Friday, February 18, 2011

A Formula For Fellowship - Part 3

How do you get right with God and stay right with God? 

3.  Now the third thing…Not only must that sin be exposed to the light, not only must be expressed to the Lord, it needs to be expelled from the life.   

Look at chapter 2 verse 1 and see why John is doing this.  

Is John saying, “Oh it really doesn’t make a difference how you sin?” Oh no! 

“Or whether we sin?” Oh no!   

He says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”   

You say, “Hey pastor Rogers, you are making it awful easy to be forgiven.”  No, John says, “I’m not writing these things to encourage you to sin, I am writing these things so you sin not.  But if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  What he is saying is this…”My desire, my goal for you is this…that you live a sinless life.”  That’s the goal, that’s the aim.  But if you sin, here is the way to be cleansed, the way to be forgiven.  John knowing we are not perfect and we would not be until we get to heaven, holds nothing less than a perfect standard mind you.   

Why do I love God?  Why do I serve God?  If I am truly saved, no amount of condemnation will keep me from going to heaven.  God will discipline me. God will chastise me.  But if I am truly saved, I am going to heaven.    Why are you so careful about dealing with these day by day things in a practical thing?  Because I want fellowship with God.  Because I want joy.  John says, “I am writing so that you might have fellowship, so you might have joy.”   

So why do I therefore serve God?  I would as soon eat dirt than to sin.  Why?   
(1) A slave serves because he has to. 
(2) An employee serves because he needs to. 
(3) A son serves because he wants to.   

I am all three.  I am a slave, servant and a son.   I serve him because I have to, because I need to, but mostly because I want to.  He’s done so much for me.  So this is not an inducement to sin.  This is an inducement not to sin. “These things that I write unto you, that you sin not.”  But isn’t this a wonderful salvation.  Isn’t it wonderful to know that He forgives our sins judicially and never again will sin be brought up against us, to send us to hell.  But then as a son, in order that He might have fellowship with us, He tells us that if our sin were being exposed to the light, if our sin were to be expressed to the Lord, it can be expelled from the life.  That’s wonderful. 

Adrian Rogers  3/9/09 “A Formula For Fellowship”

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