6. The sixth result of being born of God is found in 1 John 3:9, R. V., +"Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin; because his+ (i.e., God's) +seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin+ (rather, cannot be sinning), +because he is begotten of God."+ _The sixth result, then, of being born of God is that in the one born of God the seed of God remains; and, therefore, the one born of God is not making a practice of sin._ Some one will ask, just what does this mean? It means exactly what it says, if we look carefully at the exact force of the words used and give due emphasis to the tense of the verbs used. First of all, let us look at the exact force of the word translated "Sin." What does sin mean? John himself has been careful to define it in the verse itself and in the context in which our verse is found. The first thing that is evident from 1 John 3:9 is that sin is _a something done_, not merely a something left undone, and not merely sinful thoughts and desires. What kind of a something done it is defined five verses back in verse 4. +"Everyone that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness."+ Sin here by John's own definition (and we have no right to bring the definition of any one else into the verse we are studying) is "_lawlessness_," i.e., such acts as reveal conscious disregard for the will of God as revealed in His word. So we see that _sin, as used here, means, a conscious intentional violation of the law of God. The regenerate man will not be doing that which he knows to be contrary to the will of God._ He may do that which is contrary to God's will, but which he does not know to be contrary to God's will. It is not therefore "lawlessness." Perhaps he ought to have known that it was contrary to God's will and when he is led to see that it is, he will confess his guilt to God. Furthermore, we should note the tense of the verb used in this verse. It is the _present tense which denotes progressive or continuous action_. A literal translation of the passage would be, "Everyone begotten out of God, _sin is not doing_, because His (God's) seed in him is remaining; and he cannot be sinning, because out of God he is begotten." It is not taught here that one born of God never sins in a single act, but it is taught that he is not going on sinning, not making a practice of sin. Of what he is making a practice appears in 1 John 2:29, +"If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone also that doeth righteousness is begotten of him."+ _The result, then, of being born again is that the one begotten again does not go on consciously day after day doing that which he knows to be contrary to the will of God, but he does make a practice of "doing righteousness," i.e., doing that which is conformed to the will of God as revealed in His Word._ The new nature imparted in regeneration renders the continuous practice of sin impossible and renders the practice of righteousness inevitable.