Learning To Live 'In Him'

1 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.

The verses above are about the process that happens after we either accept or reject Christ. I have written this entry a number of times, but have always ended up deleting it before I published it because, for some reason, it has been very hard for me to write. I think I understand why it has been that way, to some extent.

What John is writing here is not popular in today's culture. We like to think of our sin in many shades of grey, as opposed to pure and simple black and white. We might push it deep into some dusty corner of our thoughts so that we don't have to deal with it, or make excuses for why a certain sin is excusable. We might compare it to a greater sin that we see someone else committing, or simply say, "Well, no one's perfect!" We are by nature not used to facing and confronting sin for what it is, and it can get pretty uncomfortable when we see the need to do this.

This is not the first time in this little book close to the end of the Bible where John has drawn a line in the sand, and clearly pointed out that certain behaviors belong on the side where the children of the devil reside, while others bear the mark of a true believer. The line that is drawn is a thin straight line, to small for anyone to stand on. We are either on one side or the other - a child of God or a child of the devil. There is no in between, no 'no-man's land'. If we are not following Christ, then we are following the devil. One way leads to Heaven, the other to Hell, and if we are heading the wrong way, the only way we can change it is by doing a complete turnaround so that we are heading the opposite direction. The only thing that will turn us around is if we choose a different master. The way that leads to Heaven is for those who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ.

The first thing that the above passage of Scripture did for me was to remind me of the seriousness of sin in my life, especially the type of sin that I have grown comfortable with because it has been with me for a long while. As I was studying this passage, I read it in some different versions (I often do this when I am focusing on a portion of Scripture, and I find that it often adds depth and clearer understanding, to a certain degree). Some other ways that verse 4 was worded was:

"Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness;

sin is lawlessness." (ESV)

"Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." (NKJV)

This is what I read in the commentary I go to when I need more insight on a particular verse:

"3:4 commits sin. The verb commits in the Greek conveys the idea of making sin a habitual practice." **

Every time we sin we 'miss the mark' - that perfect standard that the Law has set. The Bible clearly tells us that everyone is born a sinner. We all miss the mark. We are lawbreakers. This is what our natural tendency is when we live as someone unredeemed. But when we come to faith in Christ, our natural, sinful tendencies are replaced with a new nature, controlled by the Holy Spirit, which should give us a desire to live like Christ. My commentary went on to say:

"Although genuine Christians have a sin disposition (1 John 1:8), and do commit and need to confess sin (1 John 1:9), that is not the unbroken pattern of their lives. A genuinely born-again believer has a built-in check or guard against habitual sinning due to a new nature." **

This new nature we have been given is that of Christ within us. No longer do we live for ourselves, gratifying the desires of our flesh (that is the sin nature we were born with); rather, we live for Christ, in gratitude of what He has done for us by saving us from sin. In Galatians 5:16-26, I see a contrast between the destructive acts of the sinful nature as they are listed, and the life-giving fruit of the Spirit which is listed there as well. In regard to the acts of the sinful nature, Paul warns:

"I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this

will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal. 5:21)

A life of sin leads to death, and it is only when we die to sin and live for Jesus Christ that our old nature can be replaced with something new and better. Paul shows us how this change takes place. In Galatians 5:24 he says:

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature

with its passions and desires.

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

That new and better life is acquired when we walk, not in our own strength, but in the power that comes from the Holy Spirit's work in us.

In the passage from 1 John, I see two reasons for Christ coming to Earth. First of all, "He appeared so that He might take away our sins". "And in Him is no sin." Because Jesus lived perfectly before God the Father in every way while He was on Earth, He would be a sufficient sacrifice, or payment for our sin. In 1 John 2:1b and 2, He is described as "Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." Jesus took the weight of all sin once and for all when He died, and when we accept what He did for us, that burden of sin and guilt is lifted off of us. I think of a verse in a favorite song of mine, which describes this transaction so beautifully:

"My sin - O the bliss of the glorious thought -

My sin, not in part, but the whole

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more!

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!"

(From the hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul") 

This is the reason why "No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning" (verse 6). This thought is repeated a handful of times in these seven verses. Verse 6 again says that "No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him". Verse 9 says that "No one who is born of God will continue to sin", reminding us that because of the Holy Spirit's life in us, we "cannot go on sinning because [we have] been born of God". We are covered by what Jesus did for us. We do not find righteousness apart from Him, but only through the life that He has poured out for us to partake of freely. The moment we try to find it on our own - in our own strength, or by some 'work' or act of goodness that we feel we can earn it by - we cease finding our life IN HIM, and we lose that standing that we have ONLY IN HIM. Some of my favorite verses that show how we truly find our life in Jesus are found in John 15:1-8. Jesus uses such a beautiful word picture to describe it, saying:

"I am the Vine, and My Father is the Gardener.

He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit

He prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful.

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

Remain in Me, and I will remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.

Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.

I am the Vine; you are the branches.

If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;

apart from Me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers;

such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

If you remain in Me and My words remain in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,

showing yourselves to be My disciples."

I re-read those verses, and every time I saw the word "remain", I substituted the word "live". It seemed like it truly made it come alive for me what it means to find my very life IN HIM. 
Some other words one could use wherever we see remain above are abide, or continue, or persevere. If we find our life in Christ, we go through the wonderful process of being sanctified, which means to be 'freed from sin; purified' over a period of time. We could say we become refined, and as this process happens, we become more like Jesus, who perfectly 'remained' in the Father so that His life could flow through Jesus. As this happens, we are drawn to turn away from sin. It loses its hold on us, and we lose our desire to give in to the temptation to sin. It is impossible to LIVE in Him, yet to continue to LIVE in sin. The two are contrary to each other, and cannot abide together.

This causes me to ask why we, as Christians, still sin so often. As I pondered this, I realized that the answer is simply this: we sin when we take our eyes off of Jesus. In Hebrews 12:1b and 2 we are told:

"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,

and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us FIX OUR EYES on JESUS.

the Author and Perfecter of our faith..."

Why do we need that reminder, unless it is something that God sees we will struggle with? So far, we continue to dwell in a body that has to battle against its sin nature every day. We live in a world that is so far still under the devil's control. Sin does easily entangle us, especially if we take our focus off of Christ for a moment. This is why there are so many reminders in God's Word to focus ourselves on Christ. We need to take note of them! What we will do about it when we fall into temptation or sin has a lot to say about where we are in our Christian walk. Earlier in this book, we were told that these things are written "...so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (chapter 2:1). As believers, we are not without hope. God's Word tells us that we may "...approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses, for He was also tempted by the devil in every way, as we are. He is the perfect, sinless High Priest who has made atonement for us when we sin, and who continually offers us a way out, if we will be willing to accept it. I believe that how deep we fall into sin's grip, and how long we stay in it is an indicator of our spiritual maturity. With practice, and with time, we will learn how to surrender our will to Christ's will (to truly "crucify our sinful nature with its passions and desires"), and we will gain greater victory in Him each time we battle with the temptation to sin. There is another way - the way of the Spirit.

Another reason Jesus came to Earth way to "destroy the devil's work" (verse 8). The devil is the chief of sinners. He is the one who first sinned as he became prideful and wanted to become like God. Reading the accounts of Lucifer's fall (in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-18) is humbling to me. He was one of God's most beautiful creations, and was "blameless in all [his] ways from the day [he] was created till wickedness was found in [him]".
He was great, and became filled with violence. He was full of beauty, and he became prideful. He was wise, and he became corrupt. It was because of him that sin entered the world, and although I know that it is his evil that is to blame, I know that without the grace of God, that is exactly who I am. My heart is also wicked, beyond cure, except that Jesus loved me enough to offer me deliverance. Where I used to be a sinner, a child of the devil, because Jesus came to Earth to DESTROY the devil's work, I am now a child of God, saved because of His love and mercy! Jesus won the victory over the devil, and through Him, every believer is also a victor.

Jesus is pure and righteous - without sin, and as His child, that new start is what I've been given. My love for Him, and my thankfulness urges me towards a life that pursues the kind of righteousness that is found in Him. Verse 9 says that those who have been "born of God" have God's Seed planted within them. I understand that to be the Holy Spirit, and I love the example again, of a plant. Seed that falls on the fertile soil of a believing heart will grow, and as the plant matures, it will start to bear fruit.

The Holy Spirit - God's seed - remains in a believer; it is not something that can be taken away. Because of this, a true believer cannot go on living a life of constant, willful, continual, habitual sin. It is incompatible with who he is! If someone like that professes to be a believer, he or she is either making a false claim, or, we are about to see a radical change take place in their lives! It is a wonderful promise that we have been given though, that Seed of life that will sprout and grow and REMAIN in us as Christians. We do not have to walk this road alone - we have an all powerful Helper guiding us in our way!

The final verse, verse 10, sums up this whole section:

"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."

My thought, almost, was "Lord, I'm not sure that I want to know the answer to this. It reveals so much!" That is probably an immature thought, and maybe one of fear. Maybe I am scared to read, just in case I fail to see in myself the qualities of a child of God. Maybe this is why I have had such a hard time writing this entry - since my goal in writing this blog was to search the Scriptures in order that I may know Him better, I know that at the end of each study, there will be an application that I must take and apply to my own life. And the truth is, I fail to do what is right. I miss the mark. I do not always love. There are some sin patterns in my life that seem almost habitual - difficult to break - so what do I do about that? What does God expect of me, and what does He see when He looks at me?

I believe that we must all, at times in our lives, examine ourselves, to see where our priorities lie, and where our loyalty is (see 2 Corinthians 13:5). So now I will do just that. In my heart of hearts, I must answer the question: Which will I be willing to forsake - my sin, or Jesus Christ? "No man can serve two masters", and when the Lord convicts me of my sin, will I turn from Him, clinging to my sin, or will I let go of the sin, even if it is difficult, and look to Jesus for the strength to do so?

Repenting of sin means letting it go, renouncing it, and no longer letting it have a hold on my life. If we have long held on to a certain sin, once we "crucify it", it will truly feel like a death has taken place. But oh, the freedom when we truly repent! It opens up our life for Christ's power to be displayed in it. It opens up our hearts to His righteousness, and one of the fruits that we will soon see spilling over will be the ability to start to love as Christ loves. We will then bear the mark of a child of God, and to His glory, it will be evident to a watching world!

   

** These quotes were taken from The MacArthur Bible Commentary, by John 
    MacArthur.