🟨 DIFFICULT VERSE
1 John 3:4
“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.”
🟦 AUDIENCE
John writing to believers about sin, righteousness, and their new life in Christ.
🟪 WHY WAS THIS WRITTEN?
To explain the difference between sin and righteousness and to show that a life characterized by lawlessness is inconsistent with the believer’s new life in Christ.
John is identifying what sin is, but we also need to understand the deeper problem that sin reveals.
🟥 THE REAL PROBLEM
The deepest problem isn’t simply:
“You’re not keeping enough commandments.”
The deeper problem is:
YOU ARE SPIRITUALLY DEAD.
Sin entered the world through Adam.
Romans 5:12
“…sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin…”
And Paul describes our condition:
Ephesians 2:1
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.”
The problem is death, not simply bad behavior.
🟧 WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT SIN?
John 16:8–9
“When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me.”
Jesus specifically identifies the world’s sin as not believing in Him.
This brings the issue back to the real problem:
They don’t have the life of Christ.
🟩 THE LAW IS LIKE A MIRROR
A mirror doesn’t make you dirty.
It shows you that you’re dirty.
In the same way, the Law doesn’t make us spiritually dead.
It reveals our condition.
Romans 3:20
“…through the law we become conscious of sin.”
The Law shows us:
I HAVE A SIN PROBLEM.
But underneath the sin problem is:
I HAVE A LIFE PROBLEM.
I don’t simply need to try harder.
I NEED LIFE.
🟦 THE LAW POINTS TO CHRIST
Galatians 3:24
“So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.”
The Law exposes the problem.
The Law points us to Christ.
Christ gives us life.
🟩 FROM DEATH TO LIFE
Ephesians 2:4–5
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
Notice the answer:
DEAD → MADE ALIVE
Not:
BAD → TRY HARDER
God doesn’t merely improve the spiritually dead person.
He makes them alive in Christ.
🟦 WE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW
Romans 6:14
“For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”
Romans 7:4
“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ…”
Galatians 5:18
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.”
The believer’s relationship with God is not based on being under the Mosaic Law.
We have been brought from:
DEATH → LIFE
ADAM → CHRIST
LAW → GRACE
🟦 SO HOW DO I DEFINE SIN?
Sin is lawlessness—acting contrary to God’s will.
But when Jesus explains the Spirit’s conviction of sin, He specifically says:
“because men do not believe in me.” — John 16:9
So the fundamental issue is not simply:
“Are you keeping the Ten Commandments?”
The deeper question is:
“Do you believe in Christ?”
Because without Christ, we remain spiritually dead.
🟩 THE ANSWER IS CHRIST
John 3:18
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Romans 5:10
“For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
Jesus didn’t merely die to deal with our sins.
He rose to give us LIFE.
🟫 WHERE DOES THIS FIT?
IN ADAM
Spiritually dead
Sin and death
↓
THE LAW
Exposes sin
Makes us conscious of sin
Shows our need for Christ
↓
CHRIST
Dies for our sins
Rises from the dead
↓
IN CHRIST
Made alive
Under grace
Led by the Spirit
⭐ KEY POINT
The problem isn’t merely that we broke the rules.
The problem is that we were spiritually dead.
The Law is like a mirror—it shows us our condition.
But a mirror can’t give you life.
The Law reveals the problem.
Christ is the answer.
The Law shows our need.
Christ gives us life.
And Jesus tells us specifically that the Spirit convicts the world concerning sin because they do not believe in Him.
🟦 ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARY
1 John 3:4 defines sin as lawlessness, while Jesus identifies the world’s fundamental sin as unbelief in Him; the Law exposes our sinful, spiritually dead condition and points us to Christ, who gives us life under grace.
