He That Commits Sin…

The apostle John introduces his first epistle by saying, “these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” [1 John 1:4 KJV] Then he says in Chapter 5, verse 13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” I like that. Now that I know WHY he wrote it, it helps me understand WHAT he wrote.

But there’s one particular part of his letter that never used to give me joy. As a matter of fact, it often struck fear in my heart… sometimes even shook my assurance of eternal life. It’s 1 John 3:8. “He that committeth sin is of the devil…” Most Christians, even most preachers, skip over that one. It’s no wonder. Think of the implications. Those are strong words… words of life… but the letter of those words can kill. Still… it IS in the Word of God, so it’s true. We need to know what it means, and how it applies to us.

Anytime we’re studying or teaching the Word of God, we need to make sure we don’t use a false balance… one that weighs a matter with one standard when you’re selling, and a different standard when you’re buying. We need to apply the same standard to all sides of the scriptures. Otherwise, we might take scriptures like these, which were written expressly that we may KNOW that we HAVE eternal life, and turn them into doctrines that destroy the confidence of the righteous. Yet it would be just as wrong to strengthen the hands of the wicked, by falsely promising him life. (See Ezekiel 13:22)

Look at 1 John 4:7. “…everyone that loveth is born of God.” If we say that you become ‘of the devil’, the moment you commit a sin; then do you become ‘born of God’, the moment you love? However you measure ‘sinneth’ in 3:8, use the same just balance to measure ‘loveth’ in 4:7. It’s either— a moment of sin/a moment of love; or… continuing in sin/continuing in love. If you use the same balance either way, you’re measuring justly.

Now, we know that there are people who have done truly selfless acts of genuine love… but are not born of God, or saved from their sins. And by the same measure, there are saved people who have committed sin, but have not gone so far that they have lost their salvation, or are owned by the devil, and doomed to hell.

And undeniably, there are people who have sin in their life, AND love… at the same time. Where does that put THEM?

Of course I’m not covering all the scriptures that shed light on this truth, because it’s really not possible in this space. I do believe, though, that by sharing this one little key, this epistle will take on a new life for many. I know I’m leaving a lot of loose ends for now, but God knows just where all those loose ends are supposed to be connected.

One thing we need to do, is to take a real honest look at what sin IS, if we’re to know whether we’re guilty or not. A few scriptures come to mind. Romans 14:23 says that whatever is not of faith is sin. James 4:17 says that, if you know to do good, and you don’t do it… it’s sin. 1 John 3:4 says sin is the transgression of the law.

This would be a good place to point out that to ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength’… is a commandment of the LAW. (See Matthew 22:36 & Deuteronomy 6:5) If you do NOT love God with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength… you are breaking the law. James 2:10 says, whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, he is guilty of ALL. Therefore, if you are guilty of holding back your love for God… even just a tiny bit… you’ve missed the mark. You have fallen short. So even if you only look at the #1 greatest commandment in the law, AND in the new covenant… still, “the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” [Galatians 3:22 KJV] Romans 3:23 says plainly, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” The ‘GLORY of God’ is the mark. Wow! What a standard!

The ultimate clincher is Matthew 5:48. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Is that a commandment? If it is, are you keeping it? (No, ‘trying to’ is not enough.) Do you see how easily you can come under the condemnation, that, if you’re not ‘perfect’, you’re sinning, and therefore you are ‘of the devil’? If it wasn’t for God’s grace, and justification by faith, and being perfected by the offering of the body and blood of Christ (See Hebrews 10:14), we would all be damned and doomed!

Finally, to get a better understanding of what “of the devil” means, let’s take a look at John’s personal experience, long before he wrote this letter. There was a time, in his younger days, when he and his brother James wanted to call down fire from heaven on some Samaritans that weren’t receiving Jesus very well. Jesus rebuked them, saying, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” [Luke 9:55 KJV] Dissecting those words, what Jesus was saying is, “You are OF a spirit.” Not just, “You have a bad attitude.” Not even ‘have’, but ‘OF’. Of what spirit? Not the HOLY Spirit. The devil.

It’s not uncommon that someone who is ‘of’ that kind of judgmental spirit, or ‘of the devil’, won’t even realize it. John definitely missed it. But was John damned at that moment, and headed for hell? No way. He still ‘believed on the name of the Son of God’. He just needed a rebuke… a little correction. Now if he had rejected Jesus’ correction, and continued in that sin, it could have been a different story. But John received the correction, repented, and learned from it; and now he’s teaching us what he learned… and warning us… that we may KNOW that we have eternal life, and that our JOY may be FULL!