Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] |
Bible Question:
I light of 1 John 1:8 and Romans 7 and the fact that Jesus is our eternal high priest and intercessor should we consider living in sinless perfection a possibility or as goal at which to aim. Can we in fact live sinless lives? I realize we can be forgiven of our sins and when that occurs we are sinless. But can we go through life and never ever commit another sin? If not what verse other than Paul's decision in Roman 7 and this verse in 1 John 1:8 confirms that? Again I realize we should strive and make every effort to reach sinless perfection but my question is can we actually do it in this imperfect body in this imperfect world or will we only reach sinless perfection when were are given our perfect bodies? |
Bible Answer: Dear Ed, John Wesley introduced the notion of sinless perfectionism -- also known as Wesleyan perfectionism, moral perfectionism, or entire sanctification. Later, Charles Finney picked up the teaching, and more recently, Charles Parham. Wesley writes, "The habitual disposition of the soul which, in the sacred writings, is termed holiness; and which directly implies being cleansed from sin, 'from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit'; and, by consequence, being endued with those virtues which were in Christ Jesus; being so 'renewed in the image of our mind,' as to be 'perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect'." He refers to it as the "deliverance from inward as well as from outward sin" and that ""a Christian is so far perfect as not to commit sin" (from "A Plain Account of Christian Perfectionism"). I am not so certain, but I have heard that Pelagius also taught it, but if he did so, I doubt that he did so as thoroughly as Wesley. (Finney and Wesley were not given to learned writing.) Regardless, most of the modern denominations that were given rise by or through Arminian Methodism affirm it in one recognizable form or another. The logic of sinless perfectionism necessarily is given rise by the theology of Semi-Pelagianism. All sin is seriously problematic for any theological position. As Wesley articulated the notion he was met with quite a bit of resistance. The crux of the matter is how we define the word sin. That eventually became obvious to Wesley himself, so he qualified perfectionism by redefining sin as "a willful transgression of a known law of God." That definition may sound okay, but it was a significant departure from how the church had understood sin. Millard Erickson provides a very good distillation of the Biblically orthodox definition: "Sin is any lack of conformity, active or passive, to the moral law of God. This may be a matter of act [specific deeds], of thought, or of inner disposition or state [nature]." (Psalm 51, for example, renders up each component of sin very well, but I will leave that exercise for another time.) I believe it is clear how the definition of sin would be an essential ingredient to answering your question, "Can we in fact live sinless lives?" (sic) If we use Wesley's definition, I think the answer would be yes. I would even venture to suggest that Paul achieved such sinless perfectionism: "as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless" (Philippians 3:6b). That is an amazing statement when you think about it. Nevertheless, such righteousness was indisputable for many Pharisees. However, these are not even saved people. So, now add the clarifications by the Lord Jesus Christ (see especially the Sermon on the Mount), then the Pharisees fail. Indeed, based on the first three chapters of Romans, we all fail. Sin, in the orthodox sense, is universal, ubiquitous, and endemic to man. So the answer to your question would be no. Sanctification, clearly, can increase as a believer grows in Christ. But entire sanctification must necessarily wait until we are entirely separated from this "body of sin." Lord, come quickly! We might discuss further what it means to be "freed from the bondage of sin" etc. However, I will leave that, as well, for another discussion. Thank you for the question. I hope my post is helpful to your effort to come to terms with sinless perfectionism. In Him, Doc |