Live in the word

“I can’t be good.” How many times it has been that I have heard good, honest-hearted, sincere Christians make this foolish statement, believing it to be an absolute truth. Many have developed the theological premise that sin is co-equal with existence and that it is just a necessary part of life. Many preachers and Bible class teachers teach it that way, taking the scripture that states that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and teaching as though it said all must sin. There is a real difference.

That sin has occurred in the lives of every one that is old enough mentally to properly distinguish between good and evil is without question. All of us that are now in a saved condition were once lost. One must be lost before he can be saved. That’s just reasonable. But to therefore conclude that we constantly sin after redemption simply because we once lived in sin as the unredeemed is a great fallacy of logic and poor exegesis of Bible doctrine.

In truth, as we mature in Christ and take on His nature for our own, we learn to sin less and less because we enjoy it less and less. What was once pleasure to us now brings us pain. What once made us happy now makes us sad. What once gave us feelings we enjoyed now gives us feelings of guilt and shame. Our nature has changed; Our desires have changed; Our very person has changed. We are truly becoming Christlike.

Sin is a thing for the sinner. While it is true that sin sometimes occurs in the life of a Christian, it ceases to be a way of life or even an everyday occurrence. On the occasion that sin does arise in the Christian life, Jesus arises as our advocate and dispatches it hastily. We will discuss the process in a few minutes in great detail. But first lets make sure we understand that sin does not have to be a daily or hourly occurrence in the life of the Christian.

In I John 2:1 we read that John is writing this epistle so that we will not sin. If that is the purpose (and the purpose as well as the message here must be inspired), then it must at least be possible, in principle, through Christ, to live a close to sinless life. Just because you or I might not have done it does not mean it cannot be done. It is clearly indicated here as a real possibility.

In I John 3:6-9 the apostle continues to discuss this concept as he writes, “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 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. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: an he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

This passage is not discussing an individual sin nor does it mean to imply that a Christian doesn’t have the ability to sin. (That would contradict 1 John 2:1,2 and the role of Jesus as our advocate) It is rather discussing a way of life. We, being born of God, do not continue in sin. That is, we do not continue in a life which has a pattern or scheme of sin. We are living righteously and not sinfully. This evidently suggests that my life can and must be a positive and pure life with sin predominantly missing from it.

In I John 5:18,19 we read, “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. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”

In this text John recognizes first that he and whoever he is writing to are of God and that secondly those of God do not sin. God requires no less of us today than he did of them in the long ago. If they could live sinless (that is, not living an active life of sin) then so can we and so must we.

We must remember that this does not teach an absolutely sinless life. That would not be consistent with the second chapter as we have noticed. But it does teach that we do not continue in sin (the meaning in the Greek text) but that we continue in righteousness.

One of the reasons that sin continues in the life of a Christian after his conversion is because we continue to live in the myth that such is a necessity. We often excuse the sinful conduct of a brother or sister by simply saying, “Well, that’s just Jimmy for you.” What we mean is that this particular brother has continued in this sin for such a long time that we have simply gotten to the point that we overlook it. It has become his own private sin and while we would not tolerate it in someone else, we will tolerate it in him. Brethren, this ought not to be among the body of Christ!

Usually the sins that fall into this category are bad language, gossiping, rudeness, and other such sins. We seem to accept these sins in some people because it is part of their nature. Instead, we should lovingly but firmly teach them God’s way and get them to give up these personality flaws and replace them with God’s nature. We do a brother or sister no favor when we tolerate sin in their life and conduct. They can be good! They must be good! They don’t have to be “just Jimmy”; They can be just a Christian.

We can be good. We simply need to live in the word. We need to really study the Bible to see what Christ wants for our lives and then we need to go about the business of doing it. Let us consider Romans 12:1,2 where it says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

We can be good. We do it by sacrificing ourselves to the will of God and allowing him to guide our steps. We do it by listening and then obeying. Well did the prophet write in Jeremiah 10:23, “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.”

Living in the word means deciding in advance. A woman once approached a well known minister and asked him how he decided each Sunday to attend worship. His reply was that he didn’t decide each Sunday: That decision had been made by him many years ago and now he simply followed that decision each Sunday. What he was saying was that he had decided in advance of facing the question personally.

Many once-good teachers of the word of God have strayed because of situations they had to confront in their own lives. It is much easier to see Christ’s teaching on divorce and remarriage before one experiences an unscriptural divorce than after he experiences it. The same is true concerning abortion, social drinking, and other questions which arise in the life of the Christian. Sin is sin and our personal situations sometimes cloud the true issues of right and wrong. We must be in the word and decide in advance of the confusion of personal experience.

Living in the word means being stedfast. That is, we do not compromise the word of God because of the winds of social change. We must be bold and not be afraid because we might lose friends. We must stay in the word, not only in our lives and conduct, not only in our study, not only in principle, but in our relationship to others and their needs concerning Christ. We serve no master but Satan when we compromise what is true and just and pure. We should remember what Paul recorded in 1 Cor. 15:58 where he writes, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

We can all improve ourselves from where we are. That is called spiritual growth and that process never ceases to exist for the truly dedicated Christian. As we grow towards Christ, however, and away from sin, we must not become too confident in ourselves. As you begin to understand from your study that you can live a mostly sinless life in Christ, don’t allow yourself to become complacent or careless. Paul issues a warning in I Cor. 10:12 where it states, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” While we can be good through the teachings of Christ, we must be wary because Satan is always out to recapture us through sin.

I stated earlier that I would spend some time explaining how the role of advocate was exercised by Christ on our behalf and how sin relates to the Christian. Let us begin by simply gathering a few scriptures together and then examining them.

I John 1:7 “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.”

Romans 8:15-17

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

Romans 8:26,27 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

Hebrews 10: 26,27 “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

From these scriptures, and the others we have looked at already, we find that if we are walking in the light (living righteously, according to the will of God) that we do not intentionally sin. Whenever sin is intentionally committed, then, it means that we are no longer walking in the light and have, therefore, abandoned fellowship with God. This being the case (brought about by premeditated disobedience) there remains no more sacrifice for us. That simply means that we have rejected Christ as our advocate and until we rectify that error there is no hope of remission of our sins. At this point we need to repent, pray, and regain our relationship with Christ by returning to the light (living righteously, according to the will of God). Once this is done, Christ immediately resumes His role as our advocate, pleading our case before God, and getting us forgiveness because of His blood atonement on the cross.

There is, however, a clear indication found in I John 1:7 that we can sin while actively walking in the light. This sin can only be sin based on ignorance and not an overall rebellion against God and change of direction from a righteous life to a sinful one. What, then, is the role of advocate in this situation?

We need to realize that our forgiveness, if we are in the light, is continuous. That is so indicated by I John 1:7. The text really carries the idea of the blood of Jesus “continuously” cleansing us. That means that the instant I sin I am forgiven and cleansed. My soul is never left in doubt and my salvation never in jeopardy. How can this be?

We must remember that we are here discussing non-intentional sin. It could be that an act we do is wrong and we don’t know it is wrong; It could be something that we didn’t know we were going to do (using bad language impulsively) and never would have intentionally done. But for whatever reason, it is an unplanned act of disobedience on the part of the Christian. As long as we are walking in the light as we are taught by the scriptures to do, several things are occurring. First, the Spirit is praying on our behalf for the things we do not know to pray about; Second, our advocate is pleading our case before the throne of God; Third, because of the activity of the Holy Spirit and our advocate, Jesus Christ, the Father is forgiving our sins.

Does this mean that we don’t need to pray? Certainly not! We are to pray constantly. But this is God’s failsafe system to guard us from our lack of understanding as we grow in grace and truth.

Does this mean that I don’t need to study? Certainly not! This is God’s system to protect me while I study and learn, not so that I won’t have to study and learn.

Does this mean that I cannot be lost once I am saved? Certainly not! Any unforgiven sin will cost a person their eternity with God. Intentional sin is fatal if not repented of. Leaving the light is fatal if one does not return. Continuing in sin because one is complacent and does not bother to study and learn God’s will is fatal because of the attitude involved in such a life. God, by grace, grants us time to study, learn, understand, and obey. But God’s grace was never intended to justify the individual who continues in sin from year to year either because he does not care or because he chooses not to better learn the will of God.

Some of these ideas may seem strange or new to you. They really are not. But one thing we should always remember: We can be good if we live in the word.