"He who sins is of the devil..."
Text: 1 John 3:8
A CANDID STATEMENT
The Apostle John minces no words when it comes to the matter of teaching about righteousness or sin. Things were very clear-cut as far as he was concerned. If a person truly speaks of knowing God, then it follows that he must seek to live a righteous life. But how would he describe a person who keeps sinning indiscriminately?
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,
that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
1 John 3:8
1. “He who sins”
a) This statement must be carefully understood.
b) The Greek construction of this sentence is of vital importance.
i) It is a description of a person who sins with impunity.
ii) He thinks nothing of doing wrong.
iii) Sinning deliberately does not even bother the conscience of the sinful person.
2. Opposites
a) This statement is better understood as the opposite of the previous sentence.
b) Read the two sentences together:-
“He who practises righteousness…” 1 John 3:7
“He who sins…” 1 John 3:8
3. Perpetual behavioural patterns
a) The person who practises righteousness does it perpetually.
b) The person who sins also does this perpetually.
4. “Is of the devil”
a) The devil and sin are linked together.
b) The person who sins may not even know that the devil is related to his sinful behaviour.
c) The Apostle Paul wrote about how the Evil One influences the world (Ephesians 2:1-3).
5. “Deception”
a) Deceptive teachers will attempt to discount the significance of sinning.
b) Sinning is even spoken of as an outdated way of thinking.
c) They deny any absolute moral standards. Everything to them is relative!