The Reborn Person Cannot Keep On Sinning
THE REBORN PERSON CANNOT KEEP ON SINNING
1 JOHN 3:4-10
God transforms; he does not force his children in to a mold.
“Sin is lawlessness” (3:4): this does not mean that it is a breach of the law of Moses or of any specific command (see Romans 5:13f.) Sin is the setting up of oneself as one’s own law and authority. It is the assertion of the selfish will against a supreme authority. The distinction between “sins” and “sin” (3:5) is vital to understand this passage. Sins are the result of an inner principle of sin. The knowledge that Christ has borne our sins reconciles us to God, but our coming to him and being reborn implies a treatment of the root rebellion of sin. One cannot abide in him, or even know or see him and remain rebellious against the law of God (3:6). The one “born of God” (3:9)—the verb is perfect, ie the life continues and develops—will not continue in a state of rebellion against God. Furthermore, this birth means that something of “God’s nature” has been implanted in a person, so it is impossible that they should be in a state of rebellion. But John fully shares Paul’s attitude expressed in Romans 7:7-25. The vanishing of the old nature awaits Christ’s coming (3:2), and so falling short is bound to continue (1:8). See also 5:14-18. That this is the correct interpretation is seen by the fact that John sees sin particularly in two things: the consistent failure to try to achieve God’s standards (“whoever does not do right”), and to “love their brother and sister” (3:10), in other words, it is a question of attitude rather than acts.
Human thought naturally expresses itself in alternatives, in either … or. Either a man is a sinner or sinless. Divine truths normally express themselves in both … and, or neither … nor. It is the latter we are dealing with here. Regenerate people are neither sinless nor rebels against God. If a person is in a state of rebellion against God, they should not expect their claim to be a Christian to be taken seriously. If we find them falling short of God’s will, provided they do not deny the fact, it is rather a testimony to what God has already done.