God’s Righteous Children

Scripture: 1 John 3:4-10 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway) 4 Anyone who indulges in sin lives in moral anarchy, for the definition of sin is breaking God’s law. 5 And you know without a doubt that Jesus was revealed to eradicate sins, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in union with him will not sin. 6 But the one who continues sinning hasn’t seen him with discernment or known him by intimate experience. 7 Delightfully loved children, don’t let anyone divert you from this truth. The person who keeps doing what is right proves that he is righteous before God, even as the Messiah is righteous. 8 But the one who indulges in a sinful life is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was revealed was to undo and destroy the works of the devil. 9 Everyone who is truly God’s child will refuse to keep sinning because God’s seed remains within him, and he is unable to continue sinning because he has been fathered by God himself. 10 Here is how God’s children can be clearly distinguished from the children of the Evil One. Anyone who does not demonstrate righteousness and show love to fellow believers is not living with God as his source. (1 John 3:4-10 TPT) There is a difference between committing a sin and continuing in sin. Every believer sins, but faithful believers don’t cherish the sin and make it a pattern of living. A believer who commits a sin experiences conviction of wrongdoing, repents (makes a conscious decision to stop that sin and turn from it), confesses it to God (and often to a trusted other), and receives the forgiveness God has already given. A Christian who continues in that pattern of sin, not grieving over it, but rather excusing it, or comparing to others and thinking (or saying) “I’m not doing anything worse than she (or he) is doing!”, is not repenting (making a conscious decision to stop that sin and turn from it), not confessing, and not receiving forgiveness. That person is behaving in an antichrist manner, rejecting God’s provision for cleansing from sin and obtaining righteousness through Christ. That person is not demonstrating righteousness, and not living with God as his or her source. Remember that Jesus’ commandments are: 1) Love God supremely, 2) Love others (neighbors, friends, and enemies), and 3) Love each other as Christ has loved us. Sorry to be so pedantic about this, but it’s important! Prayer: Father, Please help my friends and me to be quickly convicted and urgently repentant when we sin. Protect us from habits of sin. Forgive us as we forgive others. Amen.