7 Good Bible Verses From The Book of 1 John

Here are seven great Bible verses from the Book of First John.

First John 1:8-9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

There are fewer Bible verses that are more valuable than this one and it makes an excellent memory verse for when you share the gospel. Some people think that they have too much baggage in their life but having faith in Christ isn’t like an airplane where they weigh in and check the baggage. No, holiness is not the way to Jesus…Jesus is the way to holiness. We can simply confess it and be cleansed but if we deny we have sin, we are calling God a liar and that means His “word is not in us.” That’s bad. Very bad.

First John 2:1 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

The Apostle John was the last living Apostle and so referred to those in the church as his very own children, and spiritually speaking, that was true, so he reminds the church that if we sin, we already have the Advocate, Jesus Christ, Who has direct access to the Father. He wrote, not so much to remind them of that, but wrote for the purpose that they “may not sin.” That’s the very subject he is writing about in this book.

First John 3:6-7 “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.”

One old pastor said he can’t see into a person’s heart but he can inspect the fruit and if all you see is fleshly, carnal fruit (Gal 5:17-21), you can be very sure that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:21). Of course, they might repent but is the greatest gamble to know the truth and not trust in Christ. At the next breath, He could be here to judge the unrighteous, so John again reminds the church that whoever keeps practicing sin is not of God but one who practices righteousness (although never perfectly), is righteous.

First John 3:9-10 “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

The phrase “practice” is used often by John because it’s the point that he’s bringing out. If you really love playing a sport, you’re going to practice it a lot. Over and over again, practicing every day, so if someone’s practice is to continually live in sin, you can be sure of who the devil’s children are and who are the children of God. John says “it is evident.”

First John 3:15 “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

In one breath, an old acquaintance of mine said that he loves God but he can’t in the same room with another believer. He acts as if he hates him, just by his disparaging remarks and continual avoidance of him. I’m not sure if he really hated him or not but we do know that if someone says they have eternal life but hates their brother, they’re a murderer at heart. This is exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 5: 20-21 where He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

First John 3:17-18 “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

John writes something very similar to James where he wrote, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17). In both cases, there is a need, there is a closed heart, and there is no love of God. That is sin. John would ask, “how [then] does God’s love abide in him” or her? Love is a verb. Its action oriented. It’s what you do, not just what you say or think. Love is a choice.

First John 3:21-22 “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”

It’s rather hard to believe someone who says they love God but doesn’t keep His commandments, just as John writes, “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us” (1st John 3:24). Our dog of many years ago (now gone) used to love brining in the paper. He knew this made us happy. We could have gotten the paper ourselves but we received more pleasure from him getting it and seeing the satisfaction in his eyes. Our dog didn’t do this out of a command we gave him…he did it because he loved us. If we’re law breakers before God, then our heart will condemn us and our conscience may become seared if we’re not careful. If we obey, that gives us much more confidence when we pray.

Conclusion

The Apostle John warns all of us to “not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1st John 4:1-2) so make sure you know that “every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already” (1st John 4:3) and don’t worry about a defeated enemy because “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1st John 4:4).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.