Bible Reading: 1 John 3:6-10
Non-Christians may occasionally suffer the pangs of conscience over their sin, especially when it results in the suffering of others, such as their family or friends. They may also hesitant in committing a sin, due to their fear of the consequences they may suffer if caught in their sin. Still, for the most part, non-Christians can freely sin, having a natural tendency to do so and no inward resistance against sin to fight their way through.
Whereas the Christian can never be comfortable in sin, but always contrite over it, the non-Christian cannot only sin without restraint, but sin without remorse as well. Far from being contrite over his sin, the non-Christian can actually take “pleasure†in it and even “glory†in the “shame†of it (Romans 1:32; Philippians 3:19). For instance, some gays and lesbians today profess to be Christians, but at the same time proudly march in Gay Pride Parades. The fact that they take both pleasure and pride in their sin serves as proof positive that their Christian profession is spurious. There is no way anyone who professes to be a Christian can be indwelt by the Holy Spirit if they are pleased with their sin against God, much less proud of it.
To profess Christ and to be void of any inward restraint against living a sinful lifestyle is to prove the absence of the indwelling Christ in your life. To be gleeful in your sin without guilt and to be boastful about it rather than bothered by it is to prove yourself a possessor of a “seared†conscience (1 Timothy 4:2), not of a sincere Christian profession. Anyone who is unencumbered in a sinful lifestyle is unacquainted with Christ. Although they may profess to know Christ, their practice of sin proves that they have never met Him. If they ever had, Christ’s presence in their lives in the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit would make the practice of sin insufferable. Anyone professing Christ and practicing sin is therefore proven to be a hypocrite.