1 John 2:4-6
4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
John doesn’t beat around the bush: he’s describing a type of Christian believer who claims to be saved, but does not act in obedience to God’s commands.
Though this book of the Bible was written 2,000 years ago, this passage is still unfortunately relevant to Christians today. We all know of so-called “Christians” who act as if they’ve never cracked the Bible open in their lives. These are the kind of people who seem to revel in their own personal sins, but pass judgment on others’ sins as if they alone have God’s express permission to act in His capacity. While forgetting their own sins (or shoving them under the rug), they throw their holiness around and use it as a weapon against other people. Monday through Saturday, these people act fully like the world; Sunday mornings, however, they’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in church services–and they’re likely not to let you forget it!
…Now, I’ll admit something to you. While I may not throw holiness around like a mace, I do have my own personal sins that keep me from being perfect. We all do, as a matter of fact. Each of us has his or her own stumbling block of sin; Jesus’ sacrifice for us leaves us free of the burden of paying for that sin, but we still have to try to remove it so that we can be more Christlike.
In studying this three verses, it’s not the Christian who sins that is at fault. The Christian who has forgotten that he/she can still sin is at fault, instead. If you’re trying to live for Christ, but you occasionally stumble in that walk, that’s okay–you’re still doing your best to be obedient, and God sees that. But if you’re putting on an act of salvation, pretending to be all holy and righteous, while still committing (and conveniently forgetting) all kinds of sins against yourself and your fellow human beings, that’s not okay. Verse 6 is straightforward: “If you’re gonna talk the Jesus talk, then walk the Jesus walk.”
1 John is an eye-opener, much like the book of James, and it reminds us of the “best practices” of Christianity. If we choose to follow God, it’s not just a Sunday-morning or Wednesday-night commitment–it’s a 24/7/365 commitment. Pretending that sinning, without any tries at obedience, is okay because we’ve been “saved?” That’s just lying to ourselves, and lying to God. We have to at least try to follow God’s commands, even if we slip up occasionally; it’s the trying that keeps us faithful and keeps us aware of the grace we’ve been given.