Read all of 1 John to get the full message.
Well, actually, I have read John’s first epistle many times. No offense, but I believe you are the one who is not getting the full message of the first epistle of John because you are reading this epistle with the glasses or lens of the false teaching of Once Saved Always Saved. What do you do with 1 John 3:15 or 1 Timothy 5:8? They are teaching conditional salvation here. 1 John 3:15 says, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15). Its conditional. IF we walk in the light (1 John 1:7). IF we confess our sins (1 John 1:9). The word “if” and “we” show that it is possible to not walk in the light and not confess of sin. If we walk in the light is a salvation issue because it talks about the blood of Jesus cleansing you of all sin if you walk in the light (Which is loving your brother - see 1 John 2:9-11).
1 John 2: 1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
John is not giving anyone “permission” to sin by saying “but if…” and not “but when…”.
God acknowledges that even the most devout believers may occasionally falter into sin. Nevertheless, the ultimate aspiration is to triumph over sin. It is important to note that today, some individuals advocate for the idea that they must, in some minor manner, remain entangled with their sins in this earthly existence. However, scriptures such as 2 Corinthians 7:1 and 1 Peter 4:1-2 stand in opposition to such misguided teachings.
What is your understanding on 1 John 1:8?
My guess is that you hold to the standard cookie cutter popular viewpoint in that a Christian will always sin occasionally this side of Heaven viewpoint. But that is not what 1 John 1:8 is saying if you believe that nonsense.
Then again OSAS blinds people to seeing the real truth on this verse.
We sometimes say: “We are only human”,
We are not “only human” anymore.
We also tend to look at it from the wrong direction: we are trying not to sin, which means we are concentrating on sin, when we should be asking: “What good can I be doing in the next minute, hour, day” and so on. The Spirit within us is not trying to do nothing (stop sinning), but is actively wanting to do wonderful stuff, which we have….
All of these things are noble causes to do good of course. However, it loses its significance when someone holds the belief that they can engage in sinful behavior occasionally to the day they die, and still attain salvation, as is the viewpoint you hold. Acts of goodness become futile if one simultaneously maintains the belief that they can commit sins on a smaller level, and yet claim they will enter God’s Kingdom one day. Jesus, in Matthew 7:21-23, admonished believers who performed good deeds in His name to depart from Him because they were also involved in iniquitous activities. This context becomes clearer when we read Matthew 7:26-27.
Look at 1 John for how much John says about doing what is commanded of us (which is all for our good and fills our time so we will not do bad).
Look at 1 John 3: 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. The idea there is repeating sinning and not just a sin.
If one says they must sin again, that is a repeated acknowledgment to an agreement with sin. What sins is a person making an excuse for when they say that they will always sin occasionally this side of Heaven? What sins are Christians making an excuse for when they misuse 1 John 1:8 that we all sin? You believe that the prodigal son was saved while he was living it up with prostitutes? Gotquestions believes that a backslidden Christian is saved. You yourself have stated that sin does not separate us from God. So if one can sin a little bit, and be saved, then one can sin as much as they want and be saved like the prodigal son or backslidden Christian. In other words, there is no real standard of morality in this kind of belief.
1 John 3:7 … The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous, The idea again is not: “not sinning”, but doing righteous acts.
”…just as he is righteous” (1 John 3:7). Who is the “
he” in this verse? It’s Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus Christ is righteous, so we are to also live righteously as Him.
1 John 2:6 says, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
I don’t see how you can believe this above verse.
1 John 3: 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Right, but if one’s actions are not in line with what the Bible teaches on sin and salvation, then their actions are useless.
Jesus warned about how just looking upon a woman in lust can destroy our souls (Matthew 5:28-30). Jesus taught that if we do not forgive, the Father will not forgive us (Matthew 6:15). Meaning, we will not be saved if even one sin stands in our way. I mean stop and think a moment. What do you think happened with Adam and Eve? I believe according to Scripture that they died spiritually when they ate of the wrong tree by disobeying God’s command. The serpent was trying to convince them to sin and still be saved. The same lie is being pushed today. But you can take your chances on a sin and still be saved type belief if you like. I know it will not work out for you in the end, my friend (See: Matthew 13:41-42, then read John 8:34-35).
“1 john 5: 16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.” So not all sins are the same, but I am not permitting you to sin, since you da not have to commit any sins.
How do you view the “sin not unto death”? I see the sin that does not lead to death as referring to sin that a believer confesses and forsakes whereby they overcome such a sin. The goal is to not be a slave to sin like the world.
1 John 5:18-19
18 “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not;
but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”
Jesus says he that sins is a servant of sin (Or slave to sin) and a servant (servant of sin) will not abide in the house forever (See: Matthew 13:41-42 on the fate of the servant of sin who is a believer). Note: You do not have to practice sin in order to be a servant of sin. Just saying that one will sin again this side of Heaven is an admission that sin is one’s real master. Denying the Bible’s true teaching on how hell can destroy our souls in hell is another way of being a servant of sin. For by not warning others properly of the true consequences of sin, one is leading them to hell.
I can give you my personal story of God seeing to my humiliation, since I thought I was a Spiritual giant in the Kingdom, had done about every good thing you could do and knew it all.
Uh, you still don’t know it all because you believe in the false teaching of Once Saved Always Saved, which is one of the greatest deceptions in these last days. The falling away of the church has already began.
For many years, I experienced and believed Christianity had no real downside. It was a happy, easy and rewarding life, everyone should jump in.
I use to teach “we (Christians) all sin lots of times and cannot keep from it, but we are constantly being washed by the blood of Christ, so we are without sin in that case.” That was before I met a group of Christians that risked death for themselves and others by sinning, just any sign of not doing what Christ would be doing in that moment. Here is what happened:
I got thrown into (volunteered to substitute teach) with the youth (13-21 age) prisoners program teaching Bible (one hour on Sunday morning to a group of 14 with three other Christian's teaching groups of 14) and I was teaching three groups of “Christians”. The first group were guys (“going to school”, it is called), they start out causing trouble and getting thrown in the tank. Then they start increasingly attending the Bible services, carrying their Bible, being nice, eventually being baptized and saying they are Christian. By the time the parole board meets, they have this glowing report showing continued improvement tied to their increased spirituality and are released. These guys still carry weapons, are members of a gang, and every prisoner knows they just “went to school” to get out. The second group were converted before they went to prison (granny conversions), but on the first day they are seen watching raunchy TV, hanging with a loss group, laughing at off colored jokes, were not always talking about Jesus and were not trying to convert others. Their first day in prison the snitches see this, the snitches talk to the Bulls who then approach these “Christians” saying: “you are not a Christian” (doing everything Christ would do) and make them a slave (often sexual) or at best a gang member. They still come to Bible study on Sunday, so they can tell Granny (who visits them Sunday afternoon) what they learned, but they are slaves (sometimes sexually) to some bull. The third group is fanatical, they stick close to each other, they: study, pray, witness to everyone, and avoid even a hint of insincerity that the snitches could see. They carry no weapons, but step between those that are being beaten especially persecuted. This group had grown over the last 3 years from just a couple of guys to now 42, but it came at a high price. Each convert had on the day he was baptized, given up the protection of his gang membership, turned over his weapons along with all his possessions (the gang owns everything including them), they were beaten if not by the gang they left, then by other gangs looking for payback and then they were watched constantly looking for any sign the snitches might interpret as weakness (anything less than what Christ would do in the situation, would result in a beating and it could lead to death). There is absolutely no privacy and these Christians never wanted to be found alone. They slept in barracks where at least one stayed awake all night praying over the others, so they could sleep without the fear of being smashed in the head in the middle of the night. These guys believed and counted on power from the Holy Spirit, I did not know existed. They come battered and bruised each week hungry for some real meaningful Christ like lesson that goes beyond their group study of 40+hours that week on the same subject, which I could not provide. They mostly helped me with my poor example of Christianity and lack of knowledge and lack of wisdom. They mentored me even though they were only Christian for a few months, but I was a poor disciple and could not keep up with them.
I had many hard nights praying over those young men. I Loved them and empathetically to some degree suffered with them.
If you later found out they were Mormons, would that have changed your perspective of them? I am not saying they were Mormons or anything, but the point here is that Jesus warned against false Christs. Meaning, if they believe as you do now that you can sin and still be saved (not practicing sin) but one will be a slave to sin this side of Heaven to occasional sin, then one is still turning God’s grace into a license for immorality. Again, the “
sin all you want and be saved” mentality is really not all that much different from the “
We can sin on occasion and be saved” mindset. You believe a Christian does not lose salvation by sin. By this belief alone, it will lead to Hyper Grace. Tell a child that sin does not separate them from God and if you never got a chance to see them again, they could turn out to be the next George Sodini. See
here to learn more. Yes, sometimes Christians can stumble and struggle with sin. That is why we read things like 1 John 2:1-2, 1 John 1:9, and Psalms 51. But we have to look at the whole counsel of God’s Word like 1 Peter 4:1-2, and 2 Corinthians 7:1, as well. One has to read AND BELIEVE passages like Galatians 6:8-9, and 1 Timothy 5:8 (Which I believe you do not actually believe at face value).
In short, the majority of Christianity holds to the view that one cannot practice sin and think they are saved. This is not the narrow way that Jesus spoke about. How can I prove it. Paul says we are to have the mind of Christ. Now, did Jesus ever think it was okay to sin on occasion or think that we must always sin again (occasionally) this side of Heaven until we die?
They really did not talk about “not sinning”,
Because they are not speaking in line with the faith. The faith is the Bible. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The Bible does talk about not sinning in many places. I would say you have a veil covering your eyes if you do not see the many verses telling us to stop sinning or you simply have not paid attention while reading the New Testament. Jesus and His followers talked about this topic a lot. So that should tell you that they are not imitating the Lord and His followers as we read about in Scripture.
but what better thing they could be doing each and every minute of the day and night. If they did sin, even with their thoughts, they confessed immediately to everyone (all around so the snitches could hear it also), asking for help, prays and ideas on doing better, yet this was not a daily action for everyone.
If a husband beats his wife on occasion is it okay as long as he just says he is sorry?
No. At some he needs to stop or the relationship will be ruined. It does not matter how many times he says he is sorry or switches back to his loving split personality. If one is not fully committed to Jesus Christ, then they are making sin or the devil their true master. But Jesus says you cannot serve two masters. So if one defends sin in any shape or form and or one does not teach the true consequences of sin as taught in the Bible, they are not in defense of the Lord but they are still defending sin the devil’s kingdom. They have one foot in the Kingdom and one foot in the devil’s camp. It will not work like that.
It is not so much not wanting to sin but wanting to be a Christ like Christian (witness).
However, the Scriptures rebuke you.
1 Corinthians 15:34 says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”
This was not done to please the guards because the guards did not like them witnessing to them and the fact others might beat on them caused them added work to break up the beatings. Maybe we do not see the Spirit working in us because we quench Him or are not in situations of really needing Him. Severe persecution brings out the Spirit in those who have the Spirit.
But if they were Mormons or JWs then, it would not really matter, right?
Even they have their stories of persecution. It does not mean they are right with God.
In other words, if they believe the OSAS lie or the sin on occasion and still be saved type belief, then no amount of persecution will justify them before the Judgment of Christ. God will see right through their false facade in that they truly did not obey God’s Word.
I really feel some did go days without sinning or should I say: “Some went days doing stuff the Holy Spirit could participate with them for 24 hours.”
One example of what I learned from them was: “You do not even try to keep from sinning (be on the defensive), but try to be involved in the next minute, in doing something really good (constantly on the offensive) then the Holy Spirit can be involved with you and you keep doing good stuff all day and night and pick it up the next day”. You just do not have time to be involved in any sinning.
But if a believer holds to the view that a prodigal believer can live in sin and be saved or if they believe that a believer can be saved while sinning on occasion, then the goal of not sinning is pointless. In other words, if you do not tell people the real consequences of how sin can destroy our souls in hell, then it is inevitable that sin will be justified on some level by such a teaching (Whether it be a lot of sin, or a little sin done on occasion).
