Do Right, I John 2:29

February 28, 2016

I John 2:29... If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has born of him...

A simple definition for righteous is living right. We can also say, it is moral living or living without sin. The "he" in this verse refers to Christ, and it is easy for us to say that he was righteous. We know that he lived a life free from sin. The Bible says it this way, he was "tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin." (He. 4:15) Jesus knows the draw of sin on our lives. He understands the tug placed on out hearts when temptation comes. Instead of caving to it, he withstood the attacks of the enemy never to be overtaken by the arrows of sin.

You might say, "That's not fair, he is God, holy and pure, he couldn't sin." In his humanity, he could have. But, he chose to live in the holiness of his Godhood. It is no different with us. If we live in our humanity, we will fall when Satan, our enemy, attacks. But if we live in the Spirit, which we have been given access to at the time of our conversion, we will be able to stand. Now, standing doesn't mean being still. It refers to holding firm in faith, because we live in the Spirit. And since we can hold firm, we are able to keep from sinning and are able to fulfill his way for us to live.

A and K, there are two sides to an equation. It is not just good enough to be saved, you must also walk with him. It is not good enough to do good works, even though Ephesians say we have been created to do good works, you must stop sinning as well. Daughters, it appears that most people who call themselves Christians today try to add Christ to their sinful lives in an attempt to equalize their sin. This is wrong. we are not trying to balance our lives. That would be zero. We would end up with nothing. No, we stop sinning and start living for the Lord. That is what "doing what is right" means, stopping the one and living the other. Jesus lived this kind of life. Live like Jesus with the aid of the Spirit and others will know you belong to him.

~Dad