Does a Christian sin

[Johann]

Saints Preserved Blameless
Christians are "sanctified wholly" in their desires and
intentions, and that brings us to the meaning of "preserved
blameless." It is not that blamelessness which the covenant of works
required, but that of the covenant of grace wherein God accepts the
will for the deed (Nehemiah 1:11; 2 Corinthians 8:12). God accepts
the deed by the will. He interprets as perfect the man who desires to
be perfect, and He calls that man perfect who desires to have all his
imperfections removed.

It is sad that so few have been taught to
distinguish between legal and evangelical blamelessness.

When
God’s Word says that the parents of John the Baptist walked "in all
the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" (Luke
1:6).......

it does not mean that they lived sinlessly, as verse 20 shows, but
that such was their sincere desire and earnest endeavor that they
habitually walked in conscientious obedience to God and behaved in
such a manner in the general tenor of their conduct that none could
charge them with any open sin.

The word blameless in such passages as 1 Corinthians 1:8;
Philippians 2:15 and 1 Thessalonians 3:13 should be compared with
"Blessed are the undefiled in the way" (Ps. 119:1). The word
blameless here is to be understood according to the tenor of the new
covenant, which does not exclude (as the covenant of works did)
God’s exercise of mercy and the pardon of sin (see Psalm 130:3-4).
The prayer which Christ has given us to use bids us ask not only for
deliverance from temptation but for daily pardon. If God dealt with
us according to the strict rigor of His law and required absolute
"undefiledness," none would escape His condemnation.

Evangelical
undefiledness must be understood as the sincerity of our obedience
and refrainment from that which would give others occasion to
justly charge us with wrongdoing.

While the Christian honestly and
earnestly endeavors to show himself approved to God, while he is
truly humble regarding his failures and penitently confesses them,
while he diligently seeks to walk in the law of the Lord, he is
accounted "blameless," or "undefiled," in the gospel sense of those
words
Pink.

 

[Johann]

(1 Cor. 6:11); whom "now hath he reconciled" (Col. 1:21),
"made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13), indwelt by His
Spirit, delighted in as His sons; and to whom He says, "All things
are yours" (1 Cor. 3:21). Spurgeon rightly affirmed, "The true
believer is fit for heaven now, at this very moment.

That does not
mean he is sinless, but that he has been accepted in the Beloved,
adopted into the Family, and fitted by Divine approbation to dwell
with the saints in light."

 

[Peterlag]

1Pe_2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

War against the soul (strateuontai kata tēs psuchēs). Present middle indicative of strateuō, to carry on a campaign (Jas_4:1). See this struggle between the flesh and the spirit vividly pictured by Paul in Gal_5:16-24.

Do you know what a Present, Middle indicative is?

Jas 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

You say "no war in the life of the believer?"

Give me your interpretation on the verses presented and do look up Hyper Grace and the Word of Faith "movement"

Studies in Perfectionism, Vol. 1 & 2, Benjamin B. Warfield

J

I have done that. I have abstained from fleshly lust when I put on the Lord Christ. Here's 3 verses that I don't talk about or write about, but I might start today. They have been well known to me since I was a teenager, but I never gave them much thought until now. Maybe this will also help you to understand sin if you can look at it without your Catholic brain.

Romans 8:1-3
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

 

[Peterlag]

Are you capable of committing acts of sin?

The Bible says...

Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

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.

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not.

 

[Peterlag]

Here's 3 verses that I don't talk about or write about, but I might start today. They have been well known to me since I was a teenager, but I never gave them much thought until now. Maybe this will also help you to understand sin if you can look at it without your Catholic brain.

Romans 8:1-3

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

 

[Johann]

To live without offense does not mean to be sinless—for that
would contradict James 3:2 and 1 John 1:8; but it means to refrain
from everything which causes others to sin, to do no action contrary
to the light we have received from God, and to avoid everything
which would issue in a guilty conscience before Him.

That is indeed
a high standard of conduct, yet we must aim at nothing short of it. It
is the highest realization in this life, approximating to perfection
outwardly. That it is, by the grace of God, attainable, appears from
the case of the parents of John the Baptist: "They were both
righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and
ordinances of the Lord blameless"—though not sinless (Luke 1:6).

The Apostle Paul declared, "I have lived in all good conscience
before God until this day" (Acts 23:1). As Goodwin says, "If a holy
man is often kept from such sins a week, a month, a year, then it is
also possible, in this state of frailty, to be kept all his lifetime."

J.

 

[Johann]

I have done that.

You have done what?


I asked you..."Are you capable/incapable of committing an ACT of sin?

 

[Johann]

You have done what?


I asked you..."Are you capable/incapable of committing an ACT of sin?

It sounds like...with a pencil, you ticked..."I have done that, and that, and that..."

 

[Johann]

Maybe this will also help you to understand sin if you can look at it without your Catholic brain.

Be careful with your assumptions re the "Catholic brain"
J.

 

[Johann]

Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

Sinneth not - There has been much difference of opinion in regard to this expression, and the similar declaration in 1Jn_3:9.

Not a few have maintained that it teaches the “doctrine of perfection,” or that Christians may live entirely without sin; and some have held that the apostle meant to teach that this is always the characteristic of the true Christian.

Against the interpretation, however, which supposes that it teaches that the Christian is absolutely perfect, and lives wholly without sin, there are three insuperable objections:
(1) If it teaches that doctrine at all, it teaches that all Christians are perfect; “whosoever abideth in him,” “whosoever is born of God,” “he cannot sin,” 1Jn_3:9.
(2)

This is not true, and cannot be held to be true by those who have any just views of what the children of God have been and are. Who can maintain that Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob; that Moses, David, or Job; that Peter, John, or Paul, were absolutely perfect, and were never, after their regeneration, guilty of an act of sin?


Certainly they never affirmed it of themselves, nor does the sacred record attribute to them any such perfection. And who can affirm this of all who give evidence of true piety in the world? Who can of themselves? Are we to come to the painful conclusion that all who are not absolutely perfect in thought, word, and deed, are destitute of any religion, and are to be set down as hypocrites or self-deceivers?


And yet, unless this passage proves that “all” who have been born again are absolutely perfect, it will not prove it of anyone, for the affirmation is not made of a part, or of what any favored individual may be, but of what everyone is in fact who is born of God.
(3) This interpretation is not necessary to a fair exposition of the passage. The language used is such as would be employed by any writer if he designed to say of one that he is not characteristically a sinner; that he is a good man; that he does not commit habitual and willful transgression. Such language is common throughout the Bible, when it is said of one man that he is a saint, and of another that he is a sinner; of one that he is righteous, and of another that he is wicked; of one that he obeys the law of God, and of another that he does not.

John expresses it strongly, but he affirms no more in fact than is affirmed elsewhere. The passage teaches, indeed, most important truths in regard to the true Christian; and the fair and proper meaning may be summed up in the following particulars:


(a) He who is born again does not sin habitually, or is not habitually a sinner. If he does wrong, it is when he is overtaken by temptation, and the act is against the habitual inclination and purpose of his soul. If a man sins habitually, it proves that he has never been renewed.
(b) That he who is born again does not do wrong deliberately and by design. He means to do right. He is not willfully and deliberately a sinner. If a man deliberately and intentionally does wrong, he shows that he is not actuated by the spirit of religion. It is true that when one does wrong, or commits sin, there is a momentary assent of the will; but it is under the influence of passion, or excitement, or temptation, or provocation, and not as the result of a deliberate plan or purpose of the soul. A man who deliberately and intentionally does a wrong thing, shows that he is not a true Christian; and if this were all that is understood by “perfection,” then there would be many who are perfect, for there are many, very many Christians, who cannot recollect an instance for many years in which they have intentionally and deliberately done a wrong thing.


Yet these very Christians see much corruption in their own hearts over which to mourn, and against which they earnestly strive; in comparing themselves with the perfect law of God, and with the perfect example of the Saviour, they see much in which they come short.
(c) He who is born again will not sin finally, or will not fall away. “His seed remaineth in him,” 1Jn_3:9.

There is a principle of grace by which he will ultimately be restrained and recovered. This, it seems to me, is fairly implied in the language used by John; for if a person might be a Christian, and yet wholly fall away and perish, how could it be said with any truth that such a man “sinneth not;” how that “he doth not commit sin;” how that “his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin?” Just the contrary would be true if this were so.

Whosoever sinneth - That is, as explained above, habitually, deliberately, characteristically, and finally. - Doddridge. “Who habitually and avowedly sinneth.”
Hath not seen him, nor known him - Has had no just views of the Saviour, or of the nature of true religion. In other words, cannot be a true Christian.

1Jn 3:6 παςG3956 A-NSM οG3588 T-NSM ενG1722 PREP αυτωG846 P-DSM μενωνG3306 V-PAP-NSM ουχG3756 PRT-N αμαρτανειG264 V-PAI-3S παςG3956 A-NSM οG3588 T-NSM αμαρτανωνG264 V-PAP-NSM ουχG3756 PRT-N εωρακενG3708 V-RAI-3S-ATT αυτονG846 P-ASM ουδεG3761 CONJ-N εγνωκενG1097 V-RAI-3S αυτονG846 P-ASM

1Jn 3:6 No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains N1in communion with and in obedience to Him--deliberately, knowingly, and N2habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].
AMPC

Makes absolute sense, doesn't it?
J.

 

[Johann]

whosoever sinneth, hath not seen him, neither known him]

Or, every one that sinneth, hath not seen Him, neither knoweth Him. The second verb is the perfect of the commonest verb in Greek for ‘to see’ (ὁρᾷν), a verb of which S. John uses no tense but the perfect. The third verb, though perfect in form, is present in meaning, ‘I have come to know, I know’ (see on 1Jn_2:3).

No one who sins has seen Christ or attained to a knowledge of Him. What does S. John mean by this strong statement? It will be observed that it is the antithesis of the preceding statement; but, as usual, instead of giving us the simple antithesis, ‘Every one that sinneth abideth not in Him’, he expands and strengthens it into ‘Every one that sinneth hath not seen Him, neither come to know Him’.


S. John does not say this of every one who commits a sin, but of the habitual sinner (present participle). Although the believer sometimes sins, yet not sin, but opposition to sin, is the ruling principle of his life; for whenever he sins he confesses it, and wins forgiveness, and perseveres with his self-purification.


But the habitual sinner does none of these things: sin is his ruling principle. And this could not be the case if he had ever really known Christ. Just as apostates by leaving the Church prove that they have never really belonged to it (1Jn_2:19), so the sinner by continuing in sin proves that he has never really known Christ.—Seeing and knowing are not two names for the same fact: to see Christ is to be spiritually conscious of His presence; to know Him is to recognise His character and His relation to ourselves. For a collection of varying interpretations of this passage see Farrar’s Early Days of Christianity, II. p. 434, note.

Hmm
J.

 

[Johann]

The Bible says...

Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

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.

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not.

1Jn 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
That we have no sin
Ὅτι that, may be taken merely as a mark of quotation: “If we say, sin we have not.” On the phrase to have sin, see on Joh_16:22, and compare have fellowship, 1Jn_1:3. Sin (ἁμαρτίαν) is not to be understood of original sin, or of sin before conversion, but generally. “It is obvious that this ἔχειν ἁμαρτίαν (to have sin), is infinitely diversified, according to the successive measure of the purification and development of the new man. Even the apostle John does not exclude himself from the universal if we say” (Ebrard).

Heathen authors say very little about sin, and classic paganism had little or no conception of sin in the Gospel sense. The nearest approach to it was by Plato, from whose works a tolerably complete doctrinal statement might be gathered of the origin, nature, and effects of sin. The fundamental idea of ἁμαρτία (sin) among the Greeks is physical; the missing of a mark (see on Mat_1:21; see on Mat_6:14); from which it develops into a metaphysical meaning, to wander in the understanding. This assumes knowledge as the basis of goodness; and sin, therefore, is, primarily, ignorance.

In the Platonic conception of sin, intellectual error is the prominent element.

Thus: “What then, I said, is the result of all this? Is not this the result - that other things are indifferent, and that wisdom is the only good, and ignorance the only evil?” (“Euthydemus,” 281).

“The business of the founders of the state will be to compel the best minds to attain that knowledge which has been already declared by us to be the greatest of all - they must continue to rise until they arrive at the good” (“Republic,” vii., 519).


Plato represents sin as the dominance of the lower impulses of the soul, which is opposed to nature and to God (see “Laws,” ix., 863. “Republic,” i., 351). Or again, as an inward want of harmony. “May we not regard every living being as a puppet of the gods, either their plaything only or created with a purpose - which of the two we cannot certainly know? But this we know, that these affections in us are like cords and strings which pull us different and opposite ways, and to opposite actions; and herein lies the difference between virtue and vice” (“Laws,” i., 644).


He traces most sins to the influence of the body on the soul. “In this present life, I reckon that we make the nearest approach to knowledge when we have the least possible communion or fellowship with the body, and are not infected with the bodily nature, but remain pure until the hour when God himself is pleased to release us. And then the foolishness of the body will be cleared away, and we shall be pure, and hold converse with other pure souls, and know of ourselves the clear light everywhere, which is no other than the light of truth” (“Phedo,” 67).

We find in the classical writers, however, the occasional sense of the universal faultiness of mankind, though even Plato furnishes scarcely any traces of accepting the doctrine of innate depravity. Thus Theognis: “The sun beholds no wholly good and virtuous man among those who are now living” (615). “But having become good, to remain in a good state and be good, is not possible, and is not granted to man. God only has this blessing; but man cannot help being bad when the force of circumstances overpowers him” (Plato, “Protagoras,” 344). “ How, then: is it possible to be sinless? It is impossible; but this is possible, to strive not to sin” (“Epictetus,” iv., 12, 19).

We deceive ourselves (ἑαυτοὺς πλανῶμεν)
Lit., we lead ourselves astray. See on Mar_7:24; see on Mat_27:63, Mat_27:64; see on Jud_1:13. Not only do we err, we are responsible for it. The phrase only here in the New Testament. For the verb as applied to deceivers of various kinds, see Mat_24:4; Rev_2:20; Rev_13:14; Rev_19:20; Rev_12:9; Rev_20:3. Compare πλάνοι deceivers (2Jn_1:7); πλάνη error (Jud_1:11; 1Jn_4:6).


The truth
The whole Gospel. All reality is in God. He is the only true God (ἀληθινός Joh_17:3; see on Joh_1:9). This reality is incarnated in Christ, the Word of God, “the very image of His substance,” and in His message to men. This message is the truth, a title not found in the Synoptists, Acts, or Revelation, but in the Catholic Epistles (Jas_5:19; 1Pe_1:22; 2Pe_2:2), and in Paul (2Co_8:8; Eph_1:13, etc.). It is especially characteristic of the Gospel and Epistles of John. The truth is represented by John objectively and subjectively.

1. Objectively. In the person of Christ. He is the Truth, the perfect revelation of God (Joh_1:18; Joh_14:6). His manhood is true to the absolute law of right, which is the law of love, and is, therefore, our perfect pattern of manhood.
Truth, absolutely existing in and identified with God, was also, in some measure, diffused in the world. The Word was in the world, before as after the incarnation (Joh_1:10. See on Joh_1:4, Joh_1:5). Christ often treats the truth as something to which He came to bear witness, and which it was His mission to develop into clearer recognition and expression (Joh_18:37). This He did through the embodiment of truth in His own person (Joh_1:14, Joh_1:17; Joh_14:6), and by His teaching (Joh_8:40; Joh_17:17); and His work is carried out by the Spirit of Truth (Joh_16:13), sent by God and by Christ himself (Joh_14:26; Joh_16:7). Hence the Spirit, even as Christ, is the Truth (1Jn_5:6). The whole sum of the knowledge of Christ and of the Spirit, is the Truth (1Jn_2:21; 2Jn_1:1). This truth can be recognized, apprehended, and appropriated by man, and can be also rejected by him (Joh_8:32; 1Jn_2:21; Joh_8:44).


2. Subjectively. The truth is lodged in man by the Spirit, and communicated to his spirit (Joh_14:17; Joh_15:26; Joh_16:13). It dwells in man (1Jn_1:8; 1Jn_2:4; 2Jn_1:2), as revelation, comfort, guidance, enlightenment, conviction, impulse, inspiration, knowledge. It is the spirit of truth as opposed to the spirit of error (1Jn_4:6). It translates itself into act. God's true children do the truth (Joh_3:21; 1Jn_1:6). It brings sanctification and freedom (Joh_8:32; Joh_17:17). See on Joh_14:6, Joh_14:17.
Vincent


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...for a further study...if you are so inclined.
J.

 

[Peterlag]

To live without offense does not mean to be sinless—for that
would contradict James 3:2 and 1 John 1:8; but it means to refrain
from everything which causes others to sin, to do no action contrary
to the light we have received from God, and to avoid everything
which would issue in a guilty conscience before Him.

That is indeed
a high standard of conduct, yet we must aim at nothing short of it. It
is the highest realization in this life, approximating to perfection
outwardly. That it is, by the grace of God, attainable, appears from
the case of the parents of John the Baptist: "They were both
righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and
ordinances of the Lord blameless"—though not sinless (Luke 1:6).

The Apostle Paul declared, "I have lived in all good conscience
before God until this day" (Acts 23:1). As Goodwin says, "If a holy
man is often kept from such sins a week, a month, a year, then it is
also possible, in this state of frailty, to be kept all his lifetime."

J.

I already gave you my take on 1 John 1:8 that it is not addressed to the Christian just like Romans 10:9 would not be addressed to the Christian. These guys were Prophets and Apostles who were teaching to new people all of the time. Your Preachers today do the same thing. Not everything they tell you in Church is addressed to the Christian when there are new people in the room. Such is also the case with the Apostles.

 

[Peterlag]

You have done what?


I asked you..."Are you capable/incapable of committing an ACT of sin?

Did I not tell you what I did when I wrote... "I have done that. I have abstained from fleshly lust when I put on the Lord Christ."

 

[Peterlag]

Be careful with your assumptions re the "Catholic brain"
J.

Do you not know the Catholics defined sin? Here maybe this will help...

The concept of the original sin was first alluded to in the second century by Irenaeus, (Bishop of Lyon) who was working for the Catholics and not for the apostle Paul. Some two hundred years later another church father who went by the name of Augustine, (Bishop of Hippo) whose writings shaped and developed the doctrine of sin as he considered that humanity shared in Adam's sin. Augustine's formulation of the original sin after the year of 412 was popular among protestant reformer's such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, who equated the original sin with a hurtful desire meaning that it persisted even after baptism and therefore completely destroyed the freedom to do good. At first Augustine, said that free will was weakened, but not destroyed by the original sin. But after the year of 412 this concept changed to a loss of free will except to sin, and it's this Augustine's concept that influenced the development of the western church and western philosophy and indirectly all of western Christianity.

 

[Peterlag]

Sinneth not - There has been much difference of opinion in regard to this expression, and the similar declaration in 1Jn_3:9.

Not a few have maintained that it teaches the “doctrine of perfection,” or that Christians may live entirely without sin; and some have held that the apostle meant to teach that this is always the characteristic of the true Christian.

Against the interpretation, however, which supposes that it teaches that the Christian is absolutely perfect, and lives wholly without sin, there are three insuperable objections:
(1) If it teaches that doctrine at all, it teaches that all Christians are perfect; “whosoever abideth in him,” “whosoever is born of God,” “he cannot sin,” 1Jn_3:9.
(2)

This is not true, and cannot be held to be true by those who have any just views of what the children of God have been and are. Who can maintain that Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob; that Moses, David, or Job; that Peter, John, or Paul, were absolutely perfect, and were never, after their regeneration, guilty of an act of sin?


Certainly they never affirmed it of themselves, nor does the sacred record attribute to them any such perfection. And who can affirm this of all who give evidence of true piety in the world? Who can of themselves? Are we to come to the painful conclusion that all who are not absolutely perfect in thought, word, and deed, are destitute of any religion, and are to be set down as hypocrites or self-deceivers?


And yet, unless this passage proves that “all” who have been born again are absolutely perfect, it will not prove it of anyone, for the affirmation is not made of a part, or of what any favored individual may be, but of what everyone is in fact who is born of God.
(3) This interpretation is not necessary to a fair exposition of the passage. The language used is such as would be employed by any writer if he designed to say of one that he is not characteristically a sinner; that he is a good man; that he does not commit habitual and willful transgression. Such language is common throughout the Bible, when it is said of one man that he is a saint, and of another that he is a sinner; of one that he is righteous, and of another that he is wicked; of one that he obeys the law of God, and of another that he does not.

John expresses it strongly, but he affirms no more in fact than is affirmed elsewhere. The passage teaches, indeed, most important truths in regard to the true Christian; and the fair and proper meaning may be summed up in the following particulars:


(a) He who is born again does not sin habitually, or is not habitually a sinner. If he does wrong, it is when he is overtaken by temptation, and the act is against the habitual inclination and purpose of his soul. If a man sins habitually, it proves that he has never been renewed.
(b) That he who is born again does not do wrong deliberately and by design. He means to do right. He is not willfully and deliberately a sinner. If a man deliberately and intentionally does wrong, he shows that he is not actuated by the spirit of religion. It is true that when one does wrong, or commits sin, there is a momentary assent of the will; but it is under the influence of passion, or excitement, or temptation, or provocation, and not as the result of a deliberate plan or purpose of the soul. A man who deliberately and intentionally does a wrong thing, shows that he is not a true Christian; and if this were all that is understood by “perfection,” then there would be many who are perfect, for there are many, very many Christians, who cannot recollect an instance for many years in which they have intentionally and deliberately done a wrong thing.


Yet these very Christians see much corruption in their own hearts over which to mourn, and against which they earnestly strive; in comparing themselves with the perfect law of God, and with the perfect example of the Saviour, they see much in which they come short.
(c) He who is born again will not sin finally, or will not fall away. “His seed remaineth in him,” 1Jn_3:9.

There is a principle of grace by which he will ultimately be restrained and recovered. This, it seems to me, is fairly implied in the language used by John; for if a person might be a Christian, and yet wholly fall away and perish, how could it be said with any truth that such a man “sinneth not;” how that “he doth not commit sin;” how that “his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin?” Just the contrary would be true if this were so.

Whosoever sinneth - That is, as explained above, habitually, deliberately, characteristically, and finally. - Doddridge. “Who habitually and avowedly sinneth.”
Hath not seen him, nor known him - Has had no just views of the Saviour, or of the nature of true religion. In other words, cannot be a true Christian.

1Jn 3:6 παςG3956 A-NSM οG3588 T-NSM ενG1722 PREP αυτωG846 P-DSM μενωνG3306 V-PAP-NSM ουχG3756 PRT-N αμαρτανειG264 V-PAI-3S παςG3956 A-NSM οG3588 T-NSM αμαρτανωνG264 V-PAP-NSM ουχG3756 PRT-N εωρακενG3708 V-RAI-3S-ATT αυτονG846 P-ASM ουδεG3761 CONJ-N εγνωκενG1097 V-RAI-3S αυτονG846 P-ASM

1Jn 3:6 No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains N1in communion with and in obedience to Him--deliberately, knowingly, and N2habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].
AMPC

Makes absolute sense, doesn't it?
J.

I don't read anything about perfection concerning sin in the Bible. Are we back to the Catholic concept of sin?

 

[Peterlag]

You are not dirty. God gave you a new life in that old fleshly body when He sanctified you in Christ. He made it possible that you might be made the righteousness of God. You are not a sinner with a dirty heart. God made you a new creature. He gave you a new nature.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus

Andrew Farley has some great videos on this called the perfect you. You can Google it.

 

[Peterlag]

Here I Googled it for you... Enjoy

 

[Peterlag]

I was taught God or Christ was showing me something when I walk by the spirit. Maybe it's the spirit showing me something when I walk by the spirit. In Romans 8:4, it's suggesting we walk after or by this spirit. In Romans 8:9, it calls this spirit the spirit of Christ. In Romans 8:11, it calls this spirit the spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead and that it dwells in us. In 1 Corinthians 3:16, it calls it the spirit of God that dwells in us. In Galatians 4:6, it's called the spirit of his son. And in Galatians 5:16, it talks about walking in this spirit. Very few Christians know who they are in the spirit because most of us have been taught by our religious leaders that we are sinners by nature. And in my view that is just the opposite of what the Scriptures teach.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

It's not the body, but the spirit that has become a new creature. In other words, it's in the spirit that we have become a brand-new species because our spirit is totally new and therefore there is not an old sin nature left in us. We undergo a miraculous exchange at the center of our being once we have the spirit of Christ. Who we were in Adam is no longer there. We become a new person because we are now a child of God who is in Christ. The key event causing this exchange is a death, burial, and resurrection with Christ. This miraculous exchange is not figurative or symbolic, but literal and actual.

The spiritual part of every Christian has literally and actually been crucified, buried, and raised with Christ. The fact that this occurs spiritually and not physically doesn’t make it any less real. So what happens to the old self that was in Adam? The old self is entirely obliterated once the spirit of Christ enters the Christian. I know this comes as a complete shock to many of you who have been indoctrinated in the-old-nature-versus-the-new-nature theology. Most Christians have been taught to believe that after salvation, they are still the same at their core, and they live the rest of their lives trying to restrain this old nature. They believe they have two natures.

Romans 6:2
How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

The Christians of today believe they are alive to sin and it's with much effort, frustration, and failure that they battle this sin nature the rest of their lives. This idea that the spirit of Christ makes our flesh spiritual is believed by most because the churches teach that Christians still have a sin nature. They do not. It's destroyed after the spirit of Christ has come upon the Christian. It seems like the whole Christian world teaches that the spirit follows the flesh, and by that, I mean the spirit functions through the flesh.

The reason I cannot lust in the flesh when following after the spirit is because it's impossible to do so since the spirit of Christ does not lust after the flesh. Religious people don't follow after the spirit, but rather they follow after their flesh and call it spiritual. The religious folks lead with their flesh and call it Christian. The church folks clean up their flesh by making themselves nice. Then they say this is Christian because we are being nice like the way Jesus was. In contrast to that, I believe we should walk after the spirit of Christ.

It is written that we should ask in his name, which I have finally come to believe means to ask in his authority, which seems to me would mean to ask by representing him. When I receive what I'm focused on in prayer, then I will be living within the authority of Jesus Christ, and thereby functioning as his representative. When I am close to the spirit of Christ, then I will function as a partner with the Lord whereby it becomes a joint effort.

I believe the spirit of Christ is my new nature and therefore I have been able to function in it. To live in it, walk by it, and be in it. Most of my life I believed I was in a battle between what I thought was my old man fighting against what I thought was my new man. Now I'm not fighting. I moved right in the darn thing. It seems to me one cannot walk in or by the spirit if our old nature (which is dead) thinks it's fighting against our new nature.

I was taught being in Christ meant I was in fellowship with God because I was walking upright in my flesh. I now understand being in Christ is being in the spirit and neither of them (in Christ or in the spirit) has anything to do with the flesh. It now seems perfectly clear to walk in or by the spirit is the same as putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the same as having fellowship with Jesus Christ, which is also part of having the mind of Christ. Living in Christ is the same as being strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. There's a verse where Jesus says without me you can do nothing. Well, I'm never without him.

 

[Johann]

I was taught God or Christ was showing me something when I walk by the spirit. Maybe it's the spirit showing me something when I walk by the spirit. In Romans 8:4, it's suggesting we walk after or by this spirit. In Romans 8:9, it calls this spirit the spirit of Christ. In Romans 8:11, it calls this spirit the spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead and that it dwells in us. In 1 Corinthians 3:16, it calls it the spirit of God that dwells in us. In Galatians 4:6, it's called the spirit of his son. And in Galatians 5:16, it talks about walking in this spirit. Very few Christians know who they are in the spirit because most of us have been taught by our religious leaders that we are sinners by nature. And in my view that is just the opposite of what the Scriptures teach.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

It's not the body, but the spirit that has become a new creature. In other words, it's in the spirit that we have become a brand-new species because our spirit is totally new and therefore there is not an old sin nature left in us. We undergo a miraculous exchange at the center of our being once we have the spirit of Christ. Who we were in Adam is no longer there. We become a new person because we are now a child of God who is in Christ. The key event causing this exchange is a death, burial, and resurrection with Christ. This miraculous exchange is not figurative or symbolic, but literal and actual.

The spiritual part of every Christian has literally and actually been crucified, buried, and raised with Christ. The fact that this occurs spiritually and not physically doesn’t make it any less real. So what happens to the old self that was in Adam? The old self is entirely obliterated once the spirit of Christ enters the Christian. I know this comes as a complete shock to many of you who have been indoctrinated in the-old-nature-versus-the-new-nature theology. Most Christians have been taught to believe that after salvation, they are still the same at their core, and they live the rest of their lives trying to restrain this old nature. They believe they have two natures.

Romans 6:2
How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

The Christians of today believe they are alive to sin and it's with much effort, frustration, and failure that they battle this sin nature the rest of their lives. This idea that the spirit of Christ makes our flesh spiritual is believed by most because the churches teach that Christians still have a sin nature. They do not. It's destroyed after the spirit of Christ has come upon the Christian. It seems like the whole Christian world teaches that the spirit follows the flesh, and by that, I mean the spirit functions through the flesh.

The reason I cannot lust in the flesh when following after the spirit is because it's impossible to do so since the spirit of Christ does not lust after the flesh. Religious people don't follow after the spirit, but rather they follow after their flesh and call it spiritual. The religious folks lead with their flesh and call it Christian. The church folks clean up their flesh by making themselves nice. Then they say this is Christian because we are being nice like the way Jesus was. In contrast to that, I believe we should walk after the spirit of Christ.

It is written that we should ask in his name, which I have finally come to believe means to ask in his authority, which seems to me would mean to ask by representing him. When I receive what I'm focused on in prayer, then I will be living within the authority of Jesus Christ, and thereby functioning as his representative. When I am close to the spirit of Christ, then I will function as a partner with the Lord whereby it becomes a joint effort.

I believe the spirit of Christ is my new nature and therefore I have been able to function in it. To live in it, walk by it, and be in it. Most of my life I believed I was in a battle between what I thought was my old man fighting against what I thought was my new man. Now I'm not fighting. I moved right in the darn thing. It seems to me one cannot walk in or by the spirit if our old nature (which is dead) thinks it's fighting against our new nature.

I was taught being in Christ meant I was in fellowship with God because I was walking upright in my flesh. I now understand being in Christ is being in the spirit and neither of them (in Christ or in the spirit) has anything to do with the flesh. It now seems perfectly clear to walk in or by the spirit is the same as putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the same as having fellowship with Jesus Christ, which is also part of having the mind of Christ. Living in Christ is the same as being strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. There's a verse where Jesus says without me you can do nothing. Well, I'm never without him.

Good for you, you have arrived.
J.