In 1 John 3:6, the Bible says, “No
one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” Explain
how this verse can be true when all of us who are Christians do continue to sin
after becoming Christians.
It’s
important, especially for tender consciences, to understand that the apostle.
John is not saying that a true
Christian never sins, and that if
someone does sin it’s proof that he is not a Christian.
What he is saying is that those who have been
born of God have, in principle, broken away from their old sinful ways and have
begun a new life of righteousness. There is a change in their relationship to
sin. Those in whom such a change is not evident show that they have not been
born of God. They continue in sin the same as ever.
In verse
six, the verb “sins” in both instances is in the present tense. The same is true of “commits sin” in verse
9. The idea is that those who have been
regenerated (i.e., born again) by the power of the Holy Spirit do not, and
indeed, cannot make a practice of sinning
because something of God’s divine nature has been imparted to them (2 Pet.
1:4). God’s “seed” abides in them. They are no longer merely “natural” people (1
Cor. 2:14) who are “devoid of the Spirit” (Jude 19), and therefore
do not belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9). They are instead “spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:15) and will therefore inevitably
begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). It’s not possible for them to remain the same
as they were before. They will begin to exhibit the marks of having been “born
of God.”
Some
translations attempt to bring out the significance of the present tense here by
rendering verse six something like, “No one who abides in him continues to sin” (NIV), or “keeps on sinning” (ESV).
Those who have been born of God do not make sin a way of life – rather,
they aspire after holiness; they desire to live righteously; and by God’s grace
they make progress toward that goal.
Troubled
as we are by the effects of the Fall, however, we can never in this life
perfectly attain to the standard of righteousness set forth in Scripture.
Nevertheless there is a very marked difference in the character of life between
the one who has been born of God and the one who hasn’t.
In
context, St. John is explaining how “the children of God” and “the children
of the devil” are made “evident” (v. 10).
The children of the devil do not practice righteousness; they keep on
sinning, the same as ever. It’s their way
of life. On the other hand, the children
of God do not continue in their old
sinful way of life, but begin a new life of obedience. It’s imperfect. It grows by fits and starts. Sometimes it seems that they take three steps
forward and two steps back; but at least they’re one step ahead of where they
were—a change is evident and progress is being made.
St. John is saying that the lives of those
who have never tasted of God’s saving mercy are characterized by regular and
persistent disobedience; whereas the lives of those who have been born of God
are characterized by growth in grace and holiness.
We ought
always to thank God that our salvation consists of deliverance from both the
guilt of sin and from its power. Amen!