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Good Friday morning to you my dear “Walking with Jesus” friends,
My wife and I receive, almost daily, pictures of our newest granddaughter, now about 10 weeks old. Their family lives more than 5000 miles from us, so we are grateful for technology which has kept us well informed since her birth. She looks so innocent, as all babies do, as you and I did when we were that age. But we’ve lived long enough to know that down deep inside this newborn beauty, there is a sinful nature that soon will start showing a demand for her own way, a rebellion when she doesn’t want to obey. And as she grows older…well you know, it happened in your life, mine and every living person. That sin nature grows fast and furious and we don’t like it, but we can’t stop it. But…what if we could control that sin nature?
This week we’re spending some time with a man who was a very close friend of Jesus, and his life was dramatically changed through his relationship with Jesus. We’re in his little letter of 1 John. Look with me at chapter 3:4…“Everyone who sins breaks the law, in fact sin is lawlessness. But you know that Jesus appeared so that He might take away our sin. And in Him there is no sin. No one who lives in relationship with Jesus keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.“ Now that’s amazing, isn’t it?
Sadly, the news has so much lawlessness, wickedness to report, it requires 24 hour, global reporters. But is John saying that once we have trusted in Jesus Christ to save us from our sin, that we then enter into a state of sinless perfection, and we no longer sin, for the rest of our lives? Is John saying that a person who does sin is not an authentic Christian? Let’s continue on and see what more John says…
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them they cannot go on sinning because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother or sister.” (1 John 3:8-10)
Well that seems even more emphatic doesn’t it? May I remind you again of a fundamental principle when it comes to God’s truth in His Word. Each Biblical author is writing in a particular cultural setting, at a particular time in human history, and often to a particular audience, thus we need to take all the Biblical truth about any particular subject and consider it together as we form our understanding of what God wants us to know about that topic.
We’ve looked at many Scriptures over the past months which speak to us of our natural born sin nature. Human nature is inherited and is sinful, all the way back to Adam and Eve. Human nature does not naturally evolve to better, good, pure and holy. It remains sinful, in fact our sin nature will naturally grow more sinful. And while influenced greatly by family, friends, community, events in life etc. it remains fundamentally selfish and sinful.
Then what hope is there for any of us? That’s what Paul asks in Romans 7. He writes “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another force at work in me waging war against my mind and heart, and making me a prisoner of the sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am. Who will rescue me from this? Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our powerful Lord! (Romans 7:21-25)
Since we can’t change our sin nature, and no matter how much our effort, we can’t stop ourselves from sinful thoughts, words and actions… only God can fix the problem. It’s called “regeneration” and it’s the work of the Holy Spirit creating in us a spiritual nature which will oppose our sinful nature. That’s what Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:3-7. When we trust Jesus to be our Savior, God places His Holy Spirit IN us to nurture and mature our new spiritual nature. (John 14:16,17) Galatians 5 and Romans 8 are two of many powerful Scriptures which help us understand that our sinful nature and spiritual nature are in conflict with each other. At any time we can yield to either one. At any time we can nurture either one.
The Holy Spirit has many active roles in the life of an authentic follower of Jesus.
Jesus said the Holy Spirit would “…teach you all things and will remind you of everything I (Jesus) have said to you…” (John 14:26), “the Spirit of truth will testify about Me..” (John 15:26), “He will prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8), “He will guide you into all truth…and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will receive from Me (Jesus) what He will make known to you.”. (John 16:12-15)
When we add the writings of Paul in Romans 6,7,8 and Galatians 5 and Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3, a clear picture emerges. God has given to every living human being a mind to learn, think, reason and make choices. We also have deep emotions which run the full range of feelings and those emotions can sometimes overpower our minds and lead us to say and do things we are determined NOT to do (Romans 7). Therefore, for the genuine Christian, we have two natures inside us warring against each other for control of both our minds and our emotions in our lives. Our natural human sinful nature, and our God given spiritual nature are in opposition to each other.
In this third chapter of his letter John is challenging us to consider that continual, unrepentant sin in a person’s life, is evidence of the dominance of their sin nature and the minimal influence of the Holy Spirit, and perhaps evidence of the absence of an authentic, God given spiritual nature in that person.
John is NOT saying a true Christian never sins. Because the sin nature remains alive in us, after the Holy Spirit births a spiritual nature in us, every person has the potential to follow the influence of that sin nature at any time. But for authentic followers of Jesus, our minds are being transformed by the Holy Spirit to think like Jesus. (Romans 12:1,2; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16) And therefore the Holy Spirit influenced mind thinks in God honoring ways, and makes decisions which reject sin and honor God (Romans 8:5-14).
Our hearts are continually being purified by the Holy Spirit and thus our emotions have a strong desire to live in our love for God (John 14:23) in God honoring ways, reject the strong emotional pull of our sinful nature. John is calling us to look not at one word, one attitude, one action…but rather take the wider view, look at the bigger picture. Over time what is the pattern of a person’s life… their words, attitudes and actions? That pattern will evidence what the truth is about which nature is controlling them.
But look at one other thing. The Holy Spirit has a responsibility to CONVICT of sin, so an authentic Christian will be quick to confess their sinful actions and quick to repent, asking God’s forgiveness. And the Holy Spirit will lead them to make public confession with whomever has been touched by their sin. The absence of this conviction and confession is another evidence of the absence of the Holy Spirit’s influence in a person’s life.
So you see, consistency in the words, attitudes, choices, actions which glorify God and reject evil are one of the key, visible evidences of an authentic, regenerated, redeemed, follower of Jesus living in a loving relationship with God! That’s why John wrote “No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God’s seed [Holy Spirit nature] remains in them, they cannot go on sinning [without conviction and repentance] because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are.” (1 John 3:9,10)
Oh Lord Jesus we thank you that the Holy Spirit of God alive within us, enables us to become more and more like You everyday, and thus our words, our attitudes, our choices, our actions can be the living evidence of Your great, life transforming work in us by the power of the Holy Spirit! Holy Spirit we earnestly long for You to further defeat that sin nature in us, so all we are and all we do brings glory and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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