1 John 3:4-6 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

The world has always demanded that Christians do what it says. This has never changed. Sometimes the world creeps into the Church. When the world infiltrates the Church, it twists what believers should do.

You’ve probably never heard of Thomas von Imbroek. Thomas was a Christian who believed in his Bible. The “Established Church” at that time was the Catholic Church. Backed by the German state, the Catholic Church began what they called “The Inquisition”, a religious court that examined and executed those they deemed “heretics”. Thomas was considered a “heretic” What was his crime? He refused to have his young infant children baptized. Thomas rightly believed that only believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should be baptized, and he cited Scripture as his proof texts. Catholics teach that water baptism is a SACRAMENT that frees a person (even an infant) from original sin, and brings the child into the Catholic Church to be saved. Catholics equate water baptism to the Old Testament practice of circumcision. The Catholic Catechism states, “1250. … The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth”.

Though there is no instance in Scripture that infants were ever baptized in water, Thomas was brought before the Inquisition. Thomas was tortured for days, and pressured to have his children baptized. While imprisoned, his wife wrote him letters, encouraging him to stand firm in his faith. Thomas replied, “the Lord refreshes the afflicted souls that thirst for Him. He is a shadow from the heat of the sun. Tell the brethren to take care of the novices (young believers) and to pray earnestly for me. I will also pray for them, as much as is in my power. Remember my bonds. The Lord be with your spirit. Amen.” Thomas told his persecutors,

““I am willing and ready, both to live or to die. I do not care what happens to me. God will not let me down. I am comforted and in good spirits while yet on the earth. God gives me friendly assurance, and my heart is encouraged through my brothers. Sword, water, fire…cannot frighten me…All the persecution in this world shall not be able to separate me from God.”

At just 25 years old Thomas was sent to the execution for the crime of being “Anabaptist”. His head was chopped off on March 5, 1558 – about 465 years ago.

Thank God that we have religious freedom in America. However, if we as Christians don’t stand up for the Lord, and stand up for righteousness, we will lose our freedoms. A virulent form of religion has taken over in America – and we as believers need to stand up against it. This secularized religion called “Humanism” has taken over state governments. Recently Governor Gavin Newsom has canceled the renewal of Walgreens Contract because Walgreens will not dispense the abortion medication Mifepristone in 21 states that restrict its use. Humanism in California believes that women should be allowed to abort the child within them – period.

Another Governor Ron DeSantis is battling Humanism in Florida. The Governor said “In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards. Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate”. Some material that was found in school libraries was so pornographic, that it was not even allowed on television. Of the 175 books removed from libraries across the state, “153 (87%) were clearly pornographic, violent, or inappropriate for their grade level”.

Humanism is the great secular religion in America today. And Christians, we need to lovingly call out the heresy – and stand with our God!

Sin Is The Transgression Of The Law

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

What is “SIN” and what does God think about “SIN”? To put it in Southern terms,

God is agin sin! He ain’t fer it!

God hates sin so much that He has LAWS against it. When Israel went into the Promised Land God told them:

Deuteronomy 12:31 (ESV) You shall NOT WORSHIP the Lord your God as {the Canaanites do}, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for THEY EVEN BURN THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS IN THE FIRE TO THEIR GODS …

God hates sin because sin always leads to DEATH. Sincere and well meaning people ignore the Word of God in order to pursue Humanism. Yet in the end result, they BURN THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS IN THE FIRE. Some children are never born, forcibly aborted through chemical burning or drug induced horrors. Some children are raised without the love of father AND mother. A little girl told me the other day “Mama has a new boyfriend”. Years ago a little girl I know was raped by one of her mother’s special friends. Sin is a horror!

Sin is contrary to the nature of God. Humanism and Christianity are absolutely NOT compatible. God is HOLY (Isaiah 6:3). All three Members of the Godhead are holy. The Bible tells us that (1 John 1:5) “God is LIGHT; in Him there is NO DARKNESS at all”. The Bible speaks of those who …

Proverbs 30:12 (NIV) … are PURE IN THEIR OWN EYES, and yet are NOT CLEANED OF THEIR FILTH (see also Ezekiel 24:13)

The stepbrother of Jesus warned the Children of God to (James 1:21, ESV)

“Put away ALL FILTHINESS and RAMPANT WICKEDNESS and receive with meekness the IMPLANTED WORD (of God), which is able to save your souls …

Sin is a killer. It kills children, it kills families, and it kills YOU. Sin is subtle. The Pharisees rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior because Humanism told them they were good enough. Jesus told them:

Matthew 23:27 (ESV) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.

What a horrible statement that is! God looks at the heart of a person. Are you loving HIM, or are you loving YOURSELF? Humanism promotes love of self regardless as to what God’s Word says.

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Word Study: Sin is something you have to “commit”, the Greek poieō which means “to do, to act out, to produce or cause”. It starts in the heart. Jesus said,

Matthew 5:28 (ESV) … I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

This is why Humanism is pushing pornography among our schoolchildren. If you can get a child to look at a woman or a man with “lustful intent”, this is the seed planted that will bring about the violation of the Law called “adultery”. What is it Jesus said?

Mark 7:20-23 (ESV) … What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.

Why are there school shootings? Is it the guns? No, the source goes back to the heart. The child raised on violent television shows, bloody movies, vicious killer video games, that child begins to devalue life.

Humanism elevates self love and minimizes respect for others. Humanism shouts down the Law of God and the Laws of Nature.

Sin Is Transgression Of The Law.
What Is Sin’s Solution?

1 John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Why did God send His Son Jesus to this world? John tells us that Jesus was “manifested” to “take away our sins”. Let’s look at “manifested”, the Greek phaneroō which means “to make visible, to become known”. The Bible tells us that “God was MANIFEST in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16) in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was “MANIFEST as our Savior” (2 Timothy 1:10). Jesus Christ came to be our Savior. Does the text say that …

This is what some would have us believe. Some say that they can be a practicing _____ (you fill in the blank) and be a Christian. The Bible doesn’t say that. You cannot be comfortable with what God calls sin – the transgression of the Law – and be saved. The Scripture is quite clear:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV) Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Jesus Christ was MANIFEST not to enable sin, but to eradicate it. Jesus Christ died for our sins so that He can FREE us from our sins, and bring us into a right relationship with God.

2 Corinthians 5:19-21 (ESV) …. in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

When a person comes to Christ, calling on Him as both Lord and Savior, God enters that person’s life. God made Jesus Christ to be SIN on our behalf, so that we might “become the righteousness of God”.

Jesus did not come to this earth to ERASE or ERADICATE the Law – but to “FULFILL IT”
(Matthew 5:17-20)

As “the Lamb of God” Jesus took the penalty for our failures before God (John 1:29). As the “Good Shepherd” Jesus daily walks with His people, guiding them away from sin and into a right relationship with God (John 10:11-14). The Scripture says:

1 Peter 2:24-25 (ESV) {Jesus} himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

No Christian is saved to follow Humanism’s god. We are saved FROM sin to follow Jesus. We are saved FROM death to follow life. We are saved FROM darkness to follow God’s light.

1 John 3:6-7 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

The proof of your salvation is in the life you live. If you live following Humanism, making light of sin, then Beloved you have neither “seen him, neither known him”. Your faith is a pretense! You who are Christians indeed are called to “do righteousness”. Now what does that mean? Are you to “do righteousness” as I or someone like me defines it? No! You are to “do righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous”. You are called to imitate Christ. You are called to DO as Jesus said.

The world will call on you to compromise, to go along to get along. But God tells us:

1 John 3:8 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.

Those who lightly sin are not of Christ, but of the Devil. The Scripture commands us to “be IMITATORS OF GOD, as Beloved Children” (Ephesians 5:1). We are to be “IMITATORS OF THOSE who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12). Our Lord Jesus “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

Jesus Christ came to destroy the works
of the devil – not to enable them.

The Pharisees were religious, but not saved. The Romans were militant, but not saved. What saves a person? The Holy Spirit of God. You must hear the Gospel of salvation. You must hear that Jesus Christ came to give Himself for your sins. You must hear that sin is no trifle, but a horrible thing that enslaves, keeping you from the life of God through Christ.

But God so loved YOU, that He gave His Only Begotten Son for YOU. If you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God will literally change your life!

1 John 3:9 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.

Those who are “born of God” have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God within them. Those people will not long live in sin. God despises sin! Other versions render verse 9 as:

1 John 3:9 (ESV) No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.

1 John 3:9 (NLT) Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.

There is a Governor on the life of each and every Christian, and that Governor is the Holy Spirit of God. Is it possible for a Christian to fall into sin? Yes. The Scripture says,

Romans 6:11-18 (ESV) So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Christian, you do not belong to Humanism, the Devil, or this Dark World. You belong to God! Your works are to reflect to allegiance.

1 John 3:10 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.

The Christian DOES RIGHTEOUSNESS, and the Christian LOVES HIS BROTHER. These are the twin marks of the genuine Christian. The Christian does not behead a brother or sister because we do not agree. But a Christian DOES righteousness, and LOVES – even our enemies.

Sin is incompatible with the Christian walk – as is lovelessness. Do you know Jesus? If not, today would be a wonderful day to call on Him. Humanism cannot fix what ails us. But Christ can. God’s Holy Spirit can. Believe on Him, and receive Him as Lord and Savior. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen and Amen.