1 John 3:4-10
One of the most common phrases heard today is, “People never change.”
We hear it in different forms. “That is just who I am.” “I have always been this way.” “Once an addict, always an addict.” “Once angry, always angry.”
The world often assumes that people can improve around the edges but rarely change at the core.
Christianity makes a far greater claim.
The gospel does not merely offer self-improvement. It offers transformation. Through Jesus Christ, sinners can be redeemed, renewed, and made new. That is the heart of what the Apostle John teaches in 1 John 3:4-10. In this passage, John explains why Jesus came into the world and what His work produces in those who truly belong to Him.
John is not asking whether Christians are perfect. He is asking whether Christians are different.
He Came to Remove the Penalty and Practice of Sin
John begins by addressing humanity’s greatest problem: sin. He defines sin as lawlessness, a rejection of God’s authority and rule over our lives. Sin is not merely making mistakes. It is rebellion against a holy God.
Yet John immediately points us to hope. Jesus Christ appeared to take away sins. The One whom John the Baptist called “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” came to accomplish what no human effort could ever achieve. Christ dealt with the penalty of sin through His death on the cross and offers complete forgiveness to all who trust in Him.
John is not describing sinless perfection when he speaks about believers. Rather, he is describing a new direction in life. Those who abide in Christ do not continue living in habitual, unrepentant sin. Christians may stumble, but they do not settle into sin. They hate what once controlled them because they now love the Savior who rescued them.
A question naturally follows: If Christ came to remove sin, why would we cling to what He died to remove?
The believer’s relationship with sin changes because their relationship with Christ has changed.
He Came to Destroy the Works of the Devil
John then takes us deeper. Sin does not exist in isolation. Behind every lie, temptation, and false teaching stands an enemy who opposes God and seeks to deceive His people. If sin is our internal enemy, Satan is our external enemy.
The devil’s primary weapon has always been deception. From the Garden of Eden onward, he has sought to convince people that rebellion against God is freedom and that sin is harmless. The world continues to echo those same lies today.
But John reminds believers of something glorious. The Son of God appeared for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus did not merely come to teach moral lessons or offer helpful advice. He came to win a decisive victory.
At the cross, Satan lost his accusation.
At the resurrection, Satan lost his victory.
At Christ’s return, Satan will lose his freedom forever.
The battle still rages, but the outcome has already been determined. Christ has conquered. The enemy still fights, but he no longer wins.
That truth gives believers confidence. We do not fight for victory. We fight from victory because Christ has already triumphed.
He Came to Set Apart the Children of God
If Christ has removed sin and defeated Satan, what does that victory look like in the life of a believer?
John answers by describing the evidence of the new birth.
First, God’s children have a new nature. Jesus told Nicodemus that a person must be born again. Salvation is not merely a change of habits. It is a supernatural work of God that creates new desires, new affections, and a new identity.
Second, God’s children have a new direction. John again emphasizes that believers do not practice sin as a settled pattern of life. While Christians still struggle and sometimes fall, they no longer make peace with sin. Their lives increasingly move toward Christ.
Third, God’s children have a new love. Love for God and love for fellow believers become visible evidence of genuine faith. John will develop this theme further in the verses that follow, but already he is drawing a clear contrast. The children of God are marked by righteousness and love, while those who remain under the influence of the evil one are marked by sin and hatred.
Who our Father is becomes evident in how we live.
Transformation in Progress
John’s message is both challenging and encouraging.
The question is not whether we have achieved perfection. The question is whether Christ is changing us.
Jesus came to take away sin.
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.
Jesus came to make sinners into sons and daughters of God.
The gospel reminds us that by Jesus we were made, and only by Jesus can we be remade.
As believers, we should not spend our lives searching for evidence of perfection. Instead, we should look for evidence of God’s transforming work and rejoice that the One who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.
The Christian life is not perfection achieved.
It is transformation in progress.
Grace Baptist Church
Come – Grow – Go