Can Christians Sin When They Have Been Saved From Sin?

By James Quansah, Pastor

Many people particularly unbelievers have some misconceptions about the life of Christians. One of these misconceptions is that Christians should not make mistakes or sin, considering the fact that Christians confess that they have been saved from sin. There is no doubt that Christians have been forgiven and saved from sin through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

The writer of the book of Hebrews states that, |In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness…so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people” (Hebrews 9:22-28).

Thus, John, the Apostle, also writes that, “…And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.

“But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make the practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God,” (1 John 3:5-8).

Many read the passage of Scripture above and erroneously conclude that Christians should not sin at all. But they do not realize that John is not talking about sinless perfection here. Yes he is not. In other words, it is not correct for anyone to think that a person, who has been saved from sin has attained sinless perfection in this world. What John is really teaching here is that a true disciple of Christ does not make a practice of sinning.

This means disciples of Christ do not habitually sin without receiving any warnings or promptings by the Holy Spirit, who lives in their heart. The truth is that true Christians can be overtaken in faults. You may call it sin or transgression. As long as Christians live in this corrupt, fallen and immoral world with daily temptations, while awaiting the return of our Saviour, King Jesus, we may slip here and there. We should understand that Christians are saved from the bondage of sin, but not the presence of sin.

John, the Apostle, himself knew about this truth that believers can be overcome by some sins. He realised that some of the believers he personally ministered to had sinned. And so he wrote about it in chapter one of I John before writing about the aforementioned issue in chapter three. He wrote, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 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.

In the verse above, you can see John admitting the fact that the church or some of the disciples had sinned, showing that no believer living in this world full of daily temptations, troubles and sufferings can claim to have attained sinless perfection. However, children of God have God’s seed or life dwelling in them by which they are able to overcome the controlling power of sin in their lives.

This means Christians do not habitually continue to live in sin or deliberately practice sin as if Christ never saved, delivered or rescued them from the bondage or controlling power of sin over their lives. The Holy Spirit, the Author of righteousness, who dwells in the hearts of true Christians helps them to rise up when they are tempted so that they can continue to live a life of righteousness in Christ Jesus for the glory of the Father.