1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Choices. We make them all the time. Some are more important than others. What determines or guides our choices? That is an important question to consider because certain influences will set patterns for life. John connects sinning with the devil, the great deceiver and enemy of humanity. We do not need to get into speculation with the verse about the origins of sin or how the devil sinned from the beginning. John is likely thinking of the creation account in Genesis 3 and the “beginning” of humanity. John’s goal here is not to describe the events at the beginning but to deal with the present problems facing his readers. The devil lives by the pattern of deceit. The devil then attempts to get people to follow by believing the lie to be the truth (2 Timothy 2:25-26). By walking in the darkness of deceit, we are following the devil and not the Son. The way of the Son is the light of holy love.
The good news is that we have an escape from the control of sin. The devil will always try to deceive us, but if we look for the truth in the True One, we will find it. The truth of Jesus reveals the deceit of the devil. Jesus shines a new path so that we can escape the darkness. The Son is infinitely more powerful than the devil, so we should have no worries about victory over sin. We can be victorious.
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