Being Born of God

Audio Version

1John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth 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.
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
1Jn 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
1Jn 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1Jn 3:8 He that committeth 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.
1Jn 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.
1Jn 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.
1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
1Jn 3:12 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.
1Jn 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
1Jn 3:16 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.
1Jn 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
1Jn 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
1Jn 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

When we turn from our sins and turn to Jesus Christ, we actually become sons of God. We become His children. This of course means men and women alike. This of course means children. This means the rich or the poor. This means those that we esteem to be useless. This means a slave or a person of wealth. We all have to come the same way to be saved and that is having our sins cleansed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

After one comes to Jesus Christ to be saved from sin, they become a son of God. Now because we are the sons of God, we do not yet know what we are going to be like but when Jesus comes for His faithful believers, we shall be like Him. Verse 2 says that we shall be like Him.

Having this hope for the coming of the Lord and that we shall be changed into His likeness, this hope makes us pure. We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ so when we have this hope for His coming, it is like a purifying agent. The faith in the coming of the Lord purifies us.

Before we came to Christ, we are sinners for all have sinned at one time or another in their lifetime. Sin is the transgression of the law of God. The law says that the soul that has sinned shall die. The death penalty came upon all mankind when Adam sinned. We all inherit that nature to sin. We were without hope and had no way to be saved. We were lost and on our way to a burning hell with no way of escape.

Hell was made for the devil and the devil's followers. The devil came to Eve to corrupt her and cause all of mankind to be separated from God. He knew that sin would cause both natural death and eternal separation from God if he could just cause Adam and Eve to disobey one small commandment.

When God gives a commandment, it can't be changed. If He says, the soul that sins shall die, then that soul shall surely die. It can't be changed. The devil knew this and didn't want to spend eternity in hell alone. He tries his best to take everyone with him that he can.
So he deceived Eve by trying to change the word of God. He planted doubt in her mind by saying, "Ye shall not surely die."

To change the word of God and not believe it is a very dangerous thing. We have people today trying to change the word of God into something less than what it is. Some teach that sin has no consequences and that God loves everyone and it doesn't matter what we do, all is going to go to heaven. Others teach that we will enter heaven only by doing well in this life and helping people live a better life. Others teach many other ways to salvation. Of course we know some do not believe in Christ as the Savior and some even do not believe in God.

Yet we must be careful that we don't make the same mistake as Adam and Eve by taking the word of God lightly. He said, the soul that sins, shall die. To be dead eternally does not mean that we are erased from existence. The soul and spirit were created to live forever. They do not go out of existence. That is why souls that die in their sins have to enter a place called hell because God cannot allow sin to dominate the world forever. He is going to stop it eventually. He has to bring it to a close. If He didn't allow those in sin to enter hell, evil would continue throughout eternity.

The devil knows all this so he desires to destroy all he can and bring us with him to his final destination.

God sent Jesus to live among us, yet not sin in any point. Jesus was God but He was also flesh and blood. When Jesus was put to death He paid the penalty for sin even though He had not sinned. When we simply believe in Him by faith in what He accomplished on our behalf, the payment for sin can be transferred to us who believe. We then do not have to pay for our own sins. We can enter into eternity free from sin and be holy as God is holy. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and we are then covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Verse 5 speaking of Jesus Christ, says, He was manifested to take away our sins. In Him is no sin so He legally can take away our sins and clothe us with His righteousness.

His righteousness is transferred to us the moment we are willing to turn from our sin and accept Him as savior and Lord of our lives.

This is all done by faith in what He did on our behalf. It is not by works that we are saved but by our faith in Him.

We are not saved by joining a church, being baptized in water, doing a great religious deed, partaking of the sacraments, attending church, paying tithes, giving to the poor, being religious, confessing to a priest, or any other thing we can think of to make up for our sin.

We are saved only by forsaking sin and trusting in Jesus Christ to save us. Salvation of the soul is something only God can do in us. His spirit comes into us and we are literally changed or made new from the inside out. We are literally born again by the spirit of God. The living water of the Holy Spirit enters into us and we are born again.

When we are born again, the sin is gone. We are made free from sin. Remember verse 5:

1Jn 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Before Jesus came into the world the angel told Mary, that the savior that was to be born by her was coming to save His people from their sins. When we allow Jesus to save us from sin, we become His people. We become sons of God. That of course includes women.

What a glorious promise and hope.

1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

Whoever is abiding in Christ, does not commit sin. If we are habitually sinning after we claim to be in Christ, we do not know him.

Do you know the sad thing is that those who burned so-called heretics to the stake in the Middle Ages didn't even know the Christ they claimed to represent? Now, how do I know this, who am I to judge?

I know this because that is what John says here and that is what Jesus said.

John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
Joh 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
Joh 16:3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Jesus said it not me. If we harm, persecute or kill anyone in the name of religion, we do not know Jesus Christ.

In fact we do not know the Father. There is no way that we can force someone to become a Christian. That is one of the stupidest things organized religion has ever done in its history.

How can we force someone to be born again by God's spirit for that is the only way to be saved? God has to do that by His Holy Spirit entering into a person who has turned from sin and has believed in the name of Jesus Christ for salvation. It is something only God can do when a person believes.

We can't possibly force this on anyone. By their faith they are saved, not by our faith.

God sees that faith they show toward His Son, Jesus Christ and they are saved by grace.

The Holy Spirit has to be present before anyone is saved from sin. The Holy Spirit first convicts of sin and draws the person to faith in Jesus Christ. The person can refuse or he (she) can believe in Christ and be saved. Part of true salvation though as we see in this chapter of 1st John is to repent of sin. Repent means to turn away from, change direction and merely stop sinning.

1John 3:8 He that committeth 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.
1Jn 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.

A person who is abiding in Christ does not sin. We have the power to return to sin, our freewill is never taken away but once we return willfully back to sin without repenting, we are not abiding in Christ. John says here that whoever is born of God does not commit sin.

A sign that we are born again or born of God is that we stop sinning. The spirit of God enters into us and gives us power to stop sinning and to hate sin. We still have our freewill but the power is there.

That is why Jesus told us to watch and pray that we do not enter into temptation. We must not look back but look forward to the time when He returns to us again as He promised.

One sign of being truly born again by the spirit of God is that we do not hate our brothers and sisters in the Lord. I would venture to guess John also means that we love our enemies too as Jesus told us to do.

Jesus also said that: "by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples when ye have love one to another."

When we see a church that has love one for another, we will see a church that knows the Lord and is abiding in Christ.

This should be our goal. When we speak of love though, it does not mean that we compromise sin and allow false teachers in the name of love. To allow someone to be deceived and enter into a burning hell is not love by no means. If we know someone is living in sin and that sin is going to send them to hell, what kind of love is it, if we keep quiet?

So brotherly love is not patting people on the back and just telling them good things to make them feel good if they are in danger of losing their souls.

However, love also is not casting them aside and giving up on them because they make the slightest mistake either.

If we allow the Holy Spirit to constantly fill us with the love He sheds in our hearts, we will be able to love one another as Christ loves us.

False flattery is not love. He says that we are not to just love in word or saying kind things but love in deed and in truth. If we see a brother who is in need and we have the means to help him yet we shut up our bowels of compassion, we are not walking in love.

True love is a sign that God is in us of a truth. This can be faked. People could pretend to show love to gain our favor but sooner or later, we will see the truth. Evil has a way to revealing itself sooner or later.

These words though are not given to us to start judging our brother and testing him to see if he is walking in love. These words are written so we can examine ourselves to see if the truth is in us or not.

Let us not be guilty of sitting in church and hearing the word only to use it to judge someone else. If God is laying a good word on the pastor's heart and we are present to hear, let us first apply what we hear to ourselves.

1John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Another sign of true salvation is when we are keeping His commandments. We can't say we love God and then ignore all His words. That is not true conversion.

Again these things are written for us to search our own hearts not search someone else's heart.

There are three things that causes us to overcome sin:

1. The blood of Jesus that covers our sin
2. The washing of the water of the word that continues to cleanse us from sin
3. The living water of the Holy Spirit that abides within all those who abide in Christ.

This is good stuff people. Let’s not take it lightly.

This gift of eternal life can be yours today. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and allow His spirit into your life this day.

I don't usually ask anyone to repeat a prayer to be saved because that can get mechanical and not mean anything.

All we have to do is simply talk to the Lord and just ask Him to save us. He knows our heart and whether or not we mean what we say. You don't have to understand all these things to be saved. A simple child can be saved. All we have to do is ask God to help us understand and to save us from sin. His Spirit will lead us and His word will guide us every step of the way.

When we take one step toward God, He has already taken two steps toward us first.

If you have made a commitment to Christ today, please write me at:
Let me know of your newfound faith in Christ.

pastor@lwlfellowship.com.