Series: 1 John
Title: Things We Know
Text: 1 John 5: 18-21
Date: April 25, 2018
Place: SGBC, NJ
When a brother or sister departs from assembling with us, never presume
that they have committed the sin unto death—that they have rejected Christ. Never presume they have ceased to abide in
the doctrine of Christ in truth. Never
imagine that they have forsaken assembling with God’s saints altogether.
Instead pray for them that, if it be God’s will, they may keep abiding
in Christ under the gospel of Christ with God’s saints in another place.
When brethren depart
from us, as long as they commit themselves to another local assembly where
Christ has provided his preacher to preach the gospel in spirit and in truth,
they have not apostatized from Christ.
The apostate is he who rejects Christ, renouncing the doctrine of Christ. He forsakes (abandons) assembling with God’s
saints under the gospel entirely. He
either abides alone without assembling anywhere or he unites with those who
preach a false gospel which mixes law and grace.
I want this to be a
message that we can refer to anytime we are faced with the heartbreaking news
that a professing brother or sister has departed from us. When such a thing happens it breaks our heart. It fills us with all sorts of questions. True believers examine ourselves because
God’s grace makes us willing to take the blame.
We know what sinners we are. Therefore,
God’s child is more willing to point the finger at himself rather than at
departing brethren.
When the Lord told
his apostles that one of them would betray him, “they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto
him, Lord, is it I?” (Mt 26: 22) Knowing
what sinners they were, they knew they were capable of doing so. Therefore, they did not point the finger at
their brethren. Each one pointed the
finger at himself, “Lord, is it I?” The
actual betrayer was last to do so. He
copied them. But they meant it.
But brethren, if any can depart where Christ is preached in
truth, without moving to another assembly where the truth is proclaimed, the
problem is not in God’s people but in the heart of those who depart. I want this to be a message that answers our
questions by declaring the heart of the matter.
When professing
believers depart where the gospel is preached in truth, without going to
another true local assembly, the circumstances may differ from case to case,
but the underlying principle is always the same. Throughout this 1st epistle, John
declares that underlying, fundamental principle. Speaking by the Spirit of God,
John declares plainly why some can forsake Christ and why others cannot commit
the sin unto death.
The Spirit of God moved the apostle John to assure God’s children that we
can never commit the sin unto death. As
I read our text, take note of the three times John says, “We know.” They will make up
our divisions.
First, we know that those born of God do not sin—1 John 5: 18: WE KNOW that whosoever is born of
God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that
wicked one toucheth him not.
Secondly, we know that we are children of God and the world lies in
wickedness—1 John 5: 19: And WE KNOW that we are of
God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
Thirdly, we know all things because Christ is our teacher—1 John 5: 20: And WE KNOW that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we may KNOW HIM that is true, and WE ARE IN HIM THAT IS
TRUE, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal
life.
Lastly, we will hear the application—1
John 5: 21: Little children,
keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
Proposition: Children born of God have an unction from
the Holy One and know all things because we are taught of God.
WHOSOEVER IS BORN OF GOD SINNETH NOT
1 John 5: 18: WE KNOW that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that
is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
“We
know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not.” This is not vain presumption nor speculation.
In Adam we died. Therefore, all who are unregenerate, sin. All we could do is sin. And now that we are regenerated by the Holy
Spirit, we know that in our flesh dwells no good thing. Our flesh is sin and only produces sin. But being born of God, sin no longer has
dominion over us: not the guilt of sin nor the reigning power of sin. Those born of God delight in the law of God
after the inward man. We love what God
loves and hate what God hates. Therefore,
we hate sin and love righteousness. God
creates a new walk in his child so that sin no longer dominates our walk.
But there is far
greater news here! Before the law and in
our new nature, we cannot commit sin. We
cannot commit any sin. That includes the
sin unto death, which is, apostatizing from Christ Jesus the Lord.
Before the law of God,
Christ has put away our sin so that we have no sin. God remembers our sin no more. We are righteous in Christ Jesus our
Righteousness. He that does righteousness, that is,
believes on Christ, is righteous even as Christ is righteous.
1 John 3: 7: Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth
righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
In our new nature, being born of Christ’s
incorruptible seed, with his seed remaining in us, our new nature is righteous
and holy. In our new man, we cannot
commit sin, including the sin unto death.
1 John 3:
9: Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is
born of God.
We cannot cease believing on Christ and in
Christ is no sin. By his seed remaining
in us, we cannot cease abiding in the doctrine of Christ. By the keeping grace of
God, we cannot cease assembling
together with God’s saints under the preaching of Christ in spirit and in truth. Since
these things are how we love the brethren, we cannot cease loving our brethren.
John said, “Hereby we know that we love the brethren, when we love God and keep his
commandments.” God’s commandments
are that we believe on Christ and love our brethren. God commands us to never
cease believing on Christ. God commands
us to never cease assembling together under the gospel of Christ. We love our brethren by believing on Christ
and abiding in him. Those born of God
cannot sin by ceasing to believe on Christ and abide in him.
One reason it hurts me when professing
believers walk away is because I see how you have laid down your lives,
sacrificing dearly, so that everyone in this place can have the gospel preached
to them. It hurts that that can mean so
little. Even more, it hurts that anyone
who knows anything at all about their sinfulness would be willing to walk away
from the gospel of Christ our Redeemer!
“But he that is
begotten of God keepeth himself.” He
that is begotten of God is kept by God. God
shall finish the work he has begun in his child.
Philippians 1:6: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath
begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Therefore, by God’s keeping
grace, he makes us keep ourselves. As
Paul told Timothy, we “keep ourselves
pure”—not being partakers of other men’s sins but bathing in the
sin-cleansing fountain of Christ’s precious blood (1 Tim 5:22). As Jude says we “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Ju 1:21) Christ said that we are to abide
in him for without him we can do nothing.
Therefore, by Christ’s keeping hand, we keep ourselves abiding in
him. As James exhorts we “keep ourselves unspotted from the world”
(Ja 1:27). As the Psalmist said, “I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not
with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before
me” (Ps 39:1). As Solomon exhorts, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out
of it are the issues of life” (Pr 4:2). Please
do not misunderstand me. Apart from
Christ we can do nothing. But by Christ’s
keeping grace, we do these things by keeping ourselves in Christ’s hand, under
his gospel, assembling with our brethren.
“And the wicked one
toucheth us not.” Christ may permit the
devil to sift us as he did Peter. We
may depart from assembling with our brethren and be set on returning to our old
life. We may do so for some time. But the devil cannot touch us so as to make
us fall away. Christ prays for us that our faith fails not. In Christ, by Christ putting away our sins,
our victorious Redeemer has crushed the devils head. In Christ we are more than conquerors!
1 John 2: 14…I have written unto you, young
men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have
overcome the wicked one.
WE KNOW THAT WE ARE
OF GOD
1 John 5: 19: And WE KNOW that we are of
God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
John has been declaring the manifest difference between believers who are
born of God and children of the devil. So
he says here, “We know that we are of God,
and the world that lieth in wickedness.”
1 John 3: 10: 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.
Believers cannot
cease believing on Christ—that is what John means by “doing righteousness.” And
because we cannot cease believing on Christ we cannot cease loving our
brethren. It is by believing on Christ that we love one another. It is by providing one another with the
gospel of Christ that we love one another.
Love believes on Christ and does all to help brethren believe on Christ
and continue in him. But a natural man
cannot believe on Christ therefore he cannot love the brethren. Therefore, we know the whole world lieth in wickedness.
By Christ abiding in
us, we cannot hear lies spoken against our Savior. But the world, who does not have Christ
abiding in them cannot hear anything but the lies of the world.
1 John 4: 4: Ye are of
God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in
you, than he that is in the world. 5:
They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth
them. 6: We are of God: he that knoweth
God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit
of truth, and the spirit of error.
Knowing this is true,
we know this is what God works in his people.
Never look at men to discern what God does or does not do in his
people. Hear the word of God alone to
discern what God does in his people. Men
like to imagine they are the exception to how God saves. There are no exceptions. God saves the way God declares in his
word. If it is not according to the word
of God it is not true.
When it comes to a
believer who departs from a local church, the apostle John says that if he is
of us, he will, no doubt, continue with us.
Christ will either correct him so that he returns or Christ will plant
him in another assembly where the gospel is preached in truth. It may take time. He may commit great error. But no matter how a believer has to deny
himself, no matter what suffering it causes him, by God keeping him he shall
follow Christ. In that case, he has not apostatized from
Christ.
Brethren, that is our
prayer. Pray for any and all brethren if
any depart this place. Pray for them that
this might be the case with them. Pray
for them that God might keep them abiding in Christ and keep them under the
gospel in truth.
One born of God, one taught
by God in spirit and in truth, one moved and motivated by God, cannot settle
for a place where works are mingled with grace.
He may have to sell his house and move. But he cannot sit under a false preacher
preaching lies against his Savior, mixing law and grace. Christ does not provide preachers for his church
who teach lies. If law is mixed with
grace then it ceases to be grace. Believers
born of God know that. Christ said, “I will give you pastors after mine heart,
which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jer 3:15). That is prophecy! Christ fulfills all prophecy. Concerning
false preachers who mix law and grace, Christ said, “Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and
do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness;
yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this
people at all, saith the LORD.” (Jer 23: 32)
Those born of God
cannot commit the sin unto death because Christ’s incorruptible seed abides in
us. God keeps us. Therefore, we keep ourselves in Christ, under
his gospel, together with true brethren.
Apostates are those who depart and never commit themselves to a local
body of believers where Christ has established the gospel in spirit and in
truth. Or they unite with will-worshippers believing and promoting a false
gospel. They have apostatized from
Christ. But make no mistake, they were
never born of God. They were never “of us.”
1 John 2: 19 They went out from us, but they were not of
us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with
us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were
not all of us. 20: But ye have an
unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things…27: But the anointing which
ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you:
but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no
lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
WE KNOW THE SON OF
GOD IS COME
1 John 5: 20: And WE KNOW that
the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may KNOW
HIM that is true, and WE ARE IN HIM THAT IS TRUE, even in his Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
By the unction we have from Christ, we know that it is Christ who has come
and given us an understanding so that we know him that is true. And we are in him that is true. We are in God’s Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God. He is eternal life.
“We
know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we
may know him that is true.” The
first hour we were made to hear the gospel was a trial. Some of you endured a great trial of
afflictions as you received opposition from loved ones. But in that trial, Christ came and gave you
an understanding that you might know him that is true. Therefore, Christ made you pass the test.
As we walk through the life of faith, God
gives us more trials. Some are tests that
God gives through heresies and divisions.
The apostle Paul said, “For there must
be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest
among you.” (1Co 11:19)
When divisions occur,
it is not a matter of siding with one brother against another. It is a matter of standing with Christ on the
side of truth. When the apostle John
warned his brethren, calling certain men by name, the brethren that he warned
had to believe John to be saved from the error of men like Diotrephes. Those who did not believe John were led away
with the error of the wicked and proved themselves apostate. But it was not merely about taking sides with
John against Diotrephes. It was about
standing with Christ, standing for the truth as it is revealed in God’s
word.
Take for instance, if
a division is due to a brother’s character.
Knowing that scripture teaches that
character is as important as the gospel a man believes and/or speaks, though I
love him, though he may be a true brother, if he has committed an error in
judgment, I must stand with Christ on the side of truth. We must stand with whatever God declares to
be right in his word. It is not about
taking sides with one brother against another brother. It is not about questioning if one is a
brother—judge nothing before the time. It is about standing for the truth.
But when God gives a trial, there is no way
of removing yourself from it. There is
no neutrality. How we respond puts us either
on Christ’s side or we ourselves make an error in judgment siding against the Truth.
But there is no neutrality from the trial God gives—"For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved
may be made manifest among you.” (1Co 11:19)
But if we are Christ’s, as he did in the
first hour, Christ will come and give us an understanding, that we may know
Christ that is true. “We know” only because
Christ is come and hath given us an understanding that we may know him that is
true. Brethren, did you know the truth
when you first came to Christ? Yes, because
“ye have an unction from the Holy One and
ye know all things.”
In every trial since, if we committed an
error in judgment, we were only trying to save our life rather than denying
ourselves. That is what the apostle
Peter was doing when he told the Lord not go to the cross. But Christ will make us deny ourselves that we
might stand with him, as he did the apostle Peter. We may try to save ourselves suffering rather
than taking up our cross and suffering for Christ’s sake. But Christ will come and give us an
understanding and make us willing to suffer for his sake. We may follow our own wisdom into error but
Christ will come and give us an understanding and turn us and make us follow
Christ. That is what Christ did to the
apostle Peter. It may be as painful as
it was when Christ first came and gave us an understanding. But he will continue to do so to them that
are his. If we err, he will bring the
believer to side with Christ in truth turning us from any and all effort we might
make to save ourselves suffering.
It is because “we are in him that is true,
even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is
the true God, and eternal life.” This
is why we are kept and the wicked one cannot touch us—"we are in God who is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.” This is why we can never go after lies. This
one we are in is “the true God.” This is why a child of God can never
commit the sin unto death. This one we
are in is “eternal life.”
From the beginning of this epistle to these last verses, the Spirit of God
has been declaring through John that Christ shall not lose one for whom he
died. He bought us with his precious
blood. Our Redeemer shall not allow one
for whom he died commit the sin unto death.
This is the difference between the children of God and the children of
the devil. Christ will keep us walking
in the Truth. Christ will keep us
walking in the Light. Christ said, “He that doeth truth cometh to the Light
that his deeds might be manifest that they are wrought in God” or worked by
God. When Christ has spoken to us
prisoners of hope, saying, “Show yourselves”, he makes us come to Christ the
Light. From that day forward he keeps us
in Christ the Light. The unction we have
from him teaches us to abide in him. “We know that the Son of God is come, and hath
given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him
that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God, and eternal life.”
APPLICATION
1 John 5: 21: Little children, keep yourselves
from idols. Amen.
An idol is anything that comes between us and Christ. An idol is anything that makes us forsake the
gospel that Christ himself has provided us.
That Christ himself is! An idol
is anything that makes us forsake our brethren that Christ has given us. Whatever that person or thing is, it has
become an idol to us. Little children, keep yourselves from idols!
Brethren, pray for one another that God will keep us from idols and teach
us to keep ourselves from idols. Pray
for brethren overtaken in a fault.
Brethren, keep yourselves from idols by keeping yourselves in Christ’s
hand.
Amen!