Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: January 23, 2005
CHRISTIANS AND THE MATTER OF SIN # 2
Ben Justice
NOTE: This is a continuation of last week’s article. We want to pick
back up with Rom. 6.
Continuing in Rom. 6, notice what else Paul said about sin as it relates to the
Christian.
Verse 11 — “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Verse 12 — “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in
the lusts thereof.”
Sin reigning in one’s body should never characterize the Christian. You see,
the one who has obeyed the gospel no longer has sin reigning (taking up rule
and residence) in his body.
Verse 14 — “For sin shall not have dominion over you: . . .”
Verses 17-18 — “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. (18) Being
then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
These are two vitally important scriptures as it relates to the Christian and
the matter of sin.
First, Paul was thankful that they “were the servants of sin.” This is past
tense. “Servants” (from doulos) properly means a “slave.” It denotes “to be in
bondage to.” Being in bondage to sin was something that had characterized
these Romans in the past. Notice the contrast Paul made. They were no
longer servants of sin because they had “obeyed from the heart that form of
doctrine which was delivered.” This is a reference to baptism, of which Paul
had spoken to in v. 3-5.
They did indeed become servants to something else. As Paul pointed out in v.
18, they had “become the servants of righteousness.” See the change. When
one obeys God’s Word and becomes a Christian, there is a change that takes
place. One goes from being a servant of sin to being a servant of
righteousness. What a blessed and beautiful change it is!
In the subsequent verses, Paul continues to elaborate on this. In v. 20, he
wrote, “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.”
The same is true today. Those who serve sin are free from serving
righteousness. This is characteristic of the world and not Christians.
I believe it is appropriate at this point to ask this question: Are Christians
sinners? In other words, after one becomes a Christian, is he/she still to be
considered a “sinner?” The NT uses this term over and over to describe people
of the world and not those who have come out of the world and have become
Christians. Can anyone imagine the apostle Paul telling the Romans in Rom.
6, that although they had died to sin, and were no longer the servants of sin,
and that the old man had been crucified that the body of sin might be
destroyed, and being free from sin, and then telling them that they were still
sinners?! Is it the case that when they arose from the watery of baptism dying
to a lifestyle of sin that they were still sinners?
It would do us well at this point to consider what John wrote along these
lines. What he wrote is crucial to our understanding of this subject. We want
to consider what he declared in I John 3:5-9.
Verse 5 — “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins. (6)
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither
known him.”
Verse 6 deserves our careful attention. The term “abide” denotes “to remain”
or “to continue.” In I John 2:24, the original word is translated in three
different ways. It is translated “abide,” “remain,” and “continue.” It is
crucially important that we understand that it is present tense, which
indicates continuing action. Hence, it is literally, “whosoever continues to
abide in him.”
Those who continue to abide in him “sinneth not.” Again, this is in the
present tense. Hence, it is literally, “does not continue to sin.” In other
words, one’s way of life is not characterized as sinning.
As John continues, he writes that, “whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither
known him.” This is also in the present tense. Again, it would be “whosoever
continues to sin.” We must understand that John here is speaking of the one
who, as Robertson correctly pointed out, “lives a life of sin, not mere
occasional acts of sin . . .” (Word Pictures, General Epistles — I John, Vol.
VI, Pg. 222). Note the consequences: “hath not seen him, neither known
him.” This has caused some confusion with some. Of course, John was
speaking spiritually and not literally. Some would advocate that if a person is
converted and goes back into a life of sin, then that person was never saved to
begin with. This conclusion is erroneous, for it contradicts other statements
found in this very epistle, as well as other scriptures throughout the Word of
God. The English obscures the true meaning of the tenses of the verbs. Both
phrases, “hath not seen him,” and “neither known him” are in the perfect
tense. This denotes past action with continuing or abiding results. The
sense is, “hath not seen him in the past or continues to see him and neither
has known him in the past and does not continue to know him.” The
Christian who has slipped back into a lifestyle of sin does not see or know
God. Guy N. Woods wrote, “Obviously, one who has lapsed into a life of
habitual sin, such as characterized him before his conversion, no longer sees
(enjoys) God, nor knows (recognizes) God in his life” (Commentary On I
John, Pg. 266). This verse does not prove that such a person was never ever
saved to begin with. Rather, it teaches that whosoever begins to live a
lifestyle of sin, he no longer sees nor knows God in his life.
What about what John wrote in I John 1 about sinning? In v. 10, John wrote,
“If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not is us.”
The expression “sinned” is not in the present tense, but rather in the aorist
tense. So, this is not the same thing as John wrote about in I John 3:6.
Aorist tense is point action, not continuing action. Robert R. Taylor explains
it nicely: “The present is continuous action. The aorist is point action. Two
illustrations will aid us. (1) Clap the hands just once and this is point action
or the aorist; continue to clap the hands again and again and one has
continued action or present tense. (2) Visualize a (.) and you have the idea of
aorist or point action which refers to single acts of sin committed due to
weaknesses of the flesh, ignorance, etc., these Christians do commit.
Visualize a continuing line (__________) and you have the present tense or
continuous action and habitual sins committed as a way of life” (Studies In
First, Second, And Third John, Pg. 29). Herein lies the difference between
a Christian and one who is not a Christian.
Consider I John 2:1, where John wrote, “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:” Note the phrase, “if any man sin.” Remember,
John was writing to Christians. “Sin” is also in the aorist tense, just as it
was in I John 1:10. Again, John was not speaking of habitual sin. We as
Christians will sin — not habitually and as a way of life — but through a
moment of weakness in succumbing to temptation. When this takes place,
the Christian has “an advocate with the Father.” That advocate is “Jesus
Christ the righteous.” Jesus Christ our advocate works in our behalf when we
commit occasional acts of sin when we “confess our sins” to God (I John 1:9).
[One would do well to personally study this beautiful verse in more detail,
especially the term “advocate.” One will be benefited greatly by doing so.]
We as Christians must understand this matter of sin and how it relates to us
as Christians, and so, we will continue with this theme next week.