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NASB | Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its evil practices, |
Bible Question:
Thank you Prayon and Lifer for your patients and perseverance. I love this forum. I think it’s a great place for iron to sharpen iron and for Christians to work on becoming of one mind on the things of the Lord. But let me press you a little bit further on this, if I may. I John 3:9, “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”(NJKV) I know some translations soften this, but I won’t quibble. (Now follow me on this.) 1st point: Animals cannot sin. (Your comment on animals also implies this, I think.) Only persons can sin. 2nd point: So when sin is committed, it is committed by a person, not an animal or thing. 3rd point: A nature is a thing. It determines behavior, but it is a thing, not a person. 4th point: Our new man (or self) with its new nature, born of God, cannot sin. 5th point: We sin. 6th and finally: If only a person can sin, and our new man cannot sin, who’s sinning? Thanks again and peace in the Lamb. |
Bible Answer: Lionstrong, Let me share what I believe about sin as taught from scripture. You may disagree, but please hear me out. Unfortunately, most of the time, when we think of 'sin,' because we are raised in a performance- oriented society, we think that sin is primarily wrong acts that we commit (or right acts that we don't). But I believe that acts of sin are a RESULT of a wrong belief system, an end result of wrong thinking. Now, this is not some metaphysical mumbo-jumbo. This is what scripture teaches. Take Romans 14:23 - "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin." Granted, Paul here is addressing what is proper to eat and not eat, but he has shared an important insight. Faith, in it's simplest form, is believing what God says and, because you believe it, acting accordingly. Consider Adam and Eve. The serpent deceived them by tempting them, not necessarily to just eat the forbidden fruit, but to doubt what God said. His attack was, "Didn't God say...?" and He, of course, twisted what God said to serve his own purposes. Adam and Eve's sin, of first order, was to doubt what God said was TRUE. That is where sin starts. It is born of unbelief in what God says. When this doubt gives birth, it is the act of sinning. Because Adam and Eve did give into to the tempter, they doubted what God said, and that doubt was acted out through their bodies (they ate the fruit). This is why Paul says, "Whatever is not of faith (believing what God says about a thing) is SIN." That wrong belief (sin) will be acted out (sinning, sins) if we doubt what God says. Now, another important thing about sin is what Jesus said in John 16:8,9 - "And He (the Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; " Jesus has stated here that the world's sin is, not everything they do wrong - their acts, but, rather, their belief system i.e. who do they say that Jesus is, what do they believe about Him. Jesus paid for all our 'sins' - our wrong acts - at the cross. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men's sins against them." The only sin that Christ didn't pay for is the sin of unbelief. That is the one sin that MUST be repented of - what do you say about Jesus Christ? Is He who He says He is? That sin, unbelief in Christ, cannot be forgiven, it must be repented of. You must change your mind about who Christ is. This is the illusive 'unpardonable sin.' If a man does not accept Christ for who He said He is, then he stays dead in his sin - his unbelief. Now, in conclusion, let's look at 1 John. In chapter 1, John is addressing some teaching that had crept into the assembly from the Gnostics. Amongst other things, the Gnostics claimed that: 1) they had fellowship with God but walked in darkness - unbelief (if you have time, use your concordance and study the word 'darkness' in the N.T. - it is always used in reference to belief and unbelief) (vs.6). Because of this, they lie and do not practice the truth. Once again, unbelief results in sin. 2) they said they have no sin (vs. 8) and are thereby self-deceived and the truth is not in them (note 2 John 1:2). 3) they never sinned, thereby calling God a liar and His Word (who is the Word) is NOT in them. 4) that Jesus did not come in the flesh, refuted by John in vs.1-3. These Gnostics (and anyone who held to their teaching) could not be believers, true Christians. In fact, later, John calls them 'antiChrists.' Now, same author, same book, let's look at your question. Here is where John says, "Whoever has been born of God (a believer in Jesus Christ) does not sin (not believe in Jesus Christ), for His seed (the Holy Spirit, who testifies of Christ) remains in him; and he cannot sin (not believe in Christ and what Christ did), because he has been born of God.”(NJKV) In fact, vs. 5 says that Christ appeared to take away sins (the punishment for wrong acts, spiritual death) and in Him is no sin (the unbelieving sin nature we are born with). And vs. 6 says, 'No one who abides in Him (grafted in by the Holy Spirit at conversion) sins (stops believing in Christ); no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him (another stab at the Gnostics). Brother, this CANNOT be an act or acts of sinning (committing wrong doing). EVERYONE (except Christ) does wrong in God's sight. We have all fallen short. If we take 1 John 3:6 as an understanding of an wrong act, then NO ONE knows God. If we, based on the context of the book, and what God says elsewher about sin, understand that it is NOT BELIEVING in Christ, then there is no contradiction. I will leave the conclusion to you. |