Christians Cannot Sin
Christians Cannot Sin
1 John 3:9 (NASB 2020)
"No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God.”
The issue is at least partially how one chooses to define sin. In various places we are told that sin is the transgression of the law, that whatever is not of faith is sin, and so on. The Greek word for sin is (hamartia). At its most basic, this word means to miss the mark.
Here is how I view 1 John 3:9:
When we are reborn, we are made pure, righteous, holy, blameless, above reproach. This change comes because our old self died with Jesus Christ, and we were given a new heart and a new spirit. At that level of our existence (the essence of what we are—a spirit) we are perfect, acceptable, and compatible with God. That’s how scripture can unabashedly call us saints (holy ones, (hagiasmos)). That’s how it can be true that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters.
As holy beings, we cannot sin.
However, it is also true that we have ungodly attitudes and actions on occasion—maybe even often. Ungodliness is sin. It misses the mark. So, while we have no sin in our makeup, we often still behave in sinful ways.
This is what trips people up. They know their attitudes and actions are not always godly. Consequently, they are loath to say they “have no sin.”
While they behave according to the flesh, their identity is according to the Spirit. The fact that they “sin” (behave in ungodly ways) does not make them a sinner. I wrote an article about that here: https://www.larryeiss.com/blog/20211215arljbx3uetga3jcgcawi0eoil9cvao and here: https://www.larryeiss.com/blog/2022919saints-and-sinners
Another thing to look for in studying this is whether the text uses “sin” as a noun or as a verb. Sin, the noun, speaks of the power of sin, which entered the world at the fall, and to which Paul attributes his sinful/fleshly activities in Romans 7. Sin, the verb, speaks of ungodly attitudes and actions that miss the mark of perfection as articulated by Jesus in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
The New American Standard Bible translates 1 John 3:9 this way: “No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God.” (NASB 2020)
Notice the words “practices” and “continually.” The translators placed those words in this verse because of the tense used in Greek for the word “sin.” Greek has more verb tenses than English. In many ways, it is a far more expressive language. The Greek verb tense here indicates something that is being done continually.
So, what’s in view here is whether sin characterizes one’s life. Is it one’s practice? Is sinful behavior their lifestyle? Is it, with them, like the days of Noah and every thought and the intent of their heart is sinful all the time?
That isn’t you, Saint. You don’t want to sin, do you? It’s not your intention to do evil, is it? Even when you stumble in many ways, as James said we all do, that does not reflect who you are.
At the core of your being you cannot sin. You are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). You are holy, blameless, and above reproach (Colossians 1:22). If this were untrue, you could not be in Christ and Christ could not be in you. If this were untrue, you would immediately die, just as anyone “unclean” who tried to enter the holiest place in the Temple would die.
1 John 1:7 and 1:9 make it clear that when we agreed with God, changed our minds and believed Him rather than our own ideas about good and evil, God cleansed us from ALL unrighteousness. Anyone who is cleansed from ALL unrighteousness is left with only one possible thing—righteousness.
For a bit deeper look, read this: https://www.larryeiss.com/blog/2024710those-in-christ-cannot-sin
