I wonder if the Gallop Poll pole, or if Pew Research, has ever asked the religious people of America if they considered themselves to be “children of God?” Another word might be “saint.” I am reasonably sure that most professing Christians would not go so far as to call themselves “saints.” Vast numbers have accepted a different definition of that word than what is in the Bible. And those same people would probably not call themselves actual “children of God” for the same reason.
But there ARE people in this world who are saints, and they are sons and daughters of the Lord God. And these verses are directed toward them. Every one of these people, earlier in their lives, were not children of God; they were all children of world. As Christ Jesus told the Jews: the children of God were once children of their father the devil: John 8:44. And now, Satan hates those people, and the world doesn’t know what to make of them. Just as many who come into our church services, they are unable to make sense of what we are doing. But those who are the children of God know what they are doing: They worshiping their Saviour, and learning how to better glorify Him. They are trying to learn what it is that God has for them to know. But they already know that they have been born again. And they know that their Saviour, Jesus Christ, is coming again to gather them unto Himself. And “when he shall appear, they shall be like him; for they shall see Him as He is.” With that, John argues that they should all purpose and work toward living sin free, even as Christ is pure and sinless.
You may be one of those people who do not claim to be a child of God, or perhaps you don’t know for sure. That’s fine for the moment. We understand, because we were all in those shoes. But for whatever reason, here you are today in a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And every Christian here is happy to have you.
Because you aren’t a child of God, as you listen to our scripture, you may say that it doesn’t apply to you. And practically speaking you’d be right, because this was written for Christians. Furthermore, some of the scriptures I quote today might make you angry. You may think that I am picking on you. But again, remember, at the very least the words of this text weren’t meant for you. They were written originally to the children of God. Nevertheless, the principles expressed here are universally true. They apply to every man, woman and child; child of Satan and child of God.
John says to his Christian friends, “every man who rejoices in the hope and promise of Christ’s reappearance purifies himself even as Christ is pure.” Later he says, “You saints know that the Son of God became incarnate (he became a man) to take away our sins, and in him is no sin.” And between those thoughts John says, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.”
In less than twenty words (ten Greek words) we have a good definition of sin.
Is that important? Absolutely, because “the WAGES of sin is death.” That death applies to all of us, no matter what our relationship to God might be; child of His or enemy. Therefore we cannot overemphasize the seriousness of sin which is the original cause of death. For every infraction of the law there is the infliction of its penalty.
Isaiah tells us in chapter 59: “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid is face from you, that he will not hear.” Separated from God. While in this world today, we have so little recognition of how dependent we are on God. Why did that wildfire burn hundreds of homes, but not those one or two? It wasn’t an accident or chance. It was by the grace of God. Last night over my house there was a huge crack of thunder, so I assume there was lightning. Why didn’t that lighting start another fire in my neighborhood? Why, when so many are in car wrecks, you have been spared? It is the grace of God. Sin separates people from God’s grace, and these various acts of divine kindness. Why would anyone want to provoke God into forsaking us? The Lord said in Ezekiel 18: “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine; the soul that sinneth it shall die.” The SOUL shall die; that is different from the death of the body. There is a physical death which will come upon us all, but children of God will not die the second death. They shall go into ever lasting life.
In the New Testament, prior to saying, “The gift of God is ETERNAL life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Paul said, “the wages of sin is death.” Just as the life to which Paul refers is eternal, so is the death. “The wage of sin is ETERNAL death”- Romans 6:23. Then Paul added in Romans 5 that death has passed upon all men, BECAUSE all men are SINNERS. There is that nasty word again. The Apostle James said: “when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do no err, my beloved brethren” – James 1:14-15. Skipping over other scriptures, I’ll refer to one toward the end of the Bible: Revelation 21:8. Speaking of specific sins, John said, “the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
We all NEED to know what sin is. We need to be able to define it, because in a sense it defines us, and it will define our eternal existence. We all will either spend eternity in Hell, because we are unforgiven sinners, or we will be called up into glory to sit at Heavenly father’s banquet table, because we are God’s children. We need to know what sin is. And what is John’s definition of sin?
“Sin is the transgression of the law.”
“The law.” Whose law, John? The Apostle is talking about the law of the One who is the theme of this scripture. He is talking about Jehovah, God the Father, and God the Son, the Saviour. So John is referring to the highest of all laws: divine law. He is describing a system of laws which the children of the world often don’t acknowledge or recognize.
That being so, let me confuse you by trying to put things into perspective. In the American justice system there are misdemeanors and there are felonies. There are minor offenses under the law, and there are the more serious offenses. So right off the bat there are two different kinds of laws right here in our country. But they are just the beginning. There is the difference between criminal cases and civil cases. Former football star, O.J. Simpson was ordered to pay millions of dollars in civil damages, because it was determined that he murdered his wife and Ronald Goldman. But that was after he was acquitted of murdering his wife and Ronald Goldman in felony court. Right now there is a big furor over Luigi Mangione, who admits to publicly murdering a man. He is trying to use the fact he is being tried in federal court, to escape a more serious state trial. He is playing one level of law against another level.
Confusing? Absolutely, because there is a difference between the laws of men and the laws of God. But God’s law is not confusing. James 2:10: “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” And remember, “The wages of sin is death.”
There are laws which govern speeding in school zones; these are traffic laws or municipal statutes. Someone who speeds may be guilty of a crime, but it is not a federal offence. I know a man who is trying to avoid state laws by claiming to be governed by Native American law. And then there are his legal cousins who claim that federal and state laws don’t apply to them, because they are governed by the Constitution. And perhaps I shouldn’t even mention Maritime law.
But how many people are in prison today, because they didn’t recognize some branch of American law? Just because someone says to a judge, “I don’t recognize your authority,” that doesn’t mean he will not go to jail. Similarly, just because someone refuses to admit that Jehovah has laws governing him that doesn’t actually eliminate God’s authority over him. For someone to refuse to acknowledge God’s rule is as powerless as to declare they shall never die because they refuse to recognize the existence of death. You may think that is a foolish thought, but there are religious cults which do deny the existence of death.
Again, sin is the transgression of God’s law.
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” Remember, Christian, that this is something God is telling you. Don’t throw this verse over your head and on to someone you think is a child of the world and more worthy of divine judgment. And for you who deny God’s authority, don’t ignore this verse. “Whosoever” is a word which speaks of everyone.
Everyone who commits sin is a transgressor of God’s law. The word “commit” means the obvious: “to do.” “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” The word “sin” is the object of the definition: “transgressing God’s law.” “Sin” In both the Old Testament and the New Testament literally speaks of “missing the mark.”
Here perhaps is one difference between God’s law and man’s. Many of us drive two or three miles over the posted speed limit because we know that is just a suggestion. But God’s laws are not suggestions or generalities. God has a standard, a law, which He expects us to hit dead center. This isn’t horse shoes; this isn’t corn hole. Leaners don’t count with Him; being on the board doesn’t score. Anything less than a bull’s eye in God’s law is “missing the mark;” it is “sin.” In fact, the word suggests the idea of utter lawlessness. He who refuses to obey God’s law is not just a law breaker; he is without law.
Sin is the transgression of God’s law, and the transgression of God’s law is sin. “To transgress” is an English word which speaks of “stepping beyond” or “stepping over.” Sin is stepping over God’s law. But “transgresseth the law” is a single word in the Greek Bible, the “Textus Receptus,” and it is most often translated simply as “iniquity” “Iniquity” another synonym for “sin.”
I wouldn’t even mention “iniquity,” if it wasn’t that it takes us into another series of important scriptures. Please listen carefully to the words of the Lord Jesus: In Matthew 13:41-42, He said, “I, the Son of man shall send forth (my) angels, and they shall gather out of (my) kingdom all things that offend, and them which do INIQUITY; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” God’s Son, the Lord Jesus, has a kingdom, and governing that kingdom are laws. One day the King shall gather all those who trespass His laws, and those souls will be cast into Hell. Those are not my words, but the words of the Lord Jesus. Earlier, in Matthew 7, Christ said, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. And I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” There are millions of people who profess to be children of God, who do not obey God’s laws. By their disobedient lives and sin, they prove that they are not what they claim to be. They are not citizens of Heaven; they are lawless. And Christ, the Judge, will eventually declare: “depart from me, ye that trespass the law.”
Please remember that John is writing to people professing, “Lord, Lord, we are your children.” But everyone who has the hope of Christ’s return and hope of Heaven “purifieth himself even as he is pure.” “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” And “the wages of sin is death.” But John gives us another verse to consider here: “And ye know that he (Christ Jesus) was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
There is pardon and forgiveness available for the transgression of God’s law.
Forgiveness is possible only through Christ who became incarnate and who died in order to take away our sin. But first it must be understood that Christ Himself never transgressed the law in the smallest point. In His walk, He never overstepped or understepped the law. In His heart, He never dreamed or considered anything sinful. Even in His words there was no sin. As He was the King of this kingdom, it was not even possible for Him to transgress His own law. He was and still is “impeccable.” If He really needed it, that gives Him incredible power.
With that in mind, let me share some other scriptures which use word “iniquity” or “transgression of the law.” These are the complete reversal of those I gave you earlier. In Romans 4, Paul referred to the Psalmist David who spoke of the “blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works. Saying, Blessed are they whose INIQUITIES are FORGIVEN, and whose SINS are COVERED.” Paul and David agree that there are multitudes of sinners, whose transgressions of the law have been forgiven. When Paul was writing to his former student, Titus, he made a statement that almost sounds like our text. Titus 2:13: we are “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for us, that he might REDEEM us from all INIQUITY, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Christ Jesus, who is not only our Saviour, but also the divine author of this law, is returning. He who has finished the work of redeeming us from all our transgressions of His law is coming again. And He will perfect the blessings promised to the children of God. The writer of the Book of Hebrews in more than one verse quotes God, saying, “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their SINS and their INIQUITIES will I remember no more.”
There are people for whom God will completely forgive and forget all their trespasses against Him. But not everyone will enjoy that forgiveness. Neither Paul nor John were not talking about all humanity. They were speaking only of those who have been adopted into God’s family.
Again, John wrote, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he (Christ Jesus) was manifested to take away our sins…” People come into our services saying to themselves: “This is religious foolishness, but I’ll put up with it for a few minutes.” They think: “Whatever is said here is for the people of this place; the members of this church.” None of this applies to me. And in a sense that is true. John is writing his first epistle to people who have already been adopted into God’s family. These people are anticipating the reappearance of the God-man who died on the cross of Calvary. They are expected to live lives as purely as their Saviour is pure. So John defines once again the nature of sin.
But everything he hs written here is universally true. Even the citizens of the kingdoms of this world, are going to be judged by God’s law. There are laws which supercede Federal laws of the United States and even the Constitution.
But not only does God’s law give us a standard by which we are to walk and to define purity, and not only will be all be judged by that law, it has one other special purpose. As the Apostle Paul explained in Galatians 2: Before faith came, we were kept unto the law, shut up unto the faith which soul afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”
God’s law was given to prove to us who are transgressors that obedience is impossible. God’s laws are too high and holy for any of us to attain. It is not in our faulty and partial obedience to the law that sinners become children of God. It is by submitting to Christ in brokenness and faith. Christ was manifested two thousand years ago to take away the penalty for our transgression of God’s Law: I John 3:5.
Will you admit this morning that you are a law-breaker – a rebel against the Laws of God? Are you willing to repent and turn from your open rebellion? Will you plead for and trust the Saviour to forgive you of your transgressions? The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy, if you will repent and trust Him.