First John 3:7

The Bible says in First John 3:7, “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” In this part of First John chapter three we are being taught some very important things regarding sin. In this verse is a warning against being deceived. John wrote, “Let no man deceive you…” One of the great problems that Christians must be on their guard against is false teachers and false teachings. Those who set their mind and heart on studying more about God might come into contact with someone who is teaching falsely. They might teach falsely in regards to salvation. They might teach falsely in regards to baptism. They might teach falsely in regards to the Holy Spirit. They might teach falsely in regards to the person of Jesus Christ. How will you recognize these people? John is saying that you will recognize them by their life-style. That is what Jesus said also; “You will know them by their fruits.” If you have a wolf in sheep’s clothing, at first glance they look like a sheep. You have to look closely to realize that they are not a sheep. Just because someone is a good speaker does not mean that they came from God. Just because someone claims to be a teacher from God does not mean that they are from God. How will you know? The only way to know is by the life that they live. “He that doeth righteousness is righteous.” If the person in question is not doing righteousness, you have to assume that he or she is not righteous. It is too important of an issue. There is no other conclusion that you can make.

Listen to First John 3:8, “He that committeth sin is of the devil: for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” It is important to point out the use of the present tense in this passage. When this passage says, “he that committeth sin,” it is saying it in the present tense, with an emphasis on continuous action. In this context it means, “he that is continually committing sins.” A true Christian does not “continually” commit sin, because a true believer repented when they came to Christ, and a true Christian lives a life of repentance. A true Christian attempts to live a holy life and repents whenever he fails. This is much different from the type of person described in First John 3:8. The type of person described in First John 3:8 is a person who has rejected the commandments of God and who willfully and willingly sins against God. John points out that such an attitude is exactly that of the devil himself.

The life of sin is the life without God’s law. Whoever rejects the law of God, rejects God Himself who gave the law. God said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” That is God’s law. That is God’s way for man to live on the earth. Someone who says, “I do not care that it is God’s law. I am going to do it anyway,” is a person who is living like the devil. That can be said of any of God’s commands. Beware of knowing one of God’s commands, and then deciding that you are not going to obey it. That is the work of the devil. Unfortunately for the human race, the devil’s way has affected every man and woman at some time in their lives. But let us not spend too much time dwelling on the evil work of the devil. He is not worth that. Let us do what John did and remind each other that Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil.” What a great Savior we have who has saved us from the works of the devil and from our own works!

In First John 3:9 we are told how we get saved from the evil works. God tells us in First John 3:9, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin because he is born of God.” This is another verse that refers to imputed righteousness: righteousness that is credited to our account because of Jesus. If you are a true believer in Jesus, you will go to heaven because you are regarded by God as if you have not sinned. That is the judicial decision that has been made in your case. A substitute took your punishment and therefore you are given a declaration of innocence. In that regards you cannot sin, because nothing that you do can take away that righteous standing that has been given to you. The new birth gave you a spiritual creation. That spiritual creation, that seed that God put within you, is sinless and righteous.

In this world there are two kinds of people: those who have been given spiritual life by God through faith in Christ, and those who have not yet received spiritual life. The difference between the two is discussed in First John 3:10 where the Bible says, “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” Doing the right thing is a part of being a Christian. If you believe in Jesus, your goal is to do what is right. Those who have rejected Jesus have also rejected doing what is right. The two always go together. There are a couple of things that are interesting about this verse.

The first is the fact that this verse makes it clear that you are either a child of God or a child of the devil. The defining characteristics of what you are like are either godly or devilish. You are godly if it is your goal to do what is right and you actually do the right thing whenever you can. You are of the devil if you willingly and gladly do the wrong thing whenever you can. You are a child of the devil if you knowingly and willfully reject God’s laws and God’s authority. When you repent, you reject the lawless attitude, and you turn to Christ for forgiveness, and you turn to Christ with the purpose to follow Him and start obeying His laws.

The second thing about First John 3:10 is that it mentions one specific issue that is obeyed by the children of God and disobeyed by the children of the devil. The commandment is this: “love your brother.” Jesus said that all of the commandments can be broken into two groups. The first commandment that covers one group of commandments is: “Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.” The second commandment that covers all of the other commandments is: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” “Thy neighbor” is anyone with whom you come into contact. Everyone that you meet or know or see is your neighbor. The devil hates man because man was created in the image of God. The devil hates man because God loves man. If you have found a reason to hate anyone, then you have fallen into a snare of the devil.

The commandment that the Apostle John is referring to when he wrote of loving thy brother, is the commandment that Jesus gave to love the children of God. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one to another.” The devil hates God’s children. If you hate anyone, then you are just like the devil. If you hate anyone who is a child of God, then you are even more like the devil. You had better be careful how you treat people, because what if you dislike someone who is a child of God, and what if you hate someone who it turns out is a child of God? You do not want to have to answer for that. You do not want to be doing things that the devil himself does. God loves His children, and He wants you to love them also.

We are halfway through the book of First John, and now John states clearly one of the great themes of this book. He writes in First John 3:11, “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” Back in First John 2:7 John wrote, “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning.” Back in chapter two you had to understand from the context that John was talking about the commandment that Jesus gave for Christians to love one another. Just in case someone did not understand the context here in First John 3:11 John makes it very clear. By the Holy Spirit John is telling us that we must love one another. If you do not love other Christians because they are Christians, then you are disobeying this most important commandment. John speaks greatly of sin in this book. Guess what sin he is principally talking about: the sin of not loving one another. If there is a Christian whom you do not love, then you are participating in the work of the devil who does not love any Christian. The devil is setting you up: trying to give you reasons to not love some Christian. Do not fall into his trap and commit this great sin. Make sure that you love every child of God.

If there is a Christian whom you do not love, then the word of God compares you to the first human being born into this world: Cain. Listen to what the Word of God says in First John 3:12 about such individuals who do not love their Christian brothers and sisters: “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” Whoever has true belief in the Lord is righteous, and whoever is righteous wants to do righteous deeds. That is the way spiritual truth works. It works that way today concerning our faith in Jesus Christ, and it worked that way in regards to the first two human beings born into the world. Nothing has changed. The wicked have chosen wickedness. That is why they hate the righteous. The righteous life of the righteous reminds the wicked that they are doing wrong and is as salt in a wound.

Nothing has changed in that regard. The same spiritual principles are still at work today. That is why John wrote in First John 3:13, “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” Jesus put it this way, “The servant is not greater than his Lord.” And we know what they did to Jesus. Of course, it does not always happen that way. Some people will respect you for having standards and being honest. Some people will learn from your example. And some will be led to Christ because you walk with Christ. But if you walk with God in this world where so many sinful men and demons dwell, you will be hated. Do not be surprised by it. Be ready for it. The worst thing that you can do is to react with the arm of the flesh. Do not react the way the people of the world react to those that hate them. They strike back and get even. Do what Jesus did. Pray for them: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Love those who hate you, or else you are no different than they are.

In First John 3:14 a very important and revealing statement is made. John wrote, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” According to the Apostle John (and John received his words from God), this is the great indicator if someone is saved or not. I have heard many sermons on the subject of the assurance of salvation. I have heard many stories of how someone tried to tell someone else how they could have assurance. But differently than most of the things I have heard from public speakers, this verse right here tells us very plainly how to know if you are saved and how to know if someone else is saved.

We know that in this context John is talking about assurance of salvation because of what is written in verses 19-21 of this chapter where it says, “And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” The problem is that many people who preach about assurance will take this chapter and start in verse 19, but they really ought to start right here with verse 14. The number one way to know if you are a true Christian or not is based upon what verse 14 says. It says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” There are many sources of animosity against true Christians. Generally speaking the world is against a person of faith. The devil is certainly against them, and we know from the example of Cain that people who have become murderers hate Christians.

There is one thing that you had better find out about every person that you meet: are they a Christian or not; and then when you find that they are a Christian, you must love them. If you do not love them, then you are not a believer. Believers love the children of God because the Spirit of God is in their hearts, and God loves His children. John said, “He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” You had better be very sure that you love every brother that you meet. That is the first thing mentioned here concerning having assurance of faith. There just might be significance to the fact that it says here, “He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” Notice that “his brother” is singular. You should love every single brother in Christ. If there is just one that you do not love, then this verse says that you abide in death, and that you do not know (and no one else knows) if you have really passed from death unto life.

To say that you must love every Christian means that you must love them no matter what is their condition. It means that you must love them no matter what differences they have from you. It means that you must love them even if they are of a different denomination than you. But to love them, means just that. It does not mean that you must join in any activities of theirs that are improper or that you must compromise your standards. Nor must you join in any compromising activities that they are involved in: but you must love them. Find out if they are a believer, and make sure that you love them. That is God’s will. Nothing else is God’s will. If they are a Christian and you do not love them, something is terribly wrong with you; and the main indication that you are a Christian is missing. First John 3V14 says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.”

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