Today’s passage: 1 John 3:4-10
Helpful thoughts:
- Making a “practice of sinning” is ongoing, unrepentant living. This is a person who will not submit to the Lord and is therefore acting as though they are under no authority (“Lawlessness”).
- Jesus did not come to give a free pass for sin. He came to take away sins and to destroy the works of the devil.
- Christians do not stop sinning because we decided one day we really didn’t want to do bad things anymore. We grow in righteousness because God brought us to life (“Born of God”) and His Word and the Spirit reside in us. This is the work of God by the grace of God.
- The use of the word “seed” helps us to remember that this new life is growing and changing.
Questions to consider:
- Why does it make sense to call sin, “Lawlessness”? What do we do first (In relation to God’s authority) before we commit a sinful act?
- Is it possible to be a child of God and to live a life of lawlessness? Is it possible to be a child of the devil and live a life of increasing righteousness? Why or why not?
- How could this growing “seed” in us be compared to the idea of being filled with the Spirit? How do the two concepts communicate the same truth regarding our submission to God’s will?