“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.” 1 John 3:9.
This is not talking about perfection.
Sometimes the translations come off in a misleading fashion. In the original language, the word “sinning,” as used here, refers to “continually” sinning.
If I claim to be controlled by God, I can’t behave consistently as someone controlled by the Devil.
In January of 2017 I committed myself to weight loss. I went all-in and took to following a plan to get extra weight off me.
It pleases me that I have been successful in getting the extra weight off and am currently at where my ideal weight should be.
Let me relate the “weight” experience to today’s verse. If I tell you that I am committed to weight loss and you see me taking in a couple of donuts at a well-known breakfast spot, you’re going to wonder about my weight-loss commitment.
However, maybe it was a momentary relapse and nothing more. You never see me there again and you notice that the pounds are coming off me.
However, if you notice that I am regularly eating “badly,” you will likely conclude that my commitment wasn’t reality.
I claim to be a believer. I claim to have brought God into my life to hereafter run it. I may sin, but I get over it. And then you watch me in action. I am “living” in sin. It is not an occasional slip-up, it is a lifestyle with no remorse. Today’s verse calls that person out: your behavior rejects what you claim.
I am a believer. I cannot “live” in sin. The more of Him that I let run my life the more aware I am of sins I commit. In that relationship with Him, I am troubled by my sin. I call it out. I repent of it to Him. I clean up, as best I can, my relationship with those I have sinned against.
Conclusion: I belong to God and am assured by God of an after-life with Him. I must live now in that truth.
