Walking in Christ’s Victory
Text: 1 John 3:6-10
Introduction: Christians are in a warfare. Unfortunately, we are often fighting against the wrong enemy. In many situations, you find Christians fighting against other people. Sometimes they even fight against themselves. But our enemy is not another human being. Even the most evil human beings are not our real enemy.
The real enemy of every Christian is unseen and unhuman, but it is not an impersonal force. While our enemy is not human, he is a person. And even though there are many who would like us to believe that this person does not exist, there is tremendous evidence of his reality and existence.
A number of years ago, the best selling author, Hal Lindsey, wrote an interesting book entitled Satan Is Alive And Well On Planet Earth. It became a bestseller. The reason why is that most of us realize that Satan is real. D. L. Moody once said that he knew that the Devil was real for two reasons: first, because the Bible says so; and second, because he had done business with him. We’ve all probably done a little business with the Devil.
But quite apart from what the Bible teaches about Satan, consider the current state of affairs of our world. Even in our "civilized" society you find tremendous evidence of the existence of the Devil. While we might be able to rationalize certain small acts of evil as mere imperfections in human character, there are hideous and grotesque acts of pure evil that are routinely committed in our society that can have no other explanation than the presence of an evil force like Satan himself. Someone once said that: "It is stupid of modern civilization to have given up believing in the Devil when he is the only explanation for it!" Indeed! How do you explain acts of evil so despicable and grotesque that we would not even want to mention them today in the hearing of our children? Indeed, Satan is alive and well on planet earth.
Sin is a reality in our world. Sin and unrighteousness is the fruit of Satan’s labor. Sin and unrighteousness have their origin in the person of Satan. He is our real enemy. He is the one we must oppose and fight against.
1 John 3:5 tells us how Jesus came to take care of the sin problem, it says: "He was revealed that He might take away our sins." Christ came to deal with sin by dying on the Cross and offering Himself as the sacrifice for sin. Through His death on the Cross, we can be free from sin by receiving Him as our Lord and Savior.
But Christ also came to deal with the Devil. The last statement in verse 8 tells us this: "the Son of God was revealed, that He might undo the works of the Devil." Jesus came to deal with the Devil by destroying the Devil’s work. He has already gained the great victory over Satan that enables us to walk in that victory. So let’s consider certain truths we must clearly understand if we are to walk in Christ’s victory.
I. The Truth About the Lie
A. What is the "devil’s work"? Deception - Lying
1. Consider his encounter with Adam and Eve.
a. They were in the Garden of Eden in paradise.
b. God provided everything they needed.
c. God walked and communed with Adam in the cool of the day.
d. God put them in charge over all creation.
e. All they had to do was to obey God’s one simple commandment.
f. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?
2. His method of deception.
a. He came to them and lied about three things.
1.) He lied about God’s love for them.
- He told them that God didn’t really have their best interest at heart.
- God didn’t really care about them or He would not withhold anything from them.
2.) He lied about God’s Word to them.
- He tried to convince them that God was really the deceiver.
- God didn’t want them to know as much as He did and that was the real reason why He told them not to eat of the tree.
3.) He lied about the consequences of sin and disobedience for them.
- God had said they would receive a sentence of death, Satan came along and told them that it was a lie.
- Satan said God was the deceiver when in fact Satan was doing the deceiving.
B. Satan continues deceiving today.
1. He continues deceiving humanity concerning the real consequences of sin and disobedience.
2. He continues deceiving our society concerning the true nature of righteousness.
C. Society’s reaction to Satan’s deception.
1. Society views those who sin as cool, in touch, really living life.
2. Sin is portrayed as exciting and fulfilling.
3. Those who stand for righteousness are seen as negative, narrow, extremist, and radicals.
4. Those who stand for righteousness are depicted as the real problem in our society today.
5. This is Satan’s deception. This is his strategy. This is the fruit of the Devil’s work.
So, what is the truth? John appeals to us in verse 7: "Little children, let no one deceive you." But, many are being led astray. What is the truth?
II. The Truth About Sin
A. Sin is the Devil’s work.
1. Sin is not cool; sin is not ultimately fulfilling; sin is not good for you.
2. There are horrible consequences for sin in this life.
3. Sin eventually results in a devastating eternal penalty.
B. Scriptural truths concerning sin.
1. The last part of verse 6 reads: "Everyone who sins has not seen Him nor known Him."
2. Verse 8 reads: "He who practices sin is of the Devil"
3. Verse 10 reads: "In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the Devil: everyone not practicing righteousness is not of God, also he who does not love his brother."
4. Those who habitually practice sin are of the Devil - a habitually sinful lifestyle is a characteristic indicator that a person does not know Christ as Savior and Lord.
5. The teaching of these Scriptures is not that an act of sin indicates that one is not a believer because John stated in 1 John 1:8 that: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
6. John is talking about a philosophy of living that allows a person to continue sinning without any remorse or desire to change.
C. Our society’s view of sin.
1. Our society integrates sin, excuses sin, and even promotes sin.
2. Our society acts as if sin has no real consequences.
D. A Christian perspective on sin.
1. God hates sin.
2. Sin destroys.
3. Sin condemns.
4.Sin is the Devil’s work of eternal destruction.
Not only must we know that truth about sin, we must also know the truth about righteousness.
III. The Truth About Righteousness
A. Righteousness comes from God.
1. Look at verse 7: "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as that One is righteous."
2. The first part of verse 6 reads: "Everyone who abides in Him does not sin."
3. Similarly, in verse 9 and the first part of verse 10 we read: "Everyone who has been born of God does not commit sin, because His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the Devil"
B. Righteousness is a mark of a Christ-centered life.
1. True Christians have been born of God.
2. True Christians have been implanted with a new nature.
a. This new nature is against sin.
b. This new nature is pro-righteousness and anti-sin.
3. If we have truly been born again, there should be a desire within us to avoid sin.
4. When we do sin, we will be convicted of that sin and confess it in humble repentance to God.
C. When we are born-again, God implants the seed of righteous living in our very being.
1. We, as believers, will not and cannot go on excusing sin.
2. We will be convicted by it.
3. Sin will bother us.
4. God’s Holy Spirit will convict us.
5. We will struggle with sin.
6. We will not be able to excuse it away.
7. We will not be able to justify it.
8. We will be burdened to the point of having to deal with it by confession and repentance.
9. This is evidence that Christ is in our lives, the Holy Spirit is working within us and that we are children of God.
Conclusion: To walk in Christ’s victory, we come to a complete understanding of the truths about sin and righteousness. We must come to understand that they both proceed from the life within. If that life is controlled by Satan, then the fruit of that life will be a life of sin thus we live unrighteous, sinful lives. If that life is controlled by God, then the fruit of that life will be a life of righteousness. The fruit indicates the nature of the tree. Our behavior indicates the nature of our lives.
So, if you are really following Christ, sin should bother you. Does it? If it does, then the Holy Spirit is working in your life to convict you. Respond to that conviction by confessing your sins to God and repenting of your sins. Repentance simply means that you turn away from that sin. Repentance means that you forsake that sin. Repentance means that you do what is necessary to guard your life against that sin in the future. That is the fruit of righteousness.
On the other hand, if sin really does not bother you then you may not be a true Christian. Perhaps you have realized that today. But don’t despair. This is why Christ came. He came to deal with our sins. He came to destroy the Devil’s work. He came to set you free. He came to give you His life. He came to make you a Christian. If you desire to come to Him and receive His life today, then don’t delay. If you sense the Holy Spirit’s calling, His prompting for you to surrender your life to Jesus, then respond now. He will be faithful to deal with your sin by His forgiveness and to destroy the Devil’s work in your life. He will enable you to walk in Christ’s victory.
Disclaimer: Portions of this sermon may have been gleaned from other sermons or messages. Please feel free to use this sermon as God leads.
