Comparing I John 1:8-10 with I John 3:6-9

The main issue in the aforementioned verses is sin. When we read these verses, it appears that the apostle John contradicts himself. Let’s examine them to find out what’s going on.

In I John 1:8-10 we read, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and cleanse to us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Now, in I John 3:6-9 we read, “Whoever abides in Him does not sin (italics added). Whoever sins has neither seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.       

Whoever is born of God does not sin (italics added), for His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin (italics added) because he has been born of God.”

The first set of verses (I John 1:8-10) clearly tell us that we as believers do sin, and that’s why I John 2:1-2 says…“that if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation (or satisfaction) for our sins…

Jesus delivered us from the power and penalty of sin forever, but currently not it’s presence. Sin does continue to operate in our mortal flesh which has yet to experience it’s redemption. We’ll experience that when Jesus returns for his bride, the church and our bodies will be changed from mortal to immortal (I Corinthians 15:51-58; I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

But, in the second set of verses, we read that whoever abides in Him-that is in Christ does not sin. Which set of verses are true? Verse nine in particular by itself is implicit, meaning by it’s implication would purport one to believe that Christians do not and can not sin. That is not what the verse is saying at all. To define verse nine, we must connect it with verse seven which is an explicit verse – a verse that is very clear with no ambiguity. Verse nine of I John 3 is ambiguous when it stands alone.

Verse seven of I John 3 says, “ He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

The key word here is “practice”, from the Greek word prasso. To practice something requires continuous, habitual action. The apostle John is comparing those that are saved or righteous who practice righteousness verses those that are wicked  who practice wickedness. Verse nine does not mean that we do not sin; we do.  What it has  to mean is that believers do not practice sin as a way of life. They’re not engaged in sin as they were prior to their conversion, and they can not habitually sin, because God’s seed- the Holy Spirit remain (abides, dwells, lives) in them. The Spirit of the living God provides a checks and balance system within the believer to prevent him/her to engage in habitual sinful behavior; and when we sin we know we must confess our sins to the Lord (I John 1:9). That inward faculty will drive us to repentance continually and keep us pure.

These verses provide a litmus test for anyone to know whether they’re truly born again or not. Do you  endeavor to practice righteous living or unholy living? No one can have it both ways!

We must remember and accept that the fact that sin has no more dominion over us because we’re free from it (Romans 6:12). We’re no longer slaves to it.

                                                        

                                                        In conclusion

We must always remember to interpret implicit passages in light of the explicit ones. In this case, we interpret  I John 3:6a and vs. 9 (The implicit)  in light of I John 3:7 along with I John 1:8-10 (The explicit). When we do this, we do not run into error. This is proper hermeneutics.

A person who claims to know God and sins habitually is a liar. And as the scripture say the truth is not in them (I John 1:8); Explicitly speaking, that type of person is not saved.

A Living Sacrifice?

“I beseech you  therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you  present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.”

-          Romans 12:1

I’ve pondered that question lately, and wondered how I can be alive and sacrifice myself at the same time? Yet God commands us as believers to do it. I must be alive, and reckon myself as dead; seems impossible.

What does the scripture have to say about these seemingly mutually opposed ideas?

Jesus said this in Matthew 16:24-25, Then Jesus said to disciples,” if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

So, what do these verses mean?

The word cross in the Greek is the word Stauros; primarily means stake or pale. Metaphorically it means the believer’s identification with Christ in that we’re separating ourselves from the passions of the world to follow Jesus. The cross was literally an instrument of torture, humiliation and death. As believers we MUST sacrifice all for the Excellency that’s in Christ Jesus even if it costs our very lives. If one is only interested in his own ambitions and dreams, then he’s not living unto God, he’s living to fill his own belly which will lead to certain death. Jesus categorically said, “What will profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Obviously nothing (Matthew 16:26). The Christian life is one of self denial.

An even more vivid description of a living sacrifice is in Romans 6:11, “Likewise reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin (emphasis added), but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The apostle Paul is commanding us by the Holy Spirit to treat our bodies as dead to sin. Why? Because Jesus nailed our sins to the Cross when he died. The scriptures tell us that when He died, we died. Now wait a second! How could we die with Christ when weren't even born yet? Paul is obviously speaking in symbolic language, not literal. Our bodies idiomatically were crucified with our Lord when He died literally. This truth we must accept by faith although this glorious revelation transcends our minds.  Paul also declares in vs. 4, 8, 11 that since we’re crucified with Christ, we also will be raised with him in newness of life. This shows our identification with the one who lovingly sacrificed his life for us. A tremendous reality!

So, since our bodies have to be reckoned as dead to sin, meaning we MUST on purpose deny our sinful desires which produce death (i.e. dead works) we have the right, and ability to serve God as we sacrificially place ourselves on the Lord’s altar daily to serve him as we carry our cross with joy.

This behavior is a concerted attitude one must commit to in order to gain victory in Christ. We have to by faith live an “Everyday death sentence kind of life” Once this mindset is ours, we understand when I die daily to myself, Jesus by the Holy Spirit looms ever so brighter and larger in my life.  I’m now totally hidden, and Jesus Christ is magnified.

John the Baptist said it well, “He must increase, and I must decrease (John 3:30).”

Paul declared this in Galatians 2:20, “I’m crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

The apostle once again is declaring that he’s living in the power of Jesus Christ by faith. He doesn’t trust himself to do this alone for he (Paul) declared in Romans 7:18, “I know in my flesh; this body of sin, dwells no good thing.” That has to be every believer’s mantra. We can not trust ourselves to do what’s right so we must rely on the power source of another, namely the Spirit of the living God to help us through. In  Galatians 2:20 we see a perfect illustration of the wonderful duality of  the living sacrifice dynamic in demonstration. Paul first off identifies spiritually that he was crucified with his Lord. He also realizes he’s now alive in Christ.

He goes on to declare that the life he lives in his body (now dead to sin because of  Christ’s sacrifice  on the cross), he lives in full confidence, trust and reliance on Christ, because of Christ’s love and sacrifice for him.

If we as believers meditate on the Spirit filled words of Paul, we too can live a life of self sacrifice. Never has life had such meaning as it has in Jesus Christ; but ironically in order for anyone to live this life faithfully, they have to die everyday of their lives in order to execute it.

Simultaneously we have to die to ourselves, and live unto God. That’s the essence of a living sacrifice. Be willing to place yourself at God’s altar and leave yourself there. Allow your life to be a sweet smelling aroma that pleases God as you do what he commands (Hebrews 11:6).

This is a strange, but true saying, our continual death (to sin), and our life to Christ both are well pleasing to God. Again, we MUST believe we were crucified with our Lord by faith so that our body of sin is dead as well. And again we MUST believe we’re alive to God by faith. The body that we must suppress is the same instrument that we by faith present to God as a living sacrifice.

The dead body of sin is also alive so that we can continually offer it to God as a living sacrifice.

I hope the reality of this is clear.

Only the power of the living God can perform this.

Hebrews Chapter 9 - Commentary

Comparisons are made between the earthly tabernacle and the heavenly:

The High Priest had to offer blood sacrifices year by year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), first for his own sins and then for the people of Israel (cf. Leviticus 16:1-34). The High Priest had to take blood and sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat so that it was consecrated by the blood which was the sanctifying agent (vs. 1-7).

This religious ceremony was accepted by God according to Mosaic law, but it was never complete and sufficient to remove sins. It was merely symbolic of what Jesus would do when he offered up himself (vs. 9).

Jesus sacrifice of himself is the ultimate priestly act because it cleanses the soul forever from sin of the one who believes (vs. 10-15).

A couple of glorious things are revealed here:

#1. Jesus made a covenant with his people. In that covenant there’s an inheritance. In order for that testament to have any force , the testator has to die. Jesus sacrificial  death by his blood shed ratified that covenant.

    

       This new testament supercedes the blood covenant during Moses’ time (vs. 16-23)

#2. When Jesus entered into the heavenly Holy Holies, he deposited his own blood  on the heavenly mercy seat which cleansed men of sin forever. He did this once for all. When Jesus returns, we’ll know in real time that God the Father was satisfied with his High Priestly act. Right now, we embrace these truths by faith (vs. 24-28).

Hebrews Chapter 8 - Commentary

This chapter primarily deals with the New/Everlasting covenant which was prophesied by Jeremiah 31:31-32.

Prior to that, the text deals with Jesus’ priesthood could not be of this world because of the Levitical priesthood was in force which offered gifts and sacrifices according to the law which were shadows of the things to come (vs 1-5).

Jesus’ priesthood was based on a better covenant based on better promises. This new covenant was ratified with the shedding of his own blood (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20;I Corinthians 11:25).

The New Covenant provides complete access to God because of the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ.                                                                                                                     

Hebrews Chapter 7 - Commentary

Christ’s Priesthood is compared to High Priest and King Melchizedek in two ways:

It’s everlasting (vs.3)

It’s not Levitical (vs. 14)

The word declares (5 X’s) in Hebrews and once in the Psalm 110:4 that Christ’s Priesthood would be after the order of Melchizedek. Here are the scripture references: (Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:17, 21).

Christ’s priesthood is far better than the Levitical/Aaronic priesthood in that it draws us to God (vs.19). With a better priesthood comes a greater law. The word of the oath (vs. 28).

Jesus Christ priesthood is perpetual. That’s why he is like Melchizedek. The Father said that over and over to drive the point home. It’s important the reader get the point that Christ’s priestly office was not of this earth like the Levitical priesthood which was fading away, but that his priesthood was of a heavenly origin (vs. 16).

Hebrew Chapter 6 - Commentary

The writer stresses the Hebrews move on to maturity and not remain as babies in their understanding of spiritual truths (vs. 2-3).

For verses 4-6, please read the article entitled, “The eternality of our salvation” from the archives.

The writer commends the faithfulness of some of the Hebrews. Encourages them to continue in their diligence and not become sluggish, but imitate those who received the promises of God like Abraham (vs. 9-15).

The writer also informs us that God’s promises are sealed with an oath; these two things (God promises & oath) are unchangeable since that is also the nature of God’s character-his immutability. When God makes a decree, he seals that decree by the power and glory of his own name which is above every name (Philippians 2:9).

God makes his promises to us sure.

The ultimate promise of our hope is Jesus Christ who entered the Holy of holies on our behalf as our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek (vs. 16-20). 

Hebrews chapter 5 - A commentary

The writer discusses the following matters:

The High Priesthood:  This office was established in the O.T. by God through Aaron. He had to offer sacrifices for the people and himself constantly for sins (vs. 1-4).

The High Priesthood of Jesus Christ:  The marked difference between the Aaronic priesthood and that of Christ’s is that Jesus was the sacrifice himself for sin. He could not offer a sacrifice in his stead like the O.T. priests did for those were types of the perfect sacrifice that was made by Christ himself. Jesus agonized over the fact that he would be made sin on our behalf. He was not afraid to die, it was the manner in how he had to die that he was saddened over. Being made sin, God had to unleash his wrath on his Son and turn his back on him (Isaiah 53:1-5; II Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered (vs. 7-9):  Jesus being perfect did not learn obedience because he was unfamiliar with it. In his humanity it was essential he did all the Father commanded him so that he could fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15).

Christ in His humanness humbled himself so that he could learn obedience which is a dichotomy for he is the exact object of the believer’s obedience. Once again, Christ is displaying his supreme love for those whom he came to die for; identifying himself with sinners.

Immaturity of Hebrew believers:  The writer rebukes the Hebrews for not being more spiritually in-tuned to the things he’s relaying to them. They should have been further along in their understanding of Jesus’ priesthood and that of his predecessor Melchizedek along with the gospel in general (vs. 11-14).