Counterfeit Christianity Unmasked [1 John 3:1-10]

I. Intro

The United States Treasury Department has a special group of men whose job it is to track down counterfeiters. Naturally, these men need to know a counterfeit bill when they see it.

How do they learn to identify fake bills? Oddly enough, they are not trained by spending hours examining counterfeit money. Rather, they study the real thing. They become so familiar with authentic bills that they can spot a counterfeit by looking at it or, often, simply by feeling it.

II. God the Father Loves Us (1 John 3:1-3)

III. God the Son Died for Us (1 John 3:4-8)

---i. Christ appeared to take away our sins (vv. 4-6).

---ii. Christ appeared to destroy the works of the devil (vv. 7-8).

IV. God the Holy Spirit Lives in Us (1 John 3:9-10)

OLD NATURE: NEW NATURE:

“our old man” “the new man”
(Rom. 6:6) (Col. 3:10)

“the flesh” “the Spirit”
(Gal. 5:24) (Gal. 5:17)

“corruptible seed” “God’s seed”
(1 Peter 1:23) (1 John 3:9)

V. Questions:

The Bible was not written so that you and I might check on other people.
They were inspired so that we may examine ourselves.
Each of us must answer honestly before God:

--1. Do I have the divine nature within me or am I merely pretending to be a Christian?

--2. Do I cultivate this divine nature by daily Bible reading and prayer?

--3. Has any unconfessed sin defiled my inner man? Am I willing to confess and forsake it?

--4. Do I allow my old nature to control my thoughts and desires, or does the divine nature rule me?

--5. When temptation comes, do I “play with it” or do I flee from it? Do I immediately yield to the divine nature within me?

The life that is real is honest with God about these vital issues.