1 John Chapter 3 Pt. 3 Righteous Works & Holy Living

God's love must impact our lives.

1 John 3:1-3  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2)  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3)  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 

In this chapter, John has helped us think about and rejoice in the Father's love for us. He reminds us about the glory of each believer being a fully adopted child of God.

The apostle also tells us to remember that the world hated Jesus and will hate His disciples. 

Then, he turned our eyes to the future appearing of Jesus Christ to take His church home to heaven. 

All of these things are true, Christians are urged to live a holy life that seeks to honor God in all that we think, say and do.

Next, the Spirit of God guided John to address the subject of a believer in Christ who sins. We can be thankful that He did this, for we will fall short. We will stumble and fail God at times. 

Before we delve into the particulars of what John is teaching us, it is helpful to bring back what he previously taught us about sin in the Christian's life.

What must a Christian do when we sin?

1 John 1:8-10  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9)  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10)  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

If a believer in Christ says "I have no sin," then we are self deceived. Every Christian still carries about the "old man" and our body of flesh, which wants to satisfy its lusts and longings for pleasure seeking. 

What are we to do when we sin? We are to confess our sins and forsake them (Proverbs 28:13). The Father is faithful and just. He will forgive our sins and cleanse us from them, through the blood of Jesus Christ.  

Sin breaks the holy standard of God's law.

1 John 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 

The apostle highlighted the believer's obligation to live a pure life because of our hope of heaven, and of communion with Christ in glory at the day of his appearance. 

He proceeds to give his multiple arguments against sin, and all communion with the impure unfruitful works of darkness. 

The spirit of the law as well as of the Gospel is, that “we should love God with all our power, and love our neighbors as ourselves.” 

All acts of disobedience are contrary to loving God and others. Therefore sin is the transgression of the law, whether our sin refers to God or to our neighbor.

Jesus Christ came to take away our sins.

1 John 3:5   And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.  

Jesus Christ came into the world to destroy the power of sin. He came to pardon the guilt from sin. He came to cleanse us from  the pollution of sin. 

This was the very design of his manifestation in the flesh. Jesus Christ was born, suffered, and died for this very purpose.

John 1:29; 32-34  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 32)  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33)  And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34)  And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. 

Let us read this paragraph from the first chapter of the gospel of John. John the Baptist, saw Jesus and declared that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

John the Baptist saw the Spirit of God abide on Jesus Christ after He was baptized. He publicly confessed that Jesus is the Son of God. 

1 John 3:5   And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Thus, the apostle offers additional proof of the incompatibility of sin and sonship. The very object of Christ’s manifestation in the flesh was to take away our sins. The verb "take away" is in a tense that means one act that removes it completely. 

We must abide in Jesus Christ by faith, love and obedience.

1 John 3:6  Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

In so far as we abide in Christ, we are free from all sin. He is the vine and we are the branches. We must abide in Christ, for without Him we can do nothing (John 15).

We abide in Jesus Christ by faith, love and obedience. 

Thus, each Christian is not to sin, for the life of sin and the life of God in us is mutually exclusive, just as darkness and light. 

As a matter of fact, believers do fall into sins (See 1 John1:8-10 to 2:2). Yet, the sins we commit are alien from the life of God, and we need Christ’s cleansing blood and forgiveness from our Father. 

The implication is that as long as we abide in Christ, by studying His Word, and submitting to the Holy Spirit's leading, we will avoid sin.

John already told us what we must do when we sin. After we confess, forsake, and the Father cleanses and forgives, we are fully restored and able to abide in the vine again.   

Those who profess faith in Christ, but remain in a pattern of persistent sin, are those who do not know Christ. Their profession of faith is false.

Children of God bear good fruit.

1 John 3:7  Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 

John dealt with the sin of Gnosticism in the early church. The Gnostics believed that how you lived was immaterial to the spiritual man, for external acts of sin could not defile the spirit being within. 

John is showing us that our profession of faith must conform to how we live.

Jesus taught us that a good tree cannot produce corrupt fruit, nor can a corrupt tree produce good fruit (See Matthew 7:15-20).  

The tree that bears good fruit is a good tree, and has a living root, but the tree and the root do not make it good. The fruit shows that it is a good tree. 

What we do must match what we believe. Doctrine tells us our duties before God. Belief impacts and shapes our behavior. 

A Christian is fully justified and made righteous by faith in Christ. 

The righteousness of Christ that is in us, is that which guides us to do what God says is right.  

James 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. 

Or, as James wrote, faith without works of righteousness is dead faith. It has no fruit (See James 2:14-26). 

Many people profess to know Jesus Christ but their works, manner of living and moral choices, deny Him (See Titus 1;16).

This is what John wanted us to see. Good trees produce good fruit. True faith will always have works that reflect God's righteousness.

Even though we will sin at times, our overall pattern of life will be marked by walking with God on the narrow path that leads to eternal life. 1 John 1:10 KJV If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Righteous works are an indicator of true faith in Christ. 

1 John 3:7  Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 

What we do does not make us righteous, but it is an indicator of a new life, a new heart and a new spirit in us. 

We are made righteous by faith in Christ, being justified by the righteousness of God in Christ  (See Romans 10:3-10).  

 John demonstrated that "Every one that doeth sin" is opposed to "every one that hath this hope" (See 1 John 3:3), 

To do sin is the exact opposite of "doing righteousness" (See 1 John 2:29). 

Works do not justify, but a justified man works. We see that he does righteous works because he is already made righteous, by faith. He is therefore, born of God (1 John 3:9).

1 Peter  1:15-16  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16)  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 

Thus, John is saying what Peter did. We are called to live a holy life that includes a life that seeks to obey God's commandments, because they are right, and they are good for us.

Romans 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 

The apostle Paul emphasized the need for us to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice to Him, as "holy."

Ephesians 1:3-4  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4)  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

God blessed us with all spiritual blessing in Christ so that we are equipped to live a holy life before Him.

Jude also speaks of our "most holy faith" (See Jude 1:20).

Thoughts to Ponder...

Holiness is what God wants to work into our lives. He is holy and we glorify Him when we live a holy life. 

We have been given the Word of God to teach us about holiness and righteousness. 

We have been given the indwelling presence of God's Holy Spirit to guide and direct us into holiness and righteousness.

May the Lord help us to understand these truths and to seek to live them out with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Bob 

Hebrews 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: