Subtitle: Are habitual sins forgiven, or does 1 John suggest they are not?

Excerpt: The article explores the apparent contradiction between verses about salvation and those about habitual sin, particularly in 1 John.

Author: Jeff Hilles

As a Biblical Christians, we believe that our sins are forgiven if, by faith, we sincerely repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The Bible is clear on that in many verses, such as:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. - Romans 10:9-10

We also acknowledge that nothing is impossible for God and that He will never leave us nor forsake His children (Hebrews 13:5). Further, we remain confident that all our sins, past, present, and even future, are forgiven if our profession of faith represents a true heart change (Psalm 103:12, Romans 8:1, 1 John 2:12, Colossians 2:13). We just need to acknowledge our sin before God, and He will forgive us through His grace (1 John 1:8-9, Romans 7:22-24).

Finally, we are sealed until the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30) at the end of the age when, as believers, we will enter the New Heaven (Revelation 21:1).

So … What’s the Problem?

Well, how do you defend or explain…

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. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. - 1 John 3:4-10

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. - 1 John 5:18

These verses are talking about habitual sin and, from a clear reading of the text, suggest that one who commits the same sin over and over has not “known Him,” “is of the devil,” and is not “born of God.”

The earlier verses on salvation make no distinction between sins and habitual sins regarding God’s forgiveness, the path to salvation, and eternal life with the Father. Yet from these verses in 1 John it would appear that habitual sin is unforgivable. And yet we know that the only unforgivable sin is to reject the Holy Spirit and the Triune God (Mark 3:22-30). Adding further confusion to the most important subject one can imagine in this life is Matthew 8:22, which simply means that one should receive even human forgiveness not 7 times, but 77 times (i.e., repetitively).

Why would one sin be worse than another, or, why would a sin we seem not to be able to control be unforgiven (Romans 7:22-25), whereas sins of all different varieties can be forgiven (Romans 1:29-32)

Habitual Sins

Webster’s definition of “habitual” is “regularly or repeatedly doing or practicing something or acting in some manner.”

For those of us who think we don’t have any habitual sins, consider the sins of anger, envy, profanity, being a busybody, strife, deceit, gossip, boastfulness, foolishness, greed, and lust as just a few examples of potential habitual sins we exhibit every day (Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Corinthians 6:19-21, Colossians 3:5, Ephesians 4:31, Romans 1:29-32, 1 Peter 4:15, Matthew 5:28, 1 Timothy 1:9-10).

How To Reconcile These Verses

The easiest way to reconcile any verses in the Bible is to say that it was written by man and twisted over time to fit various religious trends popular at the time. However, as Biblical Christians who believe the Bible was both written and protected by one author, God, and simply penned by man, that solution is not available to us.

Another option is to say that the verses in 1 John were only written to the 1st-century church, which was dealing with a strong influence from Gnostics who believed that physical matter is evil by nature and, therefore, sin was an acceptable behavior. John was therefore attacking their false teaching rather than making a blanket statement about Biblical Christians and our habitual sin nature. The problem with this approach is that there is no indication from the text that John was limiting his teachings to a specific era of time.

If one believes the Bible is without error, then we are left with the need to reconcile verses into a single coherent, systematic theology. Clearly, all mankind sins and continues to do so as born-again believers. Further, the list of Biblical sins is so broad as to make habitual sins a part of what the Lord has taken on through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

An Answer to the Dilemma

These verses in 1 John are expressing one of two principles …

1. For false teachers and those who profess to be Christians but are not, habitual sins are a sign of their hypocrisy toward God. Their fate is as that of any unbeliever (Matthew 25:46).

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. - Titus 1:16

2. For born-again Christians, habitual sins are a sign they are receding or deconstructing in their faith and the commands of God. These believers are not lost if one believes in eternal security (John 10:28-30). However, they are in jeopardy of God’s loving rebuke (Hebrews 12:7-8). If one believes the saved can lose their salvation (Hebrews 6:4-6), refer to point number one above.