Today I looked at 1 John 3:1-10 for my devotions. It is all about how we should live as God’s children.
Verse 1 says “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” We are reminded that God loves us and we are His children when we come to Christ. We are adopted into His eternal family, now and forever.
In verse 2 it tells us that we will be like Christ when He appears and in verse 3 were are reminded also to live a life of purity because Christ is pure.
John emphasised this point because false teachers were telling the people they could live how they wanted because the flesh was evil and it would be destroyed. They believed you could still be spiritual and live a sinful life.
John strongly condemns this thinking in verses 4-6…
“Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is”.
As we have seen in previous chapters we all sin at times as Christians. When we do, we confess and we are forgiven. Our Advocate in heaven represents us before the Father.
Someone who continues in sin, as the passage talks about, is someone who is not sorry for sin and has no desire for forgiveness and change. They don’t realise that living right is an important part of living as God’s children. John tells us that these people really belong to the devil and don’t really know God (v10).
Here are some questions for personal reflection and application:
- Have there been times when you have continued to live in sin and not sought God’s forgiveness?
- Do you understand that it is important to live right as we wait for Christ to return?
God Bless,
Dave
PASSIONAustralia.blog 