THE BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER AND SIN (1 John 3:4-10) PART 1
It is believed that there is virtually no difference in America and many other Nations between those who claim to be Born again Believers and the population at large when it comes to sexual morality, materialism, hedonism, and worldview. Those claiming to be Followers of Messiah/Christ think and act just as the world does. We may claim to believe in Yahshua Messiah (Christ) and the Bible, but our lives don’t back up the claims.
First John is a much-needed antidote to this current form of Christianity. In combating certain heretics who had left the congregation (church) and who were recruiting others to join them, John gives three tests of authentic Followers of Messiah:
The moral test (obedience to Messiah/Christ);
The relational test (love for others); and,
The doctrinal test (believing the truth about Messiah).
From 2:28-3:10, John gives the second application of the moral test. He makes it clear that a righteous life is a distinguishing mark of one that truly has been born of YAHWEH Elohim (God). John’s overall theme in 3:4-10 is:
Because sin is serious and it is opposed to the reasons why Messiah/Christ came, Followers of the Truth do not and cannot live in sin.
Verses 4-10 fall into two sections: 3:4-7 is parallel to 3:8-10
3:4: Sin is serious because it is rebellion against YAHWEH Elohim.
3:8a: Sin is serious because it originates with the devil.
3:5: Sin is opposed to Messiah’s appearing to take away sins.
3:8b: Sin is opposed to Messiah’s appearing to destroy the works of the devil.
3:6: A true Follower of Messiah does not live in sin.
3:9: A true Follower of Messiah cannot live in sin.
3:7: A true Follower of Messiah practices righteousness.
3:10: A true Follower of Messiah practices righteousness and love.
There is a lot of here to cover and I pray you will read all the parts to have a better understanding. I could cover it in one message because of this structural unity only most of you will not read it as it will seem long.
- Because sin is serious rebellion against YAHWEH Elohim and it is totally opposed to Messiah, true Born-Again Believers do not live in sin (3:4-7).
- Sin is serious rebellion against YAHWEH (3:4).
Many scholars say that the Greek word translated “lawlessness” has a much wider range of meaning than that in the Greek Old Testament. Thus John may not have in mind so much the specific breaking of Elohim’s law, but rather, he is saying that the one who practices sin is “in revolt against YAHWEH Elohim” and that “sin is nothing but rebellion against YAHWEH Elohim” In other words, John is hitting at the truth that sin, at its core, is much worse than an outward breaking of a commandment. To practice sin is to be in open rebellion against YAHWEH Elohim Himself.
We may ask, “Why does John begin here with this?” The answer is, “that a right knowledge of sin lies at the root of all saving Believers …. If a man does not realize the dangerous nature of his soul’s disease, you cannot wonder if he is content with false or imperfect remedies.”
If you do not have a Biblical view of the seriousness of sin, then you do not need anything nearly as radical as a Savior who “appeared in order to take away sins” (3:5). If our need is just for a few tips on how to have a happier life or improve our self-esteem, then why all this extreme talk about Yahshua Messiah (Christ) shedding His blood as the propitiation for our sins (1:7; 2:1)?
The false teachers that John was confronting were no doubt, as many false teachers in our day, minimizing the serious nature of sin. Satan’s strategy has always been to get rebellious man to think more highly of himself than he ought to think: “I may not be perfect, but I’m not a wretched sinner! I’m not a worm!”
At the same time, Satan gets us to pull YAHWEH Elohim (God) down from His absolute holiness: “Surely, a loving Elohim (God) understands that I’m only human. He wouldn’t send someone as good as me to hell! He wouldn’t demand perfect righteousness, would He?” The conclusion is, if YAHWEH Elohim is not so holy and I’m not so sinful, then I don’t need anything as radical as the Shed Blood of a sinless substitute to atone for my “faults”! Thus Satan works to undermine the cross.
PART 2 to be continued. —
