1 JOHN 3
6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’sseed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. – 1 John 3:6-10
1 JOHN 3 WHEN SINNING IS A HABIT
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
The child of God desires to please only Him
He abides in Him and doesn’t make a habit of sin
The person who has been born again seeks the truth
The godly obeys God and allows Scriptures to take root
The believer doesn’t listen to his cravings but resist it
A lover of God doesn’t participate in any of the devil’s tactics
A Christian wears his new creation in Christ which is righteous
He isn’t unsure and switching between his old and new nature.
In these following verses, John reveals to us the manifestation of the presence of God in our lives. In John 14:15, he brings us the true meaning of loving God which is to obey Him. Paul reiterates this concept of walking in the Spirit in Galatians 5. He says that if you walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh because the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. They oppose each other and the Spirit keeps you from doing the things you want to do. Instead, you bear the fruits of the Spirit which is peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. Now, in these following verses John explains the reason why a person would keep on sinning and making a habit of it. He explains that anyone who makes a practice of constantly following their old nature will do what it pleases instead of doing what God requires from them.
In verse 8, John exposes the culprit of this habitual sinning. They are children of the devil. They do not believe in the Son of God whom God has given to humanity to break from this old nature. Now, can a Christian be living his old nature and claim that he is a child of God? A true believer is not double-minded or deceived. His loyalty is to God alone. Those who practice sinning are loyal to themselves, not to God. Their idols are their appetites, pleasures and cravings. They do not and cannot please God since they are opposed to what they were made for. They were created in God’s image so that they can glorify God by becoming more and more like Christ as they mature in their faith.
REFLECTION
- What does it mean when someone who claims they’re Christian habitually sins?
