This week I’ve introduced a discussion to the blog around sin and desire first in reference to how we approach Romans 7 and secondly by beginning to look at a particular doctrinal controversy around “concupiscence” or desire.
Significant to the conversation is what John has to say both in 1 John 1:8-9 and 1 John 3:9. At the start of his letter, John states that we are in denial if we claim to be without sin and so should confess our sin in order to be cleansed and forgiven. In chapter 3 though he says that those who are born of God don’t sin. Is John contradicting himself here, or s 1 John 1:8-9 not about believers? Well in fact, I don’t think there has been much controversy over how we understand those texts. Crucially, John is talking about a continuous event. The NIV renders it “continue to sin.”
In other words, a believer will not continue to persist in sin. We might say that they won’t just go habitually with the flow. This doesn’t mean that they will always succeed, there will be times when they succumb to temptation. When they do, then there should be rapid confession and repentance. However, if sin no longer rules their life, then they will not happily and habitually continue in it.
In other words, the normal Christian life is not meant to be one where we simply give into sin and accept its presence and dominion in our life. If we understand Paul in Romans 7 to be suggesting that, then we have woefully misunderstood him. Sin is meant to be resisted, it is meant to be put to death. The point in Romans 7-8 is that this can only be done through the Spirit not through the Law.
In summary, the normal Christian life is not meant to be one where we live in happy cohabitation with sin or defeated by sin. This doesn’t mean that we won’t be subjected to temptation. Temptation is not itself sin, nor is desire in and of itself. Giving in to temptation is sin, allowing those desires to dominate unresisted is sin. The Christian will continue to experience temptation, they should resist it. John is clear that there will be times when we fail to resist and we need to repent. However, the expectation in Scripture is not just that the Christian will fight against sin but through the Holy Spirit will win.
I’ve seen some suggestions that such an understanding will take away from justification and even from the hope of the Gospel. I’m not sure how this is possible. It seems to confuse justification with sanctification.
Going back to what John says, I think we see beautiful pastoral wisdom which isn’t present in some of the academic debates today. We are meant to be challenged and shaken by what he says in 1 John 3, it should cause us to take a long hard look at our lives. What I suspect is that most of us will find that there are areas where we can say “I am not continuing in this or that specific sin.” I don’t mean that you never trip up in those areas but your normal experience is of resistance and victory when tempted (I’m not interested in those sins that we are not tempted by because you can hardly claim that there is resistance there). There may even be some areas where as a result of long term resistance, the victory is such that you never experience temptation in that area now. That should be cause for joy but not complacency. However, we will also be challenged because we will realise that there are areas where we have not been resisting, where we have allowed habits to form. That is not how things should be but John does not leave us alone with our guilt and shame. The challenge comes in the context of the assurance and hope that:
if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Faithroots 