Don’t Remain in Sin

4 Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and no sin is in him. 6 Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him and doesn’t know him. (1 John 3:4-6 WEB)

The first statement is related to the believer’s understanding of sin. Everyone who makes a practice of sin practices lawlessness. Evil is always tied to lawlessness, and sin is always in rebellion against the commandments of God. John contrasts the lawlessness of Satan with the perfection and holiness of the Perfect One, Jesus. To make a continual practice of sin is to live a life that is contrary to the person and character of Jesus Christ. This is not talking about Christians who, as some in our church like to say, are “saints who occasionally sin.” That means we mess up. It does not mean that we make a practice of sinning repeatedly and continually, without any internal turmoil or conflict. I know for me, when I’ve engaged in sin, there is a battle that rages in my mind. There is a conflict, and I know there is one. I’ve sometimes chosen to willfully ignore the conflict within me, but that assures me that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in me, seeking to bring my thinking, words, and conduct into conformance with the personhood of Jesus Christ Himself.

Those who point to some moment that they “prayed a sinner’s prayer” or had a “funny feeling” or something like that as the assurance of salvation might be putting their faith in the “sinner’s prayer,” or that feeling that they had, but it might not really be faith in Jesus. I am not saying that praying the sinner’s prayer isn’t a good way to express faith in Him, but if the actual faith isn’t in it, it means nothing. Just saying the words of the “sinner’s prayer” is not a way to get your “ticket stamped to heaven.” I fear that some who might think that they “got their ticket stamped” are on that long black train bound for hell. Whether someone has been sincere in their profession of faith is not something that we can readily judge or should. It is between a person and God Himself. But, at some point, someone who has truly put their faith in Christ will have some evidence of growth. It may be a long time coming after their profession of faith, but the seed will sprout. This is what John is telling us.

This whole verse can be easily misunderstood if you look solely at the English translation. The statement “whoever commits sin” certainly makes it sound like it includes all of us. But the English doesn’t say what God is saying in His Word. The Greek text reads that whoever “makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness.” This means it’s an ongoing, habitual way of thinking and behaving. No one who is abiding in Him keeps on sinning. This does not mean you are not saved if you sin. John already took care of that in 1 John chapter one.  You must not doubt your salvation. Verse nine of that same chapter one assures that He forgives and keeps on forgiving us of all unrighteousness. I realize this text sounds like it suggests that those who know Jesus no longer sin, but John is not talking about sinless perfection. He is talking about those who revel in their sin. He is talking about those who never take their sins to heart, with remorse, and never regret their wrongdoing. I’ve known some who profess to know Jesus that seem to delight in their sin or who simply ignore habitual sin patterns in their lives.  John is talking about such people. Reader, don’t revel in your sins. Confess them and move on!