Do Christians sin?

No reconciliation is needed. Condemnation is not eradication. The same Bible that speaks of the condemnation of sin (Rom. 8:3) also speaks of the fact of sin being still in us (1 John 1:8), and supposes that the believer may sin, in pointing out the divine provision for such a case (1 John 2:1). It even plainly tells us that as a matter of fact we all do sin (James 3:2).

But it may be asked, Who is sufficient for these things? How can any one possibly walk like this? Well, be sure that God will give us no lower standard or model. Our standard is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and in Him we get a pattern, which delights the heart of God. How then did He walk? Why, every deed, every word, every thought of His was perfect; in nothing did He fall short of the glory of God, not a single word had ever to be recalled; all, all was as perfect as God is perfect. What folly then on the part of those poor self-deceived creatures, who talk of attaining to sinless perfection. Do they walk as Jesus walked? And if not, why talk of sinlessness? "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8.) And the Apostle James says in the most positive way, "In many things we offend all." (James 3:2.) If this book falls into the hands of any, who think that they have thus attained, or who are pleased to hear people speak of this attainment, let them reflect on that absolute statement of the Apostle, and may God open their eyes to their true state. At the same time, beware of the abominable error of saying that the Christian must sin. God has made the fullest provision for him, so that he need not sin, and when he does sin, it is because he chooses to sin, and not because he need have done so (see 1 Cor. 10:13, and James 1:13-15). The Christian is never shut up to sin; he must therefore confess his sins, and own that they were committed of his own free will.

As long as we inhabit these bodies, derived from Adam, sin is still in us; yet the more we experience God's sanctifying work the less we come under its power. There is no excuse for the believer when he sins, inasmuch as ample power is at his disposal to preserve him. Yet we all often offend, as James has told us in his Epistle; and we shall all confess it, unless our sense of what is sin is sadly blunted, or we are just deceiving ourselves.

A "law of sin in the members" is not what is proper to the Christian, as we have seen. If on the one hand the apostle's language is, that "if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us," on the other hand he says, "These things write I unto you that ye sin not; and if any one sin" — he supposes this possible, but not normal. Again — "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit [or better, practice] sin; for His seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin [or, be sinning], because he is born of God" a John 3:9). The force of these words is, not that a believer cannot commit a sin, (a thing contradicted by Scripture and experience alike,) but he cannot practice it, or be sinning, as he once was; and over and over again this is asserted: "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that practiceth sin is of the devil" (ver. 6-8).

The Scriptures never suppose that a Christian is under the power of sin, but the very reverse. The Apostle Paul elsewhere asks, "Shall we continue in sin … ? God forbid" (Rom. 6:1-2). The Apostle John asserts, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin" (1 John 3:9). The word translated "commit" has the force of "practise" — he does not practise sin, — it is not a habit with him. It is supposed, however, that a Christian may be overtaken in sin, as the first verse of our chapter shows. The flesh is still in the believer, and if prayerfulness and watchfulness are relaxed it will break out into open sin.

(Vv. 8-10). Thirdly, in the light there is the full exposure of all that we are. We have sin in us and we have committed sins. If we say we have arrived at sinless perfection, we deceive ourselves and prove that we have not the truth, for sin is still in us. If we say that we never sin, we not only deceive ourselves but we make God a liar, for in many things we all offend. Nevertheless, in the governmental ways of God with His children, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins.” We are not told to ask for forgiveness, but, as children, to confess the sins that need forgiveness. We own our sins to the Father, and He not only forgives the sins but cleanses us from the defiling influences of the sins.

The divine characteristic, then, of every child of God is, that his sins are forgiven. It should be borne in mind, as we may yet see, that no such thing is contemplated in the Scripture as a child of God without the Spirit of adoption, and then, since we pointed out in the last chapter the ground on which God bestows the Spirit, this characteristic will at once be understood. Every child of God therefore — i.e. every child of God who can cry, "Abba, Father" — enjoys the forgiveness of sins, and the name of Christ is the foundation on which this unspeakable blessing has been received. "Your sins are forgiven you," says John, "for His name's sake." This is the divine testimony, and a testimony based upon the value of the name of Christ before God, upon all the value of what Christ is in virtue of His death and resurrection. The forgiveness of sins therefore which God would have His children enjoy is both divine and eternal — divine in its character, and eternal in its duration. Yes, it belongs to the efficacy of the precious blood of Christ, that when our sins are forgiven, they are forgiven for ever. Do you say, But such has not been my thought? Search the Scriptures, and see whether it is not God's thought, and if it is His thought, it may well become ours. Faith, indeed, consists in our receiving God's thoughts, and resting in them instead of our own, and thus believing we can rejoice in the fullest import of this message of the apostle — "Your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." Does another say, "But do I not need the cleansing blood every day?" That we sin every day is, alas! true, though it should ever be remembered that there is no necessity for the believer to sin. "These things," says John, it write I unto you, that ye sin not." But such is our state that, as a matter of fact, we do sin every day, and hence, pointing out God's gracious provision for our unworthy failures, he adds, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2.)

He says that they sin not who are born of God. Now, we must consider, whether God wholly regenerates us at once, or whether the remains of the old man continue in us until death. If regeneration is not as yet full and complete, it does not exempt us from the bondage of sin except in proportion to its own extent. It hence appears that it cannot be but that the children of God are not free from sins, and that they daily sin, that is, as far as they have still some remnants of their old nature. Nevertheless, what the Apostle contends for stands unalterable, that the design of regeneration is to destroy sin, and that all who are born of God lead a righteous and a holy life, because the Spirit of God restrains the lusting of sin.

The first feature to be adduced is found in 1 John 3 — "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." (v. 9; also 1 John 5:18.) The difficulty in this statement disappears when the manner of the apostle is observed. He states the truth, as is often observed, in an abstract, and therefore — absolute, way; that is, he confines his attention, to the exclusion of all else, to the one thing before his mind. Thus in this scripture he speaks only of what is characteristic of the new nature, which is born of God, without considering the fact that the children of God possess also the old nature, which is so utterly evil that the apostle Paul expresses its character by the term, "the body of sin." (Rom. 6:6.) Every believer has these two natures, and John speaks only of that which is divine, and therefore since the old is regarded as done with for ever judicially in the cross of Christ, though this be not his subject, he says, "Whosoever is born of God sinneth not." It is the new nature, and not the old, that marks out our existence before God; and thus in this absolute way he writes, "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." (1 John 5:18.) It does not mean therefore that the child of God never falls into sin (for who, alas! could assever that he never sins?), but simply that the character of the new nature is, that it sinneth not. For how indeed could that which is born of God sin? Thus the angel said to Mary, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35.) So absolutely — as to the nature derived in the new birth — whosoever is born of God doth not sin.

One more major consideration comes into this portion. It is not to be considered normal for a Christian to commit sins. The Bible looks at sinning by a Christian as a rare exception, and by no means inevitable. "These things write I unto you, that ye sin not" (1 John 2:1). When we trusted Christ as our Saviour we were brought into the family of God. We became His children. He is our Father. Nothing can break that link of family relationship we have with Him. This is not a claim to sinless perfection. It is a statement that if, inadvertently, we do commit a sin, the remedy is instantly available. We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One. He points to the witness of His precious blood and testifies to its eternal value. God the Father accepts the Advocacy of His Son on our behalf. Our family link with God as Father is maintained intact, not in virtue of anything we have done, but because of the value to God of the precious blood of Christ, the evidence that He really died.