The Devils Plan
I John 3:4-7
“Whosoever
commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take
away our sins; and in him there is no sin.
Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous,
just as He is righteous.”
The Devil’s plan is for us to sin. Not just that one occasional sin, but for us
to continue in sin. In our passage for
today, the apostle gives us reasons why sin is not compatible with the
Christian life.
The first concerns the sin nature, which is described
as lawlessness. The word “Sin” (3:4) refers
to the transgression of the law. The
statement in verse 4 makes sin and lawlessness identical and
interchangeable. In other words, anyone
who commits sin acts in defiance of God’s Holy law. Lawlessness does not refer to the mere
ignorance of the law but rather it speaks of action in direct opposition to the
law. John uses the Greek present tense
verb when he speaks of committing sin, in other words – continually in
sin. Inasmuch as sin is in violation of
the law of God, it should not be a characteristic of one of God’s
children. It is inconsistent for a
member of God’s family to practice sin.
The second reason why sin is incompatible with
Christian life concerns the person and work of Christ (3:5-7). We are told that “He was manifested to take away our sins.” The word “He” is literally referring to “the
One” which is Christ. Jesus Christ came
to abolish or destroy sin. It should
seem clear then, that it would be inconsistent for followers of Christ to
continue in sin.
The “our sins” is a possessive term and rightly
so. They are yours and mine! How great is the inconsistency if a believer
is continuing to practice the very thing Jesus Christ came to destroy! For this reason we are told to “abide in Him who does not sin.” To be abiding in Him is referring to an
eternal relationship that we as believers have in Christ. Those who have never trusted Jesus Christ as
personal Savior do not experience this abiding In Christ. He who abides in Christ sins not! This does not mean that we will never commit
an act of sin, but what this does mean is that we will not be practicing sin or
living in sin habitually.
The Devil has a plan for our life – But God also
has a plan for us! As a member of the
family of God, His plan is what brings Him glory and brings to us the peace and
happiness we want, need and deserve because we are abiding in Him.
- GM
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