June 16, 2025
This passage of scripture is often used when anyone, like me, might suggest that real Christians actually live in victory over sin. And I am not talking about sinless perfection but am talking about sin being very rare and uncommon in the life of a believer. Real believers have sustained victory of the world, the flesh and the devil. Most evangelicals teach and believe the exact opposite of this and tell Christians to expect to sin daily in thought, word and deed.
This passage, from 1 John, is a proof text for a sinning Christianity, which is what most evangelicals actually believe. It is like the proof text in Romans 3:10 that I wrote about in my article titled, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Both passages are used, by the vast majority of evangelical Christians, to support their false belief that Christians never stop sinning in this life. Only in death do Christians have victory over the flesh, the world and the devil. What exactly does this passage, “if we say we have no sin” actually teach?
“This is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is that propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, eve as he walked.” 1 John 1:5-10 and 2:1-6 KJV, emphasis added.
To make this more understandable, we will break this long passage apart to determine the meaning of it in its context.
“This is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”.
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. God is pure and holy and in Him is no sin (darkness) at all. All those so-called Christians who say they have fellowship with God and walk in sin (darkness), lie and do not the truth, according to this word. The vast majority of evangelical pastors, teachers and regular Christians claim they have fellowship with God while they also claim that they walk in the darkness of sin at the same time. The writer of this book says they lie and do not the truth. Who are you going to believe? Some evangelical leaders even go so far as to state that a real Christian can be saved but have no fellowship with God because of their sinful lifestyle. They actually believe that fellowship and relationship are two distinct arrangements. A Christian can be a saved and at the same time have no fellowship with God. They believe that a house divided does in fact stand in contradiction to the Word of God.
This passage goes on to say that if Christians, walk in the light of truth, as God does, we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Not just some sin, but all sin. I did not say that, John did by the Holy Ghost. The vast majority of evangelicals would have no problem believing that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from some sin, but all sin is too much for them to believe. Now we come to the key passage, which is the title of this article.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.”
We must consider this passage in context. This passage, “If we say that we have no sin”, is used by unbelieving Christians to justify the fact that they are still living in unrepentant sin. They take this phrase, “If we say that we have so sin”, to mean that Christians are always sinning and there is never a time when the Christian can say that they have victory over all sin. But they either forget or refuse to consider the rest of this very same passage that ends with, “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To be cleansed from all, not some, unrighteousness couldn’t be any clearer, could it?
The apostle John then makes this statement to make sure that no one reading his letter assumes that he is telling them that Christians continue to sin. John says this phrase, “If we say that we have no sin,” must not be incorrectly interpreted. Therefore, he writes, “If we say we have not sinned”, we lie and the truth is not in us. Do you understand the difference between the two comments? Some Gnostics of John’s day actually believed that they were without any sin, had never sinned and were even incapable of sinning. “If we say that we have no sin” is clarified in this statement of John’s, “if we say we have not sinned”. John is not supporting the idea that Christians never stop sinning as many evangelicals vainly claim. John is refuting the Gnostic idea that these men had never sinned in the first place.
And to make sure that no one misinterprets his comments John ends with this statement, “My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not.” It seems the vast majority of evangelicals do not believe what John is telling them for they tenaciously refuse to consider that they can and must stop sinning – “that ye sin not”. It is likely that they have the idea of a sinful nature, inherited from Adam, so ingrained into their understanding of the Bible, that they can’t even fathom that they are deceived and at great risk of eternal damnation.
This is the next section of scripture for us to consider.
“And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is that propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
The apostle John then writes, “And if any man sin”, we have an advocate in Jesus Christ. Notice that John doesn’t write, “And when any man sin” as if sin is the forgone conclusion for the Christian, as most all evangelicals believe. Words matter. John said if, not when. If a Christian comes to 1 John already convinced that all Christians sin in thought, word and deed every day, they will find a way to twist the clear meaning of any passage of scripture so that they can live with it.
John goes on to say, with the utmost clarity that, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, eve as he walked.”
For the hard of hearing (most evangelicals), John added these comments to make it abundantly clear, that only those “Christians” who obey God’s commandments are walking in truth and the light. All others are liars who do not know God even as they boldly profess to know Him intimately. They falsely claim to be experts on knowing God, while they actually walk in great darkness. Jesus said be careful that the light that is in you is not darkness, for how great is that darkness.
Many of these same Christians also vociferously reject any so-called Christian teaching (like mine), which claims that real Christians, walk in the light and obey God consistently and habitually. Sin is the exception in their lives and not the rule. In the latter days, men and women will call good evil and evil good. The few, like me, are called heretics and deceivers because we honestly believe the Bible teaches against a sinning Christianity that is so popular among evangelicals today.
The rest of 1 John
It is an amazing thing that a Christian could, with a straight face, claim that 1 John chapter 1, teaches that real a Christian walks in sin, all their life. We have already dispelled that notion. But let us consider what the rest of 1 John teaches. Consider the following:
- “….but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” Chapter 2 verse 17.
- “if ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone which doeth righteousness is born of him.” Chapter 2 verse 29.
- “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” Chapter 3 verse 3.
- “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” Chapter 3 verse 6.
- “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” Chapter 3 verse 7.
- “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” Chapter 3 verse 8.
- “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him” and he cannot sin, because he is born of God”. Chapter 3 verse 9.
- “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God neither he that loveth not his brother.” Chapter 3 verse 10.
Is it not abundantly clear that John the apostle believed that true Christians are victorious over sin, the flesh and the devil?
There are only five chapters in this short book of 1 John. All of its teachings are consistent and direct. In this last chapter, let us consider the following passages. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:2-4.
Do you know any evangelical Christian who actually believes that “his commandments are not grievous?” And how can that be true if we inherit a sinful nature from Adam? How can it be true if God Himself is unable to subdue or eradicate our sinful nature by His grace and regeneration? And is this not exactly what most evangelicals teach and believe? Don’t most evangelicals believe it is impossible to actually keep the grievous commandments of God and stop sinning? Don’t most evangelicals also believe that God doesn’t really expect them to keep His commandments and that is why Jesus kept them for us instead?
This passage is like the rest of John’s book, which clearly tells all of us that only those who practice righteousness and stop sinning are born of God, and that all those who live in and continue to sin are born of the devil. How could it be any clearer what John is teaching us? Just in case you are still refusing the light of truth, John closes his letter with this verse, “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” 1 John 5:18.
Summary
There are so-called evangelical Christian teachers that proclaim that the book of 1 John actually teaches the false doctrine of the eternal security of the believer. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:11-13.
What is the problem? While I too am confident that the ‘true believer’ in Jesus Christ is eternally secure, I do not believe in their doctrine of eternal security. Why? What most evangelicals teach and believe is that the ‘true believer’ may actually live in constant sin all of their lives and are eternally secure in sin. They believe Jesus saves them in their sins, not from their sins. That is a lie, which will cost them eternal life. ‘Real believers’ are those who practice righteousness and have forsaken all sin in their life. Sin is a rare thing in their life, not the normal way they live. How any thinking person can believe that this book of 1 John teaches that sinning Christians/believers are eternally secure, when it clearly teaches the exact opposite, is a mystery of iniquity. Is that not true? Of course it is.
The apostle writes that there is a sin not unto death. What does that mean?
What are we to make of this statement? What is the apostle John teaching us? “If any man sees his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not”. 1 John 5:16-18.
In my book, When Lies Become Truth – chapter 7, I made mention of this passage and suggested an interpretation. Keep in mind that the Old Testament addresses sins of ignorance, sins of weakness and unwitting sins. The Mosaic Law made provision for atonement of all these sins. However, the Mosaic Law made no provision for high-handed sins of presumption. Eve’s sin in the garden might be considered a sin of ignorance or weakness as she was deceived by the serpent. While Adam’s sin might be considered a high-handed sin or a sin of presumption. Let us look at an excerpt from my book.
“Sin in the Old and New Testaments
In the Old Testament, how often could the Jew sin before atonement was required? Was atonement required for every sin or just after some unspecified number of sins had been committed? If you are even remotely familiar with the Old Testament you will know that each and every sin required atonement. Even sins committed unwittingly or in ignorance required general atonement and then specific atonement when found out.
Sinning Jews were still part of the covenant and the nation of Israel unless and until they sinned with a high hand or refused God’s remedy for atonement and stubbornly refused to repent. What did the covenant represent for the Jew? It represented God’s intentions toward them for good not evil. By the covenant He committed Himself to correct, discipline, instruct, redeem and encourage His children. But only repentance would keep the sinner in the covenant. The impenitent lost all the benefits of the covenant. In a limited sense, there is a covering for “sins” committed in ignorance or unintentionally or unwittingly. However, once the sin had been discovered it required atonement for forgiveness and to remain in the covenant. The application today is that we may technically do or neglect something that is a “sin” but God doesn’t condemn us for that “sin” if it was done in ignorance or unintentionally. However, once God shines the light on that behavior, act or attitude we must repent or we will not receive forgiveness and remain justified.
Even if we can’t agree that sins of ignorance, unwitting sins or unintentional sins are New Testament sins, I think we can all agree that sin proper is a voluntary transgression of the law. If we willfully disobey God, we sin. I think almost all of us would agree on that. I think we could all agree that violation of the 10 commandments is sin. We might not agree about the Sabbath laws but the other nine would, I think, yield a general agreement.
We might not agree that all worry is sin, that all doubt is sin, that mistakes are sin, that eating a little too much is sin, and so on and so forth. But we can all agree that things such fornication, adultery, stealing, gossiping, sexual perversions, lusting, covetousness, taking God’s name in vain, telling lies about our neighbor, worshiping idols and so on are real sins in both the Old and New Testament.
I am writing about the deliberate intentional type of disobedience that we all agree is sin. Please keep this in mind. Author, Dan Corner, thinks that there are some sins such as worry that are real New Testament sins but not sins that send us to hell.[1] The Roman Catholic Church also differentiates between venial and mortal sins. Let us not focus on venial sins whether defined by a Protestant or Catholic. Let us think mainly about mortal sins, those sins, which destroy eternal life and result in eternal death. You can call the other venial sins if you like or lesser sins that don’t destroy eternal life. I don’t believe venial sins are real (damnable) sins in God’s eyes. Why? It makes it very hard to reconcile the teachings of 1 John, among many other passages, which state that children of God don’t commit sin habitually. If we can unknowingly sin or if human frailty is sinful then how can these passages be true? In other words, if venial sins are real sins how can we intelligently understand those New Testament passages of scripture that tell us that Christians don’t live in or practice sin? The New Testament doesn’t say that children of God don’t commit mortal sins but do commit venial sins. Who could make sense of that?[2]
There is a sin unto death
“If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that the wicked one toucheth him not”. 1 John 5:16-18 KJV.
Mr. Corner contends that there is clearly a sin unto (eternal) death. Eternal Security teachers often tie this passage with 1 Cor. 11:27-30, which talks about those who partake in the Lord’s supper in an unworthy manner resulting in physical death, “a number of you have fallen asleep.” Please recall my earlier discussion about this passage. Even if it is true that some sins cause physical death it doesn’t mean eternal death is not the consequence at the same time. Moreover, once saved always saved teachers might draw attention to the physical death of Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5:3-10. The fact that eternal security teachers generally tie death to physical death and not eternal death has been illuminated often in these pages. Mr. Corner’s point is that some sin leads to eternal death and others do not and this passage in 1 John is about eternal death not just physical death.
New Testament sin is an intelligent and deliberate refusal to obey a known law or command of God. To insist that sin includes unknown acts is to make sin consist of the letter versus the spirit of the law of God. If there is a real difference between the Testaments it is this; God looks on the heart not just the letter. Calvinism’s legalistic definition of sin is according to the letter of the law not the spirit. The New Testament is all about the spirit and not the letter.
If we can sin without knowing it then 1 John and many other passages must be lies because none of us can knowingly live without habitual sin in our lives. If we sin in thought, word and deed daily then the blood of Christ is not sufficient and the most challenging problem in our world, salvation from sin, is impossible to God. Seriously, what do you think a loving God is concerned about? Do you really think He is upset about our mistakes, errors and miscalculations done from a pure heart? Is God judging us according to the letter or the spirit of the law? What do you make God out to be? Would you treat your children that way? I pray not. End of excerpt from my book, When Lies Become Truth.
John also writes that there is a sin unto death? What does he mean by that?
Here are some possible explanations.
- Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost or the unforgivable sin. Jesus referred to this in Matthew 12:31-32. This is a willful, hardened rejection of the truth and work of the Holy Ghost, complete apostacy. This is not just any sin but a conscious, persistent rebellion against God.
- Or this might be a refusal to repent of sin, which is a condition of salvation. These sins are unto eternal death.
- A sin unto death could mean physical death for committing certain sins. Ananias and Sapphira might be examples of this in Acts 5:1-11. Some Corinthian Christians also abused the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:30. Some see this a physical death not eternal death. In both of these examples it is assumed that this is a sin unto physical death and not eternal death, when it could be both physical and eternal death. Believers in once-saved-always-saved presuppose it must be sin unto physical death. They assume the same thing in this next example. In Romans 6:23, the Word of God states that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life. Could this ‘death’ really be about physical death and not eternal death when the context reveals it is about the gift of eternal life? I do not think so.
The Old Testament equivalent, of a sin unto death, might very well be sins committed with a high hand. These are deliberate, premeditated, intentional, purposeful, presumptuous and conscious sins against God. These high-handed sins of presumptionautomatically expelled the Jew from the commonwealth of Israel whereas sins of weakness, ignorance and unwitting sin did not, and an atonement was provided.
Many believe there are minor sins a believer commits but that do not lead to eternal death or eternal separation from God (sins not unto death). As just mentioned, these would be sins committed out of weakness, ignorance, unwittingly, or immaturity. Even lesser sins like these can become grave sins if we refuse to stop what God commands us to stop and if we refuse to do what God requires, we must do.
What did the earliest church fathers say about this passage?
These are called the Ante-Nicene Fathers. Clearly, they took these verses seriously.
Tertullian (155-220) strongly believed in a distinction between serious sins (sins unto death) and lesser sins. In his work “On Modesty”, he interprets the “sin unto death” as grave post-baptismal sins like idolatry, blasphemy, murder, and adultery for which he believed there should be no church forgiveness. He was strict believing that such sins placed someone outside of the Church’s grace. He saw repentance for these grave sins as rare or impossible, especially for baptized believers.
Origen (184-253) gave a more spiritual and theological explanation. He believed that the sin unto death is total apostacy, a complete a final turning away from God after knowing the truth. It is the willful, persistent rejection of God’s grace similar to what Hebrews 6 and possibly Hebrews 10 are referring to. “A sin unto death is when the soul has so utterly turned away from God that it can no longer be renewed unto repentance.” Only God knows when someone has crossed this line.
Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) wrote during times of persecution about those who denied the Lord. Apostacy was the sin unto death, if not repented of. But he allowed for restoration through repentance and church discipline if done before death. Grave sin is deadly but not always final.
Shepherd of Hermas (early second century) wrote about the difference between mortal sins and non-mortal sins. The rejection of Christ and blasphemy against the Holy Ghost are extremely serious and may be beyond repentance after a certain point. He emphasized God’s mercy and a limited second chance for repentance.
What did the apostles teach?
The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 6, Ephesians 5, Galatians 5 gives us a list of those sins which will exclude a ‘Christian’ from inheriting the kingdom of God and of Christ. From 1 Corinthians 6:9 we are given this list of sins: “fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexuals), nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners”.
All of these are grave or mortal sins and each of them will exclude a Christian from the kingdom of God if they do not stop sinning in all these ways. I believe 1 John is talking about these types of deadly sins all of which are willful not unwitting sins or sins of ignorance. These sins are deliberate, premeditated, presumptuous, intentional, purposeful and conscious sins against God. They are sins unto eternal death if not repented of. No Christian believer is eternally secure if they commit these sins.
Is all sin the same?
Most evangelicals have been taught that all sin is worthy of condemnation, which is true, and that all sins are the same and deserve the same punishment, which is not accurate. Even Jesus Christ recognized that there are lesser and greater sins. See John 19:11 for an example.
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. All this verse teaches is that to break even one of the laws of God makes you a lawbreaker. It doesn’t mean that if you steal a candy bar, you are also guilty of murder. And it doesn’t mean that stealing a candy bar is as evil as rape or murder.
This passage in James makes it clear that partial obedience to the laws of God (or the law of the land) is still law breaking. Yet, most Evangelicals believe that partial obedience to some of God’s law is sufficient. They are taught to believe that partial obedience to God is acceptable, for they will commit sin (continue to break God’s laws) the rest of their lives and still go to heaven.
How do they overcome this dilemma? Theologians created the doctrine of imputed obedience and imputed righteousness. Jesus is the law breakers substitute for obedience to all the laws of God. Jesus perfectly obeyed the law for them because they can’t obey all the laws themselves. Partial obedience is the best these Christians can offer God. This theological fiction is peddled for the gospel these days. Can you imagine a rapist pleading with a judge that because he is not a thief or murderer, the judge should let him go free? Only in the world of religious superstition and magic would anyone actually believe that is what God does.
Final Comments
“If we say we have no sin” means that if we say we have never sinned at all, we lie and do not the truth. It most assuredly doesn’t mean that Christians live in a constant state of sinning as many would have you believe. In the last chapter of the book of 1 John the apostle reminds us, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4. Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. Stagger not at the promises of God. Jesus came to save us from our sins not in our sins.
[1] The Myth of Eternal Security, Dan Corner, Evangelical Outreach, P.O. Box 265, Washington, Pa. 15301.2005. See also his book, The Believers Conditional Security, Evangelical Outreach. Mr. Corner lists things such as worry, unthankfulless, and lack of humility as examples of sin that don’t exclude us from heaven and are not sins unto death, page 126.
[2] I well remember the distinction given in a Roman Catholic booklet regarding the difference between venial and mortal sins. The Church stated that getting slightly drunk is a venial sin whereas getting really drunk is a mortal sin. Go figure!
