1 John 3:4-10 - Can Christians Sin?

INTRODUCTION

Let’s open our Bibles together this morning to the third chapter of 1 John.

For reasons I hope will become clear, I will begin reading in the 28th verse of chapter 2 and read through the 10th verse of chapter 3.

[READ 1 JOHN 2:28-3:10]

This is a passage that has spawned a great deal of misunderstanding,

Leading some to believe that Christians may, in this life, obtain perfection with regard to the Law,

And leading others to completely dismiss the passage in light of 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

When we put that verse up against 1 John 3:6 “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” ,

It sounds like they are saying two different things.

Do we sin and confess our sins, or are we condemned in our remaining sins?

It’s my hope this morning to help us to see the truth in both,

Finding both the call to holiness and the gospel of grace in each passage.

Make no mistake: we must not weaken the message of EITHER verse -

They both mean EXACTLY what they say.

And so the difficult question we must ask is: Can Christians sin?

Put another way:

Do believers, followers of Jesus Christ, live in a sinless state;

And if they fall from that state, do they prove themselves to be false, unregenerate people?

THE HARM OF SIN

Brothers and sisters, sin is deadly, and we must never forget that.

Sin lures and drags us away from God;

Poisons our life;

And ruins other people’s lives.

It’s not a pet that you can tame.

It’s not a different choice you can make.

An alternative lifestyle you can practice.

It’s not a quirk you can giggle about,

Or a cute imperfection,

Or something that makes you unique.

What is sin?

Sin is any action or thought rejecting or ignoring God or the perfect law He has given; this amounts to rebellion against God.

It is doing anything contrary to God’s moral Law, the Law that’s based on God’s very nature and character,

The Law that defines how we must live in relationship with Him and with each other.

Sin is an offense against God who created you,

And has demonstrated His patience and longsuffering with you.

And Christian, it is an offense against the One who came to free you FROM that sin,

To rescue you from its captivity.

To make you into a holy people.

That’s why I wanted to begin today with the last two verses of chapter 2:

1 John 2:28–29 “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.”

Abide in HIM.

STAY in Him.

WALK in Him.

Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

But that seems to say the same thing John does in the 3rd chapter:

1 John 3:5–6 “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”

It IS saying the same thing.

You weren’t MADE to be sinning.

You weren’t SAVED to keep on sinning.

A LIFE OF SIN

But stay with me: this isn’t declaring some perfect, sinless life for those in Christ.

John tells us that in verse 2:

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

What we will be - perfectly obedient and sinless - has not yet appeared.

We wait for the glorious day of His Appearing - that will be the moment when we will be finally freed from sin and temptation forever.

But while we wait, while we anticipate and hope for this day of freedom,

What are we to do?

1 John 3:3 “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

We purify ourselves.

We find the remaining sin inside us,

Inside our hearts,

And kill it.

We seek to find the sin we didn’t even realize we had,

And kill it too.

We search the Scriptures, looking for all God’s good commands,

Hold ourselves up to His perfect righteous Law,

And remove anything that isn’t perfectly in line with every letter of His good Law.

Some may cry out: “But that’s legalism!”

No. That’s devotion.

That’s love for our Creator who made us.

That’s love for our Redeemer who rescued us and freed us.

That’s the GOOD WORKS that God created us to walk in.

That’s the fruit the Spirit produces in the heart of a believer.

Because the question chapter 3 is dealing with is not what you do - whether you sin or not,

This chapter is dealing with what you LIVE FOR.

It’s possible, probably even common, for someone to call themself a Christian,

Believe they are a Christian,

And live most every moment of their life chasing after their sin.

The enemy blinds so many, leading them into destruction,

All the while letting them assure themselves they BELIEVE in Jesus even if they LOVE their sin more.

He tells them they can always seek forgiveness, confess their sin,

Even as they practice their offenses against God.

That all they have to do is to pray and tell God they are sorry, and all will be forgiven.

John is helping us to examine our hearts, searching for what we love more:

Our Savior or our sin.

And his answer, proclaimed in the strength of the Holy Spirit, is that if you love your sin more than you love your Savior,

You have reason to worry about your soul.

Sin is always going to be enticing, and true believers will fall often into sin,

Sometimes even knowing they are choosing sin.

But John tells us in v. 4:

1 John 3:4 “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”

Practicing sin is different than sinning:

Practicing sin is admitting your sin KNOWING you intend to do it again.

I recall a high-profile preacher years ago, who had been caught in an affair or some other grave sin, (not sure now which one)

Who, when he was questioned why he allowed himself to continue preaching even while he carried on in his sin,

He told the reporter: “I never entered the pulpit unclean.”

What he meant was that he would confess his sin to God before he got up to preach,

But without ever intending to break off the affair or cease from his sin.

Confessing your sin doesn’t mean you just admit it;

It means you abhor your sin;

You HATE your sin;

You REPENT, turn away from, your sin.

And you don’t RETURN to your sin.

Confession without repentance is like a man on trial for murder who thrusts out his chin in pride and says,

“Yeah. I killed him. So what?”

Do you seek your good and loving Father in the same way,

Asking Him to clean you off from your sin so you will be clean,

But having every intention to return to it as soon as you can?

My friend, if your confession to God isn’t built on repentance and hatred of your sin,

You have good reason to examine your heart.

Do you love Christ?

Or do you love what Christ can do for you?

Do you love that Christ can clean you up,

Or do you love Christ enough to reject those things that make you dirty?

Now, I know there may be some who struggle with one addiction or another;

Addiction is simply sin that has built a stronghold in your life.

Addiction is the master we hate, but who feeds our lusts and threatens us if we try to get free.

All believers, true believers, who come to Christ come with some addiction to sin.

Some sin or sins has mastered them.

Drugs and alcohol.

Pornography and lusts.

Anger and violence.

Pride and haughtiness.

Greed and covetousness.

Perversion.

The list could be endless.

No matter the sin-slavery, no matter the addiction, Christ has FREED you from that if you are His.

And what John is telling us is that the believer RESISTS those sins because of their GREATER love for Christ.

1 John 3:3 “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

Our hope is in HIM.

We purify ourselves because we love Christ more than we love that sin.

Not because we will be judged.

Not because we would be embarrassed to be caught in sin.

Not because we shouldn’t do things like that.

Not even because we want to be free from that sin.

There are literally billions of people addicted to sin who would LOVE to be free from its chains,

But who are unable and unwilling to be free.

Because the believer rejects sin because his or her love for Christ is greater than their love for that sin.

None of those other reasons to quit sin will do it;

Only the love of Christ is powerful enough to break those chains.

The warning John has is grave:

1 John 3:7–8 “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”

The gospel isn’t some cover for bad behavior;

A “Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free” card.

1 Peter 2:16 “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”

Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

There is no provision here for someone who believes in Jesus Christ and comes to church regularly,

But when sin is presented to them, happily goes after it.

Are you committing adultery?

Repent, and never return to it. EVER.

Are you stealing?

REPENT, and make restitution. And don’t do it again.

Are you abusing someone?

Stop, and face whatever consequences there are.

If you don’t leave behind your sin, and do what you can to make it impossible to pick up again,

You haven’t killed it.

You have just tucked it into bed.

And no amount of tears and show will make up for the lack of repentance before God.

Because “sin is lawlessness”.

Practicing sin is declaring to God that I don’t WANT Your Law.

I don’t have to abide by Your Law.

And those aren’t the words of a follower of Jesus Christ.

1 John 3:10 “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

ABIDE IN CHRIST

Our Lord told a parable in Luke 19 that illustrates much the same thing.

I invite you to turn there.

Beginning in verse 11, follow along as I read:

[READ LUKE 19:11-27]

The first thing we should notice is in v. 11 - the reason Jesus told the parable:

Because the disciples supposed that the kingdom of God would appear imminently.

They were headed to Jerusalem, and everyone following Him thought that the fulness of the kingdom was about to happen.

There isn’t much call for perseverance when you have no time to wait.

But Jesus’s first words described what was really happening:

He was going away for a while, but would return later.

And as He went, the nobleman gave each of his ten servants in the parable a mina apiece.

Ten servants; ten minas.

A mina was about three month’s wages for a worker.

When the master returned, he called his servants in to give an account of how they had done business with the mina.

There are four outcomes in the parable:

The obedient servant - reported that he had made 10 minas more.

This is the ONLY servant the master declared to be “good and faithful”.

The adequate servant - made 5 minas.

He was rewarded, but not commended.

The false servant - hid the one mina in the handkerchief.

He was the false servant, not using his time for the master’s business, but on something else.

Then there is a fourth group in this parable - the rebellious citizens.

They are the ones who declared “We don’t want him to reign over us.”

What John (and the other passages we read) is urging us to be is this “good and faithful” servant in Luke.

The one who bent all his effort on doing what the master has left him here to do.

How many things did the servant have to forego;

How many sacrifices of time or pleasure or ease had he made in favor of his duty to his master?

We don’t know - because neither he nor the master mentions them.

They are IRRELEVANT in the light of the devotion of the faithful servant toward the master.

Notice - the master gives no promise of reward to the servants when he leaves.

No expectation of increase of position or wealth or even a commendation.

If he had, the reward he did give would be a wage, something they earned.

But as it is, the reward to the good and faithful servant, and to the ones who brought in less, is all of grace.

Those rewards, far from being earned, were not for the servant’s business savvy, but for his devotion, his love.

Because the master hadn’t promised anything to increase the status of the servant,

We have to understand the servant did EVERYTHING he did simply for the love of the master.

No other reason.

No other expectation save the master’s pleasure upon his return.

1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.”

Until the day of judgment by the master, this good and faithful servant probably had no idea that he had the most to return to the master.

His status among the other servants wouldn’t enter his mind.

He just kept doing the master’s business with the master’s gift until he returned.

Because he loved his master.

That’s why he is faithful.

That’s why he is good.

He was able to present his master with a faithful return precisely because he PRACTICED faithfulness.

Like John says, practiced righteousness.

1 John 3:7 “Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.”

So what is your reason for obedience?

Is it to prove your theological aptitude to others?

Is it to be seen as a devoted follower of Christ?

Is it to lead others to follow in your steps toward Christ?

All those would be weak reasons.

Obedience that will endure the apparent absence of the master, and will continue to hope in His return,

Is obedience that is driven by your real and complete love and devotion to our Lord.

Do you love the Lord so much that it keeps you from practicing sin?

Does your love for Him, and your hope in His Appearing, drive you to obedience even if no one on earth notices?

It is your love, and the accompanying obedience that love causes,

That gives us assurance as we long for the Day He returns.

So that we can rejoice with Paul as he tells the Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”