Sin and Perfection in 1 John

Early in 1 John, the author portrays authentic Christian living as involving honest and ongoing acknowledgment of one’s sins, God’s forgiveness of the same, and the cleansing from all unrighteousness (1:8-9). However, later in the same letter, while seeking to distinguish his opponents from those who were the true children of God, he says: ‘No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him’ (3:6); and ‘those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God.’ (3:9). These latter statements stand in tension with his earlier statement which says that anyone claiming to be without sin is a liar. In one place he rejects sinless perfection, in the other he appears to assume it. In this article these apparently contradictory statements are examined and a possible resolution of the tension existing between them is suggested.