1 John 3:4-10 (ESV)
4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins,
and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes
a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he
cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
This reading is always troublesome to me. It should be. I don’t know
any Christian who could read this and not be troubled. It is easy to tell everybody that you are a Christian, lip-service is cheap. To be a Christian involves more that lip-service. It involves active living for Christ. It involves
doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. I will emphasize the last part, it is avoiding what is wrong. Today, it seems that many want to change the Bible to fit their lifestyle, instead of changing your lifestyle to fit the Bible. We often
fail to see ourselves as sinners. Do Christians cheat on their taxes? I hear about some Christians bragging that they working on a cash basis so they don’t have to pay taxes. Waiters and waitresses not reporting their full tips, ...
well it’s time to get personal and wake up! That is sinful! Does a Christian man go on business trips and well, “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?” Does a Christian man gossip? Does a Christian man say he is faithful,
yet turns around and looks at pornography. Would a Christian man make a copy of his friends CD or DVD so that he doesn’t have to buy it? Would a Christian man make copies of a workbook to use in Sunday School class? Would a Christian
man harbor any hatred towards politicians, coworkers, church members, ...? Would a Christian man judge people by their color or ethnic background? All these are sinful and wrong. Some of these may be painful when you look into the mirror.
The answers to those questions are “Yes”, but it should be “NO”. You may even be trying to justify it. Sorry! The question is “would God ask you to sin?” Certainly not! I’m just giving
some examples. The Scripture states: “9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God,
and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” This verse simply makes me want to look at Cross and see what I have done,... yet what I see is Jesus
Christ... nailed to cross for me. I should be on that cross, be He substituted Himself and died for me. Now that is the Gospel! I pray: Lord, I’m sorry for what I have done and I repent of my sins. I want to do better.
Help me on my journey in life, to keep my eyes focused on you, who bore my sins on the cross. You are my Lord and Savior and I give thanks and praise. Amen.