Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:7-10 NKJV

Because of the old nature, a Christian may fall into sin, but he doesn’t have to practice or continue in sin willfully. Why? He has a new nature; he has been born of God, and the new nature will not lead him to sin. Remember, it is not possible for God to sin; therefore, when His seed remains in us, we will not go on sinning.

It is one thing to fall into sin, but it is another thing when a believer remains in sin, continues in it and even practices it as a way of life. The New Testament Scriptures shows throughout that a Christian may sin but they don’t have to sin (1 John 1:8-2:2). So, the problem isn’t that a Christian may make a mistake, be overcome by temptation, or stumble and fall in ignorance—the challenge is not to continue or practice the behaviors of a fallen state. Sin becomes a practice when the act or behavior becomes a custom, a habit, or an on-going repetition absent of any confession, repentance, and a turning away from the sinful activity.

If and when a Christian falls he is able to quickly repent and recover when he still sees himself in the hand of God (Psalm 37:23). He sees himself as a new creature in a new creation where old things have passed away and all things are now new and of God (2 Corinthians 5:17, 18); therefore, in the face of sinful failure, he will confess his sins because he believes the promise that, God “is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). To practice sin is to ignore God’s provisions for forgiveness and cleansing and continue to transgress against the Word of God. This is the difference between committing a sin and continuing in sin.

You are what you practice—righteous if you practice righteousness and unrighteous if you practice unrighteousness. If you know that God is righteous, then you can also conclude that every one that does righteousness is born of Him (1 John 1:29). Practice your God-given perfected righteous nature! See Matthew 5:48 and Hebrews 10:14.