Can a Christian Not Sin?

 1 John 2:1My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

If the question is asked, “Does a Christian not sin?” then the answer is, no.

2:1 sin not. Lest anyone regard the promises of I John 1:7,9, as a license to sin, John stresses that these very promises should keep them from a life style of sin! That is, the sacrificial love of their Savior, providing full forgiveness and free salvation, should by all rights lead them to hate sin and constrain them to a life of holiness.

2:1 if any one does sin. This refers to a specific sin. This provision is not applicable to a life of habitual sin. The latter would indicate that the sinner has not yet truly been born again (see note on I John 3:6).

2:1 advocate.“Advocate” is the Greek paraclete, meaning “one called alongside.” It is translated “Comforter” in John 14:16.

1 John 1:8“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.

Fooling ourselves.The heresy of “perfectionism”—that is, the claim that our sin-nature has been completely eradicated, so that we no longer commit sin—is self-deception. It is related to the Gnostic heresy of the time which claimed that the soul had been set free from one’s sinful flesh.

1 John 1:10If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.have not sinned.To say either that we “have no sin” (I John 1:8) or “have not sinned” (I John 1:10) is presumptuous, blasphemous and false. Those who make such claims may deceive themselves, but others can easily discern sin in them.

Even the most godly Christian does sin occasionally–in thought if not in deed, in omission if not in commission.

The God-given antidote is 1 John 1:9: “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

But there is a danger if we use such verses as an excuse for sinning or for taking sin too lightly. If the question is asked: “Can a Christian not sin?” then the answer is, yes! God indeed, in Christ, has made every provision necessary for a believer never to commit sin, and we are without any legitimate excuse whenever we do.

This must be so for at least two reasons. In the first place, Jesus Christ in His humanity is our example,

Hebrews 4:15“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.“.

He accomplished this, not because of His deity, but solely in His humanity.

faced all of the same testings we do.In His humanity, Jesus was tested in all points like as we are, except for sin. This does not mean He was tempted to commit all kinds of sins, but rather that He was tested and proved in every way. He could not actually have sinned because:

(1) He is God, and “God cannot be tempted with evil” (James 1:13);

(2) He is “the same, yesterday, and today, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8) so that, even in His humanity, He did not cease to be God;

(3) because of His miraculous conception, He had no innate sin, so that “in Him is no sin” (I John 3:5);

(4) He did not need, as other men, to be converted, telling Nicodemus: “ye must be born again” (John 3:7)—not “we,” or “they”

(5) God cannot fail in His creative purpose, because He is both omniscient and omnipotent; if Jesus had sinned, salvation would have been impossible, and the Creator would have been defeated by Satan, a mere creature; this could not have been possible. Nevertheless, even though He knew (as did His Father) that He could not sin, men and angels did not know this until it had been demonstrated to them. That is why He had to be tested as proof positive. 

Secondly, God has commanded us not to sin, and He would never command us to do the impossible. For every temptation, there is a way of escape

1 Corinthians 10:13The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.and we have no excuse if we fail to take it. Our only recourse is to repent and confess the sin.

1 John 2:1commands us notto sin! But then, it also reminds us that Christ is our great advocate before the Father. He is righteous and has already taken our sins away as our propitiatory sacrifice, so

1 John 1:7“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.“

fellowship each other.That is, we are in fellowship with the Lord, and therefore also with other believers who are in fellowship with Him. Since there is no darkness in God, if we truly walk in His light, there can be no reason for any error, sin, or ignorance of His will on our part.all sin.All sin, whether known or unknown, is cleansed by His blood, as we walk in fellowship with Him.