Everyone
who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But
you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no
sin. No
one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either
seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. (I John 3:4-10)
For me, this is a difficult passage. There are some folks who have the notion that when one becomes a Christian, one instantaneously and miraculously becomes good, and never sins again. I’d love to say that after I became a Christian, I’ve never sinned, but I have yet to find a Christian who fits that description. But John says no one lives in him continues sinning.
That does not mean that I haven’t heard of people miraculously overcoming a specific sin. Romans 7 seems to be the more usual. There is a desire to not sin, and a disgust with sin, but sin is still active in our lives. I am not suggesting that what John says is not true, just that I don’t understand its truth.
As such, this is a passage in which we can explore three of the rules that help us avoid Scripture twisting. The first is that the Bible interprets itself. If you want to know what the Bible says, look at what the whole Bible says. That is why I mentioned Romans 7. The second is that we are to interpret life in the light of Scripture, not Scripture in the light of life. The third is that when Scripture seems to say that two things are true that seem to us to contradict one another, such as believers being sinless and Romans 7, we take the view that somehow, in a way that we do not yet understand, both are true. In other words, if there’s a failure, it will be with us and our understanding, not with Scripture. My not understanding doesn’t mean it’s not true. It just means I don’t understand.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. (I John 3:4-10)
For me, this is a difficult passage. There are some folks who have the notion that when one becomes a Christian, one instantaneously and miraculously becomes good, and never sins again. I’d love to say that after I became a Christian, I’ve never sinned, but I have yet to find a Christian who fits that description. But John says no one lives in him continues sinning.
That does not mean that I haven’t heard of people miraculously overcoming a specific sin. Romans 7 seems to be the more usual. There is a desire to not sin, and a disgust with sin, but sin is still active in our lives. I am not suggesting that what John says is not true, just that I don’t understand its truth.
As such, this is a passage in which we can explore three of the rules that help us avoid Scripture twisting. The first is that the Bible interprets itself. If you want to know what the Bible says, look at what the whole Bible says. That is why I mentioned Romans 7. The second is that we are to interpret life in the light of Scripture, not Scripture in the light of life. The third is that when Scripture seems to say that two things are true that seem to us to contradict one another, such as believers being sinless and Romans 7, we take the view that somehow, in a way that we do not yet understand, both are true. In other words, if there’s a failure, it will be with us and our understanding, not with Scripture. My not understanding doesn’t mean it’s not true. It just means I don’t understand.
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