Does not sin

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. - 1 John 3v4-7

There are some challenges in this passage. It is a tough one to understand. Phrases like “whoever abides in Him does not sin,’ and Whoever sins has neither seen Him or know Him’ make it sound like Christians are never going to sin.

We know that can’t be the case because we read back in chapter one that claiming that we never sin is a lie and a self-deception. So what does this mean?

From the context I think we see that the truth is. We have seen in the previous verses that God’s children behave like God’s children. We are purifying ourselves. We continue to abide in Him.

There is a sense of continuity here. It is a matter of a way of life. Those who abide in Christ and know Him don’t practice a life of sin. Our lives are different. Those who are truly righteous live righteous lives. Those who do not live righteous lives are not righteous.

We won’t be totally perfect till we see Him. But it is important that we are living in the righteousness that is ours. If we are indeed truly made righteous in Christ, we are going to live like it. Simple enough.