Do Christians sin?

This question was posed to me recently by a blog reader, not in those exact words, but by suggesting that certain scriptures seem to indicate that those who belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ cannot sin. For instance, 1 John 3:6 says, “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.”

I disagree with the idea that once we are born again, we no longer sin. That cannot be what John means in chapter 3, when in chapter 2 he says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). In other words, we should not sin, but if we do, Jesus is still our Advocate. His blood still speaks on our behalf—the propitiation for our sins. (Propitiation is a big word that means Jesus satisfied the wrath of God for us through His sacrifice on the cross.)

Paul, the apostle who was saved on the road to Damascus when he met the resurrected Jesus personally, describes in detail the Christian’s ongoing battle with sinful flesh in Romans 7. Though our souls are redeemed and we have a new spirit—the Holy Spirit of God who dwells within us—our physical bodies are not yet redeemed. Our flesh can still sin, and we must fight it daily. Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). 

We often use Romans 1:18-32 to explain to sinners their need for salvation, but as I re-read it, I am reminded that as a follower of Jesus, I must continually fight against the innate depravity of my unredeemed flesh, lest I go down the same path as an unrepentant sinner. Sin is a slippery slope not only for those who reject God’s offer of salvation but also for His children, who reject the power that is ours to access by abiding, obeying, and worshiping God.

In Romans 1, there are three exchanges made by the unsaved. As we examine our own lives as believers and ask God to examine our hearts, perhaps we should make sure we aren’t making the same mistakes.

Exchange #1: God’s glory for our glory.

Romans 1:22-23 – Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

What is God’s glory? It is the sum total of all His attributes on display. It is all that makes Him uniquely Himself and sets Him apart from His creation.

Someone might say of a woman that her “glory” is her beautiful hair, her singing voice, or some other physical attribute that sets her apart from others. This is how I think of God’s glory—all the wonderful truths about His divine nature in glorious revelation. While we cannot see God the Father as long as we are in these fleshly bodies, we can see the glory of God in Jesus. He came to reveal and manifest who God is. When we look at Jesus, we see the glory of God!

John 1:14,18 – And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. … No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Perhaps we don’t intentionally replace God’s glory, but we can fall into a pattern of taking His glory upon ourselves when we foolishly assume His place. We can act as if we are responsible for or capable of doing what only God can do.

For example, God is the only one who can change hearts. We “assume” His place and exchange His glory for our own when we believe it falls to us to save and sanctify our loved ones. We take upon ourselves the authority and responsibility that are His alone. Or maybe we think that our hard work and talent have provided for our family, instead of recognizing that anything we have obtained, achieved, or accomplished is only by the grace and power of God acting in and through us for His glory.

Exchange #2: God’s truth for our “truth.”

Romans 1:25 – For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

“Our truth.” I put it in quotes because there is no truth apart from God. When the world tells you truth is relative, and you can live by “your” truth, it is a lie.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6). This exchange is a common one, not just in the life of an unbeliever, but in the lives of those who profess faith in Jesus.

It is easy to substitute what we think for what God thinks, especially in a culture that encourages individuality and tolerance for sin. If we are students of God’s Word, we will more readily recognize the lies the enemy whispers in contrast to God’s truth. But how about the more subtle ways we are deceived?

The Bible tells us that God is good and that everything He does is good. Our enemy, Satan, would like us to believe that we can define God’s goodness by our standards. When things happen that seem very far from “good” from our perspective, we begin to doubt God’s goodness. The truth is, God is good, and the arc of His goodness extends far before we were born and continues far after we leave this earth.

We exchange God’s truth when we read Scripture as though we are the center, rather than recognizing that it is a book about God. We are part of the storyline, but certainly not the main character. Every verse reveals something about God, not necessarily us. As the verse says, elevating our “truth” above what God says causes us to worship and serve the creature (what has been created—us) instead of the Creator.

Exchange #3: Our ways for God’s ways.

Romans 1:26-27 – For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

This exchange is the natural outcome when we reject God’s truth and begin to believe the enemy’s lies. We do not accept what God says is good; rather, we begin to believe that our sin defines us. It becomes our identity. Instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to have all of us and depending on Him daily to renew our hearts and minds, we tell ourselves, “I’m not that bad…after all, God made me this way.”

The context of Romans 1 speaks directly to the sin of homosexuality. Sadly, this sin has become acceptable in many church denominations in the name of tolerance and love. It is no greater sin than any other—but it is still sin. Scripture is not ambiguous or indistinct on this topic. God’s ways are right, and our unredeemed flesh will lead us astray. Jesus died for sin, and exchanging our own thoughts for what God clearly says about sin is a deadly mistake.

How can we avoid falling into thought patterns and beliefs that define unbelievers, but should be antithetical to followers of Jesus?

We offer ourselves completely and fully to God, allowing Him to transform both our minds and our actions, conforming us to the image of Christ. Let us pray and ask God to help us recognize when the enemy tempts us to trade all that God has given us for lesser things.

Romans 12:1-2 – Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.