1 John 3
1 John 3:6 “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him”.
1 John 3:9 “No one who is born of God will continue to sin”.
Those are pretty strong words. I have struggled over their meanings many times. But this time I noticed something I had never picked up on before.
John is writing to believers (5:13, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life”). He is writing, partly, about deceivers (4:1, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God”).
In light of that, it makes more sense that though he is writing 3:6 and 3:9 to those who believe, I think he is writing about those who are trying to deceive.
John addresses both ends. He addresses the deceivers who have not seen God, known God, or been born of God, and as a result continue in sin. He also addresses the believers who have seen God, known God, and been born of God, and as a result do not continue in sin.
As he exposes the disqualified and encourages the qualified, he has an overall tone of warning – “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray” (3:7). To both ends and to all in between; to believers who have to some degree been deceived, there is warning.
Maybe it is just enough to keep them from knowing God to the extent that He is able to be known. Maybe it is to the point that God is now seldom in their thoughts. Maybe it is to the point of being dead in the middle where they have just the right amount of God and just the right amount of sin to satisfy both sides?
John’s letter provides an opportunity for all of us to evaluate where we are. He gives us truth to counter all that is false. What have we come to believe? How does it measure up? To what extent do we continue in sin? To what extent have we seen God – known God?
Hunger and Thirst 
Mike,
Yes, I think you are on the right track because 1 John 2:4-6 clarifies, “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does NOT keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him, the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
There were people who had joined the church who just wanted to be a leader and have authority over others. Their bossy attitudes showed that they had no love for the brethren and their pushiness in trying to introduce false doctrine revealed that they did not live the way Jesus lived or honestly believe what Jesus taught.
Note how 1 John 2:5 says, “Whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.” Other Bible passages talk about “growing” in the grace of God. So, as we grow in our love and appreciation of God’s ways, we see more of the ugliness of our sins and turn away from our old sinful ways. Our greatest desire is to keep His word.
In our growth in God’s grace, Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
We do need to examine what drives us and influences us. We need to make sure that God our Savior is changing us to be more and more like Him. That makes Bible study absolutely necessary, because that is God teaching us.
Margaret
Margaret,
I’m relieved we agreed on that one. 🙂
Mike
Mike,
Good thoughts.
What I have learned and taught about sin is that what we need to be concerned about is “known sin” in our lives. The sin that is tucked in the back pocket and no body knows about it (except us and God, of course).
We can only go so far in our walk with God, in our relationship with Him, until we come clean with Him, and by His grace, forsake sin. We are stunted in our growth until we do.
Sorry, you hit on one of my life long subjects.
Bless you, and thanks,
Richard
Richard,
No apology necessary. I have struggled to gain the upper hand with sin all my Christian life. But over the past couple of years, my nature has changed. It is not a new ability to handle old cravings, but a whole new set of cravings. I struggle now with how to convey what has happened. You probably know what I mean.
Thanks for stopping by,
Mike