1 John 3
Sin and righteousness stand as opposites
in 1 John 3. We have experienced –
indeed, continually experience! – both of these in our lives. We know our sin, it is ever before us,
therefore passages like these sometimes disturb us and we wonder if we can be
saved. We must also remember our
righteousness – a righteousness that is not of ourselves but is given – imputed
– to us by God because of Jesus.
When John talks about making a practice
of sinning, he is not saying that every time you or I sin we are lost and
fallen anew. He knew that we all sin
daily, often, regularly. He is talking
about sin that is un-repented. He is
speaking to hearts that practice evil and don’t even care. He is warning those who disobey God and
think, “I don’t care what God or His Word say.
This is what I want; the way I think it should be.”
As Children of God, however, we have
experienced God’s love. We believe that
Jesus laid down his life for us, and He frees us so that we might practice
righteousness. This practice of
righteousness begins with God’s salvation and turns us to repentance. Ashamed of our sins, and filled with hope
that God has not abandoned us but still loves us, we turn away from our sin and
cling to God’s forgiveness. As God works
this righteousness in us He softens our hearts to also love our neighbor.
Medieval theologians spoke of sin being
love that is curved inward – a total love of self. That is a good image of what it means to make
a practice of sinning. Because our
thought is continually for ourselves and only ourselves we wreck our
relationships with God and our neighbor.
But in Christ’s forgiveness we experience real love – a love that is
totally turned outward. It wasn’t for
Himself that Jesus died, but for us because He loved us so much! His love and forgiveness transform us and
turn our love outward, too.
Love, then, is a sign of our
salvation. Love keeps God’s
commandments, which can be summarized simply by saying, “Love God and love your
neighbor.” Love is the fruit of what the
Spirit does in us. We love God and obey
His command when we believe in Jesus. We
love one another when we share the good news of God’s love and do good to our
neighbors. Yet all of it flows from the
fact that God first loved us.
God, thank you for loving me. Help me love as You loved me. Amen.
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