Continual Sin

“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6)

In my recent musings about the presence of sin in the life of a Christian, and specifically in my own life, I have been circling a very uncomfortable question. Before springing it on you out of the blue, let me lead into it in much the same way that it has pursued me: one step at a time.

We all know that a Christian’s life should reflect the holiness of Christ. We should, as stated above, walk as He walked. But we also know that we are not perfect. We will stumble, even fall from time to time. Fortunately for us, “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)

We also know that we must not abuse the gift of forgiveness, as Paul states in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” Again, we are clearly supposed to be imitators of Jesus: walk as He walked.

But we do fail. It is inevitable. Worse yet, we will do so repeatedly, even if we are trying our very best to do the right thing. Temptation comes, and far too often, we succumb to its treacherous pull. My own experience with this began to make me doubt myself. Mind you, I do not doubt God, but rather I came to doubt whether my own faith was genuine. Here enters the question which has been stalking me: am I truly a child of God, or am I taking His name in vain?

And then I read the following words from 1 John 3:6-9, “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

If I am struggling with some particular sin in my life, is that a sign that I am nothing more than a fake Christian, a usurper who would claim the name of the Father yet ignore the prerequisites for inclusion in His family? After all, John says clearly that one who is born of God cannot keep on sinning! I’m supposed to walk as Jesus walked, but if I’m not doing that…

…what does that say about me?

It’s a good question to ask of yourself, but also a very discomfiting one. There are many verses in the Bible which illuminate the foulness of sin and the consequences of partaking in it. One particularly tasty example can be found in the book of Proverbs, chapter 26, verse 11: “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” I have played the fool by returning again and again to things in my life which always prove to be harmful. I’ve mentioned before in this blog that I am extremely overweight. The medical term is “morbidly obese.” I won’t try to claim that it’s a medical issue beyond my control, because I know myself too well. I struggle with gluttony and sloth, two of the sins which certain denominations classify as deadly sins. I struggle in other ways as well: thoughts of an impure nature; outbursts of wrath; covetousness; the list could go on and on. I do try to be like Jesus, but I fail so often that I sometimes doubt myself.

But let us revisit John’s words above. He says that one who is born of God cannot keep on sinning. Some translations say that one born of God cannot continue in sin. This short phrase has given me hope; a lifeline tossed out to me by the Savior in the midst of the swirling sea of chaos which surrounded me. These words hint at a situation of constant, continual, perhaps even purposeful sin.

I thought to myself, that’s not me.

And it’s true. Sometimes I do walk in a manner which (I believe, anyway) imitates Jesus. Not all the time, no, but sometimes! And that’s the way it is in the Christian life - sometimes you will get it right, sometimes you won’t! The more mature you are in your walk with Christ, the less egregious and less often these instances of getting it wrong will become, and thank the Lord for that! Moreover, I am not alone in my affliction. Paul himself said that God had given him a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7) to keep him humble! There is a great deal of debate over what this means, but many scholars wiser than myself have considered the possibility that Paul struggled with some unknown sin. Even if (as I personally suspect) that is untrue, we do have the example of Peter as he openly denied Christ three times. John and James were dubbed Sons of Thunder by Jesus himself due to their rash temperaments.

We all know how it worked out for those guys. They are all great examples of faith, in spite of their repeated failings. Why is that? Because their failures were not what they continually practiced. Their default setting was to follow Jesus: that’s what they always strove to do.

“For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again...” (Proverbs 24:16)

It is not our sin that defines us, but rather our return to God in repentance and humility. Consider the parable Jesus tells of the prodigal son who went so far as to reject his father for a while, traveled far away to live in sin and debauchery, but who in the end came back home and was greeted by the father with joy.

We may sin from time to time. We may even fall into a season of struggling, but if we hold fast to our faith in God, rather than in our own ability to resist the temptation of sin, we will always be able to find our way home to the Father.