In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the seriousness of sin by contrasting it with righteousness. He explains that to truly understand the sinfulness of our own lives, we must look to Christ and see His righteousness and purity. The preacher highlights that sin is lawlessness against God and originated with Satan. He also discusses how sin relates to Christ, ourselves, and Satan, emphasizing the continuous nature of sin. Overall, the sermon aims to help listeners grasp the gravity of sin and the need for Christ's redemption.

1 John 3, verses 4-10 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not, whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this purpose the Son of Man was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. Amen. We trust the Lord will bless this reading of God's word to our hearts. We come tonight to look at the subject of the sin of sinning. The sin of sinning. John is making the transition from dealing with the grovication of the saints into the sinfulness of sin and the sin of sinning. If you go back to chapter 2 verse 28 and you see that John was dealing there with the confidence that we will have when the Lord returns. And that led him into dealing with our glorification. That led him into dealing with our purification. Every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, because he is looking to Christ. He is expecting Christ. And that expectancy and that continual look will always be a source and a motivation to purity. And we saw there the phrase even as he is pure is not contrasting us with Christ. It is not saying let us be pure, because he is pure. And let's contrast or compare. It is saying let us be pure and where we get our purity is from him. Therefore let us be pure even as the source of our purity is pure. There is also the same idea that is found in verse 7. Let no man deceive you, he that doeth righteousness is righteous. Why? Even as he is righteous, that is Christ. So John here is dealing with the subject of confidence at the Lord's return. And he is elaborating from verse 3 and expands on verse 3. Dealing then with the absolute necessity of purity of life. The absolute necessity of purity of life. That subject of purity of life he approaches from different perspectives. This time in verses 4 and following he does not approach it from the perspective of our expectation of Christ. He is not saying be pure because you are expecting Christ to come back. Be pure because you are looking for him. But be pure because of the experience that you have had in Christ. And then he goes into this experience. Be pure because he has dealt with sin. Verse 5. And so he is dealing with this not from the perspective of our expectation of Christ. But from the perspective of our experience of Christ's redemption. That was the purpose of his coming. Remember back in chapter 1 verse 1 and verse 3 and following. The purpose of his manifestation. To put away sin. And he comes back to this in chapter 3 verse 5. And you know that he was manifested to take away sin. This idea, this concept of his manifestation is one that continually arises. And here we have the purpose of his first manifestation, his first coming. And that was to take away sin. Now by dealing with this subject again. And I say again because John dealt with sin in chapter 1 right off the bat. He deals in chapter 1 verse 5 with what God is. God is light and in him is no darkness at all. And then he goes into the subject of sin in the life of a believer. If you say you have fellowship with him and walk in darkness. You lie and do not do truth. Verse 7, 8, 9 and 10 and into chapter 2. He deals with sin in the life of a believer. And he comes to the subject of sin again. Because there is a great importance in this subject. It is a real issue. It is a living issue. It is a continuing issue in our lives. The tension between sin and righteousness. The conflict between God and Satan is continuing. This is what John is dealing with in our lives. The first page there that you have, page 32. Just before the tables. There is a summary of this section. And I want to read that summary of this section of the epistle. Because this is the heart of what John is dealing with here. Originating with Satan. And practiced by men. Sin is lawlessness against God. Christ came to take away sin, verse 5. And to destroy the works of the devil, verse 8. The logical conclusion of that. Is whoever is born of God, verse 9. And consequently abides in him, which he mentions in verse 6. Does not go on sinning. And whoever goes on sinning has not seen God and has not known Him. He is not of God. I want you to understand what John is saying here. I want you to see the logical conclusion that John comes to. Sin, originating with Satan, verse 8. And practiced by men, verses 4, 6 to 10. Sin is a lawlessness against God. It is rebellion against God, verse 4. Christ came to take away sin, verse 5. And to destroy the works of the devil, verse 8. That is what Christ came. That is why He was manifested. The logical conclusion of that is whoever is born of God. Does not go on sinning. And whoever goes on sinning. Has not been born of God. Those are not my words. Those are the words of John. Formulated in this expression, whoever, this word. Two words in the original, paschal. John lays out this very comprehensively and thoroughly. Look at sin. First one he says, whoever commits sin is lawless. That is what he is saying in verse 4. That is what we are going to look at tonight. Whosoever commits sin is lawless. And then in a series of negative and positive. He says positively, whoever abides in Him, that is Christ. Does not go on sinning, verse 6. And in verse 9 he says, whoever is born of God. Does not go on doing sin. And negatively he says, whoever continues in sin. Has not seen Him, nor has known Him. And again negatively in verse 10. Whoever does not do righteousness is not of God. Now it might seem as we read verses 4 to 10 a little repetitious. But there you have it laid out in positive and negative. What John is saying here. The two sides of the issue. He is dealing with sin in a very comprehensive manner. We saw in verse 2 how he deals with glorification. And he packed into verse 2 and 3. He packed so much into the verse concerning the subject of glorification. That it took us 4 or 5 weeks to deal with that. In one phrase, John packed so much into it. And he does the same here. Look at the sin that he deals with here. And what it is related to. He deals with sin as it is related to itself. In verse 4b. Sin is the transgression of the law. Sin is lawlessness. It is rebellion. The rebellion of sin. He deals in verse 5 with sin as it relates to Christ. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sin. And in Him is no sin. He deals with sin as it is relating to ourselves. As it relates to man. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. Verse 6 and following. And he deals lastly with sin as it relates to Satan. Verse 8. He that committeth sin is of the devil. For the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested. That he might destroy the works of the devil. There is John's analysis of sin. In a 4 square perspective. In relation to itself. In relation to Christ. And in relation to Satan. We are going to look at sin tonight in relation to itself. And deal with the subject of the sin of sinning. The sin of sinning. The first thing I want us to notice tonight is that sin is problematic. Sin is problematic. I think we will all recognize this. If we have any ounce of grace of the grace of God in us. We will recognize that sin in our lives is problematic. That there is not a night goes by that we put our heads on the pillow. That we don't think. Or we are not convicted. Or we are not repentant of some word we have said out of place. Of some attitude that we have had out of place. There is not a day goes by. There is not a moment goes by that you sin not. We are sinning daily in thought word and deed. And John would have us to know beloved that sin is problematic. Now the problem that it raises for us is very serious. We are going to see that. But here I want us to notice in general what this problem is. It is natural that John comes from the subject of glorification to deal with sin. And that is very interesting. It is very significant. He has dealt with glorification in chapter 3 verse 2. And he comes in then to purity of life in verse 3. And he comes in then to a full on analysis of sin. Immediately after the subject of glorification. Because those who hope to be like Christ in glory. John is saying they ought to be like him on earth. Those who hope to be holy and like Christ in heaven when he appears. Ought to endeavor to be like him now. Now John is not blind to the idea of men being deceived. He says this in verse 7. Little children let no man deceive you. Now I want us to understand here who John is speaking to. He is speaking to believers. That is fundamental. He is speaking to believers. He is saying in verse 3. Every man that has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure. And he goes in to deal with the subject of sin in the life of a believer. Because he says in verse 7. Little children. He is speaking to the church of believers. With the understanding that there are in that church. Those who have a mere profession. He is speaking to those who have a profession of faith. Those who have the concept of salvation. Those who have the life of salvation. The profession of salvation. And knowing that within that number there are those who are deceived. This is what we saw back in chapter 1 when we analysed who John is speaking to in chapter 1. Verse 6. Because he makes some very poignant statements. Verse 6. The latter part of verse 6. That if we say we fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth. It is possible. We saw this way back when we looked at this verse. It is possible for the Christian to do not the truth. It is possible for the Christian, in verse 8, for the truth not to be in him. At some level. It is possible, verse 10, for the Christian to make him a liar and his word not to be in us. Chapter 1 verse 10. There is a scourge of sin. It is possible. That there are those in this meeting tonight. And this is what John is saying. It is possible that there are those in this meeting tonight who have this mere profession. Who are, as verse 7 says, deceived. Those who profess the hope of his coming but do not dwell in purity. Those who profess to have a salvation that has changed their heart but it hasn't yet changed their life. It is possible that that salvation you claim to have has not yet changed your heart. John says, who so commit a sin transgresseth the law for sin is a transgression of the law. And he goes on to elaborate on that. And as we saw in our opening statements. That whoever does go on sinning has not seen God and does not know God. There are very serious matters here in this problem of sin. To go on continually lawless and rebellious against God. It is a serious problem. It is evident from the epistles, both this epistle in chapter 2 verse 28 and verse 3 of chapter 3. And also in the epistles of Paul that the early disciples lived a life commensurate with an expectation of the coming of Christ. They lived expecting Christ to come. John says in verse 3 that those who expect to see him will aim to be like him. Those who expect to see him and to be like him then will aim to be like him. And the hope spoken of in verse 3 however raises a natural and biblical concern. And this is a concern, this is a problem I want us to address tonight. This hope, this hope of seeing him when he comes through the clouds. This hope of being like him when he comes through the clouds. This hope of having confidence before him when we stand before him at the last day. This hope that we have raises a natural and a biblical concern. The concern that the hope we hold may not be real. The concern that the hope we hold of spending eternity with Christ may be unfounded. The hope of being like Christ in glory that you have may not be real. If your life as John says goes on sinning. If your life goes on sinning. This is where sin is problematic. Problematic. We need to know, we need to know and you need to know tonight. That when Christ comes through the clouds and you see him in the clouds that you will be like him. That's the issue. You need to know tonight that when Christ comes through the clouds that you will have confidence before him at that time. And as you stand before the judgment seat of Christ that Christ will be with you, abiding with you. That Christ will be standing for you because his righteousness as chapter 2 verse 29 says stands for you. And that Christ will be in you. Being revealed in you the hope of the glory that will be revealed in us as Paul says in Romans 8 verse 18. That's what you need to know. That confidence will not be turned into confusion. And this is a biblical perspective. This is a biblical warning. If you look at the text in the notes you have Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 10. Wherefore the rabbi brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure. This continual diligence we need to have to make our calling and election sure. Why? Because it is possible that Satan has deceived you. It is possible that you have deceived yourself. He says more specifically in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 14. Wherefore beloved seeing that ye look for such things. In the same context here. Look for such things. Be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless. That you may be found without spot and blameless and peaceful of him. Through him. Then in Matthew chapter 25 verse 13 the Lord says watch therefore. For ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. Beloved sin is problematic. Sin is problematic. And there is a possibility that the hope that we have. And the confidence that we think we will have on that day will be turned into confusion. Like the parable of the individual coming into the wedding feast without the garment. He is sitting there peaceful in the wedding feast. And the master comes in and says how came this man in without having a wedding garment on. Take him and cast him out. And the Bible says he was speechless. Which is the opposite to what we read in chapter 2 verse 28. And now little children abide in him that when he shall appear ye may have confidence. Confidence is that ability that boldness to be able to speak. On that day before God. That our confidence will be in Christ. Sin beloved is problematic. We cannot presume upon a profession. We cannot presume upon false hope. And John here is not giving this. This is not a polemic. This is not a polemic for or against sin. This is an exhortation to John's beloved children. You see there he uses a little phrase again little children. This is an exhortation in love. In love that these people to whom he is writing and to you tonight. Might be aware of the problem of sin in the life. And the danger of recurring sin. And the danger of continued sin in the life. Sin is problematic. Sin secondly is lawlessness. It is lawlessness. See this in verse 4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. For sin is the transgression of the law. There are a number of words in the New Testament used to speak of sin. There is the word paraptoma. Which means to deviate from truth. Or to fall outside the bounds of something. You will see the word outside there in the word para. Paraptoma. It is translated to transgress in Ephesians 2.1. And it is translated sins in Ephesians 2.5. The second word is aditya. And it means unrighteousness. You see the prefix there is a negative. Of righteousness. And it negatives the righteousness. The righteousness. It is used in Romans 1.18. The third word that is used to speak of sin in the New Testament is hamartia. This word means simply to miss the mark. To fall short. Somewhat like the arrow would miss the target. Or fall short of the target. And the final word is anomia. Or anomia. And you will see there the word. The a prefix negatives the word anomia. Which is the word namos. Law. Without law. That is what it means literally. Without law. Now that is what it means literally. But semantically in use. That is what the... As a transparent word that is what it is. The two pieces of the word. Without law. But semantically it means more than not having the law. It means without subjection to the law. In other words lawlessness. Lawlessness. And John here uses the two words hamartia and anomia to speak of sin in verse 4. He that commits hamartia transgresses also the law. Or if I could give it a literal translation. He who commits hamartia commits anomia. Because hamartia is anomia. That is what he is saying. The word is between them signifies is equivalent to. John is not saying here that lawlessness is a subcategory of sin. That is not what he is saying. He is not saying here sin and there is a little subcategory here of lawlessness. He is saying sin is lawlessness. Sin is rebellion against God. It is rebellion against God. The two words are coextensive and equivalent synonyms. They can be interchanged. And the definition of sin that John gives here is the most profound I believe of all the New Testament definitions. And I have given you there three definitions in the New Testament. Romans 14.23, James 4.17 and 1 John 5.17. But here is one that gets to the essence. Here is one that gets to the heart of what sin actually is. It is rebellion against God. Sin is any want of conformity to the law of God. The Catechism says. We are not only falling short. We are not only falling short of the target. We are not only falling short of the glory of God, of the law of God. We have rebelled against it. We have rebelled against it. There is a lot of talk today about what law is. In different aspects of society. And the laws of a country change and are always in a continual state of flux. Depending on which government is in, depends on which law is in. We see recently laws that have been changed in the United States concerning homosexuality. Concerning abortion. Concerning stem cell research. Because laws, the laws of men are always changing. They are in a continual state of flux. And no one really knows what is legal and what is not legal. The law of God by contrast is perfect. The law of God by contrast is absolute. The law of God by contrast is unchangeable. And the law of God by contrast is universal. Universal. And this idea of universality is brought out in the word whosoever. You will see here in this formulating expression that we have picked up on before in verse 4. Whosoever or whoever commits sin. Verse 6. Whosoever abideth in him. And then again in verse 6. Whosoever stilleth not. Verse 9. Whosoever. And verse 10 then. Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God. That phrase, that word means simply if any man. If any man. Regardless of your race. Regardless of your nationality. Regardless of your skin color. Regardless of your creed. If any man sin. Commits sin. He transgresses the law. Because sin is a transgression of the law. That my friend damns all of humanity. As lawless against God. That damns all of humanity outside of Christ. Who has kept the law. Because the same word. That God, that John uses and the spirit of God and the inspiration of scripture uses. The same word to say that all. Are sinners. The same word that John uses to say that all have transgressed the law of God. Is the very same word, the very same phrase. Pass 4. That he uses to give the invitation of the gospel. In John chapter 3 verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth on him. Should not perish but have everlasting life. This universal. Sinfulness of man. God has given. A free offer of the gospel to whoever. Has sinned. And whoever believes. Whosoever believeth. Shall not perish. But have everlasting. Life. Sin my friend is lawlessness. Now we must ask what law John is speaking about here. And as I said John here is speaking to believers. But he is shifting. He is shifting from believers. To those who might be unbelievers. And is finally nuanced here. Throughout this passage because he is dealing here with those who profess. In general but those who might be deceived. Verse 7. And verse 8 speaks of those who continue sinning. Sinning under the law of God. And so there is a fine line here between whom John is speaking about. But fundamentally he is speaking to believers. So what law is John speaking of here? In verse 4. Whosoever commits sin transgresseth also the law. What law is he speaking of? Is he speaking of the mosaic law? Is he speaking of the judicial law? The ceremonial law? Or the moral law as it is found in the two tables of the law? Is he speaking of the law of conscience? I believe he is speaking of something much more. Inclusive. Than all of them. He is speaking of the law put together. And I believe he is speaking of the law. Of Christ. He is speaking of the law of Christ. Because. I say that because he is speaking here to believers. And the use of his words. And the distinction between sin and lawlessness. One commentator argued that it cannot be speaking of the moral law as it is written. In the two tables of the law. Because there are things that were sin. But would not necessarily have been lawlessness if you are following the two tables of the law. Such as polygamy in the old testament. While it is sinful. If you are following rigorously the written tables of the law. It is not lawlessness against that. And yet it is sin. And so one commentator distinguishes it that way. But I think it is speaking more of the law of Christ. More because of whom John is speaking to here. And what he is seeking to exert these people to. He is speaking here to Christians. Because he is seeking to strengthen their confidence in Christ. He is seeking to enhance their purity in Christ. And so therefore he is speaking of the law as it is revealed by God. In whatever form. And applied by Christ. Now. You might think. Well the law doesn't really have anything to do with me as a Christian. What is John saying here? But my friend the law does have something to do with you as a Christian. Because the bible tells us that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The law was given in Exodus. At Mount Sinai. The law was given because men had so polluted their minds. And the law that was written on their heart had become so diminished. That God in his mercy. In the covenant of grace. Wrote the law down. So that men would have it to look at. To handle. And to read. That law. That demanded total obedience. Or else death. Israel realized that they could not keep. And if you are going to follow the Ten Commandments. If you are going to follow the law of God rigorously as a system of salvation. You will soon discover that you cannot keep it. That it is impossible for you to keep the law of God. That it is impossible for you to exactly replicate the mind of God in your life. It is impossible. We sin daily in thought, word and deed. If any man looks upon a woman to lust after, he has committed adultery in his heart. It does not speak necessarily of physical adultery. It is the sword of the heart. It is in the mind. The law then is our schoolmaster. The law is for us to look at. To realize that we cannot keep it. And it drives us to Christ. Who has kept it for us. Completely. For Christ as Paul says in Romans. Is the end of the law for righteousness. Now. Having come to Christ. What does the law have to do with me having come to Christ? It is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. But Christ returns us back to the law. He sends us right back to the law with a new heart. With a new motivation. With a new ability. To keep that. Not out of a legal demand. But out of an obedience to him. The law sends us to Christ for one who has kept it for us. Christ sends us back to the law to keep it for him. In obedience. John says. Whosoever commits sin. Rebels against law. My friend let me put it this way to you. If the spirit of God is dwelling in you. As a Christian. And if the spirit of God is leading you into all truth. As a Christian. And you rebel against that truth. Whose law are you rebelling against? The law of Christ. The law of Christ. The law as it is kept by Christ. And applied to you. The law as it is given to you by Christ in a new hope. If you don't keep that as a Christian. As a professing Christian. You are rebelling against God. Because sin is lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. If you are not saved. And if your hope of this confidence on the day of judgment. If your hope of living with Christ for all eternity. Is ill founded. Then you are rebelling against the moral law of God. As it is revealed in your heart. In your conscience. You are rebelling against the moral law of God. As it is revealed in scripture. You are a rebel against God's law. Whatever profession you may make. And John says here. He that commits sin is of the devil. For the devil sinneth from the beginning. He who continually commits sin. And we are going to see as we go on here. The difference here between the sinning and committing sin. And that leads us to look at the seriousness of sin. Sin is problematic. Sin is lawlessness. But sin my friend is serious. Sin is serious. In John's approach here to this subject. There are four ways in which he emphasizes the seriousness of sin. I want us to see these briefly as we close. Firstly by contrasting sin with righteousness. Look at chapter 2 verse 29. For ye know that he is righteous. Ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him. He contrasts it with righteousness. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. For sin is the transgression of the law. If we are going to contrast sin with righteousness. If we are going to look at the righteousness of Christ. If we are going to look into the perfect law of liberty. We are going to see the seriousness of sin. You want a vision of your sinfulness. As we saw on Wednesday night at the prayer meeting. You want an idea of how sinful you are. You want an idea of the heinousness of sin. You want some conception of the sinfulness. Of the plague of sin in your life. There is only one way to get that. And that is to look to Christ. And to see the righteousness of Christ. To see the purity of Christ. And John emphasizes here the seriousness of sin. By contrasting it with righteousness. The light of the Lord's righteousness shines on sin. And shows it up for what it is. And never you wonder why you can't get over sin. Perhaps you wonder why there is this particular sin in your life. That you can't get over. This besetting sin as the Hebrew says. And you wonder why you can't deal with it. You wonder why it's recurring. You wonder why it keeps coming up. Perhaps you have never really looked at it. As in the light of the gospel. Perhaps you have never really looked at it. In the heinousness for what it is. Perhaps you have never really seen it. As it is contrasted to the righteousness of God. Because you have never gone to scripture. To analyze your life. To analyze your sin in the light of scripture. That my friend is how we deal with sin in the life. By going to Christ. By drawing from Him. As we see in verse 3. Every man that hath this hope in him. Purifies himself. Even as our source is pure. And verse 7. Little children let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous. Even as our source is righteous. You get a look at Christ. You will see your sins differently. You get a look at the purity and righteousness of Christ. You will see your sin for the hatefulness and heinousness of what they really are. That my friend is what we need to do. As God's people. Analyze our sin in the light of scripture. Analyze our lives in the light of scripture. Go to scripture continually. Seeking God's face. That He would search me O God and know my heart. As the psalmist cried. Psalm 139. Try me and know my ways. See if there be a wicked way in me. Lead me in the way everlasting. That's what the psalmist prayed. That's what we must pray. Because sin is serious. Sin is serious. God takes it serious. The second thing that John uses here. In his manner and his approach to the subject of sin. Is he compares it with other words used for sin. He compares hamartia. With anomia. He says this is sin. This is a missing of the mark. But the other side of that coin is that it's a rebellion against God. It is not merely a missing of the mark. It is a rebellion against God. And if we were to take their independent meanings. We would see two sides of the one coin. The missing of the mark. Like the arrow missing the target. Or falling short of the target. And John in this verse. When he says. When he clarifies this. He says he that committeth sin. Transgresseth the law. This missing of the mark. And I want us to pick up on this. Specifically because this missing of the mark. This idea of sin as a missing of the mark. This idea of sin as a falling short. Has the idea. The concept of some infirmity. And is this not what the world says. Is this not what we hear bombarded in our ears continually regarding sin. Oh this is the way God made me. It's not my fault. This is the way I am. It is not me. Someone tripped me up. Someone put this in my way. Someone put that in my way. It's not me. There's this infirmity. You have to feel sorry for me. Because of sin. Well there is a sense in which we must. As Galatians chapter 6 verse 1 says. If any man fall. Or be overtaken in a fall. Neither spiritual. But we're speaking here of someone who is continually. As the word committeth. Committeth. We're going to get to that in due course. But this continual idea of sinning. There is this continual. Continuity in sin. And it is not merely because of infirmity. It is not merely because of helplessness. John says it is. Rebellion against God. And they're not. Comparing of the two words. He emphasizes the seriousness. Of sin. The third. Way in which he emphasizes the seriousness of sin. Is by. Complementing it with. The auxiliary verb. Doing. Sin. And. Sinning. Doing sin. And. Sinning. This distinction between sinning. In chapter 3 verse 6. Whoso abideth in him. Sins not. And committing sin. Chapter 3 verse 9. Whoso is born of God. Doth not commit sin. And verse 4. The contrast. The difference here. Is between that which is. And that which is carried out. Definitely. Consciously. And to completeness. There is this doing of sin. And there is sinning. The one is general. The other is specific. As the doing of righteousness. In verse 29. Of chapter 2. If he know that he is righteous. He knows righteousness. That does righteousness. That ties it through. Specifically. Definitely. Deliberately. Consciously. Is born of him. Contrasting that with sin. He says. Whosoever does sin. Consciously. Definitely. Deliberately. Continually. The seriousness. Of sin. Fourth. Idea. Of. Emphasizing. The fourth way John emphasizes. The seriousness of sin. Is by using the continuous. Tense. Emphasizing the continuity. Of sin. And we are not going to go into this. Much tonight. But you see there. That he uses the present tense. In all of the verbs. The present tense is used. In all of the verbs the active voice is used. It is not someone doing something to me. It is me doing something. It is the active voice. But the mood changes between the verbs. You see there. The indicative. Which is just the plain statement of fact. Chapter 3 verse 6a. Whosoever abideth in him. Sinneth not. The participle. In chapter 3 verse 4. Whosoever. Is doing. Sin. The participle there doing sin. In 6b. Whosoever. Is sinning. Continually. You see the idea of continuity there. Whosoever is sinning. Hath not seen him. In chapter 3 verse 8a then. He that is doing sin. You see in the participle. The idea of doing. Is the idea of continuity. Continually. It is also seen in the infinitive. In 9b. This is perhaps the most. Controversial verse. Whosoever is born of God. Doth not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him. And he cannot sin. The infinitive is used here. And the infinitive is used here. And the infinitive is used in 9b. As the usual practice. He cannot sin. As a usual practice. Or he cannot go on sinning. That is what John is saying here. Whosoever is born of God. Cannot go on sinning. Because there is something wrong there. If he is going on sinning. If he goes on sinning. He has not seen God. If he continues to sin. He does not know God. If he continues to sin. He does not know the seriousness of sin. By the use of these moods in the verb. And the use of the verb. The auxiliary verb. And other aspects. Sin is serious. And John in these short few verses. Deals most comprehensively. And thoroughly. With the idea of sin in the life. Of a professing Christian. Are you. Going on sinning. Day after day. Week after week. As John says. There is something wrong. There is something wrong. You have not seen God. And you have not known him. Verse 6. Whoso abides in him sinneth not. Whoso sinneth hath not seen him nor known him. Sin is serious. Sin is problematic. Let me close. The subject we are going to look at again. Christ came. To deal with sin. That is the good news. And you know that he. Appeared. Or he was manifested. To take away sin. Christ was manifested to take away sin. Because in him is no sin. You have a problem with sin tonight. In your heart. Or in your life or both. Christ appeared. To take away sin. To take away the guilt of sin. First of all. To take away the pollution of sin. To take away the persistence of sin. Because every man that has this hope in him. Purifies himself. Even as he is pure. Look to Christ. Look to Christ to get a view of sin. Of what sin actually is. In contrast to Christ's righteousness. Look to Christ. To deal with sin. And to take it away. And Christ will. Hear you. Because. Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish. But have everlasting life. That's Christ's final word. Whosoever believeth. Shall not perish. But have everlasting life. I trust tonight. That you will look to Christ. That you will seek his face. And that you will find in him. Peace and comfort. In believing. That's my prayer.