In part one, I discussed the idea that right and wrong are based on the assumption that the law can be known and followed. All people, not just Christians, have the ability to obey our nation’s laws and God’s laws, which are sometimes the same. I mentioned that in part two, I would provide Biblical support for my claim that Christians are able to obey God’s law and consistently do so. Sin is lawbreaking or lawlessness.
No one is born predestined to sin, contrary to what many Christians are taught and believe. Sin, to be truly sinful, must be a voluntary act. Sin is a bad choice. It is not a natural tendency that causes or forces you to make evil decisions. Where does this idea originate?
Original Sin
Most Christians believe that people are born with a depraved nature, which drives or compels them to sin. This is called Original Sin. They believe we are born sinners and that nothing good exists in us at birth. The secular world believes the opposite. They believe we are all born good and become corrupted by our parents, friends, society, the environment, disease, injustice, or lack of education.
A few of us believe that the Bible, reason, and common sense tell us that we are not born sinners. There can be no sin if we are born preprogrammed to sin. We are born neutral, with the potential for good and bad when we reach the age of moral accountability. We are born moral beings with sovereignty over our choices. Our choices are influenced, not determined, by both good and bad forces or motives. All of us, by our own free will, choose selfishness over God and the well-being of others. We are sinners by choice, not of necessity, because we are intentionally selfish. We are not sinners by nature. Neither does the devil make us sin or break laws. Our parents don’t make us sin or break laws, and our environment doesn’t make us sin or break laws. Our selfish lusts provide sufficient temptation to spoil us. We choose to gratify ourselves even if that means we break human and divine laws. Original sin states that we are born sinners and have no ability whatsoever to do anything good. Think about this: Inability to obey the law is the best excuse ever devised to justify law-breaking (sin).
What does the Word of God say about this subject?
The Bible teaches us that we are capable of obeying God’s law but often fail to do so, which makes us guilty and blameworthy. Furthermore, the Bible shows that through God’s grace, the truth, and the power of the indwelling Spirit, Christians can overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. Christians do not habitually sin, and if they do sin, they repent of their sins. True Christians do not live in unrepentance.
The harsh truth is that many who call themselves Christians habitually sin, constantly breaking God’s laws. They expect to sin every day for the rest of their lives. Christians aren’t perfect—just forgiven, as they’ve been told repeatedly. Their claim of saving faith in Christ is often false. They’ve been fooled. A world exists full of false prophets and teachers leading the sheep to destruction.
Below are some scripture passages that directly address this subject of sin (law breaking) in the life of a true Christian, someone who is born again of God’s Spirit. Please read them slowly and invite the Spirit of God to speak to you about each one.
“Whosoever abideth in him, sinneth not, whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” 1 John 3:6. To abide in Christ means that we have ceased from sin. When we sin, we no longer abide in Christ. Sinning and abiding in Christ are mutually exclusive.
“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.” 1 John 3:9. The person who is truly born of God does not sin (habitually) because God’s seed resides in that individual, and they cannot sin while they remain one born of God. They cannot sin as long as they continue to be born again and abide in Christ. To be born again, a person begins to live for God’s pleasure. While that remains the priority and ultimate goal, the Christian cannot sin. When God’s pleasure ceases to be the ultimate goal or end, sin is born.
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.” 1 John 5:4. The person who is born of God overcomes temptation from the world and does not sin (habitually).
“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. The person who is born of God does not sin. The child of God keeps himself or herself from yielding to temptation from the devil or his or her lusts. The honest Christian lives a righteous and holy life, and sin is the exception, not the rule.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1,2. No one dead to sin lives in or commits sin (lawlessness) at the same time. It is impossible. If we are living in sin, we are not dead to sin but are alive to sin and dead to God.
“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Romans 6:6,7. This passage states that “we should not serve sin”. If we are living a habitually sinful (lawless) life, we are serving sin, and our old man is not crucified with Jesus. We are alive to sin and not freed from sin.
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. But yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” Romans 6:12-15. Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Heavens no. If sin continues to have dominion over you, then you are dead in your sins and dead to God. Those who are alive to God have yielded themselves to God as those who practice righteousness and not sin.
“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness. Romans 6:17, 18. The word explicitly states that “ye were the servant of sin.” That is past tense, not present tense. Being a servant of sin no longer applies to the person who is born of God. The person born of God has become a servant of righteousness. Sin is put out of their life.
“Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin……..If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:34, 36. Sinners are not free; they serve sin, and sin has them in bondage. If Jesus, the Son, makes you free, you are no longer a servant of sin. You are free indeed.
“Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. Jesus came to save his people from, not in, their sins. Sin always brings forth death, and Jesus saves us from committing sin, which yields death. Many Christians today believe that Jesus came to save us in our sins not from our sins. That is not salvation, nor is it freedom.
Are there more passages?
There are many other passages from both the Old and New Testaments that convey the same message. Ongoing sin in the life of someone who claims to be a Christian is inconsistent with remaining in Christ. If sin defines your life, then you are not saved, justified, or a child of God, according to these passages. I cite one more passage to emphasize this truth.
“Know ye not that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexuals), nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were (not are) some of you: but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10, emphases added.
Only those “Christians” who are free from the practice of sinning (lawbreaking) will inherit the kingdom of God. Only those who are actually living a righteous life inherit God’s kingdom. How can it be stated more clearly? How sad it is that so few believe what God says and what He promises us. It is even more appalling that someone who claims to be a Christian will not believe any of these very clear passages.
False teaching on the subject
False teaching abounds. You will have no difficulty finding teachers who will contradict everything I have said. Here are a few examples.
“This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those that are regenerated.” Westminster Confession. This document states that even Christians continue to be slaves or servants of sin because we are supposedly born with an Adamic nature that the blood of Christ and the grace of God are powerless to overcome. Such unbelief is hard to understand coming from a supposedly Christian source.
“They deplore their inability to love their Redeemer, to keep themselves from sin, to live a holy life in any degree adequate to their own convictions of their obligations…..They recognize it as the fruit and evidence of the corruption of their nature derived as a sad inheritance from their first parents.” Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 11, p. 273. This theologian is revered by many. He teaches our inability to love God, to stop sinning, and to live a holy life because of our Adamic nature. This is no promise of victory but only defeat. I find his comments disgusting and completely unbiblical.
“…Whereby he is utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite unto all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually, which is commonly called original sin, and from which do proceed all actual transgressions.” Larger Catechism. More unbelief and more lies to deceive the masses.
Are some of us born gay?
In part one, I mentioned in a footnote that I would revisit the topic of homosexual orientation. The doctrine of original sin states that, because of Adam’s original sin, all of his descendants are born with a sinful nature. We are born sinners, incapable of doing anything but sin, until God intervenes in our lives. This teaching clearly indicates that our default state is sinfulness—that is, our inherent orientation. Some of us are born thieves, and others are born drunkards. Some are born adulterers, and some are born fornicators or a mixture of all of these. If all that is true, then why isn’t it also true that some are born as homosexuals or pedophiles? If original sin is valid, then it implies that some people are born as homosexuals or pedophiles. People are not only born liars, thieves, adulterers, fornicators, and murderers, but also as homosexuals or pedophiles. If the doctrine of original sin is true, then some must be born as homosexuals or pedophiles. Is that not correct?
None of this makes any sense at all, yet many Christians believe we are born sinners. Can we be born with a sinful tendency toward adultery and fornication but not homosexuality and pedophilia? The truth is that we are not born sinners of any kind. If you believe in original sin, then you must accept that a person can be born gay or a pedophile if you want your beliefs to be consistent. But that idea is too much for most Christians, who refuse to admit what homosexuals have been saying for years: homosexuals are born gay! Believers in original sin are trapped but are unaware of it.
The truth is that no one is born a sinner. No one is born an adulterer, fornicator, thief, homosexual, or pedophile. All of these are choices made by moral beings, and they all violate either the laws of the land or the laws of God or both. At one time, all these behaviors broke both the law of the land and the law of God.
One last comment on this subject. If you only get your news and information from legacy media, then you probably are not aware that many thousands of homosexuals have become heterosexual through the truth and grace of God. Many of these are now happily married. The media would have you believe that a homosexual can never change, which is a lie from the pit of hell. Reread the passage from 1 Corinthians 6 cited above, which states that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God and mentions homosexuality explicitly. The passage goes on to say, “such were some of you.” Those born of God are no longer living in the sin of homosexuality. They were homosexual but are not now.
“No man is able……by any grace received in this life, perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word and deed.” Larger Catechism. Can the devil sin more often than every day? Can the devil sin in more ways than in thought, word, and deed? According to these blind guides, Christians are no better than the devil, and God is powerless to change that. I find this wicked statement sickening and disgusting. How about you?
I could add many more examples from other theologians who teach the same thing. Christians never stop sinning each day, even with God’s grace available to them. They never fully rid themselves of the depraved nature they inherited from Adam. And God is powerless, and the atonement of Christ is insufficient to make Christians holy and righteous, where sin is the exception rather than the rule in their lives. They do not believe any of the passages quoted in this article.
These quotes are not only full of disbelief, they are simply wicked. It is almost impossible for me to believe that a true Christian could write such wicked things. Many millions of Christians have been greatly influenced and deceived by such men. This helps explain why the Church of Jesus Christ is morally bankrupt today. Very few Christians believe the word of God. They prefer the word of man because man offers many excuses for living in sin. This last quote is a perfect example of justifying sin in a believer’s life.
How any Christian can read these passages of scripture and believe what these men teach is hard to understand. Alas, as Francis Bacon once said, “Men prefer to believe what men prefer to be true.” Men and women believe what they want to be true, not what God says is true. It seems there are very few Christians who actually believe God and His word. They pick and choose what in the Bible agrees with what they want, hope, or wish to be true. Pray for these lost souls, I do.
After digesting what is written herein, how do you answer the questions?
- Can Christians live without sin?
- Do Christians live without habitual sin?
I firmly believe that how we honestly answer these two questions determines our destiny. If you answer these two questions incorrectly, it will set the course for your life. You will either serve God in righteousness, or you will pretend to serve God while you are the servant of sin.
If the Son of God shall make you free, you shall be free indeed!
