7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is 1born of God. (1 John 3:7–9)
I’ve attended a Baptist megachurch in the South for the past 20 years. There have been water baptisms in almost every service I’ve attended, and as a musician, I’ve witnessed more than my share of these events up close and personal. When you hear the testimonies coming from the “baptismal waters,” many are there later in life after “being away from the Lord” since an early “spiritual experience,” or even baptism in their youth. Others are dramatically converted from a life of hard-hearted sin, and have immediately sought to be baptized.
While we can doubt whether the former were saved in the first place, it is possible, I guess, to live a life filled with wanton pleasure or willful sin and simply be “away from the Lord,” but John would probably argue otherwise, simply on the basis of the lack of any obvious effort to “practice righteousness.” However, it’s a bit dangerous on our end (probably ill advised) to be declaring someone “righteous” based on their lifestyle anyway. In reality, those who seem to be respectable and upright can be woefully lost. Only God knows.
In the context of “is he or is she,” or more importantly “am I,” this passage provides a framework or checklist for those who are finally moved by the spirit of God to assess their hearts, on either side of salvation, or who are beset by debilitating doubts about their relationship with God due to an absence of assurance, or the presence of long-tolerated sinfulness.
Let’s break down what John has written and find the truisms. It is possible for Christians to be deceived. Satan not only strenuously strives to keep the lost “lost” by his deceptions, but is always about confusing or distracting the truly saved to the point they are “neutered” by their sin. A true Christian practices righteousness because by definition Almighty God lives in his or her heart in the form of the Holy Spirit. As impossible as it is for Christians to be totally sinless in their daily lives, so it is for a believer to conduct a campaign of perpetual wanton and reckless sin and be joyous. To do so is to be one miserable soul.
On the other hand, those of us who are miserable because we have sinned yet again despite our best efforts need not be, because we are in the process of “practicing righteousness” in the truest sense. We are actually working our way up the team’s depth chart. Life is one continuous drill. For example, gymnasts may be great vaulters, but weak on the balance beam, Through hours and hours of practice they will have mastered that skill as well. Same goes for whatever our Achilles heel is. With the Lord’s help, we can master any of our “weaknesses.”
We need to be comforted in our misery knowing that “the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (v.8) He softens the beachhead for us with targeted artillery rounds and strafes our pursuer (the devil) with air support for good measure.
The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. (Exodus 14:19)
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