3:6
John then draws another of his very clear distinctions. It is worth noting again that John, who is sometimes known as the “apostle of love” because of his emphasis on the love of God, is also the apostle who is absolutely clear about sin. If we abide in Christ we will not keep sinning. John is not saying we will never sin, but sin will not be a way of life, it will not be an acceptable part of our lives, it will not be something we take pride in. Conversely, if we do accept sin as a way of life, even taking pride in it, then we quite clearly have never seen Jesus nor known Him, we do not abide in Him.
3:7
John speaks to his readers as a father speaking to his children. False teachers are deceivers. Anyone who teaches anything that is contrary to the word of God is a deceiver. All of us involved in teaching and preaching need to take our task most seriously. Now this does not mean we can never make a single mistake, we all get things wrong, but if we do need to ensure that we do not start leading people down a wrong path.
“Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous”. This part of the verse is an example of the importance of taking verses in context. The situation John is dealing with is one where some gnostics were claiming that how they lived did not matter. Throughout this letter, John is highlighting the absolute wrongness of this claim. If we truly belong to Christ we will seek to live righteously. He is not saying that we make ourselves acceptable to God by our actions. We are made righteous by Christ alone, but the fruit of righteousness is righteousness.
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