Born of God, Why Play with the Devil?
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Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is.
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure. Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law.
You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins, and there is no sin in Him. Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.
Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works.
Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. This is how God’s children—and the Devil’s children—are made evident. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother.
If we were to reflect back on the account of Samson, that we looked at last week, from Judges 13-16, would we say Samson was a saint who sinned, or a saint who practiced sinning? The first idea is one who sins from time to time, the second idea is one who makes sinning their habit, their way of living. Abraham, Moses, King David, Peter, and Paul were all sinners, but did they make sin their practice?
The Apostle Paul states in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The Apostle John states clearly in 1 John 1:8-10 that he who states that he is without sin is a liar and makes Jesus a liar and Jesus’ word in not in him.
If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, “We don’t have any sin,” we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Jesus stopped the stoning of the woman caught in adultery by challanging the religious authorities with the truth about man, he who is without sin cast the first stone.
When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.”
When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center.
The wisdom of Solomon states that there is no man or woman that has lived (or lives) who is without sin.
There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins.
So is man a sinner? Absolutely! Are Christians sinners? Absolutely! Is it then possible, to be a Christian and yet practice sinning? Is it possible to be married, yet have ongoing sexual relationships with other men or women? Is it possible to call oneself a Christian, but not gather with the Body, the Church? or believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ? I have met many a person who professed to be Christian, but yet have stopped or do not attend Church. Are they truly a Christian, a follower of Christ? How does one reconcile with the Bible’s teaching from Hebrews 10:24-25, to not neglect meeting together, which is considered sinful, and an item of judgment.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
Why is abandoning the community of believers considered sinful, an item of judgment? It is to intentionally choose to “fall away”, leave, or commit apostasy (in the extreme case). It is to reject and ignore Jesus command to be one and to love one another. Jesus said to His disciples, “You must love one another”. How can you love one another if you never come together?
I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me.
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
How can you sharpen, correct, and build one another up if you are not living in community? How can you stay on the narrow path with no one to pick you up, redirect you, and/or encourage you to keep going? There is a reason why Jesus, and His apostles, address and identify his disciples as “the Body”, “the Church”, and/or “the Bride”. Being of follower of Christ is a collective, relational, plural life of living in community.
To abandon the community of believers, is to choose to become seperate from the Bride of Christ where one experiences the love of Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the teaching of the Spirit, accountability, encouragement, and fellowship. It is to become like an unbeliever and to crucify Christ all over again.
For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt.
The author of Hebrews compares one who abandons fellowship to land that fails to produce a crop, and instead bears thorns and thistles. Having drunk the rain of the gospel, experienced Jesus’ grace, have they allowed themselves to be cultivated by it? If so, they will bear useful fruit and be blessed by God, and other’s as well. If not, they will bear thornes and thistles, and be deemed worthless, cursed, and burned in Christ’s judgment to come, at the end of this age.
For ground that has drunk the rain that has often fallen on it and that produces vegetation useful to those it is cultivated for receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and will be burned at the end.
Born of God, Being of the Devil
So…is it possible to be ‘Born of God’ and yet practice sin? Is it possible to be an adulterer, but yet still be married? Is a Christian who rejects community a follower of Christ? Is it possible to be a true believer of Christ, but yet lie continuosly, indulge in the world, or give control and direction for our lives to our lust and desires?
The teaching of the false teachers, who invaded this community of believers, that John is addressing, taught that to sin in the body was no big deal. Since anything of the body is evil, and anything of the spirit is spiritual, there can be no cross contamination…no consequences. John says, no, not true. “Everyone who has been born of God does not sin” 1 John 3:9
Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God.
Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.
On the surface, what John says seems troublesome. If there is indeed no one without sin, and to deny we have no sin, is to be a liar, make Jesus a liar, and we do not have the word of God in us; then I am not born of God. I am not “born again”, regenerated, justified, and sanctified because I sin. Jesus’ seed, the Holy Spirit, has not taken root, if I sin. If this is the case, no one will inherit God’s coming Kingdom, not even Abraham, Moses, King David, Peter, and/or Paul.
To have sin, is to not know Jesus, have known Jesus, or have even seen Jesus. To have sin is to have never known fellowship with Jesus, no relationship. Have we sin, brother and sister? Yes, therefore we do not know Jesus, because Jesus hates sin…but yet He loves the sinner. He died on the cross for sinners. He took upon His very being our sin and paid the price of death. He reconciled us to life, through His shed blood. How do I reconcile this seeming contradiction?
What the Apostle John means to say, as a result of translating Aramaic to Greek to English, is that to practice sinning, making sin your life and lifestyle, is to be a child of the Devil. One “born again”, “born of God”, does not continue to practice a life of sin, a life of rebellion against the ways, commands, will, and love of Christ. To practice sinning in the body indeed does have eternal consequences.
Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works.
Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. This is how God’s children—and the Devil’s children—are made evident. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother.
The one who does not do right, and continues to live willfully sinning against Christ, is following the Devil. God considers that person the Devil’s child. There is no middle ground, no fence sitting. To abide in Christ is to reject practicing sin, spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
The apostle Paul affirms that the body itself is not sinful, because we are told not to call evil what God has made, and God made us in His image and that everything that God created is good (Acts 10:15; Gen 1:31; Isaiah 5:20). Paul also encourages us to not let sin reign, or rule, in our physical bodies because our bodies are to be instruments of righteousness, not unrighteousness (Romans 6:12-13 ). Our bodies are also the temple of the Holy Spirit, bought and paid for by Christ on the Cross (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.
Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
So, are we born of God or are we playing with the Devil?
Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.
John tells us that Jesus came and died for two reasons: 1) To take away our sins (1 John 3:4-6), 2) To destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:7-8). What is one of the works of the Devil? To convince us that it is okay to live a life of sin and proclaim alligiance to Christ. The enemy knows there is no power in a mere proclaimation of belief in Jesus, He even believes that Jesus is who he is, he knows it; but that does not mean he is a follower of Jesus, the Devil is not. Belief has to result in action. Action reveals our beliefs. What do I believe about Jesus?
The logic of obedience says that a person will obey whoever he/she belongs to. Who do I belong to? Pastor Warren Weirsbe is quoted as saying, “If a man knows God, he will obey God; if he belongs to the devil, he will obey the devil.” Are we born of God, or are we playing with the Devil?
So then,...How Does a True Believer overcome the desires of their “Old Nature”?
As the Apostle Paul encourages us in Romans 12:1, present our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.
Do we depend on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us? Do we hide the word of God in our hearts (Ps. 119:11)? Do we believe that no temptation has come upon us that Jesus has not provided a way of escape, conquering, and/or enduring (1 Cor. 10:13)? Do I make confession of sin a daily practice of my life? Do I take every thought, word, and or deed captive to Christ and seek forgiveness? When temptation comes, do I play with it or flee from it?
A True Believer does not practice sin, but instead takes sin to the cross of confession and forgiveness. We believe we have “the seed” of the Holy Spirit within us, and decide to walk in the power of the seed of the Spirit. The Apostle John says,
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him.
Do I love Jesus, or am I playing with the Devil? Abide in Jesus, walk in the Spirit, and be blessed by the Father. Amen.