1 John 3:4-6
Everyone who does sin also practices lawlessness. And sin is lawlessness. And you all have known that this one was
being revealed in order that sins should be removed. And sin is not in Him. All the ones who remain in Him do not
sin. Everyone who sins has neither seen
Him nor known Him.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
John tells us what sin is.
Sin is lawlessness. Sin is caring
more about my own desires and less about what God desires. Sin is the pursuit of my own agenda rather
than the pursuit of God’s ways. There is
no more simpler definition than that. If
I am pursuing my own desires rather than doing what God desires of me, then I
am sinning.
Under this definition, how much of your life is in sin? Do you ever wrestle with whether you life is
actually what God desires of you?
Second Thought:
John then reminds us that Christ came to remove sin. So when we choose sin, we are choosing to undo
the work of Christ. Christ came so sin
could be removed from my life. So when I choose to sin, I am putting sin back
into my life. I am doing the very
opposite of the thing that Christ came into the world to do in the first place!
How does it make you feel to realize that when you sin you
are actively undoing the very work of Christ?
How does it demonstrate God’s grace to know that even in spite of this
He still forgives?
Third Thought:
Finally, John tells us why we sin. We sin because we fail to abide in Him. We sin when we wander from God, God’s Word,
and God’s ways. We sin when we stray out
of the presence of God. When we are in
the presence of God, sin is driven away from us. But as human beings, we are so easily
distracted. We are so easily tempted out
of the presence of God. So God forgives
and calls us back because we are not strong enough to remain in Him – even once
we know of His great love for us.
What truth is revealed in your life by understanding that we
sin when we stray from God’s presence?
What is John saying directly to you when he says that we sin when we
fail to abide in Him?
Passage for Tomorrow: 1 John 3:7-8
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