Righteousness Matters

So, in this little section, John is helping us to see that righteousness matters, but

perhaps we can turn that into a question, perhaps a question many people, at least in

society, are asking if they ever think about it.

Is sin really a big deal?

I think in this text, John can help us to answer a key question for the Christian faith.

Perhaps we've had that conversation with a friend or a colleague, a family member, a

classmate, you know, the kind of conversation that would suggest that the idea of sin is

outdated, sounds kind of primitive and restrictive.

You know, why is the church always talking about it?

Why bother with it?

We live, of course, in a culture that encourages personal freedom.

It's my body, it's my choice.

And when many people look at Christianity today, their instinct is to think that we are on the

wrong side of social issues, and so perhaps we have very little to say about what is right

and what is wrong.

sin a big deal in our day and age.

How does it come up in Christian circles?

Again, maybe you've had some of these conversations or you've heard them being spoken about.

You know, if a person is saved by God's grace, does it really matter how we live?

Have we ever heard obedience being spoken about negatively?

That sounds an awful lot like legalism, whereas the God of the Bible is all about love and grace.

Many churches, many churches, many Christians have been tempted and have given way and have redefined sin for our generation in a bid to try and make the message of the Bible more acceptable.

And that's why I think John's text is really helpful.

And just to point out that right in the middle is where we see this coming out.

Verse 7, right in the middle of our text, Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.

So there is a temptation here.

There is pressure coming, and we know that it's coming from false teachers who we've met throughout the letters so far.

And John responds to the temptation by saying,

The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Jesus Christ is the righteous one.

To belong to him is to live a life of righteousness.

But the false teachers are saying something quite different.

They're saying what we do in our body, that's no big deal.

We're all about the Spirit.

We're all about higher knowledge.

So the humdrum of what we do day in, day out is no big deal.

You can be righteous before God without living a righteous life.

That's the claim that John is tackling here.

And as we have seen John do so many times in this letter, he's going to do some fact-checking.

Is this in fact accurate?

Is it possible to say, I have been saved by grace, that I can be righteous without in any way pursuing righteousness?

And John's going to tell us, actually, no.

That's a dangerous lie from these false teachers.

And he's going to make clear to us in lots of different ways that righteousness in our lives does matter,

that sin truly is a big deal.

And to help to make his point, there's a repeating pattern within our text.

In a sense, he gives us three ways to approach the question.

So we can think about John asking the question, what is sin?

There in verse 4, but also in verse 8.

He helps the church to think about why did Jesus come in relation to sin in verse 5 and verse 8.

And then he helps Christians to ask the question, what family are we a part of?

In verse 6 and then at the bottom in verses 9 and 10.

So we're going to look at those questions and see that repeating pattern.

And as we do, we will see that because Jesus came to defeat and destroy sin in the lives of his people,

righteousness matters.

And that God's family are both called and empowered to reflect his righteousness in our lives.

But let's begin with this first question, what is sin?

And John gives us one of the key New Testament definitions here in verse 4.

Everyone who sins breaks the law.

In fact, sin is lawlessness.

Sin is to be anti-law.

And of course, the law in view here is the law of God.

So John, in line with the Bible teaching, understands that God gives his law.

That law is summarized in the Ten Commandments.

That law is then summarized by Jesus.

Love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

And God's law is a reflection of his character and his will.

So it is unchanging and it is good.

But sin is lawlessness, which means people in sin rebel against that law.

That if God is the king and says, do this, sin is when we would seek to overthrow God's government, God's rule over us.

And when we do that, we're rejecting both the goodness of God's law and there is a rejection of the lawgiver himself.

We're going against the grain of the universe.

We're going against the grain of how we were made.

We were made to live under law and to experience freedom and joy within the proper limits that God sets.

That was life in the garden.

We're going against the grain of the earth.

It's also there whenever in a moment we find ourselves in a situation and we're reflecting and we can say, well, I can choose to obey.

And maybe life will get a little bit more hard and uncomfortable for me.

Or I will choose to go another way.

Then the lawlessness of sin is being shown in our own lives.

We're made to live under God's law.

But sin is lawlessness.

And so every day and throughout the day, you and I will find ourselves choosing, am I going to reflect God the Father's will in this place, in this conversation, in this situation?

Or am I going to reject His will in this place, in this situation?

What is sin?

Sin is lawlessness.

But that's not the only description of sin that John provides.

We can go down to verse 8.

The one who does what is sinful is of the devil.

Because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.

So sin is devilish.

And John, again, is explaining to us the devil is the arch sinner.

He is the great sinner.

In fact, if you were to ask the question, where did sin and rebellion come from?

You know, the only answer that we get in the Bible is the devil.

That there is anti-law in heaven.

That Satan, the devil, persuaded some angels to rebel against the rule of God the King.

He wanted worship and glory for himself.

With the result that he has been cast out.

But he is still intent on destruction and opposing God.

And so his strategy?

Well, let me drag people to an anti-law way of thinking.

So that people would rebel against the God who made them.

So that people would rob God of glory and seek glory for ourselves.

And imagine that that brings freedom and that brings fulfillment.

I don't know if anybody's read Milton's Paradise Lost.

A very poetic, extended reflection on the strategy of the devil.

And John is saying really clearly that choosing the way of sin and saying that sin is a minimal issue and it's no big deal is choosing the way of the devil.

And that's to face the same outcome.

That just as the devil is cast out from God's presence, so we will find ourselves if we continue in habitual sin without repenting of it.

And so John knows how important it is to help the church in his day and how important it is for us in our day to understand that what we do with our body is very important and it's very important to God.

That our obedience and our righteousness really does matter.

That our talk about sin is not extreme and old school and primitive.

We need to let John, we need to let God's Word instruct us that sin is to be an active rebellion against God and His Word.

It's to place ourselves in the same camp as the devil.

And so perhaps the next time that we are tempted and we wonder to ourselves, well, does it really matter?

We can let John's warnings ring in our ears.

Sin is a big deal.

That it would serve as a fire alarm making us run to safety.

To see that the devil would have us to turn our back on God and reject His ways.

But it's dangerous.

Because sin is lawlessness.

Moving from there, but very much connected in John's logic, is the question, why did Jesus come?

So here's a second way into this question, does righteousness matter, is sin a big deal?

And it's all about understanding the person and work of Jesus.

Because actually this is crucial to giving a good answer, does sin matter?

Perhaps we've noticed that one of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they write biographies of Jesus.

And one of the unique aspects of the Gospels is that while they give almost no attention at all to Jesus' early years,

you know, most modern biographies that we read will have extended things about where they were born and their school years and those kind of things.

And even the emphasis doesn't fall principally on the great achievements of Jesus' life, which are many.

Most attention is given to Jesus' death.

That's unique in the way biographies are written.

And it's really interesting as well to understand that Jesus himself lives his life anticipating his death.

He lives under the shadow of the cross.

And we know this as early as John chapter 2.

John 2 · chapter mention

So the very first miracle that Jesus performs, turning water into wine at the wedding of Cana,

there is a point where he turns to his mother and says,

my hour has not yet come.

And that phrase, my hour, repeats throughout John's Gospel in the lips of Jesus,

referring to the time of his suffering, his death, and then his resurrection.

And so right at the beginning of his public ministry,

Jesus is anticipating the climax, his death on the cross.

The goal of his life is his sacrificial death.

And I think that's really helpful.

If we happen to have the privilege of reading the Gospel with a friend, with a family member, with a colleague,

one thing that we want them to discover is that,

that Jesus is so much more than a wise teacher and a miracle worker,

though of course he is those.

He is the Son of God who came to save by his self-giving love.

And John here wants to show us really clearly why Jesus came.

He actually uses the appear language for those of you who were here last week.

We thought about that language in the context of his second coming, the time when he returns.

So just to go back, 1 John 2, 28,

And now, dear children, continue in him so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed,

anticipating his return.

But this time, John will use the language of appearing with the focus on Jesus revealing his glory

in his earthly life and his ministry and especially his work on the cross as he goes to war on sin.

So verse 5, we find it there the first time,

But you know that he appeared, appearing with a display of glory,

so that he might take away our sins.

And in him is no sin.

So Jesus is the sinless one, the only sinless person who ever lived, the eternal Son of God.

And he has come to take away our sins.

Just as in the Old Testament there were those animal sacrifices provided to take away sins,

anticipating this still greater sacrifice.

Jesus is a far greater sacrifice than those animals.

He is perfect.

He has a sinless will.

He gives himself to die for his people.

Jesus is the only one who can truly say,

To do your will, I take delight.

Every point in his life, including at his death.

Jesus appeared so that he might take away our sins.

He dies in the place of sinners.

He takes our rebellion.

He dies for our rebel will.

And he gives forgiveness.

He gives his righteousness.

So that when we come to him and we trust in him,

our debt is cancelled and our spiritual account now reads that we are spiritual billionaires.

Loved like Jesus is loved.

So Jesus appeared to take away our sins.

And then down in verse 8, we hear the same language, reappear.

Second part of verse 8, the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

And so this in a sense connects us with Daniel 7.

If you were here this morning and this idea of this battle,

spiritual battle that rages through all creation and through all history,

the battle between good and evil,

the theme of so many of our great stories,

is the theme of the apocalyptic writing.

And it's the theme for John here.

And it's important, and we saw this this morning,

to recognize in this spiritual battle,

as Jesus comes to destroy the devil's work,

it's not a battle between equals.

Not even close.

God alone is on the throne.

God sets limits for the devil.

God is the judge.

That the victory of God and of good is never in doubt.

And what becomes clear in John's presentation

is that there is a crucial moment in the battle within history

connected to the appearing of Christ.

Connected to His mission at the cross.

That Jesus, as He goes to the cross,

destroys the work of the devil.

And it's interesting that that word,

it can be used to speak of something being untied and set free.

So you can think of an animal untied and set free.

But it's so resonant for us.

As Jesus dies and pays the penalty for our sin,

it's like our sin burden has been untied.

We are set free, no longer slaves to sin,

when we are trusting in Him.

But that language of destroy is also used of the tearing down

and destroying of buildings and of kingdoms.

And it reminds us that in Jesus' death on the cross,

the kingdom of darkness is conquered.

We heard it in Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 and 15,

Hebrews 2:14

where the author there reminds us that the Son of God

became truly human in order to die for us,

and in dying for us, breaking the devil's power.

Since the children have flesh and blood,

he too shared in their humanity,

so that by his death,

he might break the power of him who holds the power of death,

that is the devil,

and free those who all their lives were held in slavery

by their fear of death.

When Jesus dies on the cross,

the devil's power is broken.

For the people of God,

we no longer need to live with a fear of death and condemnation,

that it is a rescue out of the kingdom of darkness

and we're brought into God's kingdom.

So when we're discussing,

you know, why does the Bible,

why does the church make a big deal about sin?

Isn't that so old school?

Or when perhaps we find ourselves

tempted to ignore, to reject,

to minimize God's will,

John will say to us,

here's what to do in that moment.

Go to the cross of Christ.

Understand that it took nothing less

than the eternal Son of God

suffering and dying in our place

to break the power of sin in our lives.

If sin didn't matter,

why in the world would the Father send His Son

to go through all that He did?

Why would Jesus embrace a life of betrayal

and rejection and humiliation

and suffering and death?

But God knows,

and Jesus knew,

this is the only way

to save a people for Himself.

And in love, He did it.

And so we know that sin matters

because Jesus came to wage war

and to win that war,

to offer grace and forgiveness

and life

to all who will trust in Him.

And that takes us

to our third question,

our third way into

the larger question,

is sin a big deal?

Does righteousness matter?

And it's the question,

what family are we part of?

So John returns to this theme

a few different times

in this letter,

drawing on the fact

that just as in human families

there is a family likeness,

you know,

sometimes that's in terms

of our appearance,

sometimes that's in terms

of character traits,

and He says,

so it should be

in the family of God

that children should be

like their Father,

that we should be like

Jesus our Savior.

So last time,

John was talking about

Jesus as the righteous one

and the pure one.

And John continues

that language of righteousness

and belonging to the righteous one

to remind us

that those who belong

to the righteous Lord Jesus

should share that character,

will share that character.

And again,

this isn't perfectly,

John is very honest

about that.

In fact,

John will say in chapter one

that if we say we have no sin,

we're calling God a liar

and the truth is not in us.

But by God's grace,

that righteousness

within the people of God

is real

and it will be growing.

And so John wants to say

there is this test

of righteousness

that can be applied

and it can be applied

to the believer

to give us assurance

assurance

that we belong to God.

And we begin to notice

that, you know,

John loves these contrasts,

light and darkness.

And now he's drawing

this contrast

between those

who belong to God

and those who don't.

And he's been doing it

all the way along.

By the time we get

to chapter three

verses nine to ten,

we really get

to the climax

of his thinking.

So just read

those verses again.

No one who is born

of God

will continue to sin

because God's seed

remains in them.

They cannot go on sinning

because they have been

born of God.

This is how we know

who the children of God are

and who the children

of the devil are.

Anyone who does not do

what is right

is not God's child,

nor is anyone

who does not love

their brother and sister.

So he presents

a picture of two families,

two families who could not

be more different,

either side of the tracks.

And as the Bible

will make clear,

we are all part

of one family

or the other.

And John says

to the believer,

you can apply

the test of righteousness

to find assurance

that you belong,

that lifestyle

is one way

to show

which family

we are a part of.

So he's been developing

this as he's gone along.

So in chapter 2

and verse 29,

he talks about

those who are righteous,

everyone who does

what is right

has been born of him,

versus chapter 3,

verses 4 and 5,

everyone who sins

breaks the law.

So there are those

who pursue a life

of righteousness

and there are those

who pursue a practice

of sinning.

That's distinct.

Chapter 3, verse 6,

there are those

who live in Christ

and there are those

who because they

continue in sin

have not seen him

and do not know him.

Chapter 3, verse 7,

there are those

who do what is right,

following the one

who has saved them,

the righteous one.

Chapter 3, verse 8,

by contrast,

there are those

who do what is sinful.

Chapter 3, verse 9,

there are those

who do not continue

in sin,

but then there are

those who do.

And we see it

because they do not

love God's will

and they do not

love God's people.

They do not love

the church.

And so as John

develops this contrast,

what does he want

to say to the church,

to the believer?

He wants to encourage us,

I think,

to reflect our father

in our lifestyle.

And again,

this is a familiar idea

when we think about

our own families.

As parents,

perhaps we remember

as children,

that talk,

you know

our family values.

Let's see you live

them out.

Sometimes a sibling

may be called in,

for example,

look at your elder brother.

Why not follow

his example?

It may not always

work so well

depending on our situation,

but that's what God does.

God,

our Father,

says,

listen,

in my family,

we do righteousness.

You're my child.

Pursue righteousness.

Christ,

my son,

your elder brother

that are in the faith,

he is the righteous one.

Follow his example.

Because as Christians,

we have this wonderful

privilege of bearing

the image of God,

the image of Christ

in our lives.

As we have been

saved by grace,

as we've been set free

from our sinful loves

to now love God,

we're being restored

into the image

of God.

Our love for God

is growing.

And one reason

why sin matters

should always matter

to us

is because we don't want

our Father

to look bad.

We don't want

his name

to be dragged

through the mud.

Because we,

as his representatives

on the earth,

are living

in deliberate sin.

So by God's grace,

we choose

obedience

for the sake

of making Jesus known,

for making him

seem like good news,

for giving glory

to God

as we pursue

his will.

God's grace.

And related to that,

and this is especially

in verses 9 and 10,

John says

to the Christian,

be who

you truly

are.

What does he say

to those

who are saved

by grace?

What does he say

is true

of us?

He says

in verse 9,

we are born

of God.

He says

God's seed

remains

in his children.

That reality

of spiritual life

that leads

to growth

is in

his children.

And that means

that we have

a new power,

both to say

no to sin

and to say

yes to righteousness.

And so we cannot

go on sinning

because this new

life in us

is telling us

that righteousness

is better

by far.

And again,

of course,

John is not

saying that

we can expect

perfection

in this life

that waits

until we are

with the Lord

himself.

But it does

mean we don't

want to sit

comfortably with

sin.

We don't want

to settle

and say,

well,

that's just

who I am.

We don't want

to settle

for half-hearted

commitment

to pursuing

God's way,

God's will,

holiness.

And so we need

to expect

that God's

going to speak

to us

and going to

remind us.

Just as happens

in a family

or perhaps

we find ourselves

in a new company

or we get promoted

with a different team

and sometimes

we'll get those

reminders.

That's not how

we do things

here.

There will be

mistakes.

But there will

be growing

righteousness

because that

seed of life

has been planted

in us.

Because as a

child of God

we've been

given a love

for him

and given

a new heart

and that

leads to

new loves.

So at the

end of verse

10,

anyone who

does not

do what

is right

is not

God's

child,

nor is

anyone who

does not

love their

brother and

sister.

To turn

that on

its head

and to

make it

positive,

anyone who

does what

is right

is God's

child.

Those who

love their

brothers and

sisters,

that's evidence

of belonging

in the

family of

God.

Now we

love God's

love, not

in a legalistic

way, well if

I work really

hard then

perhaps God

will accept

me.

No, we

know we're

accepted by

grace and

gratefully we

respond.

And part of

that response

is love for

our spiritual

family.

We share the

same DNA.

We're bound

together by

the Spirit

in Christ

and so

there is

a new

love.

It's in a

big deal.

Does

righteous

living

matter?

In these

few verses

John gives

us a very

clear yes

in these

three different

ways,

reminding us

that sin

stands in

opposition

to God,

who in

Christ has

come to

love and

to save.

He puts

it in

terms of

the work

of Christ.

He came

specifically

to wage

war, to

win the

victory over

sin and

without that

reality, without

the gospel, we

would be slaves

to sin.

We'd be heading

for the same

judgment as

the devil

himself.

And John

reminds us

the Father

by His grace

places His

life in

His

children,

adopting us

by His

grace.

And as

David Jackman

so helpfully

puts it,

sin is

inconsistent

with

sonship.

So we're

invited to

take sin

seriously,

we're invited

to gratefully

receive the

work of

Christ,

and we're

invited to

live our

days as

God's

children,

gladly

pursuing

righteousness

as we've

been saved

by the

righteous

one.

whoever