I've never been a huge fan of doing the dishes. I think I was scarred as a child, particularly because of my brother Jonathan. When we were both in elementary school, it was our job to do the dishes together after every single meal. Or maybe it was once a day - or once a week. It felt like every day anyway.
Jonathan, being the nice brother he was, would always ask me if I preferred to "wash, or to do EVERYTHING ELSE." "Everything else" consisted of rinsing, drying and washing the counters and table.
Naturally, I stated that I would prefer to wash. How courteous of him to offer me the choice.
There were two problems with this. The first, was that I was a very imaginative boy. So, washing the dishes took forever. I would place the soap bubbles on my face and pretend I was an old bearded man. I would fill a cookie sheet with water, trying to balance it between that skinny part that separates the wash and rinse sinks (I once did that for 45 minutes.). My kryptonite was strainers. I would fill them with water, lift them high above the sink, and bask in the glory of the waterfall - over and over and over again.
Thus, by the time I had actually placed two dishes in the rinse sink, Jonathan had long ago finished "everything else." Therein lay the second problem. Jonathan knew I was an imaginative procrastinator. Sure, he would pop in every once in a while to rinse a few dishes, but mostly he was Scott free.
This is just like the two different ways of approaching sin. And nearly all of us approach it like I approached dishes - slowly, distracted, wanting to finish - but having too much fun to actually deal with the problem at hand. Oh, sure, we plan on washing it - eventually, but only after a little more fun. But before we realize it, we've been playing with a single dish for an hour. We've been flirting with a single sin for a decade.
In 1 John 3, the apostle John begins to draw a line, which many Christians would rather prefer to pretend did not exist. We are, after all, so fond of the feel-good gospel, the one that tells us that Jesus loves us just the way we are.
Max Lucado once said, God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you there."
Now, some aren't too fond of Max Lucado, some stating that he is too liberal. Others have stated that this phrase diminishes God's love, saying that this somehow claims that God's love is conditional on us improving ourselves.
The apostle John could not make this point more clear. True believers will be transformed into the image of God. They will conquer sin. They will not be chained by addiction. The Holy Spirit within a believer will not allow them to remain the way they were. It will not allow them to be chained by their old self. It will not allow them to be indifferent to the Word of God. It will not allow them to dwell in continual sin. A man or woman who claims to be a believer, but is involved in these things, is either a liar, or incredibly confused and terribly lost.
1 John 3:4-9 says the following: "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 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. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God."
Let's take this one verse at a time.
"Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness."
This verse is paramount in understanding sin. John is writing to believers, and to believers only. To the unregenerate, blind, sin-plagued individual…sin is oxygen. He or she is born into sin, and it is a part of them. They are under the curse of Adam. They sin because they don't know another way. The unregenerate aren't all murderers, of course. Some of them are quite lovely, but they are still under Satan's authority.
The believer is completely different. His or her eyes have been opened. They have been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. They are no longer bound by the chains of temptation. Therefore, the sin of a believer is much different from the sin of an unbeliever.
Bible Commentator Matthew Henry said it much better than I can when he wrote, "The unregenerate person is morally unable for what is religiously good. The regenerate person is happily disabled to sin."
While the unbeliever holds a sin nature, the believer has the righteous nature of God in him or her. Sin goes against the nature. It's as unnatural as a right-handed pitcher throwing with his left hand. The believer cannot sin without consciously choosing to do so. The man who does not know Jesus, sins because he is unable to do otherwise. The man or woman who knows Jesus sins, despite Jesus. They stand in rebellion and declare that they will walk in darkness despite the work of the cross.
That is what John means when he says that sin is lawlessness. Warren Wiersbe points out in his commentary on 1 John, that John is not referring here to individual sins, but to sin as a whole. "Sins are the fruit," said Wiersbe "but sin is the root."
That is why, while a believer may commit a sin, he or she will not and cannot be plagued by continual sin. Sin is rebellion. This is why the level of sin does not matter. You may think the homosexual man lives in rebellion, because he is listening to his body's desires, despite what he knows to be true. But what about your and my small sins? What about intentionally going ten miles over the speed limit? Romans 13:1-2 says, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves." Is not then speeding an act of defiance? Doing something you want to because you don't agree with the rule. How is this any different from homosexuality, theft or murder? The earthly consequences may vary tremendously, but the core of the issue is defiance, and that is what marks an unbeliever. Defiance of God has no place in a follower of the Way- in the believer.
1 John 3:5-6 says, "And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him."
John says (paraphrased), "You know this, already. Jesus came to take away your sin. He lives inside you, and He has no sin in him. Therefore, there should be no sin in you. If there is, obviously you aren't acquainted with Him."
Think of it this way, if you went to see the best comedian on earth, and you were trying to convince me of that you had been there. You don't have to tell me about the comedian. You don't have to tell me any of the jokes. I should be able to see your red cheeks. You should have a contagious smile that you couldn't get rid of if you wanted to. You should randomly chuckle every so often as you remember another punchline. A believer should be marked by his or her righteous life. You shouldn't have to convince people that despite your addiction, you've been saved by a righteous God who literally came to take away that sin. No wonder people are confused.
The next two verses say, "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning."
Why does John find it necessary to warn believers about this deception? It is because the devil used this trick on Even in the Garden of Eden, and he uses it to this day.
"One little bite won't kill you," Satan says. "One little peak won't kill your marriage. One small lie can't make you a liar. God is love, isn't He? Why would your love for your same-sex partner bother a God of love? Making fun of celebrities on social media is just fun and games, not slander. Come on, relax, God's about love -not rules - remember? He will love you no matter what you do. So, go ahead, ask Him into your heart. I don't mind. Go to church even. I have plenty of pastors right where I want them. Start a Bible study, picket abortion clinics, vote republican, homeschool your children and tweet all about God's love. I'm on board. Just don't change. Give every dollar you make to charity, just don't give God yourself. Don't strive to be perfect as He is perfect. Call yourself a Christian. Lead other people to the Christian faith that lets you both be a Christian and keep your addictions. Go ahead. I shall delight in every soul you save, for they shall all be saved for me."
Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, "You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."
Did this mean, "do your best, and remember, nobody is actually perfect?" Absolutely not. It meant be perfect. Now, in this context, Jesus is talking about perfection in the way we love people. But He doesn't demand perfection in one area and not another. Provers 3:6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." You cannot be trusting in the Lord with all your heart and maintain addiction. If the Lord is directing you, He will not lead you into an immoral relationship. God is perfect. Therefore to abide in Him fully gives you the potential to mirror His perfection, and therefore, He demands it.
Think of it, in your very self, if you are a true follower of Christ, lies the Spirit of God Himself. This isn't some small thing. God dwells in you. His power dwells in you. His peace, hope, love and perfection dwell in you. So, listen to Him. He will not lead you down a dead end. He will lead you in the perfect way.
Actions have consequences. If I have never consumed caffeine, and I suddenly drink four Red Bulls, will there not be a noticeable difference in me? If I have been blind my entire life, but a groundbreaking new surgery allows me to see, will I choose to close my eyes when I cross the street?
Of course not. A man indwelled by a Holy God will have no desire to remain the way he was. She will have no desire to remain in sin. And should she be tempted, the Spirit will be so much stronger. Now, should she ignore that Spirit and sin, her conscious will plague her until she repents. If her conscious does not plague her or if she continues in this sin, she ought not have any assurance that she is destined for eternal bliss.
Hell is filled with "Christians." Only those who have been made alive by God through the work of Jesus Christ and the moving of the Holy Spirit will walk the streets of gold. And those who have truly been made alive will walk righteously on this earth prior to eternity.
This is where my title comes in about the dirty dishes. Most followers of Jesus Christ, Catholic and Protestant alike, deal with their sin like I dealt with the dishes. Not just slowly, but repetitively. Once I finally finished the dishes, it would not be long before I found myself right back there, dishes piled high, and hours of procrastination at hand.
In the same way, once we finally deal with our sin, we find ourselves back dealing with it again. The never-ending chore of washing away our sins. Some do it at confessionals, some at alter calls and others in the quiet of their homes. It's all the same, really. We're all dealing with our own sin over and over, grateful that God is willing to forgive us.
The problem is that this goes against the entire reason Jesus came to earth.
Jesus did not come to give us the ability to ask forgiveness for our sins every time we slipped up. He didn't hand us a bottle of soap and say, "Now you can clean these dishes every time they get dirty."
Jesus did not come so we could more effectively wash the dishes. He came so we wouldn't ever have to do the dishes again. He came to make us forever clean.
For a child of God to sin indicates that he does not understand or appreciate what Jesus did for him on the cross.
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