The Epistle of 1 John – Part Nine

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

This is the ninth part of a series on the epistle of 1 John written by John the apostle. In this series we will cover the basic concerns John had for writing this letter to Christians. Included are the fourteen reasons he wrote these epistles of 1, 2 and 3 John as well as the eleven assurances we have that establish our salvation as a Christian.

 

1 John 3:7a

“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.”

 

Here in 1 John 3:7 the apostle John issues a strong warning. He states to the Christians to whom he is writing, “Do not let anyone lead you astray.” John had earlier in 1 John 2:26 given this as a reason for writing these epistles. He stated, “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.” The command here in 1 John 3:7a is similar to that which a father would give his son or daughter as they leave the protective covering of their home. John addresses them as “dear children” which reflects his patriarchal authority over them as an wise elderly Christian who is concerned for their well-being. He does not want them to come to any harm spiritually in their walk with Christ. The implication is obvious, as this is not a hollow warning. There are individuals who wish to do Christians harm both physically and spiritually. There are false teachers who wish to steer your life along with theirs, down the deceptive path of false doctrine. There are selfish individuals who will not only criticize your beliefs but will attempt to twist your thoughts so as to compromise your commitment to Christ. This warning John had for the Christians of the first century applies just as strongly to us as Christians today. Nothing has changed in two thousand years. False teachers still prowl around desiring to lead people astray.

 

Paul taught this same concept of concern for Believers in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4;

 

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”

 

Here Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth and appears to be amazed at how quickly they were walking side-by-side with false teachers promoting a false Christ, false gospel and false god. John has the same concerns for Christians in Asia Minor. Often we are amazed ourselves at stories of cults, false religions and the bizarre things people will believe without question. We wonder how people can be so naive and lacking in discernment. But before we criticize too quickly, we need to remember how easy it is to be deceived by tricky information and slick talking individuals. All of us at one time or another have fallen for some scheme or foolish plan, we just don’t like to admit it. Grounding yourself in the Word of God and staying in close contact with wise Christians can help protect us from being led astray.

 

1 John 3:7b-8

” He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

 

John in 1 John 3:7b-8 contrasts the two categories of people in the world who belong to two different families. First he talks about the righteous family members who pattern their life after their Heavenly Father, who live their life with Jesus as Lord of their life, who walk in step with the Holy Spirit. A true obedient Christian lives righteously because they serve a righteous God. To be truthful, we know as Christians that we do not always live as God wants us to. Sometimes we sin and offend Him and quench the Holy Spirit within us. This does not mean we are no longer members of God’s family when we sin occasionally because the foundation of our salvation is established and secure due to what Christ accomplished on the cross. But this does not give us permission to sin whenever we want, because if we had this mindset and tendency, it would prove we had never committed our lives to Jesus Christ. Just as a child may disobey their parents at times but they are still a member of their family, a Christian may stumble in their walk sometimes but they are not disowned by their Heavenly Father.

 

Secondly John mentions the other family members who live sinfully because they are either knowingly or unknowingly members of the devil’s family. This seems somewhat harsh to call non-Christians “of the devil,” but we must remember we were all members of this family at one time. When a person does not know Christ as Savior they are living under the authority of Satan and are blinded of their sins. They may not seem to be demonic in their actions nor cruel and evil in their thoughts and behavior, but they belong to the devil’s family none the less. That is why Christ came to the earth, to provide a way for non-believers to leave the sinful family and the overbearing control of Satan and become children of God’s righteous family whom He loves.

 

John 3:16-18

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

 

1 John 3:9

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

 

I have shared that while Christians do sin at times they do not practice continual habitual sin on a consistent basis because otherwise their salvation and commitment to the Lord could be questioned. A true Christian is convicted when they sin and seeks to confess such sin to restore their fellowship with the Lord. The Greek words which are translated here “continue to sin” imply a pattern of sinful behavior. The Greek verbs are in the present tense. This indicates continuous habitual actions or a continuous pattern of sinful behavior. John is not referring to occasional acts of sin. He is referring to repeated acts of sinful behavior that are regularly taking place because the person has no commitment to Christ, has no Holy Spirit within them to hold them accountable and who has no respect for God’s Word. The individual who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and committed themselves to serving Jesus and obeying God’s Word will not live in a lifestyle of habitual sin. Several passages in Scripture discusses the new life that a person lives as a follower of Christ.

 

Galatians 5:24-26

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

 

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

 

A very convicting verse is Matthew 7:21-23 because it illustrates that not everyone who claims to be a Christian may be one.

 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

 

1 John 3:10

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

 

John in verse 10 of 1 John 3 presents some behavioral actions that can verify whether a person is a child of the devil. People who do not do what is right according to Jesus’ example and the Holy Scriptures is a child of the devil and so is someone who does not love others in a godly manner.

 

John has already emphasized this in other portions of his epistles: 1 John 2:9-11 “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.”

 

Later John will again emphasize this in the following verse as well:1 John 4:20-21 “If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

 

So we have learned that we are to be careful not to let people teach us false beliefs nor lead us astray in how we live with lies and distortions of the truth. We know that there are two types of families in the world, the family of God and the family of the devil. We have discovered that a true Christian will not live a life of habitual sin because when they occasionally sin they confess such sin quickly and move on in living righteously. We also know that anyone who does not do what is right or who does not love others is not a child of God. Let us take these truths to heart and live as we are called as children of the Lord Jesus Christ.