Free Bible Commentary
“First John 3:4-10”
Categories: First John“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”
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John makes it very clear here, as does the Holy Spirit throughout the pages of the Bible, that you cannot live in defiance of and disdain for the laws of the Creator and still be in a right relationship with Him. “Sin is lawlessness” (verse 4). Whenever a sin is committed, God’s law is broken and needs to be atoned for. Sin is such a very serious issue that it was for this very reason Jesus “appeared” in the form of a human and was crucified. Many believers take a very casual approach to sin and make excuses for their transgressions, but it was sin that cost Jesus His life on the cross, and it is sin that will cost us our eternal life if we “normalize” it and give ourselves a pass for our wrongdoings.
Please do not misunderstand. John is not writing about Christians who are trying their best to “walk in the light” and “abide in the truth,” and yet stumble and fall into sin. God has made provision through His Son and His word for forgiveness in such situations. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us” (1 John 1:9). If we repent and pray for God’s forgiveness He will mercifully grants it to us (Acts 8:22). But if we make sin our “practice,” or our habitual pattern of life; if we live as if there were no divine law governing our lives; if we refuse to acknowledge sin and attempt to turn from it, we demonstrate by our attitude and actions that our father is “the devil” and not the Creator (verse 10). When we practice righteousness we become like our Savior. When we practice lawlessness we behave like Satan.
“No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin” (verse 9). John obviously is not saying that it is somehow impossible for a child of God to sin because that would completely contradict most of what he has been teaching. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). But we cannot allow sin to dominate our lives, and if the word is truly abiding in us, we will not. Jesus appeared to “destroy the words of the devil” (verse 8), and “to take away sins” (verse 6), not to offer us a “free pass” to live a life of reckless abandon and total disregard for God’s holy nature and sacred law.
Friend, John teaches in the simplest of terms that it matters how you live your life. Your actions must match your profession. You must practice righteousness in order to be considered righteous in God’s sight (verse 7). God’s mercy and grace will not cover the sins that do not produce godly sorrow within you, and that you refuse to turn loose of (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). Notice please, there are only two choices given by the Lord through His word. You can choose to be a child of God or a child of the devil. There is no third option or gray area with the Lord. You are with Him or against Him (Matthew 12:30). The choice is yours and it should be a very easy one to make.
Please read 1 John 3:11-16 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
-Louie Taylor
