Actions are Revealing: Day 9
“4Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” - 1st John 3:4-10 (ESV)
Our actions are the clearest picture of our hearts. Actions reveal the reality of who we are. Who we are and what we do are deeply connected in that the latter is the revelation of the former. This is in essence what John is laying out here in 1st John 3:4-10. Want to know if someone is truly a believer? Want to know if someone has put their full faith into the person and work of Jesus? Look at the actions. John throughout his letter contrasts the paradigm between true believers and people who think they are believers. He lays out multiple litmus tests to help us gauge the answer. Here he lays out the clearest test there is.
What do you practice? When you think of the word practice what comes to your mind? According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word practice has two meanings; one a verb, the other a noun. First let's look at the verb: “transitive. To perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to acquire, improve or maintain proficiency.” and the noun: “The actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to the theory or principles of it; performance, execution, achievement.” As we can see the idea of practice is not a mistake or accidental. It is a habit of intention or desire. Reality check: how is your proficiency in sin? Is it a regular recurring habit of intention or desire?
Before Christ, we were enslaved to sin. We had no other option than to sin. It was in our nature meaning it was the normative course of action for our lives. It’s all we knew. However, in Christ, we are made new and given a new nature. The chains of sin have been loosed and we have been freed from the power and control of sin. We are born again into a new nature. He gives us new desires and calls us to a new way of living. John is not saying here that if you fall into sin you are not saved. Rather John is drawing a stark contrast. What do you make a habit in your life? What do you practice?
If you claim to walk with Christ but have no evidence of it, do you truly walk with him? This does not negate progressive sanctification, nor is this negating what Paul addresses in Romans 7. This is also not to say that through actions we can earn our salvation. Rather, John points out that our actions are revealing of our hearts. What you do shows the intent of your heart. As humans in this fallen world, we will always struggle with sin and its consequences, however, we are no longer bound to its ownership. By Christ, we have been freed from the grips of sin. Yet a reality check remains. Are you truly walking with Christ? It is easy to get caught up in a one-time prayer, or cultural norm, yet the call of the gospel is to daily die to self. It is a life reality more than a one-time sign-off. A reality that fully consumes our lives. This doesn’t equal perfection, but it does mean submission.
