“Everyone who sins is
breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know
that Jesus came to take away our sins, there is no sin in him. Anyone who
continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not
know him or understand who he is. Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you
about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous,
even as Christ is righteous”
(1 John 3:4-7,
NLT).
The Apostle John is
dealing again with the question of sin. Even though he was kind and gentle
(tradition says that he was called “the
Apostle of love”), he could also be strong and direct (earlier he was
called “the son of thunder” after
all). Without being afraid of offending everyone else, John reminds us most bluntly
that sin is not something to wink at – instead sin is lawlessness and active
rebellion against God. Sin is “breaking God’s law”
and “contrary to the law of God.”
To sin is to obey oneself rather than God and shows that something is wrong in
our relationship with God. We “keep on sinning”
because we didn’t continue to live in Jesus. Please take sins seriously.
Friends, when it comes to sin, one possible explanation is that God’s Word (they say) is just too
difficult for people to understand or obey; so they use that as an excuse
for doing whatever they want to do. But God has promised that what He asks for
us will not be impossible; in fact, God promises to give us the strength and
confidence to do what is right. What God
commands, He also enables us to obey it. John here also says that we “keep on sinning” because in reality we “do not know [Jesus] or understand who he is.” Could it
be that the ‘Jesus’ that we know of is not the real or the distorted view of
Jesus of the Bible? Or could it be that we understand Jesus differently from
what the Bible actually taught us about who He really is? Or could it be that
we don’t understand fully what “Jesus came to take
away our sins” mean to us personally? Or could it be all of the
above? If you keep on sinning, check your doctrines and what you’ve been taught
about Jesus. For us to “abide”
and “continues to live in Him”,
we need to know Him as He really is.
So, then, as Christians, it
comes down to a problem of attitude or will that makes us do what is wrong. And
John seems to be talking about an attitude rather than specific actions
alone. To know Jesus, the Perfect Saviour – the One who “is no sin in him” – is to outlaw sin especially deliberate,
knowing, and habitual sins. Continue to live and abide in Him. We know that in
this life we will never be entirely free of sin; we are still human. But we can
aim by the power of the Holy Spirit to stop the pattern of sin, the kind of lifestyle in which sin is a bad
habit.
The key point here is that
the way we live shows the source from which we get our strengths and values. If we
live in a way that shows that God is most important, we may still not be
perfect, but we will be honoring God by breaking those bad habits or sins
which keep us from growing and being joyful as Christians. “When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous,
even as Christ is righteous.” Remember: Nothing is impossible with God. Jesus, the Son of God, came to take
away our sins, there is no sin in him. Thus, He is perfect and able to help you.
Amen.
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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