Can a True Believer Commit Serious Sin?
1) Direct answer
Yes—in the sense that a true believer, still in this flesh, can fall into a serious wrong. No—in the sense that he cannot continue in it, excuse it, or be at peace with it. The life of God in him will drive him to repentance and restoration.
2) Scriptural explanation
- The Bible says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin… and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9; 5:18). That speaks of a nature that will not practice or live in sin.
- Yet it also says, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). So a believer may stumble, but he is not left there.
- David fell grievously, but cried out and was restored (Psalm 51). Peter denied the Lord, wept bitterly, and was restored (Luke 22:61-62; John 21).
- “Sin… because they believe not on Me” (John 16:9). Sin at its root is unbelief. The born-again heart believes the Word and cannot settle in unbelief.
- “Shall we continue in sin? God forbid… Sin shall not have dominion over you” (Romans 6:1,14).
- A real son is chastened when he errs (Hebrews 12:6-8). God corrects His own.
- If we confess, He forgives and cleanses (1 John 1:9). The Spirit seals unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).
3) Simple clarifying logic
Now notice, the new birth activates God’s seed in the soul. That inner life says Amen to every Word and cannot deny it. The outer man may stumble, but the inside man cannot live in rebellion. A sheep may fall in mud, but it will not wallow there; it cries to be washed. If a person can live in willful, ongoing sin without conviction or chastening, the Scripture says that is not sonship (Hebrews 12:8). But if he is God’s, conviction strikes, godly sorrow works repentance, and he is restored to walk in the light.
4) Reinforcing statement
So a true believer may fall, even seriously, but he will not remain in sin. The seed of God in him breaks the dominion of sin, brings confession, correction, and a clean walk with God.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
The Manifestation of the Spirit
51-0717 §16
Now, just for a word now, when Jesus Christ... He came to rid sin. You believe that, don't you. All right. Now, sickness is an attribute of sin. Before we had any sin, we had no sickness. Sin came and sickness followed sin as an attribute of sin. We all know that. Any sickness is... May not your sins. It's either a direct or indirect. It may you inherited it somewhere, the weakness of your people who sinned, and it's dropped down. As He said, "Each generation getting weaker and wiser." But it's either direct or ind...
What it takes to overcome all unbelief: Our faith
60-0729 §26
As I said one time, sometime ago, preaching in a Methodist church, I said, "Smoking cigarettes, drinking whiskey, committing adultery, lying, stealing---that isn't sin." And a precious, dear little sister sitting there, one of those little round collars on, and taught holiness all of her life, she said, "I pray, tell me what is sin?" I just got next to her. I said, "Sin is unbelief." You do those things because you believe not. He that believes on the Lord wouldn't do those things. He's passed from death unto life....
Questions and Answers
59-0628E §81
Then they that are borned of God does not commit sin, for he cannot sin. In the Old Testament each year there was a remembrance of sin. But Christ, by one sacrifice He has perfected forever the worshipper. "The worshipper once purged (Hebrews 10)... The worshipper once purged has no more conscience of sin." So you take these people that run in the church and jump up-and-down, and shout, and speak with tongues, and act just exactly like a Christian, and run out, and the next year they got to come back again, next we...
The Inner Man
53-1212 §36
Now, that's what God wants to do here tonight. He wants to get rid of all the sin that's in this--in this group, if there's sin in here. I pray there's not one, but if there is... And you know ... "What is sin, Brother Branham? Well, today, I tell you, I lost my temper." Now, wait just a moment. Sin is unbelief. Now, that's what sin is. There's no other sin but unbelief. It's not a sin to do things like drinking and smoking and gambling and prostitution. That's not sin. That's the result of sin, that the reason you...
God's power to transform
65-0911 §85
...the last days, of Revelations 10 and Malachi 4, all those things so perfectly vindicated---what's the matter, brethren? What's wrong, see? If they don't, unbelief, which is sin... There is only one sin: that's unbelief. That's right. You're not condemned because you drink, smoke, chew, wear shorts, do whatever you do. No, that don't condemn you; it's because you don't believe. If you believed you won't do that, see. A believer doesn't do that. He takes a thinking man's filter, see, or a thinking woman's filter, eit...