True Christians practice righteousness, and false ones practice sin; that much we know for certain, as the Apostle John said, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God.” Our works don’t save us (Rom 3:28), but they give evidence of our spiritual condition (1Jn 2:3-6) and whether our faith is superficial (James 2:24) or genuine (2Cor. 13:5). If the Holy Spirit is inside of you, you will put on a new nature (2Cor 5:17) and you will no longer practice or pursue lifestyles of sin.

ℹ️ Disclaimer: Everyone has sin (1 Jn 1:8–10), but not everyone pursues lifestyles of indulgent sin (1Jn 3:6-10). Though we may stumble, make mistakes, and God forbid backslide, there is no such thing as a born again Christian that “practices” sin (habitually and continually pursuing a lifestyle of sin).

6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. — 1 John 3:6-10

The Apostle John also taught that we could have assurance by our fruit-bearing. It will help you to make the distinction between (1) justification, which is by faith alone (Eph 2:8-10; Rom 3:28), and (2) assurance of salvation, which is predicated upon an evidence-based faith (1Jn 2:3-6 NLT; Jn 14:15,21). “we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.… That is how we know we are living in him.”†

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, — Acts 17:30 ESV

3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. — 1 John 2:3-6 NLT (article)

Justification is by faith alone (Eph 2:8-10; Gal 2:16,21; 3:10-12; 5:4; Ro 3:20,28), but the faith that saves is never alone in the person justified (1Jn 2:3-6; 3:6-10; 5:3-4 Jn 14:15,21; 15:10).

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. — Jesus teaching “resulting” fruit-bearing in John 15:5 (NLT), Approximately A.D. 30.

Justification is by faith alone (Rom 3:28), but a faith that does not grow the fruit of obedience by the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is not true faith; it is a dead faith, and James rejects salvation by a dead and superficial faith (James 2:14-26). Genuine faith always “results” in the fruits of the faith (Ga 5:22-23 NLT; Jn 15:4-5; 1Cor 3:6-7), denying this, denies His transformative power.

I believe saving faith will result in obedience… We must guard jealously the fact that faith alone is what saves us, not faith plus obedience. … No historic Protestant confession says that saving faith includes obedience. — Historic Protestant Position



“The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.” ― Ecclesiastes 12:11