Dear children,do not let anyone lead you astray.The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
1 John 3.7-8
What is the "devil's work" that Jesus came to destroy? The answer is clear from the context. First, verse 5 is a clear parallel: "But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins." So the "devil's work" that Jesus came to destroy are sins. The first part of verse 8 makes this more plain: "The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning." The issue in this context is habitual sin, not sickness or broken cars or messed up schedules. Jesus came into world to help us stop sinning.
Let me put it alongside the truth of 1 John 2.1: "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin." In order words, I am promoting the purpose of Christmas, the purpose of the Incarnation. Then he adds, "But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2.1-2).
This means that Jesus appeared in the world for two reasons. He came that we might not go on sinning; and he came to die so that there would be a propitiation--a substitutionary that take away the wrath of God--when we do sin.
This is an excerpt from 'Joy to the World-Daily Readings for Advent' by John Piper.
Comments