Do you think that we need to be a 100 percent sin free in order to get God to listen to us?

No, there are two types of sin. The false doctrine of "Sin is Sin" started in the Reformation. Even Catholics recognized the two types of sin that the Apostle John wrote about. When Jesus cleanses us of sin in the beginning, it is the worst type of sin that is cleansed from our nature to no longer have a "sin nature." Then Jesus starts on the lesser type of sin which takes a while. 2 Peter 1:5-7 shows that progress. Once mature in all those fruits we will never stumble. verses 10-11.

All Sins Being Equal​

 
Yes the sinless perfection heresy is another doctrine of demons. Like all false teaching its consists of some biblical truths that have been skewed in some way. The ingredients are good, but the recipe is incomplete or else has had unwelcome things added, and the result is a theological and practical mess.

Sinless Perfectionism is a doctrine like that. In short, it holds that it is possible for Christians to completely defeat sin in the present life and to live holy lives like Jesus did. At a glance, it makes a lot of sense. Jesus came to save us from sin. He died for our sins on the cross and he sent his Holy Spirit to empower his people to overcome sin and to live obedient, righteous lives in the present.

For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, 12 training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, 13 awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ

We are in training, we are not sinless. We sin less.

Christians should have the highest aspirations for living holy lives and rejecting all sin. Bible also says that ‘If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us’ 1 John 1:8 It speaks of the fact that until the resurrection we must be at war with our sinful desires

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.
Galatians 5:16-17

Sin is not an enemy ‘out there’. It’s an enemy within that lives and feeds off our fallen human desires and weaknesses (James 1:13-15). That is why sinless perfectionism is not only untrue but also dangerous. People don’t tend to win battles that they don’t even realise they are supposed to be fighting.
There is no such thing as a new Christian having sinless perfection, and I don't know anyone who teaches it. However, 1 John 1:9 is how we receive being cleansed of all unrighteousness and 1 John 3:4-5 tells what type of sin that is - lawlessness. Those are sins unto death. Then in the gospel of John 15:3 when Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Hebrews 12:2, we are CLEAN. We stay clean as long as we abide in Him. 1 John 3:24. and while abiding in Him Jesus begins the work of maturing the fruit of the Spirit which is the process of glorification until we are in the image of God, Romans 8:29-30.

Do you believe these passages? Did I ever mention sinless perfection for you to accuse me of that? Do you know what Jesus meant when He said we are clean? Do you believe that means sinless? If not what are we cleansed of and what is cleansed? Romans 6:5-7 and Romans 8:9 calls it our flesh. But not the flesh of our body, but of our nature, otherwise saying we are not in the flesh would mean we are only Spirit filled once we are dead. The truth is our cleansed nature is not a second nature while we heretically keep our sin nature. The born again of the Spirit cannot commit sin, and therefore are cleansed of sin unto death and inherit eternal life. We cannot have sins unto death when we die because that is not righteous. Jesus TAKES AWAY the sin in our nature. It is not imputed righteousness that covers our sins and heretically taught from Paul's teaching on the imputed righteousness of Old Testament saints. No, the New Covenant is ACTUAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. We are free from sin.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.
Galatians 5:16-17
You do realize that don't you that Romans 7:25 is still before Christ while we were under the law? Those who commit sins of the flesh found in Galatians 5:19-21 will not inherit eternal life. It is the born again of the Spirit that walks in the Spirit and does not do what we did while in the flesh. Romans 7:5-6 shows that flesh as past tense.

"5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter."
 

All Sins Being Equal​

1 John 5:16-17
16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Those are the two types of sin. They are also found in the old testament where one can be covered with a sacrifice, and the other leads to death. Numbers 15:22-36

"Sin is Sin" started in the Reformation. Jesus said to that church age in Revelation 3:1, "you have a name that you are alive but you are dead." Those are unintentional sins or venial sins and willful mortal sins. Mortal means death.
 
There is no such thing as a new Christian having sinless perfection, and I don't know anyone who teaches it. However, 1 John 1:9 is how we receive being cleansed of all unrighteousness and 1 John 3:4-5 tells what type of sin that is - lawlessness. Those are sins unto death. Then in the gospel of John 15:3 when Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Hebrews 12:2, we are CLEAN. We stay clean as long as we abide in Him. 1 John 3:24. and while abiding in Him Jesus begins the work of maturing the fruit of the Spirit which is the process of glorification until we are in the image of God, Romans 8:29-30.

Do you believe these passages? Did I ever mention sinless perfection for you to accuse me of that? Do you know what Jesus meant when He said we are clean? Do you believe that means sinless? If not what are we cleansed of and what is cleansed? Romans 6:5-7 and Romans 8:9 calls it our flesh. But not the flesh of our body, but of our nature, otherwise saying we are not in the flesh would mean we are only Spirit filled once we are dead. The truth is our cleansed nature is not a second nature while we heretically keep our sin nature. The born again of the Spirit cannot commit sin, and therefore are cleansed of sin unto death and inherit eternal life. We cannot have sins unto death when we die because that is not righteous. Jesus TAKES AWAY the sin in our nature. It is not imputed righteousness that covers our sins and heretically taught from Paul's teaching on the imputed righteousness of Old Testament saints. No, the New Covenant is ACTUAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. We are free from sin.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.
Galatians 5:16-17
You do realize that don't you that Romans 7:25 is still before Christ while we were under the law? Those who commit sins of the flesh found in Galatians 5:19-21 will not inherit eternal life. It is the born again of the Spirit that walks in the Spirit and does not do what we did while in the flesh. Romans 7:5-6 shows that flesh as past tense.

"5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter."
I didn't accuse you of anything. Do is the doing that?

 
I was responding to your post to me about sinless perfection. Why would you respond to me with that false doctrine if you weren't accusing me of teaching it? Do you believe in sinlessness when sin is defined as lawlessness. 1 John 3:4-5

Let's start with that and try again.
 
1 John 5:16-17
16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Those are the two types of sin. They are also found in the old testament where one can be covered with a sacrifice, and the other leads to death. Numbers 15:22-36

"Sin is Sin" started in the Reformation. Jesus said to that church age in Revelation 3:1, "you have a name that you are alive but you are dead." Those are unintentional sins or venial sins and willful mortal sins. Mortal means death.
All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. You can find an example of a sin that leads to death in Acts 5. There, Ananias and Sapphira lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3), and they die as a result. Paul mentions another example of a sin that leads to death in 1 Corinthians 11:30. Some who were abusing the Lord’s Supper had become sick and had even died. These are the only two clear instances in the New Testament of believers who committed sins unto death.

I've never seen ether happen or heard of them happening in modern times. So you can't Construct the doctrine from two verses.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23

The Greek word translated as "fall short" here is in the present tense. In reality, we keep on falling short. In other words, even knowing the consequences of our sinfulness is not enough to keep us from sinning.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.John 1:8 and 9

Sometimes believers worry whether all their sins are really forgiven. Particularly a sin against which we must struggle time and again but do not seem to make much headway in overcoming, can make us wonder whether the LORD will really forgive us.
 
I was responding to your post to me about sinless perfection. Why would you respond to me with that false doctrine if you weren't accusing me of teaching it? Do you believe in sinlessness when sin is defined as lawlessness. 1 John 3:4-5

Let's start with that and try again.
Nice try but the fact is you read that into my post. Fact is You made your post about me calling God a liar before I said anything about sinless perfection. go back and look.

Give me your interpretation of 1 John 3:4-5.
 
Last edited:
Up until the above it was like reading a post I would have written myself. We totally agreed. But then you went off the rails and believe 1 John 1:8 is a Christian. The key word is "SAY" and "SAYS." This person is walking in darkness, vs. 6. Then 8 and 10 are saying they are sinless but do not keep the commandments. Why? Because they still have the sin nature. And NO, we do not have two natures. The "old man" is crucified.
Curious thing about this.
Paul describes in Romans 6 that we're to reckon ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to Jesus.
The old man IS crucified.

John 15:3 says we are clean.
how? By what means are we clean?
That is sinless because 1 John 1:9 is what the person in 6, 8, and 10 must do to actually be saved. John explains this in 1 John 2:4,"He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." John uses the same "key" word.

Also, in chapter 2 the first verse sentence is right. The second sentence is the same as John 3:16 - anyone. "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

I certainly hope you do not believe that Romans 7:14-25 is a Christian.
you should read this passage more closely.

Listen to this study. It's a 3 part study, as part of a study done on the whole book of Romans.

Am I Me
Am I Me - Pt. 2
Am I Me - Pt. 3

Notice they are still in the flesh,
this passage is describing Paul's own personal struggle with Paul's own old man.

Rom 7:14-25 WEB 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin. 15 For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do. 16 But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good. 17 So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good. 19 For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice. 20 But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the law that, while I desire to do good, evil is present. 22 For I delight in God’s law after the inward person, 23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God’s law, but with the flesh, sin’s law.

Paul is talking about Paul! He's not describing anyone else.
Look at all the incidents that Paul says I and me!
but Romans 7:5-7 is about the flesh being in our past.
Yep.
And in verses 8-11 he turns the Law on himself. Which we should all be doing.
The Law is a mirror that we're to stand in front of daily. So we can see ourselves as God sees us.

Rom 7:8-11 WEB 8 But sin, finding occasion through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. For apart from the law, sin is dead. 9 I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 The commandment which was for life, this I found to be for death; 11 for sin, finding occasion through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me.
Paul is telling how it was like being under the law. Don't get thrown by Paul's use of first person. He does the same in Romans 8:2. Study that.
I have been, for over 47 years.
I've been working through learning to understand what Paul is describing in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, etc.....
I've been reading and learning the whole of scriptures- Genesis through Revelation- so I can better understand what following Jesus entails.

The Law is spiritual.
Sin killed our spirit.
God's Spirit makes us spiritually alive through the Word of God- 1 Peter 1:23.
1 John 1:8 is written to/about followers of Jesus exactly as 1 John 1:5 through 2:2.

There are people who follow Jesus who don't understand the conflict between the old man and the New man in Christ, who sees what Paul said in Romans 7:17 So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.

And thinks.... mistakenly....
Gosh, if it's sin that dwells in me, and not actually me, i must be without sin.

No...
Sin that dwells in me means that I have sin.

1Jn 1:8 WEB If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The truth is...
We are indeed crucified with Christ. Romans 6, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1-4.

If we didn't have a struggle with sin, why did Paul write the letters he did?
If we didn't struggle with sin, why did Jesus say unless we deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow him, we cannot be his disciples?

If we don't struggle with the old man and the carnal nature, why would John describe the truths in 1 John 1 through 5?

Then what did John say in 1 John 5,

1Jn 5:13 WEB These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

1Jn 5:16-17 WEB 16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I don’t say that he should make a request concerning this. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

these things are written to followers of Jesus, for the purpose of ensuring they're choosing life, and fleeing from their sin.


Psa 119:1-6 WEB 1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to Yahweh’s law. 2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes, who seek him with their whole heart. 3 Yes, they do nothing wrong. They walk in his ways. 4 You have commanded your precepts, that we should fully obey them. 5 Oh that my ways were steadfast to obey your statutes! 6 Then I wouldn’t be disappointed, when I consider all of your commandments.

Rom 8:4-9 WEB 4 that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; 7 because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. 8 Those who are in the flesh can’t please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.

The ONLY way to satisfy the righteous ordinances of the Law is to walk in the Spirit.
How do we walk in the Spirit?

To think on spiritual things...
 
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23

The Greek word translated as "fall short" here is in the present tense.
Do you recognize Paul's teaching on the Law was eight chapters long? Romans 3 is in the middle of that teaching. The Jews kept the law but according to Romans 7:14-25 their flesh got in the way of their not sinning. That is before Christ's crucifying our flesh as in Romans 7:5-6, "5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Do you see 5-6 is the opposite of 14-25. 5-6 is after Christ, and 14-25 is before Christ.

We finally come again to the Holy Spirit that frees us from the law of sin and death. Let's see if you can see the before and after of these two verses. Romans 8:8-9.
8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Which one is before Christ, and which one is after?

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.John 1:8 and 9
Oh my, I see you've been brainwashed to chose verse 8 as your present situation and I chose 1 John 3:9. 1 John 2:4 brings verse 1:8 into clarity. "4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Romans 7:5-6 is because of Romans 8:2 and 9.
 
Curious thing about this.
Paul describes in Romans 6 that we're to reckon ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to Jesus.
The old man IS crucified.


how? By what means are we clean?
I will do this in sections.

It is interesting how false doctrines can brainwash someone into believing a lie and go back to his own vomit. Paul is referring to a Proverb.

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

How many people believe that 1 John 1:8 is a Christian even though it is before verse 9 that is how to become a Christian! Look at chapter 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin." Why would he say that if it were true that we will "always sin," the doctrine of demons from the Reformation.

The rest of 2:1 is the same as John 3:16. Jesus is the only way to salvation for the whole world.

This is the answer to the second question.

1 John 3:4-5 "4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

Any questions so far?
 
Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6: 11-14)

God isn’t finished with us yet. His work in us will continue until we see Him face to face. But each revelation we receive can be another step closer to fulfilling His plan in our lives. He doesn’t give up on us and He doesn’t want us to give up on ourselves.

Therefore, yes, Christians do sin. First John 1:5–10 says, "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." What John is saying is that a follower will not be defined by a lifestyle of sin, but that he will still struggle against sin. However, when a believer sins, God is faithful and just to forgive.
 
My mind has been renewed. Please don't lay your false interpretation of my mental condition on me. Religious brainwashers tend to take a hardline approach to their opinions, they don’t want their interpretations to be questioned.
Jesus said to Sardis (the Reformation and Calvinism) "you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead." Doctrines of demons are death to us.

1 John 1:6, 8 and 10 are the verses of DARKNESS contrasted by 5, 7, and 9 the verses of LIGHT. Take some time to learn the Eastern styles of writing. We have a Western brain that can easily miss the message of that Eastern Apostle.

I see those verses come up just about every time I'm on the forum. It is no wonder why so many chose the high ground, and not the narrow road.
 
Last edited:
Jesus said to Sardis (the Reformation and Calvinism) "you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead." Doctrines of demons are death to us.

1 John 1:6, 8 and 10 are the verses of DARKNESS contrasted by 5, 7, and 9 the verses of LIGHT. Take some time to learn the Eastern styles of writing. We have a Western brain that can easily miss the message of that Eastern Apostle.

I see those verses come up just about every time I'm on the forum. It is no wonder why so many chose the high ground, and not the narrow road.
In Romans 7, Paul showed us that Christians still wrestle with remaining, indwelling sin*. He says: “But what I hate I do” (7:15). But, at the same time, Christians have experienced a revolution in consciousness—a real disgust over sin and (now) an inability to find any lasting pleasure in it: “But what I hate I do.”

These two facts keep us from either the legalism that says: Real Christians don’t struggle with sin anymore, or the permissiveness that says: Real Christians are human; they sin just like anyone else. The Spirit of God has come in and transformed our “inner being” and self (7:22) so we want God and holiness, but our “flesh” or “sinful nature” is still powerful enough to keep us from doing what our new desires want.

But Romans 7 does not say everything about the Christian life. Our new condition—a “double nature”—can actually lead to more distress unless we “live … according to the Spirit” (8:4). Paul gives us directions on how to live in the Spirit. Unless we do, we will find ourselves continually doing what we hate.


Timothy Keller, Romans 8–16 God’s Word for You
 
Yes the sinless perfection heresy is another doctrine of demons. Like all false teaching its consists of some biblical truths that have been skewed in some way. The ingredients are good, but the recipe is incomplete or else has had unwelcome things added, and the result is a theological and practical mess.

Sinless Perfectionism is a doctrine like that. In short, it holds that it is possible for Christians to completely defeat sin in the present life and to live holy lives like Jesus did. At a glance, it makes a lot of sense. Jesus came to save us from sin. He died for our sins on the cross and he sent his Holy Spirit to empower his people to overcome sin and to live obedient, righteous lives in the present.

For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, 12 training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, 13 awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ

We are in training, we are not sinless. We sin less.

Christians should have the highest aspirations for living holy lives and rejecting all sin. Bible also says that ‘If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us’ 1 John 1:8 It speaks of the fact that until the resurrection we must be at war with our sinful desires

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.
Galatians 5:16-17

Sin is not an enemy ‘out there’. It’s an enemy within that lives and feeds off our fallen human desires and weaknesses (James 1:13-15). That is why sinless perfectionism is not only untrue but also dangerous. People don’t tend to win battles that they don’t even realise they are supposed to be fighting.
Looks like a good book.

This is from one of mine.

One thing John emphasizes in his first epistle is the reality and gravity of sin. In 1:8 he forcefully labels those who say they have no sin as self-deceived and void of the truth. In 1:10 the claim not to have committed sin is tantamount to calling God a liar, and in 2:1 John clearly implies that Christians will sin (although he writes to help them avoid it). How then do we understand the statement in 3:9 that the one who is begotten of God “does not do sin” (lit.) and in fact “is not able to sin”?

Following are the major interpretative options (excluding the suggestion of some that John simply contradicts himself):

(1) To avoid the difficulty some have narrowed the definition of “sin” to notorious crimes or offences against love (this was the view of both Augustine and Luther).

(2) It has been suggested that what John means is that a Christian cannot sin because what is sin in the life of an unbeliever is not regarded as such by God when committed by a believer. This is contrary to both John and the rest of the NT.

(3) One interpretation draws a distinction between the “old” nature in the Christian and the “new” nature. The “old” nature may continue to sin but the “new” cannot. But how do we isolate a “nature” from the “individual” himself/herself? We may speak of “flesh” and “spirit” in a person, but it is always the person who sins or does not sin, not merely a “nature”.

(4) Others say John is speaking about the ideal and not reality. The argument is: Since all anticipate that sinlessness will be characteristic in the age to come, and since John believed that the age to come had come (2:8), he naturally asserted the sinlessness of Christians!

(5) Some say that John, in the heat of controversial circumstances, breaks forth in holy passion and speaks with apparent exaggeration and over-emphasis.

(6) One view stresses 3:6 where it is stated that the one who “abides” in him does not sin. They contend that this “abiding” in Christ is not descriptive of all Christians but is a condition which only some (those “in fellowship”) believers fulfill. The degree of a believer’s holiness, then, and his ability to sin or not sin are dependent on whether or not he “abides”. When one is abiding in Christ he cannot sin. When one does not abide, one does sin. But 3:9 makes it clear why a Christian doesn’t practice sin, indeed, is unable to sin, and it has nothing to do with abiding. It is because he/she “is born of God”.

(7) Others say that the sin of which John speaks in 3:9 is willful and deliberate sin. The Christian, so they say, cannot commit such deliberate sin in the face of the Lord. Oh, really? What of David?

(8) A few take John quite literally. Hence they believe he is teaching perfectionism. 3:9 proves that sinlessness is attainable in this life. The statements in 1:8, 10 and especially 2:1 are describing the immature believer who although not yet sinless may still become such through diligent activity and love.

[I personally find either of the next two options to be the most likely.]

(9) Some argue that the “sin” which a believer does not and cannot commit is the “sin that leads to death” in 1 John 5:16, namely, hatred of believers and denial of Jesus. I address this view in great detail in my discussion of the sin unto death (see “Controversial Issues” on the web site).

(10) The view adopted by most commentators is that the sin a Christian does not and cannot commit is habitual, persistent, unrepentant sin. John is not concerned so much with the momentary, individual acts of sin as he is with the overall characteristic tendencies and inclinations of a person’s life. John is looking at the pervasive temper of one’s overall experience in life, not at the singular incidents individually. John is not taking a snapshot, but a moving picture. His repeated use of the Greek present tense appears to bear this out. He focuses on the habitual character of the activity in view.

In 3:6 John says that the believer who abides in Christ “sins not” (present tense). Also, the one who “does sin” (present tense) shows that he has neither seen nor known Him. John nowhere denies that a Christian commits acts of sin. He does deny, however, that the Christian sins persistently, habitually as a reflection of the characteristic inclination of his soul.

Note that in 3:9a he says the one begotten of God “does not do sin.” “Again,” notes Stott, “it is not the isolated act of sin which is envisaged, but the settled habit of it, indicated by the verb poiein, to do or to practice, which is used of ‘doing’ sin in 3:4a, 3:8 and 3:9, of ‘doing’ lawlessness in 3:4b, and of ‘doing’ righteousness in 2:29, 3:7 and 3:10a” (126).

John also says the one begotten of God “is not able to sin”. But again notice that “to sin” is not an aorist infinitive but a present infinitive. If the infinitive had been aorist John would be contradicting what he said in 2:1. The present infinitive again indicates that he has in mind the inability of the born-again believer to habitually live in sin as if it were the prevailing temper of his soul.

If the Christian “does not” practice sin, indeed, “cannot” practice sin, wherein lies this “impossibility”? That is to say, how does a believer avoid the life of persistent sin so characteristic of the non-believer? Stott’s answer is excellent:

“Wherein lies this ‘impossibility’? John’s answer is given in two phrases: for his seed remaineth in him and because he is born of God.… his seed is accurately rendered in the RSV text ‘God’s nature’, or ‘the divine seed’ (NEB), and … in him refers to the child of God. In this way the two parts of verse 9 become exactly parallel, each part consisting of a statement that the Christian does not or cannot sin, to which is added the reason for such an assertion. The implication will then be this: the new birth involves the acquisition of a new nature through the implanting within us of the very seed or lifegiving power of God. Birth of God is a deep, radical, inward transformation. Moreover, the new nature received at the new birth remains. It exerts a strong internal pressure towards holiness. It is the abiding influence of his seed within everyone who is born of God, which enables John to affirm without fear of contradiction that he cannot go on living in sin.… Indeed, if he should thus continue in sin, it would indicate that he has never been born again” (127).

When those born of God do sin, conviction, grief, brokenness, misery, sorrow, discontent, all of which lead to repentance, will occur.

Dr. Sam Storms
Enjoying God Ministries
 
I will do this in sections.

It is interesting how false doctrines can brainwash someone into believing a lie and go back to his own vomit. Paul is referring to a Proverb.

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
So you think walking in the Spirit by focusing on spiritual things is brainwashing?
Interesting.

How many people believe that 1 John 1:8 is a Christian even though it is before verse 9 that is how to become a Christian!
Since you clearly did not read what I stated, it's clear that you're merely trying to win an argument.
This isn't an argument.



The Law is spiritual.
Sin killed our spirit.
God's Spirit makes us spiritually alive through the Word of God- 1 Peter 1:23.
1 John 1:8 is written to/about followers of Jesus exactly as 1 John 1:5 through 2:2 is written to Jesus followers.

There are people who follow Jesus who don't understand the conflict between the old man and the New man in Christ, who sees what Paul said in Romans 7:17 So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.

And thinks.... mistakenly....
Gosh, if it's sin that dwells in me, and not actually me, i must be without sin.

No...
Sin that dwells in me means that I have sin.

1Jn 1:8 WEB If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The truth is...
We are indeed crucified with Christ. Romans 6, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1-4.

If we didn't have a struggle with sin, why did Paul write the letters he did?
If we didn't struggle with sin, why did Jesus say unless we deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow him, we cannot be his disciples?

If we don't struggle with the old man and the carnal nature, why would John describe the truths in 1 John 1 through 5?

Then what did John say in 1 John 5,

1Jn 5:13 WEB These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

1Jn 5:16-17 WEB 16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I don’t say that he should make a request concerning this. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

these things are written to followers of Jesus, for the purpose of ensuring they're choosing life, and fleeing from their sin.

It's possible to not sin, and yet still have sin.




Look at chapter 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin."
right.
Why would he say that if it were true that we will "always sin," the doctrine of demons from the Reformation.
i wouldn't have any Reformation ideas, because I'm not a Reformationist.
so if you want to discuss these ideas with someone who is educated in the Reformation doctrines, you'll have to talk to them.


The rest of 2:1 is the same as John 3:16. Jesus is the only way to salvation for the whole world.
Yep.

This is the answer to the second question.

1 John 3:4-5 "4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
yep. Jesus never sinned.
not sure why you'd think i would have thought Jesus had committed sin.
He is freeing us from sin.
As it's written in 1 John 1:7,
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

who who think they cannot sin.... they're deceiving themselves.
1Jn 1:8 WEB If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Any questions so far?
I'm still waiting for you to answer the questions-plural- I'd asked you.

So please start there.
 
In Romans 7, Paul showed us that Christians still wrestle with remaining, indwelling sin*. He says: “But what I hate I do” (7:15). But, at the same time, Christians have experienced a revolution in consciousness—a real disgust over sin and (now) an inability to find any lasting pleasure in it: “But what I hate I do.”

These two facts keep us from either the legalism that says: Real Christians don’t struggle with sin anymore, or the permissiveness that says: Real Christians are human; they sin just like anyone else. The Spirit of God has come in and transformed our “inner being” and self (7:22) so we want God and holiness, but our “flesh” or “sinful nature” is still powerful enough to keep us from doing what our new desires want.

But Romans 7 does not say everything about the Christian life. Our new condition—a “double nature”—can actually lead to more distress unless we “live … according to the Spirit” (8:4). Paul gives us directions on how to live in the Spirit. Unless we do, we will find ourselves continually doing what we hate.


Timothy Keller, Romans 8–16 God’s Word for You
Right, under the law. But once you are born again you are no longer under the law, BECAUSE you are no longer in the flesh, Romans 7:5-6 is about Christians. Verses 14-25 was us before chapter 8 telling us about the SPIRIT.

The problem is many Christians have never been baptized with the Holy Spirit and freed from our flesh. Romans 8:9. "But you are NOT IN THE FLESH BUT IN THE SPIRIT if the Spirit of God indwells you.

Sins not unto death as in immature fruit of the Spirit are cleansed as long as you are walking in the Spirit, 1 John 1:7. If you are walking in the Spirit your Savior is maturing those fruit in a process of glorification (not sanctification that happens when we are cleansed and justified. 1 Cor. 6:11) The point is we must view sin as the word says. Sin is lawlessness. A sin against the Ten Commandments, including lying.) Sins unto death take you to death and hell. Sins not unto death do not.
 
Last edited:
Sins not unto death as in immature fruit of the Spirit are cleansed as long as you are walking in the Spirit, 1 John 1:7. If you are walking in the Spirit your Savior is maturing those fruit in a process of glorification (not sanctification that happens when we are cleansed and justified. 1 Cor. 6:11) The point is we must view sin as the word says. Sin is lawlessness. A sin against the Ten Commandments, including lying.) Sins unto death take you to death and hell. Sins not unto death do not.
but what about 1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"

if indicate a possibility, do it not?

101G.
 
but what about 1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"

if indicate a possibility, do it not?

101G.
Hi 101G, haven't talked with you for a while.

How many people does ANY man mean? It is talking about ANY man. Not just the elect, but any sinner. It means the same as John 3:16. John is giving an invitation to be saved.

Christian sinners, which is a an oxymoron, love pointing out that verse to justify their mortal sins they should have been cleansed of if born again.
 
Back
Top Bottom