CAN A TRUE CHRISTIAN LIVE IN CONSTANT SIN?
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from the Afrikaans Version: Kan ‘n ware Christen in sonde bly leef?
Translator: Lynda Botha
Someone wrote to me the following:
"1 John 3 verse 9 – I would appreciate it if you can give me an explanation."
Firstly, let us read 1 John 3:9:
1 JOHN 3:9: “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning because they are children of God.”
I want to mention that John doesn’t say here that a real – and I emphasize "real" – Christian never sins.
If he said something like that, then he would have been talking out of both sides of his mouth. This cannot be since he only wrote what our Lord wanted him to write, like the following:
1 JOHN 1:8: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.”
And further:
1 JOHN 1:10: “If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that His Word has no place in our hearts.”
Remember that here I’m not referring to an addiction. As long as the addict haven’t decided that their addiction is the norm in their lives and that’s just the way things are.
So when we cut it to the bone, it is about being a Christian – or rather a true Christian.
What is a true Christian?
This is when you have answered God's invitation and offer for your salvation by – adopting His Son, Jesus Christ, with all your heart as your personal Saviour and Lord of your life.
And to surrender yourself unconditionally to Him, to be in a deep loving relationship with Him and to live your life in faith, obedience and total devotion to Him.
To repent means to be renewed and a reformed person from within oneself and to be truly remorseful of your sins. A true Christian does not sin wilfully or deliberately, in other words, it is not premeditated.
To give you two frequent examples:
He showed a rude hand gesture to a taxi driver who drove incorrectly – but immediately thereafter he regretted it. For we all stumble often. He would not have thought deliberately: "Now I'm going to show him" and then action it intentionally.
I may for example want to steal something which literally asks to be stolen – but I won’t do it.
Therefore, 80% of people in South Africa are Christians but only a very small number are true Christians, or children of God.
The Scripture says the following about the vast majority of Christians in the world:
REV 3:15: “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other!”
REV 3:16: “But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”
The tragedy pertaining to this type of Christian eventually just gets larger, remember it was written:
HEBREWS 6:4-6:
4 “For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened – those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,”
5 “who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the power of the age to come –“
6 “and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God they themselves are nailing Him to the cross once again and holding Him up to public shame.”
Thus, Christians by name only, or so-called Sunday Christians, or when it suits them type of Christians, should take note of the above Scripture, as well as Jesus’ explicit words in this regard:
MATTHEW 7:16-21:
16 "You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?”
17 “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.”
18 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.”
19 “So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.”
20 “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit so you can identify people by their actions.”
21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in Heaven will enter.”
Then in short to summarize what I have shared with you:
A true Christian doesn’t sin, simply because he did not act wilfully by sinning deliberately. But because our Lord knows that we as humans stumble and ask forgiveness, our loving and gracious God look upon our pleas and sees Jesus our Advocate, not the sin.
There are people who think:
"I can do this sin and then just go and ask our Lord for forgiveness."
How terrible!
By doing this they mock the sacrifice of Jesus, and they also make God out to be feeble!
With everything you have read thus far, our Lord also inspired His apostles to write in His Word:
2 PETER 2:20-22:
20 “And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.”
21 “It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.”
22 “They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”
Therefore, concerning a true Christian:
JAMES 3:2: “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.”
I repeat 1 John 3:9:
1 JOHN 3:9: “Those who have been born into God’s family (Those who repent) do not make a practice (wilfully and knowingly) of sinning, because God’s life (the new implanted life / God’s Word / His Spirit) is in them. So they can’t keep on (deliberately) sinning because they are children of God.” (Newly born when we accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord)
The question that I need to ask myself during this time where people just get more wicked / evil are:
"Am I a Christian in name only and only when it suits me – then wilfully continue to sin although I know it makes a mockery of what Jesus sacrificed for me?"
or:
“I am a true follower of Jesus who are stumbling often but the sin in my life does not reflect the norm and is not deliberate?”
LUKE 6:43-45 The Tree and its Fruit
43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.”
44 “A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.”
45 “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (And how you live)
TITUS 2:11-14:
11 “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.”
12 “And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,”
13 “while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.”
14 “He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, ad to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.”
The following "Thoughts from the Word” connects hereto and can be ordered via email which I will happily send to you, or you can read them on my Website under the heading email ministry:
"Repentance, Water Baptism and Rebirth"
"Wilful sin is not suitable for a true Christian"
Greetings,
Sakkie