The Challenge of John

"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." (1 John 3:9)

I think this challenge of John found in 1 John 3:9 (and 5:18) should cause every one of us to careful self examination. As Stott pointed out, a Christian is not someone who does not sin but a person who's "whole tenor of life is against sin and toward holiness." Is that the basic orientation of my life? Are there patterns and desires within me that shows that I'm in opposition to sin or that I'm taking my sins seriously? Do I grieve over my sins and repent of it? And does the sacrifice of Christ on my behalf become more precious to me causing me to forsake sin and pursue righteousness? Any answer in the negative here should be a cause for concern or even alarm. Christ died to take away sins, not just the consequences of sin but also its power in our lives. The reason why we cannot "continue in sin" says John is because, "we have been born of God". Or to put it another way, we've been given a new DNA, that desires holiness and purity, and so we cannot go on sinning indefinitely. This should cause all of us to make sure that our salvation experience is rooted in God's supernatural work in our lives and not something we've just inherited by being in the church or through family tradition.

Posted by Pastor James