It is necessary to make a shift in the kind of sermons I have been preaching. In anticipating the meeting, I had in mind bringing messages that would major on the gospel and make an appeal to the lost to trust the Savior. I have found that most of my preaching is being done to people who are already saved. This may be our situation. I merely suggest it. These personal workers go out among the people in the community, and they are bringing some new people here every night, and then I lose them, and our crowd doesn't increase. So I take the blame. for all of us. The announced subject for this service is the man who cannot sin. Some of you may think I have reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true that he could not sin. I am dedicated to the belief that our Lord Jesus Christ was impeccable, that he could not sin. Now, if he had been only a human being, he could have sinned. Adam was a sinless human being, and he sinned. But our Savior was more than man. He was God, God manifest in the flesh. He was deity as well as human. And as the God-man, he was impeccable. He could not sin. But I am not thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ in this message as the man who cannot sin. In the third chapter of 1 John, I have two or three verses. as a basis of this message. 1 John 3, 8, 9, and 10. He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." Now, that 9th verse states a fact. And it isn't difficult at all to see what that verse says. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. That's the statement of a fact. For his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. So I repeat, it isn't difficult to see what that says. But as to the meaning of it, it isn't so easy. Now, let us notice briefly what this text says. It doesn't speak of one who is able not to sin, but it is spoken of one who is not able to sin. And there is a vast difference between being able not to sin and not able to sin. This text talks about a man, a person, who is unable to sin. That's what it says. I want us to notice now some errors that are refuted by this text. It refutes the doctrine of apostasy, the apostasy of a born-again person. There is a Bible doctrine of apostasy, and the scriptures make it clear who the apostates are. I'm sure we have apostates all around us, folks who once joined the Christian embrace Christianity after a fashion, and then lost all interest in it and went away. They were apostates. One of the Roman emperors, Julian, is known in history as Julian the Apostate. He was reared in a Christian environment and came up, grew up as a professed Christian. But later, when he became Roman Emperor, he renounced the whole thing and tried to stamp out Christianity. John talks about the apostates of his day. In 1 John 2.19, they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have no doubt remained with us. But they went out that it might be made manifest that they are not all of us, that they are apostates in professing Christianity. So this refutes the doctrine, the teaching, that a born-again believer may apostatize and lose his salvation. If a person can't sin, then he can't lose his salvation, can he? That's just that simple. Then it refutes the teaching about a second blessing that is popular in many circles. That is a blessing subsequent to regeneration. But this text does not speak about any second blessing, but whatever name it may be called. It's speaking of the new birth, of one born of God. And it says that one born of God is unable to sin, not because of any second blessing or subsequent blessing after regeneration. such as sanctification. One cannot sin because of the initial work of grace in the human heart in the new birth. So it refutes that. Now, what does our text mean? No trouble in seeing what it says. Well, somebody will say, doesn't it mean what it says? Well, not exactly. It doesn't mean what it seems to say. It doesn't mean what it says on the surface. And you have to interpret this text in the light of a remote context, as well as in the light of the immediate context. There are other scriptures dealing with this question. And 1 John 3, 9 is not all it says on this matter. of sinning on the part of saved people. Does this text mean that a born-again person cannot sin in any sense of the term whatsoever? Is that what it means? To give it this meaning is to turn scripture against scripture. Moreover, it makes the Apostle John contradict himself in this very epistle. In 1 John 1.8, John says, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth isn't in us. So John isn't contradicting himself when he says, Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. John plainly says that there is a sense, or a sin, that born-again people commit. If we confess our sins, he says, we are here as faithful and just to forgive us our sins. and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But if the born-again person can't sin in any sense, then he would have no sins to confess, and he would be committing a sin in confessing sin. So it can't mean that can it? We are told of provisions made for sinning Saints. And if any man sinned, we have an advocate with God the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. If a born-again believer cannot sin in any sense, we wouldn't need an advocate with God the Father. We wouldn't need Jesus Christ as believer. Now, in Hebrews 7.25, we are told that Christ makes intercession for those who come to God by him. And this intercession is needed because we still sin in some sense. And to clinch our argument, we find in 1 John 5.16 where we are told to pray for a sinning And so Saints sin in some sense. They commit some kind of a sin. For we are to pray for sinning Saints. Then it would contradict every book in the Bible and the experience of every believer who has ever lived to affirm that no regenerate person ever sins in any sense whatsoever. On the other hand, our text unmistakably says that in some sense every regenerate person is impeccable. That is, he is not able to sin. Or rather, there is some kind of a sin that he cannot So our task in this message is to discover what the sin is, or in what sense the believer cannot sin. And this leads us to consider some various different interpretations of this text. And there are various interpretations. There are several distinct interpretations of this passage. And something can be said in favor of every one of these interpretations. But what I want to do tonight, if I may, by God's help, bring you to discover what the sin is, or in what sense the believer cannot sin, the born-again believer. There are those who teach that the born-again person cannot sin to condemnation because of his position in Christ. Now, that's a truth. That's a most glorious truth. The believer in Jesus Christ, the born-again person, cannot sin so as to be condemned to hell for his sins. Paul plainly tells us, there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Before the law of God, our position is in Christ, who is made unto us wisdom, even righteousness and sanctification and redemption. And the believer in Christ, the person who is in Christ, can no more be condemned for his sins than Christ himself could be condemned for his sins. If Christ is my righteousness, I am as righteous as he is. And my righteousness is the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Now, that's true. That's a glorious truth. that because of our position in Christ, no believer can sin to condemnation. Moreover, our position in Christ is one in which we are taken out from under law and put under grace. And in that position, we can't sin to condemnation. For Paul plainly tells the Romans in 614, Sin shall not have dominion over you. Sin will not be able to damn you, because you are not under law, but under grace. You put the best of us under the law of God for five minutes or less, and we had sinned to condemnation. Because we are in Christ, and in him we have everlasting life. In him we are saved from condemnation and punishment for our sins. Did not Paul quote David, saying, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin? I think so. I would imagine that somebody would be in a very happy condition to whom the Lord will not charge his sins. However, I reject this interpretation, not because it is not true, but because I do not think it is the truth of this passage. It is true, gloriously true, that believers in Jesus Christ are saved. from the guilt and penalty and punishment of their sins because of their position in Christ and because they are under grace and no longer under law. But I don't think that's what John has in mind. It is not because of position in Christ, but of condition by virtue of being born again. that John says the born-again person cannot sin. He isn't dealing with imputed righteousness. It is not a question of position, but a question of conduct. And he says, one born of God is unable to sin, not because of his position, not because of his standing in Christ. but because of something that is inside of him. For his seed, the divine nature, remains in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God, not because of his standing in Jesus Christ. Then others interpret 1 John 3, 9 after this They remind us that in the new birth, sin is not eradicated, but a new nature is imparted which is sinless. And that John is saying, this nature born of God can't sin. They think John is parallel with Paul. where Paul describes his conflict as a Christian, saying, when I would do good, evil is pressed with me. John is thinking about what Paul was thinking about when he said, The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And they say the nature born of God is sinless, and that nature cannot sin. Well, now, that's true. And that's a glorious truth. But I don't think that's the truth of this text. Notice the personal pronoun. Whosoever, the person who is born of God, cannot sin. Not a nature, but the person. So I don't think that's what John means. Then there are others who say that John is talking about the soul of man and not the body, that regeneration doesn't affect the body, that it's the birth of the soul of man. I don't agree with that. In fact, the body never sins. Paul plainly says that all the sin that a person commits is without the body. But the man who commits a certain kind of sin sins against his body. The body is just the instrument, either of righteousness or of unrighteousness. But we can't blame the body with our sins. That smacks too much of antinomianism. It doesn't matter about the body. Then we are not under law, we are under grace, and therefore we don't have to be careful about how we live. Dr. Carroll tells about one preacher who proposed to another preacher, think of it, a preacher proposing to another preacher that they commit some grievous, filthy sin. And when the preacher throws his hands up in horror, at such a thought. The men said, Well, that'll be all right. We're not under law, we're under grace. It doesn't matter what we do with our bodies. Our souls are safe. I don't believe that. That isn't what John is talking about. John is talking about a person, whosoever is born of God, is not able to sin. What does this text mean? A more likely interpretation is that the born-again person cannot sin habitually. He cannot practice sin as the rule or the habit of his life. This was the view that Dr. Bob taught us a long time ago in the seminary. He would say to us, you better know your Greek, you better look at the tense of this verse. It means that the person born again cannot practice sin, he can't make sin the habit of his life. Dr. C. B. Williams gives it the same translation. I consulted the Amplified New Testament and it gives the same interpretation. cannot practice sin as the habit of one's life. And the context seems to favor that. The devil practices sin. That's all he's ever done. He sinned from the beginning. He's always practiced sin, never has done anything else but sin. That's his career, the career of sinning. Well, that used to be my position, and I still fail. I still fail. And yet, when I face the facts in my own life, I don't feel that I've quit sinning. I'd hate to risk my hope of heaven. on any day's life that I ever lived. Dr. Carroll gave this interpretation, that whosoever is born of God sinneth not unto death, and making death there refer to the unpardonable sin. But I can't go along with that. I don't think that's what John has in mind. He is saying there is some sense or some sin that a born-again person is not able to commit. I have come to regard in these recent years the interpretation given by Andrew Fuller And it's a pity to me that the writings of this great man of God are no longer in print, and his works are very hard to find. And I know of very few preachers who have Andrew Fuller's work. Andrew Fuller was the first secretary of the society that supported William Carey as a missionary in India. Andrew Fuller was the man who carried on the correspondence with the East India Tea Company that run and ruled India in 1793 when William Carey went to India as a foreign missionary. And Andrew Fuller was one of the founders of the society that sponsored and supported Carey's work. He is one of the greatest interpreters of scripture that I have ever read of. And I want to give you his interpretation. Here is what he says. He says, now, the word sin in 1 John 1.8 is used in one distinct sense of sin in general. And in 1 John 3.9 it is used in another sense. Now, he said in 1 John 1.8, John is saying that if somebody says that he never sins, he is deceived and the truth isn't in him. But in 1 John 3.9, John is dealing primarily with the sin of apostasy, the sin of unbelief, the sin of turning away from Jesus Christ. and hoping to find a Savior somewhere else. He says you can substitute the word apostasy for the word sin in these few verses, and it will make good sense. Whosoever abideth in him that is in Jesus Christ apostatizeth not. Whosoever apostatizeth hath not seen him, neither known him. He that apostatizes is of the devil, for the devil has been an apostate from the beginning. So whosoever is born of God does not apostatize, does not turn away from Jesus Christ, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot apostatize. He cannot be guilty of the sin of unbelief. Well, that's so, isn't it? whether that's the teaching of this verse or not. The person who is born of God has faith in Jesus Christ. This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, whatsoever. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. And a person who is born of God has a saving and permanent and deathless faith in the Son of God. And in that sense, he cannot sin. He cannot turn away from Jesus Christ. You say, Brother Cole, you preachers are constantly exhorting us not to turn away? Yes. But when we address people, we can't preach to anybody certain of that person's salvation. The book of Hebrews, the whole book, is addressed to people as professors. Jews who had embraced Christianity and now are under pressure, many of them were going back, back to Judaism in search of some other Savior besides Jesus Christ. And the book of Hebrews is not addressed to people who are certainly saved, but to people who claim to be saved. Therefore, we have a lot of statements that you are partakers of Christ if you hold fast to the confidence unto the end. So a saved person is a born-again person, and he'll never lose his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. that there will be a change in his life, that he will not practice sin, that it will not be the habit of his life in the sense that it was before he was born from above. It ought not to surprise us that when God does that work in the human soul, which we call regeneration or a birth from above, you know that's bound. tell in the life of a person. And so the person who is born of God cannot live as he lived before. He cannot lose his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For the divine nature, the seed, whatever that is, whether it's the Word, whether it's the divine nature, it remains in him. remains in him, and he cannot sin in the sense of losing his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, beloved, that's true of every one of us, isn't it? That's true of me. I've never been tempted to lose my faith in Jesus Christ since the time I first discovered that he was the only Savior there is, and I pinned my faith and my hope to him, I've never even been tempted, I've never had an idea for a moment of turning away from him in search of another Savior. Isn't that your testimony? And I'm not uneasy that I'm going to lose my faith in Jesus Christ. I wasn't saved in the beginning by becoming sinless in myself. I was saved in the beginning by trusting him. And we have to continue like we began. I'm still having to trust him. So whosoever is born of God cannot apostate. Dr. Fuller says that 1 John 2.19 supports this. They went out from us, they apostatized, but they were not of us. They were not born-again people. They were not what we are. For if they had been of us, if they had belonged to us as the born-again of God, they would have no doubt remained with us, continued with us. But they went out that it might be made manifest that they are not all of God. of a born-again person. And here is a practical question. Have I been born of God? Isn't that a practical question? Very vital. That's the $64 question. Have I been born of God? Well, how may I know? Well, this epistle of John was written for that purpose, to tell us how we can know. John wrote his epistle to make believers, I mean his gospel to make believers. He wrote this first epistle to believers so that they could be sure that they had eternal life. So the first epistle of John is a book of evidence. And if I want to know whether I've been born of God or not, let me study the first epistle of John, because that's the purpose of this book, to give evidences of having been born from above. And I'm going to give you two or three of them right out of the book. First, if a person has had a birth from above, there are going to be some works of righteousness. There are going to be some good works in his life. some works that will please God. Listen, if we know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is, and it's the perfect tense, has been born of God. We are not born by doing righteousness, but doing righteousness is evidence of a birth. That's one test. If you have no works in your life, no works of righteousness, you lack an evidence of a birth of God from above. The next test is the test of love. 1 John 4, verse 7, Love is of God, and whosoever loveth has been born of God. We are not born of God by loving God, it's the other way around. It's loving God and the things of God and the people of God and the brethren that gives evidence of a birth. So John says, we know we pass from death unto life because we love the brethren. That's so distinct in my own life, in my own conversion. When I discovered an adequate Savior and pinned my faith and hope to him, I sought new companions. I changed my hitching post." Out west, a man professed to be saved and join the Church. He lived out in the country, and he had been in the habit, when he had arrived into town, to hitch in front of a saloon and go in and take a dram. And the pastor who had baptized him noticed that The next time he rode into town, he hitched at the same hitching post. And the pastor said, Now, you better change your hitching post. You better change your hitching post. So a saved person has a desire for different company. He has different associates to what he had before. Isn't that true of your life? Then another test, so I may know whether I'm born again or not is saved. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. I could preach a sermon on that, but I have to quit. But saving faith is evidence of a birth from above. And nobody but born-again people have saving faith. Oh, there are so many substitutes that the devil has palmed off on people for saving faith. But saving faith is an evidence to believe in and trust Jesus as the Christ, the one God anointed to be the Savior of sinners, to believe that Jesus is this person and trust him as the one who was anointed to save us. That's an evidence of the birth from above. Have you been born of God? Then you can't sin in this sense. You can't lose your faith. You can't lose yourself because you can't lose your faith. And if somebody says, I have lost my faith, you never had saving faith to begin with, because whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. I thank you for coming and for listening so patiently and so well. How happy, what happy people we are who are trusting the Lord Jesus Christ and love our God and our Savior. and who are seeking to please him in the way we live and in the works we perform. And all of that is proof that we have been born of God. Now, while we stand and sing, is there somebody here tonight who can't say, I don't have these evidences? I'm not trusting Jesus Christ? Then you're not born of God. I don't love the people of God. You're not born of God. There's nothing in my life that could please God. You're not born of God. The question with you is, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Believe on, trust him, rely on him, look to him, depend upon him, come to him, flee to him, pin your faith and hope to the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Why, we stand and sing. Can somebody come on profession of faith? Or is there somebody here who will come and offer himself or herself? for membership in this Church, they'd like to have you. Let us stand and sing.