6b no one who sins continually has seen Him or knows Him.
We’re talking about habitual sin. Claiming that we have arrived at a sinless state, and look just like Christ is self-deception. 1 John 1:8, NASB: If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. We are all works in progress. John points to God’s provision for sin by allowing confession (1st John 1:9) and Christ’s activity as His people’s Advocate (1st John 2:1), and even lets us know that claiming to be perfect, sinless is a mark of someone who is NOT abiding in Christ in 1 John 1:10 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. But, he is saying that a sinful life, abiding in sin, instead of abiding in Christ, is impossible for a child of God, so that anyone who leads such a life is demonstrating that they are not a child of God. These actions are an outward sign that something is wrong inside. The Holy Spirit can empower us to be sinless as much as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the process. John denies the ability to “sit on the fence”, to “have one foot in the world, and one foot in your Christianity”, to be, as James likes to put it “double-minded”. By doing this he forces us to look at our lives a little more objectively, and evaluate whether we are abiding with Jesus. He urges us, as Paul does in 2 Corinthians 13:5: Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? It is sin to refuse the Lordship of Jesus, because to do so means that we fail to accept the revelation of the love of Jesus, and refuse to love Jesus, the Father who sent Him, and our brothers and sisters in Christ who need our spiritual strength to support them when they are weak. So not sinning means first of all loving devotion to the person of Jesus, and then devotion and service to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Why does John use see and know, to describe what is not true of the person whose lifestyle is characterized by sin? When John says that those who habitually sin have not “seen” Christ, he talks from personal experience. Remember the beginning of this epistle. John is speaking as an eye-witness in 1 John 1:1-3 when he says 1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life. It was John’s experience in seeing Jesus and hearing His words personally that caused him to want to walk with Jesus, and make Him Lord and Savior of his life. And John is saying that if you really see Jesus for who He is, you CANNOT continue in sin. Those whose character is sinful have never seen Jesus really, their eyes have not been opened, they are still blinded to the truth by sin, because if they had, their lives would have been impacted in such a way by the love of Jesus that they could not continue to deny Him by habitual sin. Instead of having our sinful desires dominate our minds, we are to have His abiding Word within us, which we can use to resist the enemy. Jesus quoted scripture to the enemy when He was tempted, and not only that, it was scripture that He was living out, putting into practice, that abided with Him. That’s why John praises the young men in his congregation in 1st John 2:27 I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one. This overcoming is because God’s Word remains in them, abides with them, has been incorporated into their lives.
7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you;
John wants to make sure that they’re listnening, and so he says“Little children.He warns them, “make sure that no one deceives you”. Remember that he’s just said in 2:18 that 18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. These antichrists are trying to deceive them into believing that those who live any way that they want, these self-deceived antinomians are heirs to salvation, just as they are. The destructive heresies involve a denial of Jesus, and indecent behavior, or a habitually sinful lifestyle, and teaching that this is o.k. for Christians. Living unrighteous lives while claiming to be Chrisitans John said in 1 John 1:6 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;.
the one who practices righteousness is righteous,
And God acknowledges the righteous path, but not any other path. Psalm 1:6 For the Lord [e]knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish. The Lord’s Blessings follow in a righteous life, because he does not have to spend all of your precious time chastising and correcting you. Look at Isa 60:21 Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.; and Dan 12:3 3 And ]those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
This is not the self-righteousness and false- piousness of the wicked, it’s condemned in Matt 23:28 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness; Self-righteousness only leads to abasement, destruction and shame. Positionally we are accepted in Christ and God is always well pleased with us because we have been placed in His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased, we have His righteousness imparted to us, the same righteousness that caused the Father to say in Matthew 3:17 17 and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” And He is pleased with us, as we are In Christ Eph 1:5-6 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved.
But in our actions, and the experience of our walk with Christ, we may either be pleasing the Lord or not pleasing the Lord. We do not put on the world’s mindset, but the mind of Christ 2 Tim 2:4 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him. 5 And if someone likewise competes as an athlete, he is not crowned as victor unless he competes according to the rules We are not lawless, self-serving sinners, but Children of God, and we are admonished over and over again in scripture to walk as followers of Christ. Paul encourages the Thessalonians in 1st Thess 4:1 saying Finally then, brothers and sisters, we request and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel even more.
just as He is righteous;
We don’t earn salvation through the way that we live our lives, but the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to conform us more and more to Jesus’ image comes out in our conduct, and this is evidence that we are saved. We see this same idea in Romans 5:3-5, along with the fact that it’s usually hard times that kick this spiritual growth into high-gear, saying 3 And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. The foundation of our hope is the love of God, as manifested through Him sending His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins. And the pouring out of this love in our hearts causes it to overflow into our actions as we persevere despite tribulation, endure under persecution, and more and more, be like Christ.
just as He is righteous;
A 100% Righteous Standard
And, because God has this righteous standard, we fall short, to varying degrees. Romans 3:23 tells us, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It’s impossible for us to achieve God’s 100% righteous standard on our own, we have to have Jesus’ blood applied to our lives, to make the gap. John 14:6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. Jesus Christ is our righteousness. 1Corinthians 1:30 says 30 But it is due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” We have nothing to brag about as Christians, because it wasn’t our work that made us righteous! And, as Christians, it is God’s Righteousness that we aspire to in our living, and when we do this, God will make sure our needs are taken care of. Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.