Verse: 1 John 3:9-10
No one who is born of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, because God’s seed [His principle of life, the essence of His righteous character] remains [permanently] in him . . . ; and he [who is born again] cannot habitually [live a life characterized by] sin, because he is born of God and longs to please Him. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God’s will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] love his [believing] brother. (AMP)
Devotion
Sin – Technically, “sin” (hamartia) is defined as “missing the mark” or missing the “target”, but it implies a loss or forfeiture because we missed. Properly, we have “no-share” because of this failure. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1990), 266.
But how do we identify “the mark” or “the target”, so that we don’t miss it?
Hamartía (“sin, forfeiture because [of] missing the mark”) is the brand of sin that emphasizes [a] self-originated (self-empowered) nature – i.e., it is not originated or empowered by God (i.e., not of faith, His in-worked persuasion, cf. Ro 14:23). Id.
According to Romans 14:23, whatever is done that is not done from faith is “sin”, i.e., is hamartia, and misses the mark. Missing the mark means we are going against the inner convictions and conscience “in-worked” by God.
How do we make sure our conscience is properly “in-worked” by God? It is crucial to know Him and what He thinks. We read the Word. We stand on His promises. They are “yes and Amen.” We memorize. The Word can give us great assurance in our conscience (e.g., 2 Peter 1:11). We seek Him; we pray and ask Him to speak to us. We wait.
The “Seed” Planted in Our Heart That Overcomes Sin – Notwithstanding these methods, the foundation and “cornerstone” of our ability to overcome sin is the fact that God put his “seed” (sperma) in us so that we would be his offspring and descendants. 1 John 3:9, Strong supra. at 4690. God passed down his genetic code to us and we have His DNA. This seed is programmed to grow and implement His genetic code in us. God is love. We have the DNA to love.
Still, when the new seed DNA is planted in us it is, after all, just a seed. Our heart has to expand to accommodate the growth of this living seed. Otherwise, the seed may simply become “pot bound” in a small heart. It’s easy to imagine how painful it would be to have a living, growing, root-bound seed pushing at the edges of a hard heart that will not expand. And so, some of God’s children are in pain for this reason.
There really are only two choices to get rid of the pain caused by a heart that is not growing while containing a seed that is. Either, kill the seed, or accommodate the seed and grow the heart to make room for the seed. Killing the seed happens when a conscience dies. It is common in our culture for people to be proud of getting rid of their “inhibitions” by dulling their conscience via practicing behaviors that are, at first, uncomfortable. Gradually, the inhibition dies, and the new behavior becomes comfortable. Where the “inhibition” being destroyed is a Godly rule of conscience, the bible calls this process “searing” the conscience as with a hot iron.
On the other hand, enlarging our heart creates lots of room for God’s seed to grow according to His DNA. God is love; therefore, His DNA must produce love. Having love and compassion impedes sin. We see this in the Grinch (really!). “And what happened, then? Well in Whoville they say – the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And then – the true meaning of Christmas came through.” Ron Howard, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, USA, 2000. Interestingly, after his heart grew, the Grinch then found “the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!”
Just like the Grinch, after our heart grows, the true meaning of our sin “comes through” to us. Our heart and our conscience grow and the new DNA seed grows. With a commodious heart, we gain love, which gives us strength, desire, and conviction to overcome sin. (The strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!”) This is why John can emphatically say that if you have God’s seed in you, you cannot be “the one who does not love his brother.”
If you don’t care much about sin (but you want to care); then, ask God to give you a bigger heart. Unfortunately (but really “fortunately”), in my own experience, the answer to a prayer for a bigger heart tends to result in surprising events or experiences that reveal how much I have hurt other people. In spite of that, I have realized that God is revealing my sin because it is part of the heart-growth process. It leads to repentance and I try to make amends. God brings sorrow, conviction, repentance, and a bigger heart afterwards. (Note, He does not bring shame, and condemnation, without relief from guilt. The latter brings self-pity, depression and worse—not heart growth.)
Prayer: Lord, we pray to grow in love and compassion which stretches our heart. Lord, the process can be painful, but we want the love that comes after our heart is stretched. Teach us all we pray.
Author: Tanny Higgins
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