Introduction

· Jesus Christ, God’s Son has come to the earth so that man can have fellowship with God & with His Son.

·         “But wait,” man says,

–         “I already have fellowship with God, I already worship Him & He accepts my worship!”

–         “I do not need for someone else to tell me how to become acceptable to God!”

–         “I can reach God on my own; He will accept me the way I am, so don’t tell me how to live!”

–         “I have this certain kind of relationship with the man upstairs you know!”

–         “I believe He will bend the rules for me, besides, I have ‘Fire Insurance’!”

–         “I do not need someone else telling me how to approach God, to worship Him, & to secure His approval!”

·         Man objects to the idea that he needs help in reaching God, he feels sufficient within himself.

Purpose of the Gospel – To Bring Us To Fellowship with God

Sin had broken fellowship in Eden – Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-7

1.       Romans 5:12 – The entrance of sin and death entered the world through one man, Adam.  God had said:

a.       “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” – Genesis 2:17.

God’s first command was serious!  If Adam disobeyed, he would die.

1)       Spiritual separation – (Eph. 2:1; 4:18)

2)       Physical separation

3)       Eternal separation – (Rev. 20:10)

b.       “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die – Ezekiel 18:4.

c.        “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself – Ezekiel 18:20. 

2.       Adam sinned and corrupted himself; therefore, he died.

Adams nature of sin and death was & still is passed on to all men.

1.       We all by nature are sinners.

a.       Ephesians 2:3 – by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

b.       Psalm 51:5 - I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

c.        Genesis 8:21 – man’s heart is evil from his youth.

d.       Psalm 58:3 cf. Romans 3:4 – Every man is a liar.

e.        Proverbs 22:15 – Foolishness [is] bound up in the heart of a child.

2.       Personal Responsibility A man is not condemned to death because of Adam’s sin, but of his own sins. 

Every man is personally responsible to God – Do not ‘pass the buck’ 

Scripture says this:

a.       Death spread to all men, because all sinned” – Romans 5:12

b.       For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23

c.        For the wages of sin [is] death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord – Romans 6:23

d.       If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us – 1 John 1:8 

e.        All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all – Isaiah 53:6

3.       Adam is the cause of sin & sin is the cause of death

Sin continues to break fellowship

1.       Our sin separates us from the Lord – Isaiah 59:1-2

2.       Answers to our prayers are hindered by our sin – Ps 66:18

Sin is the ultimate thing the can be done against God.

1.       Sin is disobeying & rebelling against God – Romans 1:18-23

2.       All sin is against God – Psalm 51:4, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight--That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.”

Sin cost God the ultimate price - The supreme sacrifice -The death of His Son – Romans 5:6-11

God provided a way for man to be forgiven and to be saved

–         Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends” – John 15:13

But note Christ did not give His life just for friends, He went beyond that.  He gave His life for those whom:

1.       Were ungodly & without strength, yet Christ died for us – Romans 6:6-7

a.       Christ died for those who were the very opposite of righteous & good.

b.       Christ died for those who were useless, destitute, worthless

c.        Christ died for those whom no man would dare to die for

2.       Were sinners, yet God demonstrated His love for us – Romans 5:8-9

                                                Think for a moment what God Himself must have gone through giving His own son!

a.       God sent His Son out of the Spiritual and Eternal world into the Physical corrupt world.

b.       God sent His Son to take on the limitations of human flesh

c.        God seen His Son walk through life being rejected, denied, cursed, abused, arrested, tortured, and murdered by the hands of men when God knew He could reach out and deliver Him.

d.       God laid the sins of the world upon His Son and let Him bear the punishment and shame.

e.        God turned His back on Christ to die.

f.        God had cast His wrath against sin upon His Son.

g.        Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God – Hebrew 12:2

3.       Were enemies of God, yet God reconciled and saved us – Romans 5:10-11

a.       We are reconciled by Christ’s death – v.10

1)       Sin is what broke the relationship between God & man.

2)       Reconciliation to God comes only by the death of His Son-Jesus Christ.

3)       God is the One Who Reconciles, not man.

b.       We are saved by Christ’s life – v.10 cf. (Rom.8:34; 1 Tim.2:5)

c.        We are given joy by Christ’s atonement (reconciliation) – v.11

Now all things [are] of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore [you] on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.  For He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him– 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

…and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross – Colossians 1:20

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like [His] brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people – Hebrews 2:17

We love Him because He first loved us – 1 John 4:19 NKJV)

The Deception: We Can Fellowship with God & Walk in Darkness—1:6

If we should say that we are having fellowship with Him, and if we should still voluntarily walk in darkness which is sin, we are lying and we are not practicing the truth.

All talk, & no walk.

Their life does not back up what they “say”

1.       Their life is not consistent with the things they are professing.

a.       Titus 1:16 – they profess with their mouth but deny by their works.

2.       What a person says is not always a true indicator of where their heart is.

Jesus warned against those who make false professions

1.       Matthew 7:21-23 – Not all who say “Lord, Lord…”

2.       Revelation 3:17 – Jesus said to the church of Laodicea…

a.       Your say you are rich, you have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,

b.       But I say to you, you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked

1)       What Jesus says of me is much more important than what I say of myself.

2)       I should be concerned how Jesus views me rather than I view myself.

3.       The Christian life is more than a profession.

Saved by “faith alone”, but not by a “faith that is alone”

a.       What does it profit a man if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

1)       Faith by itself if it does not have works is dead.

2)       But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works,” show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

4.       We must be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

a.       Matthew 7:24-25

“And walk in darkness.”

1.       2 Corinthians 6:14 – Paul wrote to Corinth, “what fellowship does light have with darkness?”

2.       Walking in darkness is a very dangerous place to be.

a.       Ephesians 5:5-6 – For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

b.       It is dangerous because it is deceptive.

3.       We need to examine ourselves—2 Corinthians 13:5 cf. Psalm 139:23-24

Four Scriptures I Must Examine Myself on Everyday

                                                                If I Am Practicing One of These in any of the list I "Will not inherit the Kingdom of God!"

a.       Not what I say that counts, but what I do.

God does not bend the rules for you!

1)       1Corinthians 6:9-10

2)       Galatians 5:19-21

3)       Ephesians 5:5-7

4)       Revelation 21:8

b.       “We lie and do not tell the truth.”

This is a lie – 1 John 3:9

The Amplified New Testament

“No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately and knowingly] habitually practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him – His principle…remains permanently within him – and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.”

The Preachers Outline & Sermon Bible, Leadership Ministries, Chattanooga, TN  

“Once the divine seed or nature of God has been implanted within the believer, the believer cannot go on living in sin.  He cannot continue and continue to sin; he cannot practice sin habitually.  The divine nature of God will pester and provoke the believer and convict him to the point that he cannot stand it.  If he continues on and on in sin, it is clear evidence that he has never been born of God.  The genuine believer loves God because of what God has done for him in Christ.  God has loved man in the most supreme way possible, by giving up His Son to die for man.  Therefore, the believer loves God, loves Him with all his heart, and he wants to please God.  It is also this that keeps the genuine believer away from sin.

Remember what Joseph said when Potipher’s wife tempted him:

"[There is] no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you [are] his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" - Genesis 39:9

1.       It is possible that our profession of faith is a lie if we tolerate sin in our lives.

2.       We cannot live sinfully and claim salvation.

3.       Christ must be lived in our daily lives, for when we receive Him we are new creatures

4.       Lie stands in the opposite of truth 1John 2:21-24; John 8:44

The Truth: We Must Walk In the Light—1:7

Come to the Light by confessing our sins – Matthew 11:28…John 7:37…John 6:37…1 John 1:9

1.       Not try to deny or hide

a.       Achan tried to hide his sin, but God knew and revealed to Joshua

b.       Joshua 7:1, 10-12, 20

c.        Numbers 32:23 – Your sin will find you out.

2.       Not try to correct.

a.       The lie of Satan is “You’re not good enough to go to God – clean up first.”

3.       Cleansing will follow our confession of guilt – 1 John 1:9

a.       He is the one that does the cleansing.

1)       To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, (Revelation 1:5 NKJV)

b.       Forgiveness is a result of confession – 1 John 1:9

Spend time in the Light – Psalm 119:105

1.       Spend time in the Word of God.

2.       Spend time in prayer.

Walk in the light—Living Daily in Purity and Holiness for “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

Put on the Armor of light – Romans 3:11-14—Living as children of Light – Ephesians 5:8-16

1.       The believer is to know the time (v.11)

a.       Make sure that you know and do not miss this critical period of time we are living in!

b.       We must be aware to what is going on around us and making the most use of our time!

2.       It is time to awake out of sleep (v.11-12)

Sleep – the sleep of false security; slothfulness, complacency and neglect

Many people are spiritually lazy

–         Little or no commitment to serving Christ.

–         Little or no prayer life.

–         Little or no concern for the Kingdom of God, being about their Fathers business!

a.       Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed (v.11)

b.       The day (judgment) is at hand (v.12)

1)       This is the day we will meet God face to face!

2)       Are you ready to meet God?  Hebrews 9:27

3)       “Prepare to meet your God” – Amos 4:12

4)       Mark 13:34-37; 1 Cor.15:34; 1 Thess.5:6

3.       It is time to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light (v.12)

This is a Picture of Clothing.

a.       Strip off whatever dark sins and works we have wrapped around ourselves.

–         Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1 NKJV)

b.       Put on the Armor of light-Living in Purity & Holiness

–         This is the armor of righteousness – 2 Corinthians 6:7

–         This is the armor of God – Ephesians 6:10-20

1)       The belt of truth

2)       The breastplate of righteousness

3)       The sandals of the gospel of peace

4)       The shield of faith

5)       The helmet of salvation

6)       The sword of the spirit, the Word of God

7)       The supernatural resource of the soldier, prayer

4.       It is time to walk straight (v.13)

Don’t try and hide anything from the Lord, always be honest with Him

a.       Revelry – the party life

b.       Drunkenness – to take intoxicating drink or drugs for the purpose of lust or pleasure.

c.        Lewdness – sexual immorality: pre-marital sex

d.       Lust – living a wild, immoral party lifestyle-Having your thoughts consumed with lust.

e.        Strife – quarreling, arguing: a person who want honor recognition and authority.

f.        Envy – looking at what others have, wanting it to the point that they don’t have it-regretting the success of others.

5.       It is time to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh (v.13)

Again, this is the picture of clothing

a.       We are to clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ and His righteousness (v.13)

1)       Since Jesus is our clothing He

a)       Protects us

b)       Warms us

c)       Covers us

d)       Hides us

2)       Being wrapped up in Jesus means

a)       Looking only at what Jesus would look at.

b)       Listen only to that which Jesus would listen to.

c)       Talk only as He would talk.

d)       Touch only what He would touch.

e)       Think on the things that Jesus would think about.

f)        WWJD

b.       We must make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust (v.13)

Then we have true fellowship.

Then we are cleansed from sin.

1.       The blood of Jesus Christ He shed on Calvary’s Cross is

a.       For the initial cleansing (Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 9:26-28)

b.       For the continual cleansing of the sins of those who are in fellowship of Christ

1)       John 13:6-10

2.       There is a distinction between

a.       “walking in darkness” a voluntarily sinful lifestyle

b.       Falling into sin from which the believer seeks forgiveness in confession & repentance.

3.       Forgiveness and cleansing of sin results in “walking in the light.”

4.       In turn walking in the light is walking in fellowship with God.