No one who abides in him keeps on sinning

 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 1 John 3:6 ESV

This verse is very sobering. It is cause for true soul searching and study. When one reads this verse they have to ask themselves if they are truly living in Christ. It causes one to look more closely at their walk, to see if there is a place in their lives where they are continuing in sinful behavior.

I think most of us, when we first consider this verse probably think; well I don't do the things I used to do before I became a Christian. So, I should be alright. But, should we leave it there? Maybe we would should dig a little deeper. Ultimately we are to model our walk after Jesus walk. So it behooves us to know what that walk was and whether or not we are following in His footsteps. Remember what John says, if we keep on sinning we haven't seen Him or known Him.

So, we need to look at the life of Jesus as it's chronicled in the Gospels and come to know what is acceptable behavior for a Christian. We don't want to continue in sinful behavior that will keep us from being all that the Lord wants us to be. Even though we have received God's grace through Jesus we don't want to continue in behavior that is an affront to that grace. Think of what the apostle Paul said about this subject. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:1,2 ESV As christians we have died to sin and must lead a new life, leaving the old one behind.

So today, let's really look at ourselves and see if we are doing things in our lives that we know to be against the teachings of the Bible. Whatever we find that is not suitable behavior for us let's repent of that behavior, ask for forgiveness and continue in Jesus. Let's show by our walk that we have seen Him and know Him.

© 2013 Leo J. Woodman