Ep 204 – 1 John 2:28-3:10 PT 1

Devotionary

This is the first of seven episodes on 1 John, chapter two, verse 28 through chapter 3, verse 10. I’ve entitled this episode, “Practice Does NOT Make Perfect.” In this passage, John is going to drive home a very critical point that many of us as believers tend to overlook. It has to do with the source of our righteousness. For some reason, we tend to think righteousness is up to us. We know we are to live righteous lives. It’s an expectation God has of us. But where we get confused and wander from the truth is when we believe our righteousness is up to us. John is going to accentuate our need for righteousness, but he is also going to remind us that it is a byproduct of our relationship with Christ, not something we manufacture on our own. And that is a very important distinction. Self-righteousness is self-defeating. On our own, we can’t do the kinds of good works that God demands of us. And He has not asked us to pursue righteousness on our own. In fact, any righteousness we exhibit in our lives is simply proof of our relationship with Christ. It is Him working through us, not us working for Him.