1 John 3:9 & 10
- Minnie
- Reddeer
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» Reddeer - Minnie
Hi John,Don't mean to jump in and spoil your thunder but Minnie and I have been doing some private e-mailing and she suggested I do some posting under this topic. Please add where I have missed or point out where you think I have gone off track.
I don't know if you have been following the discussions about this in other sites, but I have and have seen the debate that is going on.
1 John 3:9-10 when taken out of context would lead one to believe that once a person is reborn he longer sins. However, turning to other passages of the Bible we see that this is not the case. Romans 7:7-25 is just one example that shows we are in a constant battle with the old nature that still clings to us. Through the gift of faith we are taken from death and given a new life as a child of God, but we are still living in a sinful world that tempts us daily, the devil lurking ever near and the old Adam that keeps trying to reassert itself. That is why we as Lutherans (if we don't we should)believe we must daily drown our old sinful Adam in the water of our Baptism. This was not just something that was performed at an early age. We need daily repentance and washing away of our sin.
If you go to 1 John 5:13 you will find that John tells us quite clearly that he has written this book for Christians - believers. If you then go back to chapter 1:8-10 he says that if we (believers) claim to be with out sin we deceive ourselves, make God out to be a liar, and his word has no place in our lives.
The Bible does not contradict itself and so there has to be some way to reconcile these passages. That comes when you realize that one of the reasons John wrote this book was to combat the false teaching of Gnosticism which had all sorts of twists and turns.
In this context it would seem to be that what John was referring to as no longer sinning was willful sinning. Directly going against what you know the will of God to be. Notice the phraseology - it does not say a man will not sin - rather will not continue to sin. Thus John is not asserting a sinless perfection in this life but rather pointing out that a believer's life will be characterized by doing right as he comes to know God's will and not rebel against it.Not a complete cessation of sin, but a life that is not characterized by sin.
I know that another matter of concern was the meaning of seed - there are 2 possible explanations that I have seen and both would be acceptable a: God's seed -the picture is of human reproduction, in which the sperm bears the life principle and transfers the paternal characteristics. b: seed as referred to in Jesus'parable of the seedthat was sown. As Jesus explained the seed is the Word. As Lutherans we believe that faith comes only through the hearing of the Word and the Sacraments (Baptism & Lord's Supper) and so the seed could also refer to the Word which has produced faith.
Note also in this first book of John how he is always comforting the saints/sinners with the truth that Jesus really was true God and true man who bought our salvation and daily goes before the throne of God to plead on our behalf. This would not be necessary if we were no longer sinners.
In Christ's love
Phyllis
John - still praying for you and family
-- posted by Reddeer
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