Main Scripture:1 John 2:28 - 3:10
If we are born of God, it will be shown in living like Him
1. Those born of God will be like Him (3:1-2, 6, 7,9,10)
• In Him is no sin.
• In removing our sins, Jesus was without sin Himself entirely.
• He is completely righteous, pure & holy
• We are called to live pure lives and to be holy like God is holy.
• We cannot live a life of righteousness though without a fundamental change at the very core of our being.
• Prior to conversion, our nature is always and only that of the devil’s and we cannot help but to persist in sin
• However, see what kind of love this is that we have been born again – we have now been given both the desire and the means to walk in the light, abide in Him and remain in Him – because we have been given the very nature of God.
• We now have new desires that God has placed in us to love Him, to live for Him, to be like Him.
• The seed that was placed in us will by its very nature cause us to continue to grow and bear fruit in accordance with the new nature, as the seed of God.
• If we are born of God, it will be clearly evident – we will image and reflect God in our nature and behavior, so that people can actually see our Christ-like character.
• If we live in Him, we will not continue to pursue a lifestyle of sin
• If we see Him now for who He is, we will be like Him
2. Those born of God practice righteousness (2:29; 3:3, 10)
• Our practice of righteousness is proof of our birth
• Our righteousness is not the grounds for our salvation and it does not create the new birth but it does indeed testify to the fact that we’ve been made alive.
• It is not enough to merely profess, there will be and must be evidence to demonstrate that a new birth has taken place.
Luke 6:43-45 "For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
• Sin is not acceptable in the Christian any more than a flu virus is acceptable to our bodies
• The mark of a healthy Christian is an aversion to sin. If we have been born again, we will not continue to practice sinning, because of our new nature we will strive to get rid of sin whenever we encounter it and we will do battle with it and seek to expel it from us.
• The reality is that it may take a while to get rid of sin and like with some viruses, we may never completely expel it but we can develop antibodies and build up a resistance to some sins so that we are less susceptible to it.
• There are two kinds of deception that believers can fall prey to - and by the Holy Spirit, John confronts both types of deception in this passage at the same time.
• The first type of deception we can believe is that garden variety sin doesn’t matter.
• It is all too easy to be deceived into thinking that our sin doesn’t matter and that our sins are no big deal. We often can make excuses for our sin and minimize our sin but these verses help us guard against this mentality and are meant to be a reminder of the seriousness of sin, in light of the whole purpose for Christ’s appearance.
• The second type of deception that we are being warned about in this passage is the lie of condemnation for the believer. This deception keeps us from having faith in God and instead places our faith not in Jesus who abolished sin and defeated the works of the devil but subtly in our own ability to do righteous works.
3. Those born of God abide in Him (2:28; 3:6; 9)
• We may have confidence if we abide in Him
• Abiding in Him keep us from sinning
John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
• We are to abide in Christ. We are to study Him so thoroughly, that we become like Him in every way. We are to immerse ourselves in His character and nature and what He did and what He said and how He lived, until we are so affected by His life that we begin to think His thoughts after Him.
• We are to abide in Christ by praying and seeking his face daily.
• We can abide in Christ by reading His Word and becoming so saturated in it that it comes out our every pore and when we encounter situations, we respond like He would because our very identity is found in Him and the life He gives.
4. Those born of God hope in Him (3:2-6)
• When He returns, we will see what He is really like and all of our sins will be done away with and we will be like Him.
• Our hope is that he has taken away our sins
• Our hope is that He has destroyed the works of the devil
• Our hope is that we shall see Him
• Our hope is that we will be like Him
• He has placed His seed within us, that is the guarantee of new life, that will blossom and have its fulfillment when He returns
• If we are born of God, it will be shown in living like Him
Potential Application Questions:
1. Where are there areas of your life where you’ve become dull or weary – or where your Christian life appears to be dormant perhaps?
2. What are some areas where God is convicting us that we need to pursue purity and righteous living?
3. Is there any area where we are trusting our own righteousness as the source for our assurance of salvation and not just the evidence of our salvation?
4. How does this passage supply us with renewed faith to change?
5. How can we seek to really abide in Him? What would it look like to abide in Him? How is God calling us practically to abide in Him?
6. How can we pursue trusting in God, resting in Him and depending on Him alone as His beloved Child?
