Sin and the Child of God

⁴ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and ^(A)sin is lawlessness.

^17 (A)All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

²⁰ Therefore ^(A)by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

²¹ lest, when I come again, my God ^(A)will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many ^(B)who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, ^(C)fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.

¹⁵ because ^(A)the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

³¹ Because he has ^(A)despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his ^[a]guilt shall be upon him.’ ”

^8 (A)He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, ^(B)that He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Whoever has been ^(C)born of God does not sin, for ^(D)His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Sin’s Advantage in the Law

⁷ What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, ^(A)I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ^(B)“You shall not covet.” ⁸ But ^(C)sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For ^(D)apart from the law sin was dead. ⁹ I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. ¹⁰ And the commandment, ^(E)which was to bring life, I found to bring death. ¹¹ For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. ¹² Therefore ^(F)the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Law Cannot Save from Sin

¹³ Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.

⁹ but if you ^[a]show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as ^(A)transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet ^(B)stumble in one point, ^(C)he is guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, ^(D)“Do not commit adultery,” also said, ^(E)“Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.