1. “Should we continue in sin that grace may abound? Absolutely not! We who have died to sin, how shall we still live in it?” (Rom. 6:1-2).
After salvation, we should have no thought that it is acceptable to sin. Although the grace of God abounds because of sin, we must leave our sins behind and be dead to sin. Since we have been forgiven and saved by God’s grace, how can we still live in sin?
2. “You have become well; sin no more”; “From now on sin no more” (John 5:14; 8:11).
After our salvation, we should sin no more. This is the Lord’s rule and commandment.
3. “Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened; for our Passover, Christ, also has been sacrificed. So then let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:7-8).
These verses were written with the background of the Passover as a type in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament the Israelites kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread after the Feast of the Passover by purging out any leaven in their environment. Leaven refers to sin and corruption. Therefore, purging out leaven was a type of purging out sin. Christ is our Passover lamb. When we received Him as our redeeming Savior, we kept the Passover, not in type, but in reality. At that time God’s judgment and punishment passed over us, and we received God’s forgiveness and salvation. From the time of our salvation onward, we should continue to purge out the old leaven, which is to leave the sins and corruption of our former days. We should keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread not with the leaven of malice and evil. We should only have the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. This means that we should not participate in sinful acts but live a life without sin so that we can become a new and holy lump with all the saints.
There are many different views concerning this matter among Christians. Some say that it is not possible for believers to sin after their salvation, and others say that it is possible. However, the only answer that we should receive is the answer that is revealed in the Bible.
1. “These things I write to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins” (1 John 2:1).
The first chapter of the first Epistle of John was written to us believers so that we would not sin. Therefore, John’s word implies that we still can commit sins after being saved. If this were not possible, there would have been no need for John to write an Epistle to us about not sinning. His writings and teachings prove that we can still sin after our salvation. This is proven by the phrase if anyone sins. This word shows even more clearly that we can still sin after our salvation, even though it was John’s hope and desire that we would not sin. According to his thought, it is possible for us to sin after our salvation even though this should be neither intentional nor acceptable. This can be compared to a sheep falling into a pit of mud even though this is neither the intention of the sheep nor the desire of the shepherd.
2. “If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves” (1 John 1:8).
Do not have in the original Greek is in the present tense and refers to our present condition. Thus, if we say that we no longer have sin and cannot sin, we are deceiving ourselves. Although we have God’s life, which cannot sin, and His sinless nature, we still have our old sinful nature. Since we still have our sinful nature, we still can sin.
More than twenty years ago in Shanghai there was a small group of Christians who were very strong proponents of the idea that Christians could not sin after they were saved. They further believed that those who sinned after their salvation had not been truly saved. One day five brothers from this group bought four tickets to a park. Four brothers used these four tickets and went into the park, but then one brother came out with two tickets and gave the second ticket to the brother who was still outside so that he could enter the park as well. This raised a question in the mind of one of the brothers. He thought, “Is it not a sin to sneak a person into the park in this way? We say that believers cannot sin, but if this is not sin, what is it?” When he asked the others, they said that it was not a sin but only a little weakness. This answer clearly showed that they were deceiving themselves. Their answer caused the brother to realize that their understanding was not according to the truth. This shows that even brothers who say that believers cannot sin after being saved can sin. Rather than admitting this, however, they deceive themselves.
3. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar” (1 John 1:10).
If we say that we have not sinned after our salvation, we not only deceive ourselves but also make God a liar because we can sin and have sinned as a consequence of our sinful nature, which we still have after our salvation.
4. “Brothers, even if a man is overtaken in some offense, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, looking to yourself lest you also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1).
The apostle’s word in this verse is spoken to brothers, to saved ones. If a man is overtaken in some offense means that there is the possibility of stumbling and sinning. Furthermore, the apostle says that believers should be careful when they seek to restore a stumbled, sinning brother lest they also be tempted. For example, there was a brother who wanted to restore a brother who had fallen into going to movies. He wanted to help the brother forsake movies, but when he heard the brother talk about the latest films that he had seen, he was tempted and went to the movie theater with the brother who needed to be restored. The apostle’s word shows that we still can sin after we are saved. Furthermore, it is even possible for those who are spiritual to sin.
5. “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).
The context of the apostle’s word in this verse shows that a believer who thinks he stands is in danger of falling and sinning unless he takes heed. Those who say that a believer cannot sin after believing have not received the apostle’s warning that it is possible to fall into sin.
6. “I have made petition concerning you that your faith would not fail; and you, once you have turned again...Peter, a rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you know Me” (Luke 22:32, 34, see also vv. 54-62).
Peter had faith in the Lord, but he still sinned by denying the Lord three times in front of Him. If Peter could fall in such a way, who is able to not sin after being saved?
7. “It is actually reported that there is fornication among you...Deliver such a one...that his spirit may be saved...Anyone who is called a brother” (1 Cor. 5:1, 5, 11).
In Corinth there was a brother who committed the sin of adultery. Although he was saved, he committed a gross sin. This shows that believers can commit sins after being saved.
8. “Demas has abandoned me, having loved the present age” (2 Tim. 4:10; see also Col. 4:14; Philem. 24).
Demas, a co-worker with the apostle, loved the world that had been condemned by the Lord and abandoned the apostle. If this is a possibility for a co-worker, how much more is it possible for a believer who has just been saved? This is a strong proof of the great possibility that a believer can stumble and sin after being saved.
The Bible clearly reveals that believers can sin after their salvation. Nevertheless, some may wonder about the meaning of 1 John 3:9, which says, “Everyone who has been begotten of God does not practice sin,” and of 5:18, which contains the phrase does not sin. Not practicing sin means that we do not sin habitually. This speaks of the nature and habit of regenerated believers. According to nature and habit, those who have the life of God do not practice sin and cannot sin when they live according to God’s sinless life. The divine seed of God’s life within us does not have the nature or habit of sinning, but this does not mean that it is impossible for us to not stumble or sin. Although we have God’s life with its nature and habit of not sinning, we can experience acts of falling and sinning because we can still live according to our old nature. For example, wood floats on water and iron sinks, but if iron is tied to wood, the wood will sink. According to its nature, a pig lives in mud, and according to its nature, a sheep does not live in mud. Nevertheless, a sheep can briefly live like a pig because it can stumble and fall into a pit of mud. If it falls into mud, however, it will not be comfortable, and it will not stay in the mud for very long because it is not its nature or habit to roll around in mud. Similarly, sinning is not in our new nature or in our habit, even though we can fall into sin if we are not careful.
We must realize that believers have two natures, one that is new and one that is old. Our new nature comes from the life that we obtained in Christ. The old nature comes from the life we had in Adam. Although our new nature is separate from sin and cannot sin, our old nature is sin and can sin. Since believers have two natures, the apostle John speaks of the consequences of living according to our old nature in 1 John 2:1 and of the consequences of living according to our new nature, which we received when we were begotten of God, in 1 John 3:9 and 5:18. When he writes concerning sin in chapters 3 and 5, he has not forgotten what he has written in chapter 2. His words in chapters 3 and 5 are related to our new nature, which cannot sin, rather than to our old nature, which can still commit acts of sin. Thus, the teaching in his Epistle shows that believers can sin after being saved but that they should not sin.