October 29 2024
“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,” 1 John 3:4-6.
The apostle John begins with a definition of sin: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” Of course, the apostle is not talking about breaking man’s laws. The lawlessness of which he is speaking is breaking God’s Law, the Ten Commandments.
Sin, or lawlessness, was brought into the world by our first parents, Adam and Eve. They ate the fruit of the tree in the Garden of Eden of which God said, “You shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die,” Genesis 2:17. The devil, who first brought sin into the world, tempted Eve and said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” Genesis 3:4-5.
The devil, of course, is a master liar. Speaking to a number of unbelieving Jews, Jesus said, “You do the deeds of your father . . . You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it,” John 8:41, 44.
Now John informs his readers where their hope lies: “You know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” He directs us to the sinless Son of God, of whom the Virgin Mary was told, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God,” Luke 1:35. Jesus could look all of His enemies in the eye and ask, “Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?” John 8:46.
Jesus, the sinless Son of God, true God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, was sent by the Father to take away our sins, the sins of all people who ever lived, all who are living now, and all who will live in the future. Clearly, we are told in Scripture, “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again,” 2 Corinthians 5:15.
The concluding words by John may seem difficult to understand. Christians do still commit sins. However, John writes, “Whoever abides in Him does not sin.” He is saying that Christians do not sin stubbornly, willfully, and intentionally. Christians sin out of weakness. On the other hand, “Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” He is speaking of people who willfully, intentionally, and stubbornly commit sins against all better knowledge and understanding of the will and love of God.
Beware, lest the devil also deceive us with his lies! Recognize the seriousness of sin and trust in Jesus, who with His holy, precious blood has washed our sins away.
Jesus gives us true repentance, By His Spirit sent from heav’n;
Whispers this transporting sentence, “Son, thy sins are all forgiv’n.” Amen.