Post by Les Brewer on Mar 7, 2012 9:38:20 GMT
John Wolf
Good morning to all in the blessed name of Jesus Christ.May His Spirit and anointing rest upon you this day and always!
I John 3:4-10 gives us insight into the difference between a true child of God and those who may only know Him in an intellectual capacity.I wish to say from the start,that,in and of ourselves,as christians, we are no better than any one else.As a lost sinner in the world,they can not help but do the works of Satan,that is the nature of the problem.Until one is born into the kingdom of God by faith in Christ and His atoning death and by the power of the Spirit working in them,they will do the works of their spiritual father the devil.The difference is in the blood of Jesus.I realize this statement will raise some eyebrows and possibly anger some.We must come to the realization that the popular statement "We are all children of God" is not necessarily a true statement.It is true that the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof,and all they that dwell therein (Ps.24:1).We are all God's property by the divine right of His creative power,it all belongs to God,everything.However,not all people are children of God simply because they say they are.Jesus said you must become "born again" in order to see and enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:3,5).
This brings me to my topic of study in I John 3:4-10.Please take a few moments to read the context so that you will be familiar with what we are studying.
The context is speaking of a person who practices sin and lawlessness and a person who practices righteousness.It says,"whoever commits sin commits lawlessness".The word "commits" is from the Greek word "poy-eh'-o",which means in a broad sense:To practice in an unhindered way sin,lawlessness,iniquity,wickedness or transgression.
There is a widely accepted teaching in the body of Christ that has been taught for a very long time,that once a person comes to faith in Christ,there is nothing that they can do to lose their salvation.This teaching must be qualified with this statement in order to bring balance to the subject:As long as the individual keeps his or her faith firmly planted in Christ and the cross with the objective to be led by the Holy Spirit in all that they think,say or do,then ,yes,it is a true teaching.There is nothing that Satan would love more than to pervert the word of God in such a way so as to get a person to believe that they can live any kind of sinful life they wish,as long as they believe in Jesus,everything is going to be alright.
Think about this for a moment:Does this teaching promote more sin or does it promote holy living in the child of God?I think that a person would have to have absolutely no understanding in spiritual matters or even a basic knowledge of what the Bible teaches regarding this subject.If a preacher were to teach that you can believe in Jesus Christ and it doesn't matter what you do,you will still go to heaven when you die,what type of life do you suppose that person would live?
This is what the Apostle John is refuting in the passage given above.
Read the context again,and pay close attention to what John is saying."He who sins (practices in an unhindered way sinful living) is of the devil.This doesn't sound to me like he's speaking of a child of God,does it to you?Verse 9 says "he who has been born of God (born again) does not sin (practice sin as a way of life and living).Verse 10 says it in a more precise manner."In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:Whoever does not practice righteousness (right living) is not of God,nor is he who does not love his brother."
We must remember that although the Scriptures do not teach sinless perfection,it does teach that we must not allow sin to rule and reign in our life and have dominion over us.This will be the topic of study tomorrow.If you would like to read the 6th,7th and 8th chapters of Romans to brush up on the topic,then please do.Until tomorrow,be blessed in the Lord and walk in love towards those who are without Christ.Let your light shine!......In Christ,JW.
Good morning to all in the blessed name of Jesus Christ.May His Spirit and anointing rest upon you this day and always!
I John 3:4-10 gives us insight into the difference between a true child of God and those who may only know Him in an intellectual capacity.I wish to say from the start,that,in and of ourselves,as christians, we are no better than any one else.As a lost sinner in the world,they can not help but do the works of Satan,that is the nature of the problem.Until one is born into the kingdom of God by faith in Christ and His atoning death and by the power of the Spirit working in them,they will do the works of their spiritual father the devil.The difference is in the blood of Jesus.I realize this statement will raise some eyebrows and possibly anger some.We must come to the realization that the popular statement "We are all children of God" is not necessarily a true statement.It is true that the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof,and all they that dwell therein (Ps.24:1).We are all God's property by the divine right of His creative power,it all belongs to God,everything.However,not all people are children of God simply because they say they are.Jesus said you must become "born again" in order to see and enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:3,5).
This brings me to my topic of study in I John 3:4-10.Please take a few moments to read the context so that you will be familiar with what we are studying.
The context is speaking of a person who practices sin and lawlessness and a person who practices righteousness.It says,"whoever commits sin commits lawlessness".The word "commits" is from the Greek word "poy-eh'-o",which means in a broad sense:To practice in an unhindered way sin,lawlessness,iniquity,wickedness or transgression.
There is a widely accepted teaching in the body of Christ that has been taught for a very long time,that once a person comes to faith in Christ,there is nothing that they can do to lose their salvation.This teaching must be qualified with this statement in order to bring balance to the subject:As long as the individual keeps his or her faith firmly planted in Christ and the cross with the objective to be led by the Holy Spirit in all that they think,say or do,then ,yes,it is a true teaching.There is nothing that Satan would love more than to pervert the word of God in such a way so as to get a person to believe that they can live any kind of sinful life they wish,as long as they believe in Jesus,everything is going to be alright.
Think about this for a moment:Does this teaching promote more sin or does it promote holy living in the child of God?I think that a person would have to have absolutely no understanding in spiritual matters or even a basic knowledge of what the Bible teaches regarding this subject.If a preacher were to teach that you can believe in Jesus Christ and it doesn't matter what you do,you will still go to heaven when you die,what type of life do you suppose that person would live?
This is what the Apostle John is refuting in the passage given above.
Read the context again,and pay close attention to what John is saying."He who sins (practices in an unhindered way sinful living) is of the devil.This doesn't sound to me like he's speaking of a child of God,does it to you?Verse 9 says "he who has been born of God (born again) does not sin (practice sin as a way of life and living).Verse 10 says it in a more precise manner."In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:Whoever does not practice righteousness (right living) is not of God,nor is he who does not love his brother."
We must remember that although the Scriptures do not teach sinless perfection,it does teach that we must not allow sin to rule and reign in our life and have dominion over us.This will be the topic of study tomorrow.If you would like to read the 6th,7th and 8th chapters of Romans to brush up on the topic,then please do.Until tomorrow,be blessed in the Lord and walk in love towards those who are without Christ.Let your light shine!......In Christ,JW.
