Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 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. 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.
Sin is lawlessness. Lawlessness is the disregard of God’s laws as if there was no law. It is more than rebellion but a complete brushing aside of the law of God.
Whoever abides in Him does not sin. This does not mean that a Christian will not fall into sin. The Bible exhorts us that if we sin, we can confess our sins to God, receive forgiveness and repent from them. However, what the verse is saying is that a true follower of Christ will not remain in sin or will not continue to practice sin as a way of life (i.e. as a habit or lifestyle).
This is because our new nature will not allow us to do this (‘for His seed remains in him’ v.9). As a born again person, we have been given a built-in check and guard that alerts us when there is something wrong with our spiritual life.
There are, thus, a few reflection questions I need to ask myself in light of this:
- How much regard am I giving the laws/commandments of God? Do I see it as God’s expression of love—that every prohibition is a protective measure that no harm or pain falls on me?
- Do I still have sins that I can’t seem to let go of and is becoming a habit?
- I may be okay with God, but others may not know this. Is my behavior causing others to stumble already? Am I still a good testimony for the name of Jesus?
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