Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 John 3:7

"[My] little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous:" — 1 John 3:7 (ASV)

Little children, let no man deceive you:

Because you are little, you are apt to be deceived. There is a great blessedness in being little children, but there is also some danger connected with such a condition, so we must beware of those who would deceive us.

He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

The test of a man's real character must be what he does, not what he professes; not what he boasts of, but what is really the manner of his life.

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

He is practically righteous, he is truly righteous; but let no man talk about being righteous before God while he is willfully indulging in sin. This cannot be; you must be divorced from sin, or you cannot be married to Christ. The gospel demands and also creates holiness of character; and wherever it works effectively upon the heart and conscience, it produces purity in the life.

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

You must judge a tree by its fruit; if it brings forth good fruit, it is a good tree, and if it brings forth evil fruit, it is an evil tree. Do not be deceived about that matter, for there have been some, who have dreamed of being righteous, and of being the children of God, yet they have lived in sin as others do. They have been self-deceived; it has been a mere dream on which they have relied.

Practical godliness is absolutely necessary to a true Christian character, and a man is not righteous unless he does that which is righteous.