Confusing hard passage.

Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him. Everyone who remains in him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen him or known him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works. Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.

1 John 3:4-10

Hard to translate.

The question: Do these statements refer to individual, particular acts of sin, or not?

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

1 John 3:4-10, ESV

All the verbs used in this passage are present and continuous.

He’s really just stating again what he’s been saying all along.

At the beginning of chapter 2, John stressed the doctrine of propitiation; through the gospel we are saved from the wrath of God. Now, he emphasizes another central point that Jesus did not only die to save us from wrath, but sin.

After encouraging believers based on the Second Coming,
John now argues based on Christ’s First Coming.

1. My Sin is serious.

Not the day we live in. Overcorrection, pendulum.

Two parallel arguments for why it’s serious:

A. Because it’s rebellion against God (4–7)

You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him. Everyone who remains in him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen him or known him.

1 John 3:4

B. Because it originates with the devil. (8–10)

You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him. Everyone who remains in him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen him or known him.

1 John 3:4

If we can break the commandments and feel no sting of conviction, red flags ought to be going up in our minds. If we long to keep these commandments, confess and repent when we break them, and practice them as a pattern of life, then there is great evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work in us.

It’s tempting to see communion with Christ and the pursuit of holiness as opposite approaches to the Christian life. You can just imagine one group of Christians insisting on a personal relationship with Jesus and another group saying, “No, no, it’s all about obeying Jesus.” One group claims the other is legalistic, while that bunch of Christians says the first group is too caught up in subjective mumbo-jumbo. But the Bible allows for no such division between communion with Christ and obedience to Christ. In fact, it’s very hard to tell the two apart.

Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in our Holiness

2. My God is gracious.

Full of grace and truth.

Judgmentalism is not holiness. Woman caught in adultery, truth and grace.

We should be the same.

Those most eager to be holy are often most susceptible to judgmentalism and arrogance… It’s not that they would ever say it out loud, but there grows up in some Christians a sense of superiority concerning how far they have advanced compared to others. It is very possible to pursue holiness out of pride. It is also possible to pursue holiness out of humility, and succeed, and then become proud.

Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in our Holiness

Truth w/o grace isn’t real truth, and grace w/o truth isn’t real grace.

Most insulting thing in the world is someone saying “Jesus died for your sins”

Tim Keller

Conclusion

I don’t want you

Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless, indeed, you fail the test!

2 Corinthians 13:5, NET

Frustrated believers need to be reminded that they will bear fruit only as they are connected to the Vine. Apart from Jesus they can do nothing (John 15:5–6). Likewise, lazy believers need to be reminded that if they are serious about remaining in Christ’s love and experiencing abundant life they must get serious about obeying the Father’s commandments (John 15:10–11). Fellowship with Christ does not exist apart from fealty to Christ.

Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in our Holiness