Question:
My dad is a Baptist minister and he says 1 John 5:18 means we no longer sin. Can you tell me how our Catholic Faith considers this verse?
Answer:
1 John 5:18 states, “We know that any one born of God does not sin, but he who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.”
John clearly understood that we are capable of sin because he writes: “If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life” (1 John 5:16).
John also wrote in the beginning of the letter: “I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one” (1 John 2:1).
John is telling his readers that the grace of God is what helps us to avoid sin and that when we sin we are turning against God.
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