Lawlessness is sin, hating others is not of God, and we pass from death to life

1 John 3:4-15

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
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• Lawlessness is sin but whoever lives for Jesus Christ is not lawless.
• We who live in righteousness is of Christ but he who sins is of the devil.
• Hating others is not of God but is like Cain who murdered his brother.
• This world hates the followers of Christ, but we have passed from death to life.

Lawlessness is sin but whoever lives for Jesus Christ is not lawless.
“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is 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.” 1 John 3:4-6

This passage highlights the interconnection between sin and lawlessness, even revealing that sin is lawlessness. This is because sin grieves the Holy Spirit, who restrains lawlessness. “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed,” 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 Click here for a post on the “lawless one”.

The Anti-Christ is referred to as the “lawless one” in 2 Thessalonians 2. This entity opposes the presence of the Holy Spirit, discards the need for Jesus Christ, and denies the Living God. We want to stay as far away from lawlessness as possible and to stay as close to our Lord Jesus Christ as we can. The “lawless one” is the entity that has power over physiology to govern through people’s thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors. We want to abide in the Spirit of Christ to discern our thoughts and feelings to watch over our words and behaviors.

God sent Jesus Christ into the world to remove our sins, to remove lawlessness from our minds, spirits, and souls. In Jesus Christ, there is no sin of lawlessness, for He gives the Holy Spirit, who restrains lawlessness. We who abide in Jesus Christ blossom with the fruit of the Spirit, and the sin of lawlessness does not exist. Those who sin and lead a life of lawlessness do not know God, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit.

There are sins that do not lead to death and lawlessness, those sins are forgivable. However, there is a sin that does lead to death and lawlessness and is not forgivable. “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.” 1 John 5:16-17

The sin leading to death and lawlessness is considered to be the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that guides us to seek forgiveness for our sins as we follow Jesus Christ and initially brings us to acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit results in a hardened heart, without remorse, guilt, and shame, which prevents repentance of sins and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”—” Mark 3:28-29

We who live in righteousness is of Christ, he who sins is of the devil.
“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, because he has been born of God.” 1 John 3:7-9

The previous verses, 4-6, refers to sin as lawlessness, and the next verses, 10-12, use Cain’s murder of his brother Abel to describe the unrighteous and those who are not of God. The final two verses, 13-15, says that we pass from death to life because we love one another, but those who do not love one another remain in death. Continuing with the Apostle John’s teachings throughout verses 4-15 of this post, we can interpret verses 7 and 9 within the context of John’s train of thought.

“Little children” includes all who live for God through Jesus Christ, in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle John writes to us because he does not want us to be deceived. The truth is that whoever practices righteousness is righteous just as our Lord Jesus Christ is righteous. This means living a life that is not lawless, avoiding hostility, cruelty, and malice towards others, and understanding that love for one another causes us to pass from death to life. The righteousness of Jesus Christ within us is to shine with His light to impart life and Salvation. Jesus said, “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” Luke9:56

Whoever sins is of the Devil, and this verse describes Satan’s mission in the world, “…your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” from 1 Peter 5:8. Satan is the adversary of all who live for God through Jesus Christ and in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Satan is lawless, brings death and murder, and causes people to remain in sin by not loving one another. Satan has existed since the fall of Adam and Eve, and he introduced sin and death into this world by acting maliciously towards the two. “[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” John 8:44

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to destroy the Devil’s works and put an end to sin and death. “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:10-11 The Devil’s work is one of darkness, resulting in death and destruction, whereas Jesus Christ has come to bring light that reveals life and Salvation. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4

We who are born-again in Jesus Christ, through the Spirit of God, do not engage in lawlessness or commit acts of murder or malicious hostility; instead, we pass from death to life. To have our seed remain within us means that the beastly side of our sinful nature is covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Through the forgiveness of sins, we receive the Holy Spirit, who restrains lawlessness. Because we are reborn through Jesus Christ, we cannot engage in lawlessness, malice hostility, or commit murder against others.

Hating others is not of God but is like Cain who murdered his brother.
“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” 1 John 3:10-12

The difference between the children of God and the children of the Devil is clear: those who do not practice righteousness do not belong to God, nor does the one who does not love one another. Individuals who are lawless, commit murder, and harbor malicious intentions towards others are not of God. Likewise, those who live in darkness to conceal their deeds that cause turmoil, harm, destruction, and death to others are not of God. Their fruits reveal their true nature. “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” Matthew 7:15-18

The message that the Jewish people heard from the beginning, through the Ten Commandments is the same message we have received from our Lord Jesus Christ since coming to Him: we should love one another. Jesus said, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are not to be like Cain, who was of the Devil and murdered his brother Abel. While we could mention a specific reason for Cain’s actions, the core issue was that Cain’s deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous, as described in Genesis 4:1-15.

Some background information is that Abel was a keeper of sheep and offered God a sacrifice from his flock. Cain was a “tiller of the ground” and presented God with offerings from the fruits of the ground. Abel represents those of us who offer ourselves to God through the Lamb of God, who was the sacrifice for our sins. Cain represents those who are devoted to earthly pursuits, seeking an earthly Garden of Eden by focusing on saving the planet through environmental efforts. God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s, symbolizing that God accepts our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, not our faith in environmental stewardship.

Like Cain who murdered his brother Able, those of today’s “green” and “environmentally correct” culture seek to eliminate Christianity. The global culture is empowered by the entity that gives them what to think, feel, say, and do and is the power driving the environmental goals of the United Nations forward. This entity despises belief in God, scoffs at the need for Jesus Christ, and oppress the presence of the Holy Spirit because He does not accept their “green” offering but accepts those who offer their mind, spirit, conscience, and soul to Jesus Christ. Today’s “green” culture is groomed to the mark of the beast by what they are given to say and do.

In the quest for salvation through environmental goals, global warming has become a pressing issue for the planet. Global warming is the Fourth Plague mentioned in Revelation 16:8-9. The more powerful the United Nations becomes as the one world government, the hotter and more intense the burning heat of the sun becomes. Global warming is instrumental in destroying the power center of the beast in the Fifth Plague mentioned in Revelation 16:10-11. That renders the world government and its global culture powerless. In that powerlessness comes the Battle of Armageddon of the Sixth Plague mentioned in Revelation 16:12-17. After that, comes the Day of the Lord in Zachariah 14 and the return of Jesus Christ. The Day of the Lord is also mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11.

This world hates the followers of Christ, but we have passed from death to life.
“Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” 1 John 3:13-15

The Apostle John advises us not to be astonished if the world has animosity towards us. Our Lord Jesus mentioned that if the world hates us, it hated Him first, because we live for the New Jerusalem of the new heaven and earth, and do not conform to this world’s culture. Echoing Paul, we affirm that our present sufferings do not compare to the splendor of our eternal home.

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:18-19 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

As believers in Jesus Christ, we understand that we have passed from death to life through our faith in Him and our love for one another. Those who cannot find it within themselves to love one another remain in death. Anyone who harbors hatred towards their brother is akin to a murderer, and it is known that no murderer possesses eternal life within them.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1