1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither knoweth him. AVS
1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. KJV
1Jn 3:6 Everyone remaining in Him does not sin. Everyone sinning has not seen Him, nor known Him. LITV
1Jn 3:6 Everyone who abides in Him does not sin. Everyone who sins has not seen Him nor known Him. MKJV
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COMMENTARY
Reader... Do you sin? There are two and only two possible
answers to that question. Yes..... or No. If your answer is
Yes... well then... your lost! I didn't write it folks. An
Apostle, who was Divinely inspired of the Holy Spirit wrote it. And he
said, under the influence of the Holy Spirit... "Everyone who sins has not seen Him nor known Him." That's a pretty accurate description of a lost person.
*
* *
Some rather skrewball escape hatches that allow men to deny the word of God while they claim to be Christians.
* This passage, and others like it [there are a few; Romans 6 e.g] is
talking about a person's... -State-... not his Character & Conduct.
Oh-h-h... And here all along I always thought that sinning, or not
sinning was describing a person's Conduct. In verses 4, 8 & 9 the word "commit"
is attached to the word "sin" and in vs 7 to the word "righteousness". The Greek word [poieo] means 'to make or
-do-'. If I am -doing- something, isn't that indicative of my
-Conduct-? What if I'm doing a bank-holdup? Wouldn't I be
engaging in criminal Conduct? Suppose my boss asked me what I was doing
and I responded... "Nothing really. I'm just meditating on my -State-.
I didn't think I had to do anything when I took the job. I thought my
-State- qualified me to receive a paycheck every week." His response
might be... "Well son, consider yourself to be in a -State- of
unemployment!"
This is the trash that's being palmed off as Christianity. More..
* Some people believe a Christian has One nature which is sinful. They may or may not equate that with the heart and/or
the "flesh". Others believe they have "one nature" which is either righteous or, as one writer says, "is inclined toward
righteousness", whatever that means. In any case they say Romans 7:14ff is a regenerate
person who is "struggling with his remaining corruption". This is a
reflection of the puritanical false doctrine of indwelling sin. John Owen believed the Christian's heart was the citadel of wickedness
which remained in rebellion against God all it's days! He applied
Jer.17:9 to Christians. He never read 1John3! How could he have
read this passage and come up with such a stupid conclusion?
Maybe he should have read Psalm 119 verses 1-3 and then finished
the rest of the Psalm. Verse 3 says exactly what this verse says; God's
people do no sin.
* Others believe a Christian has two natures; one sinful &
one righteous. If that's so we have some interesting questions for them;
Q; Are both natures functioning at the same time? Is the sinful nature
continually sinning while the righteous nature is doing righteousness?
Q; When such a person sins which nature repents? The sinful nature cannot repent while the righteous nature needs no repentance.
Q; Which nature identifies the true person? Is he a wicked sinner; or is he a righteous saint?
* I once was talking to a man about this issue and he announced he had a sinful heart. I then showed him Luke
Luke 8:15 And that in the good ground, these are such as in an
honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring
forth fruit with patience.
[which is another verse John Owen never read],... which teaches
that Christians have honest & good hearts, not sinful ones. He
thought a moment & then announced to me... "Oh... I have 2 hearts!"
The poor man was at a loss about the subject and showed that he
hadn't a clue of what the Bible has to say about the moral quality of a
born-from-above Christian. The man is in a "church" that does not
believe 1John chapter three. They believe Christians are "God-haters in
their flesh." Their doctrine of Sanctification is akin to the Carnal
Christian/Non-lordship heretics. Or maybe you heard the motto... Let Go
and Let god. The "church" this man is in says... "It's all god and no
me." Both groups do not believe they can do anything good at all. They
both believe that if they should happen to do any good "It's not me
doing it; it's him in me who is doing it." Well.... maybe their
right. The question is... who is it that is -in- them? The person is a
follower of John Pedersen in Gettysburg Pa., who teaches this false
doctrine of Sanctification.
* Albert Barns is a good example of what many people believe. He uses the "habitual" escape hatch. He says,
"He who is born again does not sin habitually, or is not habitually a sinner."
I wonder what he means by... "is not habitually
a sinner"? Is that someone who only becomes a sinner when he sins? And
after he sins and repents, he changes back into a saint? And when he is
not sinning -Habitually- is he at that point not sinning? If the answer
is Yes then the doctrine is established, namely;
Christians are people who have stopped sinning. Not -in toto- and will
never sin again all the way to the coffin! That's sinless perfection
which neither Scripture teaches nor do I believe. Christians still sin.
But sin is now the -exception- and not the norm. That's the difference.
But... more from Barnes;
"If he does wrong, it is when he is overtaken by
temptation, and the act is against the habitual inclination and purpose
of his soul. If a man sins habitually, it proves that he has never been
renewed."
Amen to his last sentence. But again, if a person is not sinning
-Habitually_ then that must mean there are times when he is not
sinning. If that's what Barns, or anyone else who holds the "habitual"
view is saying then I agree and the point is established. Christians
not only can but they -should- be living apart from sin. Consider this
verse...
1Jo 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sins not; but he
that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches him
not.
Keeps himself from what? From sinning.
So, the escape hatch of "habitually" does him no good. The passage
says nothing at all about any so-called 'habitual' sins. But even if it
did, when a person is not sinning 'habitually' is he not then not
sinning at all? How can it be said of a person who sins 24/7 that he
does not sin 'habitually'? Such an argument is pure
nonsense!
If John wanted to say that a Christian does not sin how in the world
else could he say it than what he says in this passage? C'mon folks...
stop mangling language and the Scriptures along with it. The passage
clearly teaches that Christians do not sin. And the reason why they
don't sin is because they have been victimized by the fantastic Power
of God in the Gospel! That power has brought about a complete moral
change the result of which is that a person is no longer a sinner and
therefore he no longer sins. That's MY God folks! Is He
YOUR God too?
This is the most wonderfullist doctrine in the whole wide universe....
except for Election, Predestination & the Atonement!... all of
which most everybody hates & won't preach. And when they do happen
to preach it they water it down by saying these things are not
"essential" to salvation. They say... as wonderful as these
doctrines are... you don't have to believe them to be a Christian. In
fact you can flat-out deny them and believe the antithesis of them,
which is another gospel... and still be saved. What absolute
blasphemy!
Mt 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
1John
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