Journey Through The Bible
  Old Testament Reading: Numbers 28-30
  New Testament Reading: 1 John 3

And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as He is pure. …
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister (1 John 3:3, 9-10).

God is Pure, He is Righteous, He is Holy. We are assured that at salvation, God purifies us by removing the curse of sin from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps 103:12). He declares us to be righteous. (Rom. 5:8-9) Even though we know this and we have the Holy Spirit permanently living within us to restrain us, John’s letter reminds us that sin still invades our thought, desires, and motives and effects our relationships with one another.

Occasional sin isn’t the same as a continual, habitual lifestyle of sin. To continue in sin or to practice sin is to sin consistently and as a way of life. No Christian is sinless, but God expects a genuine believer to sin less – not to be sinless.

Every great person mentioned in the Bible sinned at one time or another. Abraham lied, Moses lost his temper, David committed adultery, Peter denied Jesus, and the list could go on. But sin was not the practice of these men. It was an incident in their lives, totally contrary to their normal habits. And when they did sin, they admitted it and asked God to forgive them.

God doesn’t expect a Christian to be perfect, but He expects diligent effort to live a life worthy of the perfect salvation Christ achieved for us. Even though Jesus paid the price for our sin, we should be troubled when we add one more sin for Christ to bear. Our love for God and our commitment to Christ should inspire us to live righteous, pure lives. 

Our journey in the Christian faith should be one of growth and improvement. To combat sporadic sin, let’s rely on God’s seed, the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to walk in the light and not in the darkness of sin. With Christ as our model, as God’s children, we need to become more like Him every day.