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  IT JUST DOES NOT BELONG!
  by Theodore Epp
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Summary: As a Christian, living under sin's dominion without evidence of
righteousness demonstrates a lack of being born again.

Topics: "Identity in Christ", "Righteousness vs. Sin"
Scripture References: 1 John 3:1

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DESCRIPTION
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Theodore Epp emphasizes that living under the dominion of sin without
evidence of righteousness indicates a lack of being born again. He
explains that sin is contrary to God's law and the mission of Jesus, who
came to break sin's power over believers. Epp clarifies that while
Christians may sin, they are called to confess and receive forgiveness,
maintaining their righteousness through Christ. He warns against the
misconception that one can reach a point of sinlessness, highlighting
that a continual practice of sin reveals one's true spiritual lineage as
a child of the Devil. Ultimately, Epp calls believers to recognize their
identity in Christ and to live in obedience to righteousness.

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CONTENT
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1 John 3:1-10

To live under the dominion of sin without any evidence of righteousness
demonstrates that the person has not been born again. The reasons for
this are clearly pointed out in some of these verses. First John 3:4,
for example, says that sin is contrary to the law of God. Verse 5 says
that sin is contrary to the mission, or the work, of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ not only came to take away the guilt of sin, but He broke
sin's power so that the believer need not live under its dominion. When
we do commit an act of sin and then confess it, God is faithful and just
to forgive our sins, and our Advocate with the Father maintains our
standing of righteousness before Him.

Some have used these verses to teach that a person reaches a certain
place in his Christian life after which he no longer commits any sin.
These verses do not give any license to sin, but they contrast the
state, or behavior, of the children of God with the state, or behavior,
of the children of the world.

A continual practice of sin in the life shows that the person is a child
of the Devil rather than a child of God. "The devil sinneth from the
beginning" (v. 8), and his children continue to live in sin, for that is
in keeping with the character of their heredity.

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his
servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness?" (Rom. 6:16).

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/theodore-epp/it-just-does-not-belong/
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