Do Righteousness, Not Sin, Just as He Is Righteous | 1 John 3:6-8

ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church · Carlos Montijo

March 2, 2025

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Lord's Day: March 2, 2025 Preacher: <a class="speaker" href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/preacher/p/19307/carlos-montijo" rel="p-19307">Carlos Montijo</a> Series: <a id="series-10" class="series" href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/series/first-john">First John</a> Topic: <a href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/topic/the-christian-life">The Christian Life</a> Scripture: 1 John 3:4–8, Romans 7:7, Romans 6:1–2, Hebrews 12:2, Romans 13:8–10, John 14:21–24, Matthew 24:36–40, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8, 1 Corinthians 13:6, 1 Corinthians 2:16 <h4>I.  Today’s sermon will build on the foundation that was laid last Sunday </h4> 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or has come to know Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 The one who does sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. The Son of God was manifested for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:6–8 <ul> <li>Understanding sin—knowing what sin is in general, our sins in particular, how we relate to and deal with sin, before and after our conversion, is an integral, indispensable part of the very gospel that saves us, and of our sanctification</li> </ul> <h4>II.  Last time we started to unpack verse 6. How do we make proper sense of it? </h4> Romans 6:1–2:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin [living in] so that grace may increase [abound]? 2 May it never be! [Why?] How shall we who died to sin still live in it? <ul> <li>Sinners will continue in sin, believers will not</li> <li>Important and necessary for us to grasp the big picture—the whole counsel of God, Analogies of Scripture and Faith, because there are several other doctrines that are prerequisite for understanding this verse properly: of salvation in general, of regeneration, of the flesh, of sanctification, etc.</li> <li>The gospel deals with and resolves our sin in a complete, final, ultimate, eschatological, it-is-finished sense, once and for all sense</li> <li>We nevertheless understand that, in a not-yet sense, we still war against sin and our flesh</li> <li>You do war against sin, right? Romans 7? Galatians 5?</li> <li>Sin no longer rules over us! We now strive to not sin, and we repent when we sin, we mortify sin, put sin to death</li> <li>We cannot deny that true believers may still “fall into serious [grievous] sins,” as Scripture teaches us and our 1689 Baptist Confession summarizes for us, “through the temptations of Satan and the world, the power of the corruption remaining in them, and neglect of the means for their preservation [and deliverance], and may even continue in them for a time. In this they incur God's displeasure, grieve his Holy Spirit, have their graces and comforts impaired, have their hearts hardened and their consciences wounded, and hurt and offend others, and bring present chastisement [discipline] upon themselves. Yet [nevertheless] they will [in time] renew their repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end." (17.3)</li> <li>We must balance all of these bookend doctrines</li> </ul> <h4>III.  What does “doing righteousness” look like? What is Righteousness?<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> </h4> <ul> <li>1. The answer lies in the latter part of verse 7: “...just as He is righteous.” Jesus Christ the Righteous</li> <li>Errol Hulse, Catechism for Boys & Girls: Q.35. What is righteousness? It is God’s goodness.</li> <li>Catechism for Young Children: Baptist Revision, Q. 45. What did Christ undertake in the [New] Covenant of Grace? A. To keep the whole law for His people, and to suffer the punishment due to their sins.</li> </ul> <h4>IV.  Now, if we could summarize “doing righteousness” in one word, what would it be? </h4> <ul> <li>Biblical love is a summary and fulfillment of the Law of God—which defines and determines, not just what sin is, but what righteousness is and does</li> <li>If you don’t know and accept God’s law, then you don’t know what righteousness or love is, because both righteousness and love cannot be divorced either from God’s law, or from obedience to it</li> <li>Love and Righteousness and Law and Truth go hand in hand, and cannot be divorced from each other</li> <li>The Greatest Commandment, the Greatest, most Perfect Righteousness, is to Love—Love God and neighbor</li> <li>Love and righteousness are all-encompassing</li> </ul> Matthew 22:36–40: 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He [Jesus] said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/">ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church</a> 4712 Montana Ave El Paso, Texas 79903</li> </ul> Contact us at: <ul> <li>web: <a href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/">ThornCrownCovenant.Church</a> call/text: (915) 843-8088 email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></li> </ul> Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. <a href="http://lsbible.org/">LSBible.org</a> and <a href="http://316publishing.com/">316publishing.com</a> <a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> See ‘The Gospel According to Righteousnesses | 1 John 2:1’, ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church: El Paso, TX, 18 December 2022 <<a href="https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/sermon/2022-12-18/the-gospel-according-to-righteousnesses-1-john-2:1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/sermon/2022-12-18/the-gospel-according-to-righteousnesses-1-john-2:1</a>>.

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