Can A Christian Sin?
What do you say? Most people who consider themselves Christians probably see this question and think, "Boy, this is way off the mark. Everyone knows the answer. It's yes." But according to the Bible, the Biblical record upon which Christianity says it bases it beliefs, this question is rightfully on the mark. But is our answer? For the record, this is not some sort of trick Bible word game. It goes to the fundamental core of understanding Biblical Christianity, the good news, as given to us by Christ in the first century as opposed to modern day Churchianity's skewed teachings. So, let's ask this question. What exactly is sin anyway? Can you put your answer into 25 words or less? And by what standard is sin determined … is it more or less based on the Old Testament, the law covenant Christ broke nearly 2000 years ago? And can a Christian sin once we are “born of God,” that is, being baptized and receiving the Spirit of God? A look into what the Biblical record actually states is quite revealing. According to the word of God, then, once we are born of God, can a Christian sin? Nope.
“Then Peter said unto them [the House of Israel], Repent [Greek, μετανοέω, metanoeō, to change one's mind, which is to turn from our old way of life centered on those things of the flesh to seeking first the kingdom, the power of God], and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission [Greek, ἄφεσις, release, as from bondage] of sins [Greek, ἁμαρτία, a failing to hit the mark, offences], and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” [Acts 2:36-38]. When we do this, we are born from above or born, again. “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” [Rom. 8:11, NLT*]. It is at this point that John’s statement, “ … he cannot sin, because he is born of God” comes into force.
It's important for us to keep in remembrance that Christianity began in Jerusalem with the House of Israel [Heb. 8:10], our first century ancestors [Acts 2:36-38], on ancient Israel's Pentecost day, an annual high sabbath [Lev. 23:15, 16], fulfilled by Christ's promise [John 14:26; see the Feature article, The Relevance Of the Holy Days In the Plan Of God In The Last Days]. Also, Zionist Israel today is not the Israel of the Biblical record, either Old or New Testament. Far, far from it. It is the precursor to Babylon the Great. [See 2 Ths. 2:9-12, and the Feature article, Revelation 17: Big Brother, The Beast Of Babylon; also, Pornography: A Zionist Israel Weapon].
Prior to following Peter’s advice, pre-Christians if you will, all of us were in a state of “sin.” Our mortal bodies were given life by the spirit of man that we have at first breath or birth. [See Gen. 2:7; also the Feature article, Life In The 'hood and chapter one in The Blind Man’s Elephant, a complimentary copy on the Home page]. However, once we have received the Spirit of God after baptism and the laying on of hands [See 1 Tim. 4:14; Heb. 6:2], we can no longer sin. And while this may seem to be somewhat of a contradiction in religious terms, again not correctly understanding the gospel, theologically it makes perfect sense when we understand the significance of the covenants and what it means for us in this very specific Christian age. [For details see the Covenants in the Feature article section]. But, the "sin stick" is a convenient tool for pastors to scare their flocks, unless of course, we understand the truth of the apostle John's statement, "... he cannot sin ...."
However, before we can even discuss sin, we need to know one fundamental point so we are all on the same page from the start. We need to understand the Biblical record’s definition of sin, rather than our own, and how sin is imputed rather than relying on supposition and hearsay. In all cases, theologically sin only can be understood in context of the covenants, both old and new, for the definition of sin differs between the two for a very fundamental reason. When we understand this, we can fully comprehend John’s statement.
For purposes of our discussion, we will focus on the New Testament uses of the words sin and sins. Sin, a legal term relating to the law covenant, in the New Testament Greek is hamartia, as noted above. It is used both in the singular as sin and the plural as sins, and in the noun and verb forms. Hamartia simply means to miss the mark, to err or miss the path. When we say, "he sinned," we are saying "he missed the mark in regards to the truth of the word of God." This seems rather innocuous compared to what we hear about sin in those Christian “hellfire and brimstone” sermons. But when it comes to sin, it's either hit or miss. Missing the mark by a fraction may as well be a miss by a mile. While the mile misses are easier to spot, the ends thereof are the same. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life [salvation] through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Rom. 6:23]. This echoes John’s point, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin,” which goes to the fundamental purpose of Christ's first coming when the gospel is correctly understood in context of the entire Biblical record.
There are other words in the New Testament translated as sin or sins. One is the Greek paraptoma, which means to fall beside or near something or as we might say today falling short of the mark. It has the same implication as missing the mark or the path set before us. Another one is the Greek, hamartema, which is an evil deed. This is similar to hamartia but with a critical difference. The difference is that of the covenant. In this case, it is the law covenant. Missing the mark equates to evil deeds, but with the law covenant, it was legally imputed as sin. As Paul pointed out, “For until the law, sin [hamartia] was in the world [kosmos]: but sin is not imputed when there is no law” or legal basis. [Rom. 5:13]. Therefore, missing the mark, or sin only becomes legally attributed within the context of the law covenant. And the law covenant was a unique agreement, made only with our LORD and all the people of the twelve nations of Israel.
In other words, evil deeds or missing the mark was in the world, but missing the mark, as concerns God, wasn’t imputed as such before or after the law, or the law covenant. Once we had a formal legal agreement with God, we were bound by its terms. Violation of its terms was a transgression, an offence, and counted as sin. Again as Paul pointed out, “And for this cause he [Christ] is the mediator of the new testament [or covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [sin] that were under the first testament [the law covenant], that they which are called might receive the promise [made to Abraham] of eternal inheritance.” [Heb. 9:15].
Legally, as John noted, “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” [1 John 3:4]. And as Paul also said, “Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, "You must not covet.” [Rom. 7:7] Therefore, sin, missing the mark, is imputed by the law. But the two are separate from one another. For all the children of the twelve nations of Israel, one exists today. The other, the law covenant, does not.
Who were the only people in the law covenant with God? Ancient Israel. This is inclusive of the twelve sons, the nations of Israel including Judah, the Jews as we have in Genesis 49. By the very terms of the law covenant, it was not given to the gentiles of the world. “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." [Exd. 34:27]. So the only people who could sin, or transgress the law covenant, by legal definition, were those bound by its terms, all twelve nations of Israel. Gentiles, however, having the knowledge of good and evil, thanks to Eve and Adam, do miss the mark. But not having a covenant or legally binding relationship with God, missing the mark is not imputed as sin or transgression of the legal agreement, i.e., the law covenant. It's just old fashioned evil. And on the great day of judgement, they will be judged according to their works. [See Rev. 20:12, 13].
The key difference for the twelve nations of Israel is that they have been promised, through Abraham and his Seed, Christ, eternal life, salvation by grace and not by works. " ... who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace [the plan of God], which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began ...." [2 Tim 1:9; see the Feature article, Ordained To Eternal Life].
As Luke correctly pointed out, Christ came to “ ... give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins” or the transgressions imputed only to the people of the nations of Israel under the terms of the law covenant. [Luke 1:77]. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob [nee all Israel, Gen. 32:28] their sins.” [Isa 58:3]. And to whom did Christ say in the first century he was sent to redeem? “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” [Mat. 15:24]. And as we read in Isaiah as well, “For he said, Surely they [House of Israel] are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.” [Isa. 63:7, 8; see the Feature article, Why Was Jesus Jewish, But Not Moses?]. The knowledge of our salvation is good news indeed, as opposed to our old law covenant's yoke of bondage and penalty of death.
Christ was not sent to all the people in the world, meaning mankind, the gentiles as we mistakenly misinterpret John 3:16 [See the Feature article, Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall], but to his people, Israel and specifically the House of Israel in this age. It was to cleanse us, Israel, of our sins, to purify us before God from our missing the mark with God according to the law covenant. And it was all part of the plan of God, "given to us in Christ Jesus before time began," for the Christian age.
As we read, “Whereupon neither the first [testament, law covenant] was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament [the law covenant] which God has enjoined to you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [See the Feature article, Three Temple Ages Make A Plan, i.e., the pattern; Heb. 8:5]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands [the temple of ancient Israel], which was only a copy of the true one in heaven." [Heb. 9:18-23, KJV; see John 8:23, the earthly kosmos as opposed to the heavenly kosmos. "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." 1 Cor. 13:10; read Rev. 21:1-7].
"Christ entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. [See Gal. 3:19-23]. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age [of the law covenant] to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgement, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our [Israel's] sins [the first coming], but to bring salvation [the second coming] to all who are eagerly waiting for him." [Heb. 9:24-28, NLT*; see the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait, and the updated Sneakers article, The Veil Was Rent].
The word many in Hebrews 9 here is the Greek polys, which does mean many and not all. Israel, and the House of Israel in particular, the only ones who were bound by the law covenant, are many, but not all mankind. All in the KJV translated from the Greek is an adjective, pas. And it refers to each individually, i.e., all men individually or all things individually, and not necessarily as a group. [See the Sneakers article, What About Everyone Else?].
Christ's one time forgiveness of sin is a key foundational principle of Christianity, and our understanding of sin and salvation, which is pretty much missing from modern day Churchianity. Christ's forgiveness of our, the children of Israel's, sin was done just once. It took place in the first century with his sacrifice for our transgressions of the law covenant made with Moses and the children of Israel. It is not a repetitive weekly occurrence as some religions teach. [See the Feature article, Guess Who's Coming To Supper?]. This is why we cannot sin once we are born of God. If we could sin, that is the law covenant was still in force and sin was imputed to us, then Christ would have to be sacrificed again and again.
Our misunderstanding of sin in the Biblical record stems from the fact that we think we are gentiles, that Christ came "to redeem the whole world." He didn't. He was sent to redeem all Israel, the House of Israel in this age, and the House of Judah at his return. It's all part of the plan of salvation for us from before the beginning of time. [For details, again see the Feature article, The Relevance Of the Holy Days In the Plan Of God In The Last Days].
The key point regarding the understanding of sin is that the difference the law covenant made was that violating its terms, or committing evil deeds, as defined by God, was imputed as sin. The law, Israel's legal agreement with God, was transgressed. We were accountable and guilty before God unto death because of the covenant terms of agreement with God. Evilness is defined as sin by the law covenant. Outside the law covenant, what we commonly call sin, is referred to as evil. And this, of course, takes us back to Eve and Adam with the knowledge of good and evil. [See the Sneakers article, Bum's Rush].
And while Adam and Eve “sinned” or missed the mark in the garden of Eden by disregarding our LORD's word, sin was not imputed as such for Israel and wouldn’t be so legally until the law covenant was in force. Evil wasn’t codified or spelled out exactly until the law covenant was put in place as the apostle Paul pointed out. Once it was, violating the terms of the covenant was imputed as sin. We missed the mark or walked off the path we had agreed to walk in our covenent with our LORD.
As to why a Christian born from above cannot sin, it is similar to running a stop sign when there is no stop sign. Let me explain. Let’s say you leave your house in the morning, drive down to the corner, where there is a stop sign. You fully stop. Then you proceed when it is safe to do so. This is the law covenant. Can a cop give you a ticket if you don’t come to a full and complete stop? You bet. Your transgression of the stop sign law means your “sin” is imputed. But let’s say, a few years later the traffic commission deems that this particular intersection no longer needs a stop sign. So you leave your house in the morning, drive down to the corner, where there is no stop sign. You slow down, but do not stop, proceeding safely on your way. Can a cop give you a ticket for not coming to a full and complete stop? Nope. Why not? No stop sign means no violation of the law can be ascribed. Why not? Because the law, [our stop sign] no longer exists. This is the Abrahamic covenant [see 1 Chr. 16:13-17] and why John was correct to say Christians cannot sin when we are born of God. All our stop sign tickets were forgiven, and there is no more stop sign. But, in order to be born of God, meaning we cannot sin, we must have faith. Faith, in Greek, pistis, is defined as the conviction of the truth.
Now legalistically speaking, Christ broke the law covenant the day he was crucified. “And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant, which I had made with all the people [of Israel]. And I said unto them, If you think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.” [Zec. 10:10-12].
With the law covenant broken, sin, or missing the mark, legally could not be imputed to the children of Israel. However, the terms of the Abrahamic covenant came into effect from the day of Christ's resurrection. And it was on the day of Pentecost that the Spirit of God was made available to those of the House of Israel as we read in Acts 2. And as we know, Abraham is the father of the faithful. “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know you therefore that they, which are of faith, the same are the sons [Greek, huios, son, or a descendant] of Abraham. And the scripture [the Old Testament given to Israel], foreseeing that God would justify the nations [Greek, ethnos, Abraham’s sons or seed line, not gentiles of the world] through faith [the conviction of the truth], preached before the gospel [Greek, proeuaggelizomai, good news announced beforehand] to Abraham, saying, 'In you shall all nations [of Israel] be blessed. So then they, which be of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham … But that no man is justified by the law [Israel's covenant] in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith,'” or the conviction of the truth. [Gal. 3:6-9; 11; also read Romans chapter 5, and the Feature article, We're Abraham's Seed And Heirs, Not Gentiles for a more thorough explanation].
With the advent of the Abrahamic covenant, put in place by his seed, Christ, and not seeds as in many [Gal. 3:16], we have the new covenant definition of sin. “ … for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” [Rom.14:23]. Another way to say this is whatsoever is not of the conviction of the truth is missing the mark with God. As noted, faith is defined as the conviction of the truth. Without faith, or the conviction of the truth of the word of God, we cannot accept Christ, so we don't repent. And if we don't change our ways of the flesh, repent, we can't receive the Spirit of God. Therefore, without faith, we miss the mark, i.e., sin. Our actions will follow our convictions. Therefore, “God is Spirit, and those who worship [Greek verb, proskyneō] Him must worship in spirit and truth.” [John 4:24]. Worshiping in spirit only is not sufficient, much less in spirit and lies.
Therefore, non-law covenant sin, evil, can be defined as the conviction of a lie, that which is contrary to God, which certainly is missing the mark. [See John 8:44]. We may sincerely follow a Christian deceit, such as Christmas or Easter, with all our being, but as it is not the truth, we miss the mark with God. For whatever is not the truth is a lie; and whatsoever is not of the conviction of the truth of the word of God is missing the mark, sin. By forsaking the truth, we miss the mark, we do evil. And the fruits thereof are ascribed to us individually, and as nations in the flesh. By promise, however, our sins are forgivien when it comes to eternal judgement. [Rom. 11:26, 27; Gal. 3:17]. While in the flesh on Earth, we are told, "And he [Christ] will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’" [John 13:27]. It all goes back to the knowledge of good and evil, and which conviction we choose to follow, that of the truth or that of the lie.
When we have faith, we repent, get baptized, and with the laying on of hands, receive the Spirit of God. Otherwise, we aren't convinced of the truth of the word of God, our lip service aside. But, eventually all those of Israel will repent. "I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, ‘Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the LORD all the descendants of Israel shall be justified [by faith, the conviction of the truth, and by the grace of God] and shall glory.’ ” [Isa. 45:23-25; also see Rom. 11:25-27].
Conviction of the truth is required, by definition, for faith to exist in our lives. Under the Old Covenant, no such conviction was needed, just an absolute obedience to the law regardless of one's convictions. It was the carnal mentality of "I have to" rather than the spiritual desire of "I want to." This is the liberty we have in Christ. Nevertheless, today many Christians still think of sin in terms of the legalistic Old Testament. Pastors quote from it all the time especially when it suits their purpose. This is a strange affiliation that Christians have for the Old Testament especially if we believe we are the “gentiles of the world.” But, it is not so strange considering that we are the nations, the House of Israel. [See the Feature aricle, Paul Was An Apostle To The House Of Israel, Not The Gentiles].
Being Christ’s, and therefore Abraham’s seed [Greek, sperma meaning physical descendants; Gal. 3:29], our lives should be completely centered on living in faith rather than guided extrinsically by the law. “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith [the conviction of the truth]. And the law is not of faith: but, the man that does them shall live in them. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law [covenant, made only with Israel], being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the nations [of Israel; Heb. 8:8, 9] through Jesus Christ [Mat. 15:24]; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith [the conviction of the truth] … Wherefore the law [covenant, made only with Israel] was our schoolmaster [all Israel’s, never the gentiles of the world] to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For you [now redeemed from the curse of the law] are all the sons of God by faith [the conviction of the truth of the word of God] in Christ Jesus. For as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” [Gal. 3:11-14, 24-27].
Of course, some of you may be thinking, well if I can’t sin, then, I can go and do anything I want and be home free. Well, not exactly. We can’t put new wine into old wineskins. [Mark 2:22]. While we still have the potential to do evil, when we truly have the Spirit of God living within us, we have the conviction of, and a love for the truth of the word of God guiding our actions. When we do miss the mark, we have a guiding hand to help us get back on track. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and change your ways.” [Rev. 3:19]. Using grace as an excuse for license runs contrary to the word of God, the truth, and how we should conduct ourselves. As the apostle Peter advised, “As free people, don't use your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but live as the servants of God.” [1 Pet. 2:16]. But, as a people, we've lost the conviction of the truth, and have ignored the advice of Peter. Therefore, we Christians are paying a heavy price for our evil deeds as is so evident in our nations today. [See the Feature article, Is That You, Big Brother?].
Paul addressed this very issue too. “For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another … I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would. But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the law.” [Gal. 5:13, 16-18].
Paul also pointed out, “Don’t you know, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” [Rom. 6:16]. “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” [Rom. 8:5]. We either serve the flesh or the Spirit in this life. As Bob Dylan intoned, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Is it truth or is it the lies, God or Mammon?
Theologically, sin only was imputed to the nations of Israel. Only the nations of Israel were in the law covenant relationship with God. Therefore, the only people who could sin, by definition, were those under the law covenant, all the nations of Israel. That's why we, the people of Israel needed to be redeemed. We were lost to sin, and therefore death. But with Christ's sacrifice, "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob [all Israel], for this is my covenant [Abraham and his Seed, Christ, Gal. 3:16-18] unto them, when I shall take away their [all Israel's] sins." [Rom. 11:26, 27]. It's the same point that we read above in Isaiah 45. Our eternal inheritance was redeemed. We are justified in the eyes of God by faith and grace. And with the gift of the Spirit of God we are born of God and cannot sin. Hence, " ... all the descendants of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.”
Everyone else, however, is perfectly capable of committing evil deeds, though these deeds are not imputed as sin theologically. Because of the House of Israel’s sins, our ancestors were divorced from God and cast out of their covenant relationship. [See Jer. 3:8]. Hence, they needed to be redeemed. The pattern needed to be purified. And this is why Christ said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” And our redemption in this age is by grace. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” [Rom 3:24]. In other words, Christ covered our sins on our behalf. “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” [Rom. 4:7].
“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world [Greek, kosmos, i.e., God's plan, the purified pattern], was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” [Rom. 4:13]. Therefore, if we don’t have the conviction of the truth, then we cannot have faith, and we miss the mark. This is why we find in Luke 18:8, “Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?” In short, do we have a love for the truth or not? Do we follow the truth or the lies? [2 Ths. 2:4-12; also the Feature article, The Love Of The Truth].
“Therefore it [salvation] is of faith [the conviction of the truth], that it might be by grace [Greek, χάρις, cháris, by favour]; to the end the promise [made to Abraham] might be sure to all the seed [Greek, σπέρμα, spérma, the seed of Israel, Abraham's grandson, see Gal. 3:29, Exd. 2:24, 25, Acts 26:6, 7, and 1 Cor. 10:1-4, and not the gentiles of the world]; not to that only which is of the law [old covenant Israel], but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham [new covenant Israel, Heb. 8:6-8]; who is the father [Greek, πατήρ, patḗr, generator or male ancestor] of us all.” [Rom 4:16]. All here refers to each one of us in the House of Israel, to whom Christ was only sent to in the first century, who are the indigenous Christian nations today, and the House of Judah, the Jews, the twelve sons of Israel, descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel, who are the seed of Abraham. [See Acts 7:8]. This is not a reference to Israel and gentiles of the world for Abraham hardly can be considered the generator of mankind. That distinction belongs to Adam.
Bear in mind Paul was writing to the children of Israel as a descendant of the seed of Abraham, his grandson Israel, and his great-grandson Benjamin, one of the sons of the House of Israel. As Paul asks rhetorically in Romans, "I say then, has God cast away His people [all twelve nations of Israel]? Certainly not!" [Rom. 11:1]. The new covenant or testament is for Israel as was the old covenant as Paul makes clear. The Bible is one book written to the same people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and the nations of Israel.
The apostle Peter makes the same point. “The reward of your faith [conviction of the truth] will be the salvation of your lives. This salvation was something even the prophets [of Israel in the Old Testament] wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this salvation by grace prepared for you [in the Christian age, the last days]. The prophets wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering [first coming] and his great glory afterward. They were told that their messages were not for themselves [old covenant], but for you. [new covenant, the House of Israel in the Christian age, the last days, Mat. 15:24]. And now this good news [gospel] has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.” [1 Pet. 1:9-12, NLT*]. This is the apostle Peter writing to those of the House of Israel in the first century. Yet, two millennia later, we lack the conviction of the truth of our Biblical ancestry. In this, we are without faith.
To answer one of our initial questions, what exactly is sin anyway? Regarding the law covenant, it was transgressing the legal terms of that covenant made between Christ, our LORD and the children of Israel through Moses. As the law covenant is no longer in force, missing the mark, or sin can no longer be imputed. By definition, we cannot sin once we have received the Spirit of God, for we live the conviction of the truth.
Therefore, can a Christian sin once we are born of God? What do you say now? Your answer should be no. The law covenant was broken by Christ, and no longer is sin imputed unto eternal death. And when we are led by the Spirit of God in our lives, we live by faith, for repentance and faith go hand in hand. [Heb. 6:1, 2]. “So you must remain faithful [keep the conviction of the truth of the word of God, and not do evil] to what you have been taught from the beginning [the teachings we have from Christ and the apostles in the first century, and btw, neither tradition of men, Christmas or Easter, began in the first century]. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us [through Abraham and his Seed, Christ]. I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit [the anointing], which abides in you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you of all things, and teaches what is true—it is not a lie.” [1 John 2:24-27].
It all begins with repentance, believing the the truth of the word of God, changing from our old ways of this world. And with baptism and the laying on of hands, we can receive the Spirit of God within us. When the Spirit of God abiding in us teaches us the truth, and we remain steadfast in that conviction, we remain in Christ, no longer in sin. And because we are born of God, we cannot sin.
Therefore, we have a greater responsibility as a Christian. That is, we need to exercise the liberty we have in Christ to live our lives guided by the Spirit in the truth of the word of God, not because we have to, but because we want to. We have an intrinsic understanding of the blessings in this life that accompany living by the love of the truth of the word of God, which are given to us by promise. It's time for us as Christians to stand up with the conviction of the truth of God in our daily lives.
Italics, underline, bold and [ ] are the author’s.
* Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Of course, right about now many Christians, likely most of them evangelicals, probably think this borders on heresy if not outright blasphemy. After all, does not the apostle John clearly state, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” [1 John 1:8]. Yes he does. So what in the world am I talking about? I’m talking about the verb, not the noun, and 1 John 3:9. “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed [the Spirit of God] remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” Contradictory statements by the apostle John? No. Complimentary.
It’s all about timing, a correct understanding of the gospel delivered by Christ, and to whom it was delivered. And as we’ve said many, many times before, it’s all about the covenants too. [Read the Feature articles, What Exactly Is The Gospel? and The Tale Of Two Covenants]. As the apostle Paul clearly states in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God ….” In order to be born of God or born from above [born again rather than conceived again], it means at some point in our life we followed the apostle Peter’s advice from the first day of Christianity.“Then Peter said unto them [the House of Israel], Repent [Greek, μετανοέω, metanoeō, to change one's mind, which is to turn from our old way of life centered on those things of the flesh to seeking first the kingdom, the power of God], and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission [Greek, ἄφεσις, release, as from bondage] of sins [Greek, ἁμαρτία, a failing to hit the mark, offences], and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” [Acts 2:36-38]. When we do this, we are born from above or born, again. “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” [Rom. 8:11, NLT*]. It is at this point that John’s statement, “ … he cannot sin, because he is born of God” comes into force.
It's important for us to keep in remembrance that Christianity began in Jerusalem with the House of Israel [Heb. 8:10], our first century ancestors [Acts 2:36-38], on ancient Israel's Pentecost day, an annual high sabbath [Lev. 23:15, 16], fulfilled by Christ's promise [John 14:26; see the Feature article, The Relevance Of the Holy Days In the Plan Of God In The Last Days]. Also, Zionist Israel today is not the Israel of the Biblical record, either Old or New Testament. Far, far from it. It is the precursor to Babylon the Great. [See 2 Ths. 2:9-12, and the Feature article, Revelation 17: Big Brother, The Beast Of Babylon; also, Pornography: A Zionist Israel Weapon].
Prior to following Peter’s advice, pre-Christians if you will, all of us were in a state of “sin.” Our mortal bodies were given life by the spirit of man that we have at first breath or birth. [See Gen. 2:7; also the Feature article, Life In The 'hood and chapter one in The Blind Man’s Elephant, a complimentary copy on the Home page]. However, once we have received the Spirit of God after baptism and the laying on of hands [See 1 Tim. 4:14; Heb. 6:2], we can no longer sin. And while this may seem to be somewhat of a contradiction in religious terms, again not correctly understanding the gospel, theologically it makes perfect sense when we understand the significance of the covenants and what it means for us in this very specific Christian age. [For details see the Covenants in the Feature article section]. But, the "sin stick" is a convenient tool for pastors to scare their flocks, unless of course, we understand the truth of the apostle John's statement, "... he cannot sin ...."
However, before we can even discuss sin, we need to know one fundamental point so we are all on the same page from the start. We need to understand the Biblical record’s definition of sin, rather than our own, and how sin is imputed rather than relying on supposition and hearsay. In all cases, theologically sin only can be understood in context of the covenants, both old and new, for the definition of sin differs between the two for a very fundamental reason. When we understand this, we can fully comprehend John’s statement.
For purposes of our discussion, we will focus on the New Testament uses of the words sin and sins. Sin, a legal term relating to the law covenant, in the New Testament Greek is hamartia, as noted above. It is used both in the singular as sin and the plural as sins, and in the noun and verb forms. Hamartia simply means to miss the mark, to err or miss the path. When we say, "he sinned," we are saying "he missed the mark in regards to the truth of the word of God." This seems rather innocuous compared to what we hear about sin in those Christian “hellfire and brimstone” sermons. But when it comes to sin, it's either hit or miss. Missing the mark by a fraction may as well be a miss by a mile. While the mile misses are easier to spot, the ends thereof are the same. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life [salvation] through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Rom. 6:23]. This echoes John’s point, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin,” which goes to the fundamental purpose of Christ's first coming when the gospel is correctly understood in context of the entire Biblical record.
There are other words in the New Testament translated as sin or sins. One is the Greek paraptoma, which means to fall beside or near something or as we might say today falling short of the mark. It has the same implication as missing the mark or the path set before us. Another one is the Greek, hamartema, which is an evil deed. This is similar to hamartia but with a critical difference. The difference is that of the covenant. In this case, it is the law covenant. Missing the mark equates to evil deeds, but with the law covenant, it was legally imputed as sin. As Paul pointed out, “For until the law, sin [hamartia] was in the world [kosmos]: but sin is not imputed when there is no law” or legal basis. [Rom. 5:13]. Therefore, missing the mark, or sin only becomes legally attributed within the context of the law covenant. And the law covenant was a unique agreement, made only with our LORD and all the people of the twelve nations of Israel.
In other words, evil deeds or missing the mark was in the world, but missing the mark, as concerns God, wasn’t imputed as such before or after the law, or the law covenant. Once we had a formal legal agreement with God, we were bound by its terms. Violation of its terms was a transgression, an offence, and counted as sin. Again as Paul pointed out, “And for this cause he [Christ] is the mediator of the new testament [or covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [sin] that were under the first testament [the law covenant], that they which are called might receive the promise [made to Abraham] of eternal inheritance.” [Heb. 9:15].
Legally, as John noted, “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” [1 John 3:4]. And as Paul also said, “Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, "You must not covet.” [Rom. 7:7] Therefore, sin, missing the mark, is imputed by the law. But the two are separate from one another. For all the children of the twelve nations of Israel, one exists today. The other, the law covenant, does not.
Who were the only people in the law covenant with God? Ancient Israel. This is inclusive of the twelve sons, the nations of Israel including Judah, the Jews as we have in Genesis 49. By the very terms of the law covenant, it was not given to the gentiles of the world. “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." [Exd. 34:27]. So the only people who could sin, or transgress the law covenant, by legal definition, were those bound by its terms, all twelve nations of Israel. Gentiles, however, having the knowledge of good and evil, thanks to Eve and Adam, do miss the mark. But not having a covenant or legally binding relationship with God, missing the mark is not imputed as sin or transgression of the legal agreement, i.e., the law covenant. It's just old fashioned evil. And on the great day of judgement, they will be judged according to their works. [See Rev. 20:12, 13].
The key difference for the twelve nations of Israel is that they have been promised, through Abraham and his Seed, Christ, eternal life, salvation by grace and not by works. " ... who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace [the plan of God], which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began ...." [2 Tim 1:9; see the Feature article, Ordained To Eternal Life].
As Luke correctly pointed out, Christ came to “ ... give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins” or the transgressions imputed only to the people of the nations of Israel under the terms of the law covenant. [Luke 1:77]. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob [nee all Israel, Gen. 32:28] their sins.” [Isa 58:3]. And to whom did Christ say in the first century he was sent to redeem? “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” [Mat. 15:24]. And as we read in Isaiah as well, “For he said, Surely they [House of Israel] are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.” [Isa. 63:7, 8; see the Feature article, Why Was Jesus Jewish, But Not Moses?]. The knowledge of our salvation is good news indeed, as opposed to our old law covenant's yoke of bondage and penalty of death.
Christ was not sent to all the people in the world, meaning mankind, the gentiles as we mistakenly misinterpret John 3:16 [See the Feature article, Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall], but to his people, Israel and specifically the House of Israel in this age. It was to cleanse us, Israel, of our sins, to purify us before God from our missing the mark with God according to the law covenant. And it was all part of the plan of God, "given to us in Christ Jesus before time began," for the Christian age.
As we read, “Whereupon neither the first [testament, law covenant] was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament [the law covenant] which God has enjoined to you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [See the Feature article, Three Temple Ages Make A Plan, i.e., the pattern; Heb. 8:5]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands [the temple of ancient Israel], which was only a copy of the true one in heaven." [Heb. 9:18-23, KJV; see John 8:23, the earthly kosmos as opposed to the heavenly kosmos. "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." 1 Cor. 13:10; read Rev. 21:1-7].
"Christ entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. [See Gal. 3:19-23]. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age [of the law covenant] to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgement, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our [Israel's] sins [the first coming], but to bring salvation [the second coming] to all who are eagerly waiting for him." [Heb. 9:24-28, NLT*; see the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait, and the updated Sneakers article, The Veil Was Rent].
The word many in Hebrews 9 here is the Greek polys, which does mean many and not all. Israel, and the House of Israel in particular, the only ones who were bound by the law covenant, are many, but not all mankind. All in the KJV translated from the Greek is an adjective, pas. And it refers to each individually, i.e., all men individually or all things individually, and not necessarily as a group. [See the Sneakers article, What About Everyone Else?].
Christ's one time forgiveness of sin is a key foundational principle of Christianity, and our understanding of sin and salvation, which is pretty much missing from modern day Churchianity. Christ's forgiveness of our, the children of Israel's, sin was done just once. It took place in the first century with his sacrifice for our transgressions of the law covenant made with Moses and the children of Israel. It is not a repetitive weekly occurrence as some religions teach. [See the Feature article, Guess Who's Coming To Supper?]. This is why we cannot sin once we are born of God. If we could sin, that is the law covenant was still in force and sin was imputed to us, then Christ would have to be sacrificed again and again.
Our misunderstanding of sin in the Biblical record stems from the fact that we think we are gentiles, that Christ came "to redeem the whole world." He didn't. He was sent to redeem all Israel, the House of Israel in this age, and the House of Judah at his return. It's all part of the plan of salvation for us from before the beginning of time. [For details, again see the Feature article, The Relevance Of the Holy Days In the Plan Of God In The Last Days].
The key point regarding the understanding of sin is that the difference the law covenant made was that violating its terms, or committing evil deeds, as defined by God, was imputed as sin. The law, Israel's legal agreement with God, was transgressed. We were accountable and guilty before God unto death because of the covenant terms of agreement with God. Evilness is defined as sin by the law covenant. Outside the law covenant, what we commonly call sin, is referred to as evil. And this, of course, takes us back to Eve and Adam with the knowledge of good and evil. [See the Sneakers article, Bum's Rush].
And while Adam and Eve “sinned” or missed the mark in the garden of Eden by disregarding our LORD's word, sin was not imputed as such for Israel and wouldn’t be so legally until the law covenant was in force. Evil wasn’t codified or spelled out exactly until the law covenant was put in place as the apostle Paul pointed out. Once it was, violating the terms of the covenant was imputed as sin. We missed the mark or walked off the path we had agreed to walk in our covenent with our LORD.
As to why a Christian born from above cannot sin, it is similar to running a stop sign when there is no stop sign. Let me explain. Let’s say you leave your house in the morning, drive down to the corner, where there is a stop sign. You fully stop. Then you proceed when it is safe to do so. This is the law covenant. Can a cop give you a ticket if you don’t come to a full and complete stop? You bet. Your transgression of the stop sign law means your “sin” is imputed. But let’s say, a few years later the traffic commission deems that this particular intersection no longer needs a stop sign. So you leave your house in the morning, drive down to the corner, where there is no stop sign. You slow down, but do not stop, proceeding safely on your way. Can a cop give you a ticket for not coming to a full and complete stop? Nope. Why not? No stop sign means no violation of the law can be ascribed. Why not? Because the law, [our stop sign] no longer exists. This is the Abrahamic covenant [see 1 Chr. 16:13-17] and why John was correct to say Christians cannot sin when we are born of God. All our stop sign tickets were forgiven, and there is no more stop sign. But, in order to be born of God, meaning we cannot sin, we must have faith. Faith, in Greek, pistis, is defined as the conviction of the truth.
Now legalistically speaking, Christ broke the law covenant the day he was crucified. “And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant, which I had made with all the people [of Israel]. And I said unto them, If you think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.” [Zec. 10:10-12].
With the law covenant broken, sin, or missing the mark, legally could not be imputed to the children of Israel. However, the terms of the Abrahamic covenant came into effect from the day of Christ's resurrection. And it was on the day of Pentecost that the Spirit of God was made available to those of the House of Israel as we read in Acts 2. And as we know, Abraham is the father of the faithful. “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know you therefore that they, which are of faith, the same are the sons [Greek, huios, son, or a descendant] of Abraham. And the scripture [the Old Testament given to Israel], foreseeing that God would justify the nations [Greek, ethnos, Abraham’s sons or seed line, not gentiles of the world] through faith [the conviction of the truth], preached before the gospel [Greek, proeuaggelizomai, good news announced beforehand] to Abraham, saying, 'In you shall all nations [of Israel] be blessed. So then they, which be of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham … But that no man is justified by the law [Israel's covenant] in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith,'” or the conviction of the truth. [Gal. 3:6-9; 11; also read Romans chapter 5, and the Feature article, We're Abraham's Seed And Heirs, Not Gentiles for a more thorough explanation].
With the advent of the Abrahamic covenant, put in place by his seed, Christ, and not seeds as in many [Gal. 3:16], we have the new covenant definition of sin. “ … for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” [Rom.14:23]. Another way to say this is whatsoever is not of the conviction of the truth is missing the mark with God. As noted, faith is defined as the conviction of the truth. Without faith, or the conviction of the truth of the word of God, we cannot accept Christ, so we don't repent. And if we don't change our ways of the flesh, repent, we can't receive the Spirit of God. Therefore, without faith, we miss the mark, i.e., sin. Our actions will follow our convictions. Therefore, “God is Spirit, and those who worship [Greek verb, proskyneō] Him must worship in spirit and truth.” [John 4:24]. Worshiping in spirit only is not sufficient, much less in spirit and lies.
Therefore, non-law covenant sin, evil, can be defined as the conviction of a lie, that which is contrary to God, which certainly is missing the mark. [See John 8:44]. We may sincerely follow a Christian deceit, such as Christmas or Easter, with all our being, but as it is not the truth, we miss the mark with God. For whatever is not the truth is a lie; and whatsoever is not of the conviction of the truth of the word of God is missing the mark, sin. By forsaking the truth, we miss the mark, we do evil. And the fruits thereof are ascribed to us individually, and as nations in the flesh. By promise, however, our sins are forgivien when it comes to eternal judgement. [Rom. 11:26, 27; Gal. 3:17]. While in the flesh on Earth, we are told, "And he [Christ] will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’" [John 13:27]. It all goes back to the knowledge of good and evil, and which conviction we choose to follow, that of the truth or that of the lie.
When we have faith, we repent, get baptized, and with the laying on of hands, receive the Spirit of God. Otherwise, we aren't convinced of the truth of the word of God, our lip service aside. But, eventually all those of Israel will repent. "I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, ‘Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the LORD all the descendants of Israel shall be justified [by faith, the conviction of the truth, and by the grace of God] and shall glory.’ ” [Isa. 45:23-25; also see Rom. 11:25-27].
Conviction of the truth is required, by definition, for faith to exist in our lives. Under the Old Covenant, no such conviction was needed, just an absolute obedience to the law regardless of one's convictions. It was the carnal mentality of "I have to" rather than the spiritual desire of "I want to." This is the liberty we have in Christ. Nevertheless, today many Christians still think of sin in terms of the legalistic Old Testament. Pastors quote from it all the time especially when it suits their purpose. This is a strange affiliation that Christians have for the Old Testament especially if we believe we are the “gentiles of the world.” But, it is not so strange considering that we are the nations, the House of Israel. [See the Feature aricle, Paul Was An Apostle To The House Of Israel, Not The Gentiles].
Being Christ’s, and therefore Abraham’s seed [Greek, sperma meaning physical descendants; Gal. 3:29], our lives should be completely centered on living in faith rather than guided extrinsically by the law. “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith [the conviction of the truth]. And the law is not of faith: but, the man that does them shall live in them. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law [covenant, made only with Israel], being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the nations [of Israel; Heb. 8:8, 9] through Jesus Christ [Mat. 15:24]; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith [the conviction of the truth] … Wherefore the law [covenant, made only with Israel] was our schoolmaster [all Israel’s, never the gentiles of the world] to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For you [now redeemed from the curse of the law] are all the sons of God by faith [the conviction of the truth of the word of God] in Christ Jesus. For as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” [Gal. 3:11-14, 24-27].
Of course, some of you may be thinking, well if I can’t sin, then, I can go and do anything I want and be home free. Well, not exactly. We can’t put new wine into old wineskins. [Mark 2:22]. While we still have the potential to do evil, when we truly have the Spirit of God living within us, we have the conviction of, and a love for the truth of the word of God guiding our actions. When we do miss the mark, we have a guiding hand to help us get back on track. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and change your ways.” [Rev. 3:19]. Using grace as an excuse for license runs contrary to the word of God, the truth, and how we should conduct ourselves. As the apostle Peter advised, “As free people, don't use your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but live as the servants of God.” [1 Pet. 2:16]. But, as a people, we've lost the conviction of the truth, and have ignored the advice of Peter. Therefore, we Christians are paying a heavy price for our evil deeds as is so evident in our nations today. [See the Feature article, Is That You, Big Brother?].
Paul addressed this very issue too. “For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another … I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would. But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the law.” [Gal. 5:13, 16-18].
Paul also pointed out, “Don’t you know, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” [Rom. 6:16]. “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” [Rom. 8:5]. We either serve the flesh or the Spirit in this life. As Bob Dylan intoned, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Is it truth or is it the lies, God or Mammon?
Theologically, sin only was imputed to the nations of Israel. Only the nations of Israel were in the law covenant relationship with God. Therefore, the only people who could sin, by definition, were those under the law covenant, all the nations of Israel. That's why we, the people of Israel needed to be redeemed. We were lost to sin, and therefore death. But with Christ's sacrifice, "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob [all Israel], for this is my covenant [Abraham and his Seed, Christ, Gal. 3:16-18] unto them, when I shall take away their [all Israel's] sins." [Rom. 11:26, 27]. It's the same point that we read above in Isaiah 45. Our eternal inheritance was redeemed. We are justified in the eyes of God by faith and grace. And with the gift of the Spirit of God we are born of God and cannot sin. Hence, " ... all the descendants of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.”
Everyone else, however, is perfectly capable of committing evil deeds, though these deeds are not imputed as sin theologically. Because of the House of Israel’s sins, our ancestors were divorced from God and cast out of their covenant relationship. [See Jer. 3:8]. Hence, they needed to be redeemed. The pattern needed to be purified. And this is why Christ said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” And our redemption in this age is by grace. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” [Rom 3:24]. In other words, Christ covered our sins on our behalf. “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” [Rom. 4:7].
“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world [Greek, kosmos, i.e., God's plan, the purified pattern], was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” [Rom. 4:13]. Therefore, if we don’t have the conviction of the truth, then we cannot have faith, and we miss the mark. This is why we find in Luke 18:8, “Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?” In short, do we have a love for the truth or not? Do we follow the truth or the lies? [2 Ths. 2:4-12; also the Feature article, The Love Of The Truth].
“Therefore it [salvation] is of faith [the conviction of the truth], that it might be by grace [Greek, χάρις, cháris, by favour]; to the end the promise [made to Abraham] might be sure to all the seed [Greek, σπέρμα, spérma, the seed of Israel, Abraham's grandson, see Gal. 3:29, Exd. 2:24, 25, Acts 26:6, 7, and 1 Cor. 10:1-4, and not the gentiles of the world]; not to that only which is of the law [old covenant Israel], but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham [new covenant Israel, Heb. 8:6-8]; who is the father [Greek, πατήρ, patḗr, generator or male ancestor] of us all.” [Rom 4:16]. All here refers to each one of us in the House of Israel, to whom Christ was only sent to in the first century, who are the indigenous Christian nations today, and the House of Judah, the Jews, the twelve sons of Israel, descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel, who are the seed of Abraham. [See Acts 7:8]. This is not a reference to Israel and gentiles of the world for Abraham hardly can be considered the generator of mankind. That distinction belongs to Adam.
Bear in mind Paul was writing to the children of Israel as a descendant of the seed of Abraham, his grandson Israel, and his great-grandson Benjamin, one of the sons of the House of Israel. As Paul asks rhetorically in Romans, "I say then, has God cast away His people [all twelve nations of Israel]? Certainly not!" [Rom. 11:1]. The new covenant or testament is for Israel as was the old covenant as Paul makes clear. The Bible is one book written to the same people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and the nations of Israel.
The apostle Peter makes the same point. “The reward of your faith [conviction of the truth] will be the salvation of your lives. This salvation was something even the prophets [of Israel in the Old Testament] wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this salvation by grace prepared for you [in the Christian age, the last days]. The prophets wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering [first coming] and his great glory afterward. They were told that their messages were not for themselves [old covenant], but for you. [new covenant, the House of Israel in the Christian age, the last days, Mat. 15:24]. And now this good news [gospel] has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.” [1 Pet. 1:9-12, NLT*]. This is the apostle Peter writing to those of the House of Israel in the first century. Yet, two millennia later, we lack the conviction of the truth of our Biblical ancestry. In this, we are without faith.
To answer one of our initial questions, what exactly is sin anyway? Regarding the law covenant, it was transgressing the legal terms of that covenant made between Christ, our LORD and the children of Israel through Moses. As the law covenant is no longer in force, missing the mark, or sin can no longer be imputed. By definition, we cannot sin once we have received the Spirit of God, for we live the conviction of the truth.
Therefore, can a Christian sin once we are born of God? What do you say now? Your answer should be no. The law covenant was broken by Christ, and no longer is sin imputed unto eternal death. And when we are led by the Spirit of God in our lives, we live by faith, for repentance and faith go hand in hand. [Heb. 6:1, 2]. “So you must remain faithful [keep the conviction of the truth of the word of God, and not do evil] to what you have been taught from the beginning [the teachings we have from Christ and the apostles in the first century, and btw, neither tradition of men, Christmas or Easter, began in the first century]. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us [through Abraham and his Seed, Christ]. I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit [the anointing], which abides in you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you of all things, and teaches what is true—it is not a lie.” [1 John 2:24-27].
It all begins with repentance, believing the the truth of the word of God, changing from our old ways of this world. And with baptism and the laying on of hands, we can receive the Spirit of God within us. When the Spirit of God abiding in us teaches us the truth, and we remain steadfast in that conviction, we remain in Christ, no longer in sin. And because we are born of God, we cannot sin.
Therefore, we have a greater responsibility as a Christian. That is, we need to exercise the liberty we have in Christ to live our lives guided by the Spirit in the truth of the word of God, not because we have to, but because we want to. We have an intrinsic understanding of the blessings in this life that accompany living by the love of the truth of the word of God, which are given to us by promise. It's time for us as Christians to stand up with the conviction of the truth of God in our daily lives.
Italics, underline, bold and [ ] are the author’s.
* Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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“Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed [the Spirit of God] remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”