What Is Lawlessness?
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
What is lawlessness? The J.B. Phillips translation of verse 4 says it simply: “For that is what sin is, by definition—a breaking of God’s law.” God’s law defines what sin is. God’s law shows us what God’s will is—the things that are good and beneficial. It also shows the opposite—the things that go against God’s will that bring curses, pain and suffering on us.
Many believe that God’s law is too difficult and burdensome. But John goes on to say that God’s “commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
Jesus Christ never sinned. He hated sin, but loved us sinners enough to tell us, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). One of the primary purposes of the Christian life is to “put off” (overcome) sin (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:8-9).
Study more about how God sees sin in our article “What Is Sin?”
Tomorrow on the Daily Bible Verse Blog: “Sin’s Payday.”
