week of 3-15-11 3rd recorded Highquest Bible study

The passage I read was 1 John 3:1-10

You can find that passage here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+3:1-10&version=NIV

The verse that most stands out to me:

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

As I reflect:

Starting off in this passage John is telling us to take a look at and consider how great the Father’s love for us that He adopted us as His own. This is meaningful to me multi-fold because I was raised having not one dad that I bonded with, but many that temporarily partially filled the role of “dad”. Not only did those men fall greatly short of what a real dad should be here on earth, but they (as well as I) fall eternally short of the role my Heavenly Father has taken in my life. He has adopted me completely and in giving me a new identity which is in Him, He has made it known to me that I now carry a new name conceived in His glory to represent the new family I am now part of. I have many times heard people who do not know my Father call themselves children of God or say that we are all children of God. This simply isn’t true. Though God’s love and the saving grace offered through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross is offered freely to the whole world, only in accepting and confessing Jesus as Lord and the repentance of sin can one then begin to identify as an adopted child of God. I have not only been adopted as a child of God, but I have died completely to the old me that was drowning in the condemnation of sin. I am truly free in my new family. There is much more to consider just in this first principal in the passage. I will continue the reflection in that area off paper and encourage you to do the same.

Everything kinda leads up to verse 6 as far as sin and abiding in it or not. I don’t believe John here is talking about if you sin (because in 1 John 1:8 he says if we say we don’t have sin then we lie). I believe the translated verb tense is talking about living in sin. If sin is disrespect for God and is lawlessness, and Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in Jesus, then to abide in Him would mean for us that we don’t live in sin. Yes, we will make mistakes… But that is gravely different from actively choosing to “live in” sin.

John goes on to explain (and speak out against some local beliefs of the time that still stand against us today) that one must not only not live in sin, but also have signs of and evidence of our Salvation. He is explaining that it is not possible for one to come unto and abide in Jesus and yet have no righteousness that becomes evident as a result. This is spoken of throughout the New Testament as being fruitful or having good fruit. Our faith is to have evidence and in this way we can be like Jesus. Additionally, one who does not display such fruit, such evidence of salvation which is righteousness lived out in life, is like the opposing Satan. You can tell what side a servant is on by their deeds and fruit. For in their actions you will see resemblance of their master. For me and for any true follower of Christ, your evidence ought to be that which resembles God’s work in your life and your obedience to His Word.

My response to the Lord:

Wow God! You put a lot of information for us into this passage through John. I can tell you were close to and powerful in John because his writings have a strong evidence of your righteousness working in him. I thank you for your righteousness working in him and today in me and my family as well. I thank you that you continue to mold me and even more than this, I thank u for your love for me. May I not fall victim to local beliefs in or out of churches here in this land you have provided for my temporary home. May I display by your grace righteous acts as a fruit of the works you have done in me. May my outside reflect the inside and reflect your glory in my life. Lord help me to not only abide in you but also to lead my family to abide in you as well. Holy Father, I thank you with all that I am for adopting me and for your work in my life as well as in my family’s life. We are fully devoted to and dedicated to you Father. May you work your will in and through us always. In Jesus Name.