1st John 3:1-3

1st John 3:1-3, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

I think 1st John 3:3 simply means that if we abide in the Scriptures, that is, in God's promise of the Second Coming of Christ, then we are going to live as such in anticipation of His coming. The Lord Himself made this clear:

Luke 12:37-40, “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”

Jesus said if they had known when their master was returning, they wouldn't have been caught off guard not doing their jobs. The great biblical doctrine of the Rapture (Jesus' return for His saints) is one of the primary motivations to be faithful to live the Christian life.

1st John 3:3 is not saying that every believer is faithful, for we know that most are not. We see this truth taught in Luke 8:10-15 in the parable of The Sower And The Seed. Luke 8:10 says the “seed” is God's Word. There are four types of soil upon which the seed fell. There are four groups. The first group didn't get saved, because Satan took away the seed. The second, third and fourth groups all got saved, because the seeds began to grow.

The second group had shallow roots and didn't grow. They quit and lived wasted lived.

The third group was choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this world (I think this group describes 90% of saints).

The fourth group took heed to God's Word, obeying The Great Commission to go soulwinning bearing precious seed. They bear fruit and please God. This describes less than 1% of saints today. Our text passage says that the world does not recognize Christians as God's children, because they do not know God. John 14:17, “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

The parable of The Sower And The Seed is not upon getting saved; but rather, about maturing in Christ to become a soulwinner. This is abundantly clear from Luke 8:15, “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” Soulwinning is every Christian's job.

The television, job, family, social media, video games, hobbies, politics, agendas, et cetera, hinder believers from serving God. Preaching the Gospel is every believer's duty according to Luke 8:15, Matthew 28:19-20 and John 15:5.

Acts 15:1-5

Acts 15:1-5, “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

I do believe the Pharisees in Acts 15:5 were saved because the Bible calls them “believers.” THEY BELIEVED. They weren't trusting in works; but rather, I think they were errantly requiring the Gentile believers to keep the Jewish ceremonial laws (the law) to please God. In Acts 15:24 the Apostle Luke explains that the disciples didn't teach these things, false teachers did.

The group in Acts 15:1 weren't saved because they added works to faith, which clearly identifies them as unsaved. I think the Pharisees in Acts 15:5 were theologically confused, still caught between grace and works concerning sanctification (i.e., becoming Christlike).

If a man is wrong on the Gospel he is NOT saved. They were wrong on the Christian life, not salvation in Acts 15:5. That is my humble opinion. I don't think anyone is saved who is trusting in Jesus PLUS something else.

1st John 2:1-2, God's Court Room

Revelation 12:10, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

1st John 2:1-2, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Gods court room is different than our. Imagine Satan as the prosecutor (a person, especially a public official, who institutes legal proceedings against someone). Then imagine Jesus as your defense attorney (lawyer). He represents you and presents evidence for your legal defense before the impartial judge (God the Father).

By the way, there is no trial by jury in Gods courtroom, just bench trial (i.e., trial by judge only, no jury). Since God is omniscient (all-knowing), He doesn't need a jury to determine ones guilt or innocence's (Proverbs 24:10). Nothing ever escapes the eyes of God (Hebrews 4:13). Every human being must one day in eternity stand before God, to be judged for every good and evil work (Ecclesiastes 12:14), every word (Matthew 12:36), and every thought (Proverbs 24:10). No man has ever escaped God's righteous judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

The prosecutor (Satan), will charge the defendants (you and me), with specific crimes and then present evidence establishing our guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Our defense lawyer (Jesus, if you are a born-again Christian) has the responsibility to defend His clients against Satin's charges.

Here’s the amazing thing—God Himself will be our the judge. If Jesus is our defense attorney we cannot lose. We can just sit back and watch the proceedings with joy and assurance that all is going to work out okay (Romans 8:28). Kindly said, if you do not have Jesus as your Savior (which also makes Him your lawyer), you are ALREADY GUILTY (John 3:18, 36) cannot win and you will pay for all eternity for them in a burning Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8).

The final judgment by God in your case depends entirely upon you, right NOW, whether or not you are chargeable for your sin. If you've trusted Jesus as your personal Savior dear reader, then He has taken away all of your sins. At the moment of the new birth, God credits (imputes) our SINS to Christ's record, and credits Christ's RIGHTEOUSNESS to our record. Someone has called this "The Great Transfer." I like that truth. This happens by simple childlike faith (reliance, trust) in the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) that Jesus is the Christ who died on a cross, was buried, and then three days later bodily resurrected from the dead (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). BELIEVE the Gospel and be instantly, irrevocably and forever saved (Romans 1:16).

Please beware of all the theological garbage that is circulating on social media today. For example: I found this junk today. Notice that the author of this publication calls it "the Gospel," and yet there is absolutely NOTHING in this presentation about Jesus' death, burial and resurrection (which is the true Gospel according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4).

Will you let Jesus take your penalty for your sin, or would you rather pay for your own sins in Hell forever? The choice is yours alone to make dear friend. The Bible describes the horrifying future scene at The Great White Throne of Judgment, when the dead (damned) will be judged by God the Father for their works, and then they shall be cast by the angels into Hell forever to be tormented day and night without rest (Revelation 14:11, 20:11-15, 21:8).

I THANK GOD for the precious blood of Jesus that washed all my sins away in 1980 at age 13, when I trusted Jesus as my personal Savior. (1st Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 1:5). I am now clothed solely in Christ's righteousness, which is by faith alone in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:3-4; Philippians 3:9). Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do!

2nd Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Mark 16:16

Mark 16:16, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) wisely said, "A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one." Based on itself, taken out of context, Mark 16:16 seems to imply that water baptism is necessary to be saved, but we know from comparing Scripture with Scripture that water baptism is NOT required or permitted to be born-again.

The Apostle Paul said in 1st Corinthians 1:17 that Christ did not send him to baptize, but to preach the Gospel. Paul never would have said that if baptism is necessary to get to Heaven. 

Likewise, the Apostle John penned the Epistle of 1st John so that believers can "KNOW" that we are saved (1st John 5:13), yet NOT ONCE does John mention baptism of any form. Again, if baptism were essential to get to Heaven, then John wouldn't have failed to mention baptism in his epistle.

There has always been only ONE Gospel (Acts 10:43; Galatians 1:6-7; Romans 4:1-7), yet no one in the Old Testament was ever water baptized to be saved.

The repentant thief on the cross was never water baptized, yet Jesus promised him that they'd be together in Paradise that very same day (Luke 23:43). By the way, this passage of Scripture provides incontestable proof that Jesus didn't burn in Hell for three days after He died. Respectfully, Pastor Steven Anderson is 100% wrong to teach that Jesus went to burn in Hell after He died on the cross.

Umpteen passages in the inspired Holy Bible plainly teaches that water baptism is NOT required or allowed to get to Heaven. If you foolishly ADD water baptism to your faith, then you are no longer fully resting in Christ's sacrificial death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection three days later, which is the Gospel (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).

Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.