4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 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. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:4-10)
"He who practices righteousness is righteous," but "[w]hoever does not practice righteousness," that is, practices unrighteousness, practices sin, "is not of God."
This is actually pretty straightforward.
Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, but whoever practices sin is not of God.
There is confusion because if you take, for example, verse 8, by itself, out of its context, it says that "[h]e who sins is of the devil." Now, this is true. He who sins is indeed of the devil. But what sort of sin is it talking about here? To find that out, we have to look at the rest of the chapter. And, as it says, it's talking about those who do not practice righteousness, that is, those who practice sin.
So, is verse 8 talking about an individual sin? No. As it says in verse 10, it's talking about practicing unrighteousness, that is, practicing sin. For scripture says,
20 For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin. (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
And,
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)
So, there is nobody who does not sin, that is, there is nobody who does not from time to time commit an individual sin, including believers. What, then, does it mean to practice sin? It means to sin willfully.
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, (Hebrews 10:26)
Does sinning willfully refer to any individual sin? Again, no. To practice something means to do it regularly, continually, or repeatedly. In other words, if someone is sinning continually, if they are living in sin, if they are committing a sin repeatedly, over and over, without repentance, then they are sinning willfully. If they are living a sinful lifestyle, and sin is the pattern of their life, then scripture says they are "not of God."
As it says,
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. (1 John 2:3-5)
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)
As it says, liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. So, does that mean if you tell a lie, you're going to hell? No. A liar is someone who lies unrepentantly (willingly), that is, practices the sin of lying; they do so regularly. A believer might tell a lie, but he will not be known for lying, so he will not be known as a liar.
The same idea applies to being a sinner, although in this case the word is used in both ways. Depending on how the word is being used, a sinner might refer to someone who is living in sin, or it might refer to everyone, including believers, since they do sin, even though they don't live a sinful life. In this sense, we are all sinners.
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
"He who practices righteousness is righteous," but "[w]hoever does not practice righteousness," that is, practices unrighteousness, practices sin, "is not of God."
This is actually pretty straightforward.
Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, but whoever practices sin is not of God.
There is confusion because if you take, for example, verse 8, by itself, out of its context, it says that "[h]e who sins is of the devil." Now, this is true. He who sins is indeed of the devil. But what sort of sin is it talking about here? To find that out, we have to look at the rest of the chapter. And, as it says, it's talking about those who do not practice righteousness, that is, those who practice sin.
So, is verse 8 talking about an individual sin? No. As it says in verse 10, it's talking about practicing unrighteousness, that is, practicing sin. For scripture says,
20 For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin. (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
And,
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)
So, there is nobody who does not sin, that is, there is nobody who does not from time to time commit an individual sin, including believers. What, then, does it mean to practice sin? It means to sin willfully.
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, (Hebrews 10:26)
Does sinning willfully refer to any individual sin? Again, no. To practice something means to do it regularly, continually, or repeatedly. In other words, if someone is sinning continually, if they are living in sin, if they are committing a sin repeatedly, over and over, without repentance, then they are sinning willfully. If they are living a sinful lifestyle, and sin is the pattern of their life, then scripture says they are "not of God."
As it says,
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. (1 John 2:3-5)
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)
As it says, liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. So, does that mean if you tell a lie, you're going to hell? No. A liar is someone who lies unrepentantly (willingly), that is, practices the sin of lying; they do so regularly. A believer might tell a lie, but he will not be known for lying, so he will not be known as a liar.
The same idea applies to being a sinner, although in this case the word is used in both ways. Depending on how the word is being used, a sinner might refer to someone who is living in sin, or it might refer to everyone, including believers, since they do sin, even though they don't live a sinful life. In this sense, we are all sinners.
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
