Your condemnin' heart

Sin and assurance in part III of our 1 John journey

How do you know you’re fighting sin?

What do you do when you’re not sure if God loves you?

What does it look like to abide in Christ?

We’re in the third week of our 1 John study, focusing specifically on 1 John 2:28-3:24, which just so happens to address these questions.

I want to pull two main themes from this chapter: Sin and assurance. Let’s get into it. 

SIN: 1 John 2:28-3:15

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever 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. No 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. By 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.

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 

What is sin? What does it mean to “make a practice of sinning?” Didn’t John just say in chapter 1 that we are all sinners? 

First, let’s define “sin.” Often, we think about sin as an intentional act of evil, a premeditated decision to do something wrong. And, while this is often the case, the truth of sin is far more pervasive than that. 

“Sin” is a translation of the Hebrew word “khata” (“hamartia” in Greek), which literally means “to fail” or “to miss the mark.” 

The word “sin” shows up for the first time in Genesis 4 with the story of Cain and Abel. In one of my favorite images in scripture, God reminds Cain that sin is “crouching” at the door. “Its desire is contrary to you,” God says, “but you must rule over it.” 

Unfortunately, Cain doesn’t heed God’s words—instead of fighting to rule over the sin that is waiting for him around the corner, he gives in, killing his brother. I don’t think it’s an accident that the story of Cain and Abel—one fraught with hatred, jealousy, and strife—is the very example John uses to illustrate a sinful, unrepentant life. 

Many years ago, I read an analogy that compared the Christian life to swimming in a swift river. To pursue righteousness is to actively swim upstream, intentionally chasing Christlikeness with each and every decision. The minute you stop swimming, though—the minute you take your eyes off the goal—the current will begin to sweep you back downstream. 

There’s no such thing as treading water in this scenario; you’re either swimming upstream, towards righteousness, or you’re being swept downstream into sin. 

ASSURANCE: 1 John 3:16-24

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

I’ve spent a lot of years being afraid of God. My husband and I often joke that I have a bit of a Puritanical streak; I have a pretty strong sense of right and wrong that can lend itself to being overly harsh on myself (and, at times, others) when I’ve perceived a moral failure of any kind. 

Though on its face it seems like my need to “act right” is a good thing, it can be twisted into something ugly when it causes me to redefine who God is. This unyielding moral standard, upheld by a deity who is just waiting for me to drop the ball, is simply not reality. 

Yes, God is perfectly just. Sin must be addressed. Denying Christ and defying God’s law must have consequences. 

But that’s not the whole story. That’s why this section opens with a reminder that those of us who abide in him—who are swimming upstream, even when the waters are turbulent—can face him with confidence, feeling no need to shrink back in shame. Not only that, but Christ sacrificed his life so that God could call us his children. 

That’s why I love the last part of this chapter so much. John reminds his readers that we don’t have to rely on the whims of the heart to know whether or not we’re justified before God. 

Is your heart like mine? Does it harp on every mistake, every misstep, every perceived lack of perfection? Lift up your head, friend: “God is greater than our heart.” 

Is your experience different? Is it easy for you to remember that Jesus has covered you, once and for all, with his atoning blood? Find peace in the confidence you have before God as his child. 

Do you live somewhere between the two? Don’t worry; your standing isn’t dependent on how you feel, but on Christ’s perfect, complete sacrifice. Trust, hope, and believe in the cross. 

There’s a symbiosis between forgiveness, assurance, and the daily fight toward righteousness. The interaction between these things simply is the Christian life. Blessings to you as you walk in that tension this week. 

From the archives:

Catch up on the 1 John series here:

And a recommendation:

For more background on the biblical concept of sin, I can’t recommend this short word study highly enough.