Can one live sinless?

[NeilOneB]

This is a subject that separates many churches and even Christians within the same denomination. One's salvation can be at stake if he/she does not understand this subject well. Along with the subject thread here are four questions to tag with the subject:

1. Does God expect Christians to live a sinless life?
2. Does God expect Christians to live holy?
3. Does Jesus Christ expect a sinner to go on sinning until death?
4. Can a born again person live a sinless life?

 

[Reformed]

Does God expect Christians to live a sinless life?

Does God expect Christians to live holy?

Does God expect it? We are expected to be holy (Lev. 11:44-45; 1 Pet. 1:16), so yes, God expects us not to sin.

Does Jesus Christ expect a sinner to go on sinning until death?

Again, the expectation is holy living. Does Jesus know that we will sin? He is omniscient, so He knows we will sin.

Can a born again person live a sinless life?

No (c.f. 1 JN 1:8-9; 1 JN 2:1; Jas. 5:16; Rom. 7).

 

[TCassidy]

1. Does God expect Christians to live a sinless life?

Yes.

2. Does God expect Christians to live holy?

Yes.

3. Does Jesus Christ expect a sinner to go on sinning until death?

No.

4. Can a born again person live a sinless life?

No. 1 John 1:10 (Written to Christians) If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

 

[NeilOneB]

Does God expect it? We are expected to be holy (Lev. 11:44-45; 1 Pet. 1:16), so yes, God expects us not to sin.



Again, the expectation is holy living. Does Jesus know that we will sin? He is omniscient, so He knows we will sin.



No (c.f. 1 JN 1:8-9; 1 JN 2:1; Jas. 5:16; Rom. 7).

Yes.

Yes.

No.

No. 1 John 1:10 (Written to Christians) If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

See, John 8:11 - Jesus speaking to Mary Magdalene... Once a person has been born again he/she should not have that desire to be a habitual sinner. Our life is to walk in the light of the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We can not do it of our own power, but the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.

 

[TCassidy]

Once a person has been born again he/she should not have that desire to be a habitual sinner.

Yes. We all know that. I never said any different. But the fact remains, our sin nature, the flesh, is still with us and we will not achieve sinless perfection until we receive our glorified bodies.

Our life is to walk in the light of the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

Yes, we all know that too.

We can not do it of our own power, but the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, and that too we all know.

You just joined today. You have posted all of three posts. Perhaps it would be a good idea to find out who we are, and what we believe, before presuming to teach us the basics of Christianity. Some of us have been Christians and have walked with the Lord longer than you have been alive.

Personally I have spent over 45 years in the Lord's service. 27 of those years as Senior Pastor of the same church in San Diego. And 25 years as a Seminary professor.

I can say, as did Charles Spurgeon when loosely quoting John Newton, "I am not the man I ought to be, I am not the man I wish to be, and I am not the man I hope to be, but by the grace of God, I am not the man I used to be."

I noticed there is no church with which you are affiliated on your profile page nor do you have a statement of salvation. Is there a reason you decided not to share that information?

Enjoy your stay on the Baptist Board.

 

[NeilOneB]

I will try to answer this thread as best that I can......

Question one....scripture ref Matthew 5:48 -"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." If God commanded us to live a perfect life, does it not mean that He expects us to live a sinless life? It would not make any sense to live an imperfect life, would it? A life short from the perfection of character will reap eternal death - Romans 6:23

Question two...God is not asking us to be God. He is asking us to live holy, a Christlike character. - 1 Peter 1:15

Question three... John 8:11 - "And Jesus said unto her (Mary Magdalene), Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more."
How much is sin no more?....Not to sin again.

Question four...1 John 3:9 -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."
If a person is born again, he/she does not commit sin. How long will he/she live a life without sin? As long as the seed (Jesus Christ) of God remains in him or her in the born again experience. A person can fall back into sin when he/she rejects God and the Holy Spirit no longer lives within. God does not expect the born again person to fall back into sin because of the provisions made to help one not sin. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world!
1 Cor 10:13 and Jude 24......God has already made provisions for us to overcome all temptations.

 

[TCassidy]

If God commanded us to live a perfect life, does it not mean that He expects us to live a sinless life?

He doesn't command us to live a perfect (sinless) life in this passage. The word translated as "perfect" mean "complete" or "mature." The LORD is telling us to grow in Grace and learn to live a mature Christian life.

How much is sin no more?

In her case the sin of adultery.

If a person is born again, he/she does not commit sin.

The "new man" in Christ does not sin, but the "old man" is still there, and will, when we fail to keep it under control, sin.

That is why we are told to confess our sins, and when we do, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we never sin we would have no sins to confess.

Now, will you please respond to my post, above?

 

[NeilOneB]

Yes. We all know that. I never said any different. But the fact remains, our sin nature, the flesh, is still with us and we will not achieve sinless perfection until we receive our glorified bodies.

Yes, we all know that too.

Yes, and that too we all know.

You just joined today. You have posted all of three posts. Perhaps it would be a good idea to find out who we are, and what we believe, before presuming to teach us the basics of Christianity. Some of us have been Christians and have walked with the Lord longer than you have been alive.

Personally I have spent over 45 years in the Lord's service. 27 of those years as Senior Pastor of the same church in San Diego. And 25 years as a Seminary professor.

I can say, as did Charles Spurgeon when loosely quoting John Newton, "I am not the man I ought to be, I am not the man I wish to be, and I am not the man I hope to be, but by the grace of God, I am not the man I used to be."

I noticed there is no church with which you are affiliated on your profile page nor do you have a statement of salvation. Is there a reason you decided not to share that information?

Enjoy your stay on the Baptist Board.

TCassidy - As I stated I found this board this morning. I am not speaking anything that you yourself disagree with. Its my desire to find out what you all believe and stand for. I wasn't trying to teach; however to see where this forum stands. I accepted the Lord at an early age and was baptized knowing that Jesus washed away my sins. I have walked in the light of the Lord according to Gal 5. The Lord called me to preach the Gospel over 24 years ago. My life has never been the same since accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior of my life. I am an associate pastor of a church in Woodbridge, VA. I see that my stay may be limited in this forum; however I am glad to have shared with you.

 

[NeilOneB]

He doesn't command us to live a perfect (sinless) life in this passage. The word translated as "perfect" mean "complete" or "mature." The LORD is telling us to grow in Grace and learn to live a mature Christian life.

In her case the sin of adultery.

The "new man" in Christ does not sin, but the "old man" is still there, and will, when we fail to keep it under control, sin.

That is why we are told to confess our sins, and when we do, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we never sin we would have no sins to confess.

Now, will you please respond to my post, above?

Yes, we are compelled to confess our sins those that we know we have committed and those that we do not. Meaning everyday we should ask the Lord to cover us and forgive us of our sins. We may not sin against the body; however our thoughts may be wrong. I am sure that there are days in which you live you can surely say that you walked in the spirit and didn't commit a sin. However, there maybe days that someone pulls in front of us and even though we didn't get in an accident, we said something that wasn't Christlike towards that person. Be angry and sin not let not the sun go down upon your wrath! I am still learning to be more like Jesus. I hope I have answered your question.

 

[TCassidy]

Thank you, and again, welcome to the Baptist Board. As we are a Baptist Board virtually all of us are very solid theologically, standing for the old fundamentals of the faith, The Deity of Christ the Virgin Birth, the Blood Atonement, the Bodily Resurrection, the inerrancy of the scriptures, and most all of us hold to one of the historic Baptist confessions of faith.

There may be some minor points of disagreement on non-essentials of the faith, but we agree on the essentials.

There is a section called "CHRISTIAN DEBATE FORUMS (ALL CHRISTIANS)" that includes non-baptists and which may, from our perspective, seem to lack the understanding of the Gospel message and will argue incessantly in defense of the Church dogma.

One of the dangers of this type of forum is to come across as "holier than thou" - giving the impression you have reached a spiritual level the rest of us have not achieved, and need your instruction to elevate ourselves to your exalted level.

I am not saying that is you, but it is very easy to give that impression in a forum such as this without meaning to do so. Take some time. Get to know the other posters. Some of us may learn from you. And you may learn from some of us. And we can all learn from each other.

There are about a thousand years of seminary experience here on the BB. Something is sure to be valuable to you.

 

[tyndale1946]

Yes. We all know that. I never said any different. But the fact remains, our sin nature, the flesh, is still with us and we will not achieve sinless perfection until we receive our glorified bodies.

Yes, we all know that too.

Yes, and that too we all know.

You just joined today. You have posted all of three posts. Perhaps it would be a good idea to find out who we are, and what we believe, before presuming to teach us the basics of Christianity. Some of us have been Christians and have walked with the Lord longer than you have been alive.

Personally I have spent over 45 years in the Lord's service. 27 of those years as Senior Pastor of the same church in San Diego. And 25 years as a Seminary professor.

I can say, as did Charles Spurgeon when loosely quoting John Newton, "I am not the man I ought to be, I am not the man I wish to be, and I am not the man I hope to be, but by the grace of God, I am not the man I used to be."

I noticed there is no church with which you are affiliated on your profile page nor do you have a statement of salvation. Is there a reason you decided not to share that information?

Enjoy your stay on the Baptist Board.

TC I've never heard that quote by Spurgeon via John Newton before but without the Grace Of God, I don't even want to think of the man I use to be... But that old rascal shows up every now and then and I'm not out of the woods yet!... Brother Glen

 

[NeilOneB]

Thank you, and again, welcome to the Baptist Board. As we are a Baptist Board virtually all of us are very solid theologically, standing for the old fundamentals of the faith, The Deity of Christ the Virgin Birth, the Blood Atonement, the Bodily Resurrection, the inerrancy of the scriptures, and most all of us hold to one of the historic Baptist confessions of faith.

There may be some minor points of disagreement on non-essentials of the faith, but we agree on the essentials.

There is a section called "CHRISTIAN DEBATE FORUMS (ALL CHRISTIANS)" that includes non-baptists and which may, from our perspective, seem to lack the understanding of the Gospel message and will argue incessantly in defense of the Church dogma.

One of the dangers of this type of forum is to come across as "holier than thou" - giving the impression you have reached a spiritual level the rest of us have not achieved, and need your instruction to elevate ourselves to your exalted level.

I am not saying that is you, but it is very easy to give that impression in a forum such as this without meaning to do so. Take some time. Get to know the other posters. Some of us may learn from you. And you may learn from some of us. And we can all learn from each other.

There are about a thousand years of seminary experience here on the BB. Something is sure to be valuable to you.

TCassidy,
I hope that my comments doesn't come across as "holier than thou". I simply asked a question and wanted to see where this forum stood on. For the most part it seems as though we agree with the majority of things that I've posted. I know that many of you probably have doctorates in front of your names etc. I've been to seminary and after that was told now I can be called "Reverend" which I do not like. Psalm 111:9 states "He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever; Holy and Reverend is His name." How can we as mere man feel comfortable in calling ourselves "Holy & Reverend"? The Catholics say "Holy Father or Father". I usually use "minister" vice "Reverend". However, my colleagues demand to be called "Reverend" or "Rev". This is how I feel. I guess its a denominational thing about titles. Sorry, to go off on tangent about this.

 

[SheepWhisperer]

I will try to answer this thread as best that I can......

Question one....scripture ref Matthew 5:48 -"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." If God commanded us to live a perfect life, does it not mean that He expects us to live a sinless life? It would not make any sense to live an imperfect life, would it? A life short from the perfection of character will reap eternal death - Romans 6:23

Question two...God is not asking us to be God. He is asking us to live holy, a Christlike character. - 1 Peter 1:15

Question three... John 8:11 - "And Jesus said unto her (Mary Magdalene), Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more."
How much is sin no more?....Not to sin again.

Question four...1 John 3:9 -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."
If a person is born again, he/she does not commit sin. How long will he/she live a life without sin? As long as the seed (Jesus Christ) of God remains in him or her in the born again experience. A person can fall back into sin when he/she rejects God and the Holy Spirit no longer lives within. God does not expect the born again person to fall back into sin because of the provisions made to help one not sin. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world!
1 Cor 10:13 and Jude 24......God has already made provisions for us to overcome all temptations.

Sir, if you have ever been "born again", you now have two(2) natures. The "new man" cannot sin because He is "born of God". The "old man" or "the flesh", on the other hand, can and does sin. The holy Spirit does not leave a person once He has indwelled them. That is contrary to what the Bible teaches. Once a person is indwelled with the Spirit, the Spirit indwells him forever.........

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
That's just one verse, bu there are others. I have to go mow the grass. Later.

 

[Reformed]

Once a person has been born again he/she should not have that desire to be a habitual sinner.

I think the keyword in your sentence is "habitual". Christians sin. Christians will never advance to sinless perfection in this life. But while Christians sin, they should sin less. That is the evidence of progressive sanctification at work.

 

[TCassidy]

Psalm 111:9 states "He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever; Holy and Reverend is His name." How can we as mere man feel comfortable in calling ourselves "Holy & Reverend"?

Yes, we are all aware of the controversy among Baptist regarding the use of the title "Reverend."

Again, spend some time getting to know the other posters and you won't have to make possibly unwarranted assumptions.

As to "Reverend" the Psalmist does not mean that God's Name is "Reverend." He is saying that His Name is to be feared and respected. ירא (yare) means to fear or to inspire fear, in the sense of "respect" as we fear fire so we respect it and its power.

I will be the first to say that Pastor's are to be respected, but also believe that respect should come as a result of their exemplary life and obvious love for their fellow men.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

See, John 8:11 - Jesus speaking to Mary Magdalene... Once a person has been born again he/she should not have that desire to be a habitual sinner.

Indeed so. 'For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord!'

Our life is to walk in the light of the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We can not do it of our own power, but the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.

'I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.' This is surely a condition that all of us Christians know. We desire to live a holy and righteous life, but we constantly find that the flesh is dragging us down.

 

[NeilOneB]

Martin,
If we really look at the example that Jesus set here on earth and understand the position of the Holy Spirit which lives in us from the action of repentance and the acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior in our lives; we can actually walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. The Apostle Paul shared this great news to the Galatians. Is it possible to walk in the Spirit to have power over the flesh, so that you can live according to what Paul was stating? If it wasn't possible why was it stated?
See, I believe through the Holy Spirit it is possible and if we allow the Lord to work through us and not lean to our understanding He'll do great things in our lives and to the people we come in contact with on a daily basis. There was a contemporary gospel singer named Steve Green that wrote a song "I wanna be more like Jesus" and I believe that was Jesus purpose to show us - The Way!

 

[Yeshua1]

See, John 8:11 - Jesus speaking to Mary Magdalene... Once a person has been born again he/she should not have that desire to be a habitual sinner. Our life is to walk in the light of the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We can not do it of our own power, but the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.

Key word here would be habitual sinning, as there was and is NONE save the God man Jesus who could and did live a sinless life!

 

[Yeshua1]

Indeed so. 'For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord!'

'I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.' This is surely a condition that all of us Christians know. We desire to live a holy and righteous life, but we constantly find that the flesh is dragging us down.

We feed the flesh, we keep on sinning, but feed the spirit and we will stop much of it, but not all!

 

[NeilOneB]

I will hold to the Word of GOD that tells me of the power of the Holy Spirit.