I'm still waiting for John or anyone else to explain logically how someone keeping sin is not the same as being in sin.
You are not waiting for my statement of faith on the issue. But, I will restate: they are the same, in my book. I Jo 1: 8 speaks of "possessing" when it says "if you say that you are having no sin, the truth is not in you ........." For me, this statement goes to the existence, in the life of us all, the existence of selfishness, conceit, bigotry, and other such character flaws. These things are included in more than one listing of "sins."
I remain in this belief because this is exactly what the Lord convicted me of when I first considered the passage and the reality, way back in the first-year-Greek days. My brother, Bill Taylor, has a somewhat differing point of view.................so I could be wrong, but probably not [ :-) ] First year Greek, for me, included an exegetical study of the whole of I John. For me, understanding the "sin" discussion in chapter one established a context for the more "difficult" passages in the remaining letter. But, more than that, the second, the instant I read this verse and was told of the significance of "present, indicative, active," I understood the why and wherefor of my continuing need for my redemptive association with the Lord. I was excluded form the very school in which I received this lesson -- but such is the journey of life.
