Continuous Action of Sin in John 8:34
In John 8:34, Jesus declares, "Verily, verily, I say to you, Every one that practises sin is the bondman of sin" (Darby) [1]. This statement is part of a larger discourse where Jesus confronts those who claim to be free but are, in fact, enslaved by sin.
The immediate context of John 8 involves Jesus speaking to Jews who had believed in him, telling them that if they continued in his word, they would know the truth, and the truth would make them free (John 8:31-32). They respond by asserting their freedom as descendants of Abraham, never having been enslaved (John 8:33). Jesus's statement in verse 34 directly challenges this claim of freedom, shifting the focus from physical or national servitude to spiritual bondage [1].
The Greek verb translated as "practises sin" (ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, poiōn tēn hamartian) indicates an ongoing, continuous action rather than a single instance of sin [4]. Commentators like John Gill emphasize that this does not refer to someone who commits an isolated act of sin, but rather to one whose life is characterized by a continuous series of sinning, making sin their "constant business" and "employment" [3, 7]. Similarly, the Tyndale House commentary on 1 John 3:6, which uses similar phrasing, notes that "keeps on sinning" denotes "sin as an ongoing, repeated action" [4]. This continuous practice of sin leads to being a "bondman" or "servant" of sin, implying a state of spiritual slavery [1, 7].
Augustine, in his homilies on John, connects this bondage to the devil, stating that those who continue in sin derive it from the devil and die in the impiety that resembles him [6]. This aligns with other passages in John where Jesus identifies the devil as the father of those who do not believe and practice sin (John 8:44) [2, 5]. The Augsburg Confession also attributes the cause of sin to the will of the wicked, specifically the devil and ungodly men, citing John 8:44 [9]. John Calvin further elaborates on the devil's role as the "author, leader, and contriver" of sin, noting that he "sinneth from the beginning" (1 John 3:8) [8].
The concept of being a "bondman of sin" highlights the idea that persistent sin leads to a state where one is controlled by sin, unable to genuinely choose righteousness without divine intervention. This spiritual slavery is a central theme in understanding the human condition in need of redemption.
Sources
- John “John 8:34 (Darby) — Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Every one that practises sin is the bondman of sin.”
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “John 8:44 cross-references: Genesis 3:3, Genesis 3:15, Genesis 4:8, 1 Kings 22:22, 1 Chronicles 21:1, 2 Chronicles 18:20, 2 Chronicles 18:21, Job 1:11, Job 2:4, Matthew 13:38, John 6:70, John 8:38, John 8:41, Acts 5:3, Acts 13:10, Acts 24:9, 2 Corinthians 11:3, 2 Corinthians 11:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:9, James 4:1, 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Peter 2:4, 1 John 2:4, 1 John 3:8, 1 John 3:12, 1 John 3:15, Jude 1:6, Revelation 2:10, Revelation 9:11, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 13:6, Revelation 13:14, Revelation 20:2, Revelation 20:7, Revelation 21:8, Revelation 22:15”
- 1 John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 John 3:8: He that committeth sin is of the devil,.... Not everyone that sins, or commits acts of sin, then every man is of the devil, because no man lives without the commission of sin; but he who makes sin his constant business, and the employment of his life, whose life is a continued series of sinning, he is of the devil; not as to origin and substance, or by proper generation, as some have literally understood the words; but by imitation, being like him, and so of him their father, doing his lusts, living continually in sin, as he does, and so resemble him, as children do th”
- 1 John (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 John 3:6: 3:6 continues to live in him (Greek menō): This indicates “abiding” and “remaining” (John 15:1-8) in contrast to departing into falsehood. To the extent that we live in continual, dependent fellowship with Christ and in faithfulness to the apostles’ teachings, we will not sin. • keeps on sinning: This verb denotes sin as an ongoing, repeated action. John was not saying that anyone who sins once does not know God (i.e., has no relationship with God). But if we persist in sin, we demonstrate a lack of relationship with God.”
- John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on John 8:44: Ye are of your father the devil--"This is one of the most decisive testimonies to the objective (outward) personality of the devil. It is quite impossible to suppose an accommodation to Jewish views, or a metaphorical form of speech, in so solemn an assertion as this" [ALFORD]. the lusts of your father--his impure, malignant, ungodly propensities, inclinations, desires. ye will do--are willing to do; not of any blind necessity of nature, but of pure natural inclination. He was a murderer from the beginning--The reference is not to Cain (as LOCKE, D”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 7: Augustine — Homilies on John — CHAPTER VIII. 37-47. (part 12): bondage of sin. On this account He foreknew that those to whom He so spake would continue in that which they derived from the devil, that is, in their sins, and would die in the impiety in which they resembled him; and would not come to the regeneration wherein they would be the children of God, that is, be born of the God by whom they were created as men. In accordance with this predestinating purpose did the Lord speak; and not that He had found any man amongst them who either by regeneration was already of God, or b”
- John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on John 8:31: Jesus answered them, verily verily I say unto you,.... Taking no notice of their civil liberty, to which he could easily have replied to their confusion and silence, he observes to them their moral servitude and bondage, and in the strongest manner affirms, that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin; which must be understood, not of one that commits a single act of sin, though ever so gross, as did Noah, Lot, David, Peter, and others, who yet were not the servants of sin; or of such who sin through ignorance, weakness of the flesh, and the power of Satan's t”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 30: minds of men he involves in error; he stirs up hatred, inflames strife and war, and all in order that he may overthrow the kingdom of God, and drown men in eternal perdition with himself. Hence it is evident that his whole nature is depraved, mischievous, and malignant. There must be extreme depravity in a mind bent on assailing the glory of God and the salvation of man. This is intimated by John in his Epistle, when he says that he “sinneth from the beginning,” ( 1 John 3:8 ), implying that he is the author, leader, and contriver ”
- Augsburg Confession (Lutheran) “Augsburg Confession (Lutheran, 1530), Of the Cause of Sin they teach that, although God does create and: Of the Cause of Sin they teach that, although God does create and preserve nature, yet the cause of sin is the will of the wicked, that is, of the devil and ungodly men; which will, unaided of God, turns itself from God, as Christ says John 8:44: When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own.”