Articles
No One Who Abides In Him Sins - 1 John 3:4-10
John presented the readers of his first epistle with a glimpse into their future. He wrote, “We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 Jn. 3:2). Our hope for the future requires present activity. John wrote, “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 Jn. 3:3). Purification is an ongoing activity. We purify ourselves by living in obedience to God’s word and rejecting worldliness.
John had harsh words for those who refuse to purify themselves. He wrote, “Everyone who does sin also does lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or has come to know Him” (1 Jn. 3:4-6). John is not addressing individuals who are striving to purify themselves and occasionally sin. His harsh words are reserved for those who keep on sinning. He reminds these individuals that sin is lawlessness. One lexicon defines lawlessness as “opposition to the plans and purposes of God.” How can one expect to be like Jesus if they are actively living in in opposition to the plans and purposes of God?
John reminded the readers of his letter that Jesus was “manifested in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.” There are two points to consider here. First, the reason why Jesus came was to remove sin. We should not continue in something that Jesus came to take away. The author of the letter to the Hebrews conveyed the great cost that Jesus paid in order to take away our sins. He wrote, “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many…” (Heb. 9:28). Why would we pursue and participate in something that cost Jesus His life. Second, Jesus was sinless. We are His followers and should strive to be like Him. John instructed believers to “walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 Jn. 2:6). These reminders reinforce the mindset that believers should have concerning sin. We should purify ourselves of sin—not practice it.
The believer who continues to practice sin has not “seen Him or has come to know Him” (1 Jn. 3:6). This person lacks spiritual perception. They have failed to perceive the cost of sinning and what it cost Jesus to take away sin. Eugene Peterson comments, “They’ve got him all backward.” Such people do not belong to Jesus. They belong to the devil (1 Jn. 3:8).
Sin is an attitude or behavior that is a departure from God’s standard of uprightness, and believers should not continue in it. Let’s follow John’s instructions and practice righteousness. Those who do so have been born of God and they abide in Him.
