In The Word
Read: 1 John 2:28 – 3:10
28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.
Children of God Love One Another
3 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Abide in Him! This command cannot be over stated. Yahshua said, “That apart from Him we can do nothing,” that includes living a holy life. When Christ came, He did not just come to forgive us of our sins but to destroy sin from our lives forever. “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8b). It’s really easy to tell who the true children of God are. The true children of God have not just been forgiven but also empowered to live a victorious and pure life absent from sin. They purify their lives through the knowledge of Christ. They no longer practice sin, but they walk in righteousness. No one who is born of God can continue practicing sin because it’s no longer who they are. When we are born again, we are given a new nature, God’s nature. If we continue to abide in Christ, we will have confidence to live unashamed.
To abide in Christ is to spend time with Him each day through prayer and meditation. It is to study and apply the Word of God every day, like you are doing right now. It is to listen to the Holy Spirit in each moment of life, like you are doing right now. It is to adjust our lives to line up with His, like I believe you will do right now. Live in Christ, and you will not live in sin.