No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
(1 John 3:9)
Read: 1 John 2:28-3:10
Devotion: There are two deadly ditches that we can fall into as we think about the place of works and obedience to God in our lives. On one side there is legalism, which is the belief that works and obedience produce justifying righteousness and make us fit for the kingdom of God. On the other side is licentiousness, which is the belief that what we do does not matter because we are saved by grace alone. We can live however we please, sin as much as we want, and God will accept us into His kingdom because He is love and we enter His kingdom through Christ’s works anyway.
Neither view is new. They’ve been around since the early church. Paul deals with both legalism (Gal 5:2-3) and licentiousness (Rom 6:1-4) vehemently and he does so because they both fundamentally misunderstand the grace of God in the gospel. Legalism forgets God’s grace while licentiousness acts entitled toward God’s grace.
Where licentiousness is particularly deceptive is that it emphasizes the truth that no one is saved by their works. That message is at the heart of the gospel. Contrary to what all false religions teach, we are not saved by being good people and balancing out our record of good and bad. Truly, outside of Christ, all of our works are like filthy rags before God and contribute nothing toward our righteousness and salvation (Isa 64:6). We are saved by faith in Christ on the basis of His righteous life, propitiatory death on our behalf, and victorious resurrection (Rom 3:21-26; 1 Cor 15:3-4). Once we are saved, none of our works are what keep us saved (see Rom 8:28-29; 31-39). Our salvation is never, at any point or in any way, contingent on our obedience. We are saved by grace and grace alone (Eph 2:8-9).
However, what this glorious truth doesn’t mean is that there is no place for obedience to God in the Christian life. In fact, there is an important place for works. Before we were saved we had a nature that was enslaved to sin (Titus 3:3). Everything that we did was tainted by sin and nothing we did was pleasing to God (Ps 53:3; Rom 8:8). That’s why our works couldn’t save us. We were, by nature, children of wrath (Eph 2:3).
But when the goodness of God came in the gospel of Christ, we were washed and renewed by the Holy Spirit through Christ (Titus 3:4-5). Our old nature, our heart of stone, was removed and we were given a new nature, a heart of flesh that is free from bondage to sin and is capable of living in a God pleasing manner (Jer 31:31-33; Ezek 36:26-27). This new nature didn’t just bring new capabilities, but also new desires. We were born again (John 3:7-8). God raised us to spiritual life and made us a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).
What does this mean with regard to our works? We weren’t born again by the means of works, so do they play any part at all in this new life that we’ve been given? Absolutely! Those who have been born again will not live as if they haven’t. As John puts it so clearly in 1 John 3:6, “No one who abides in him keeps sinning.” That doesn’t mean the one who is born again is sinlessly perfect in this life, for we are still waiting for our perfected nature that will come with Christ at the end of the age (see 1 Cor 15:52; 1 John 3:3). But it does mean that those who have been born again view their sin differently. No longer enslaved to sin, we hate our sin knowing that our sin was the reason that our Savior had to die. How could we, who know the love of God in Christ, continue in the works of the devil? We can’t. We will practice righteousness and when we sin, we won’t revel in it or make a practice of it, but go to the Father in humble repentance knowing that we have an advocate in Jesus Christ (see 1 John 1:9; 3:4-10). We will also actively seek to put our sin to death and pursue righteousness (Rom 8:14-15).
Any professing believer who has no concern for righteousness or who feels no conviction over their sin cannot make a legitimate claim to be born again.
Any professing believer who has no concern for righteousness or who feels no conviction over their sin cannot make a legitimate claim to be born again. Although not all us will have a lightning bolt salvation moment where we can see an instantaneous demarcation between our old life of sin and our new life in Christ, the new birth will bear itself out over time in the life of every believer. We will not look the same in our actions, thoughts, and desires. We will live a changed life. May the love of Christ mark our lives, having been born again and fit for the good works that God has prepared beforehand for us (Eph 2:10).
Ponder and Pray: Consider how the new birth shapes the Christian’s view of and relationship to sin. Finish your devotional time by thanking God for the new birth and by praying for those in your lives who have not yet been born again.
