The Christian and Sin (1 John 3:4-6)

As we have noticed, John in the section that runs from 2:28–3:10 considers the issue of righteousness. So far he has focused on how the future glory of Christians, as well as their future appearance before the judgement seat of Christ should stimulate them to live in a righteous manner. Of course, the question will eventually be raised as to why righteous living can be challenge because one might imagine it would be inevitable in a person who is converted. Yet it is the case that Christian growth is not as it should be and is dependent on a proper use of the various means of grace that God has provided. Further, there are two powerful obstacles to Christian development and John mentions two in this section – sin and the devil.

In attempting to deal with a roadblock, the authorities need to assess the extent of the obstacle. If there has been a major landslide and the highway is blocked, the answer is not to send a man with a shovel. Instead they should send a large digger to clear the road. Similarly we need to know what sin is before we start trying to deal with it and we also need to know what helps are available for us in dealing with it.

The nature of sin

Sin is defined by John as lawlessness or transgression of the law. In other words, a person who practices sin refuses to recognise the authority of God. Sin is rebellion against the standards of God. This rebellion can shown itself in different ways.

For example, Transgression can display itself as an expression of human freedom. An individual or a group may choose to engage in a particular activity because they regard it as a human right. This is a very common view today. Others may transgress God’s law in order to develop their individual gifts – they engage in certain activities on the Lord’s Day because it will improve their inbuilt skills. Many of the outlooks familiar to us from the media are connected to those two opinions – we have human rights and we must enhance our inbuilt gifts and abilities. Sadly they assume that conformity to God’s law will hinder their freedom and their talents, whereas the opposite is the case.

There are other ways in which Christians can express this rebellion. One of them is to nullify God’s requirements by replacing them with inappropriate religious traditions. Today’s traditions usually began in the past as common sense ways of doing things and the originators did not imagine that those ways would be followed rigidly by subsequent generations. In this outlook the opinions of the past block obedience to the Word of God in the present, and the biblical description for such activities is disobedience or lawlessness. People who block the road with tradition cannot even see their sins in order to deal with them and clear the path ahead.

Another way of disregarding God’s law is almost the opposite of inappropriate traditions and that is accepting inappropriate new teachings and practices. The evangelical church is full of such things today – teachers instruct congregations to take part in exciting events that turn out to be diversions from the standards of God’s law. Instead of clearing the roadblock of sin, they create alternative routes away from the narrow path of obedience to God’s Word. Those who go in this direction have a twofold problem – they are meandering all over the place and they are not removing the roadblock to Christian progress.

The tools for dealing with sin

As is the case with other biblical writers, John connects the remedy to the person and work of Jesus Christ. He reminds his readers why Jesus came and what kind of person he is. It can be assumed that followers of Jesus would want to be in line with his mission and would want to become increasingly like him.

Why did Jesus come into the world? He appeared, says John to take away sins. Obviously this is a description of the mission that he accomplished in his life and his death on the cross. He came to be the Saviour of sinners, and the task he was given required him to provide a sinless life in order to give it to sinners and an atoning death to pay for their sins. This he did, and I suppose we can apply this to rebellious Christians and ask them why they want to practice the kind of activities that caused Jesus to suffer divine wrath on the cross.

Yet there is more to John’s words than what Jesus did in the past. His presentation of the work of Christ also includes the present. The roles that Jesus fulfils today are important to grasp as well. We are familiar to hearing them described as prophet, priest and king.

As a prophet, Jesus teaches his followers through his Word as it is explained and applied by those he has gifted for this task. The churches to whom John was writing initially, those in the area of Ephesus, had been affected by false teachers who had led some professing Christians astray. One thing is certain – the teachings they had followed had not come from Jesus. They had left the narrow path and were now on the broad road. It is the same today. We deal with sin and avoid rebellion by adhering strictly to what is taught in the Bible – not just to some details, but to all of the ones that apply to us today. Love to the Master results in conformity to his Word, not rebellion against it.

As a priest, Jesus helps his followers cope with all kinds of difficulties. He sympathises with them as they face problems on their journey to heaven and he gives them divine strength for each one. His involvement in their lives never suggests to them that it is fine for them to leave the path of his commandments. The intercession of Jesus for his followers never results in rebellion by his followers against his Word. Whoever persists in wrong emphases does not get his guidance and energy from Jesus, no matter what claims are made.

As a king, Jesus rules over his followers. He rules in two senses: in one sense, he has universal authority and he often has to deal with decisions and activities of those who oppose his kingdom from outside of it; in the other sense, he has authority over his people and governs them through his Word. He does not expect or allow rebellious actions within his kingdom and will deal with those who perform them.

Therefore we can say that two tools for dealing with sin are God’s purposes of salvation and sanctification. A Christian will say to himself, ‘I cannot keep on doing this wrong action (a) because Jesus had to make atonement for it and (b) such an action is not the process of sanctification.’ W can add to them the future glory and appearance before the judgement seat as incentives for righteous living. But there is one more incentive to note.

The additional incentive is Christlikeness. John reminds his readers that there is no sin in Jesus (v. 5). He is not merely affirming the sinlessness of Jesus; he is also reminding us of the goal of salvation and the ambition of true believers, which is to be like Jesus. If I allow sin to dominate me, how can I have the ambition of Christlikeness? My true desire each day should be conformity to Jesus in my thoughts, words and actions. The less rebellious I am, the more like him I am becoming. The willingness to be disobedient is not a good sign; it cannot be excused as spiritual weakness because it indicates spiritual rebellion.

So we have several tools with which to clear the roadblock of sin. Accompanying these tools we have the presence of the Holy Spirit if we are true followers of Jesus. The Spirit will empower thoughts of Jesus’ life and death, will empower recognition of his current Lordship, will empower anticipation of future glory, will empower desires for Christlikeness, and with his enabling tools he will remove the roadblock of sin.

The life of victory over rebellion

There is no such person as a sinless Christian. Yet that does not mean that a believer cannot overcome his or her sinful tendencies. How can a believer experience divinely given victory? He has to use the tools already mentioned by the power of the Spirit. John amplifies the way of victory when he reminds his readers that victory over sin is attained by abiding in Christ (v. 6). He makes very clear that a person abiding in Christ does not live a sinful life – ‘No one who abides in him keeps on sinning.’

We have already thought about abiding in Christ when we looked at 1 John 2:28-29 when we identified four marks of abiding in Jesus. They were (a) love for God’s Word; (b) a regular prayer life; (c) love for other believers); and (d) love for lost sinners. These four aspects can be applied in a wide variety of ways, but here we need to consider them in connection with personal sin.

First, reading the Bible. There used to be a well-known saying: ‘the Bible will keep me from sin or sin will keep me from the Bible.’ The statement is true. The psalmist knew the role of the Bible in keeping him from sin: ‘I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you’ (Ps. 119:11). I begin to be rebellious when I begin to live without regular instruction from God’s Word.

Second, it is the same with regard to personal prayer – prayer will keep me from sin or sin will keep me from prayer. Against a psalmist points out the connection between sin and unanswered prayer when he writes in Psalm 66:18: ‘If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.’ Often we fail to see if this is the cause of our prayers not being heard. We attribute God’s refusal to his sovereign plan whereas the reason may be closer to home.

Third, love for other believers will keep a Christian from sin. His concern that they are not led astray by his example should even keep him from practices that can be misinterpreted by them. A submissive believer will always have a concern for weak believers. He also will not want to cause grief and sadness to other Christians, which is what will happen should he rebel against Christ’s commands.

Fourth, love for the lost will keep believers from sinning. The awareness that a bad example can confirm a sinner in his behaviour will stop a Christian from committing that action. The best way to impress a non-Christian is to be a whole-hearted Christian. Any signs of rebellion against Christ’s commands will result in contempt from the world and a conclusion that Christianity is not worth noting.

So it is important to abide in Christ in these ways because such obedience will reveal that we are not rebellious. In contrast, persistence in particular sins is evidence that a person is not a true disciple. As John says, ‘no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.’ We need to take this warning seriously.

In conclusion, we have to realise that all sin is lawlessness, rebellion against God. It is a roadblock on the path to heaven. God has provided tools for us to use – the past work on the cross by Jesus, the ongoing work of Jesus in heaven as prophet, priest and king, the anticipation of glory and appearing at the judgement seat – and we should use them in the power of the Spirit. The Spirit enables us to abide in Christ through the Bible, prayer, brotherly love and concern for the world. If we don’t, we are rebels on the broad road.