Like many people, I sometimes tend to avoid passages in the Bible that I have trouble understanding. However, with prayerful study of God's word and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can gain an understanding. First John 5:18 is one such verse. As one Bible scholar put it, many of us would like to place John’s statement in this verse "upon the shelf where the unintelligible things are getting covered over with dust."
Can Christians Still Sin And Be Born Of God?
1 John 5:18, says the following,
"We know that whoever is born of God does not sin;"
How can John say such a thing since clearly, we all sin, even after having come to a saving knowledge of Christ? In 1 John 3: 6 and 3: 9, he repeats that those born of God don't sin. However, in 1 John 1: 8, he says that if we say we have not sinned that we are lying. In 1 John 2:1 he tells the church that he is writing to them so they won't sin. And in I John 5:16-17 he tells us to pray for our brother if he is sinning a sin which doesn't lead to death. Our brother would be another Christian. Clearly, John recognizes we will sin.
The New Creation v Our Old Self
There is no contradiction in what John is saying here. We have become a new creation in Christ, we have put on the New Man and that new creation is the Holy Spirit who lives within us. As Paul says, he no longer lives but Christ lives in him (Galatians 2:19). We don't make ourselves a new creation; God does. In McClaren's Expositions he tells us, "there is a power in him, a life-principle in him which is sinless, and whatsoever in him is born of God overcometh the world and’ sinneth not.’"
Colossians 3:5 reminds us that since our old self is dead, we should "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." We war against those things that remain in us that oppose God.
Because we are a new creation, we can now choose righteous behavior; but our old sinful desires, sadly, still exist and war against us. 1 Timothy 6:11 tells us to flee from sin and pursue righteousness. We are all like Paul at times, who does the thing he doesn't want to do (Romans 7:19). James 3:2, reminds us also that, "We all stumble in many ways." James is including himself among those who stumble.
Habitual Sin
John's statement in 1 John 5:18 is referring to habitual sins, sins that are ongoing. As John Stott says, “The present tense in the Greek verb implied habit, continuity, unbroken sequence.” Some modern translations include habitual in the translation of this verse. As 1 John 3:7 says, "let no one deceive you". John wanted to assure his readers that true Christians don't continue in sin. We may struggle with particular sins but we won't remain in them indefinitely. True Christians feel remorse and repent from their sins.
Why Did John Write First John?
Why did John write this letter? It was written to refute false teachers, who claimed to know God, but didn't. These false teachers were likely Gnostics. Gnosticism, according to the Encyclopedia of the Bible, "held that a redeemed soul in a sinful body was not responsible for the deeds of that body." This idea promoted sexual immorality and taught that Christians didn't have to stop doing sinful behaviors. This was false doctrine.
Sin No Longer Controls Us
To emphasize that as a Christian we are indeed responsible for what we do, John stresses that a Christian will no longer be controlled by sin. As God's children, we do sometimes disobey our Father. We do still sin because, although forgiven, we are still fallen human beings living in a fallen world.
We do sin, as John reminds us in I John 1:8, but our new nature, given to us by God, helps us to become more like Him daily. We are becoming sanctified. Where once we were slaves to sin as Paul tells us (Romans 6:20), "now we are slaves to righteousness, which leads to sanctification" (Romans 6:19).
Are You Being Sanctified?
Am I a "slave to righteousness"? Am I becoming sanctified? As my pastor recently said, "Are we fans or we followers?" We aren't just passive spectators to our Christian life expecting God to do all the work. As Paul says in I Corinthians 9:26-27, "...Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection...." The Holy Spirit living in us gives us the ability to choose who we serve - sin or God. We fight darkness with light.
How Do You Know You Are His?
These early Christians wanted to understand how to truly know they belonged to Christ. John says in 1 John 5:11-13, that he writes to these Christians so that they "may know that they have eternal life and continue to believe in the name of the Son of God". 1 John 3:10 says those that those who don't practice righteousness aren't of God. Practice doesn't imply perfection; we practice to become more like Him. Sin no longer defines who we are. 1 John 3:23-24 tells us that we abide in Him if we are obedient to Him, and that the Spirit He has given us will let us know that we are His. This is how we know we belong to Christ.
What Is A True Christian?
As John reminds us over and over in 1 John. True Christians show love. They allow the light of Christ to shine through so that others can see it. True Christians don't live in a state of sin. True Christians practice righteousness. John tells us that God is light (1 John 1:5), that He is life (1 John 2:25), and that He is love ( 1 John 4:8). John shows us that true love and discipleship, mean that we will act righteously.
Towards the end of 1 John 5 in verse 20, he tells us that Jesus has given us an understanding to know Him and be in Him who is true, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Most High God. This knowledge is based on our experience of Christ. Without this understanding we can't know Him. Without it we can't be in Him. This is eternal life and we know it. This is truth.
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