Ron Dunn Podcast - First John Part Three

Episode Date: February 9, 2022

Ron Dunn continues with part three of his First John series

Now would you open your Bibles to 1 John chapter 1, 1 John chapter 1, and I'm going to begin reading with the first verse of the first chapter and read through the second verse of the second chapter. 1 John chapter 1, beginning with the first verse and reading through the second verse of chapter 2. that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life.

For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him,

and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

And he is the covering for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Now I want to read again verses 3 and 4 of that first chapter. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you in order that you also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you that your joy may be full. The great purpose of God is that we might have fellowship with him.

Everything that God has done in relationship to your life and my life and everything that God is doing right now in relationship to your life and my life, he is doing that a goal might be reached. And that goal is that you and I might have fellowship with him. Now, you know, there's some words that we throw around, some, I guess you would call them church words, that are kind of musty and moldy. They've been around for so long they have a little bit of moss on them at the edges

and turning a little bit green in places and really don't mean too much to us. I have an idea that when I mention that the great purpose of God for my life and your life is that we might have fellowship with him. I imagine there were several there that didn't get too excited about that because the word fellowship really doesn't convey to us all that ought to be conveyed in that word. The word fellowship is like a lot of other words that we use, biblical words, good words, but we use them without ever really knowing what they actually mean and what they actually involve. But I assure you this morning that if you really and I really understood all that was

involved in my having fellowship with God, that nothing that I could ever say or nothing that I could ever hear would be more exciting than this, that God wants to have fellowship with me. I'll tell you, nothing was more exciting and thrilling to that prodigal son as he came home in repentance to his father and had already rehearsed his speech to say that, Father, I'm no more worthy to be called thy son. Just make me like a hired hand. That's all.

Just give me a job and I'll just be a slave because I'm not worthy to be your son. And I submit to you that it was a thrilling and exciting thing when that father interrupted him and said, I don't want to hear that. You are my son. And called for the calf to be killed and for a cloak to be put on his shoulders, for a ring to be put on his hand, for shoes to be put on his feet. Because what that father was doing was sharing with that son who did not deserve it, who had forfeited all rights, but that father was sharing all that he had and all that he was with that son. And that son who

had no rights, who had forfeited all rights to share in his father's blessings and in his father's love. Yet that father said, the great purpose I have in everything is that you might have fellowship with me. Because when that father shared all that he was and all that he had with that returning repentant son, what was happening was that that son was having fellowship with the father. Because the word fellowship means literally to share in a common life, to share in a common life. As a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, the New English Bible translates the word fellowship in 1 John, sharing in a common life. Many times this word is used in the New Testament as a business partnership.

At times it's used of the relationship between a husband and a wife. But it simply means that if you have fellowship with somebody, you share all that you are and you share all that you have with that person. Now, if I were to come to you after the service today and say, hey, I want to have fellowship with you and I want to share with you all that I have. Now,

that might not excite you too much because I really may not have too much to share with you. But when God comes to me and says, listen, I have everything. All things are mine. I created all things. I sustain all things. I am the goal of all things. I hold all things in being and all things are mine. And I tell you what I want to do. I want to share with you all that I have, my riches, my blessings, my joy, my love, everything that I have. I want to share that with you. I want you to know something. That excites me. Because you see, whatever I need, God has. Now, the only trouble with your sharing with me is I may need something you don't have.

And the trouble with my sharing with you is you may need something that I don't have. And you're finding and I'm finding every day that people are not able to meet our need. And sometimes we'll find a new friend. We'll say, now my relationship and my joy and my life is going to be complete. My loneliness is going to be terminated because I have found this friend. A boy falls in love with a girl. A girl falls in love with a boy. A man marries a woman.

Somehow they feel like now that every need is going to be met. You and I live every day with the realization that human relationships and human fellowship is not sufficient, that people are not able to meet our needs. All of us have needs that are too deep for anybody to meet. And this is why God comes and says, listen, whatever you need, you name it, you write it down. It doesn't matter if it's an emotional need, a physical need, a financial need, a spiritual need. It may be a need that is so deep and so dark and so hidden, you may not even know you have that need. But I know you have that need,

and if you can come into a certain kind of relationship with me, I am going to share with you all that I have. And the moment that God begins to share with us all that he has, our needs are met. Our needs are fulfilled because you see, God doesn't have any needs. The one thing about God is that he is complete within himself, that God is self-sustaining and self-sufficiency. This is what Paul meant when he said, writing to the Corinthians, who is sufficient for these things? As he was looking out to the task that was his and the task that belonged to that church, and they realized that they just weren't up to it and that their own resources were inadequate. They didn't have the physical strength. They didn't

have the wisdom. They just were not up to it. And so Paul says, who is sufficient for these things? And of course, the answer comes back, nobody is sufficient for these things. But then Paul answers and says, our sufficiency is of the Lord. The sin need, man is not sufficient in himself to meet that sin need. And whatever need there is in your life, you're going to discover it makes no difference to what person you go to, what new experience you try out, to what new commodity that's placed on the market that promises much but performs little. You're going to discover that there is only one person who is able to adequately and completely and continually meet every need of your life, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ in all of his fullness.

And so John, as he writes to these Christians, says this, everything that we've seen, we saw Jesus, and we heard him speak, and we touched him, and our hands actually handled Jesus Christ, and we had fellowship with him, and Jesus shared with us his life, and when Jesus shared with us his life, And when Jesus shared with us his life, then all of our needs were met and the peace that he had promised became ours.

And notice he says, our joy became full. And so John says, now everything that we've seen and heard, we are passing on to you that you also may have fellowship with him, that you can get in on this. John says, this is something that I want you to share in. I that you can get in on this john says this is something that i want you to share in i want you to get in on this and i want you to have fellowship with god and with his son the lord jesus christ and then the fourth verse naturally follows and these things right we unto you that your joy may be full in words, the Bible is saying that when a man or a woman

comes into fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ and begins to share in all that God has, something takes place in his life, and what happens is that his joy is full, that his joy is complete. And that's a perfect tense verb that means simply this, that your joy is full and running over and it's always that way. Can you think of anything in life that could produce a state like that? Where my joy, and that's not simply talking about an outward happiness, but

it's talking about a deep and abiding joy where your joy is always full and running over and that nothing that happens on the outside can affect it. And the Bible promises that when you and I come into a relationship where God is able to share with us all that he is and all that he has, the result will be our joy will be full. And it's significant that after that father had shared with that son all that he had, that they had a party and there was rejoicing and singing. And when the elder brother came in, the first thing that caught his ear was the joy and the rejoicing that was going on. As you read the gospels, you'll find that on two occasions the disciples of Jesus were criticized. Do you know what they were criticized for?

They were criticized for being so happy. I wonder today if anybody ever criticizes Christians for being so happy. And the Pharisees just couldn't understand that because their conception of religion was a long face and a frown and a strained look. And they saw these disciples filled with joy and being happy and having fun. And they went to Jesus and they said, what's going on? Your disciples are happy and they're rejoicing. Has anybody ever been critical of you because you were so happy in the Lord because of the joy that you had in Jesus Christ? What God wants this morning,

God's great desire for your life and my life is that you and I might have fellowship with him, that we might share in all that he has and that our joy would be full. Now, I want to ask you a question and I want to speak primarily right now to all of you who are saved. Is your joy full?

Are you as happy this morning in the Lord as you were the day you were saved? Is your joy complete and full? Are you as happy in Christ and happy as a Christian this morning as you were the day you were saved? It's not difficult for most people to enter into fellowship with God and to know that initial, immediate joy

that comes from having a relationship with Jesus Christ and salvation. The problem comes in maintaining that fellowship and in maintaining that joy. And I could stand up this morning and I believe I could describe the Christian experience of every person in this place, that the day you were saved, there was an immediate and an initial joy. For some of you, it may have been an exuberant joy. For others, it may have been an invisible joy, but no less real. But there was a deep and abiding joy. And you were aware that you were living in fellowship with God. But since that time, there have been those lows, and then there have been those highs.

And one of your biggest problems in living the Christian life is how to maintain that level of joy and how to maintain that level of fellowship with God where God is able to continually bless you and share with you all that he has. You see, it is possible to be a Christian and God not be able to share with you all that he has. The elder brother came to his father and was critical because his father had given this younger son a calf, had killed for him the fatted calf.

And the father said, Son, all that I have is yours and you are with me always. Now there is a perfect picture of so many of us seated in this place this morning. He said to that elder brother, he said, you live with me always. You're my son and you're with me all the time. And not only that, but all that I have belongs to you. And yet that elder son was not enjoying a thing that his father had. Because the fellowship between he and his father had been marred and had been broken. And one of the tragedies of Christian living is that all that God has is ours.

But most of us live our Christian lives without ever really enjoying and appropriating and entering into all that God has for us. Now, I've said all of that as introduction to say that what I want to talk with you about now is how to maintain that level of fellowship with God. How to maintain that level of fellowship with God. How to maintain that level of fellowship with God. How to maintain that level of joy in God

that says that joy is complete, full, and running over. And the apostle tells us very simply how that fellowship with God is to be maintained. Let's read again beginning in the third verse. That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship with us and this fellowship that we have

is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ and these things write we unto you that your joy may be full now notice in verse 3 he says everything that we've seen and heard we're going to pass on to you so that you can have fellowship and these things that we're writing to you now

we're writing so that your joy can be full. And so what we're going to read next are those things that they have seen and heard. And so what we are starting to read in verse 5 are the things that are necessary for us to know and obey in order for our fellowship to be maintained and for our joy to be full. All right, let's read now, beginning with the fifth verse.

This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you, the message that is necessary for you to have fellowship and fullness of joy. What is that message? Notice where he starts. That God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Now that's a strange place to start, it may seem. What does that have to do with my fellowship? What does that have to do with my joy?

He says, this is the message you must understand if your fellowship is to be maintained and your joy is to be full. You must understand that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. And that's a double negative and you could translate it like this. In him is no darkness at all, not even a shadow. God is absolute light. Verse six, if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin now one of the characteristics of the epistle of 1 John is that it is kind of like a chain letter. And it's like a link, a chain.

One link is linked to another link. It's like rungs on a ladder. One step leads to another step. So here's what John is saying. All right, if you're to have fellowship with God and have that fellowship maintained so that God can bless you and you can have your prayers answered and have that joy, then you must understand, number one, that God is light. God is light. All right? Now, if God is light, then if you're going to walk in fellowship with

him, then you're going to have to walk where he is. You're going to have to walk in the light. And if you walk in the light, then you will have fellowship with him. God is light. You must walk in the light because that's where God is. And if you walk in the light where God is, then you will have fellowship with God

because God is light and in him is no darkness at all. And John keeps coming back to that same point. You must walk in the light because God is light. And if you are not walking in the light, then you can't have fellowship with him. Now, if you as a believer are not in fellowship with God this morning, if your joy is not full, if God is not able to bless you, if your prayers aren't being answered, then you are not walking in the light. As a matter of fact, you are walking in darkness. Now, what does it mean? What does he mean by this word light and darkness? Very simply, light simply means holiness. Darkness simply means sinfulness. Walking means not just walking down a street like we think of, but the word walk always in

the New Testament indicates your manner of life, the whole spectrum of your life. Every area of your life, he says, must be lived in holiness, not in sinfulness. God is light. That means that God is a God of absolute holiness. Therefore, if you are walking over here in darkness, if you're living in sinfulness, then you cannot have fellowship with God. No sooner than the darkness of the night can have fellowship with the sunlight of the day. Those two things are incompatible. And so God is holy, God is light, God is righteous, and if there is sin in your life that you have not dealt with,

you are living and walking in darkness, and therefore you have no fellowship with God. And so after a while, John finally gets to the point, and what he's simply saying is this, that the only thing that will quench our fellowship with God and will drain the joy from the cup of our life is if we are living in sin that has not been dealt with. You know how to maintain your fellowship with God? You know how to have always your life filled with the joy of your salvation? First of all, he says,

there must be a consciousness of sin in your life. There must be a consciousness of sin in your life. In verse 8 and verse 10, he deals with this. In the 8th verse, he says, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Verse 10, if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Now, John isn't simply repeating himself, but those two statements have different meanings. In verse 8, he says,

If we say that we have no sin, and there he is speaking about the sin principle, the sin nature in our lives. And when you were born, the Bible says you were born with a sinful nature. And you lived with a sinful nature. That nature, that human nature, is a fallen human nature,

cut off from God, unregenerated, cannot have fellowship with God. One day you came to Jesus Christ and received him as your Lord and your Savior. God did not remove that old sinful nature. He did not eradicate it, but he left it right where it was. He didn't improve it. He didn't change it because it is a terminal case. You can't cure it. You can't improve upon it. There's not anything you can do with it except just let it die. And so God left it right where it was and gave to you a new nature, his nature, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that every Christian now has dwelling in him two natures. He has the old

nature he was born with, which is unregenerated, which is against God, which takes to sin like a duck takes to water. And he also has a new nature, God's nature, living within him, the power of and the person of the Holy Spirit. And these two natures are at each other's teeth all the time. In Galatians chapter 5, Paul describes the tension of these two natures. He says, when I would want to do good, he says, I find that I can. And so he says, the lust of the flesh is contrary to the spirit and the spirit is contrary to the nature. They're like two boxers placed in a ring

and they're always fighting in each other. And if you're a saved person, you have felt this tension in your life. There have been times when you've known you ought to do something and that was right to do and it was what God wanted you to do, but all the time you were trying to do that,

there was something else tugging you the other direction. And when you have wanted to do something that was wrong, you knew that it was wrong and you started to do that thing that was wrong, there was something inside of you that was pulling you in the other direction.

And every Christian experiences this two-fold tension. And every Christian experiences this twofold tension. And so the Christian has two natures, the old unregenerated nature and the new nature, which is God's nature. And the first step in maintaining that fellowship with God is to understand that I have this old nature and to be conscious of the fact that as a Christian, I still sin. You'll notice over in chapter two, in the first verse, John says, my little children, these things write I unto you that you sin not. Now there he gives the ideal for every Christian. That's God's standard. You know what God's standard for you is? That you not commit a single sin. That's God's standard. God's standard for you

is sinless perfection, if you didn't know it. That you not commit a single solitary sin. Now, that's the ideal. That's the ivory tower. Now, notice in the next statement, John comes down to reality, comes down to where you and I live, and he says, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. You see, on the one hand, the Bible says God's standard for you and for me is that I not commit a single sin, but don't worry about it because you are. You're going to fall short of that standard. You're not going to measure up in this life to that standard of sinless perfection.

You are going to sin. And the first step in maintaining that fellowship with God is to have a consciousness of our sin. Now in verse 8, he speaks about the old sin nature. You have it. But in verse 10 now, he's talking about not the principle of sin, but the practice of sin. If we say that we have not

sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Someone asked me the other day, he said, what do you think is a Christian's greatest need? Well, there are a lot of greatest needs that a Christian has, but you know, one of the greatest needs that a Christian has is to become conscious of sin in his life. One of the greatest deceptions that Satan can put upon a believer is to block out his sight of his own sin. And one of the first things that God must do in order to bring us into the position of real fellowship with him is to first of all quicken our conscience and turn the spotlight upon our lives and reveal to us our

sins. And there must be a consciousness of our sinfulness. I read some a long time ago, Mel Trotter, who was a tremendous Christian, was leading a group in a prayer meeting. And so he started out this way. And this is the way Mel Trotter always started his prayer meetings. He said, all right, everybody get down on your knees and start confessing your sins. And so that's the way he started that time. Everybody get on your knees and start confessing your sin. And so everybody got on their knees and started praying except one man. He just sat there and Mel Trotter went over to him and said, what's the matter? Why aren't you on their knees and started praying except one man. He just sat there. And Mel Trotter went over to him and said, what's the matter? Why aren't you on your knees confessing your sin? He said, well,

I don't have any sins to confess. He said, you need to confess your sin. Get on your knees and confess your sin. The man just sat there and looked at him and said, well, Mr. Trotter, he said, I'll tell you the truth. He said, I can't think of a thing. I just can't think of a single thing. Mel Trotter said, get down on your knees and guess at it. And he got down on his knees and he guessed at it and he guessed right the first time. And one of the most painful experiences that any Christian ever goes through is when God puts the mirror in front of him and allows him to see his sin as it really is. You know, some of us worry a lot and we're not aware that it's a sin. That's why you don't get victory over it. You know what's so good about something being a sin, and I hope you'll understand the language I'm using. You know what's so good about something

being a sin? That means you can be delivered from it. That means you can get victory over it. Because Jesus Christ has taken away every sin and has promised to deliver us and give us victory over every sin. So if something is a sin, that's good news because Jesus can deliver us from it. And some of you have all of your lives been bound up by worry. And you've never yet realized that it's a sin, that's why you've not been able to quit. And if you will come to the place where you are conscious that that worry is a sin against God,

then that's the first ray of hope. You can be delivered from that, and God can share with you His power to deliver you from that sin. All right, first of all, there must be a consciousness of sin. Secondly, there must be a confession of that sin. All right, first of all, there must be a consciousness of sin. Secondly, there must be a confession of that sin. Look at the ninth verse. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Number one, consciousness of sin. Number two, confess the sins that we're conscious of. Now the word confess, as I'm sure most of you know, simply means to agree with or to say again, to say the same thing as. And confession of sin

is simply saying about a certain thing what God has already said about it. Let's take the thing of worry again. You've become aware that it is a sin. You've become conscious of the fact that it is a sin against God. And so you come to the Lord and you say, Lord, I agree with you. It is a sin. You see, God has been saying it's a sin all along. You've just never agreed with him. And some of you this morning have some habits that you've been trying to get rid of for a long time and you've not been able to get rid of them because you've not been willing to admit it's a sin. I know a lot of people trying to quit smoking, and they can't do it because they're not willing to admit that it's a sin against God.

They know it's bad for their health and puts stains on their finger and maybe shortens their life and is expensive and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And they'll try to quit because of health reasons and money reasons and weight reasons and weight reasons and all sorts of reasons. But I tell you, there's some who will never just come right out and admit to God, God, this thing is a sin. It is just as much a sin against you as anything else.

And so they can't be delivered from it because they're not willing to agree with God. And confession of sin is simply agreeing with God. It's saying the same thing about it that God has said about it. Now notice what he says about this confession. Number one, he says it has to be complete. You notice the word sins is in the plural. Sins.

That means more than one. I hear some people pray like this, Lord, I confess my sin, forgive me. Now, he hasn't done it. That's not confessing your sin. All you've done is confess that you have sinned, and God already knew that. That's not confessing sins.

The only way you can confess your sins is to name them one by one, like your blessings. Just to name them one by one, like your blessings. Just to name them one by one. Sins means more than one. And therefore, if we are to confess our sins, that confession has to be specific. It has to be specific. Lord, today I lost my temper and that's a sin. Lord, today I said this critical word about so-and-so and that's a sin.

Lord, today I did such and that's a sin. It's naming them, everyone that you're conscious of day by day but not only must that confession be completed has to be continual that word confesses in the present tense and literally literally reads like this if we go on confessing our sins and what that simply means is that every day of my life as i become aware or conscious of a sin in my life, I simply confess it to God. It's not talking about saving all your sins up in a bag and then at night before you go to bed dumping them all out and confessing them.

That's not it. Or waiting until the next revival comes along and then confessing all of your sins. That revival won't be long enough to give you time to confess all of them if you wait for the next revival. It's not talking about sweeping them under a rug and waiting until someday and you'll bring them out. But it's moment by moment as you become aware. You're driving down the highway

and somebody pulls out in front of you. You lose your temper and you blow your horn at them. You have sinned because you've lost control. You've lost your temper. What you do is you say, Lord, I sinned. I lost my temper. It's just moment by moment as you become aware of it, as you become aware of that sin in your life of confessing it. Now, you see, let's suppose that right now my fellowship with God is perfect

and my joy is full and complete. But somebody says something that irritates me, and I lose my temper. Now, at that moment, my fellowship with God has been marred, and my joy has been emptied. But the moment I become aware that I have sinned, I confess that to God, and at that precise moment of my confession, my fellowship with God is restored and my joy

is full of it. It's a matter of maintaining this fellowship with God. Now, I want you to notice something. He says that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us. You know, it doesn't say we have to ask God to forgive us. We don't have to plead with God to forgive us. You know, it doesn't say we have to ask God to forgive us. We don't have to plead with God to forgive us. And you know, I tell you, there's somebody probably here this morning that you have a hang-up about some sin and you just keep on begging God to forgive you

and keep on begging God to forgive you of that thing and you just don't feel like He's forgiven you of it yet. And every time you start to pray, the accuser, the devil, comes up and reminds you of that thing and you feel so bad and you feel so guilty about it. And you'll get on your knees

and you'll try to pray and pray until you feel forgiven, begging God to forgive you. That's unscriptural. And that's not the way to do it. That would be of works, not of grace. You know what grace is? Grace is my simply saying,

Lord, I sinned. When I lost my temper, that was a sin. And the moment I say it, God forgives me. I don't have to beg him. I don't have to plead with him. I don't have to make promises. I don't have to say, Lord, if you'll forgive me, I won't do it anymore. That is salvation by works. God doesn't forgive you because you promised not to do it again. He forgives you for Jesus' sake because he shed his blood for you. And he says

he is faithful. Now what is he faithful to? He's faithful to his promise. God made a promise when Jesus died on the cross. Jesus dying on the cross was God's promise and God promised this.

God promised this. I will cleanse you and forgive you of all of your sins. That's what he said when Jesus died on the cross. And God is faithful to that promise. It also says he is just. What does that mean, he is just?

Well, you see, he is just in that he will not demand payment twice for one thing. You see, my sins have already been paid for on the cross by Jesus. I don't have to pay for them again. I don't have to do penance. I don't have to make promises. I don't have to make vows. My sins have already been paid for.

And God would be unjust in demanding two payments for the same thing. As a matter of fact, he says in that second verse of the second chapter that Jesus Christ has already paid for the sins of the whole world. Even if a man is lost, his sins have already been paid for. And if he dies and goes to hell, it'll be not because his sins were not paid for, but because he did not trust Jesus, John 3, 18.

A man is condemned because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. That's why a man is lost. And you know, this really liberated me a few years ago because I kept thinking that I somehow had to make God promises. And you know, I made God a lot of promises. And the thing is that he was never surprised when I didn't keep them. Because he never paid any attention to them to begin with.

Because God does not deal with us on the basis of our promises and bargainings. He simply says, if you confess it, he'll forgive you. And notice something else, he throws in something. He says, not only will He forgive us our sins, what sins? The sins we have confessed, but He will cleanse us from A-L-L, from all unrighteousness. Let me tell you something.

You come to God conscious, let's say of five sins in your life. It's been a bad day. You're conscious of five sins in your life it's been a bad day you're conscious of five sins in your life but there are really ten there but you're not conscious of the other five are you listening? you're conscious of five sins

there are really ten there five of them you missed but they're there God of them you missed. But they're there. God sees them. You come to God and you confess those five that you're conscious of, that He convicts you of.

He forgives those five. And you know what He does? He cleanses you from all of the unrighteousnesses in your life. He cleanses you from the whole ten. He forgives us our sins and He cleanses us from the whole ten. He forgives us our sins

and He cleanses us from A-L-L, all unrighteousness. Because you see, what God really wants is not so much your specifically naming of this little detail and that little detail. What He wants is the attitude of contrition and brokenness in your heart and honesty.

Now, if you're aware of five and you only confess four, there won't be any cleansing from all unrighteousness because you're not coming to God in honesty. Now, if you're aware of five and you only confess four, there won't be any cleansing from all unrighteousness because you're not coming to God in honesty. But what he wants from you is honesty, openness, and a contrite heart.

All right, third and last thing. Not only must there be a consciousness of sin, not only must there be a confession of that sin, but there must also be, as we've already intim there be a confession of that sin but there must also be as we've already intimated a cleansing from that sin it says that he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness you say now what is the difference between forgiveness and cleansing let's say as you were getting ready to come to church this morning you got that little boy all dressed up in his Sunday best, and you had about 15 minutes before church, and so you let him go outside and play. And it has rained this week,

and there's a big mud puddle by beside your yard. And so after a few minutes, here he comes, that sweet little boy, in, and he is covered in cake from head to toe with that mud. And he knows he's had it. And so he comes in and he says, Mommy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. And you say, Oh, that's all right, son. Boy, that's a lot of grace if you can say that. You say, That's all right, son. I forgive you.

Now listen carefully. I forgive you. Now go in and take off the dirty clothes and wash up. And the little boy said, Oh, no, Mommy. I don't want to take off the dirty clothes and I don't know I don't want to wash and I don't want to get the mud off of me you see what's happening he wants forgiveness but he doesn't want cleansing I tell you there are a lot of us this morning that won't forgiveness

but we don't want cleansing we want God to forgive us of this thing that we've done, but we don't want Him to take it away from us. There must be a cleansing from it. Are you willing to let Jesus Christ wash you clean and take away that thing? When there is a consciousness of my sin and there is a confession of my sin and there is a confession of my sin and I allow God to cleanse me from that sin,

not just simply forgive it so I'll escape judgment or chastisement, but to allow God to take that thing away, then I have fellowship with Him. God is able just to open up the treasures of heaven and bless me, and my joy is full. by Sherwood Baptist Church. If you would like to listen to additional Ron Dunn messages, visit sherwoodbaptist.net slash bookstore

and search Ron Dunn. For more Ron Dunn materials, including sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from a study Bible, please visit rondunn.com.