"Cannot Sin" (1 John 3:4-9) by Charles Leiter

Thanks to Charles Leiter for giving us permission to use this, from Appendix B of his excellent book which we highly recommend Justification & Regeneration, which explains vital truths in such simple and easy to understand language to every Christian.

John tells us in 1 John 3:4-9 that Christians “do not” and “cannot” sin. What does he mean by such statements? Numerous answers have been given to this question over the centuries, but here we will consider only two of these.

1. One popular explanation of these verses is that the Christian’s new nature cannot sin. “God’s seed” (which is perfect) “remains” in the Christian, and it never desires or commits even a single act of sin. While there is much truth in this view, it nevertheless faces formidable objections.

First of all, John does not say that the Christian’s new nature cannot sin; he says that the Christian himself cannot sin: “God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:9) The “he” who “cannot sin” is clearly the Christian as a total person—the same person who is said to have been “born of God” in the last part of the verse.

Secondly, the proposal that a Christian’s “new nature” does not sin is actually a meaningless statement. Only a person is capable of sinning or not sinning; an abstract nature cannot will or act at all. As we have seen in Chapter Nine, a “nature” is not something that we “have” separate from our persons; it is a description of who we really are in our innermost being.

Thirdly, “doing sin” is contrasted in v.7-8 with “doing righteousness.” Surely John is thinking here, not of a single act of righteousness, but of the practice of righteousness. So, likewise, when he speaks in this passage of the impossibility of Christians “doing sin,” he must have in mind, not a single act of sin, but the practice of sin.

Fourthly, John is concerned here to show that the actual actions of Christians are diametrically opposite to the actions of the unregenerate. He is talking about Christians actually not sinning, not just Christians “sinning and hating it” or Christians “sinning, but not sinning from their new nature.” Such teaching would play into the hands of the very heretics John is opposing.

2. The best explanation of these verses is that the “sin” which a believer “does not” and “cannot” do is habitual or persistent sin. John is literally saying that the Christian does not “do sin.” That is, the Christian does not “practice” sin. On the contrary, the Christian “practices righteousness”: “Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” (1 John 3:7)

Why does the Christian find himself unable to “practice sin”? The answer is given in v.9: “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” All Christians have a new nature (God’s seed) as their essential identity. This new nature (which is perfect) asserts itself against all evil, effectually preventing the believer from living in sin. On the contrary, righteousness is the main characteristic of his life. The Christian’s walk is not perfect, however, because he still has the flesh to contend with throughout this lifetime. When his mortal body is redeemed, then the new life already present in him will be manifested in its fullness, and his actions will perfectly correspond to the desires of his renewed heart.

This understanding of John’s words is the only one that gives full weight to the present tenses of the verbs involved and is reflected in the best modern translations of 1 John 3:4-9.

NASB:
“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

ESV:
“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”

See also: Romans 7 by Charles Leiter (The view shared by Paul Washer, Martyn Lloyd Jones, & Tim Conway)
And: Charles Leiter-Justification & Regeneration.