At first reading, one would conclude that the apostle John stated that once a person becomes a Christian he/she no longer sins. Here is what John wrote, “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (I Jn. 3:9). Is that true? Are saints sinless? Let’s take a closer look.

We need to go back to the first chapter to help us understand what is being taught. The apostle included himself when he told brethren, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I Jn. 1:8). Notice that this inspired writer included himself by saying, “we”. Are we to assume that John, not any of the brethren that he is addressing, are born of God?

How can we harmonize the two statements that were uttered? Is this a case of a clear contradiction within the word of God? To that we say no. The apostle was inspired to write both and it is our duty to study and rightly divide them. The danger is in reading more into what was said. That actually goes for both. It is just as wrong to assume John, in the first chapter, was condoning the practice of sin, as it would be to conclude in chapter three he is now advocating perfection.

Christians are never allowed to sin. In I John 2:1, the brethren were told, “My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin.” All sin is evil and and has serious consequences unless repented of (Rom. 6:23; Lk. 13:3). There is not a hint of tolerance for sinning. We are commanded to resist the wiles of the devil (Jas. 4:7). But, when sin happens, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus (I Jn. 2:1).

This leads us to the text where John stated that those born of God cannot sin (I Jn. 3:9). What is John saying here, knowing he previously stated he and other saints have sinned? Firstly, the word “cannot” doesn’t mean they can’t. For example in Luke 16:3, Jesus spoke a parable where a steward said within, “What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.”  It wasn’t this man couldn’t dig. The same point is illustrated again by our Lord when He stated concerning someone who came to a friend a midnight, “and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’?” (Lk. 11:7). It wasn’t that he couldn’t get up.

In John’s epistle he wasn’t saying those born of God won’t sin. If you read the whole text in I John 3:4-9, you can see the point is that those born of God will not abide in sin. In verse 7, it was said that those who “practice righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”  One born of God does not practice lawlessness. When and if they sin, they immediately repent. To walk in sin and not care, you cannot say they have Christ’s seed remaining in them (vr. 9). To be righteous, a saint must practice righteousness, not just do one act of righteousness.

Peter, Simon, John, the church at Ephesus, and all other Christians are born of God. For them to say they are, they better not have unrepented sin in their lives. Why? Because, as John wrote, those born of God do not abide in a sinful state. This is the comfort given to all who are baptized into Christ. To live in fear that if they ever sin again they might question their conversion. Paul taught that in Christ Jesus one can have the forgiveness of sin (Eph. 1:7).  This spiritual blessing is for Christians. Why say such if Christians don’t sin once they are part of God’s family?

This article is a far cry from making allowances for sinning. When we do sin, there better be godly sorrow that leads to repentance, else we are not born of God (II Cor. 7:10). Read that text – it was talking about a fallen brother. May we rightly divide the word.

Chuck

Who would do that?

This past week, a gentleman called me to ask me what I thought about a scenario. A man came forward in church and wanted to get baptized for the remission of his sins. The preacher knew this man was living with a woman. The man came forward, and the preacher said baptized him without a word about his situation at home. The man continued living with the woman. The caller finally asked me, “Chuck, would you have baptized this man?”

Let’s take a closer look at this as scenario clearly demonstrates a couple of common problems in the Lord’s church. One, the man who wanted to become a Christian did not know everything he needed to know. Two, the preacher failed to tell the man what he needed to know. When people preach baptism rather than being converted to Christ, some baptisms will result in people who merely got wet. What good is a baptism without a conversion? Nothing!

Too often, baptism is perceived as a “get out of jail free” card. Some people treat it as though the act of getting wet means a person’s actions no longer matter. Let me be clear - that could not be farther from the truth. Peter stated that those who want to be saved must repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). Look closely at that text. The word “and” makes repentance and baptism equally important.

Paul pointed out that godly sorrow leads to repentance (II Cor. 7:9-10). To repent is to turn away from sin, not go right back into it. Did this man know that fornication is still fornication whether you are baptized or not? The point of being baptized into Christ is to put off the old man of sin (Rom. 6:4-7). Only those who have godly sorrow for transgression will turn away from it. Those who do not turn away from sin have not repented. In the example scenario, this means that the man went down a dry sinner and came up a wet sinner.

Could this person have been baptized properly if he was sorry for all his sins (including fornication) and had no plans to return to that lifestyle?  Of course! People also sometimes get the wrong idea that when you become a Christian, the sins you were committing before baptism are no longer considered sin after conversion (meaning you can continue those same activities without penalty). Again, this reasoning is flawed. This is why there are many “Christian” couples in a unlawful marriages (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). They think that by being baptized, the marriage is now acceptable to God. His word is clear – if it was unlawful prior to being baptized, it is unlawful afterwards!

When someone wants to become a Christian, the teacher must make sure that they count the cost. They need to be informed of what will take place during the baptism and what God expects afterward. Without that understanding, a person was not baptized scripturally (Acts 19:1-5). Remember, the blood of Christ only washes away sins that are repented of (Rev. 1:5; Acts 22:16; Gal. 3:27).

Allow me to explain one more detail. When someone becomes a Christian, they have not learned everything. People often become a Christian without knowing that certain things are sinful. This should be expected! As the new Christian learns and grows, he may realize that a certain activity is sinful. Does he have to get baptized again? No – he simply needs to repent of that sin. This is exactly what Simon was told when he sinned shortly after his baptism (Acts 8:18-24).

Sin is always sin, and ignorance is not an excuse (Acts 17:30). Sin is washed away by a proper baptism, but activities that were sinful before baptism remain sinful after baptism. This is why baptism alone is not enough – we must grow in knowledge, recognize these things and repent of them. May we all recognize this.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Chuck

How can you say it and then deny it?

The brethren at Corinth were told something by Paul that is a bit hard to follow. Paul told them this: “For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while,” (II Cor. 7:8). So did Paul regret sending the letter or not?

The answer is simple that Paul both regretted and did not regret sending the letter. Paul wrote to correct something in the lives of the brethren. They needed to repent, which meant that they were going to be told that they were doing something wrong. Paul knew that in order from them to repent, godly sorrow was needed (2 Cor. 7:10).

The lesson is very important for us to see. People have become very “politically correct” in all aspects of their lives, including spiritual matters.  Many religious teachers are doing all they can to try and make people feel good while still trying to teach the need for repentance.  You cannot do it! The gospel of Christ is full of hard lessons – at some point we must address these things directly in order to enable genuine faith. Paul’s ultimate goal was not to get the Corinthian brethren to feel bad – it was to get them to repent and be pleasing to the Lord. The same is true today. We are not happy someone weeps over a sin they committed, but we are thankful at the same time because that sorrow is necessary to inspire repentance.

We, like the apostle, want people to repent and be converted (Acts 3:19). We may regret that they will feel bad for their sins because we do not want to see someone full of sorrow. Teachers should not be so hardened as to enjoy the inner pain people can feel when they are convicted by truth.  On the other hand, we should have no regret for teaching the truth, especially if people repent. We should find solace in seeing their sorrow turn to joy by making things right.

May we all see the need to regret and at the same time not regret. Perhaps some people regret not having regrets – think about it.

                                                                                         Chuck