We come now to one of the most difficult passages in Scripture. Verse 9 is often quoted to teach that a child of God will never commit sin. Many honest and sincere people believe this, and devote themselves to the attainment of what is commonly called "sinless perfection." But is this doctrine taught in the Bible? The answer is "no" for two reasons:
1) There is clear teaching of the Bible.
When we come to a difficult passage, we should seek to interpret it in light of clearer teachings of Scripture. To say this passage (which is difficult to interpret) teaches a Christian never commits sin, contradicts clear teaching found in this same book of the Bible (1 John 1:8-10).
2) There is the common testimony of the Bible.
In the Bible, we're told of great saints, all of whom were imperfect! The Word of God doesn't cover up their faults. It is clear in Scripture that there is only One spoken of who is sinless - Jesus Christ!
For these two reasons, we would say that the Bible doesn't teach sinless perfection. But if that's the case, what does 1 John 3:9 mean? Well, let's look at this passage in an effort to find the answer to that question.
1. The Provision Of The Savior - vs. 4-5
When Jesus came into the world, He died on the cross and made perfect provision for our salvation, which makes possible our deliverance from sin's penalty, sin's power, and eventually, sin's presence. Therefore, Jesus' sacrifice provides us with daily victory over sin in our life.
A. The necessity of His provision - v.4
Human sin made the cross necessary. God is a just God, along with being a loving Heavenly Father. God wanted a restored relationship with His creation, but He also needed to see that justice carried out with respect to the violation of His law. How could these two attributes of God be satisfied simultaneously? The cross is the answer! God took on flesh in the person of Christ to do for mankind what we could never do for ourselves - pay the penalty for our sin in such a way as to make possible a personal relationship with Himself.
You see, the penalty for our sin is so great that left to pay it on our own, would require an eternity's worth of suffering, which would mean that we would never be able to be free from sin's penalty in order to have a relationship with God.
God took on flesh in the person of Christ and lived a sinless life in order to qualify to represent to human race and pay the penalty for our sin. And because He was God in the flesh, He could pay that infinite penalty in a finite period of time on the cross. He provided forgiveness for the entire human race, proved that sin's penalty was fully paid by being raised from the dead, and ascended back to heaven to offer by means of the Holy Spirit, a personal relationship with Himself to all who choose to receive His gift of eternal life.
"When people sin, they earn what sin pays - death. But God gives his people a free gift - eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:23 (Easy to Read)
3 Nails + 1 Cross = 4given
B. The nature of His provision - vs. 5; 8
1) He came to provide victory over sin - v. 5
2) He came to provide victory over Satan - v. 8
There's a humorous story from the early days of football having to do with the Dallas Texans, who eventually became the Dallas
Cowboys. They were the first attempt at professional football in the state. They lasted one year, 1952, and had a record of 1 win and 11 losses. Their training camp was in Kerrville, Texas. Willie Garcia was the equipment manager. He had one wooden leg. The first time a football bounced off the field into tall grass nearby, no one would go after it because of fear of snakes. Willy volunteered to retrieve the ball commenting, "I've got a 50-50 chance that the snake will go for the wrong leg."
On our own, there's always a chance of getting "bit" by the devil. But because of the cross, we need fear him no longer! By the provision of the Savior, our life need not be dominated by sin and Satan!
2. The Practice Of The Saved - vs. 6-7
A. They do not practice sin - v. 6
John doesn't say a saved person won't sin. He says he won't "keep on sinning." Truly saved people don't live to do what God says is wrong!
B. They do practice righteousness - v. 7
A truly saved person lives to do what God says is right! John says those who are truly saved don't practice sin; but practice righteousness.
Consider an all-pro football player. He knows his responsibilities and normally performs his tasks as he should. Occasionally he may miss a block, but that's the exception and not the rule. It's the same with the Christian life. Sin in the life of a Christian is the exception and not the rule. If you are born of God you do not practice sin.
Saved people occasionally do wrong, just as lost people occasionally do right. But the fact that the saved person occasionally does what is wrong does not make him any less saved, than the fact that a lost person occasionally doing something right makes him any less lost!
In Matthew 7:17, Jesus says that a corrupt tree brings forth corrupt fruit and a good tree brings forth good fruit. Occasionally you might get a good apple off a bad tree and occasionally you might get a bad apple off a good tree, but normally the fruits of a good tree will be good. So it is in the life of the child of God.
That's what John is saying. He's not saying you will never sin if you're a child of God. He's saying that the trend of your life is toward God. The main direction of your life is toward doing things that please Him.
3. The Power Of Salvation - vs. 9-10
When one is born again, he is born of the Spirit (1 John 3:6-7). The Holy Spirit takes up residence in his life (Romans 8:16; Ephesians 1:13-14). As a result of the Spirit's presence in his life, he has . . .
A. A New Desire - v. 9b
The phrase, "He cannot go on sinning" speaks of the new desire on the part those born again. Within their life is an aversion to sin. As Dr. Adrian Rogers put it, "a lost man will leap into sin and love it; but a saved man lapses into sin and loathes it!" Paul put it this way, "In my inner being I delight in God's law" (Romans 7:22). The Bible says that when a person is saved, "God writes His law on their heart" (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10). The child of God has a desire to do what God says is right. That doesn't mean he always
succeeds; but it does mean that is what he wants to do.
A Methodist Evangelist named Dr. Morrison taught the doctrine of holiness, and it was said that he came closer to practicing it than most folks do. Someone once said to Dr. Morrison jokingly, "Dr. Morrison have you gotten to where you cannot sin?" Dr. Morrison said, "No, my brother, I have not yet gotten to where I cannot sin, but I have gotten to where I cannot sin and enjoy it."
That is to be the testimony of every truly born again child of God.
B. A New Dynamic - v. 9a
An unbeliever has one nature, received at birth: a sinful nature. But when we trust Christ, we receive a new nature by the Spirit's presence in our life, which provides us a new power to live by. No longer do we need to surrender to our sinful nature, give into temptation and live for sin. We can surrender to the Spirit, resist temptation and live for God!
"I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit." - Romans 7:22-8:4 (NLT)
Conclusion: Learning how to live life yielding to the Spirit rather than his sinful nature was something Paul had to grow to learn and it is something every Christian likewise needs to grow to learn.
"We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world." - 2 Peter 1:3-4 (CEV)
A new believer was asked how they were doing in their Christian walk. They replied that it felt like they had a black dog and a white dog inside them that were constantly fighting each other. They were then asked which dog was winning. Their reply was, "The one I feed the most!" Which one are you feeding the most?
