Chapter 8
1 John 3:4-10
1 John 3:4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
So far in this epistle John has pointed out that as Christians we need to have a saving faith and combined with that faith some things in our lives should be evident for all to see. Including: 1) our need to seek repentance from our sin (see 1 John 1:8-10); 2) obeying the Word of God (see 1 John 2:3); 3) having a strong desire to walk righteously (see 1 John 2:9-10); and 4) possess a hatred for things that are contrary to God’s Word also known as “the way of the world” (see 1 John 2:15-17). Even though these may seem straightforward to a Christian, we also recognize that they can be faked and/or come from an insincere heart. John understood that ‘belief’ and ‘actions’ go hand-in-hand, but he also knew that we could not gain salvation through our actions alone, such as follow God’s standards for morality, ethics, or religious protocol (formal religion). John wants us to get it right, after all, our eternity depends on it! I doubt it there are any more painfully sad words than hearing after we die, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23b, ESV) as spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
Verses 4-10 are often misunderstood that John is supporting the position that Christians can indeed perfect their own lives, of course this is not possible, no matter how hard we might try. Many Catholics interpret these verses (and verses like these) by explaining there are two levels of sin (read James 2:10-11 as an example of Biblical text that could be easily misinterpreted). They classify sins either as venial sin (forgivable sins, lessor sins) or mortal sin (describing those sins that result from willfully violating the Word of God). These “mortal sins” are considered serious offenses and lead to eternal condemnation. The Bible clearly teaches that a sin is a sin, and they will all condemn (for example read Matthew 5:21-22 when Jesus taught that even something as common as anger can be condemning).
Even though John had already claimed several times the reason why he wrote this epistle, it is clear that the primary purpose he wrote this epistle was that we may know that we have eternal life (read 1 John 5:13). Knowing that John wants us to understand that we can know whether or not we have eternal life, we should then closely examine these verses as they can easily be misinterpreted. First of all, we see that most of the verbs John used in these verses are present tense, referring to a continuous action or in another way of saying it, he is not referring to our occasional sin but to an ongoing pattern of behavior. The apostle Paul wrote that we can, and regularly do, things that we should not do (read Romans 7:14-25) but also warned we should not sin habitually (read Romans 6:4-14).
Another point to consider is that as Christians, we are a “new creation” and the old has passed away (read 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Philippians 3:8-11). John has already explained and will continue to point out that sinning is simply ‘incompatible’ with God’s Law, the teachings of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We cannot maintain fellowship with Jesus nor can we be effective witnesses to help others find Christ, if we continue to sin.
In verse four John minimizes what we might want to call a “linguistic legal loophole” (any attempt to find something in the text that could be interpreted favorably by a sinner) by comparing sin to lawlessness. The term most often translated as ‘sin’ carries the meaning of missing the mark as we discussed earlier, while lawlessness carries the idea of treating the law with contempt and being rebellious against God (being without righteousness). John is saying that no mater what you call it, the problem of sin remains, we will also see that John uses these two Greek terms interchangeably.
John next establishes the fact that Jesus came (His first coming) to rid us from the affects of sin (see Isaiah 53:11-12; Hebrews 9:24-25) and that He was and remains without sin (see Romans 6:4-7; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 1:3-4 and Titus 2:11-14). Since Jesus has no sin we need to understand that if we abide in Him we cannot continue to routinely sin. If we continue to habitually sin, John says we either have not seen Him or know Him (See John 8:19; 14:7; 1 John 2:13-14, remember the highest level of Spiritual maturity is to know Him). Continuing the stark contrasts that John started to use from chapter one, we see that just like light vs dark, if we sin routinely, we are not abiding in Him.
1 John 3:7 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.
John next returns to the subject of Christians possibly being deceived (see 1 John 2:26) by reminding us that Christians who practice righteousness are indeed righteous since we are only righteous through what Jesus did for us. If we continue to habitually sin John says we are not of God but of the devil. John declares that the devil has been sinning from the beginning. This may sound odd to us as the word ‘sin’ is usually associated with ‘human’ sinners which is true since God handed down the Law to Moses for human sinners. John undoubtedly was referring to the devil’s constant rebellion against God and his desire to counter any of God’s plans for the salvation of sinful human beings (see Isaiah 14:12-14). John also points out that the reason the Son of God’s first appearance was to destroy the works of the devil (read Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 2:14).
1 John 3:9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed 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.
Since sin is incompatible with the presence of God, John tells us that no one born of God (see Jesus’ response to Nicodemus in John 3:3-8 regarding rebirth) continues to sin habitually. God’s seed abides in us (the Greek word ‘sperma’ refers to the portion of the grain or kernel that provides for future plants) so we simply cannot keep on sinning (See Ephesians 2:1-6).
Since he wants us to know that we are indeed saved (almost like a proof test), John points out that these attributes should be evident in our lives (tying our beliefs with our actions). We are either going to be children of God or children of the devil (Read John 8:44). If we practice what is right (God’s definition of what is right, not ours) we are children of God, however if we don’t love our brothers (fellow family members and others, see John 13:34-5; 1 John 2:9-11; 4:20-21) or choose not to practice righteousness, we are children of the devil.
John is calling our attention that regardless of what someone might say or do, if they continue to practice living or doing something that is contrary to the Word of God, they are not a believer. Our beliefs must always be reflected in our actions. Paul in his epistle to the Church in Colossae gave this instruction on how to help make Christ evident in our lives: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3:1-10, ESV, I recommend continue reading Paul’s instructions in Colossians 3:11-4:6).