Scripture:
I John 3:7-9 NKJV
[7] Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. [8] He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. [9] Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Observation:
I don’t want to muddy the waters this morning. But I felt it nessesrey to bring out what the Holy Spirit guided me to, and to be completely honest, it’s rather convicting. John doesn’t make any allowance for sin. He comes right for the jugular vain and puts it out there like a boss. Before I go any further, I want to say that GOD never stops loving us it just won’t happen. In fact, 2nd Peter 3:9 says HE is not slack in HIS promise as some would say, but HE is patient hoping that all would come to repentance. The word “repentance” is the key, and it helps us to understand what is being said by John here in these verses. John starts out by telling us simply that if we practice righteousness, we will be righteous. It’s simple and it’s true. It has to be its GOD’S word. He tells us not to be deceived about it. Jesus said almost the same thing in the sermon on the mound Matthew chapter 5 verse 6. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Now, this is where it can get a little muddy, so I’m going to ask the Holy Spirit to speak. I never want to mislead anyone. I just want to understand GOD’S word and HIS plan for my life… just like I hope you do. So bear with me, and we will get a better understanding together. Verse 8 John really jumps off and says if you sin, you are of the devil, and the last thing I want to do is try to redefine GOD’S word. That’s not up to me. HE said what HE said, and that’s what HE said. I believe what John is saying is that if you can sin with no conviction, you might want to check where you are with your walk with GOD. Openly living in sin is rebellion against GOD. As he continues in verse 8. He explains that Christ came to break the power of sin and death. To destroy the chains that Satan has held us captive by. So here is what is being said sin does not hold a blood bought child of GOD captive. When you sin, the Holy Spirit convicts you, and you repent. You turn from your sin. You change your ways. The seed that is spoken about in verse 9 is the Holy Spirit. HE remains in the child of GOD and will guide and counsel away from sin. I know that this is not what we really want to hear. We want to believe that it’s OK. But GOD’S word is given to us to correct us, to transform us… mold and shape us to the image of HIS Son.
Application:
Most of us have a real misunderstanding of biblical grace, and I can see how it happens. Being deceived is easy. All we have to do is cherry-pick GOD’S word and not pay attention to the full council of GOD. Listen, I want to go to heaven. As I’m sure all who read this do. I do not want sin in my life. I honestly want to be convicted when I do something that is not of GOD… Jesus christ is my LORD. That means what HE says is what I want to do. If I were to sit here and tell you I have not sinned since the day I accepted Jesus Christ as my LORD and SAVIOR, I would be lying, and lying is a sin. I have fallen short. But I do not want sin to rule over my life. I do not want to be controlled by it. I am dead to sin and alive in Christ. I want the Holy Spirit to convict me when I sin so that I can be more like Christ. Each day, I want more of HIM and less of me. I want HIM to shine in my life and sin to be removed. When HE points something out to me, I want to let it go. GOD has given us free will. We do not have to give in to the enemies power. That chain has been broken. It’s us that try to pick it up and reconnect it. The enemy does not want to lose, but the battle has already been won. James chapter 4 verse 7 gives us the key…. who are we submitted to? ” Submit to GOD resist the devil, and he will flee.” Free will gives us the authority of choice. We get to choose whom we serve. Deuteronomy chapter 30 verse 19 tells us that. My encounter with Jesus Christ changed my life. I’m going to be honest it’s been a process, and a lot of it has not been easy. I have fallen and gotten back up several times in 14 years, and GOD has never stopped loving me. HE has called me out of the tumb of sin and into the light of Jesus. Yes, the power of the enemy is deception. He wants you to believe you have no choice. But you have been given authority… the ability to choose. So choose life and choose it more abundantly.
Prayer:
Father, I pray for your Holy Spirit to go forth and ring out so that the hearts of those who belong to you will hear the message you put out there this morning and correct what is going on in there lives. I want to hear your voice. I want my life to reflect you. I pray this morning that you convict us where we are wrong. We do not want to be decived. We want to chrsh the head of the enemy. He has no power over us. Help us to set down the sin that so easily takes us captive. We do not want it. Revive in us a right Spirit. One that will cling to you like you are the only one that matters. We want our lives to be used by you. After all you bought them. You have redeemed us. Regaining possession of us by the blood of your son. We want to be slaves to righteousness. We are no longer a slave to sin. We are your children. Help us to live as though that is the only truth. Setting aside of flesh and staying in step with your Holy Spirit. Hearing HIS still small voice and transforming our live. You did not save to sin. You saved us from it. Let our lives show your authority and not the enemies power to deceive. Refine us in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray, amen.