Musings on First John (3:4-10)

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Pretty clear? The definition of sin is lawlessness, it says so in verse 4. If you continue substituting that word for sin as you re-read the above passage you get a new understanding of obedience and the importance of knowing/following the law (love God, love your neighbor). For example: verses 5 and 6, Jesus appeared so that he might take away our lawlessness. There is no lawlessness in him. If we live in him we won’t be lawless.

Now verse 6 may make you uncomfortable. It sounds like we should not have sin in our lives at all or else that proves we don’t know Jesus. We all sin – can’t help it. Looking at the original Greek helps to understand though, that what is meant here is that we will not make a habit of sinning. That lets us off the hook for the occasional misstep, but also makes us able to spot people who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Verse 9 reiterates the idea of not making sin a habit.

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Musings on First John (3:1-3)

¹ How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

I love the exclamation marks here. John certainly is exclaiming a great truth: God loves us so incredibly much that he calls us his children. I added another exclamation mark in the margin of my Bible just because this news is so awesome. Are we God’s playthings? No. Slaves? No. Pets? No, again. We are His children.

What will we be when we get to Eternity? Even John admits that the answer to that has not yet been made known. But he assures us of one thing: we will be like him (Jesus) and we shall see him as he is. How cool is that?

Musings on First John (2:26-29)

²⁶ I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. ²⁷ As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. ²⁸ And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. ²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

Who is trying to lead you astray? I have heard many preachers, supposedly men of God, who have expounded on topics in a way that was contrary to God’s word; they have tried to rationalize away miracles, make exceptions for sins, and ignore certain truths that they, for whatever reason, deem inapplicable. Lucky for us when you come to knowledge and acceptance that Christ is your savior, God lets His Holy Spirit indwell you. That’s the anointing John speaks of in verse 27. The Holy Spirit will convict you of your sins, comfort you, teach you, and reveal God’s word to your understanding.

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Musings on First John (2:21-25)

²¹I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth. ²²Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ²³No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father.²⁵And this is what he has promised us, eternal life.

Whoa, this passage names all unbelievers as antichrists. Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Messiah is, quite logically, an antichrist. There are a lot of people who think they only need to believe in God, but notice what it says in verse 23: if you don’t acknowledge Jesus as Lord then you don’t have God, the Father.

I love how this passage ends with that greatest of promises—eternal life for believers.