Jesus was to destroy the devil's work vol2

JESUS WAS TO DESTROY THE DEVIL'S WORK VOL2
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 John 3:8 8The one who does what is sinful is of the
devil, because the devil has been sinning from the
beginning. The reasonthe Son of God appearedwas to
destroy the devil's work.
When Spirituality Meets Sin
By Johnny L. Sanders
Bible Book:1 John 3 : 4-8
Subject: Sin, Christian
Series:1 John
INTRODUCTION
The lasttime he remembers picking up a Bible was when his mother told him
to dust the coffee table, and that was years ago. So, how does he know so much
about the Bible? Better yet, how can he know so much more about the Bible
than all those preachers who went to the “cemetery”?How does he know
about all those contradictions in the Bible?
Well, are there really contradictions in the Bible? If the Bible contradictions
itself can I trust it? There is a simple answer:There are many contradictions
in the Bible, but at no place does it contradict itself, or the divine author of
every verse. What the Bible contradicts that disturbs so many people is itself,
but the way they live. Let’s face it, very few lostpeople could care less whether

or not the Bible contradicts itself, as long as it does not condemn their way of
life. Why would a lostperson be concernedabout whether or not the Bible
condemns money, or the love of money? No, what disturbs the lostperson is
that the Bible reveals the truth about sin and its consequences.Justas Felix
was shakenwhen Paul reasonedwith him about sin, righteousness, andthe
judgment to come (Acts 24), the lostperson today rebels againstthe revealed
truth found in God’s Word. As a matter of fact, it is not enoughto saythe
Bible contains revealedtruth, it is the revealedtruth.
Lost people would like to rejectthe Word of God because it identifies them as
sinners, under sentence ofeternal death. It also stands in shocking contrastto
their world-view. That canbe disturbing. For example, if you are an
evolutionist, you are going to have to deal with some serious contradictions.
Either the world was createdby the MasterDesigner, orit appearedout of no
where, createdby no one, going nowhere - and then it all evolved from there. I
can believe a watchmakerdesignedmy wrist watch, but I do not have enough
faith to believe one could evolve from a junk yard. I must choose one view or
the other - or do what so many Christians do: adopt a compromise view.
Maybe you are thinking, “Thatis all well and good, but what does that have to
do with the First Epistle of John, the epistle written to provide us with
assurance ofour relationship with Jesus Christ?” I’m, glad you asked!
Becausethere seems - on the surface - to be a major contradictionin this little
epistle. However, I am convincedthat there is absolutely no contradiction
from one passageto another. But there might be a contradiction betweenthe
God-breathed Word and some unfortunate and unscriptural conceptions held
by some people.
I. JESUS CHRIST CAME TO TAKE AWAY OUR SINS, 3:4-5.
A. WHOEVER COMMITS SIN ALSO COMMITS LAWLESSNESS,AND
SIN IS LAWLESSNESS, 3:4.

1. The Bible teaches thatall people sin.
a. "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperatelywicked” (Jer.
17:9).
b. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
c. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10).
2. “The wages ofsin is death...” (Rom. 6:23).
3. Every lost personis under a penalty of eternal death (John 3:18).
4. Sin is lawlessness,and lawlessnessis rebellion againstthe law of God.
5. Now, let us look at the “whoever” partof this, which John has already
addressed.
a. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 1 John 1:8.
b. If we say we have no sin, we call God a liar, 1 John 1:10.
c. Here, as in the hymn, “Whosoeversurelymeaneth me.”
B. Jesus “Was Manifestedto Take Away Our Sins,” 3:5a.
1. He was revealedby the Father.
2. He was affirmed by the Holy Spirit.

3. He was proclaimed by miracles.
4. He was substantiatedby the Resurrection.
C. In Him There Is no Sin, 3:5b.
1. Jesus knew no sin.
“ForHe made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become
the righteousnessofGod in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
2. He was without sin, Hebrews 4:15.
II. HE WHO ABIDES IN CHRIST DOES NOT SIN, 3:6.
A. There Is no Contradiction in the Scripture.
We are not going to gloss overwhat may seemto some to be a contradiction
here. It is a fact that in 1:8, John says, “If we saythat we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
It is also a fact that he says in 1:10 that, “If we say that we have not sinned, we
make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” And now, he is saying that “He
who abides in Christ does not sin.” Is he not saying here right the opposite of
what he has said in chapter one? Absolutely not. Let me explain.
In 1:8 and 10, John is dealing with the principle of sin that remains active in
the heart even after one has receiveda judicial pardon for his sins.

Justificationis a metaphor of the court room. When you believe in Jesus
Christ, God, the eternal and omniscient Judge, pronounces you just. When
you sin from that time forward - and you will sin (“come short of the glory of
God,” Rom. 3:23b) - we “have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous” (2:1b). When the lostperson sins, he is in rebellion againstthe law
of God and God will dealwith him as his Judge. When the Christian sins, God
will deal with him as Father, as a father dealing with a child.
Chapter one teaches thateven after we are saved, there is a sin principle
(some call it the old sin nature) which remains in operation until we are
glorified. Becauseofthe sinful nature, the believer will commit acts of sin, and
at times those acts may be shocking, notonly to others, but also to the
individual who commits them. Paul, in the sectionof Romans dealing with
Sanctification, shares his personaltestimony with us:
“Forthe goodthat I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I
practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin
that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who
wills to do good. ForI delight in the law of God according to the inward man”
(Rom. 7:19-22).
Christians do, and will continue to commit acts of sin. There is never a day
that we do not need to confess oursins and receive God’s forgiveness and
cleansing (1 John 1:9). Now, John is going to make a statementthat may seem
to contradict 1:8 and 1:10, but in fact, there is no contradictionat all.
B. “Whoeverabides in Him does not sin,” 3:6.
“Well,” one may say, “that certainly sounds like a contradiction! Just read
1:8-10; 2:1-21;and 3:9 and see if you do not see a problem.” Let us begin by
admitting that this is not easyfor one who is reading this in the English.

However, in this text the key that unlocks the mystery to the truth is in the
meaning of the Greek tenses.
This verse does not claim that Christians will never commit any acts of sin
(which would contradict 1:8). The verb here denotes continuous action. This
passagedoes notteach that a Christian never sins at all after his conversion.
Those who claim that they can reachsinless perfectionin this life cannotpoint
to this verse as a proof text. The note in the Believer’s Study Bible states, “The
present tense, in this context, indicates the breaking of the perpetual hold of
sin in the life of the disciple.”
C. WhoeverAbides in Him Does not Continually and Habitually Sin.
In Justification, we are delivered from the eternal penalty of sin. In
Sanctification, we are being delivered from the powerof sin. In Glorification,
we will be delivered from the very presence of sin - for ever! The lostperson,
because he is a slave to sin and Satan, is presently under a sentence ofdeath
(John 3:18). His only hope is in receiving Jesus Christ by grace through faith.
The Christian is one who has been born again, and is being nurtured and
developed by the Holy Spirit. As you are being conformedto the image of
Christ, there are many sins that should no longerbe a problem for you. That
does not mean that we do not sin, for we do (1 John 1:8). We must confess our
sins and seek God’s forgiveness(1:9).
There is no contradictionhere, however. What John is saying here is that the
born againbeliever in Jesus Christ will not continue in sin so as to make it his
lifestyle. He will not sin habitually. That does not mean that we have some
magic formula we canuse to determine whether or not our neighbor is really
a born againbeliever. The Believer’s Study Bible Notes may help us:

“ The powerto overcome habitual sin is basedon the invulnerability of the
believer to the ravages ofsatanic influence (5:18), and on "His seed"
remaining in him (v. 9). The expression"His seed" is a reference to the divine
principle of life that abides in a man after regenerationin Christ. This
principle prevents slavery to Satan and sin.”
D. “WhoeverSins Has Neither SeenHim nor Known Him.”
The personwho continually sins so as to make it his lifestyle demonstrates
that he has never known Jesus. Sadly, some have taught that one sin will
condemn the believer to hell. A friend told me of the sermon he heard in his
youth that troubled him for years. An evangeliststateda hypothetical
situation in which the pastor of his church might be calledon to visit a dying
church member. He went on to saythat if his buggy wheelhit a stump and he
was thrown out of the buggy and hit his head on another stump and was
killed, the pastorwould spend his eternity in hell if he uttered a profane word
before his head hit the stump.
This is not what John is teaching. He says that when a person continues in sin,
that is, sins habitually, he is demonstrating that he has never known Jesus
Christ. He has no saving relationship with Him. You either abide in Christ or
you abide in sin. Now, I would suggestthat before we apply that to all the
other members of our church, we apply it to ourselves first. If I can continue
in sin, I must ask myself if I really know Jesus Christ.
III. HE WHO PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS, 3:7-8.
A. The Warning Implies the DangerThat Some Might Be Deceived, 3:7a.
1. Paul amplifies the warning in Galatians 6:7-8.
2. Some are deceivedas to what makes one a Christian.

In a recent edition of the The O’Rielly Factor, Bill O’Riely interviewed a man
he introduced as a former Muslim leaderin America who had converted to
Christianity. Askedto explain what had happened, the young black man
statedthat he had been “born a Christian,” and then he had converted to
Islam, and now he had returned to Christianity - and was entering politics.
One may be born a Jew, or he may be born a Muslim, but no one is ever born
a Christian. One can only become a Christian by being re-born, or born-
again.
B. Now, Let Us Look at the Biblical View of Righteousness, 3:7b..
1. God demands righteousness ofall who would come into His presence.
2. No one is righteous (Rom. 3:10ff).
3. Our highestattempt at righteousness is as filthy rags (Is. 64:6).
4. The righteousness ofGod is imputed unto those who believe in Jesus Christ
(Rom. 3).
5. The just shall live by faith (Rom. 1:17).
C. Those Who Live By Faith Practice Righteousness.
Herein is true spirituality: “He who practices righteousness is righteous, just
as He is righteous.” The key to Sanctificationis found in Romans 8:29: “For
whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His
Son...” In other words, God has predestined all who are justified to be so

conformed to the image of Jesus Christ that he will practice the righteousness
of Christ. While man’s highest attempt at righteousness is as filthy rags, once
the righteousnessofChrist is imputed unto him he will be righteous, “just as
He is righteous.”
D. This Is the Key to Spirituality.
1. The spiritual personis a believer who abides in Christ.
2. The truly spiritual personis Christ-like.
3. He practices righteousnessin the powerof the Holy Spirit.
E. There Are Some Specific Results of Spirituality.
1. The spiritual personglorifies Christ.
2. The spiritual personhas a perception of the Word that lostpeople lack.
3. The spiritual personhas the power to witness for Christ.
4. The spiritual personhas divine guidance through the ministry of the Holy
Spirit.
5. The spiritual personhas assurance ofsalvationand God’s presence.

6. The spiritual personmay worship His Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer.
7. The spiritual personcan pray to the Father.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire,
and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7).
8. The spiritual personministers to others.
Volumes have been written in recent years on the Spirit-filled life. The
Scripture is very clear on the subject: the Spirit-filled person is a Christ-like
person. Is there anything in the world you desire more than you desire to be
like Christ? If there is, you are carnal, not spiritual. If you are spiritual, your
life will manifest it. People may be paying a lot more attention to your life
than you think.
MY LIFE
My life is an open book,
Open wide for all may see.
Eachday it must be a little better,
For someone may follow me.
My life is an open book,
Open wide that you may know,

With but one quick look,
What kind of seedI sow.
The print is large, the type is bold,
And easyfor you to see.
So, when my life you behold
I ask your prayer before you judge me.
---- Johnny L. Sanders
F. He Who Continues in Sin Is of the Devil, 3:8a.
1. The devil has sinned from the beginning.
2. If you continue in sin you are of the devil, no matter how loudly you profess
faith in God.
G. Jesus Came to Destroythe Works of the Devil. 3:8b.
CONCLUSION
We need to understand this within the contextof this epistle. Jesus came to
seek and save the lost, and He came to destroy Satanand everything that is of
the devil. While He delivered the death blow to Satanat Calvary, Satanis still
active on planet earth today. However, when Jesus Christ returns, he will
ultimately destroySatan (Rev. 20:10). While this true, I thank God that we do
not have to wait for the return of our Lord in order to see Jesus Christ
destroy the work of Satan.

Jesus is destroying the work of the devil in the hearts of believes every day.
When you placed your faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus wona mighty victory over
the devil. Through the ministry of His Spirit and His Word He equips you for
warfare againstthe devil. In other words, He is defeating the works of the
devil in your heart daily as you abide in him. And as you continue to abide in
Him you continue to practice the righteousnessofJesus Christ. This is what
He wants to do for you, and through you right now. The question is, are you
ready to let Him do it?
Let me share with you a poem I copied - as I recall - from a wall in the main
lobby of camp 4 at the MississippiState Penitentiary at Parchman some 40
years ago:
NO TIME FOR GOD
You’ve time to build houses and in them dwell,
And time to do business - to buy and to sell,
But none for repentance, for deep earnestprayer,
To seek your salvation you’ve no time to spare.
You’ve time for earth’s pleasures, forfrolic and fun,
For her glittering treasures how quickly you run,
But care not to seek the fair mansions above,
The favor of God, or the gift of His love.

You’ve time to take voyages overthe deep sea,
And take in the gayworld’s jubilee;
But soonour hopes will be lostin the gloom
Of the cold, dark river of death and the tomb.
You’ve time to resortto woods, mountains, and glen,
And time to gain knowledge from the books of men,
Yet no time to searchfor the wisdom of God;
but what of your soul when you are under the sod?
For time will not linger when helpless you lie;
Staring death in the face, you will take time to die!
Then, what of the judgment? Paul, think, I implore!
For time will be loston eternity’s shore.
PETER PETT
Verse 7-8
The Way That Men Walk Reveals Whose Children They Are (1 John 3:8-10).

‘Little children, let no man lead you astray. He who practises righteousness
(carries righteousness into practise)is righteous, even as he is righteous, he
who practises sin (deliberately carries sin into practise)is of the devil, for the
devil sins from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that
he might destroythe works of the devil.’
John wants to make sure that no one leads them astrayand deceives them
about the truth. Eachman, says John, has one of two basic aims, either to
carry righteousness into practise in every aspectof their lives, that is, by
seeking to live as God has revealedin order to do His will, (including
obedience to His Instruction or Law in the Scriptures), or to go on practising
sin and thus demonstrating that they are careless aboutthe will of God. Men
are for God or againstHim. The one puts righteousness into practise because
he is seeking to please and be like the Righteous One, because there is a
righteousness implanted within him. Such people are aiming to be like Him,
because they are His. The other is of the Devil. Such people are lawless,just
like the Devil has been, right from the beginning. They do not want God’s
laws or seek His will. ‘From the beginning’ is probably a reference to Genesis
3-4. They set themselves againstthe will of God, just as he did.
Paul put it quite clearly. ‘I as I am in myself with the mind serve the law of
God, but with the flesh the law of sin’ (Romans 7:25). The one was his choice,
his option, his desire, his aim. The other his weakness, his curse, that from
which he longedto be delivered.
‘To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works
of the Devil.’ Indeed this was why Jesus came into the world as the light of the
world, so that what the Devil had achievedmight be destroyed, so that what
he had done might be nullified. Rebellionand lawlessnessare the Devil’s
work. It was the Devil who first led man to rebel against God, and who stirred
up Cain to kill Abel, and he has been doing it ever since. Jesus came to thwart

him and to bring man back under the Kingly Rule of God. That was the
purpose of His coming.
‘The works of the Devil.’ The closestparallelto this in John is in John 8:41,
where Jesus tells those who were seeking to kill him, ‘You are doing the deeds
of your father,’ and again in John 8:44, ‘You are of your father the Devil.’
Those great‘lawkeepers’were demonstrating their lawlessness, andthus that
they had chosento follow the Devil, to be ‘children of the Devil’, behaving like
him. Theirs was a setattitude of mind. All who choose the way of sin, says
John, are like them.
A True Christian Does NotSin
This entry was postedin John's Letters (Rayburn) on November 14, 2010 by
Rev. Dr. RobertS. Rayburn.
1 John 3:4-10Audio Player
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As we noted last time, we are in the middle of John’s secondexpositionof
what we have calledthe moral test of true and authentic Christian faith. That
is, a true Christian, someone actuallyin possessionofGod’s salvation, will live

according to the commandments of God. This morning we continue where we
left off in the middle of John’s argument.
Text Comment
v.4
No doubt this simple definition of sin, as any and every violation of God’s law,
a definition found elsewhere in the Bible and earlier in this letter, as in 2:4,
was important to state because the false teachers had taught a quite different
view of sin and, accordingly, of righteousness. Theythought laws and
commandments passé, beneaththem. Those people, introduced as they
claimed to have been, to the secrets ofhigher knowledge needn’t worry
themselves about such things. John will have nothing of that. Righteousness
has always beenand will always be heartfelt and love-motivated obedience to
God’s commandments, nothing more, nothing less.
v.5
In the previous verses, in 2:28 and 3:2 we were encouragedto seek holiness of
life because Christis coming againto judge the living and the dead. Here and
in v.8 our motivation is that it was for the destruction of sin in our lives that

Christ enteredthe world and went to the cross. Look atChrist behind you or
before you and you find reasons everywhere to forsake sinand live
righteously.
v.7
Righteousnessis simply being righteous and living righteously in obedience to
God’s commandments. We are also in so living imitating our Savior who was
such a man himself.
v.8
And, lestsomehow a man, like Frank Sinatra, think that in his disobedience
he is being his own man, doing it his way, let him reckonwith the fact that no
man can serve only himself. He serves eitherGod or the Devil and finds
strength in his way of life from the one or from the other. Frank Sinatra
didn’t do it his way; he did it the Devil’s way. All sinners do.
v.10
The final phrase “nor is the one who does not love his brother” anticipates the
next paragraph, the secondrendition of the socialtestof true Christian faith,
the love of the brethren.

This past week we have been treated to a very revealing contrast, the exact
reverse, I think, of what we might, even should have expectedgiven the verses
we have just read. Dave Niehaus, the long-time Seattle Mariners’announcer
died this past week ofa heart attack and thus began a tremendous outpouring
of love and appreciationfrom Seattle Mariner fans and baseballinsiders. This
was a goodman we have been told in a thousand different ways. And, to be
sure, Dave Niehaus was a likeable man, a capable man, a friendly man, a
family man, by all accounts. I don’t wish to decry those features of his life and
characterthat made him as popular a figure in the Northwestas he was. But I
have heard nothing of his being a Christian man and a number of insider
accounts ofhis speechand manner awayfrom the microphone suggesthe
probably was not a followerof the Lord Jesus Christ, not a man determined
to live his life for his Savior’s sake and to the glory of God. Faith in Christ and
the service ofhis name and kingdom were not dimensions of his life that
anyone thought to mention in describing the man.
On the other hand, through this same week we have been treatedto daily
accounts ofhow CecilNewton, the father of Heisman trophy favorite, Cam
Newton, the Auburn University quarterback, soughtto exhort money from
Southeasternuniversities in exchange for the services ofhis talented son. Cecil
Newtonis not only a professing Christian, he is the pastor of a Georgia
church. But as the allegations multiply, as the NCAA and the FBI are now on
the trail of evidence of wrongdoing, we are no doubt to hear much more of the
allegations ofa Georgia pastor’s attempts at extortion.

And, alas, this has become entirely ordinary in our modern American society.
Do any of you, sitting in this sanctuary this morning, think or believe that the
ordinary American would be likely to distinguish betweenChristians and
non-Christians by the upright behavior of the former in contrastto the sinful
behavior of the latter? I don’t. I don’t think most Americans think anything
of the kind. They don’t think that you always cantell the Christians because
they are the scrupulously honest ones, the always sympathetic and loving ones,
the conscientiousones who would waste a half hour to return to a store clerk
the extra change inadvertently given, the devout ones whose speechis never
marred by the dirty joke or by profanity, the generous ones who can always
be counted on to see a need and work to meet it, and the heavenly minded
ones who in all of their cheerful and useful earthly lives are always taking
seriouslythe eternalissue of human existence. They may know that Christians
are distinguished by a certainset of beliefs, but it is not, I think, widely
believed that Christians are distinguished by a distinctly different and better
behavior.
No doubt we carry a burden that the Christians of the apostolic age did not,
or at leastthey did not carry it to the extent that we do. Huge numbers of
people callthemselves Christians in our society who are not, in fact,
committed to living a distinctly Christian life and that gives all Christians a
bad name. That is one burden we bear. There is another such burden, alas, a
more self-inflicted wound. In modern American evangelicalism, that is, Bible-
believing Christianity, there is a strongly antinomian element. Antinomian
means “againstthe law” and refers to all views of Christian theologyin which,
by whatever principle, the importance of an obedient live is either denied or
minimized. In our time only some will actually deny the need for obedience to
God’s commandments – as the false teachers Johnwas writing againsthad
denied it – but many others will definitely minimize its importance, pay little
attention to biblical texts that emphasize its importance, and wheneverthe
issue of obedience comes up will quickly change the subject. They would
rather speak of justification by faith and of the grace of God that provides the

forgiveness ofour sins. Speak of the obedience of a Christian man or woman
and they are likely to remind you that we are all sinners, that no one’s
obedience is perfect, and that no one canget to heaven by his or her obedience
to the law of God. It is a fixed law, of course, in this world always a fixed law:
minimize the importance and the necessityof obedience to God’s
commandments and you getless of that obedience and more careless and
worldly Christians.
Let no one take our crown in preaching and believing in the forgiveness of
sins. It is the first greatgift God gives to us when we believe in his Son: the
forgiveness ofour sins. And our need for that forgiveness continues. It is
altogethertrue and a fact of immense importance that we Christians remain
sinners; we inexcusably but certainly remain sinners. We need God’s
forgiveness everymoment of every day. If we are not committing some
transgressionof God’s law, we are failing to meet some demand of that law,
every moment of every single day. All of that is true and fundamental to the
right understanding of the Christian faith and life. We are at every moment
sinners savedby grace.
But the Bible also repeatedly, emphatically, and relentlesslyteaches that
Christians will obey and must obey the commandments of God. Obedience
may not make us Christians, but it certainly marks us out as Christians. Our
obedience to God may not obtain God’s salvationbut it is everywhere in the
Bible a necessarypart and dimension of our salvation.
And perhaps nowhere in the Bible is that truth stated more starklythan here
in 1 John 3:6 and 9-10.

“No one who abides in Christ keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning
has either seenhim or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you.
Whoeverpractices righteousnessis righteous…” [And whoeverdoesn’t
practice righteousness, obviously, is not righteous whatever they may claim
regarding the forgiveness ofsin.]
“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seedabides in him
and he cannot keepon sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is
evident who are the children of God…”
Indeed, it is some measure of how our thinking is shaped by our spiritual
culture that so many Christians reactin startled confusionto statements like
these made by the Apostle John, the apostle ofthe love of God and Christ.
How can John saythat Christians don’t any longersin? How can he say that
you cantell the believers from the unbelievers by their obedience to the
commandments of God or the lack of such obedience? Aren’t we all sinners
and don’t we Christians remain sinners? We love Christ; we trust him for our
salvation. But there canbe no doubt that we continue to sin, every day and in
every way we continue to sin. We sin by what we do and even more, much
more, by what we fail to do. ForGod’s commands do not only forbid us to lie,
to steal, to lust, to envy, and so on; they likewise commandus to love God with
all our heart, soul, strength and mind and our neighbor as much as we love
ourselves;and we really love ourselves. How can John saythat Christians do
not continue to sin?

As you can imagine, there have been a variety of answers givento that
question. There have been those – and they can be found in some quarters of
the church today – who take John’s words at face value and claim that, as a
matter of fact, real Christian do not ever sin. This view comes in various
forms but, in one wayor another, it is maintained that God has takenaway
the Christian’s sin and so whateverthey do, because they are Christians,
cannot be and is not consideredby God to be sin. It may look to us like sin –
ill-temper or callousnessorlust or greedor envy – but, in fact it is not sin
because Christians cannotsin.
But this is not John’s view. That was apparently what the false teachers had
been saying and he is writing to contradicttheir teaching. He has already
admitted that real Christians continue to sin, indeed he said emphatically at
the end of chapterone that anyone who claims to be without sin is a liar. He
has taught already the necessityof our continuing to confess oursins as we
commit them. He will speak againof the continuing sin of Christian life in
5:16. It is manifestly not his view that Christians never disobey the
commandments of God. His language must be taken in another way.
Others have arguedthat John isn’t speaking of any and every sin but only
notorious sins: blasphemy, murder, and the like, what Roman Catholics call
“mortal” sins. This was Augustine’s view and Luther’s as well. But while there
is, no doubt, some truth to this interpretation, it does not fully answerto the
facts either. RealChristians have and do commit notorious sins. We read that
in the Bible, we see it in church history. Nor does it answerto what John
actually says here. The sin he is talking about is any violation of the law or

commandments of God. Sin is lawlessnesshe said, and then he said Christians
don’t sin.
Still others have argued that John must mean that while Christians can sin, as
it were, accidentally, they can no longersin deliberately and intentionally.
Christians may be overtakenin a fault but they do not lay plans to sin or
commit evil acts with their eyes open. Again, however, that seems hardly
right. We know very wellthat we sin with our eyes open and fully aware of
what we are doing. We thought about not doing it and did it anyway. Besides,
once again, the issue as John defines it is not our mental state when doing
what we do but whether or not we are living in obedience to the
commandments of God.
Still others have held that John is speaking of the new nature when he says
that believers do not sin. Their new nature, their true, new selves do not sin
even if their flesh, the dregs of their old nature continues to sin. You
remember Paul’s famous remark in Romans 7:17 to the effectthat when he, as
a Christian, does what at bottom he does not want to do, when he lives in a
way that violates his own deepestwishes – atleastwhen he is thinking clearly
– “it is no longer I myself who do it, but the sin living in me.” My true self,
Paul says, is sold out to Christ and to a life of holiness, but the remnants of my
old nature are continually unmanning me and causing me to betray not only
the Lord but my own truest and deepestdesires for my life.
That is true, to be sure – indeed it is a very important truth – but I don’t think
it fully explains John here. It is not a nature that sins but a person. Even Paul
in Romans 7 does not excuse himself, as if because it was the sin within him

that did it the sin was not his ownresponsibility. Paul was making a different
point than John does here. Here in v. 9 we read that the seedof God resides in
us but we also read that as a result of that we that is, we Christian persons, do
not sin. John does not say and cannotbe takento mean that part of us is
sinning but another part is not. In fact, that is very like the teaching the false
teachers had brought. They taught, apparently, that while the enlightened
might continue to do things that were violations of the commandments of God
that was not their spiritual but their physical nature at work and only the
spiritual nature and its works countedany more. Their true nature was
spiritual and remained untouched by the deeds of the body. But John says
that sin is violating God’s law and if you break one of God’s commandments
you sin, not one of your natures, but you!
So what are we to make of John’s statementthat the realChristian does not
sin? Well this kind of categorical, absolute,and unqualified speechis very
common in the Bible. We need to getused to it and appreciate it for what it is.
The Bible is always distinguishing betweenbelievers and unbelievers with
terms that reflect the same absolute distinction as we find here. If a man is to
be castout of the church, Jesus said, he is to be treatedas we would treat a
sinner. Even our saviorused “sinner” to stand for an unbeliever just as “saint”
or “holy one” is often used as a title for Christians. David was definitely a
sinner. He confesseshis sins to us in the psalms he wrote but in those same
sorts of psalms he also refers to himself as a blameless and righteous man,
using that typical biblical fashionof categoricalor absolute description. What
two kinds of people are there in the world? Over and over againthe Bible tells
us that there are but these two: the wickedand the righteous; those who do
evil and those who do good. John’s wording here is, in fact, very typical of the
Bible’s manner of speaking.

In other places, to be sure, the Bible makes no bones of the continuing
sinfulness of the saints, the unholiness of the holy ones, and the unrighteous
thinking and behavior of the righteous. But in these places, suchas here in 1
John 3, the issue is a different one and the manner of speaking different
accordingly.
John’s absolute language, his uncompromising and unqualified assertions of
the righteousnessand obedience of a true Christian’s life, or, as one
commentatorputs it, “the whole artillery of these startling statements”
[Candlish] is meant to force us to recognize and face up to the fact that in the
most definite, profound, practical, and absolute way, the power and the grip
and the authority of sin have been broken by the grace of God and the work
of Christ and his Spirit in a Christian’s life. Had John spokenotherwise, had
he admitted that Christians are righteous to some degree but unrighteous as
well, the greatfact, the living truth would not have hit home as it needs to. He
rocks us back on our heels with it here in 1 John 3. There is a very real sense
in which Christians, real Christian do not sin, and that is why the obedience of
their lives is a reliable indication of their true and authentic Christian faith,
faith in Christ and relationship to him.
Christians are not sinners because sinis no longerthe drift, the fundamental
feature or characteristic oftheir lives. It is not what they live for, hope for.
They do not aspire to be sinners but to be righteous and, in many ways, they
are. They work at obedience, they want it, they pray for it, and when they fail
at it, they know it and it bothers them. Paul was right, when they sin they not
only betray the Lord to their dismay, but they betray themselves, their
standards, and their own deepestconvictions. Sin is not who they are.
Righteousnessis who they are as the children of God as those in whom the

seedof God has been planted. There is a true selfin every human being, the
authentic self, the real self. In some casesthat true selfbelongs to the Lord
Jesus and in others it does not. In the former case the man is righteous at the
core, in his heart and in his deepestnature, and because ofthat—“outofthe
heart flow the issues oflife” we read in Holy Scripture—he will become more
and more righteous until at lasthe will be perfectly so. In the latter case, the
true selfalso expresses itselfmore and more until at last, unencumbered by
other forces, the man is perfectly evil. If at one time he was evil in his heart, in
the principle of his life, he is now evil all the way out to the fingertips. The
worstthing about hell will be your fellowshipwith people who, like yourself,
are completelysold out to what is evil. It was God, after all, who decided that
the difference at bottom was so greatthat one personcould be calledrighteous
– even though there was still much sin in his or her life – and the other
unrighteous, even though he or she might do some goodthings. But here is the
greatpractical, immediate difference. The unbeliever can be happy in his sin
because it’s his true self, the Christian never, because sinis an alien element in
his soul.
Remember David. After he sinned, we read in Psalm 32 that
“My bones wastedawaythrough my groaning all day long.”
He was capable of sinning as a believing man, but he was no longer a sinner
and so he was not capable of sinning with a clearconscience,he was not able
to sin without regretand remorse. I know a man who was led to faith in
Christ by my father. This man became a minister in due time but some years
later fell into serious sin and was properly deposedfrom his office. This man’s

sorrow for what he had done, and his shame at what he, a Christian and a
Christian minister, had made of his life was so great that after he came to
himself he literally could not make it through the night without vomiting. He
drove by himself most of the way across the United States just because he felt
that he had to make a personal apologyto the man who had brought him to
Christ. He knew what he had done was something terrible. But it was not the
sin, it was the shame that was the true man, the nightly sicknessoversin, the
long trip to make an apology. RealChristians do not sin.
But Christians are not sinners also because, as a matter of fact, they live lives
of comprehensive obedience to the commandments of God and more and
more so as time goes on. We cannot miss the force of John’s plain speaking
here. He is not simply saying that Christians are different from non-
Christians in that when they sin they are sorry for it. He is saying that in a
defining way Christians don’t sin and do keepthe commandments of God and
if somehow you could remove from the Christian church and all Christian
professioneveryone who claimed to be a Christian, but was not committed to
living in obedience to the commandments of God for the sake ofJesus Christ,
his or her Savior, the whole world could see the difference betweenthe
behavior of unbelievers and the behaviors of the followers of Christ. The one
group would be sinners and the other group would be the righteous.
F.F. Bruce is one of the commentators I consult when writing these sermons
on 1 John. He has an excellentcommentary on the letter and it is short; a
greatvirtue in commentary writing: brevity, compression. Bruce was a very
influential New Testamentscholarin the latter half of the 20th century. He
happens to be the man who read and approved my doctoralthesis as my
external examiner – we are both alumni of the University of Aberdeen – and
so I have always had a warm spot in my heart for him. He was a very

significant figure in Biblical scholarship, a world renown scholareveryone
had to take notice of and yet a staunch evangelicalatthe same time. Indeed, I
came to appreciate him even more when he justified his disagreementwith the
fundamental conclusionof my thesis by saying that I demanded of the Apostle
Paul a greatermeasure of logicalconsistencythan Paul was capable of. I have
always takenthat to be proof of the accuracyof my conclusions!
Anyway, back to ProfessorBruce. He grew up in northeasternScotlandand
was educated, from the 7th grade through high school, at Elgin Academy.
These were the 1920s.Unlike your high schoolor our CovenantHigh School,
Elgin Academy had tradition, tradition with a capital “T.” After all, it was
founded in the year 1224. It is two and a half centuries older than the nearby
University of Aberdeen which wasn’tfounded until 1494, virtually yesterday!
At Elgin Academy Bruce’s subjects were principally the classics – fora time
he thought he would be a professionalclassicist, a teacherofLatin and Greek,
but he also studied English, history, French, and Mathematics. In his
autobiography he speaks with reverence ofthe greatlearning of his several
masters at what was, in effect, a high school. Manystudents went on from
Elgin Academy to academic stardomin the British University as did F.F.
Bruce himself. Again it was a schoolwith Tradition! Robes were worn by
master and pupil alike. The ancient manners of the academywere
scrupulously observed even as teachers took a warm, personalinterest in their
charges. Tradition. Now all of that to set the stage for this. In Bruce’s
commentary on 1 John 3 he explains John’s statementto the effectthat
Christians don’t sin in this interesting way, a way, I’m sure, that sprung to his
mind out of his ownexperience as a schoolboyat Elgin Academy.

“What[John] does assertis that a sinful life does not mark a child of God, so
that anyone who leads such a life is shown thereby not to be a child of God.
When a boy goes to a new school, he may inadvertently do something out of
keeping with the school’s traditionor goodname, to be told immediately,
‘Thatisn’t done here’. A literalist might reply, ‘But obviously it is done; this
boy has just done it’ – but he would be deliberately missing the point of the
rebuke. The point of the rebuke is that such conduct is disapproved of in this
school, so anyone who practises it can normally be assumednot to belong to
the school. There may be odd exceptions, but that is the generalrule, which
has been verified by experience. Fellowshipwith the sinless One and
indulgence in sin are a contradiction in terms.” [90]
There is a greatdeal of behavior that is not done here, not in the Christian
church, not in the Christian home and family, not in the Christian life, not in
the Christian brotherhood. It is just not done here. And one learns this to be
true by observationas wellas by reading the Bible. We cannot help the fact
that many people who callthemselves Christians don’t live a Christian life
and, in that way, give all serious Christians a bad name. We can’teven help
the factthat there are far, far too many real Christians whose theology
manages to obscure the difference in behavior that must always mark the
boundary betweenfaith and unbelief.
There is little we can do about those things. But those of us who are out and
out Christians should not hesitate to demand of ourselves orour children or
our brothers and sisters in the church that way of life, that speechand
behavior, that obedience to the commandments of God that distinguish the
followerof Jesus Christ from any one and everyone who is not. Everyone
should understand, shouldn’t take long to notice:that this thing, that thing
isn’t done here. We are Christians. We are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ

and we obey his commandments. If the world find that distinction impossibly
blurred, it is our calling, if we love the Lord and revere his name, to make it
as sharp againas we possibly can! The Lord will help us do that because it is
what he treasures in his children and in our lives: that love, that our elder
brother said, would keepGod’s commandments.
CHARLES SIMEON
CHRIST MANIFESTED TO TAKE AWAY SIN
1 John 3:5. Ye know that he was manifested to take awayour sins; and in him
is no sin.
AMONGST the numberless advantages whichthe light of revelationhas
conferredupon us, one of particular importance is, the strength of the motives
which it suggests to us for the mortification of sin. A heathen could devise no
argument beyond what related to our own welfare, and that of societyat
large. But Christianity discovers to us wonders, of which unassistedreason
could form no conception:it declares to us, that Almighty God himself
assumedour nature for the express purpose of counteracting the effects ofsin,
and of destroying its power. To those therefore who have embraced
Christianity, here is an argument that is wholly irresistible, if once it be
admitted into the mind, and suffered to have its due operationupon the soul.
St. John avails himself of it in the passagebefore us. He is shewing to the
Christian world that they must aspire after universal holiness, and purify
themselves “evenas their incarnate God was pure:” and the more effectually
to enforce his exhortations, he makes this unanswerable appealto all of them
without exception: “Ye know that he was manifestedto take awayour sins;
and in him was no sin.”

The destruction of sin being the greatscope and end of our ministry also, we
will,
I. Open to you his appeal—
The greatend of our Saviour’s incarnationwas to take awaysin—
[Sin has separatedman from God, and God from man [Note: Isaiah59:2.]:
nor was it possible that they should be re-united in mutual love and amity,
unless this evil were removed. But removed it could not be, either as to its
guilt or power, by any efforts of man: nor could all the angels in heaven
render to him any effectualaid. God therefore of his own love and mercy “laid
help for us upon one that was mighty [Note:Psalms 89:19.],” evenupon his
coequal, co-eternalSon, whom he sent into the world on this benevolent
errand, to “put awayour sins by the sacrifice ofhimself [Note:Hebrews
9:26.],” and to “subdue our iniquities” by the efficacyof his grace [Note:Micah
7:19.].
For this the Lord Jesus Christ was wellfitted, by reasonof his own spotless
character. This I conceive to be particularly intimated in our text. The
connexion betweenthe two clauses ofthe text does not at first sight appear;
but we apprehend, that the mention of the spotless characterofJesus is
intended to convey this idea, namely, that, being himself without sin, he was
fitted for the work assignedhim; and could presentto God such an offering as
our necessities required. Under the law it was especiallyappointed, that the
sacrifices shouldbe without spot or blemish. The Paschallamb was setapart
four days before it was offered, on purpose that it might be scrutinized to the
uttermost, and thus be proved fit for its destined use [Note:Exodus 12:3;
Exodus 12:6.]. The Lord Jesus too went up to Jerusalemfour days before his

crucifixion, and underwent the strictestexamination at different tribunals,
and was declaredinnocent, by Pilate his judge, by his fellow-suffereron the
cross, by the Centurion who presided at his execution: all his enemies thus
unwittingly attesting, that he was indeed “a Lamb without blemish and
without spot [Note:1 Peter1:19.],” and that, being “just himself,” he was every
way fit to “suffer in the place of us the unjust [Note: 1 Peter3:18.].”
In another view too his spotless charactersubservesthis greatend of his
mission: for, “being without guile himself, he has setus a perfectexample:”
and the best possible way of avoiding sin is, to imitate his example, and to
“treadin his steps [Note: 1 Peter 2:21-22.].”]
This was knownand acknowledgedthrough the whole Christian world—
[No one who believed in Christ was ignorant of the end for which he had come
into the world. Hence the Apostle could appealto all without exception, and
could say, “Ye know that he was manifested to take awayour sins.” The whole
Scriptures bore testimony to this. All the types of the Mosaic law shadowedit
forth. All the prophecies from the beginning of the world attestedit. It was in
this way that “the Seedof the womanwas to bruise the serpent’s head.” “To
finish transgression, to make an end of sin,” and to establish universal
righteousness, this was to be the work which should distinguish his reign: “A
sceptre of righteousness was to be the sceptre of his kingdom.” The very name
that was given to him imported this: “he was calledJesus, because he was to
save his people from their sins.”]
This truth being acknowledgedby all at this time, no less than in the apostolic
age, we shall make the same appealto you; and,

II. Found upon it a particular address—
As Christians you all “know” thatChrist came to deliver you from sin: but do
you all considerit, as you ought?
1. Ye who live in wilful and habitual sin—
[Do you consider what has been done to rescue you from your bondage? Do
you considerthat the Son of the living God, “Jehovah’sfellow,” the Creatorof
the universe, has come down from heaven, and assumedyour nature, and died
upon the cross foryour redemption? Ask yourselves then, whether he would
have done this, if sin had been so small an evil as you judge it to be? Can you
conceive that such means would have been used for your recovery, if the state
into which sin had brought you was not beyond measure terrible? Had no
misery awaitedyou, or a misery only that was light and transient, do you
suppose that God would have had recourse to such a method of delivering you
from it; or that, after he has used such means to take awayyour sin, you incur
no danger by holding it fast? You may “make a mock of sin,” if you please;but
you will not think so lightly of it when you come to stand in the presence of
your Judge. When the Lord Jesus Christ shall remind you of what he endured
to deliver you from it, what will ye sayto him? Will ye then make the foolish
excuses that ye now do? No, verily: your mouths will then be shut: you will be
amazed and confounded at your present folly and impiety: and it will be no
consolationto you then that there are so many in the same condemnation with
yourself. The antediluvian scoffers, whenwarnedof the approaching deluge,
thought it impossible that such a judgment should ever be inflicted; or
consoledthemselves, perhaps, that they should be in no worse plight than
others. But when the deluge actually came, did they find their own terrors less
appalling, or their sufferings less acute, because theywere endured by others
also? Norwill ye in that day find the wrath of God a whit more tolerable
because ofthe multitudes that shall bear it with you. Had the Saviour never

come, you would have had to endure the wrath of God; but since he has come,
and been despisedand rejectedby you, you shall have to bear “the wrath of
the Lamb [Note:Revelation6:16.],” evenof that Lamb whom you “crucified
afresh[Note: Hebrews 6:6.]:” and hell itself will be sevenfold more terrible, in
consequence ofthe means which have been used to deliver you from it. Yes,
the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrha will be light in comparisonof yours
[Note:Matthew 10:15.]. O that you were wise, and would considerthis, ere it
be too late!]
2. Ye who found your hopes of mercy on your own self-righteous
endeavours—
[What canye think of yourselves, whenye recollectthe principles which you
yourselves acknowledge? Youknow that Christ was manifestedto take away
your sins: how then do you presume to imagine, that you canremove them by
any efforts of your own? Is there any such virtue in your own tears or
almsdeeds, that you will rely on them, rather than on the atoning blood of
Christ? Or is there any such strength in your own resolutions, that you will
trust to them for the subduing of sin, rather than to the grace ofour Lord
Jesus Christ? Does it never strike you, that whilst you are entertaining such
proud thoughts as these, you are thrusting the Lord Jesus Christ from his
office, and virtually declaring, that, whatever he may be to others, he shall be
no Saviour to you? Why will ye thus presume to setaside the very ends for
which He came into the world? Why, when he has actually girded himself
with the towel, and presented himself before you, will you saywith Peter,
“Thoushalt never wash my feet!” Know you not, that “unless he washyou, you
have no part with him [Note: John 13:4; John 13:8.]!” Be assured, he never
came to make you your own saviours, but to offer you a free and full
salvation. And if you will conceityourselves to be “rich and increasedin
goods, and in need of nothing, when you are wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked,” nothing re-remains for you but to reap the bitter

fruits of your pride and folly [Note: Revelation3:16-17. See also Romans 9:31-
32; Romans 10:3.] — — —]
3. Ye who, whilst ye profess to believe in Christ, are walking unworthy of your
holy profession—
[I call on you also to considerthis subject. You profess that the Lord Jesus
Christ has borne your sins, and that you therefore expectthat no
condemnation shall come upon you. But do you think that he will be satisfied
with performing half his office? Do you suppose that he will take awayyour
sins as far as relates to their guilt, and leave them unmortified as it respects
their power? This he never will do: and he declares to you that he never will.
Only hear how strongly St. John speaks onthis subject in the words following
my text: “Whosoeverabideth in Christ, (as you profess to do,) sinneth not:
whosoeversinnethhath not seenhim, neither known him. Little children, let
no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness, (as you profess to do,) is
righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil [Note:
ver. 6–8.].” Whatnow will ye say, who are still under the dominion of pride,
envy, malice, wrath, and whose conductin your families, instead of exhibiting
the image of the Lord Jesus, and constraining all to admire the excellence of
vital godliness, causesreligionto stink in their nostrils? What will ye say who
have lewd hearts and licentious tongues? orye who are covetous and worldly-
minded, and who are in such bad repute for truth and honesty, that men
would rather deal with a worldly characterthan with you? Ye may boast as ye
will about the freeness andfulness of the Gospelsalvation;but ye shall never
taste of it, unless ye “put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new
man, which after God is createdin righteousness andtrue holiness [Note:
Ephesians 4:22-24.].”]
4. Ye who are boweddown with desponding fears—

[I must not overlook you; for the text speaks powerfullyto you also. In the
habit of your minds you are saying, “My sins are too greatto be forgiven; or,
my lusts are too strong to be subdued.” But is Christ unable to effectthe work
he has undertaken? Was he manifestedto take awayyour sins, and has he
proved incompetent to the task? Are we not told that “the blood of Jesus
Christ will cleanse from all sin?” And that “his grace is sufficient” for all who
trust in him? What then is there in your case that renders you an exception?
Oh, do not so dishonour your adorable Saviour, as to doubt his sufficiency for
the work that has been assignedhim. Know that his blood is a sufficient
“propitiation, not for your sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world;”
and the weakestcreature in the universe is authorized to say, “Ican do all
things through Christ who strengthenethme.” Put awaythen your unbelieving
fears;and look to him to “accomplishin you all the goodpleasure of his
goodness.” So shallyou find that “he is able to save you to the uttermost;” and
soonyou shall join in that blessedsong, “To Him that loved us and washedus
from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God
and our Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen [Note:
Revelation1:5-6.].”]
Verse 8
DISCOURSE:2445
THE END OF CHRISTS INCARNATION
1 John 3:8. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil.

THE author of this epistle survived all the other Apostles; so that, long before
his death, the professedfollowers ofChrist had had ample opportunity of
shewing what the effects ofreligious principle would be, after that the impulse
of novelty should have ceased:in some the sacredfire would burn with
undiminished ardour; but in others it would languish so as to leave room to
doubt whether it were not altogetherextinguished. Hence, in this General
Epistle, St. John lays down a variety of marks, whereby men might judge of
their state before God. In the chapter before us he shews the indispensable
necessityofholiness, and the extreme danger of imagining ourselves in a state
of acceptancewith God, whilst destitute of his image on our souls: he shews
this, as from other topics [Note: ver. 3–10.], so especiallyfrom this, that the
indulgence of any sin counteracts the very end for which Christ came into the
world; since “he was manifestedon purpose to destroy the works of the devil.”
Let us inquire,
I. What are those works whichChrist came to destroy—
Satan, envious of the happiness of man in Paradise, endeavouredto bring him
to the same state of guilt and misery to which he himself was reduced. How
successfulhe was, it is needless now to mention: we all without exception
experience in ourselves the sadeffects of Adam’s fall. Two things in particular
that wickedfiend has introduced:
1. Sin—
[This was unknown to man, till Sataninvaded the peacefulregions of
Paradise, and prevailed on Eve to eat of the forbidden tree. He questioned the
prohibition itself, or at leastthe equity of it; and then, denying that any evil

consequenceswouldensue, he urged the vast advantages that would be
derived from transgressing the Divine injunction; and thus “beguiledEve by
his subtilty.” From that time he has practisedupon others in a similar way,
“blinding their eyes [Note:2 Corinthians 4:4.],” and putting all manner of
wickednessinto their hearts [Note: Luke 22:3. Acts 5:3.]. It is at his instigation
that all the children of disobedience execute their wickedpurposes [Note:
Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:11-12.]:he, as their father, teaches them, and
constrains them, as it were, to fulfil his will.
Even the godly he tempts, and labours to deceive by innumerable “wiles,” and
most subtle “devices [Note:1 Thoss. 3:5. 2 Corinthians 11:3.]:” and, “if it were
possible, he would deceive the very elect.”]
2. Death—
[This also he introduced; for by sin came death, as its proper “wages,” and its
necessaryconsequence. Satanhadassuredour first parents that “theyshould
not die:” but in this he shewedhimself “the father of lies:” and by it he became
“a murderer from the beginning [Note:John 8:41; John 8:44.].” The very
instant they obeyedhis voice, they died: temporal, spiritual, eternal death
became their portion, and the portion of the whole human race [Note:
Romans 5:12; Romans 5:15-19.]:nor would any child of man have ever seen
the face of God in peace, if the Lord Jesus Christ had not interposedto
“destroythis work of the devil.” As to the greatmass of mankind, they are
experiencing all the bitter effects ofthat first transgression:inheriting a
corrupt nature, they follow the bent of their own inclinations, and rush on
blindfold to everlasting perdition [Note:Ecclesiastes9:3.]. “The devil has
takenthem in his snare, and leads them captive at his will [Note: 2 Timothy
2:26.].” Hence he is called Apollyon, and Abaddon [Note:Revelation9:11.], as
being the greatand universal destroyer.

Nor does he relinquish his endeavours to destroy even the best of men: “he
goes about, as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour:” there are not any
so holy, but he shoots his “fiery darts” at them, and torments them with cruel
buffetings [Note:Ephesians 6:16. 2 Corinthians 12:7.], and “desiresto have
them that he may sift them as wheat:” and, were he permitted, he would soon
reduce even the soundestof men to chaff.]
Let us next inquire,
II. How he destroys them—
He came into the world, and “was manifested” in human flesh on purpose to
destroy them: and he effects their destruction,
1. By the virtue of his sacrifice—
[The death of Christ was a true and proper atonement for sin; it was “a
propitiation for the sins of the whole world:” and by it “he finished
transgression, made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness
[Note:Daniel 9:24. with ver. 5.].” Norhas he merely cancelledour debt, or
removed our obligationto punishment, but has “abolisheddeath, and brought
life and immortality to light.” “On the cross he triumphed over all the
principalities and powers of hell [Note:Colossians2:15.];” and, “by death,
overcame him that had the power of death, and delivered them, who, through
fear of death, were all their life-time subject to bondage [Note:Hebrews
2:14.].” Yes, when our final victory over sin and death shall be celebratedin
heaven, to this shall we ascribe it altogether;“Thou wastslain, and hast
redeemedus to God by thy blood [Note: Revelation5:9.].”]

2. By the operationof his grace—
[“Deadas we are in trespasses andsins, we are quickenedby Christ [Note:
Ephesians 2:1.];” and immediately begin in his strength to confliet with sin
and Satan. The warfare we maintain is attended with many difficulties; so
that we are sometimes ready to cry out, “O wretchedman that I am! who shall
deliver me from this body of sin and death?” but in our loweststate it is our
privilege to add, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord [Note:Romans
7:24-25.].” “Inhim we are strong;” and through his gracious communications
“we cando all things:” “none can be effectually againstus, whilst he is for us.”
Having infused into our souls a principle of life, “he dwells in us,” and “is
himself our life [Note:Colossians 3:4.],” andcarries us forward “from
conquering to conquer,” till sin and “Satanare bruised under our feet,” and
“deathitself is swallowedup in everlasting victory.”]
Observations—
1. How infatuated are they who live in wilful sin!
[Do they considerwhom they serve, and againstwhom they fight? Do they
considerthat they are doing those very works which proceedfrom and
characterize the devil, and which Christ was manifested to destroy? Reflecton
your conduct, brethren, in this view, and then judge, whether ye do wellto
continue in it — — —]
2. What reasonfor humility have even the best of men!

[There is no man who has not daily occasionto lament his short-comings and
defects. We are not any of us so watchful, but Satan finds some opportunities
to deceive us; nor so expert in our warfare, but he wounds us occasionallyby
“his fiery darts.” And when that wickedfiend has “gotanadvantage over us,”
with what exultation is he filled, even though he knows that he cannever
ultimately prevail againstour blessedLord! Be watchful, brethren, that ye do
not so gratify your malignant adversary, or so grieve the Spirit of your
adorable Saviour. Put yourselves more habitually under the protection and
guidance of your Divine Master;and “through him you shall be more than
conquerors.”]
3. How unbounded are the obligations we owe to Christ!
[Who but he could have everredeemed us from sin and death? Who but he
could have ever destroyed for us those works ofthe devil? Think what would
have been the state of the world, if he had never become incarnate;what
slaves we must have been if he had not liberated us; and what a death we must
have undergone, if he had not died in our stead!Verily, if we felt our
obligations as we ought, we should scarcelypass a moment without adverting
to them, and magnifying him with songs of praise and thanksgiving. Let us
dwell on the delightful thought, which, wherever it is entertained, creates a
heaven upon earth: and in a little time our deliverance shall be complete; and
we shall unite with all the hosts of heaven “in singing Hallelujah to God and to
the Lamb for ever and ever.”]
Verse 9
DISCOURSE:2446

THE CHRISTIAN’S DELIVERANCE FROM SIN
1 John 3:9. Whosoeveris born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed
remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
MANY mistakes in religion arise from not considering sufficiently the style
and manner in which the inspired writers are wont to express themselves.
They speak strongly on all subjects; and never contemplate, for a moment, the
niceties of criticism; or dream of their words being weighedin a balance, so as
that there shall be the minutest possible precisionin their weightand import.
They are content with speaking in popular language, and with conveying their
sentiments in terms which every candid mind shall fully apprehend. St. Paul,
speaking ofthe danger of persons who are once enlightened, falling away from
the truth which they have received, says, “Itis impossible to renew them again
to repentance [Note:Hebrews 6:4-6.].” We are not to suppose, from this, that
the restorationof such an apostate is a work which God is not able to effect;
but only, that it is a work which we cannot reasonablyhope to see effectedby
him. The same kind of interpretation must be given to the words which we
have just read: we are not to suppose that a regenerate personis brought into
such a state, that there is an absolute and physical impossibility for him to
commit any the minutest sin: such an impossibility as that did not exist even
in Paradise, whenman was absolutely perfect;no, nor does it exist in heaven
itself; since millions of once holy angels actually did fall, and were castout of
heaven for their transgression. Notintending his words to be strained to such
an extent as that, the Apostle declares,
I. The state of the regenerate man—

To consider the Apostle as saying only that a regenerate manought not to
commit sin, would be to make him speak what is altogetherforeignto the
context; the whole of which evidently shews his meaning to be, that the
regenerate man does not commit sin.
But, in what sense are we to understand this assertion?
[If taken in its utmost latitude, this assertionwould contradict the whole
Scriptures. “There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth
not [Note:Ecclesiastes7:20 and 1 Kings 8:46.].” “In many things we all offend
[Note:James 3:2.].” St. John himself declares, that “if we saywe have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us [Note:1 John 1:8-10.];” and
then, intimating that the scope ofhis observations was to deter men from sin,
he adds, “But if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, who is also
the propitiation for our sins [Note:1 John 2:1-2.].”
It is evident, therefore, that we cannot so construe his words, as to infer from
them that a regenerate man has attained a state of sinless perfection. Nor, in
reality, do his words properly admit of that sense:for the word which we
translate “commit sin” must, of necessity, imply a continued act. In ver. 7, he
says, “Letno man deceive you. He that doeth righteous-ness [Note:ὁ ποιῶν.
See the same word used by St. John in his Gospel. John8:34.] (it is the same
word as is used in our text) is righteous, even as Christ is righteous.” This can
never mean, that the personwho performs one righteous act must necessarily
“walk in all things as Christ walked:” it must import a habit, and not a mere
insulated act: and that is its proper meaning in the text; ‘Whosoeveris born of
God, does not wilfully and habitually commit sin.’ The whole scope ofthe
context, from the third verse, sanctions, and indeed requires, this
interpretation. It is said, in ver. 3, that the personwho has a scriptural hope of
his adoption into God’s family, will “purify himself, even as Christ is pure:”
and the person who does not labour to attain this purity, is declared, in ver. 8,

to belong to a very different family, even that of Satan: “He that committeth
sin, is of the devil.” And in the verse after the text, this contrastis brought to a
point: “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil:
whosoeverdoethnot ( ὁ μὴ ποιῶν) righteousness,is not of God.”]
The assertion, thus explained, is verified in every regenerate man—
[A man “born of God” does not commit sin in the way that he was wont to do
in his unregenerate state. Previous to his conversion, sin was the element in
which he lived. He might, in respectto an external conformity to the law, be
blameless, evenas the Apostle Paul was, before his heart was changed:but he
never truly gave himself up to God, or took his perfect law as the rule of his
conduct: he never lived for God, or made it the one objectof his life to glorify
God: self was the source and end of all his actions. But from the instant of his
conversion, his one inquiry is, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do [Note:
Acts 9:6.]?” Not that he then becomes perfect:for to his latesthour he will
find, as the Apostle did, that “there is a law in his members warring against
the law of his mind, and occasionallybringing him into captivity to the law of
sin, which is in his members:” yes, to his latesthour, there are things done by
him which he would not, and things left undone by him, which he would
gladly do: so that he is often constrainedto cry, “O wretchedman that I am!
Who shall deliver me [Note: Romans 7:15; Romans 7:19; Romans 7:23-24.]?”
But though, through the influence of his indwelling corruption, he may have
occasionto mourn over many deviations from the perfect path of duty, he
never does, nor everwill, return to the love and practice of sin: if he offend in
any thing, he will lament it, and implore forgiveness forit, and labour with
reneweddiligence and circumspectionto “stand perfect and complete in all
the will of God.”]
If such be the state of the regenerate man, it will be profitable to inquire into,

II. The means by which he has attained to it—
“He that is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seedremaineth in him.”
Let us distinctly mark,
1. What seedthis is—
[Many imagine that the “seed” here spokenof, is an imperishable spark of
grace, whichnot all the floods of persecutionor corruption canever quench
[Note:In this sense many understand John 4:14; as though the watergiven by
our Lord must necessarilyissue in everlasting life. But our Lord speaks,not of
its issue, but its tendency.]. But it is not of grace that the Apostle speaks, but
of the word of God. The word is that “seed” ofwhich we are born: and that is
incorruptible, as St. Peter has said: “We are born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, of the word of God, which liveth and abideth for
ever [Note:1 Peter1:23.].”]
2. How it operates to its destined end—
[This seed“abides” in those who are born of God. Its operation, in the first
instance, was to humble, quicken, and sanctify the soul. Being once implanted
in the soul, it grows there, and continues to produce the very same effects
which it put forth in the first instance. Did it come with powerto convince of
sin? it enlightens the mind progressively, and gives juster views to the
conscience, andaugmented sensibility to the soul. Did it lead to the Saviour,
and inspire with a desire to serve and glorify him? it continues to give
brighter discoveries ofhis love, and to impress the soulwith a more fixed

determination to live to his glory: and in this wayit keeps the believer from
ever returning to his former paths.
That this is the true import of the words, is manifest from what is spokenby
St. John in the preceding chapter: “I have written unto you, young men;
because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have
overcome the wickedone [Note: 1 John 2:14.].” Here the same “seed” of
which they were born, namely, the word of God, abideth in them; and, in
consequence ofthat, their victories over sin and Satan are carried forward
with increasing energyand effect. Such, at least, were David’s views of this
matter; and therefore to all young men he gave this direction: “Wherewith
shall a young man cleanse his way? even by taking heed thereto, according to
thy word [Note:Psalms 119:9.].” And what he recommended to them, he
practisedalso himself; as he himself immediately declares:“Thy word have I
hid within my heart, that I might not sin againstthee [Note: Psalms 119:11.].”
Thus then it is that the regenerate personis kept from committing sin, as he
was wont to do in his unregenerate state:“The word of truth abideth in him,”
both as an authoritative director, and an unerring rule; and “by it he is made
free [Note:John 8:32.],” and “sanctified[Note:John 17:17.].”]
The blessednessofthe believer’s state will yet further appear, whilst we
consider,
III. His security for the continuance of it—
“He cannot sin, because he is born of God.” Now it is well known, that many
identify the new birth with baptism, at leastso far as to maintain, that if they
be not actually the same thing, they are always simultaneous and inseparable.

But let this sentiment be brought to the test: let it be seen, whether it canbe
said of every one that is baptized, that he does not commit sin, yea, and that he
cannot commit sin, because he is baptized. I would ask, Is there a man in the
universe that dares to make such an assertion as this? or, if there were, would
not the experience of the whole world flatly contradicthim? I will not saythat
God may not convert a person at the time of his baptism, as well as at any
other time. God may make use of any rite, or any ordinance, or any
occurrence whatever, to effecthis own purposes:but to say that he always
creates a man anew, in the way, and to the extent, that my text speaksof,
under the ordinance of baptism, is as contrary to truth as any assertionthat
ever proceededfrom the lips of man. And as long as these words remain in the
Bible, that a man “cannotsin, because he is born of God,” so long it must be
obvious to every dispassionate mind that there is a new birth perfectly distinct
from baptism, and totally independent of it.
As for the idea, that sin, when committed by a regenerate person, is not sin, it
is too wild, and too impious, to deserve a thought.
But it is a greatand glorious truth, that a persontruly born of Godcannot sin,
as he did before he experiencedthat change. If it be asked, Why he connot
sin? I answer,
1. BecauseGodhas engagedhe shall not—
[God has said, that “sin shall not have dominion over his people, because they
are not under the law, but under grace [Note:Romans 6:14.].” And his
faithfulness is pledged to “cleanse themfrom all unrighteousness [Note:1
John 2:9.].” It is a part of his covenant;every iota of which he will assuredly
fulfil. This, however, is not to be so understood, as if God would never permit
his people to err in any respect:for the very best of men have erred, and

grievously too, under the influence of strong temptation, and of the remaining
corruptions of their own hearts. But God, under such circumstances, will
chastise them, till they shall return to him with deep humiliation and
contrition, and till they renew their application to the blood of that great
Sacrifice which takethawaythe sins of the world. “It is not his will that one of
his little ones should perish;” “nor will he suffer anyone to pluck them out of
his hands.”]
2. Becausehe will supply him with grace, that he may not—
[This, also, is a part of God’s covenantwhich he has made with us in the Son
of his love. If this covenantwere kept out of view, there are two things which
we might justly apprehend: the one is, that God would depart from us; the
other is, that we should depart from him. But on both parts God has
undertaken for his people. He says, “I will make an everlasting covenantwith
them, that I will not turn awayfrom them to do them good;and I will put my
fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me [Note:Jeremiah
32:40.].” It was not by a mere act of his power that he converted them at first:
he enlightened their understanding, and renewedtheir heart, and “made them
willing in the day of his power.” So will he even to the end deal with them as
rational beings, and “draw them with the cords of a man.” “He will keep
them, indeed, by his own power[Note: 1 Peter1:5.]:” but it shall be through
the instrumentality of their own exertions. He will keepthem; but they shall
also “keepthemselves;so that the wickedone shall not touch them [Note: 1
John 2:14. before cited.].” Thus securedby God’s engagementfor them, on
the one hand, and by the mighty working of his power in them, on the other
hand, it may truly be said of them, “They cannotsin, because they are born of
God.”]
Yet let me improve this subject,

1. In a word of caution to the secure—
[The doctrine of Final Perseverance, if unscripturally maintained, will be
productive of the most fatal consequencesto the soul. Shall any man say, ‘I
am born of God: and therefore can never perish, though I live in sin?’ Let him
rather say, ‘The sins which I commit, prove to demonstration, that I am not
born of God. I may have been partially affectedwith the word, as the stony-
ground hearers;and have produced some kind of fruit, like the thorny
ground: but, inasmuch as I “bring forth no fruit to perfection,” I am at this
very moment a child of Satan, and an heir of perdition.’ Would you have an
evidence that you are born of God? Inquire whether you are delivered from
the love and power of sin, and following after universal holiness. These are the
marks whereby alone you canform any sound judgment: and if you will judge
of yourselves by this test, you will remove from the doctrine of Final
Perseverance the chief objectionthat is urged againstit; and will render it a
blessing, insteadof a curse, to your own souls.]
2. In a word of encouragementto those who are writing bitter things against
themselves—
[Some, because they feel in themselves remaining infirmities, will conclude
that they cannotpossibly have been born of God. But we must not so interpret
the text, as to imagine that God’s people must be absolutelyperfect. Were
none but the perfect born of God, where should we find a child of God on
earth? It is the wilful and deliberate habit of sinning, and not a mere
infirmity, that is declaredto be incompatible with a state of grace:and
therefore let not a sense of weaknessand infirmity cause any one to despond.
Yet, on the other hand, it will be well to entertain a holy jealousyover
ourselves;and to avoid too great a laxity in our interpretation of this passage,
as well as too greatstrictness:for if there be in us, what is found in too many
professors ofreligion, an habitual predominance of evil tempers or

dispositions of any kind, we are certainly not born of God, but are children of
the devil. At the same time, let it be remembered, that the word of inspiration
is that greatinstrument whereby God effects his purposes on the souls of men.
By that he begins, and carries on, and perfects, his work within us. Let that,
therefore, be precious to us, yea, “more precious than thousands of gold and
silver;” and “letit dwell richly in us, in all wisdom:” so shall we experience it
to be “the rod of God’s strength,” and “have every thought of our hearts
brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL DESTROYED
NO. 1728
A SERMON
DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAY MORNING, JULY 1, 1883,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,NEWINGTON.
“Forthis purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He
might destroy the works of the devil.”
1 John 3:8.
IN this chapter John makes a sharp and cleardivision of mankind into two
classes. He gives not even
the slightesthint that there is, or everwas, or ever can be a third class. But he
describes men as being the
children of God or else the children of the devil, and tells us how the two
classesare made manifest (see

verse ten). Now, this distinction would not have been drawn by John so
sharply if it had not existed, for
he was a man of a most loving heart and gentle spirit, and if he could
somewhere orother have found a
space for neutrals, or what I call“betweenites,”orpeople who come in
midway betweensaints and sinners, I am sure he would have done it. No one
could suspectJohn of lack of charity, and therefore as he
was convincedthat no middle position was possible, we may be quite clear
upon that point, and at once
dismiss every theory which is meant to flatter the undecided. At this day the
world is still divided into
children of God and children of the evil one. This distinction ought never to be
forgotten, and yet thousands of sermons are preachedin which it is quite
ignored, and congregationsare commonly addressed
as if they were all the people of God. How shall we preach the truth if we
begin by assuming a lie? Yet
to assume that all our hearers are Christians is to begin with an error. Is it not
highly probable that men
will be built up in falsehoodif the very truth which is addressedto them is
statedin a false way? No, my
hearers, we cannot talk to you as all the people of God, for you are not. Some
of you are the children of
the wickedone and though it may not be pleasantto be told so, yet it is no
business of ours to please
you. Our duty is to preachso as to please Godand benefit the souls of men,
and that canonly be effected
by an honestenunciation of matters of fact. There is a definite and fixed line
in the sight of God between

the living and the dead, betweenthose who are born-againand those who
abide in their fallen estate, betweenthe spiritual and the carnal, betweenthe
believing and the unbelieving. There is a gulf fixed betweenthe two orders of
men, which, blessedbe God, can be passed, but which nevertheless divides the
whole race as though a vast chasm had opened up in the in midst of them, and
setthem apart from each
other, separating them into two camps.
This important distinction ought to be observedin public prayer. And this is
a point in which we are
dissatisfiedwith most liturgies, because theyare necessarilycomposedwith
the view of suiting both
saints and sinners, and as a necessaryresult, they are not suitable for either.
The joyous notes of confidence which are becoming in the children of God are
left out because the ungodly could not use such
expressions ofexultant faith, while on the other hand, the wailing notes which
are most suitable to anxious souls are put into the mouths of men who, by the
grace ofGod, have long ago found their Savior.
Men walking in full fellowshipwith the Lord are not correctly describedas
“miserable sinners,” neither
is it theirs to pray as if they had never found pardon and life in Christ Jesus.
It is impossible that public
prayer should be suitable for a mixed congregationunless a portion of it is
evidently for such as fear the
Lord, and another portion for such as do not fear Him. I suppose it would be
difficult, if not impossible,
to compose a liturgy for common use upon strictly truthful principles, and yet
that order of public prayer

which ignores the distinction betweenthe regenerate and the unregenerate
must inevitably be mischievous to the souls of men. In this matter the servant
of the Lord must discern betweenthe precious and
the vile, or he cannotbe as God’s mouth.
If this distinction is to be thought of in preaching and in public prayer, it
should be especiallyconsideredin our personalreligion. We ought to know
whose we are and whom we serve. We ought to
2 The Works of the Devil DestroyedSermon #1728
2 Tell someone today how much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 29
know the differences, which the Lord has made by grace, andwhether or not
He has made us to differ
from the unrenewed. Every man in trade wishes to be sure of his position,
whether he is prospering or
not. And surely we ought, eachone, to know our position in that one great
enterprise of life which if it
finds us bankrupt at the lastmust leave us so forever. It is of the utmost
importance for a man to know
whether he has been enlightened or abides in darkness, whetherhe is the slave
of sin or the Lord’s free
man. Eachman should know that he is savedor lost, pardoned or condemned.
He may not sit down in
peace in the deceitful hope that though he may not be a child of God, he is
nevertheless no heir of wrath,
for it cannotbe, he is one thing or the other at this moment. Everyone is under
the wrath of God unless
he has believed in Jesus, and so has become acceptedin the Beloved. There
are two seeds and only

two—the seedof the woman and the seedof the serpent, and you, my friend,
belong to one or the other.
John sums up the vital distinction when he writes, “He that has the Son has
life; and he that has not the
Son has not life. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in
wickedness.”
Let this stand as the preface of the sermon, for the spirit of it will run
through my whole discourse.
And now I come to the words of the text itself, “Forthis purpose the Son of
God was manifested,
that He might destroythe works of the devil.” We shall speak of four things,
the works ofthe devil, the
purpose of God, the manifestation of the Son of God, and the experience
within ourselves ofthe meaning
of this text. Oh, for the aid of the Holy Spirit, that we may think aright and
speak with power.
I. First, then, let us saya little upon THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. This
very strong expressionis
descriptive of sin, for the preceding sentence so interprets it. I will read the
whole verse—“He that
commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For this
purpose the Sonof God was
manifested, that He might destroy the works ofthe devil”—that is, that He
might destroy sin.
This name for sin is first of all a word of detestation. Sin is so abominable in
the sight of God and of

goodmen that its various forms are said to be “the works of the devil.” Men
do not like the idea of having any connectionwith the devil, and yet they have
a most intimate connectionwith him until they are
made anew by the Spirit of God. When it was supposedin a superstitious age
that a man had commerce
with the devil, he was abhorred or feared, and most properly so. He that is in
league with Beelzebub has
forfeited all right to honor. Yet let every man know that if he lives in sin, his
actions are called by the
Holy Spirit, “the works of the devil.” Satan is “the spirit that now works in the
children of disobedience.” Think of that, you ungodly ones. The devil is at
work in you, as a smith at his forge. Is it not a
shocking thought that if I am living in sin, I am the bond slave of Satan, and I
am doing his work for
him? If the devil is in the heart the whole life will be more or less tainted by
the presence ofthat archenemy of God and man. Do not laugh at sin, then, do
not dare to trifle with it, for it is dangerous and
deadly, because it is of the devil, from whom no goodthing can ever come. Oh,
if men could but see the
slime of the serpent upon their pleasurable sins, the venom of asps upon their
dainty lusts, and the smoke
of hell upon their proud and boastful thoughts, surely they would loathe that
which they now delight in!
If sin connects us with the devil himself, let us flee from it as from a devouring
lion. The expressionis a
word of detestation, may it enter into our hearts and make sin horrible to us.
Next, it is a word of distinction. It distinguishes the course of the ungodly man
from the life of the

man who believes in the Lord Jesus. Forhe that is of God does the works of
God, his life is the work of
God, it is a life which has much that is God-like about it, and he is upheld by
the powerof God, the ever
blessedSpirit. But the ungodly man’s life is very different—he lives for
himself, he seekshis own
pleasure, he hates all that oppose him, he is up in arms againstthe Lord and
His truth, and all that is pure
and good. His spirit is not the spirit of God, but of the evil one. There is a
radical distinction betweenthe
gracious and the graceless, andthis comes out in their works. The one works
the works ofGod and the
other the works ofthe devil. I know that this doctrine is not pleasant, but it is
true, and therefore it must
be plainly stated. I hear one say, “Look at me. Am I a child of the devil? I may
not be much of a saint,
but I am no worse than many of your professing Christians.” I answerthat
may be the case, forprofessing Christians are sometimes horrible hypocrites.
But what has that to do with you? Ah, my friend, their
perishing will not help your salvation. If you are not trusting in Christ and
living under the power of His
love, you may be as goodas any hypocrite, or even better, and yet you may be
widely different from a
real Christian. If you have not the life of God in you, you cannot do the works
of God. The mineral cannotrise into a vegetable by itself; it would require
another touch from the creative hand. The vegetable
Sermon #1728 The Works ofthe Devil Destroyed3
Volume 29 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 3

cannot rise into an animal unless the Creatorshall work a miracle, and even
so, you as a carnalman,
cannot become a spiritual man by any spontaneous generation. The new life
must be imparted to you by
the quickening Spirit. The distinction of your works from those of the real
believer in Christ is as great
as that betweenthe works ofthe devil and the works of God, and this may
show you how greatthe distinction of the natures must be by which these
different fruits are produced.
The language before us is, next, a word of descent. Sin is “ofthe devil.” It
came from him. He is its
parent and patron. Sin is not so of the devil that we can lay the blame of our
sins upon him, for that is
our own. You must not blame the tempter for tempting you to do that which
without your will, he could
not make you do. He may tempt you, but that would be no sin of yours if your
will did not yield to the
temptation. The responsibility lies with your will. The devil has plenty of sin of
his ownto answerfor,
and yet he is often made a packhorse to carry loads of evil which are none of
his. Mother Eve taught us
that art, when she said, “The serpentbeguiled me and I did eat.” And since
then men have become wonderfully proficient in the science ofexcuse-making,
frequently imputing their own guilt to the devil’s
guile. Yet sin in a sadly true sense, does come ofthe devil. He first introduced
it into the world. How or
when he himself first sinned and fell from being an angel of light to become
the apostle ofdarkness, we

will not conjecture. Many have thought that the pride of his lofty station, or
envy of the foreseenglories
of the Son of man, may have overthrown Him. But at any rate, he kept not his
first estate, but became a
rebel againsthis Lord, and the active promoter of all evil. Being expelled from
heaven for his wickedness, he desiredto wreak his revenge upon God by
alienating the human race from its obedience. He
saw what an interest the Creatorhad taken in man, and therefore judged that
he could grieve Him greatly
by seducing man from obedience. He perceived that the Maker, when He
formed the earth, did not rest.
When He had made the birds and fishes, He did not rest. When He had made
the sun, moon and stars,
He did not rest. But when He had fashioned man, He was so well content that
He then took a day of rest,
and consecratedit forever to be a Sabbath. Thus was God’s unresting care for
man made manifest.
“Surely,” said the evil one, “if I canturn this favored being into an enemy of
God, then I shall bring dishonor upon the name of the MostHigh, and have
my revenge.” Thereforehe alighted in the garden, and
tempted our first parents, thus opening the gate by which sin entered into the
world with all its train of
woe. In that sense sinis truthfully describedas being the work of the devil. He
brought the flame which
has causedso greata burning. Since then he has been in some degree the
author of sin by often tempting
men. I doubt not that he suggeststo many a sinner the delights of the flesh,
and the pleasures of self, and

that he shuts the eyes of conscienceto the truth, and hardens the heart against
the threats of God. Under
these influences men doubtless rush into wild extravagances ofevil, willingly
yielding themselves to be
led captive at his will. Doubtless, Satannot only suggests sinto men, but as
one spirit influences another
spirit, he influences men strongly towards that which is evil, and blinds them
againstthat which is good.
“Leadus not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” is a prayer
which plainly connects the
evil one with temptation, as we know that he is connectedwith it as a matter
of fact. This is his constant
employment, to be tempting one way or another, the sons of men. Hence sin is
the work of the devil, but
not so that it excuses us. It is our work because we willingly yield. Let us be
thoroughly ashamedof
such work when we find that the devil has a hand in it. May Almighty God
deliver us from the mighty
spirit of evil!
Consider, next, that we have here a word of description. The work of sin is
the work of the devil because it is such work as he delights in. What are the
works of the devil? They are such actions as are like
himself, and exhibit his nature and spirit. Open your eyes and you will surely
see “the works of the devil,” they are everywhere in this poor world. The
earth is defiled with his horrible productions. How delightful it is to take a
survey of the works of God! The wise man says, “The works ofthe Lord are
great,

sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.” I heard of a goodman who
went down the Rhine, but
took care to read a book all the way, for fear he should have his mind taken
off from heavenly topics by
the beauties of nature. I confess I do not understand such a spirit—I do not
want to do so. If I go into an
artist’s home, I do that artist displeasure if I take no notice of his works under
the pretext that I am quite
absorbedin him. Why not enjoy the objects in which our heavenly Fatherhas
setforth His wisdom and
power? There is nothing in any of the works of God to defile, debase, or
carnalize the soul. Delight
yourself in all of your heavenly Father’s handiwork, and make it to be a
ladder by which you climb to
4 The Works of the Devil DestroyedSermon #1728
4 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 29
Him. But what a very different contemplationis that which lies before us in
the works ofthe devil! Ah,
me, what a picture for a painter here—the works ofthe devil! Yet surely,
brush and colorwould altogetherfail. Oh, evil one, how cunning are your
works, in malice have you made them all! The earth is
full of your abominable things!
Look abroad in the world and you see atheism, men made by God deny His
existence. Theycould
not stand upright and speak if He did not enable them to do so, and yet they
cry, “There is no God!” Into

what a condition must an intelligent mind be brought before it canvent such
folly! Surely this must
come from that arch-fiend who above all things desires that there should be
no God! See, also, how
much there is of ignorance abroad, a leadennight of ignorance ofGod and of
His Son. Is not this the
work of the prince of darkness? Note alsothe abounding unbelief of truth
which would be believed at
once if men’s minds were pure, of truth which is salvationto those who accept
it, and yet is rejectedby
many as if it were injurious to them. From where does all this indifference to
God and His grace come,
and what is the origin of all this plague of doubting which is now upon us? Is
it not of the same character
as that which abode in the serpent’s heart when he whispered, “Has God
said?” and again, “You shall
not surely die.” Here is the liar that is from the beginning still producing a
host of lies againstGodHimself. What is idolatry, which we see everywhere
abroad, not only among the heathen, but among those
who call themselves Christians—the worship of visible symbols instead of the
spiritual adoration of the
unseen Spirit? It must have come from Satan, who has made himself the god
of this world, setting himself up to be God’s rival. Things offered to idols are
offered to devils, for a mere idol is nothing in the
world, its evil lies in its representing a principle which is opposedto the one
true, invisible God. The superstitions which degrade humanity, which are an
insult to our manhood, all these are most pleasing to

Satan, and approved by him, and so they are fitly described as “the works of
the devil.” And what, my
brethren, is blasphemy—that common profanity which pollutes our streets?
Who could have taught men
wantonly, and for no purpose whatever, to use the foul and filthy language
that is so common nowadays? This must be the speechof pandemonium, the
dialect of hell. And what is pride, my brethren;
pride in a creature that will die? Pride in a sinful worm?—the pride of dress,
the pride of life, the pride
of talent? What are those haughty looks? What are those presumptuous
words? What are those contemptuous glances—whatare allthese things but
works of the devil? He whom Milton describes as thinking
it “better to reign in hell than serve in heaven,” he surely is the greatfomenter
of all pride among mankind. As for deceit, so current everywhere, and worst
of all, religious deceit, formalism and hypocrisy,
from where come these but from the bottomless pit—from him who
transforms himself into an angelof
light? Are not all liars his dearchildren? My list is long enough, but I see a
numerous brood hatched beneath the wings of hate, envy, strife, wrath,
bitterness, malice, revenge. These are as fiery flying serpents in this
wilderness, inflaming men’s blood. I see these accursedevils rousing nations
into war, dividing communities with discords, embittering families that
otherwise might be full of love. Yes, making men to be the worstenemies of
men. These come from him who is a murderer from the beginning,
and is the aider and abettor of all hatred and strife. What a busy being he has
been! How he has toiled
incessantlyday and night to setup a kingdom of hate in opposition to the
empire of eternal love! With

what diligence has he smothered the world with a pall of darkness, so that
men sit down to weepand rise
up to torment one another. Ah me, what mischief this uncleanspirit has
worked!His works are evil, only evil and that continually. He has led the
human race to become accomplicesin his treasonagainstthe
majesty of heaven, allies in his rebellion againstthe sovereigntyof God Most
High. The works ofthe
devil make up a black picture. It is a thick darkness overall the land, even a
darkness that may be felt.
II. But now, secondly, and much more joyously, let us considerTHE
PURPOSE OF GOD—“For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works
of the devil.”
Ring out sweetlyall the silver bells of earth, and all the golden harps of
heaven. God has purposed
that the terrible work of the devil upon the earth shall be every atom of it,
destroyed. Yes, mark that
word “destroyed,” not limited, nor alleviated, nor neutralized, but destroyed.
Oh, men and brethren,
what could you and I do againstsuch a poweras Satan, so malicious and so
strong, and withal so cunning and subtle, and apt to deceive? Who among us
can loosenhis works, and casthis cords from us?
But if God has purposed it, verily the purpose of Jehovahshall stand! If this is
the divine decree, trem-
Sermon #1728 The Works ofthe Devil Destroyed5
Volume 29 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 5
ble, O Tophet, and you, Beelzebub, for there shall come an end to all your
works, if God has purposed to

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