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Bible help
1 John 5:18
We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
This verse confuses me... I mean even monks can sin, so is this verse saying they're not born of God? How do I know I'm born of God if I'm constantly sinning? Pray for me.
We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
This verse confuses me... I mean even monks can sin, so is this verse saying they're not born of God? How do I know I'm born of God if I'm constantly sinning? Pray for me.
Comments
I heard HG Anba Yoannis once answering this question by saying: God gave us the power to overcome sin, yet due to our corrupted tendencies we deliberately chose to sin. So the solution is to be actively vigilant to avoid and stop the seeds of sin from flourishing. We must also repent immediately when we fall. Our lives should be like a plotted curve, in an upwards step ladder fashion of gradual constant improvements towards our higher spiritual goals.
Constantly fight sin to keep yourself from easy falling, internally the fight starts in the thoughts and the will. These are even more difficult than the external temptations. Christ knows we are weak so He gave us the power and the means through Him to fight sin. If we have been born of God and fight sin we trust His promise that He will always help us.
GBU