Sometimes I Wonder

There are times when I read Scripture and just shake my head.  I just don't get it.  I have found one of those sections today so I am going to share with you my question and then I'm also going to share what I feel the Holy Spirit is telling me regarding my questions.  It'll be up to you the reader to discern whether I am on track or not.

1 John 3:4-9(NKJV)

4Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 

5And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 

6Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

7Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 

8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 

9Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

But yet we have Jesus telling us this.

Matthew 26:41(NKJV)

41Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We know that Jesus is the only perfect man that ever walked the earth so I think it is pretty obvious that even as Christians we will continue sinning throughout our lives. 

So does that mean as it says in 1 John 3:6 that we have "neither seen Him or known Him" or 1 John 3:8 "He who sins is of the devil,…",  that in effect if we continue sinning we have never really been saved? That our salvation is just an illusion?  I don't think so.  Here is my take on it.

First I believe that I serve a fair and just God.  So the question I have to ask is would a fair and just God play a trick like that on mankind.  I don't believe He would so there has to be another answer. 

I think it is a heart issue.  Before we accept Christ we sin and we don't know/don't care that we sin.  Once we accept Christ we are now aware of sin.  We recognize when we sin and if we are truly sorry that we have sinned and we ask forgiveness, we are still good with God.  That's what He is looking for.  A heartfelt desire and effort to be obedient to Him.

On the other hand, you have some out there that takes the attitude, "I don't care what you think God, I'm gonna do it anyway".  In that case I think you have a different story.  Here you have a willful disobedience of God.  I just don't think God is going to let that slide.

Does that make sense?