1 John 3:1-10
Today's Passage: 1 John 3:1-10
The authority of God’s word and the guidance of His Spirit changes us. Like a child, we are all meant to grow and change slowly becoming what we are meant to be, but only on the day when we are forever in His presence will we be whole.
For now, we can strive toward the hope of that day. 1 John describes this hope as purifying.
How can hope purify? What is hope?
This hope is built on a confident expectation of God’s character. God does not change so His promise will not change. God is a Father, so He will never neglect His children. God perfectly balances love and justice, grace and conviction.
God is holy and so being in the presence of God is holy ground. In the presence of God’s holiness our sin becomes evident, but God does not put a spotlight on our sin to call us out, He brings light to our sin so that He can bring us near.
In Ephesians 5:8-10, Paul describes what it means to walk as children of light. To discern what is pleasing to the Lord. To learn to love what He loves and hate what He hates gradually makes us more like Him and purifies our hearts of the deceitful sin that clings so closely.
What is sin? “Sin is lawlessness (v. 4).†Sin is anything we think, say, or do that goes against what God has commanded. Your sin is what separates you from God and it leads to death. God takes every sin seriously. Do you?
This chapter began by reflecting on God’s fatherly love, through which, we can be called children of God, “and so we are.â€
Reflecting on our sin and the just consequences we deserve is hopeless when we do not reflect on the end of the story. God takes sin so seriously that He paid for it. God the Father sent God the Son to pay for and destroy sin. It is not our own merit or striving that earns our way to the Father. It is only through His calling, His loving invitation, that we are able to be called children of God.
Children of God do keep on sinning, but through confessing your sin God is faithful to forgive. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, and when you are forgiven God will fill you with His Spirit and make you a new creation with new desires. Can you confidently say today that you are a child of God? Do you have a desire to turn from your sin and to cling to the better promise of God?
Written By: Paulette Carwile
The authority of God’s word and the guidance of His Spirit changes us. Like a child, we are all meant to grow and change slowly becoming what we are meant to be, but only on the day when we are forever in His presence will we be whole.
For now, we can strive toward the hope of that day. 1 John describes this hope as purifying.
How can hope purify? What is hope?
This hope is built on a confident expectation of God’s character. God does not change so His promise will not change. God is a Father, so He will never neglect His children. God perfectly balances love and justice, grace and conviction.
God is holy and so being in the presence of God is holy ground. In the presence of God’s holiness our sin becomes evident, but God does not put a spotlight on our sin to call us out, He brings light to our sin so that He can bring us near.
In Ephesians 5:8-10, Paul describes what it means to walk as children of light. To discern what is pleasing to the Lord. To learn to love what He loves and hate what He hates gradually makes us more like Him and purifies our hearts of the deceitful sin that clings so closely.
What is sin? “Sin is lawlessness (v. 4).†Sin is anything we think, say, or do that goes against what God has commanded. Your sin is what separates you from God and it leads to death. God takes every sin seriously. Do you?
This chapter began by reflecting on God’s fatherly love, through which, we can be called children of God, “and so we are.â€
Reflecting on our sin and the just consequences we deserve is hopeless when we do not reflect on the end of the story. God takes sin so seriously that He paid for it. God the Father sent God the Son to pay for and destroy sin. It is not our own merit or striving that earns our way to the Father. It is only through His calling, His loving invitation, that we are able to be called children of God.
Children of God do keep on sinning, but through confessing your sin God is faithful to forgive. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, and when you are forgiven God will fill you with His Spirit and make you a new creation with new desires. Can you confidently say today that you are a child of God? Do you have a desire to turn from your sin and to cling to the better promise of God?
Written By: Paulette Carwile
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