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I play (very average) tennis in a little local league.
It has been a great way to meet new people and test the stretchiness of my aging Achilles tendons. So far, the people have been great, and the tendons have remained mostly intact. I am very grateful for both graces, which have counterbalanced the pain of my slightly embarrassing win-loss record.
At some point in each match, I find myself standing courtside, trying to get my heart rate below 175, and my opponent inevitably asks, “So, what do you do?” Last week, when I told my new friend I was a pastor, he didn’t even try to hide his revulsion. “Oh no!” he said. “I thought I was going to like you!”
I took no offense and played it cool; I'd gotten these responses before and have learned they are usually rooted in pain. So, I just waited. I knew he would want to talk at some point.
We got through the first set without it coming up again, but by midway through the second, he couldn’t hold it in anymore, and I think he was starting to feel bad about his response.
“I have never met a church person who actually practiced what they preached,” he muttered eventually.
I think he expected me to defend our reputation, but instead, I told him about our current study in John’s letters and how much Jesus agrees with his frustration over people who bear the name of Christ.
Don’t get me wrong, this conversation didn’t end in us saying the sinner's prayer together at the end of the match. I am not sure I will see our friend at one of our services soon (though I did invite him). Nevertheless, he did seem disarmed to learn that the Bible consistently calls out the gap between what people claim to believe and how they actually behave.
More than anything, that interaction has encouraged me to reflect on John’s warning in 1 John 3:7:
“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as he is righteous."
Why does John preface this statement with the warning, “Let no one deceive you”? What might his readers be led to falsely believe? To understand his warning, and why he gives it out of love, we must first read the surrounding context.
1 John 3:8 says that Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil.” But John then presses on to say that people’s actions reveal whether they’re children of God or children of the devil (1 John 3:10). He cautions his hearers against following or imitating those who claim to follow Jesus but in no way reflect that identity in their daily lives, the decisions they make, and the things that they say.
More than anything, this ought to sober us in our own walk—are we actually living a life that pursues the same righteousness Christ won for us? The devil loves to separate belief from behavior. It is one of the ways we can see him at work! And John doesn’t want us to live like children of the devil. That is why he starts his warning by reminding us who we are … little children, beloved by God, part of God's family, and therefore not living the divided lives of the Father of Lies.
This warning isn’t unique or peculiar to John. Remember Jesus’ biggest critique of the religious leaders during his time? “For they preach, but do not practice” (Matthew 23:3). And honestly, not much has changed. Ask anyone, whether or not they identify as a Christian, and they'll likely agree you should always practice what you preach. It’s still often the biggest critique of the church today, and it certainly stuck in the throat (and soul) of my tennis opponent.
But why is it so important? It’s not only about our personal integrity, but also about our purpose in representing God. As followers of Jesus, we show the world what He is like. As those who have tasted and seen His grace, we reflect what it's like to receive that grace.
If we don’t practice what we preach, then what does that tell the world about God? When we refuse to practice what we preach, we greatly misrepresent Him. Our God didn’t just ask us to live righteous lives at the cost of ridicule, shame, and sacrifice. But He flawlessly practiced every word He preached, all the way to the cross.
When we preach righteousness yet don’t live out its fruits, we make it seem as if the gospel has no power to save and transform us, and we end up offering the world nothing of conviction or compulsion.
But what about grace? Isn’t this getting close to some sort of works-based righteousness? If righteous behavior is the benchmark, then aren’t we all doomed? Look again at what John says:
“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as he is righteous." (1 John 3:7, emphasis added)
That word “practices” is important. John isn’t saying that Christians have to (or even can) live in sinless perfection. He has already said elsewhere that it is impossible to accomplish that. John is talking rather about the trajectory and direction of your life. Born-again Christians can still stumble into sin, but they shouldn’t be able to settle in their sin.
So the question isn’t, “Are you living in perfectly righteous behavior?” Rather, the question is, “Are you practicing works of righteousness? Is that the direction and trajectory of your life? Are you seeing your behavior become more like Christ over time?”
If not, John has legitimate concerns and warnings for you.
But here is the incredible promise.
If you practice righteousness, you are righteous, as Jesus is righteous! This equation should break our conventional math a little bit. Why? Because we know none of us is as righteous as Jesus based on our behavior alone. No one has lived up to His sinless standard. Yet when we pursue Him and commit to honor Him, He gives us the righteousness He alone lived out, which covers all our shortcomings.
The gospel is truly incredible! Jesus Christ, the righteous One, gives us a righteousness we could never earn, then empowers us to live it out in changed behavior over time. He saves us, and then He changes us. His power alone enables both the saving and the changing.
This is why John takes it so seriously when people say they are saved, but their lives don’t change. A life of hypocrisy diminishes the reality and power of Christ’s righteousness.
And so … little children, don't be deceived. The grace that saves you is the same grace thatchanges you. So look to Jesus, receive his righteousness, and then—by the power of his Spirit—practice it.
Want to dive deeper into the sermon series? Check out our sermon series guide on The Letters of John, or watch the most recent sermon from The Letters of John sermon series.
