, have you forgiven though? It sounds like you're shutting up your bowels of compassion. You know, I have so much love. Yeah, but are you meeting the needs of the brothers and sisters in Christ in the church? Or are you shutting up your bowels of compassion? If you see that they have need and you refrain from helping them, basically being a hypocrite is what the Bible's saying. All right, I'm gonna say something. Look at verse 15, my little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. I was gonna get off that point, but it just keeps driving it in. What does it say when he says, love not in word, neither in tongue? No, I forgive you. I said it. Didn't I say I'm sorry? Didn't I say, that's in word, right? In word and in tongue. No, God wants you to do it in deed and in truth. Be sincere and do something about it. Confirm your love to another brother. And again, look, you think of people who've been cast out of our church because of a specific sin. When they come back, we need to confirm our love toward them. Not just say, hey, it's good to have you back, brother. And just like, oh man, that was that guy who got thrown out for drunkenness or whatever. You know, fornication or something. No, it's like, you love them in word and in tongue, but you also love them in deed and in truth. Let's hang out, let's go fellowship. Come over to this fellowship, come over to this. You wanna go do something together? Let's go hang out, okay? Hereby we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is the commandment that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave his commandments. So what does God want from us? He wants us to get along. He wants us to love one another. Folks, we just won one of the greatest battles in the history of our church, right? I mean, we won hard. It was like a, it was Mortal Kombat, Flawless Victory type. It was like left, left, right button, you know, the whatever, and it was just like. It's like, we won hard. Obviously not because of us, but because of God. He gave us the victory, right? Why did we win? Well, because of the fact that any time an attack comes from the outside, it draws us closer one to another. And makes us stronger as a church. You know, they desire to scatter us and make us fearful. They had the opposite effect on our church. Everything that they wanted against us, it had the opposite effect. It made me angrier. It made me more hateful. They thought I was gonna go, oh man, maybe I shouldn't preach on this very often. I mean, every single sermon you've heard has been talking about that. I hate them even more. Wanna preach harder, you know what it's done to our church, it's made us stronger. More confident, bolder than the Lord, filled with the Spirit, it's drawn us closer to one another, why? Because we're battling together. I mean, folks, that day of that first protest was pretty intense. Passers running through the aisle, pulling guys in from the sodden lines and trying to give announcements, and Miss Esther's like, they're hitting us, they're hitting us, and we're just running out. I mean, it was crazy, it was fun, it was fun. That was crazy. Going outside, there's lights going everywhere, there's Chihuahuas barking at us and stuff. We got their little savage glasses on, and police ask, I mean, it's one for the books. And it had the opposite effect. But let me say this, is that you know what would destroy our church, though? Is contentions on the inside. He said, oh man, we won. Yeah, but hold on a second, you gotta recognize, that's not really what we have to worry about. Because any attack from the outside will always benefit us. I mean, look where we're at, right? The attack that will destroy us are contentions from the inside. We can implode. So don't take this lightly. This is why he says, hey, love one another. Especially if you wanna get ready for the next battle. Folks, it would be horrible if we're fighting battles on the outside, and then we also have to fight them in here as well, because it's contentions, stripes, you know, whatever. We should love each other fervently. Forgive one another, and just put those things behind us, because we have bigger fish to fry, right? As he gave his command, verse 24, and he that keepeth his commandments dwelt in him and he in him, and hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us. So, you know, how do we know we're walking in the spirit when you love one another? How do we know that we're abiding in his commandments when we're doing what he told us to do? And look, you say, well, I gotta make sure I keep this commandment and this commandment. Look, just keep these two commandments, and you'll be fine on every single one of them. Love God, and love your neighbor. Love God, love your brethren, you fulfill the whole law. So you could either focus on, oh man, I gotta do this one, I gotta do this one, I gotta do this one, I gotta stop doing this, I gotta do this, I gotta do this, or you could just love God, love your neighbor, and just, you know, a thousand birds with one stone. Two stones, because you gotta love God, and love your brother. You say, how do you fulfill the whole law by doing those two, because if you love your brother, you're not gonna hate him. You're not gonna murder him, you're gonna forgive him. If you love your brother, you're gonna prefer him over yourself. And thereby fulfilling some laws that maybe you don't even know about. I mean, it's kinda hard to go through each law and figure out what you have to do. It's better to just love God, love your neighbor, and then you fulfill laws that you didn't even know existed yet. Because you haven't read through the Bible, or maybe, you know, you just don't remember them. If we wanna fulfill the law, all we have to do is love God, and by the way, I'm not saying just be ignorant of the Bible and don't learn the laws, okay? What I'm saying is, in order to live a life that's pleasing unto God, those need to be the two most important things that we do. Okay, because if we love God, we're gonna seek to keep sin out of our lives, we're gonna seek to live a life that's pleasing unto him, and if we love our brethren, we're always gonna prefer them over ourselves. You understand? So what is the gist of 1 John chapter three? Act like a son of God. Walk in the Spirit. Don't be like these wicked people out there, where they just slay people left and right. It should not be said of Christians that they would ever hate their own brother, hold a grudge against themselves. Look, even Paul held a grudge for a little bit. Not this Paul, I'm talking about Paul the Apostle. Paul the Apostle held a grudge, but even thereafter, we see in the book of Acts, that he called Mark back. And he says he's profitable. So obviously they reconciled that. So I'm not saying like holding a grudge, you're just like some bad person if you've ever done that because even the Apostle Paul held a grudge, even he had differences with other people. But you know what we see the result of it, him maturing in the Lord, is that he reconciled that, they got it right. And not only did they get it right, but they were able to benefit from it and do more ministry because of it. Amen? All right, I'm done, let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word, and Lord, thank you for 1 John chapter three. What a great chapter. And thank you so much for reminding us through your word the importance of walking in the light, walking in the Spirit. And Lord, another reminder of the resurrection, that one day the Son of God will be manifested in us, Lord, and we long for that day, Lord. Wretched man that we are, who shall deliver us from the body of death, and of course we know it's you. You'll deliver us one day, Lord. I pray, God, that you'd help us to walk in the Spirit, not fulfill the lust of the flesh, Lord. Help us not to be carnally minded, but to be spiritually minded, Lord. And may we make that decision on a constant, day-to-day basis from the morning, from the time that we wake up in the morning, to the time that we go to sleep at night. Help us to be spiritually minded, Lord. We love you so much, and we thank you. Pray these things in Jesus' name.