Six Arguments for Holiness of Life
The following verses all have a two-fold theme; believers will live godly in this present world and they will love one another. Faith is always connected with obedience and love.
- 1 John 2:29 - If we know that Christ our Lord is righteous then we know that those who are begotten of him will be righteous. To be born of God is to have the nature of God, the grace of God, and the presence of Christ formed in us, causing us to be like him.
- 1 John 3:1 - The amazing, eternal, infinite love which God has bestowed on us, making us sons of God, is a privilege that exceeds all others. How can we then serve self and sin in the face of such love and grace?
- 1 John 3:3 - We are going to be like Christ and every person who now has this hope in Christ of being like Christ will make every effort to be like Christ now. It is foolish for a man to say, "I want to be like Christ someday...but not now."
- 1 John 3:4 - Every person who practices sin as a course of life, excuses and justifies a life of flesh, and lives unrestrained, is lawless and a transgressor of the law. But no true believer can ever find peace outside of the fellowship of God. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie.
- 1 John 3:5 - Christ was sent to take away sin and, in Christ, the believer has no sin. But the main thought of this verse is that Christ did not come to put away the penalty of sin only but also the power of sin over his sheep. Sin shall not reign over you. We are, therefore, servants of Christ and not servants of Satan or sin.
- 1 John 3:6 - Those who know Christ and abide in him hate sin in themselves, and they hate sin about them. They do not deliberately practice a life of sin because, to continue in sin, is to give clear evidence that one has not truly seen his glory or ever known him for "if any man be in Christ he is a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Henry Mahan (1926-2019) served as a teacher and pastor of 13th Street Baptist Church in Ashland Kentucky, USA.
Published: Jun, 20 2020 Updated: Jun, 20 2020
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