Daily Devotional #26 (1 John 3:4-8)

Today, we are considering 1 John 3:4-8 which reads, " ⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one 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."

In these verses we see the second reason why the Believer should pursue a life that is godlike. This second reason is that the Son died for him. 

There are three reasons given in these verses for which the Lord Jesus died for us. The first is found in v.4-6 which reads, " ⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him."

Did you see it? The Lord Jesus died in order to take away our sin.

Consider the design of His cross. The horizontal beam represents the width of God's love, the vertical beam represents the height of His holiness. The cross is the intersection of God's love and holiness, it is the axis point where He forgave man without lowering His standards.

There is a second reason the Lord Jesus died according to v.6 which reads, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." He died in order to make our pursuit of faith possible. Faith is the heart's ability to see God. And it only makes sense in reverse. Throughout the scriptures we see that the man of God acts, then he sees. Such is the nature of faith. To sin, as v.6 suggests, is to not be defined out of a personal relationship with God. When we are being defined by Him, we are not defining things for ourselves or sinning. In this case, we are walking with Him by faith. The Lord Jesus died, so that we could pursue Him in a personal relationship. 

<sup>Finally, there is a third reason the Lord Jesus died according to v.7-8 which reads, " 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.  8 The one 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." The third reason is that He might destroy the works of the Devil. Destroy here does not mean to annihilate, it means to render it powerless. The Devil does not maintain control in the life of the Believer. The Believer is no longer under his dominion. Where once, the Believer was controlled by the dark forces of the Evil One, we are now in the kingdom of God's Beloved Son. 

A family had recently moved into a new neighborhood. In this family was a seven year old boy who loved riding his bike. Just a day into living in the new neighborhood the boy ventured out on a bike ride. Before long he realized that he was lost. The tears began to flow as the fear gripped him.</sup> 

^{"Which way do I go to get back home?", he thought to himself. Just then a police officer noticed the perplexed boy. Thinking he could help the boy find his way home, the officer began to ask the boy if he lived near certain places like the school on Fifth Street or the supermarket on Third Street. Just then the officer asked the boy if he lived near the church with the big white cross on top of it on First Street. The boys face brightened, and he said, "Sir, if you will point me in the direction of the cross, I will find my way home."}