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NASB | Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 3:23 since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God, |
Bible Question: Is this true or not? I know a preacher who say he is perfect...I'm guessing he is meaning spritually and not physically. Is it possible for someone besides Jesus to have been spritually perfect? |
Bible Answer: Dear Desimnyc, Brad and Jeff have give you the correct answer. The doctrine you're hearing about is called perfectionism. It is expressed in the belief that sinlessness is achievable in this lifetime. It has manifested itself many times in the history of the church under different names. You find it particularly amongst those who reject the doctrine of moral inability. As you've discovered, it is even taught in some circles today. I met a couple of young men, some years ago, who piously declared to me that they had not sinned for over two years. There is an anecdote of Charles Haddon Spurgeon that I have not been able to confirm. However, it sure sounds like Spurgeon. You might find it interesting. I repeat it, though, with the qualification that it might not ever have happened, nor am I advocating his course of action. The story goes that the young Spurgeon heard a preacher declare the doctrine of sinless perfectionism from the pulpit. With the explanation, the preacher demurely intimated that he himself had achieved such a status. This was fascinating to Spurgeon. If this doctrine were true, it was worthy of much study and personal application. Imagine being perfectly righteous in thought, word, and deed! Spurgeon was a thoroughly practical man who needed to verify the implications of these teachings. The next morning Spurgeon went to see the preacher, and found him breakfasting. Spurgeon went up to the table where the man was eating, and without a word of explanation, poured an entire pitcher of milk upon his head. Spurgeon discovered that the man was not sinless. People who claim for themselves sinless perfection typically do one or both of two things: First, they are overly optimistic in the estimation of their own righteousness, deeming that salvific merit is within their grasp; and, second, that the threshold of sinlessness is set lower than it really is. Often they do not rightly understand the true holiness and righteousness of God Himself. For a perfect example of this sort of thing, see Matthew 19:16-26. The apostle John also addresses the issue in his first epistle. Those who espouse the teaching of sinless perfectionism have to reinterpret such passages in order for their beliefs to remain intact. In Him, Doc |