1 John 3:4-10
4 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who remains in Him sins continually; no one who sins continually has seen Him or knows Him. 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister.”
Practices lawlessness: Unbelievers practice sinful behavior. This sinful behavior is total and complete chaos when compared to the peaceful fruit of the Spirit.
Take away sins: In contrast to the Old Testament sacrifices which only acted to cover sins, Jesus actually took away all sins by His own death. The believer’s sins are completely taken away. This means that there is no divine judgment for the believer. God will never bring up our sins because He remembers them no more (Hebrews 8:12). Therefore, Judgment Day for the Christian is not a reflection on our past sins.
No one who has been born of God practices sin: Whereas unbelievers practice sinfulness, believers practice righteousness. This does not mean that believers never sin. It does, however, mean that they are practicing how to live righteously as opposed to practicing how to sin. This is because we have been fundamentally changed at the cores of our beings. We have been set free from the old sinful nature and enslaved to the new nature of righteousness (see also Romans 6:18). This is what it means that God’s seed remains within His children. We are born of God and are no longer of the world. Therefore, we are not predisposed towards the ways of the world.
Because he has been born of God: There is a trend within believers that has been reversed. If we are in Christ, we are going to have trouble sinning. Christians are no longer good at sinning. When we become a Christian, the battle with sin begins because of this reality. The fact that there exists a battle within us is proof of our new natures.
Love his brother: All who are in Christ love Christians. This does not mean that we like everyone, but it means that we love and affirm the Christian’s identity in Christ.
