Born of God

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.  And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:3-9) 

The Lord has a “zero-tolerance policy” for sin in the life of His children. The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is this -- He has set us free from the dominating power of the sin and Satan. By continuing in sinful indulgences, we are telling Him He does not possess the power to deliver us from evil. But the proof that we are truly saved is the freedom we now possess to live in the same purity in which Jesus lived, because we are in-dwelt by the same Spirit! It is absolutely imperative that we do everything in our power to maintain the life bought for us on Calvary and realized in us by the Holy Spirit. The failure to walk in this freedom means we are not truly born again, for those born of the Spirit glorify the Lord with holiness and obedience, which reflects Jesus Himself and pleases our Heavenly Father.

The Lord's work at Calvary is sufficient to break the shackles of sin and bondage, and that work releases us from the prison of our past transgressions and sinful experiences. The fact that we now have power over the sin which once dominated us is a startling new reality, and that newness is ours in Christ. We are truly “new creatures," and we cannot be bound by fear and failure any longer; we have been set free to live for Jesus! Thus, holiness is the essence of the Christian life, not just the by-product. In Matthew 5:48, Jesus says, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Only He is able to accomplish this perfect work in us; and if we are truly His, He will accomplish that work. Amen!

Let's Pray - Precious Lord, thank You for setting me free from sin and death, and for giving me eternal life. I will sing of Your great love both now and forever. In Jesus Christ, Amen.