Breaking Habits

613.  "Breaking Habits"                  September 24, 2012
1 John 3-Part 2 (verses 4-6)
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.  1 John 3:6

LET IT GLOW

When I was a child, I had a habit of chewing my fingernails. It was a hard one to break. Habits can be hard to break, especially when one is trying so hard to break them.

Maybe it is time for me to do a self-evaluation and ask myself, "Do I have any sinful habits?" Are there things in my life that are displeasing to God? I should ask Him to show me. I am just a sinner saved by grace. I don't want to sin, but I do. It is a part of our nature. I am thankful for God's grace that keeps forgiving us.

Sinneth not does not mean that once a person is saved he never sins again! It means that once a person is saved he no longer lives in sin; his life is no longer characterized by sin. Everyone who is truly born of God lives righteously. (Liberty Bible Commentary)

In the devotional book Experiencing God Day by Day, Henry and Richard Blackaby have this to say about sin:

Sin is choosing a standard other than God's law on which to base your life. It is a dangerous thing to live your life without a spiritual "plumb line," or standard, by which you determine right from wrong. God's word is that plumb line. Spiritual laws, like physical laws, are meant to protect you, not restrict you. God's absolute moral and spiritual laws that we are free to ignore, but we do so at our own peril.

LET IT GROW

Verse 4 says, Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Commits sin-The verb commits in the Greek conveys the idea of making sin a habitual practice. Although genuine Christians have a sin disposition, and do commit and need to confess sin, that is not the unbroken pattern of their lives. A genuinely born-again believer has a built-in check or guard against habitual sinning due to a new nature (Rom. 6:12).  (MacArthur)

All disobedience is contrary to love, therefore, sin is a transgression of the Law, whether the act refers immediately to God or to our neighbor.  (Clarke)

Lawlessness conveys more than transgressing God's Law. It conveys the ultimate sense of rebellion, living as if there was no law or ignoring what laws exist. If no check against habitual sin exists in someone who professes to be a Christian, John's pronouncement is absolutely clear-salvation never took place. To sin is contrary to Christ's work of breaking the dominion of sin in the believer's life (Rom. 6:1-15). (MacArthur)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible says:

• All sin is a violation of the law of God. (verse 4)
• The very object of the coming of Christ was to deliver people from sin. (verse 5)
• Those who are true Christians don't habitually sin. (verse 6) 

The Bible makes two things clear about sin. First, living a lifestyle of sin indicates that you are not walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, regardless of what you say about your spiritual condition. You cannot regularly spend time studying and meditationg on God's Word, praying and walking in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and persist in sin.
Second, if you do not hate sin the way God does, then you do not truly know Him.
All this does not mean that you will never sin, but it does mean that you refuse to make sin a lifestyle and and you immediately seek forgiveness when you sin (1 John 1:10). (Experiencing God Day By Day)

Am I abiding in Christ or am I falling into sinful habits or not grieving over my sin?
These are some hard things to swallow, but true.
What is in the middle of this 3-letter word SIN?  "I" is in the middle of sin.

LET IT GO

Abide in Jesus, under grace, not in sin.

Ask the Lord to show me if I have any habitual sins in my life.

Let go of sinful ways. Come to Jesus for  cleansing and a changed heart.