short of the glory of God.” This is a very serious charge. In I John 3 :8 the word “commit” doesn’t mean to be guilty of the commission of one act of sin. The Apostle refers to one who goes on in life with sin as a general practice. It is done high handedly and deliberately. A true born-again child of God would not continue in sin for, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, he would be miserable within himself. Anyone who keeps sinning lawlessly shows that he is of the devil. I John 5:18 indicates that the believer doesn’t live a life of unbroken, uninterrupted sinning. God has saved us for another pur pose. He has sovereignly willed that we should increasingly be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible does not teach per fectionism nor does it teach that, once saved, we have a license to live any way we may desire. Q . San Bernardino, Calif. — “Is it nec essary to confess our sins to God in order to be saved?” A. Read I John 1 :9 for a clear an swer to this. Remember that essen tially all sin is against God. While we need not bring our confession into a public meeting unless this is required for proper restitution, yet we are certainly admonished to make our humble confession to the Lord in private and ask forgiveness for Christ’s sake. Q . San Francisco, Calif. — “We have a good pastor, but he never prays when he makes a call, even on the sick. What can we do about it?” A. It is hard to understand why he wouldn’t want to do this very natural act. Perhaps he is young and has some reticence about prayer. The best thing to do, and certainly the Christian act, would be to ask him frankly to pray. Don’t form opinions, and certainly don’t criticize until you have discussed the matter to gether. 31
Fellowship with pastors is always one of the high pointsof the ministryat Biola. Pictured above standingare Dr. George 0. Peek, pastor of the North Long Beach Brethren Church, and Mr. Ed Steele, director of radio for Biola. Seated are Dr. Bernard Travaille, pastor of the La Crescenta First Baptist Church; Dr. Rusell Jones, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Manhatan Beach, Calif.
Q . Portland, Ore. — "In I John 1:8 we read, ‘I f we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.’ In I John 3:8, however, it states, ‘He that committeth sin is of the devil.’ Then over further in I John 5:18 we read, a . . whoso ever is bom of God sinneth not.’ How can one harmonize these pas sages?” A. First of all, let us underscore the fact that the Bible nowhere teaches sinless perfection. Some people may feel that such a view is implied in these passages. However, in the first reference you have given this is re futed. If we claim we are without sin, two things happen, “we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us.” God clearly indicates that all men have a sinful nature. There is a con stant conflict going on in the life of the believer which is described in Romans 7 and Galatians 5:17. Yet God has given us His marvelous pro vision of grace. This doesn’t mean, however, that sin has become the practice or norm of our life. Then verse 10 of this first chapter indi cates that if believers say they have not sinned as far as practice, they are making God a liar. You see the Lord has already said in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and come
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