Sue J Love
Loyal
1 John 3:4-10 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“4Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.
“7Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. 8The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
“9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”
Choosing Sin Over God
A key word in what this teaches us is the word “practices.” This is not teaching us that if we should ever sin once that we have not known God, otherwise it would nullify 1 John 2:1-2 which tells us that if we should sin (singularly) that Jesus Christ is our advocate before God the Father. For He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. But this has to do with making sin our practice, and not obedience to our Lord. It is speaking of those who deliberately and habitually choose sin over and above obedience to God.
For the whole purpose of Jesus Christ coming to the earth, to be born as a baby to a human mother, conceived of the Holy Spirit, was that one day He would be put to death on a cross to put our sins to death with Him so that, by faith in Him, we will now die with Him to sin and live to Him and to His righteousness in walks of surrender to His will and in obedience to His commands. He died to free us from slavery to sin so we will now serve Him with our lives, living holy lives pleasing to Him, by the grace of God.
Lies vs Truth
Sadly we have some people today teaching that if you sin even once after you have believed in Jesus that you are cut out of your relationship with Christ. But way worse than that are the many who are teaching that once God forgives you of your sins (or you believe He has) that now you are secured salvation from sin and eternal life with God regardless of how you live. The many are teaching that God no longer requires death to sin (repentance) and obedience to His commands. But that’s a lie from hell.
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to Him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) Him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to His commands, in His power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls Him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
The Bottom Line
So, what’s the bottom line here? Did Jesus die to free us from our slavery (addiction) to sin? Yes! He did! He died and He rose from the dead in victory over sin so that we will now die with Him to sin and live to Him and to His righteousness. Therefore the one who is righteous before the Lord is the one who makes righteousness (not sin) their practice. But the one who sins deliberately and habitually, making sin their practice, they are not of God, but they are of the devil, so they will not have eternal life with God.
For we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey His commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims He is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to His commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
What’s Your Practice?
An Original Work / October 7, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
The Spirit Calling
An Original Work / November 12, 2019
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Hear the Spirit calling. He’ll keep you from falling.
Tenderly He’s calling, “Come and follow Him.”
Walk with Jesus daily. Don’t give in to lazy.
Folks may call you crazy. Fellowship with Him.
Follow where He leads you. Eat what Jesus feeds you.
His love will renew you if you follow Him.
Do what Jesus tells you. Don’t let your faith fail you.
His love will avail you if you walk with Him.
Jesus, Lord and Savior, reigneth now forever.
He gave us His favor so we’d live with Him.
Turning now from our sin, Holy Spirit live-in.
Holiness we walk in, purified by Him.
“4Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.
“7Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. 8The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
“9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”
Choosing Sin Over God
A key word in what this teaches us is the word “practices.” This is not teaching us that if we should ever sin once that we have not known God, otherwise it would nullify 1 John 2:1-2 which tells us that if we should sin (singularly) that Jesus Christ is our advocate before God the Father. For He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. But this has to do with making sin our practice, and not obedience to our Lord. It is speaking of those who deliberately and habitually choose sin over and above obedience to God.
For the whole purpose of Jesus Christ coming to the earth, to be born as a baby to a human mother, conceived of the Holy Spirit, was that one day He would be put to death on a cross to put our sins to death with Him so that, by faith in Him, we will now die with Him to sin and live to Him and to His righteousness in walks of surrender to His will and in obedience to His commands. He died to free us from slavery to sin so we will now serve Him with our lives, living holy lives pleasing to Him, by the grace of God.
Lies vs Truth
Sadly we have some people today teaching that if you sin even once after you have believed in Jesus that you are cut out of your relationship with Christ. But way worse than that are the many who are teaching that once God forgives you of your sins (or you believe He has) that now you are secured salvation from sin and eternal life with God regardless of how you live. The many are teaching that God no longer requires death to sin (repentance) and obedience to His commands. But that’s a lie from hell.
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to Him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) Him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to His commands, in His power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls Him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
The Bottom Line
So, what’s the bottom line here? Did Jesus die to free us from our slavery (addiction) to sin? Yes! He did! He died and He rose from the dead in victory over sin so that we will now die with Him to sin and live to Him and to His righteousness. Therefore the one who is righteous before the Lord is the one who makes righteousness (not sin) their practice. But the one who sins deliberately and habitually, making sin their practice, they are not of God, but they are of the devil, so they will not have eternal life with God.
For we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey His commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims He is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to His commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
What’s Your Practice?
An Original Work / October 7, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
The Spirit Calling
An Original Work / November 12, 2019
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Hear the Spirit calling. He’ll keep you from falling.
Tenderly He’s calling, “Come and follow Him.”
Walk with Jesus daily. Don’t give in to lazy.
Folks may call you crazy. Fellowship with Him.
Follow where He leads you. Eat what Jesus feeds you.
His love will renew you if you follow Him.
Do what Jesus tells you. Don’t let your faith fail you.
His love will avail you if you walk with Him.
Jesus, Lord and Savior, reigneth now forever.
He gave us His favor so we’d live with Him.
Turning now from our sin, Holy Spirit live-in.
Holiness we walk in, purified by Him.