1 John 3:4-10
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 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. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
Hold on just one minute! Did John just say that Christians do not sin? So what does that mean about me? I know that I sin, I know that I fail, I know how broken and scarred I am. Some teach that this means that to be christian means that sin no longer applies to them and they can do whatever they want. Some teach that this means you can lose your salvation. Some take this as a contradiction in scripture. So what exactly is John telling us? I believe there are two truths that we can see in Scripture that apply here to help us understand what John is saying and to encourage us in our walk with Christ.
First there is the truth that when we surrender our lives to Christ and receive the salvation that He so freely offers us a transformation takes place that radically changes us! Ephesians 2:1 calls it a “quickening” – we were dead in trespasses and sin and at the moment that Christ comes into our lives we became alive in Him. The Spirit of God takes up residence in our hearts and we are forever changed and there is no power in the universe that can separate us from the Love of God (Romans 8:38-39) Because of this the power of sin is broken in our lives and the Spirit convicts of of our sin and moves us to repentance! Yes we sin – but we do not continue in sin thanks to the power of God that lives within us!
Second there is the truth that when God looks at us who have been saved, He sees us through the blood of Christ. While we will never know sinless perfection on this earth, the righteousness of Christ has been applied to our lives so that we stand before Him Redeemed! Forgiven! Through Christ! There is no penalty, there is nothing that separates us from God’s love! The Price has been paid, the victory has been won and now we can know that no matter how scarred and broken we are, no matter how many times we fall when God looks on us what he sees is not our failures or our sin – He sees His Son who bore our wrath, who took our shame, who paid our price.
Today as we ReFocus our hearts and minds on Christ let us rejoice in the truth that through Jesus we are made clean! We who have trusted in Christ stand before God Justified (Just as if I’d never sinned) and Redeemed. Now it should be our desire to live a life worthy of His precious name!