(1 Jo) 3:3-6, 13 CJB “And everyone who has this hope in him continues purifying himself, since God is pure. Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. So no one who remains united with him continues sinning; everyone who does continue sinning has neither seen him nor known him. Don’t be amazed, brothers, if the world hates you.”
True salvation changes your life. Jesus did not save us merely from the future consequence of sin. He also saved us from sin’s mastery so that we might increasingly become like Him.
The Christian life can be understood in three great works of God:
Salvation. Sanctification. Glorification.
In salvation, God rescues us from sin’s condemnation.
In sanctification, God progressively transforms us from sin’s corruption.
In glorification, God will finally remove us from sin’s presence.
Therefore, salvation is not merely about where you go when you die.
It changes how you live before you die.
True Salvation Changes Your Life Through Sanctification
John writes: “Everyone who has this hope in him continues purifying himself, since God is pure.”
Notice the activity.
The Christian does not simply say a prayer, claim salvation, and then continue living according to whatever pleases him.
Instead, he turns toward a new Master.
Jesus Christ.
Of course, we don’t purify ourselves independently of God. The Holy Spirit works within us, using the Word of God to expose sin, renew our minds, transform our desires, and increasingly conform us to the image of Christ.
However, we actively participate in that work.
We repent.
We surrender.
We obey.
We resist our flesh.
We renew our minds with God’s Word.
We put off the old man and put on the new.
As a result, true salvation changes your life because the Spirit of God continually works through the Word of God to produce the character of the Son of God in the children of God.
A Christian Still Sins—but He Cannot Make Peace With Sin
John uses some strong language: “No one who remains united with him continues sinning.”
Does John mean Christians reach sinless perfection?
No.
Earlier he wrote: “If we claim not to have sin, we are deceiving ourselves.” —1 John 1:8 CJB
So John cannot mean a Christian never sins again.
Rather, he is describing the direction and pattern of a person’s life.
A true disciple may fall into sin, but he cannot comfortably settle down and live there.
Sin grieves him.
God’s Word confronts him.
The Spirit convicts him.
Therefore, he confesses, repents, gets back up, and continues pursuing Christ.
The question isn’t:
“Do I ever sin?”
Every Christian does.
The better question is:
“What is my relationship with sin?”
Do I fight it or feed it?
Do I confess it or defend it?
Do I hate what God hates, or have I learned to make peace with what Jesus died to take away?
That’s a much more searching test of our profession of faith.
Becoming Like Jesus Will Put You at Odds With the World
John then says something that might initially seem disconnected: “Don’t be amazed, brothers, if the world hates you.”
But it fits perfectly.
As Christ changes us, we increasingly become different from the world around us.
The world celebrates desires God tells us to crucify.
The world approves behaviors God calls sin.
The world seeks man’s approval while Christians seek God’s approval.
Consequently, becoming more like Jesus will eventually put us into conflict with a world that rejects Jesus.
We should not intentionally become obnoxious, argumentative, or self-righteous.
Yet neither should we expect faithful obedience to Christ always to earn applause.
Jesus told us otherwise.
If we pursue righteousness, speak truth, resist evil, and openly identify with Christ, we should not be surprised when the world opposes us.
Character, Commitment, and Commission
So what should increasingly characterize a man who has been born again?
He should become more like Jesus in character, commitment, and commission.
Character: I increasingly desire holiness because Jesus is holy.
Commitment: I increasingly surrender my will because Jesus completely submitted Himself to His Father’s will.
Commission: I increasingly participate in God’s work because Jesus came to seek and save the lost and commanded His disciples to make disciples.
We aren’t pursuing these things to convince God to save us.
Instead, we pursue them because God has saved us and His Spirit is changing us.
The gospel doesn’t merely change our eternal destination.
The gospel changes our direction.
Salvation Is Going Somewhere
Christian, you are not yet what you will be.
Neither should you remain what you once were.
A day is coming when our sanctification will reach its glorious conclusion.
John tells us just a few verses earlier: “We do know that when he appears, we will be like him; because we will see him as he really is.” —1 John 3:2 CJB
That’s where all of this is going.
Salvation leads to sanctification, and sanctification ends in glorification.
When Christ returns—or when God raises us to eternal life—we will finally become completely free from sin. We will receive resurrected bodies, pure and undefiled, and live forever with Christ.
Until then, we fight.
We surrender.
We repent.
We obey.
We pursue Christ.
We seek to know God better so we can love and obey Him more.
Not perfectly.
But increasingly.
Because true salvation changes your life.
Run Today’s Play
Ask yourself is there an area of your life where you’ve stopped fighting sin and started tolerating it?
Then, ask God to expose anything in you that doesn’t look like Jesus, then confess whatever He brings to mind.
Finally, take one concrete act of obedience today that moves you away from that sin and toward Christ.
Men, don’t settle for a Christianity that only promises you heaven someday while leaving you unchanged today.
Jesus didn’t merely save you from something. He saved you for something—to become like Him.
