As we draw closer and closer to the end of the apostle's John's book named First John, we notice his attention to the idea of wickedness and sin. John draws a distinct difference between those who are of God and those who are of the world. Over and over again John has shared with us that God desires to have fellowship with all who will, but that's just it, there are many who refuse His invitation. Without receiving the Heavenly Father's provision of Jesus who paid the price for our sins, we are left to ourselves, and those who reject righteousness will be prone to greater and greater wickedness. John declares this truth in today's verse found in First John chapter five and verse nineteen. He wrote:
[And] we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness.
The immediate question that should come to our minds when we look at this verse is, “Do we know that we are of God?” If our answer is “yes”, what makes us think so? Is it that we are “good” most of the time? Is there some sort of scale on which we measure our deeds to determine whether they are righteous or not? Paul answered these questions for us in the book of Romans in chapter three and verse ten. He wrote:
There is none righteous, no not one.
On our own, at best we will obtain “self-righteousness”, and this righteousness is incomplete. It falls short and is lacking. We must be “of God” having “God's righteousness” and not that of our own. John says “we know that we are of God”, and the assurance of being His keeps us from the natural bent of sin.
The world, however, John says “lies in wickedness”. If you're like me, we wonder, “Can this world get any more wicked?” John says, “yes”, it “lies” in wickedness. It is prone to wickedness, and in opposition to the righteousness of God, the world's natural bent is to grow more and more wicked every day.
The key for us, and for any who may read this, is that we are born of God. Jesus said, “You must be born again.” The rebirth of our spirit that naturally gravitates toward sin must be altared to move toward righteousness. For all who receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord, this rebirth is available. For all who reject Jesus, wickedness lies all around and the natural way will be as Paul wrote in Second Timothy chapter three and verse thirteen:
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
May we all read these ominous words and take heed to insure our alignment with the provision of being born of God that is available to “whosoever will.”
Next time we shall take a look at what John has to say about the benefit of Jesus coming into the world, so read ahead, and we will 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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