B. Righteousness the Antithesis of Sin (3:4-6)

Pursuing righteousness, i.e., conformity to the Father in the Son, cannot coexist with sin, defined here as lawlessness. The KJV has obscured the real meaning of this definition by giving it a legalistic flavor. Sin is an attitude before it is a behavior, the latter being an expression of the former. This is the truth that informs Wesley’s classic definition of sin as “a voluntary transgression of a known law of God.” There is no superficial Pelagianism in this but a profound recognition that, at its roots, sin is essentially antagonism to God that refuses to acknowledge his sovereignty.

The real point of the argument here is to emphasize that the purpose of Christ’s coming is to do away with sin. The Sinless One cannot cover for “sinning saints.” No doubt the antinomian seceders lurk in the background. John wants his readers to know that their claims to spirituality—while living immoral lives—can withstand neither the test of logic nor of truth. The Atonement covers sin by destroying it, not by hiding it from God’s view.