In this amazing book of First John, our teacher, John the apostle, has been sharing with us about how much God loves us. The overwhelming truth in John's words is that God has made every provision for whosoever will to have a relationship with him. Our Heavenly Father has even removed the penalty of sin for whoever will truly turn to Him by faith in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. But what happens after a person becomes a Christian? Is sin still around? Do we continue to make mistakes and do wrong? John answers these questions in today's verse found in chapter five and verse eighteen. He wrote:
We know that whosoever is born of God sins not; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches him not.
Notice first that John declares of whom he is referring: “whosoever is born of God.” When we respond to God's offer of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins we are “born of God.” We now are positioned in an everlasting relationship with God, and as Jesus said in the gospel of John in chapter ten and verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand.
Secondly, John writes that whosoever is born of God “sins not.” The idea here is when we are born of God we do not practice sin. The believer in Jesus has a new nature. Before we knew Jesus as Savior and Lord we sinned because it was natural to sin. Now, as a believer in Jesus Christ, we have a new nature that is prone to righteousness. Our old nature is gone, and we desire to practice a righteous life. Paul said it this way in the book of Second Corinthians in chapter five and verse seventeen:
Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Finally, John writes that when we are born of God we keep ourselves and the wicked one does not touch us. In other words, we have God's keeping power. There was once a lady in a church who testified of her walk with Jesus every time she had opportunity by saying, “I thank God for His keeping power.” Those who have walked with Jesus for any length of time know the keeping power of God. God has promised to give strength and protection for those who have given their lives to Him. As was referred to above, “No man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
When we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are positioned with God, we practice righteousness instead of sin, and we obtain the keeping power of God against the wicked one. May God continue to bless all who receive His Son Jesus as we live our lives before Him.
As we grow closer to the end of the study in the book of First John, John gives us a contrast between Christians and the rest of the world, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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