TO SIN OR NOT TO SIN
“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, and 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.”
1 John 3:4-6 NLT
The sin issue stands squarely on the centre of our lives as long as we are in this world. John deals with this matter simply, concisely, step by step, so that we can never be in doubt about what God’s part is and what our part must be.
Step one: Everything that is contrary to God’s character is sin. Get that straight! Since His law is the expression of His character, when we defy Him by disobeying His instructions, we act in rebellion against Him. That is intolerable, no matter how big or small the transgression might be.
Step two: God dealt with our sin by sending His own Son to take away our sin. Jesus became the scapegoat in our place. His death as our substitute allows Him to forgive and remove our sin and our guilt in total. He declares us, legally, not guilty. He wipes the record clean. There is nothing in our “debit” column.
Step three: He has given us a fresh start. It’s up to us to keep our accounts up to date. Those who have been cleared of debt must do everything they can to keep their record debt-free.
However, we still have the possibility of incurring debt again because of the old sin-nature’s presence. God has not removed our old nature. There is still a war going on between the flesh and the Spirit.
“The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.”
Galatians 5:17-18 NLT
This battle is real, but God has provided powerful resources to ensure victory over the sinful nature.
He has given us His nature, so now we have two natures, the old and the new.
“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”
2 Peter 1:4 NLT
He has put His own Spirit in us to guide and empower us to overcome sin.
” So, I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves…. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses…. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
Galatians 5:16, 18, 25 NLT
His Word is always at our disposal. The Holy Spirit continually reminds us of both God’s standards and His promises. We need never be in doubt about what God’s will is since it is, written in His Word.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
God’s peace is a powerful guard against enemy activity in our hearts.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
His grace is freely available to help overcome temptation and keep us steadfast in our faith and faithfulness to Him. Through prayer, we access His grace in times of need.
“For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:17 NLT
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
Hebrews 4:16 NLT
Our faith in God and in His promises is the link we have with Him to overcome the world’s pull on us.
“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”
1 John 5:4-5 NLT
His love for us is the power that holds us steady and keeps us going in the face of every obstacle.
“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
Romans 8:37 NLT
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”
Romans 8:38 NLT
Step four: The question is, “Why do professing Christians continue to live in sin? “ By that, I mean, “Why do people who say they are believers act as though they are not?” John’s response is quite simple. They are not true believers. Their behaviour denies their confession. They cannot claim what they do not possess.
The presence of God’s Spirit is the final guarantee and godly behaviour the proof that true believers belong to God.
Tag Archives: take away our sins
WHOSE SON ARE YOU?
WHOSE SON ARE YOU?
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps in sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. (1 John 3: 4-8a)
Once again John has to address a subtle part of the false teaching circulating in the Roman Empire and undermining the pure gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Gnosticism was beginning to emerge at that time. One of the basic beliefs of Gnosticism was that there is a distinction between matter and spirit. Matter is evil in and of itself while the spirit is good. The material part of the human being, the body is therefore sinful and cannot be redeemed. .
Greek philosophers parted company at this point. Stoics taught that the way to deal with the sinful body is to punish it as much as possible. Epicureans taught that it was okay to indulge the body in all the sinful pleasures possible because it could not be redeemed anyway. These two opposing ideas, of course, threw doubt on the nature of the Son of God. If matter is sinful and the spirit is good, then Jesus could not possibly have been a true human being. His body was an illusion, not a real body.
John put the brakes on both of these false ideas. If the body is sinful and cannot be redeemed, then Jesus’ death on the cross was not a real death. Jesus could not have redeemed us from sin, firstly because nothing can redeem the body and secondly, because His death was only an illusion. If the spirit is essentially good, there was no need for Jesus to die because the spirit does not need saving.
However, John pointed out by implication, human beings are not split up into separate compartments, matter and spirit. People sin, not bodies, and sin affects people, not some parts of them. The real issue is; not which part of us is good and which part of us is evil but what do we do with God’s commandments? Do we obey them or do we not obey them?
But Jesus Christ was a real person. He came to earth as a human baby born of a human mother. He came in the flesh to deal with sin by dying a real death in the place of the sinner. He came to do away with sin so that those who believe in Him can be free to do what is right. This involves both body and spirit as whole people.
How do we know who are the children of God are and who the children of the devil are? Look at their lives. Those who do the right thing – those who obey God’s Word – are the ones who have been born of God. What does that mean? They have been made alive by the Holy Spirit, they have God’s nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and they resemble God because they do what He tells them to do. “Children of the devil” does not mean, as some erroneously teach, that they have literally been born of the devil. Satan cannot create. Only God can and has created human beings. Every baby born is a unique creation of God (Psa. 139: 13) and is, in that sense, His son or daughter.
“Children of” refers to the one whom they resemble in their lifestyle and actions. Jesus accused the Pharisees of resembling the devil in spite of their claim to be the children of Abraham because they were planning to kill Him. Abraham was no murderer but the devil certainly is (John 8:44).
John takes up this thought here. Sinful lives are the great dividing line. Those who keep on sinning reveal their true nature. They are still under the devil’s influence. Those who claim to be the children of God but keep on sinning negate their claim by the way they live. “Sin” here is much more than doing really bad things – in our estimation – like lying, stealing or committing murder or adultery. It includes attitudes, moods, motives, refusing to forgive, harbouring bitterness and hatred and all the other hidden sins of the heart.
Sin, from God’s perspective, is everything that does not measure up to His perfection and His holiness. For those who are “in Christ” sin has been dealt with and removed, and we have received God’s gift of Christ’s perfect righteousness by faith. Our part is to live up to who we are – to confirm our righteous standing before God by obey His Word. As impossible as this is for us to do on our own, the Holy Spirit in us gives us the power to follow through on our decisions and choices to be God’s obedient children.
This is the acid test, not what we say but what we do.
Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.