I hope this message finds each of you well, and you enjoyed a Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.  I love having a day specifically set aside as an opportunity to corporately remember the goodness of God, which overflows in a heart of thanksgiving.  How great is our God, and His love towards us in Jesus!

The passage below, can be a weighty one.  It can be abused to project fear without grace, or it can be treated too lightly without a right fear of the holiness of God that demands judgment against sin.  While we press forward towards Christ, pursuing God and personal righteousness, know that there is no condemnation for anyone who is in Christ Jesus.

1 John 3:9-11 – “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.  For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another”

It is impossible for a Christian to continue in sin.  God is light, and in Him there is no darkness, no sin.  By faith, we have been united with Christ, and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.  Therefore, a Christian will never be at peace with sin in their lives.  Instead they will see sin rightly as a poison for our souls, and will be working with all their power to rid themselves of it.

The risk here is to judge either ourselves or others according to outward appearances.  We cannot see someone’s heart, but God can.  Christians can fall away, but they will always return.  If you look at Luke 15, the parable of the prodigal son – this likely took place over months or years.  An outsider would likely have looked at this person’s life and said – they’re not a Christian, but God sees what we cannot.

So in love, if we see a professing brother or sister practicing sinning, we confront them, pray for them, and call them back into a right relationship with God.  In our own lives, knowing the fear of the Lord, we run from sin, praying God’s continued protection and deliverance from temptation, and renounce anything that would seek to separate us from the God we know and love.

As each of us walks with Christ, day to day, let us be watchful in our own lives, and loving towards our brothers and sisters to press forward in pursuing the righteousness of God.  Let the love of Christ be manifest in our love towards others, that we call one another way from sin, eager to extend grace and mercy to others, as we have been extended grace and mercy in Christ.  The LORD is with you, and for you.  He has delivered you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, and He is mightily working in each of you to draw you closer to Himself.  Stay encouraged, surround yourself with brothers and sisters in Christ, and stay vigilant in your walk with Him.