Jesus Christ said,
Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. (John 3:5 [NIV])
Don't be astonished that I told you, 'All of you must be born from above.' The wind blows where it wants to. You hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. That's the way it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:7-8 [ISV])
This birth in spirit is related to,
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (1 John 3:9 [KJV])
To be born of God is to be born in spirit, and thus anyone receiving the spirit of God fulfills this prophecy,
"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:26 [NASB])
And thus whoever receives the spirit cannot sin, because he is caused to walk in the statutes and ordinances of God by the spirit of God. The removal of the heart of stone is the removal of evil desires, as the heart is where the desires are, otherwise called the "fleshly" nature within, which is the cause of sin, and a new heart is given with godly desires. This is why Paul stated that he was freed from sin and no longer walked in flesh,
[1] In nothing then is there now condemnation to the ones in Christ Jesus, not walking according to flesh, but according to spirit. [2] For the law of the spirit of the life in Christ Jesus freed me from the law of the sin and of death. (Romans 8:1-2 [ABP])
But you are not in flesh, but in spirit, if indeed spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, this one is not of him. (Romans 8:9 [ABP])
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:18)
The fleshly nature that he no longer walked in was what he previously described as,
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:14-15 [NIV])
And thus in receiving the spirit he became free of this evil nature, and he then began walking in the spirit, as no one that does not receive the spirit can walk in spirit, nor does he belong to Jesus Christ, nor is he able to stop sinning on his own. Jesus Christ not only came to atone for sin, but also bring an end to sin, by offering up his own blood,
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. (Daniel 9:24 [KJV])
And she shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall deliver his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21 [ABP])
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. (Hebrews 9:13-14 [NETBIBLE])
As he is the only sacrifice that is able to cause a man to stop sinning as the blood of animals were not,
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and of he-goats to remove sins. (Hebrews 10:4 [ABP])
This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. (Hebrews 9:9 [NETBIBLE])
And all this coincides with why Jesus Christ said, "be perfect" and "sin no more",
You shall be then yourselves perfect, as your father, the one in the heavens is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 [ABP])
And she said, No one, O Lord. And Jesus said to her, Nor I condemn you; go and from now sin no more! (John 8:11 [ABP])
And also coincides with what Jesus Christ said here,
Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:34-36 [NIV])
You can only be set free from sin and become perfected if you are born in the spirit, and thus receive its sanctification to never sin again, and able to walk blameless before God,
For by one offering he has perfected in perpetuity the ones having been sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14 [ABP])
Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. (Philippians 3:15 [KJV])
and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, (Hebrews 12:23 [NETBIBLE])
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
(Colossians 2:10-11 [KJV])
Having therefore these promises, beloved friends, let us purify ourselves from all defilement of body and of spirit, and secure perfect holiness through the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1 [WNT])
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:28 [KJV])
Brothers, be not children in understanding, howbeit in malice be ye children; but in understanding be perfect. (1 Corinthians 14:20 [JB2000])
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. (Colossians 4:12 [KJV])
But strong food belongs to those that are perfect, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14 [JB2000])
And let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:4 [BLB])
He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:8 [NIV])
that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, (Philippians 2:15 [ESV])
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love (Ephesians 1:4 [NIV])
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23 [NIV])
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, (Jude 1:24 [ESV])
You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:10 [ESV])
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. (2 Peter 3:14 [KJV])
You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, (Deuteronomy 18:13 [ESV])
May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (1 Thessalonians 3:13 [NIV])
Receiving the holy spirit comes with a sign of having received him, usually speaking in different languages not known to the believer or prophesying,
And spirit of the LORD shall spring upon you, and you shall prophesy with them, and you shall turn into another man. (1 Samuel 10:6 [ABP])
And they were filled all together of holy spirit, and they began to speak with other languages, as the spirit gave to them to be declared. (Acts 2:4 [ABP])
Notice how Saul was "turned into another man" when the spirit of the Lord entered him. This was a type of the baptism of the holy spirit that was later given at Pentecost, which was the "new spirit" spoken of in Ezekiel, which would not only cause whoever receives him to be "turned into another man", but also "perfected", which is what made this "new spirit" distinct from the spirit that was given to prophets before the offering up of Jesus Christ. The holy spirit is not just a metaphor that many people foolishly mistaken him for, but he is a literal spirit that enters the body and causes sanctification. Just as there are unclean spirits that can enter the body and possess the body to cause evil, so there is holy spirit that enters the body and brings forth sanctification, comfort, guidance from within, and even power,
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26 [NIV])
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. (1 John 2:27 [NLT])
Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. (2 Timothy 1:6 [HCSB])
This holy spirit that is given to the elect is of the same kind of holy spirit that guided the Israelites, who was an angel of God,
In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. (Isaiah 63:9-10 [NIV])
And as such, each believer that is baptized in the holy spirit receives a distinct spirit that is holy, hence why this passage states that each spirit within a prophet is subject to the control of the prophet,
The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. (1 Corinthians 14:32 [NIV])
And just as the holy spirit that guided the Israelites did not forgive sins,
"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. (Exodus 23:20-21 [NIV])
So does the holy spirit that is given to the elect does not forgive sins either,
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin." (Mark 3:39 [NIV])
Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
(Acts 5:3 [NIV])
Ananias lied to the holy spirit within Peter, and because of this the holy spirit took his life. And even if it were possible for a man of God having the holy spirit to sin, just as Ananias was destroyed because of his sin against the holy spirit, so would that man of God also be destroyed who houses the holy spirit,
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which templeye are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 [KJV])
This is why in Hebrews it is also stated, that even if it were possible for a man to fall away who had been baptized in the holy spirit, it would be impossible for him to ever be granted repentance,
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
(Hebrews 6:4-6 [NIV])
If you still find yourself sinning, then you truly have not received the holy spirit. God wants his people to walk blameless before him, and even before the new spirit was given by God to man, he required Abraham, the father of the faith, to walk blameless before him before he received the sign of the new covenant, which was circumcision of the flesh,
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. (Genesis 17:1 [NIV])
So if walking blameless before God was necessary in the old covenant, how much more is it necessary to walk blameless in the new and greater covenant having the perfection that the old covenant foreshadowed? Do not be deceived into thinking that you can still continually sin and somehow God will always grant forgiveness, as even in Hebrews we have this warning,
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26-27 [NIV])
No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
(1 John 3:6 [ESV])
And indeed all have sinned, past tense, which is why it is said,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23 [NIV])
[8] If we should say that we do not have sin, we mislead ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we should acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and just that he should have forgiven us the sins, and should have cleansed us from all iniquity.
(I John 1:8-9 [ABP])
This is why we must repent, which means to stop sinning, present and future tense,
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." (John 5:14 [NIV])
and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (Matthew 3:2 [NIV])
Meaning that we must stop sinning today and onwards, not stop sinning today and then sin again tomorrow, otherwise you make your "repentance and remorsefulness" of no avail, since you did not truly stop committing sins. Of what avail is the remorsefulness of a thief if he does not stop stealing? Of what avail is the remorsefulness of an adulteress if she does not stop committing adultery? One must completely stop sinning and once you fully repent, then can you be forgiven of all past sins and cleansed from all iniquity. And once you stop sinning by repenting, then can you seek to be baptized in the holy spirit, which will free you from sin. It is only possible to be freed from sin by the spirit that comes from God.
Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. (John 3:5 [NIV])
Don't be astonished that I told you, 'All of you must be born from above.' The wind blows where it wants to. You hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. That's the way it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:7-8 [ISV])
This birth in spirit is related to,
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (1 John 3:9 [KJV])
To be born of God is to be born in spirit, and thus anyone receiving the spirit of God fulfills this prophecy,
"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:26 [NASB])
And thus whoever receives the spirit cannot sin, because he is caused to walk in the statutes and ordinances of God by the spirit of God. The removal of the heart of stone is the removal of evil desires, as the heart is where the desires are, otherwise called the "fleshly" nature within, which is the cause of sin, and a new heart is given with godly desires. This is why Paul stated that he was freed from sin and no longer walked in flesh,
[1] In nothing then is there now condemnation to the ones in Christ Jesus, not walking according to flesh, but according to spirit. [2] For the law of the spirit of the life in Christ Jesus freed me from the law of the sin and of death. (Romans 8:1-2 [ABP])
But you are not in flesh, but in spirit, if indeed spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, this one is not of him. (Romans 8:9 [ABP])
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:18)
The fleshly nature that he no longer walked in was what he previously described as,
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:14-15 [NIV])
And thus in receiving the spirit he became free of this evil nature, and he then began walking in the spirit, as no one that does not receive the spirit can walk in spirit, nor does he belong to Jesus Christ, nor is he able to stop sinning on his own. Jesus Christ not only came to atone for sin, but also bring an end to sin, by offering up his own blood,
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. (Daniel 9:24 [KJV])
And she shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall deliver his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21 [ABP])
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. (Hebrews 9:13-14 [NETBIBLE])
As he is the only sacrifice that is able to cause a man to stop sinning as the blood of animals were not,
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and of he-goats to remove sins. (Hebrews 10:4 [ABP])
This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. (Hebrews 9:9 [NETBIBLE])
And all this coincides with why Jesus Christ said, "be perfect" and "sin no more",
You shall be then yourselves perfect, as your father, the one in the heavens is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 [ABP])
And she said, No one, O Lord. And Jesus said to her, Nor I condemn you; go and from now sin no more! (John 8:11 [ABP])
And also coincides with what Jesus Christ said here,
Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:34-36 [NIV])
You can only be set free from sin and become perfected if you are born in the spirit, and thus receive its sanctification to never sin again, and able to walk blameless before God,
For by one offering he has perfected in perpetuity the ones having been sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14 [ABP])
Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. (Philippians 3:15 [KJV])
and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, (Hebrews 12:23 [NETBIBLE])
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
(Colossians 2:10-11 [KJV])
Having therefore these promises, beloved friends, let us purify ourselves from all defilement of body and of spirit, and secure perfect holiness through the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1 [WNT])
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:28 [KJV])
Brothers, be not children in understanding, howbeit in malice be ye children; but in understanding be perfect. (1 Corinthians 14:20 [JB2000])
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. (Colossians 4:12 [KJV])
But strong food belongs to those that are perfect, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14 [JB2000])
And let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:4 [BLB])
He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:8 [NIV])
that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, (Philippians 2:15 [ESV])
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love (Ephesians 1:4 [NIV])
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23 [NIV])
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, (Jude 1:24 [ESV])
You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:10 [ESV])
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. (2 Peter 3:14 [KJV])
You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, (Deuteronomy 18:13 [ESV])
May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (1 Thessalonians 3:13 [NIV])
Receiving the holy spirit comes with a sign of having received him, usually speaking in different languages not known to the believer or prophesying,
And spirit of the LORD shall spring upon you, and you shall prophesy with them, and you shall turn into another man. (1 Samuel 10:6 [ABP])
And they were filled all together of holy spirit, and they began to speak with other languages, as the spirit gave to them to be declared. (Acts 2:4 [ABP])
Notice how Saul was "turned into another man" when the spirit of the Lord entered him. This was a type of the baptism of the holy spirit that was later given at Pentecost, which was the "new spirit" spoken of in Ezekiel, which would not only cause whoever receives him to be "turned into another man", but also "perfected", which is what made this "new spirit" distinct from the spirit that was given to prophets before the offering up of Jesus Christ. The holy spirit is not just a metaphor that many people foolishly mistaken him for, but he is a literal spirit that enters the body and causes sanctification. Just as there are unclean spirits that can enter the body and possess the body to cause evil, so there is holy spirit that enters the body and brings forth sanctification, comfort, guidance from within, and even power,
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26 [NIV])
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. (1 John 2:27 [NLT])
Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. (2 Timothy 1:6 [HCSB])
This holy spirit that is given to the elect is of the same kind of holy spirit that guided the Israelites, who was an angel of God,
In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. (Isaiah 63:9-10 [NIV])
And as such, each believer that is baptized in the holy spirit receives a distinct spirit that is holy, hence why this passage states that each spirit within a prophet is subject to the control of the prophet,
The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. (1 Corinthians 14:32 [NIV])
And just as the holy spirit that guided the Israelites did not forgive sins,
"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. (Exodus 23:20-21 [NIV])
So does the holy spirit that is given to the elect does not forgive sins either,
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin." (Mark 3:39 [NIV])
Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
(Acts 5:3 [NIV])
Ananias lied to the holy spirit within Peter, and because of this the holy spirit took his life. And even if it were possible for a man of God having the holy spirit to sin, just as Ananias was destroyed because of his sin against the holy spirit, so would that man of God also be destroyed who houses the holy spirit,
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which templeye are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 [KJV])
This is why in Hebrews it is also stated, that even if it were possible for a man to fall away who had been baptized in the holy spirit, it would be impossible for him to ever be granted repentance,
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
(Hebrews 6:4-6 [NIV])
If you still find yourself sinning, then you truly have not received the holy spirit. God wants his people to walk blameless before him, and even before the new spirit was given by God to man, he required Abraham, the father of the faith, to walk blameless before him before he received the sign of the new covenant, which was circumcision of the flesh,
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. (Genesis 17:1 [NIV])
So if walking blameless before God was necessary in the old covenant, how much more is it necessary to walk blameless in the new and greater covenant having the perfection that the old covenant foreshadowed? Do not be deceived into thinking that you can still continually sin and somehow God will always grant forgiveness, as even in Hebrews we have this warning,
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26-27 [NIV])
No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
(1 John 3:6 [ESV])
And indeed all have sinned, past tense, which is why it is said,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23 [NIV])
[8] If we should say that we do not have sin, we mislead ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we should acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and just that he should have forgiven us the sins, and should have cleansed us from all iniquity.
(I John 1:8-9 [ABP])
This is why we must repent, which means to stop sinning, present and future tense,
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." (John 5:14 [NIV])
and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (Matthew 3:2 [NIV])
Meaning that we must stop sinning today and onwards, not stop sinning today and then sin again tomorrow, otherwise you make your "repentance and remorsefulness" of no avail, since you did not truly stop committing sins. Of what avail is the remorsefulness of a thief if he does not stop stealing? Of what avail is the remorsefulness of an adulteress if she does not stop committing adultery? One must completely stop sinning and once you fully repent, then can you be forgiven of all past sins and cleansed from all iniquity. And once you stop sinning by repenting, then can you seek to be baptized in the holy spirit, which will free you from sin. It is only possible to be freed from sin by the spirit that comes from God.
