I recently heard a pastor who I greatly respect as a Christian and a teacher of GOD’s Word say; “GOD and sin cannot coexist…” while making a point that we should not sin; that teaching goes with what John says in 1 John 3:4-9, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor know Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is Righteous. 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. 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.”
John’s emphasis on the devil is what JESUS was teaching in John 8:40-47, “’But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you The Truth which I heard from GOD, Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.’ Then they said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father–GOD.’ JESUS said to them, ‘If GOD were your Father, you would Love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from GOD; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to MY Word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in The Truth, because there is no Truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell you The Truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell The Truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of GOD, hears GOD’s Words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of GOD.’”
There is a lot in these two passages to teach on, but my subject here is – does GOD coexist with sin? Yes He does, the answer is simple because that is not what these verses or any other verses say: that GOD and sin cannot coexist. They do say that if we sin we are not of GOD because GOD does not sin.
GOD and sin coexist because GOD created the Heavenly Host of which the devil was one and the devil convinced one third of the Heavenly Host to rebel against GOD – sin. He also deceived and convinced the first two humans, Adam and Eve to rebel against GOD – sin. And sin will exist until GOD destroys the heavens, earth and seas with fire and reveals the New Heaven and earth, Which will happen at the end of the natural life age, Revelation 12:3-4, 7-12; Genesis 3; Revelation 21.
GOD did not create sin as some teach, nor can GOD sin for He is Righteous, True and Just. Yet sin has existed since the devil first sinned. Since GOD created everything that exists and everything that exists is for GOD’s pleasure then sin is not a thing or an object as some teach. Sin is a behavior that first manifested in the devil and he has taught others to sin; by lies, deception and desires that are opposed to GOD’s Will. Genesis 1; John 1:1-5; 1 John 3:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; James 1:12-18; Revelation 4:11 KJV
Why this is important is because many pastors, teachers, evangelists and prophets quote Scriptures to qualify what they are teaching rather than what The Scriptures teach. This may be unintentional, but it can lead to wrong concepts and false teachings that lead people away from the Gospel. Sayings like “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” or “GOD helps those who help them selves.” while these are not evil sayings they are not good sayings and they have been attributed to GOD. Sayings like these have been used to produce works based religion and we know from James’ teachings the works without faith is dead.
People often quote part of a verse and leave off the rest or the surrounding verses that actually clarify what the quoted verse means because that part does not fit their narrative. (I have done this and now I try very hard to make sure I do not do it.) Like, “All things work together for good.” what the verse actually says is, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love GOD, to those who are the Called according to His Purpose.” Romans 8:28 The word “and” that starts the verse is a key word, it is a conjunction that means what was just said is important to what is being said, “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the Mind of The SPIRIT is, because He makes intercession for the saints, according to the will of GOD. And we know…” Verse 27 starts with the word “now” this also means that what was said just before this verse is important in the understanding of this verse. Actually the thought that Paul is expressing here starts in verse 1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in CHRIST JESUS, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the SPIRIT.” (This is another verse that people like to only quote the first part of.) Every verse from verse 2 to verse 31 starts with a connecting word or a qualifying word that tells the reader to see what was written before it. This is called context and is another thing that many people like to ignore so they can make their point.
In case you do not know, the Bible was not written in the format in which it is published today. There were no chapter and verse indicators when the Books were written, these were added much later. Also the Books of The Bible were not written in your language, unless you read ancient Hebrew, Chaldean and Greek, for these are the original languages of The Bible. So when JESUS said, “”Do not think that I came to destroy The Law or The Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot1 or tittle2 will by no means pass from The Law until all is fulfilled.” He meant it! The Books were later translated first in to Latin and then other languages. (1Greek lota. Hebrew yod the smallest letter. 2The smallest stroke in a Hebrew letter.) Matthew 7:17-18, read the whole passage of 17-20. He meant it! This theme is throughout The Bible, Deuteronomy 4:1-14, 12:32; Proverb 13:13-14, 30:5-6; 1 Peter 1:21-25; Revelation 22:18-19.
So study The Scriptures in context, it will help you understand GOD’s Word for your life and always quote complete Scriptures don’t use scraps of verses to qualify your point or teaching. Don’t let chapter and verse divisions make you think a though has been completed, keep reading and make sure. If your point or teaching is from GOD, quoting a whole verse or passage will not change its meaning.
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