The Word of Life- Part 7

Introduction- I John 3:4-10

The last time we were here in the book of I John we considered the first 3 verses of chapter 3 where the scripture speaks of the love which God has bestowed upon us giving us the wonderful privilege of being sons of God.

Because we are sons of God the world does not understand our viewpoint and those who are of the world will tend to disassociate with us just as it did from the Lord Jesus.

We are not yet all that we shall be, for there is coming a day in the future in which our redemption will be completed and we shall be like unto Christ in the sense that we will have a glorified body free from sin and corruption.

This should serve to motivate us in the present to purify ourselves even as Christ is pure.

The passage before us today concentrates on the believers relationship with sin and righteousness.

This passage asserts that the pattern of behavior a person displays serves as evidence of what they are—either a child of God or yet a child of the devil.

There is a consistent indication in scripture that there is a very close connection between faith and behavior such that what we believe will in some degree determine how we live.

James 2- Faith produces works in those who genuinely believe.

This is seen in places like James where works and faith are connected and in other places throughout the scripture as well.

It is important to recognize that it is contradictory to scripture to attempt to separate what a person believes from how they live.

To Take Away Our Sins (Vs. 4-6)

This passage opens with what is essentially a definition of sin—sin is the transgression of the law.

It is important to be careful in our interpretation of this passage lest we imagine that John is contradicting himself.

Throughout the passage the tense that is used is of note—the phrase “committeth sin” involves not the commission of a singular sin, but the continual practice of sinful behavior.

1 John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

1 John 1:10 “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

This same tense is used throughout the passage which distinguishes the act of committing a singular sin from a life which is characterized by a continual disobedience and disregard for God’s law.

In fact the word translated here as “transgression of the law” is a word which actually means lawless (having no concern or respect for the law).

The point being made here is that anyone whose life demonstrates a pattern of persistent and continual sin shows their disregard for God’s law.

Sin is in fact simply defined as breaking (transgressing) the law which demonstrates a lack of concern for obedience to it.

Then the scripture states what should be common knowledge for those who profess to be followers of Christ—that Christ came to take away our sins.

John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

Jesus was manifested (revealed in the world) to take away our sins—this He accomplished through living a perfectly sinless life and then dying a sacrificial death for us.

The entire reason for His coming into the world was to deal with the problem of sin—in Him we find forgiveness of all sin, and we find the power to live in victory over sin.

Hebrews 4:15 “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus lived a life entirely free from sin, despite the fact that He was tempted just as we are to sin—this is what makes Him qualified to be the one who has the power to take away our sins.

Jesus did not come into the world to save men only from the penalty of sin, but also from the power and presence of sin in their lives.

It is foolish to suggest that a person may believe on and receive Jesus Christ and yet continue to live in sin—this is entirely inconsistent with His reason for coming into the world.

Jesus does not save a person so that he may continue to live in sin.

Christ and sin are entirely incompatible, for as the scripture here plainly states “in Him is no sin”—this means that a life of continued sin is incompatible with identification with Him.

Anyone who abides in Him will not continue in sin—inasmuch as a believer abides in Christ (in close personal fellowship and communion with Him) he will not continue in sin.

When we sin, it is primarily because we are not abiding in Christ and have yielded to the influence of the flesh above that of the Spirit.

The counter statement here is of great importance—those who continue to live in sin demonstrate that they have not truly seen nor known Him.

This is a strong statement that many would consider to be too harsh or straightforward and yet it is given by inspiration of the Spirit of God.

Those who show a pattern of continual sin and disregard for the law of God show that they do not actually know Jesus Christ.

To Destroy the Works of the Devil (Vs. 7-8)

It is important that we are not deceived with regard to what it means to be righteous—it is apparent that some were suggesting that it was possible to be righteous positionally and yet continue to live an unrighteous life practically.

This is still an idea that is commonly promoted today—that one can know Jesus Christ and yet continue to live in a manner that is contrary to righteousness and contradictory to God’s moral law.

Illustration—celebrities, musicians, athletes who claim to be Christians but who continue to live immoral lives seemingly having no real desire to live righteously.

If a person is truly righteous—not as the product of his own righteousness but through the imputed righteousness of Christ—he will do righteousness.

This again does not indicate that he will live perfectly righteous, but that the pattern of his life will be to live righteously with unrighteousness being now the exception not the rule of his behavior.

This is consistent with identification with Christ for we are called to be righteous even as He is righteous—He is perfectly righteous and this ought to be what we are constantly striving towards—likeness to Him because of our identification with Him.

There were many in John’s day and there are many still in our day who want the benefits of Christianity without the responsibility, but these cannot be separated from one another—it is foolish to think that one can believe on Christ for salvation with no intention to obey Him following his conversion.

If a person will genuinely place his/her faith in Christ, he will become a new creature and this involves a change in behavior where sin is avoided and righteousness is embraced.

Those who continue in sin are here said to be “of the devil”—meaning that this behavior is consistent with the influence of the devil and not that of Christ.

The devil has continued in sin from the beginning—from the time of his rebellion against God until now Satan has continued to disregard God’s law and has persisted in his disobedience to it.

Those who follow this same pattern demonstrate that they are not to be identified with Christ, but rather with the devil.

Once again the scripture clearly states that Jesus came for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil—not to perpetuate them among His followers.

Jesus did not come to save men so that they could continue to follow the pattern of behavior which characterizes the devil—He came to destroy the works of the devil and to set men free from the bondage of sin to live righteously.

A Christianity that proposes that a believer may continue to live in perpetual sin and unrighteousness is entirely inconsistent with the reason for Christ’s coming.

A Matter of Distinction (Vs. 9-10)

There has been much controversy surrounding the statement that is made in verse 9 that “whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.”

Yet when we consider it in the broader context of the passage there is no reason that it should be controversial.

The point here once again is that those who are truly born again do not continue to commit sin—this is not meant to indicate that they ultimately reach a state of sinless perfection—merely that the new birth brings about a change which will not allow them to continue to live in sin.

This is then followed by a reference to a “seed” which the scripture says “remaineth in him”—there are many ideas as to what this seed is meant to represent but the most logical is that it speaks of the new divine nature which is now present in the believer through the operation of the Spirit of God.

At the moment of salvation God places His Spirit within us and gives us a new nature—this new nature will not allow us to continue in sin.

This means that when we sin, it is because we have reverted back to the influence of the flesh rather than that of the Spirit which God has placed within us.

Inasmuch as we allow the Spirit of God to control us we “cannot sin” under His influence.

This is a point emphasized in various places throughout the scriptures.

Romans 6:1-23—God forbid that we continue in sin

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

These passages do not indicate that those who belong to Christ will never again commit sin, but they do indicate that their lives will no longer be characterized by sin and unrighteousness but rather by righteousness and true holiness.

Those who claim to belong to Christ, but who continue to live lives characterized by sin and unrighteousness demonstrate that they do not actually belong to Him.

By this is manifest to whom a person actually belongs, either to Christ or to the devil—not by what he says but by what he does and what he is.

Those who continue in sin with no regard for God’s law demonstrate that they are children of the devil—those who demonstrate a genuine desire to live righteously and to pursue holiness and to turn from sin show that they are indeed the children of God.

Those who reject righteousness and refuse to love their brother show that they are the children of the devil.

The closing phrase in this verse serves somewhat as a transition to the next section which develops this idea of love for the brethren and its relation to the believer.

Conclusion

The point which is being made throughout this passage of scripture is not that those who belong to Christ will somehow reach a state of sinless perfection in this life.

The point which is actually being made is that if a person truly belongs to Christ there will be evidence in their lives to support this claim.

The evidence is first and foremost a rejection of sin and a high regard for God’s law and a desire to obey it and to live righteously.

Those who have been “born of God” will demonstrate this through their obedience to Him and their rejection of the works of the devil.

On the other hand those who profess to belong to Christ who continue to live in sin and continue to disregard God’s law living in open rebellion against God show that they do not belong to Christ but instead they are children of the devil for they follow the pattern which he has set as a sinner from the beginning until now.

The scriptures here plainly indicates that those who are truly born again cannot continue to live a life characterized by sinfulness and unrighteousness, for this is entirely inconsistent with their new identity in Christ.