I think you're missing my point.
We will all be found guilty at the judgment because we have all sinned and the Bible says if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. That's a given. We must interpret Scripture with Scripture.
If you have a point, base it upon Scripture and do not twist it! Romans 3:10 is not directed towards the Christian, but to the lost state of those in the world that are not Christians.
I agree! All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Yet, misusing Scripture to prove it does not work. Romans 3:10 does not say that Christians are not righteous, and are sinful. This is also why you should not rip 1 Jn. 1:8 out of its immediate and greater context with the same error!
John is speaking to the Gnostic problem in a mixed Church. Everything that precedes this in Chapter 1 speaks to it.
The Gnostics believes that what they did in the flesh did not affect the spirit, and they had no sin to be cleansed of. (v.6)
1 Jn. 1:7 says, "
but if we walk in the light as he Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." How much sin?
All!
1 Jn 1:8 continues after saying this... "
If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us."
If God has cleanses from "
all sin" how much is left? No Christian has ever become a Christian by saying that God is wrong and they never needed the work of Christ to forgive them and cleanse them from all sin. But, the Gnostics did!
Sandwiched on the other side of 1:8, verse 9 says, "
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God not only forgives the repentant sinner, but also cleansed them from all unrighteousness! How much are Christians forgiven?
All! How much does God cleanse them from?
All! Two distinct acts, forgiveness is not cleansing. What John means by being cleaned of sin becomes obvious throughout his Epistle.
The question is, do you believe First John is "Scripture"? Is it inspired? Does God contradict Himself? Does God care if John contradicts himself in His name? Does John's inclusive rhetoric of "
we" assume that he includes himself and all Christians? Or is he contrasting Christianity and Gnosticism to a mixed group?
Verse 10… "
If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."
Now is John saying that he, himself, is deceived in verse 8? That he had never repented or confessed his sins in verse 9? Not at all.
To understand what John is saying in 1 Jn. 1:8, we must look at the immediate context, and the greater context of the Epistle. You, along with many others use 1:8 to say that God not only does not cleanse us from
all sin, but leaves us bound to sin; and at best, merely "forgives" us of all sin. You can try to force sin on Christians in defiance of what John said in the verse before and after verse 8, but you have to virtually turn Scripture on its ear to reconcile everything else John says in his First Epistle.
The apostle John writes in his First Epistle, “My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not.” (Gk, a singular act of sin.) (2:1). “And
if any man sin” (not “
when”). (2:1).., “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (2:4). “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” (2:10). “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” (3:6). “He that committeth sin is of the devil.” (3: 8). “Whosoever is
born of God doth not commit sin;” (3:9). Notice that this does not speak of maturity, advanced sanctification, education, etc., it speaks of the grace to
not sin occurring at the New-Birth. “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness
is righteous, even as
he is righteous.” (3:7). “For whatsoever is born of God overcommeth the world: and this is the victory that overcommeth the world, even our faith.” (5:4). “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not.” (5:18). “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” (1:6). John says point blank that sinning, or walking in the darkness was incompatible with being a Christian.
Do we have to twist everything that John said about the incompatibility of sinning and claiming to be a Christian so it fits what we demand of 1 Jn. 1:8? Or do we look at 1 Jn. 1:8 in light of everything that John said about sin and the Christian? Everything in First John points to a Gnostic problem that John was preaching to mixed crowd. First John 1:8 applies to those who thought that they did not need to be cleansed from all sin. John says that the mark of the Christian is that they walk in the light as He is in the light, that they have confessed their sins, and that sin was not necessary. John preached a victorious Christian life free from sin, and not a defeated "Christians are sinful and just sin a little less than they did before they were saved."