1 John 5:18-21

1 John 5:18-21

We have known that all the ones who have been born out of God does not continue to sin.  Rather, the one who was being born out of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him.  We have known that we are out of God and the whole world exists in the evil one.  And we have known that the Son of God comes and He has given understanding to us in order that we should know the truth – and we are in the truth, in His Son Jesus Christ.  God is truth and eternal life.  Little children, guard yourselves closely from idols.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Let’s be careful here when we look at the opening verses of this passage.  It is easy for us to hear these verses and immediately feel as though there is something wrong.  After all, some translations even say, “Those who are born from God do not sin.”  We hear those words, we think about our own sinfulness, and then we allow doubt to creep into our mind.  That’s not John’s point.  All human beings sin.  Jesus’ disciples continued to sin and needed to be taught and corrected even after Pentecost.  John is not telling us that just because we sin we should doubt.  What John is saying here is that those who are being born out of God do not look for sin.  They don’t long for sin.  They do not desire to remain in sinful patterns of their life.  They repent of their sin when it is disclosed to them.  We will have sin in our life.  The Christian repents of the sin and acknowledges how much we are in need of Christ rather than wallowing in our sin.

Do you find that this is an easy or a difficult line to walk?  Do you feel forgiveness easily or is it effort for you to feel forgiven?

Second Thought:

After John speaks about those who are born out of God, John then speaks about the world.  John tells us that the world exists in the evil one.  In other words, John is acknowledging that the ruler of those who are not in God is the evil one: Satan.  John is not saying that Satan is more powerful than God; John is saying that Satan can exert a certain influence in the world and the ways of the world.  But those who are in God need not fear the influence of Satan.  We have Christ to keep us.

Where do you battle the world?  Where do you most rely upon Jesus to keep you from the evil one?

Third Thought:

Isn’t this an interesting note with which John ends.  Guard yourselves from idols.  He doesn’t end with “the peace of the Lord be with you all.”  He doesn’t end with “I love you.”  He ends with “keep yourselves from idols.”Clearly, John takes idolatry seriously.  Clearly, John perceives idolatry as a legitimate threat to the typical human listener of his letter.  John wants the last note that rings in the ears of his readers to be this warning.  In saying this, John is actually lifting up the importance of the first few of the 10 Commandments.  God is God and we are to have no other gods before Him.  We get into trouble when we legitimately pursue something besides God.  That is one of our biggest and most dangerous downfalls.

Do you have idols in your life?  What are they?  How do you keep yourselves from them?

Passage for Tomorrow: 2 John 1-3