1 John 2:1 “ My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin,we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

I heard a pastor say something once that really disturbed me. He said that “True Christians never sin.” The preacher was of the opinion that it was impossible for someone who became a real Christian to ever commit another sin. I had to scratch my head when I heard that because it did not make sense. Of course real Christians will sin. It is impossible for a true Christian to never commit another sin in their life! How then could this respected man of God say that a Christian never sins?

I don't know about you, but I am not perfect. It may come as a surprise to some and it may be obvious to others. I am not perfect and neither are you. We all make mistakes and at some point or another we are always confronted with our own fallen selves. We all sin, and there is no way around that fact. We all have fallen short even after we came to know Christ. Certainly as we grow to know Christ we sin less and less in our actions, but we continually find ourselves sinning in our thoughts. Jesus said that the thought was the same as the action. If we have thought angrily about someone we have committed mental murder, which in God's eyes are the same as physical murder and if we lusted after a cute girl or a hot guy, then we have really committed adultery. I know that I have been angry with someone a time or two (or more) in my life so far (even in the past year!) and I am sure that you have been upset with someone at least once. When I find myself falling into sin, I always tend to berate myself that I am supposed to be better than this, that I am God's now and not the worlds. How can I stop this from happening? How can I stop sinning? More importantly how is it possible for a Christian to never sin?

While I thought on it, I realized that Christ answered that question. We, as fallen humans, are selfish, self-seekers. Christ said that He would take our burdens, whatever they may be, and deal with them. He took our sin, our shame, our guilt on that rough wooden object of capital punishment. He did not just take what we had done up to the point were we recognized Him as Lord and Saviour, but He took everything we had ever done and thought. We had already been forgiven everything, that is what the pastor meant!

The problem with this though, is that we can easily fall into the temptation of thinking that God has already forgiven us everything and so it is okay for us to do this one thing, just this once. No! Never! We should be on our guard against this type of thinking. Whenever we recognize even the possibility of sin we must fight with everything we have! Do not be afraid to call in the “big guns” to deal with something that you think others might think is insignificant. No sin is insignificant in God's eyes. If there was only one sin committed or thought in this whole world, Jesus would have still died for it. Do not be afraid to call your pastor, to call your accountability partners or tell a good Christian friend. We must remember to do everything in our power to avoid any and all sin, yet we must also not forget that if we unintentionally have a stray mind, speak a lie, or even think a lustful thought after a pretty girl or guy, Christ is still there for us, our Lawyer to God, our friend in our need, and our elder brother who is watching out for us. A real Christian may never sin, but our fallen nature certainly will and God has an answer. Do not fear if you find that you have sinned you can just ask for forgiveness and truly repent. God loves you just as much now as He did yesterday, last month, and even two thousand years ago! Friend, He is still there for you no matter what has happened.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do.