Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 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. 1 John 3:7-8
I maintain a pause of my study of 1 Corinthians as I continue using DesiringGod.com's Advent devotions where I pick up on Day 24. Here, John Piper describes - as the devotion title suggests - Two Purposes for Christmas. Piper starts by asking what are "the works of the devil?" To answer this question, Piper backs up in 1 John 3 to verse 5. He points out that Jesus appeared, or became the incarnate Son of God in both verse 5 and in verse 8, providing evidence that the work of the devil in verse 8 is sin. Piper then points us to 1 John 2:1 where we have additional evidence. Hence we have the first Christmas (birth of Jesus) purpose: which is the means by which believers can defeat sin. 1 John 2:2 provides the second purpose: "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." Thus, of course, Jesus, as He suffered and died on the cross, took the wrath for our sin that we should have received (see also Romans 6:23). Piper then shares as he winds down this devotion that "[t]he upshot of this second purpose is not to defeat the first purpose. Forgiveness is not for the purpose of permitting sin. The aim of the death of Christ for our sins is not that we relax our battle against sin. The upshot of these two purposes of Christmas, rather, is that the payment once made for all our sins is the freedom and power that enables us to fight sin not as legalists, earning our salvation, and not as fearful of losing our salvation, but as victors who throw ourselves into the battle against sin with confidence and joy, even if it costs us our lives." Celebrate both of these purposes of Christmas!
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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for both helping me defeat sin and for forgiving my sin - and of course for eternal life. Thank You! I am not deserving of such blessings and gifts. My sin is great and it continues...daily. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
