Practicing Rightness Instead of Sinfulness:

As we read the first few verses of 1^st John 3 we see how John  stands in amazement of God’s love for us.  He tells us that “he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!”(vs1)  Think about this for just a moment God loves us so much that when we come to accept Christ as being the Son of God, and allow God’s Holy Spirit into our hearts we then become His children.  We are no longer apart of this earth; we have been accepted into the Kingdom Of Heaven.  This means a lot, we may not think so at first but as John continues He tells us, “we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.  And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure.(vs 2-3)

John tells that part of  being God’s children means that one day we are going to get new bodies.  Not just any new body but one like Christ’s which does not know sin.  Paul explains to the Philippines like this, “He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere.”(3:21) Until that time comes we are to begin to act like children of God we are to come to know who God is.  This means that we must become pure as Christ was pure.  We must start living a life that reflects the righteousness of Christ.  As John continues he tells us, we must live a life without sin.  “Those who sin are opposed to the law of God, for all sin opposes the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him.  So if we continue to live in him, we won’t sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known him or understood who he is.”(1^st John 3:4-6)

What does one’s life look like then that follows Christ one may ask.  It may in many ways on the outside look like normal everyday life in a lot ways.  One goes to work, watches the news, maybe sports, and movies.  But for those who are around such person should pick up on the differences, one who follows Christ is one who doesn’t partake in the sins of the world, the don’t gossip, they don’t use profane language.  In these bodies of ours we understand that sin cannot fully be defeated, but the one who knows God, is not going around continually sinning.  They are working on loving God more and more each day.  They are not hateful towards people that most others are.  How is all of this possible? How can one live a life of righteousness?  Peter tells us, “As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.  So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. ⁷ Godliness leads to love for other Christians,^* and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone.  The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But those who fail to develop these virtues are blind or, at least, very shortsighted. They have already forgotten that God has cleansed them from their old life of sin.”(2 Peter 1:3-9)  As we grow in Christ the more we are grow into His image the more we are going to begin to think about the Kingdom, about the lives of the people around us. “Those who have been born into God’s family do not sin, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they have been born of God.”(1^st John 3:9)