Be careful of all the Youtube preachers and works-based teachers that claim that you must turn from sin to either please God or to be born again, or what have you. This is not true. Do not be swayed by their twisting of scripture.
Because, first of all, nobody has ever turned away from sin. Sin is literally defined as: “transgression of the law.”
1 John 3
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
If that is the case, then nobody has ever turned away from sin.
James 2
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Romans 3
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
The law gives knowledge of sin, because sin is defined as transgression of the law. And nobody can keep the whole law. Therefore, nobody has ever “turned away from sin.” To turn away from sins is just another one of those Christianese slogans, that means nothing. It’s worse than nothing, because it prevents people from believing the truth.
These false teachers preach false garbage that they themselves are unable to do. They say, “turn away from sin,” or “stop sinning.” When they say this, they are evoking their own subjective standard of “turning from sin.” God does not care for your subjective standard. God defines sin as transgression of the law. And nobody has ever stopped transgressing the law, therefore, nobody has ever stopped sinning. (Except for Christ, who could never sin).
Instead, we are made dead to the law and alive to Christ. We are saved, and we can never die, because we are born of that incorruptible seed, which cannot fail (1 Peter 1:23).
Even if a Christian were to “get into deep sin,” they are still saved. They cannot lose their salvation. Take, for example, the man that had his father’s wife:
1 Corinthians 5
1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
5…deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Corinthians 5:1..5)
Even though this man’s flesh is destroyed, he will still be saved in the end. Because salvation has been and will always be by grace. And it is irrevocable.
Romans 11
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Still, the epistles do encourage believers to behave in a comely manner, especially toward those outside of the church. Why? So that those that have not been saved may be “provoked to emulation,” that they may inherit eternal life (Romans 11:14). That is all. It’s to save souls. God is pleased with this, only in so much as it may help to convince the gainsayers (Titus 1:9). So that they can be saved.
In so far as your relationship with God is concerned, it’s built on Christ. Not on works, and not on behavior. God is faithful and will follow through with his promises.
That is why Paul says,
Romans 7
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
You can never be guilty of sin, once you believe. Any sin that exists, is the flesh. And the flesh is dead. Therefore, you are perfected in Christ, irrespective of bodily works\performance.
Another scripture that false teachers like to use to try and introduce works is the book of 1 John, chapter 1. These men read the book of 1 John and say that Christians need to constantly confess sins to God, in order to keep short accounts. This is absolutely not what 1 John means, at all. And I have hard proof.
1 John 1 says the following:
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
The metaphor employed here is that of light. God is pure light, “and in him is no darkness at all.” This means that God is perfect and there is not the slightest bit of darkness in him whatsoever. False teachers would say that if you sin, then you are not in God. This is wrong, because we have proved earlier that everyone sins to some capacity or other. Because sin is the transgression of the law. And if you offend in 1 point of the law, you offend in every single point of the law. Therefore, if there was ever a Christian that had ever walked and had fellowship with God, they did so “in sin.” If that is how you choose to define “walk in darkness” (i.e. as “doing sin”).
No. 1 John is not about confessing sins constantly, like the Roman Catholic doctrine of penance. Instead, this metaphor is used to declare the once for all message of the gospel. John mirrors the use of this metaphor of light, in John chapter 3. And everyone knows that John 3 is utterly about the gospel itself:
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The context of the metaphor of light is in regard to the gospel. We are talking about the judgement in John 3. He says the condemnation is that light came into the world (Jesus Christ) but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. Because, in order to accept Christ, we have to admit that we are sinners and that we need a savior. Those that are unwilling to admit this, hide in the dark, they do not confess their sin. They do not get saved. Part of this is due to pride, “Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). And part of this is because they are too afraid of the light, too afraid to trust Christ to save them. Which is why Christ said that “the fearful, and unbelieving” will have their part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:18). Instead of believing the gospel, these people suppress “the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). If salvation is by grace, but they think it is by works, they may be too fearful to even consider the possibility that salvation might be by grace. Because that itself could be an evil thought that could condemn them. Thus, “through fear of death” they “were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:15). And these men coward behind the works of their hands, this is the definition of walking in darkness. It is to refuse the grace of God that pays for all sins, and to hide behind the dead works of man.
“But he that doeth truth cometh to the light.” Notice how it does not say: “He that doeth good deeds.” Instead, it says he that doeth truth. This is because, to be saved, all you must do is come to the light. Jesus Christ is the “light that lighteth everyman” (John 1). Therefore, the one that does truth believes on Christ, because it says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned.”
With that in mind, when we look at 1 John 1, John uses the exact same imagery. In fact, he opens up with:
1 John 1
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
This type of wording is the same that Paul uses whenever he is about to give the gospel in his own epistles:
1 Corinthians 15
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
Therefore, John is opening up just like Paul, because he is about to deliver the same message of the gospel. Therefore, when John says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” This is talking about receiving the gospel. John is just rehashing the gospel for those that may not have heard it before.
Furthermore, the only other place where the Bible talks about walking in Christ is in regard to not doing works; the complete opposite of doing works. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Colossians 2:6). And to walk in Christ the Lord, is to walk in the light, because Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
In fact, in Colossians, Paul warns the believers to: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Because there are false teachers back then, as there are today, that would make you feel as though you need to do something to please God. Instead, Paul says “ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:10).
That is why 1 John says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” This is talking about receiving and believing the gospel, 1 time. He is not talking about restoring fellowship with God repeatedly, or whatever else.
That is why in 1 John 1, he continues to say:
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.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
To come to the light is to confess our sins. Because if we cannot admit that we need a savior, then the truth (Jesus Christ) is not in us. But if we admit we need Christ, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You know what that means? You are righteous. You have been cleansed from all unrighteousness, by faith. You are the righteousness of God. But if you claim that you have never sinned, then you are calling God a liar.
That is why the people who teach that 1 John 1 is about restoring fellowship by works is wrong. It is about the gospel, that you receive 1 time, in order to receive the righteousness of God. God’s righteousness cannot fail. Just as it says in John 3, where the context is in regard to eternal judgement. Fellowship is always unbroken, it is in Christ. Regardless of your feelings or your works.