1 John 3:7

He that doeth righteousness,— He who practiseth righteousness; and so 1 John 3:8 he who practiseth sin. The scriptures frequently represent him as the righteous man, who habitually and constantly, internally and externally, practiseth righteousness. The verse may be thus paraphrased: "My dear littlechildren, let no one deceive you on this important matter by vain words, with whatever pomp, or solemnity, or plausibility, they may be attended. A Being, himself immutably holy, can never dispense with the want of holiness in his reasonable creatures. He that practiseth righteousness is righteous, even as he himself is righteous: it is his own image, and hemust invariably love and delight in it; and must as invariably abhor sin, as utterly contrary to his nature." This is an obvious interpretation of the phrase; and is very necessary to avoid an indulgence of the most extravagant kind. For certainly it is not every one who performs some one just or righteous action, that can be denominated righteous; nor can any man be entitled to that character, who does not in the main course of hislife, practise universal righteousness. Aristotle has a passage much to the same purpose with this of St. John: "Then shall a man be righteous, first, if he does the things which are righteous, and knows what he does; secondly, if he does them freely, or out of choice;thirdly, if he continues firmly and constantly in that course of action." St. John, by introducing this verse with let no man deceive you, intimated that the matter was of vast importance, and there was danger of their bring deceived by the false teachers in this particular.