Doing 
Righteousness 
“Little 
children, 
let 
no 
man 
deceive 
you: 
he 
that 
doeth 
righteousness 
is 
righteous, 
even 
as 
he 
is 
righteous.” 
(1 
John 
3:7) 
Every 
genuine 
Christian 
knows 
that 
part 
of 
the 
salvation 
gift 
is 
the 
promise 
of 
being 
made 
“unblameable 
in 
holiness” 
(1 
Thessalonians 
3:13). 
· 
We 
sometimes 
have 
trouble, 
however, 
with 
the 
concept 
of 
present-tense 
holiness 
· 
We 
sometimes 
have 
trouble, 
with 
holiness 
in 
our 
everyday 
lifestyle 
s. 
John 
speaks 
of 
the 
abiding 
Christian 
who 
“sinneth 
not” 
(1 
John 
3:6). 
Indeed, 
· 
Such 
a 
Christian 
“doth 
not 
commit 
sin” 
(1 
John 
3:9) 
because, 
John 
notes, 
· 
The 
“seed” 
of 
God 
“remaineth 
in 
him: 
and 
he 
cannot 
sin, 
because 
he 
is 
born 
of 
God.” 
· 
Furthermore, 
“whosoever 
is 
born 
of 
God 
sinneth 
not; 
but 
he 
that 
is 
begotten 
of 
God 
keepeth 
himself, 
and 
that 
wicked 
one 
toucheth 
him 
not” 
(1 
John 
5:18). 
It’s 
accurate 
to 
translate 
those 
passages 
with 
the 
“continuing” 
implication 
of 
the 
Greek 
structure 
(i.e. 
· 
“Does 
not 
continue 
in 
[the 
practice 
of] 
sin,” 
etc.). 
· 
However, 
the 
emphasis 
is 
on 
an 
obvious, 
continuous, 
clearly 
embraced 
lifestyle 
of 
righteous 
living! 
The 
visible 
transformation 
from 
a 
worldly 
conformity 
(Romans 
12:2) 
begins: 
· 
With 
a 
desire 
for 
“the 
sincere 
milk 
of 
[God’s] 
word” 
(1 
Peter 
2:2), 
fashioning 
ourselves 
after 
God’s 
holiness 
“in 
all 
manner 
of 
conversation” 
(1 
Peter 
1:14-15). 
· 
Neither 
are 
we 
to 
let 
sin 
reign 
in 
our 
bodies, 
but 
we 
are 
to 
yield 
ourselves 
as 
“instruments 
of 
righteousness” 
(Romans 
6:12-13). 
Since 
we 
are 
“risen 
with 
Christ,” 
we 
are 
to 
“mortify” 
the 
fleshly 
appetites, 
· 
“Put 
off” 
emotional 
outbursts 
that 
reflect 
an 
ungodly 
nature, 
and 
· 
“Put 
on” 
godly 
attributes 
so 
that 
whatsoever 
we 
do 
is 
done 
in 
the 
name 
of 
the 
Lord 
Jesus 
Christ 
(Colossians 
3:1-17). 
HMM 
III