Sacred Cow: Sin Every Day In Thought, Word And Deed?

We continue looking at our evangelical "sacred cows". People have such a comprehensive view of sin that they say: You are going to sin every day in thought word or deed". Some scriptures are pressed into this doctrine.

“If they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not) .“ I Kings 8:46

A note from Clarke’s Commentary on this text from I Kings will give additional insight. He says:
“This text has been a wonderful stronghold for all who believe that there is no redemption from sin in this life; that no man can live without committing sin, and that we cannot be entirely freed from it till we die.

The Greek construct of this verse could be read as "there is no man that may not sin"The KJV translation here is a poor one. For it does not make sense to say “if” he sins and then to say, that he will definitely sin. No, what Solomon was saying is that any man may fall into sin, not that he ­must fall into sin.

The Word does not teach that we must sin. It says we may sin—we are not above sin’s temptations. If we say we must sin then we are not taking responsibility for our sin but laying it at the feet of God saying, “This is the way you made me.”

1. What about Romans 3:10?
Those who insist upon teaching that "we sin every day in thought, word, and deed" will often quote Paul's words. "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). They insist that this applies to Christians, and many are misled to believe that it does, because their preacher or Sunday School teacher says it does. But does it? Let us see

Rom 3:10-20 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, even one." 13 "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." 14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know." 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Context is king! First of all, we always have to look at context when we are looking at scripture. Can it truly be said that the feet of Christians are swift to shed blood and the way of peace they have not known? No. So what is Paul doing? We see he is quoting, from Psalm 14 and he is trying to make the case, not for the current practice of Christians, but that Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin. He is making the point that the Jews were in just as much of a need of a savior as the Gentiles. He is showing that through the law no one could be justified because all had broken the law. But again this is talking about people before the cross, not after.

RESULTS OF THESE COWS
These sacred cows are really horrible heresies for two main reasons: They produce:

1) A low expectation to get over sin’s power
2) A resignation to sin.

Instead of Paul’s expectation that we can get above sins power, we believe that we must sin every day in thought, word and deed, and grace is just a covering for our continuous sinning.

A. But this denies many scriptures that portray us as being able to overcome sins power.

Gal 5:16-17 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Rom 8:12-13 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,

We don’t have to resign ourselves to sin because Paul says….

Rom 6:1-2
6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Rom 6:11-12 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

1 Cor 15:33-34 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God-I say this to your shame.

No person will ever overcome sin as long as he thinks it is impossible for him to stop sinning. As long as a person considers sin normal he will never exercise faith in God's promise to set him free. It seems that most people who claim to be saved still expect to sin every single day. They consider themselves safe and secure in Jesus’ arms and heaven bound when in reality they do not really love God nor keep His commandments. Do not be deceived, if this is you then you need to repent and really experience Christ as your Savior over sin.

YOU CAN OVERCOME SIN
a. How do we define sin?

General definition: Sin is anything that misses perfection.
Limited definition: Sin is anything that actually transgresses a known commandment of God.

The Bible does not call us to be completely perfect in every thing we do. If we define sin as imperfection then of course it would be impossible to say that we did not sin every moment. But is that really the way the bible defines sin? If perfection were the standard then we would all be bound for hell as lawless, as Jesus rebuked those in Matthew 7.

But sin has to do with purposeful disobedience. If we have this limited view of sin, which I beleive is the biblical one, then we see that we have promises that we can overcome sin. Christians can live above sin if we mean sin in the stricter sense—purposeful premeditated sin. A Christian can indeed grow up...be cleansed...get deliverance...be filled with the Spirit...walk in the light...so that they do in fact come to a place where they do not purposefully disobey God in their day to day life. There really is hope for "obedient living." At least for a life free from defiant and deliberate sin.

Sure, such a person may still fall short of perfection, but they can live above purposeful disobedience. This is the optimistic hope of the atonement.

If a child accidental knocks over a cup of milk with his elbow, it is a mistake, a lack of perfection, if you will. You would not hold that as a sin and punish the child. Yet, if you had warned the child to stop horseplay around the cup of milk, and they defiantly disobeyed you, and then they knocked it over, that is a sin because of the willful disobedience represented.
This is the kind of sin that we can overcome.


God led the Israelites out of Egypt with signs and wonders. He took them out and promised them a land. Then they sent out spies to spy out the land. Most of them said that they could not posses the land that God had already provided because of giants living there. Only two spies came back saying they could do it. They also saw the giants but knew that these giants were just grasshoppers in comparison to God's great power and resources.

The people then had to choose between these two reports. Instead of believing God, they were filled with unbelief and discouragement and they believed those that gave the evil report. (See Numbers 13).

This example shows that the majority is not always right and that the leaders sometimes give an evil report. I believe this “sinner saved by grace” and “we always have to sin” sacred cows are an evil report. There are many leaders today teaching that it is impossible for a Christian to live without sin. They tell you all about the giants and why you will fail. If you chose to believe them, you will die in your sins.

Why not instead listen to truth about God's great power over sin and how through His strength these giants become as small grasshoppers easily stepped on?

God had promised, just like the Israelites, all the resources we need to overcome to enter in and to enjoy all his provision. They refused to believe God and died in disobedience. The question is, are you going to follow their example?

So, what about you? Is there purposeful sin in your life? Is there something you are doing—or not doing—which is out of line with God's instructions to you? You know its wrong but you are doing it anyway? Or you know God wants you to start something, but you're dragging your feet? If so, what you need to do is clear. You need to (1) confess this sin to God, then (2) repent—turn away from the sin and "get in line."

If you are sinning in defiance, the issue is not to debate the definitions of sin. The issue is to stop your defiance. And the route to stopping has always been the same: confess and repent. Trust God's atonement for the power to both forgive and deliver you from this sin. He can do it. And He will do it.