Our text, as well as other passages in the first epistle of John, reveals the intent of the writer to address himself to Christians. The five chapters of this book contain words of comfort, reproof, rebuke, instruction in righteousness, and assurance for the Christian. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" (I John 5:13). He makes it plain that he is writing, "because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake."

In addressing the saints, John draws a clear sketch of the true Christian. I shall endeavor to go through this little book and draw your attention to five marks of true Christians.

I. The first mark of the true child of God is that they do not practice sin. In the ninth verse of the third chapter, John writes, "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."

Where there is one who is "born of God," there is not a habit of open sin. This verse teaches that a Christian cannot go on sinning. It does not teach that a Christian never commits a sin. John refutes this false idea, writing, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (I John 1:8). It is not that a Christian does not sin, rather that they do not practice open sin. They do not go on in sin, without confession and repentance. A life of sin is not the life of a child of God.

Paul taught this truth in the first two verses of the sixth chapter of Romans, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" It is not possible for the saved to go on living in willful disobedience and presumptuous sinning, thinking that they can sin with impunity.

They do not practice sin because where there is one who is "born of God," there is a divine principle of life. The verse tells us "his seed remaineth in him." The unsaved have not this "seed" or divine principle of life. They are walking in the lusts of the flesh, "fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind," and they are "by nature the children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3). They have nothing to oppose the flesh and are "unto every good work reprobate" (Titus 1:16).

When a sinner is "born again," he is made "a new creature" (II Cor. 5:17). God creates within "the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:24). "His seed remaineth in him," and the spirit wars against the flesh. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Gal. 5:17). The new man opposes sin and loves to do the will of God. "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Rom. 7:22).

Furthermore, they do not practice sin because they are cleansed from sin. Considering the great love wherewith God loved them and the deep, horrible pit from which they have been delivered, they do not wish to go back to the old broad road of sin. They keep from sin, not because they are under the terror of the law, but because the great love they have for God. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous" (I John 5:3). They have been forgiven much and they love much.

II. The second mark is that they do works of righteousness. John writes in the twenty-ninth verse of the second chapter, "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him."

Their fruits give evidence that they do works of righteousness. God created the earth so that everything brings forth "after their kind." This also holds true with the children of God and the children of the devil. From their works, one can determine to which family they belong. "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 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. 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. 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 John 3:7-10). The good tree will bear good fruit just as the child of God will bear fruit in works of righteousness.

They do works of righteousness because the vital union with Christ produces fruit. The main reason the wicked do not do works of true righteousness is that they do not have Christ. Apart from Christ, we can do no good works before God. Christ said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned" (John 15:1-6). In order to bring forth fruit, one must abide in Him.

The child of God does righteous works because they abide in Him. John wrote, "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming" (I John 2:28). They do indeed abide in Him and that union produces fruit in their lives. The Father promised to prune the abiding branches that they might bring forth even more fruit. With the Christian, there is a continual abiding in Christ and a continual production of good fruit or performance of good works.

III. The third mark is that they love. John writes about the love a Christian has in the fourth chapter and seventh and eighth verses of his first epistle. "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."

Love is seen in a Christian because, in the first place, they love God. "We love him, because he first loved us" (I John 4:19). The love of God for us causes us to love Him. The Scriptures teach that God "first loved us," as He declared to the prophet Jeremiah, "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee" (Jer. 31:3). In fact, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). How could we not love Him that "loved us, and hath given himself for us?" (Eph. 5:2). The true Christian has a great love for his heavenly Father.

The child of God loves the brethren. He loves those brothers and sisters that he has in Christ Jesus. He will not only love God but the whole Christian family. Brotherly love is a noted mark of the saints and is a consistent teaching throughout the Bible. "For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another" (I John 3:11). Christ testified that it would be an identifying mark of His disciples. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35).

John gives a couple of reasons for a manifest love of the brethren. The first reason is that it is consistent with the fact of God’s love for all of His children. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us" (I John 4:10-12). The individual Christian should find grounds to love his brother or sister in the fact that God has manifested His love toward them both. If God has loved you in a great way, then He loves your brother or sister in the same way.

The second reason is that love for the brethren is an evidence of the new life. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (I John 3:14-16). An evidence of passing from death to life is loving the Christian brotherhood, God’s family. It is not possible for a true child of God to hate his brother.

The true Christian loves and their love is true. There is real substance in their love for God and the brethren. "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (I John 3:18). The love they have is the sort of love that manifests itself in action. They keep God’s commandments and lay down their lives for their brother. They do not just say, "Be ye warmed and filled" (James 2:16). They give to help their needy brother. God commended His love; it was not in word or thought only. This is love that moves to action; love that "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (I Cor. 13:7).

IV. The fourth mark of the saints is that they persevere. I believe fully that we are preserved in Jesus Christ and I believe that the true Christian will persevere. John writes in the eighteenth verse of the fifth chapter, "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."

In persevering, they guard or take heed to themselves. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;" (I Thess. 4:3-4). The child of God knows "how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour." They will seek to maintain purity of heart and mind. They seek out the paths of righteousness and walk therein. They will "follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (II Tim. 2:22).

They will persevere in guarding against sin. They are careful to "put off the old man with his deeds" (Col. 3:9). The true Christian does not walk according to the former lusts and conversation. They will purge themselves from vessels of dishonor. "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work" (II Tim. 2:20-21). Having the hope of their returning Savior, they purify themselves before God. "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (I John 3:3).

They will persevere in maintaining good works. This is the positive aspect; not only will they keep from sin; they will continue to do good works. "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful" (Titus 3:8, 14). No child of God will be satisfied in being unfruitful. God will work in them to will and to do of His good pleasure. Their earnest desire is to bring forth fruit to the glory of Jesus Christ.

V. The fifth mark of the true Christian is that they overcome the world. John writes in the fourth verse of the fifth chapter, "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

Their overcoming is seen in the fact that they have the victory. The Christian is thought to be a weak and needy creature. In many ways, this is true. However, those saints that are scorned by the world and thought to be defeated are victorious in Jesus Christ. "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Rom. 8:37). Our God is the sovereign of the universe and "our God shall fight for us" (Neh. 4:20). "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31). The victory is theirs.

They overcome the world for their power is in Christ. They find that the world is their enemy. In the world, they are hated, just as their Savior was hated before them. Jesus warned and comforted His disciples saying, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). They were not to look to the world for comfort or peace. They were sure to find tribulation in the world. However, in Christ alone they would have peace.

Not only would they have peace in Christ, but also they would be furnished with spiritual weapons for the warfare. "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled" (II Cor. 10:4-6). These weapons are spiritual and are "mighty through God." The strong holds, imaginations, and high things that exalt themselves against God are in the world and in our flesh. We cannot overcome them carnally, only spiritually. The weapons of our warfare are sufficient to overcome the world and our own flesh. Through Christ, we can bring every thought of ours into captivity "to the obedience of Christ."

They overcome the world; they are not overcome by the world. The world is strong and mighty in number. They are a formidable opponent to the righteous. They seem many times to have the advantage. However, the child of God will not be defeated by the world. "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (I John 4:4). He that is with the saints is far greater than he that is with the world. The final victory belongs to God and His children.

VI. In conclusion, we have noted five marks of the true Christian. John writes in the thirteenth verse of the fifth chapter, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

In the first epistle of John, the phrase "born of God," or its equivalent, is used repeatedly. From this, we learn that in order to be a true child of God, "Ye must be born again" (John 3:7). Regardless of our good works and life, we must be born of God in order to be His child.

To be born of God means that we must be brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. There must be repentance of our will to sin and acts of sin. We must experience a radical change of heart of life and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone in order to be saved.

From this epistle, we learn that there will be a struggle with sin in the world and in ourselves. Until we leave this world, we will have to fight this warfare with sin. There are temptations on every hand. Many snares are laid for us in the way. We must learn to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof" (Rom. 13:14).

Lastly, from this blessed book, we learn that there will be an overcoming finally for the Christian. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;" (II Cor. 4:8-9). We are engaged in warfare. There will be many hard battles along the way. We will have to "endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (II Tim. 2:3). However, our faith "is the victory that overcometh the world" (I John 5:4). Praise God! We have the victory in our blessed Lord!