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Shun Habitual Sin

by P. I. Sabbathi

"The soul who sins shall die…" Ezekiel 18:20. Have you hooked on to false morality by plummeting into bottomless sin? Are you reveling in sin and rebelling against God? Are you encouraging others to sin? Are you a flagrant transgressor? Are you a practicing sinner? Are you with - "I am not that sinful" or "I am holier than thou" attitude? Numbers 32:23 says, "Be sure your sin will find you out"! 

Sin is neither hereditary nor contagious but rampantly widespread among all human races; it is fatal, lethal and responsible for the present world condition and infliction. The misery, agony, and crying are the cumulative consequences of the ugly sins of mankind. Sin is prevalent among heathen and ironically among Christians even, because of its seductive and addictive nature.  

Inveterate sin or the practice of sin by Christians is sinisterly perverted and resulting in - spiritual nemesis - the second death and eternal punishment. Can't an inveterate sinner escape the torment of hell? Is a Christian, after absolved by the blood of Christ, destined to die a death of inveterate sin? Is there any Scriptural remedy for this perennial and sinister malady of moral decay? Let us search and research the Scriptures to find out a precise elucidation. 

Practicing lawlessness is sin: 

Sin is, by definition - a breaking of God's law; when the law of God commands you to do something and you neglect or refuse or decide against it, you sin; when the law of God prohibits you from doing something and you persist doing it, you sin. Action or lack of action can either commit sin. "Everyone that practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin (hamartia) is lawlessness (anomia)" John 3:4 KJ2V. Satan uses and abuses your desires against you; he entices you and ties you. He places you in a spiritual stupor and situation where you will break the law of God once, then you will easily repeat it yourself; lexically, this habitual attitude or sinful lifestyle is known as licentiousness.  

Harmonizing 1 John 3:9 and 1 John 1:8 &10: 

Even John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was not without sin. Writing to Christians by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he said: "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" 1 John 3:9. Again he said: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us… If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us" 1 John 1:8 &10. 

You can easily perceive the obvious contradiction in the above two excerpts from John's first letter. 1 John 3:9 literally means: a child of God cannot sin; he cannot ever go astray and live so as to be eternally lost. This aspect not only contradicts John's own teaching on the subject of sin and the child of God but also conflicts many other passages of the scripture concerning children of God - sinning, falling and being lost. It is impossible to confute that an inspired writer could have penned such incongruous statements because all the word of God harmonizes, even you are not able to understand it; and no part of the Scriptures must be interpreted in a way that will contradict another part. If these two verses do not contradict one another, then what is the purport? What is the sum truth?  

Exegesis of poieo and ou-dunamai: 

Let us delve the Scriptures and ponder on for the accurate interpretation of the words – "commit" and "cannot" in 1 John 3:9. The first word commit is from the Greek word - poieo which means practice - what one does repeatedly, routinely, continually, habitually or inveterately. It is certain that an inspired man could not contradict himself; so John would not have used the word commit to imply an unintentional sin. The second word cannot is from the Greek word, ou-dunamai, which means does not continue, is not the nature of, not intentionally, morally unable and not that is physically impossible. This Greek word for cannot is present active and indicative.

John's first letter is concerned with practical facts; thus he does not say a child of God cannot commit sin, but cannot practice sin and cannot be a habitual sinner. Revised Versions explicit that the words - commit and cannot – have no significance to what a man does inadvertently but they indicate what a Christian practices of – KJ2V: Anyone that has been born of God does not practice sin.  JBPV: The man who is really God's son does not practice sin. TEV: Whoever is a child of God does not continue to sin. NIV: No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning. NIRV: Those who are born again because of what God has done will not keep on sinning. God's very nature remains in them. They can't go on sinning. NASB: No one who is born of God practices sin. CEV: God's children cannot keep on being sinful. His life-giving power lives in them and makes them his children, so that they cannot keep on sinning - 1 John 3:9.  

Mind your mind! 

"Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" James 1:14-15. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" Ecclesiastes 8:11.  

The key word continually or a plethora of its synonyms can be seen in the Scriptures: "... I am … being sold under sin" Romans 7:14. "We have sinned; in those is continuance..." Isaiah 64:5. "They have committed whoredom continually" Hosea 4:18. "...The thoughts of his heart were only evil continually" Genesis 6:5. "... He is continually planning evil" Proverbs 6:14. "There is no healing of your heart...for on whom has your wickedness not passed continually?" Nahum 3:19. "...Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin...a heart they have exercised with covetous practices" 2 Peter 2:14. "God shall wound ... the hairy crowns of those who go on still in their sins" Psalms 68:21. "…He who pursues evil does so to his own death" Proverbs 11:19. "... But not only do they practice them" Romans 1:32. "Let not my heart turn aside ... to practice wicked works..." Psalms 141:4.  

Observe this soulful rendering of 1 John 3:6,8 from JBPV: "The man who lives in Christ does not habitually sin. The regular sinner has never seen or known Him ... the man whose life is habitually sinful is spiritually a son of the devil". "Every one that practices sin is the slave of sin" John 8:34 KJ2 V. "Keep yourself unspotted from the world"! 

Warnings against practice of sin: 

"Tremble and do not sin..." Psalms 4:4. "How much more hateful and filthy is man, who drinks iniquity like water?" Job 15:16. Even Paul could not be good, he said, for I am not practicing what I would like to do but I am doing the very thing I hate" Romans 7:15. "Shall we continue in sin?" Romans 6:1. "For the time of life already past is enough for us to have worked out the will of heathen... do not run into the same overflow of shamelessness." 1 Peter 4:3,4. "...They have escaped the filthy vices of the world, and when they have become tangled up in these again they are overcome." 2 Peter 2:20. "We should not serve sin" Romans 6:6. "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body" Romans 6:12. "For sin shall not have dominion over you." Romans 6:14. "Do not let the world shape you into its mold..." Romans 12:2. "...Let not any iniquity have dominion over me" Psalms 119:133. We frequently succumb to "the sin which so easily entangles us" Hebrews 12:1. When there is no spiritual rain in your life, God does not reign over your life! 

You need to clearly understand that though to sin is human and to forgive is divine, it is serpentine - devilish - to continue in sin. Indeed, you cannot be a Christian at all unless your sinful nature is dead. Is it that much difficult to cease the habitual sin and live a pious and saintly way of life? Stop swimming in the stinking sin that sinks your soul! 

Abstain from devil! 

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9. John has fully taught that real Christian does commit sin fortuitously or sporadically and needs forgiveness. The blood of Christ is constantly flowing - through the body, which is church of Christ - to cleanse away all accidental or incidental sins that a true Christian does. Observe the following expanded translation of 1 John 1:7 - "If we continually walk in the light, as he is continually in the light, we continually have fellowship with one another and the blood of Christ continually cleanses us from all sins." 

The munificent provision of forgiveness by such a loving God is neither a license for indulgence nor a token of tolerance to remain as a chronic sinner. On the contrary, it calls forth a deeper dedication, a more fervent spirit, and a renewed purpose and rekindled enthusiasm to never sin again intentionally. When the love for sin is stopped, it is then easy to quit the practice of it. You can hardly continue to do things you have learned to loathe. "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good" Romans 12:9. "Abstain from all appearance of evil" Thessalonians 5:22. "Walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh"! 

Do not sin any more:  

The devouring Evil-One may attack you at anytime anywhere. That's why your attachment with the world must be as light as possible – James 1:27. You should not oscillate between God and sin; there is no neutral way. God has given you spiritual insight and a unique power of discerning; thus you must be honest enough to admit your sins, and strong enough to rectify them. Jesus said: "... Go and sin no more" John 8:11. As there is no immunity to the power of sin you better develop peccatophobia - fear of sinning - in order to keep yourself spiritually fit and strong. You must keep on working righteousness and fleeing from sin. Sin is always sin even if it is hidden from others, accepted by the majority, or considered less serious than other acts. 

The word of God has tremendous power to transform sinners as saints; you better flee to God than to turn away from Him even when you sin. Neither your spiritual experience nor your Scriptural ignorance does guarantee infallibility; your money, might, intelligence or any force of this world cannot conceal your sins; there is no scriptural shielding for sins except the panacea of pardon to the penitent sinner. "Forgive each other, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done" Ephesians 4:31. This kind of proclivity ameliorates all human relations. "Keep thyself pure" 1 Tim 5:22. "Never give your hearts to this world"!

 

Live a clone of Christ!

"You are the salt of the world" Matthew 5:13. The virtue of salt permeates the life and provides savor to humanity; this salt prevents the sinfully putrefying humankind and preserves the heritage of the quintessential Way - lived and laid down by Christ - for God’s progeny. "In Him is no sin" 1 John 3:5. Persevere His path and practice Christliness to resemble and reflect the Lord. Be a striking likeness and an archetypal of Christ by copying Him and taking heed of His precepts – Philippians 2:5, Romans 8:29, Ephesians 4:15, Galatians 4:19.

 

"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" James 4:7. "Sanctify the Lord in your hearts..." 1 Peter 3:15.  "...And exercise yourself to godliness" 1 Tim 4:7. Paul said: "...Christ lives in me..." Gal 2:20; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Acts 24:16. Paul’s whole life was overmastered by Lord; he had no purpose but Him. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…" Colossians 3:16. When the Word of the Lord rules your heart, your whole being is brought into subjection to Christ and the power of the Word transforms you into holiness. "Do not love the world or the things in the world" 1 John 2:15. Stop acting like a Christian but simply live a practicing Christian!

(Editors Note: This article was submitted by one of our readers in India. I commend it to you!)  

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