1 John 3:9: Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Someone might say of this young man who is a homosexual, “He cannot be a child of God.” I say that he can be; but if he is a child of God, he is going to give up that sin. A prodigal son ought not to be in a pigpen, and he will not live there. He is going to get out. The day will come when he will say, “I will arise and go to my Father.” And his Father is not anywhere near that pigpen—He is as far from it as He possibly can be.
Whosoever is born of God does not practice sin. He does not go on in sin. When we received a new nature, we did not lose our old nature—that is the problem. No wonder Paul cried out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24). Only the Spirit of God can deliver you, my friend. If you recognize that you are helpless and hopeless, if some sin binds you down, spoils your life, robs you of your joy, and you are miserable, then may I say to you that He can and He will deliver you—if you want to be delivered. If you want to get rid of that sin, if you really want to serve Him, if you mean business with Him, He means business with you. 1
Loving Him
If you find yourself in the pigpen of continual sin, there is hope. A born again believer cannot remain there. Conviction of sin will cause the sinner to look up and call out to their Heavenly Father for deliverance. To practice sin means to camp out with it. To find your identity in it. To desire it. To take pleasure in it. To have no desire to forsake it. One who is committed to the practice of sin has not been born of God. One who struggles with sin and repents and calls out to the Father for deliverance, has been born of God.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Romans 6:1–2
Loving Others
The helpless and the hopeless find their deliverance from Him and in Him. – TWEET IT
Changing Me
Lord, thank You for changing a wretched sinner into a grateful saint.
1. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (1 John) (electronic ed., Vol. 56). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
