I once heard a talk on legalism in which the speaker said, “As a believer, you don’t have to be perfect.” To which I responded, “Then which sin is OK?” He didn’t have an answer.

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I have also heard preachers say. “We all sin every day” as if to say we have no control over sinning, and that’s OK – Jesus came to save sinners.”

Yes, Jesus came to save sinners, and we “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” and “all like sheep have gone astray, each to his own way, but God hath laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.” But, are we believers helpless to the power of sin and unable to stop sinning? The answer is a resounding “NO!”

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When a preacher states both that we are all sinners and sin every day, he is talking to unbelievers, not believers. Yes, we believers are sinners in that we have sinned and will likely do it again, but we are not to practice sin (sin every day). A true believer does not practice sin; he or she loathes sin and tries with the indwelling Spirit’s help to not sin in any way.

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What does scripture tell the believer to do regarding sin:

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Jesus said, “Sin no more”, and “Be, ye, perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect,” and “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Scripture says, ” There is no temptation among mankind whereby God has not given you a way to resist.”

From Romans 6, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be!”

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From these verses, it is clear that God expects believers to make their best, good faith effort, with the indwelling Spirit’s help, to “keep His commandments” – to not sin in any way. Will we be able to sin no more? No, we will never reach perfection in our fleshy bodies. We will have an ongoing conflict between doing what we ought and doing what our amoral, fleshy body wants – to satisfy its desires. Though we are now believers, we are still susceptible to the temptation to sin. But, as the scripture above states, we have a means to resist and not sin. On the occasions where our resistance fails and we sin, God understands and has given us this wonderful promise, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9.

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As believers, what is our motivation not to sin but to keep God’s commandments? Of course, it is NOT to be saved from hell and be accepted by God – we as believers are already saved, accepted, and reconciled to God and have assurance of heaven. There are (at least) two motivations:

(1) Because our Lord wants and desires that we keep His commandments, and

(2) Because we love Jesus and, I submit, don’t want to add to His pain.

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The first reason is clear; let me explain the second. The initial part of reason two comes straight from scripture. In John 14 Jesus says four times in essentially the same words (Verses 15, 21, 23, and 24), “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.” In other words, the measure of your love for Jesus is the extent to which you keep His commandments (be obedient to God’s standards for living, not sin).

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Now, to explain the second part of reason two, consider this. Every time you sin, it adds to the pain Jesus suffered on the cross. How do I know this? Because, on the cross, Jesus suffered enough to pay for all the sins of all mankind for all time. Fast forward to today, and I have a choice to sin or to resist the temptation and not sin. If I choose to sin, it added to Jesus’ pain – I hurt Jesus more! If I choose not to sin, it kept Jesus from additional pain! Since time is immaterial to God, you cannot escape this logic. So, if you love your Savior, you don’t want to hurt Him more, and when you sin, it ought to cause you much grief that you hurt the One you love, the One who loved you enough to suffer and die in your place for all your sins.

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Therefore, I submit that as you grow spiritually as a believer and your love for Jesus grows, the more it will grieve you when you sin. For a sincere believer, there is no room for a cavalier attitude toward even a single sin. Knowing it will add pain to the Savior you love so dearly is a great motivation to “Sin no more.”

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Dennis Christian