Living Without Sin While Still Living in Our Fleshly Bodies—Part Two
Can a person who is a child of God sin?
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. (1 John 3:9, NKJV)
People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. (1 John 3:9, MSG)
The person who has been born into God's family does not make a practice of sinning because now God's life is in him; so he can't keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him—he has been born again. (1 John 3:9, TLB)
The man who is really God's son does not practise sin, for God's nature is in him, for good, and such a heredity is incapable of sin. (1 John 3:9, PHIlLIPS)
No one who is born of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, because 1God's seed [His principle of life, the essence of His righteous character] remains [permanently] in him [who is born again—who is reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose]; and he [who is born again] cannot habitually [live a life characterized by] sin, because he is born of God and longs to please Him. (1 John 3:9, AMP)
This article is a continuation of Part 1, and we want to address the question, "Do we sin after salvation?"
A child of God cannot sin
God states unequivocally in 1 John 3:9 that we cannot sin because His nature is in us. God's nature is not in combination with human nature; No! The sinful human nature—the flesh—was done away with, and God's nature took root. Now, because we are familiar with living under the direction of our old sinful nature, if we do not re-orientate ourselves to live by the word of God through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we would be heading back to living as we did in the past. And this is where, sadly, most Christians are (Romans 12:2)!
Let me try to explain 1 John 3:9 differently. No one would usually go to the swimming pool floor area unless they wanted to swim. The swimming pool floor area is that tiled perimeter where those wishing to swim, stand or sit, before and after swimming. If you are fully dressed, you would usually sit away from that area to avoid splashes from swimmers.
So, if a fully clothed person should find themselves inside the swimming pool, say because friends tossed them into the pool, we would expect that they would not find it funny; they would immediately get out of the pool and look for how to get dried up. They may even leave the function altogether. However, suppose a fully clad individual is tossed into the swimming pool, and he begins to strip his clothes off while in the swimming pool and continues to swim? We can only conclude that he was probably waiting for the opportunity to jump in. If someone is on the swimming pool floor area wearing a swimming trunk or bikini, and you find them in the pool, it is natural for them to be in there because they were dressed for it.
The point I am getting at is this: where the swimming pool represents sin, you would not go into it except you wanted to. If you do not intend to sin, why would you be where sin is? In our illustration, the fully clothed individual who was tossed into the swimming pool can be said to have accidentally or unintentionally fallen into the swimming pool. But the person who put on a swimming trunk or bikini cannot claim not to have intended to swim!
You cannot intentionally sin if the nature of God is in you. If you are fully clothed, you never intended to swim. But if you were accidentally pushed into the pool, and you now begin to take off your clothes and swim, then we can only aver that you had wanted to swim all along; you were only waiting to be pushed into the pool. Likewise, if a person falls into sin and continues in that sin, we can only conclude that they intended to commit that sin all along. They were only waiting for an opportunity to do so (sin)!
Thus, the various Bible translations of 1 John 3:9 use "practice sin" or "habitually sin" to imply those who sin, not having the nature of God in them. If God's 'genes' are in you, because God cannot sin, you also cannot sin. But where you sin intentionally, it can only mean that the 'genes' of God was never in you in the first place!
So, what happens when I unintentionally sin?
Sometimes, I may not even know that I have sinned at all. The Holy Spirit will tell me that I have sinned. As soon as the Holy Spirit tells me that I have sinned, I would immediately repent of that sinful act and repudiate it. I would also endeavour not to be found doing that again. Unfortunately, rather than immediately repent and renounce sin, some people try to justify their sinful act, proving they intended to do what they did in the first place. They are not remorseful of their action.
We have examples of Kings Saul and David. Both Kings, at some point, did terrible things, David more so. However, whenever King David's wrong deeds or sins were pointed out, he immediately repented and diligently sought God's forgiveness. On the other hand, King Saul always tried to justify his wrong deeds when they were pointed out.
So, do we sin after we have been saved?
Yes, we may sin after being saved, but it cannot be intentional or habitual! If it is deliberate or habitual, we are 'swimming in the pool' of sin or seeking justification for our sinful actions, which implies that we have succumbed to the relics of the flesh all over again!
James gives us a perfect illustration of what happens concerning sin:
Whenever you feel tempted to do something bad, you should not say, "God is tempting me." Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you. Your desire grows inside you until it results in sin. Then the sin grows bigger and bigger and finally ends in death. My dear brothers and sisters, don't be fooled about this. (James 1:13-16, ERV)
Let me illustrate further what the Holy Spirit is saying through James: say, there are two pieces of wood, one with a piece of metal embedded into it and the other, just plain wood. If you were to expose both pieces of wood to a magnet, the magnet would only pull the wood with an embedded metal piece. No matter how powerful you make the magnet, it would never draw the wood without an embedded metal! In this illustration, the magnet is the temptation to sin, and our fleshy desires, the piece of metal embedded in the wood, us.
Therefore, we sin because the fleshly desires in us are enticed by the temptation to sin. But I had said that the flesh was crucified at our salvation! That is true. However, the flesh and its passions and desires, which should have been crucified, may, in fact, not have been crucified if we did not give the Holy Spirit our consent. Our salvation was with our consent; it was not coerced. The freewill we exercised in seeking God's salvation remains intact. In God's kingdom, our permission is required for everything, including our sanctification, by which the flesh is crucified.
God does not violate our freewill, though we would bear the consequences thereof. Thus, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden exercised their freewill when they rebelled against God's instruction and bore the consequence of their action, which sadly continues with us to this day!
So, we are tempted and lured away by Satan when the desire to sin is still in us, indicating that we did not let the Holy Spirit sanctify us. The Holy Spirit will not violate our freewill! If we do not allow Him to sanctify and enable us to obey God and walk righteously, He will neither compel nor coerce us to do so. God desires that we would freely have Him rule over us; hence, Jesus taught us to pray,
"Your kingdom come." (Matthew 6:10, NKJV)
When we pray thus, we ask God to rule over us. Unlike the Israelites who told Samuel,
"…. give us a king to rule us like all the other nations." (1 Samuel 8:5, ERV)
And God told Samuel to grant their request because they had rejected Him—God! (1 Samuel 8:7). God cannot and will not compel you to accept Him or do His will—you must do so freely and without coercion!
What about our thoughts?
Some decades ago, I read a devotional, "Every Day With Jesus" by Selwyn Hughes, in which he explained sinful thoughts and how we respond or deal with them. He said that there is nothing you can do about birds flying above your head (in the sky), but when they start building a nest on your head, you have a choice to either let them do it or prevent them. So, while we can do nothing about thoughts flying around, when a thought perches and begins to take root in our mind, we can either allow the thought to develop or summarily dispatch it.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NKJV)
When we allow wrong thoughts in our lives, they soon become impregnable strongholds. It would require the occupant of the fortress to desire freedom from the fort before it can be breached and pulled down. When the demoniac who had a legion of demons in him sighted Jesus and ran towards Him worshipping Him, his action proved that he wanted deliverance, and he got it (Mark 5:1-6). When we hold on to the word of God and yield to the Holy Spirit, every thought that is contrary to God's word is arrested and cast out!
The point is: do not let thoughts take root in your heart but arrest them and summarily crucify them by the Holy Spirit's power. Yes, God's word is powerful, but your freewill can render it impotent. Unless you invite God to dislodge wrong thoughts, He can do nothing. For instance, a person who loves gossip will continue to enjoy listening to and telling others about other people, even though they are born again! To eliminate gossip, that individual must recognise that gossip is evil, repent of and renounce it, even develop a hatred for it, and then invite the Holy Spirit to get rid of it in their life! So, dealing with your thoughts is your responsibility, but God will help once you ask Him in!
In the final part of this series, we shall look at Romans 7:14-15
Explanation from the Amplified Bible: “i.e. in human terms, God’s seed is like a divine “genetic code” which is passed on to His children and produces in them the desire to live in a way which pleases Him.”