“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.” (1 John 5:18)
“No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” (1 John 3:6)
“The first thing we know is that the new birth results in new behavior. Second, we know we belong to God and have been delivered from the dominion of Satan. Third, we know that we have found the source of life in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.” [Reformation Study Bible]
Here we find that John is yet again addressing the whole Gnostic superior spiritual knowledge issue. The remaining believers after the split were in need of affirmation and encouragement. Were they following the proper teachings or had they been misled? John reassures them that they are following the one truth and the one true God.
It needs to be pointed out here that although our salvation from sin is to result in new behavior, it is a progressive thing. Some changes come immediately, some gradually as we learn more from scripture. Our new foundation has been set and the construction phase has begun. How often you feed yourself spiritually has a direct correlation to how quickly and how strongly your spirit is build up. What John is referring to in the above verses is the fact that as a new creation you should no longer make it your practice to sin. You will sin …
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (1 John 2:1)
Our free will allows for sin to take place. That doesn’t make it alright to sin; but God knows our human tendency to make bad choices no matter how long we have walked with Him or how well we know Him. Once we are born again of the spirit of God the devil cannot harm us; not unless God allows it for a specific purpose. In those situations, as with everything in life, God is in complete control. It requires faith and trust to believe this. Our walk with God hinges on how much faith we have and how much trust we place in Him.
A sure sign that an individual is a believer who is striving to live for God is contrition. We will stumble and even fall from time to time, but it shouldn’t be continuous and we should have remorse. We should want to be more like Christ. We have been given a new life to live; let’s live it to the hilt for our Lord.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
