Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | 1 John 3:4 ¶ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 3:4 ¶ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness [ignoring God's law by action or neglect or by tolerating wrongdoing--being unrestrained by His commands and His will]. |
Subject: 1st John 3:4-9 Discussion on sin. |
Bible Note: Understand up front that to my mind, my argument is entirely illogical in the sense that I'm suggesting we do not, will not, and cannot sin once we truly know God. This is a dangerous view that leaves no real room for error, and it is to my benefit for mistakes to be permissable. What if I make one myself? So I'm not making this argument because I'm weird. I want occasional sin to be okay and forgiveable as much as the next person. I really believe he's telling us that we do not, will not, and cannot sin once we know and understand God in truth. The second part of this interpretation comes from the context of the passage itself. He's directly relating verse 3:6 to verse 3:5. There is no sin "in" Christ, so those of us "in him" cannot have sin. If we have sin and dwell in him then there is sin in him. Then there are passages like Hebrews 10:26: For if we willfully sin after receiving the full knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice concerning sin. As you pointed out in another, lesser, post on this topic, it's 'willful,' and I would add that it's "after receiving the 'full' knowledge of the truth." This is consistent with what John is saying. "Those that sin have not truly recognized or fully understood him." The Proverbs concur by saying that an adulterous man lacks understanding. So by this standard, if you are sinning [once or twenty times], you simply don't understand what God is about. You haven't had the revelation of the fullness of the truth. Paul says that we should not live in sin anymore, for Christ is not the minister of sin. He doesn't say, "Don't live in sin anymore, but go back and visit the old neighborhood now and again." Jesus said to the adulteress, "Go, and sin no more." That's a brutal command to give to someone if it is not an attainable goal. He didn't say, "Go, and sin only sometimes when you just can't help yourself." So we must assume it can be done. More to the point, Jesus tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. John says that keeping God's commands are not a burdensome thing. So if they say it's easy, but we think it's hard, is it possible that we are not fully understanding? Is it possible that living without sin is a simple task that we have unnecessarily complicated through confusion or ignorance? Awaiting new posts ... Thanks to all that participate in this topic. It is, in my opinion, worthy of discussion because of the great impact it has on all our Christian walks. Theo-Minor |