As John closes his letter, he says, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:18-19)

And, again, we need to slow down and carefully understand what this dear friend of our Savior is saying.

He is NOT saying a Christian does not sin. We know this when we look at the Greek phrasing here (as John wrote this letter in Greek) —John is referring to a continual, practice or lifestyle of sin.

John is saying, though the wicked one continually tries to sway us, those born of God are to actively try to keep themselves from sin.

This should not be such a radical idea, but the truth is, in our culture, we have swayed from calling much of anything sin. In fact, we don’t use the word “sin” much at all and are quick to accuse others of “judging us” if they suggest our behavior is “sin”.

But Christian, we need to be on guard. We need to invite others to help us be on guard for sins dread sway.

The wise will surround ourselves with others who know the Word and know us AND have permission to speak truth in our lives if they see us giving the enemy an inch.

We need to do all we can to keep ourselves from the influence of anything God calls sin in His Word.

What’s more, we should pray about it. When is the last time you prayerfully asked the Lord to show you sin in your life? I know I don’t do this nearly enough.

The truth is, we are all capable of being deceived.

And no matter how long we’ve known Jesus, or how often we sit in church, or how many devotionals we post 😳, we cannot get too big for our spiritual britches, and think we are immune to sin.

So, this Monday morning, let’s pause, let’s ask the Lord to examine our hearts and show us any wicked way in us.

Let’s confess sin.
Let’s forsake sin.
Let’s walk in freedom.

And let’s thank the Lord, for it is His goodness that leads us to repentance (Rom 2:4).

read1john

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