The First Epistle of John: Lesson Twenty-Four

"For He made Him

who knew no sin to be

sin for us, that

we might become the righteousness

of God in Him."

2 Cor 5:21

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Good day, let's begin with seeking the Lord:

"Father, this is a blessed day. Today we will look in Your word at what sin is and what it has done to Your creation....but we also will see just what it was You did for us: reconciled us to You through Christ Jesus. You provided for us the HOPE that was lost. I thank You for giving us that mercy and grace to be called the righteousness of God in Christ.

So, I come today to seek the forgiveness of my sins before You because I know it is my sin that keeps me from You. I pray that You will cleanse me today through the reading and studying of Your word. I pray that You will renew me and purge me of this burden. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit this day.

I lift up to You the ladies reading this study and pray that she will be convicted of her sins. I pray that she will be moved to seek You wholeheartedly for the forgiveness she needs. I pray that You will walk with her and encourage her today.

In Jesus' name.....amen."

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As we begin Chapter 3 today, go ahead and re-read Chapter 2 and then read Chapter 3 in its entirety.

What is Sin?

This Chapter in First John is often called the "sin" chapter since it is mentioned 10 times in this chapter alone. The words "know" and "love" are mentioned 9 times each.

Apparently, John wants us to know what sin is and also what love is in this chapter. Hopefully, when we are finished, we will have a better and more complete understanding of what sin is.

The main theme of Chapter 3 is: anyone born of God cannot continue to practice sin.

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As you read through the chapter, you saw that it is broken down into sections: Children of God, Sin and the Child of God, Imperative of Love, The Outworking of Love, and The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error (which leads into Chapter Four...)

Children of God

The Greek words used to express the phrase, Children of God, is teknia and it means: begotten of the Father. In Chapter 3 we will learn more about what it truly means to be adopted into the family of God through Christ Jesus.

1 John 3:1-3

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

But first....let's look at what sin truly means to the Christian:

Sin- what is it? How is it manifested?

Sin- what is its punishment? What is its cure?

Sin- that which separates man from God.

Sin- the one who pracitices it is of the devil.

Sin- that which God made Christ to be in order to reconcile us to Himself.

Sin- a doctrine we all need to understand.

Where Did Sin Begin?

Please read:

1 John 3:8

We read here that the origins of sin are obviously with the devil. When did this all begin? John writes, "from the beginning..."

Ez 28:12-19

What was the king of Tyre's state from the day he was created until unrighteousness was found in him?

Where was he?

What happened to him according to Ezekiel 26:16-17? Why?

We read in these passages that this King was the "seal of perfection" and he was given wisdom and perfect beauty. Not just beauty, but perfect beauty.

We also read that he was in Eden and that he became filled with violence-by the abundance of his trading. The sound of music was heard on the day he was created. He walked on the holy mountain of God and was perfect in his ways...until iniquity was found in him.

Tyre was an island fortress known for its trading with Israel (1 Kin 5:9-11; 2 Chron 2:10, Acts 12:20). It was considered a maritime power. And it dealt with slave trading as well. (Ez 27:12) Its King became rich with materialism. He became proud. He started to see himself as a great god ruling over the sea (Ps. 29:10, Rev 17:1 & 15) In the Bible, the sea is seen as a fierce enemy to the Jewish people. Its storms and creatures caused great chaos to the fishing businesses. It was seen as a means to bring Israel's enemies to its shores. That is why in the Bible, the sea is no match for God. He parts its waves and walks on its surface and calms it with His voice. But in the end, the King of Tyre will be thrown into and swalled by the sea (Ez 28:8) (New Geneva Study Bible commentary)

Many see the ruler of Tyre ( King Ethbaal) in comparison to Satan.

Please read:

1 Tim 3:6

As we see in Ezekiel, sin began with Satan:

Gen 2:15-17

Gen 3

Whom does Satan attack?

How does he accomplish his task?

Using these passages in Genesis, inn your notes, write out how Satan did the following three things:

1) how he questioned God's Word.

2) how he denied God's Word.

3) how he exchanged God's Word for his lie.

Satan uses his great skills of communication to mislead the weak-minded. Remember, the Lord commanded Adam regarding the fruit....Eve was not present at the time. So she was given the command from her husband. Obviously, both did not take the commands of God seriously or they both would have obeyed.

Satan is the master when it comes to twisting God's word around. But we are the foolish ones who do not take the commands of God seriously enough.

What does Satan say that eating the fruit will do for Eve? Remember what happened to the King of Trye....

Ez 28:17-19

"..you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor..."

Eve's eyes were opened afterall and the relationship between man and God was forever broken.

How did their sin affect their relationship with God? They could no longer have fellowship with Him in paradise.

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Sin's Punishment and Effects

In your own words, how would you define sin in Genesis 3?

To me, it is listening to Satan's lies, obeying Satan, and not obeying God's Words.

Please read:

Gen 2:17

What was the punishment for Adam and Eve's disobedience?

Did it happen?

Rom 5:12-19

How did Adam's sin affect mankind?

What is Adam's sin called in Rom 5:19?

According to Paul in Rom 5:19, how are many made righteous?

Who is the "One" Paul writes about?

Look at all we have learned in this lesson so far:

Sin began with Satan.

Sin is lawlessness.

Sin greatly affects our relationship with God.

Sin separates us from God.

Sin, our sin, affects all of mankind.

No one who is born of God practices sin (continually).

Whew! We went through alot today regarding sin and its origin. Next time we will continue to look at sin and where it resides in man.....

(Used by permission from: First John, 2001, Precept Upon Precept Ministries.)

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Life Application

Looking at sin is essential to the walk of a Christian. We need to become uncomfortable with sin to the point that we are absolutely disgusted by it in any form, especially within ourselves. It is easy to point at someone else's sin, but when we need to look deep within ourselves it becomes a more tedious task.

Please read:

Gen 6:5-6

Prov 4:23

Jer 17:9-10

Before we knew Christ we were nothing but pure evil. If anything good happened to us at all it was only by the grace of God and nothing because of us.

Now, if God looks upon us at all He sees Jesus and is pleased because Christ is pure and perfect.

I remember well, when I was a young adolescent, my sister's husband back then was always critical of his brother who was doing drugs. He would yell and scream at him in such a degrading tone. He had no compassion at all for his brother who was very addicted to narcotics.

And yet my sister and her then husband did drugs too, but they were "casual" users of pot. Yet that was ok to them. As young as I was, I saw the hypocrasy in this. I warned them about this sort of drug use, but my warnings were met with laughter.

Now, this same man is no longer married to my sister, but he lives in his car and is doing hard drugs. He has no job and no money and no family. Yet, the brother he once degraded is sober and is seeking help at a rehab clinic and from his church.

As I look at what has happened these last 2 decades with my sister and her ex-husband, I have learned that it is best to look at one's own sins and seek forgiveness of those sins rather than brag about one's own "sinlessness" before God. God hears and God remembers.

It would be easy for me to judge them, but I would be foolish to do so since I know I cannot "cast the first stone" at any guilty person. I know it is only because of Christ that God can even look upon me at all. When He sees my Advocate, He smiles and is pleased.

Take time today to really look at the sin in your life. Why is it there? What is the punishment for this sin? What is the affect? What is its cure?

Seek Christ today and place at the foot of the cross all the sins you are confessing today. Leave them there and cling to Christ. You see, my sister and her husband had it all: money, excellent jobs, two healthy girls, all the fancy toys adults want, a nice home with a swimming pool, fun family vacations, lots of friends, etc.

But they did not have Christ. Now, they do not have each other and all the toys are gone. Scott and I used to envy them because we had hardly any money, low paying jobs, no vacations, and debt. But we had Christ....and still do.

I know I will spend time today on my knees asking forgiveness for envying the dead when I knew I had the living right here with me all along.

I pray you will do the same.

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Until next time....

"People are hungry for security today. They look for it in the wrong places, and often go about it the wrong way. The only place in the universe where true security can be found is in the household of the heavenly Father, who is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no way to that security outside of believing on the Father and the Son."

-Dr. Joel Beeke (The Epistles of John, 2006, p. 115)

Blessings,

Ruth