Trespassing God’s Fence. Gbile Akanni
Prayer: Lord in heaven we bless You, we worship You for another privilege of looking into Your Word and of studying together with our brothers and sisters. Thank You Lord for setting Guideposts on our paths unto eternity as End-time believers.
Lord as we come again today, it is our cry to You that You will open our eyes of understanding, You will point us vividly unto these Guideposts so that we do not miss our paths.
Holy Spirit we ask You to help us, as many as are looking up to You for particular needs in their lives today, Lord Jesus we ask you to arise and intervene in their case. Thank You Lord for hearing us, we know You will do this beyond what we could ask or imagine even as we pray together in Jesus Name. Amen.
We want to thank God for yet another opportunity to continue our study on the First Epistle of John unto Believers as we have been studying Guideposts for the End-time Believer using this Epistle as our main text.
In the last edition we studied the Hope of the Believer as far as our time could permit us. We especially saw the manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, and the inheritance that God has set before us. We concluded when we got to First John chapter 3 verse 3.
Today I would like to continue with that chapter but I would like you to read from verse 1 to verse 10 even though we would like to start studying particularly from verse 4.
1Jn 3:1 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.
1Jn 3:2 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.
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
1Jn 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
1Jn 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1Jn 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.
1Jn 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.
1Jn 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.
I think we should stop here for today. May the Lord Himself bless His Word to our hearts in Jesus Name. Amen.
Now, our meditations on the Guideposts for the End-time Believers has made us consider again the issues that should guide our lives so that even though the end time is coming with great challenges, the believer who is committed to the Lord Jesus Christ will know how to walk – how to order his steps so that nothing will go amiss and he will not be ashamed on that day when we meet our Lord face to face.
First, by way of reminding you where we stopped in our last edition, the first 3 verses of this chapter says
1Jn 3:1 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.
1Jn 3:2 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.
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
I am so excited to again bring this to your notice today that as many of you and as many of us that have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour …what the Bible says is that as many as received Him to them He gave power that they might become children of God and IF we are children then we are heirs, heirs to all that the Father has!
So that Scripture says – behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us not just to forgive our sins, not just to pardon us, not just to meet our needs, not just to have pity on us, BUT that He has chosen to adopt us into His family as sons and daughters.
Now what that implies is that GOD HAS OFFERED HIMSELF, He has offered all that He is unto us that we can inherit Him alongside with the Lord Jesus Christ; and because of this particular inheritance and this particular privilege-position that God is bringing each one of us into, the Bible says there are certain things you need to guide against – there are certain things you need to watch.
So the Bible says – even as we are talking, we are the sons of God, it does not yet appear what we shall look like, but we know that when Jesus shall appear we shall be like Him for we shall see Him just as He is. And so every man that has this hope in himself purifies himself as He is pure.
That was where we stopped in our last edition.
Before I go ahead today, I just want to pose a question to you: the Bible says every man that has this hope in him… Do you really have a hope of meeting Jesus? Are you really eagerly looking forward unto that time when we shall all be transformed and we shall be just like He is, living for ever in the presence of the Lord? Are you looking forward unto that preparation that JESUS CHRIST HAS GONE TO MAKE FOR US when He said – where I am there you will be also? IF you have this hope in yourself there is only one thing to guard against – you need to guard against contamination!
The Bible says – EVERY MAN that has this hope in him purifies himself even as He is pure.
If we now go from there and read from verse 4 to verse 10, the Scriptures begin to be more particular about issues we need to guard against or issues that need to guide our lives even as we progress in our pilgrimage. While we said any man that has this hope of meeting Jesus, any man that has this hope of sharing heaven with Him, any one that has this hope of being a joint heir with the Lord Jesus Christ and has this hope of reigning with Him, not as house boys, but as Kings and as Priests; the Bible says they ought to purify themselves, they ought to keep themselves pure from every contamination, EVEN as He is pure. If we long to share the same place with Him, IF we long to share the same glory with Him, if we long to share the same inheritance with Him, WE MUST share the SAME PURITY OF LIFE with Him, WE MUST share THE SAME SANCTIFICATION in which HE SANCTIFIED HIMSELF – the way He kept Himself from sin!
We are going to be looking at that as we study on today.
I want you to now see what God is beginning to say to us this week
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
I would like to look at that verse quickly with you because it leaves us with a very clear definition of what the Bible means by living in sin. The Bible says – Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Let me read that from other translations of the Bible so that God will give you an understanding.
Good News Bible says
1Jn 3:4 Whoever sins is guilty of breaking Gods law, because sin is a breaking of the law.
Anyone who sins at all breaks the law because to sin is to break the law.
Now! It looks to me as if sin is a matter of stepping out of the boundary that God has set for our lives. Every time a man steps into sin, he is beginning to trespass outside the divine fence – the fence that God has provided for Gods children, even though sin may look attractive to you. I would like to say to you that sin is a trangression: it is a transgression of Gods will, it is a trangression of Gods purpose – a transgression against what God would have loved you to do.
Look at how Living Bible puts it
1Jn 3:4 But those who keep on sinning are against God, for every sin is done against the will of God.
Every time you are moving against the will of God, every time you are doing something that is contrary to the will of God, YOU KNOW you are beginning to step outside Gods boundary, you are beginning to step outside the circumference of His love and are beginning to step outside the confines of His grace, you are beginning to step outside Gods shepherding – and you know what danger that means!
When Jesus Christ looked at a multitude of people in those days, He said they were harassed helpless and severally-hopeless because they were like sheep without shepherd AND yet it is sin that plucks a man from under the wing of the Almighty, from under the shadow of the Almighty and throws him out there – out there where he has no shepherd, out there where he has nobody to care for him, out there where the devil can batter him and battle him out!
Today the Word of God is saying whosoever is committing sin transgresses also the law. So I want you to note that our first definition is that sin is a transgression of Gods will. It is a stepping outside of the purpose of God, it is a stepping outside the boundary of the Lord – it is like going away from under the wings of the Almighty. For an illustration can you just imagine that particular small chicken that went away from under the wings of the mother chicken and the hawk was coming? Of course all the chicken that are under the mother-hen are kept! As long as they dwelt under the wing of the mother-hen, no hawk is able to catch them. But look at that small chicken that left the mother-hens wing! It became easy for the hawk to catch it. And that’s what happens when you step outside the will of God because you are disobeying His will and you are disobeying His Word.
When you step outside and trespass Gods bounds, 2 things can happen to you: i.) You are losing a divine cover. You are becoming exposed: you are exposing your life, you are going bare-headed and bare-chested! And you see, the hawk – the devil, the Bible says He is roaming about going up and down here and there like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
Sin normally makes you to trangress. I have been trying to look at the meaning of transgress! To transgress means to pass over a boundary, to pass over a landmark that has been set, to jump over and across a fence …and jump into the territory where your Father will not be able to take care of you any more.
Friend! The Bible says whosoever is committing sin actually is transgressing, whether you are a Preacher, whether you are a market woman, whether you are a young man on the road – whosoever you are that is committing sin, the truth is that you are transgressing, you are jumping the fence, you are going outside divine coverage, you are going into a place where the grace of God may not be able to reach you anymore, to a place where the devil can have a field day upon your life. I wonder why you would like to do that! I wonder who is tricking you to go away from the wings of the Almighty! I wonder what is exciting you to leave the place of divine security and go out there without the helmet of salvation on your head!
Now that Scripture says in verse 5
1Jn 3:5 And ye know…
Now this is what I want to emphasise and I want you to know. Please can everyone check these verse 5 and verse 6?
1Jn 3:5 …that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
What are we trying to understand here?
First the Word of God says – And you know. That Scripture is a very, very strong affirmation …AND YOU KNOW! I know that all of you hearing me today, you know that Jesus Christ came to take our sins and that in Christ Jesus there is no sin.
You know that!
You know that you cannot be committing sin and claim to be led of Jesus Christ. You know this also.
You know that sin and Jesus, they really dont go together – I know you know that!
It doesnt matter the religious activity you are doing: it doesnt matter if you are singing in the choir, or you are beating the drum; it doesnt matter whether you are leading the Sunday School in your church or you are the one directing the house fellowship; it does not matter whether you are the prophetess of your church or you are the prophet of your assembly; it makes no difference whether you are the Apostle General of your denomination, but you KNOW, you know that Jesus Christ was manifested to take away our sins AND in Him there is no sin. But when you begin to commit sin, YOU KNOW the truth now: you are beginning to trangress, you are beginning to come outside of Jesus Christ because in Christ Jesus there is no sin!
There is no man that can abide in Jesus Christ and be living in sin. Do you know why? Because in Jesus Christ, the Bible says there is no sin to sin! If you claim to be a believer in Christ and that you are actually abiding in Christ and that you are living in communion with Jesus Christ and you are committing sin, we would be surprised! I would want to find out from you: where did you find sin to sin in Christ Jesus? Because in Him there is no sin. In Christ Jesus there is no sin! You know that He came to take away our sins. In fact they called Him Jesus because He will deliver His people from their sins.
How can you claim to be a Christian, how can you claim to be in Christ Jesus and you are living in sin? I cannot understand where you got that sin that you are committing in Christ Jesus!
The truth of the matter is that ever before you got sin to sin you must have stepped out: you must have transgressed, you must have jumped outside the fence! Thats why we said sin is a transgression, it is a coming out of a divine boundary and an entering into an open space where sin and carelessness and loose living and reckless living is alive and allowed!
Now dear brother, I want to ask you – when you begin to lay your head on the lap of a strange woman, will you still claim that you are in Christ Jesus? Dont you think that you have taken a step already outside the confines of the grace of God? Or will you claim that it is the Lord Jesus Christ that is leading you to do that?
Excuse me sir, the last time you started beating your wife, did you do that in Christ Jesus? Will you say that it is Jesus that taught you that lifestyle? You know… except you want to deceive yourself. I KNOW YOU KNOW, I know your heart is telling you that there is no man committing sin that is in Christ Jesus! But you say – I am an Evangelist, when I preach people are saved, demons are running out. Yes we know, BUT all of that is the deception of the devil! Is that why you are thinking that you can continue to live in sin hoping that the grace of God would abound? Is that why you are assuming and assuring yourself that it is well with your soul when you have already transgressed, you have already come outside the boundary of Gods love?
I want to put it to you – the Bible says
1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not…
Whosoever abides in Christ, whosoever dwells within the circumference of Christs life, whosoever walks within the confines of His love, whosoever dwells within the Lord Jesus the Bible says – he cannot sin.
Listen! every time you go out of that boundary you are likely to sin. And every time you are committing sin, it is a clear evidence that you are not in Christ Jesus, that you already transgressed – that you have already jumped the fence, that you are not inside. And my fear is this – should Jesus Christ come down at that time, the door will be shut on you. Remember the other 5 virgins, that when they heard the noise of the coming of the bridegroom and they discovered that they did not have enough oil, they went outside! O they went outside – outside of that grace, outside of Gods love, outside of Gods will, outside of Gods program for their lives – by the time they came back the door was shut. They cried, they shouted, they knocked. It was too late.
Friend! You may think that sin you are committing is a small sin, but you see if I can draw the picture to you now you will discover that sin, every sin, is outside the fence. Every sin, whether it is the sin of lying or the sin of fornication or the sin of fighting – any sin, any sin at all can never be committed in Christ: it is always behind the fence. And as you are hearing me this hour, maybe you are living in sin – I tell you, you are behind the fence: and anything can happen to you outside there! You may be in trouble.
The Bible says:
1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
What does that imply? It implies that actually when you say you know Jesus, the first evidence that will be clear in your life is that you have dealt with the issue of sin.
And I just want to draw your attention to this before I can conclude this discussion today, I want you to know that every sin takes you outside Christ, it takes you outside the grace of God, it takes you outside the love of God, it takes you outside the protection of God – it puts you behind the fence.
And some of you say – Well, my sin is not too much. I am not talking of whether the sin is much or not: every sin is located outside the fence of Gods presence and once sin is allowed to come into your life, it is going to push you outside. You cannot find sin to sin inside. So each time you commit sin, just know that you are outside the fence. And I wish for you to recognise that that is a dangerous situation. Any terrible thing can happen to you there!
Dear brother, dear sister, dear young man that is listening to me today, sin keeps you outside the fence of Gods presence. Where you are now the grace of God cannot reach you, where you are now the purpose of God cannot come to pass in your life, where you are standing now things, terrible things, can happen to you anytime from now! Will you not run back? Will you not take a step of faith and come back to the presence of God today?
Lets look at the Scripture again
1Jn 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
I dont need to overemphasise this verse.
Let no man deceive you. Let no man confuse you. Let no man bother your life with all kinds of high-sounding nonsense! Some people tell you – Oh! it doesnt matter, it doesnt matter – BUT this is the Word of God. Those who do righteousness they are the ones that God regards as righteous even as He is righteous. There is no two way about it. There is no middle ground, no in between, you cannot say – I am neither righteous nor unrighteous. That is not possible.
Friend! Friend!! I call you this hour. If you are already stepping outside the fence, and something is assuring you that you will make it: know that someone is deceiving you. You cannot make it because you are outside the fence! Your location is a dangerous place NOW. Your position is a place where you may not find help except you will turn to the Lord.
1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil…
When you step outside the fence of the Almighty God, the next plot outside Gods fence is being governed by the devil.
Listen to me – when you step outside Babas fence, the Almighty Gods own fence of love, the owner of the next plot is the devil! So every time a man is committing sin, actually he hands himself over to the devil, every time you step out of Gods word to go and live in sin, you hand yourself over to the kingdom of darkness.
The Bible says:
1Jn 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.
I would like to stop here but before I go, I would like to leave you with this challenge. Are you deliberately handling yourself over to the enemy of your soul?! Are you stepping outside the grace of God? Are you moving and living and walking outside the fence of the will of God? I tell you just outside this fence is the devil, you must never allow him to slaughter your life before you run back. Repent this hour and say – Lord deliver me from the life of sin, I dont want to hand myself over to the devil anymore.
Source
https://witsite.wordpress.com/2015/09/07/trespassing-gods-fence-gbile-akanni/
