Scripture

Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them.

Observation

God’s love for us is amazing. He calls us His children. We don’t yet know what we will be when Christ returns, but we will be like Him.

Sin is breaking God’s law. Jesus came to take away our sin, so if we continue to sin, it shows we are not following the ways of Jesus.

When people keep sinning they show that they belong to the devil. People who have been born into God’s family do not continue to sin. They cannot keep sinning because God’s life is in them.

Application

If you are genuinely born again, you will turn away from sin. That is what it means to be born again.

This does not mean we become instantly perfect. There is a process, a life- time of becoming more like Jesus.

As christians we are not allowed to keep our pet sins- whether it is anger or drugs, coveting or pornography.

A christian who keeps his or her sins is like a husband who keeps a lover or two on the side. This is a contradiction.

Of course, we all struggle with sin. We all have our weaknesses, those temptations that seem to particularly entice us. We need to be like the alcoholic who knows he is only ever one drink away from falling.

While christians should not engage in repeated sin, we all fall. For that there is the remedy of 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

If you think this is a loophole that lets us get away with stuff, then you are not thinking straight. It is not about what we can and can’t get away with. We are not motivated by a counting of right and wrong. God has lavished His love upon us and it should be our overwhelming desire to walk in friendship with Him.

Prayer

Father, I admit my sinful ways to you. Please change my heart so deeply that I am no longer attracted to the things that break my relationship with you. Amen.