30 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
30 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
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title = "1 John 3:1–10"
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date = "2024-08-07"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1John3.1-10)
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The effect of our abiding in the Lord, and His abiding in us is a radical transformation, affecting the deepest parts of our being.
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God adopts us as His children, and we become as His begotten Son: holy, righteous, and glorified&emdash;eventually, when He returns.
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The end result has been fixed, and we are on the proper trajectory to reach it.
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This trajectory includes the practicing of righteousness and the avoidance of lawlessness.
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Those who do the opposite are going in the opposite direction.
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There is no in-between.
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There is no stasis.
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You are going to head in one direction or the other, and you will eventually reach eternal life or eternal death.
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Verse 6 has caused a lot of fear and doubt in many believers, because of course they still sin.
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While it is good to "examine yourself" ([_2 Corinthians 13:5_](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/2Cor13.5) to make certain your life reflects the reality of God's salvation for you, they miss the context which describes the progressive nature of sanctification.
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"Practice of sin", "practices lawlessness" (_v. 4_), "practices righteousness" (_v. 7_), "practice of sinning" (_vv. 8&endash;9_), "keep on sinning" (_vv. 6,9_).
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To practice something is to do intentionally do it as often as you can so you can get better at it.
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"Keep on" is used as a synonym for "practice" here.
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As [1 John 1:8](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1John1.8) said, we all have sin in ourselves and must confess it.
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But as believers who abide in the Lord, we do not practice the things He hates so as to become better at them.
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We hate what we do in our flesh and seek to do it less and less, by His grace.
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And we love our Father and seek to do His will more and more, better and better.
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* * *
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Make us holy as You are holy.
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