Sin and Righteousness. 1 John 3:4-15

Notes

II. Freedom from Sin. Verses 6-10.

Notes

III. Love One Another. Verses 11-15.

Notes

1. Verses 4-6.—Unrighteousness and sin are the same (1 John 5:17), and both are the result of being out of harmony with God's law, which is righteousness (Ps. 119:172). "The character of God is righteousness and truth; such is the nature of His law." The law detects sin (Rom. 3:20), and drives to Christ for justification (Gal. 3:24). "A view of our sinfulness drives us to Him who can pardon." Christ came to take away sin and abolish death (2 Tim. 1:10), but not the law. "Had it been possible for the law to be changed or set aside, then Christ need not have died to save man from the penalty of sin." "A wrong conception of the character, the perpetuity, and obligation of the divine law, has led to errors in the relation to conversion and sanctification, and has resulted in lowering the standard of piety in the church." "It is only as the law of God is restored to its rightful position that there can be a revival of primitive faith and godliness among His professed people." Christ bore the sins of the world (John 1:29, margin) in the sinner's place (Gal. 3:13); and, although free from sin (1 Peter 2:22), and "hating sin with a perfect hatred, He yet gathered to His soul the sins of the whole world." "Under the mighty impulse of His love, He took our place in the universe, and invited the Ruler of all things to treat Him as a representative of the human family." "Though the guilt of sin was not His, His spirit was torn and bruised by the transgressions of men." It was at such cost as this that "He was manifested to take away our sins." That vital union with Christ which imparts His nature (2 Peter 1:4) enables us to realize the fulfilment of "God's mighty emancipation proclamation" (Rom. 6:14).

2. Verses 7-9.—Righteousness must be within before it can be manifested in outward works. "Genuine Christlikeness can not be manifested in the character until Christ is received by faith and formed within the hope of glory." "The tree that bears good fruit is a good tree and has a living root; not that the fruit makes the tree and its fruit to be good, but it shows that they are so."—Fausset. God condemned sin in the flesh once (Rom. 8:3), and the "union of Divinity with humanity in Christ was to reveal to us God's purpose to bring men into the closest connection with Himself." "He who lays hold upon the righteousness of Christ may become a perfect man in Christ Jesus." "The character is revealed, not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts." Christ prayed in behalf of all His disciples that the Father might "keep them from the evil one" (R. V.) and that prayer avails now.

3. ⟦Verses 12-15.?⟧—The cause assigned for the murder of Abel is really at the root of all the injuries inflicted upon the righteous by evil men, and was illustrated in the death of Christ. "It was not so much because He appeared without worldly wealth, pomp, or grandeur, that the Jews were led to reject Him. They saw that He possessed power which could more than compensate for the lack of these outward advantages. But the purity and holiness of Christ called forth against Him the hatred of the ungodly. His life of self-denial and sinless devotion was a perpetual reproof to a proud, sensual people. It was this that evoked enmity against the Son of God." "So in all ages the wicked have hated those who were better than themselves." "It is the spirit that through all the ages has set up the stake and kindled the burning pile for the disciples of Christ." The world hated Christ (John 15:24), and so would naturally hate His followers. "Love is of God. The unconsecrated heart can not originate or produce it; it is found only in the heart where Jesus reigns."

Christ explained the spiritual nature of the sixth commandment (Matt. 5:21, 22), showing that it is "exceeding broad." If it were the duty of the civil power to enforce the law of God, there would not be a sufficient number of innocent persons to inflict the penalty upon those who are really guilty of murder. The spirit that leads to murder is not in harmony with the Spirit of Christ (Luke 9:56), and so shuts its possessor out of heaven (Rom. 8:9).