Hi LiveforGod,
Yes I have a similar testimony, as do ALL who have been converted and born again by faith in Jesus Christ. He came to save His people from their sins. Absolutely, and I am not arguing that. A born again child of God does not commit and persist in ANY known form of sin. That is undisputed. And if he does stumble or struggle he will fight and fight with a holy violence until he gets the victory. True Christians hate sin and love holiness, and if they don't they're not true Christians!
However, you are mistaken to think you are perfectly sinless. 1 John 1:8 is in the PRESENT TENSE, not in the past tense, and John includes himself by saying, "we". For you to twist it as referring only to the past is very dangerous because there is NOTHING in the passage to suggest it's past, in fact, he says it in the past tense two verses later, adding further to the fact that verse 8 must be present tense.
The fact that you are only deceiving yourself if you say you have no sin can be easily proven by you taking the following test. I am very interested on hearing your answers:
[b]The Sinless Perfection Test[/b]
This is a test for all the sinless ‘Christians’ who claim to be on par with the same sinlessness of Jesus Christ Himself, in present practice in this life while still in the body of flesh. That we may not be deceived or mistaken as to the nature and definition of sin, let us define exactly what sin is. According to Scripture, there are at least five basic definitions of sin. Here are the scriptures that define this for us:
1. “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.” (Romans 7:23)
2. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4)
3. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17)
4. “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)
5. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23, 1 John 5:17)
Correspondingly, here are the definitions of sin in numeric order as quoted above:
1. Sin is a law that dwells in the flesh
2. Sin is transgression of God’s law
3. Sin is knowing to do good but not doing it
4. Sin is anything not done in faith
5. Sin is anything that comes short of the glory of God
Let us now take each of these definitions of sin and examine ourselves. Please don’t just read through these questions and skim over them lightly, for they undeniably prove sinless perfection to be utterly false. As you read each question, ask yourself if you’ve done or if you’ve failed in this. I am especially addressing those of you who claim to have attained to some degree of sinless perfection. The following questions correspond numerically with the definitions of sin above:
1. Have you been born of an earthly father and mother and are you a descendant of Adam? If so, you have a sinful nature (a “law of sin” –Rom. 7:23) that dwells within your flesh and you are inherently defiled and thereby guilty in the eyes of a holy God. (Romans 5:12, Job 15:14-16, Job 25:4, Psalm 51:5)
2. Do you perfectly obey the Law of God in thought, word and deed; plus in motive, desire, intention, etc.? Since becoming a Christian, have you ever exaggerated or stretched the truth, or said something that indirectly portrayed a false witness (lying)? Or have you lied when witnessing to someone, and a sinner on the streets asks you if you are without sin and you say you are? Have you ever looked with lust, even for half a second, at a member of the opposite sex (adultery)? Have you ever had a single impure thought? Have you ever desired to have something that does not belong to you or even entertained the thought of desiring it (covetousness)? Have you ever called somebody a “fool” or “idiot”, or any other insulting name, out of the least degree of anger (which is murder)? Have you even entertained the thought of doing it? Have you accidentally taken a pen, paperclip, or any other item that does not belong to you and failed to make restitution (stealing)? Have you kept the Sabbath holy? Have you perfectly honored your parents in everything you do and say? Have you ever done anything, even the smallest of actions, or said the simplest of words, with regard to how it will benefit you yourself supremely rather than how it will benefit God, or done anything that disobeys any single command of scripture (1st commandment)? Have you ever made a single decision out of self-will? How about loving the Lord with all your heat, mind, soul and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself? Have you totally, completely, absolutely and perfectly done that since becoming a Christian? Or have you made the slightest decision or thought the smallest thought of getting some kind of personal benefit out of something rather than your neighbor in your stead? If you are truthful, you must certainly admit your guilt in the eyes of God, at least in thought or word.
3. Have you ever not done something you know you should have done, since becoming a Christian (or since becoming sinlessly perfect)? Did you know something to be the good thing to do, or the best thing to do, but you failed to do it? Have you always done all the good you can, in all the ways you can, by all the means you can, to all the people you can, in all the places you can, as long as you ever can? Or have you failed in this? If you’ve failed in this, you must certainly admit your sin before God, or else you deceive yourself.
4. Have you always had perfect faith before God? Have you ever doubted a single promise of scripture (which would be unbelief)? Have you always done everything you have ever done since becoming a Christian in perfect, unwavering faith? Have you ever prayed for the sick and thought within your heart that they will not be healed because of your unbelief? Have you ever attempted to ask something in prayer that God promises in His word but thought within your heart of hearts that He won’t answer? Is every thought that you think a thought of perfect faith, in full conformity to the glory of God? If you don’t admit to your present imperfections in this, then you are obviously blind and fooled. You are certainly guilty of sin in the eyes of God.
5. Since becoming a Christian (or attaining to “perfection“ if you claim to have done), have you done anything that comes morally short of the goodness and glory of God? Have you thought a single thought that Christ Himself wouldn’t think? Have you spoken a single word that Christ Himself wouldn’t speak? Have you done a single thing that Christ Himself wouldn’t do? Or are you so deceived as to honestly think you currently meet the standards of God’s glory? Can you actually stand in your present state in front of the very Throne of God and have such audacity as to believe you won’t cry out like Isaiah the holy prophet: “Woe is me, I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips” (Is. 6)? Remember, anything, anything at all, that comes morally short of the perfect glory of God is sin. Unless you are deceived, you must certainly admit your present guilt.
And, on top of these questions, ask yourself if you have ever thought a single thought that God would consider foolish? As it is written: “The thought of foolishness is sin” (Proverbs 24:9). Even thinking something foolish is sin. Do you honestly claim to be able to walk in such a state as to never think a single thought that God would consider foolish? Therefore, offending any single one of the points listed above even in just a brief thought is considered sin in the eyes of a perfectly holy and righteous God who can read and see your thoughts just as clearly as He can your outward actions.
As we can see, only a totally deceived, blind, and ignorant and self-righteous Pharisee would ever even dare to say that they don’t presently fall short in any single one of these areas. Further, in light of these definitions of sin, we conclude it utterly impossible for any one, with the exception of Christ alone, to be without present sin before the face of the God of Heaven this side of eternity. And this is only a very brief and partial list. We could go much, much more in detail with the self-examination questions listed above if we wanted, but such a brief list will suffice to prove the point. Seeing such a partial list alone has every mouth stopped and the whole world guilty before God, so what will happen, dear soul, when you stand before the very Throne of such a perfect and glorious God! Will you dare claim to say before His all-seeing eyes that you or any other man was without present sin and unworthiness? If you think you will, then may the very jaws of Hell open up wide to swallow you in your Pharisaical self-righteousness except ye repent! If you don’t admit any present sin in light of these questions, then by the testimony of the word of God I say to you that the tax-collectors and harlots will enter the Kingdom of God before you!
Seeing exactly what sin is as defined in Scripture according to these five basic definitions has the most righteous of righteous men crying out, as did the holy and anointed King David, “Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.” (Psalms 40:11-12) Seeing this has every one of us crying out with the wisest man that ever lived: “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20) and again, as holy and perfect Job said, “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” (Proverbs 20:9). Seeing this, one can not help but to think, along with what the Apostle Paul said commenting on David’s words elsewhere: “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Romans 4:6-8)
DISCLAIMER: Nothing said in this short questionnaire should be taken as a justification for willful sin in the life of a professing Christian. The Bible says if we continue to sin willfully (that is, against known light in known sin by an act of the will, and persist in that sin without true repentance after receiving the knowledge of the truth, then there is no sacrifice left to cover our sins (Christ’s blood then profits us nothing), and all we have to look forward to is the fierce judgment of God (Hebrews 10:26-31). If you claim to be a Christian, but you have tolerated any known form of sin in your life, and you’re not fighting it, wrestling against it, hating it with all your heart, and finding repentance and ultimately, victory over it, then you are in grave and serious danger. The grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and the business of a Christian is a conduct of habitual holiness and love, and bearing fruit for God’s glory. Though in many things we offend all, especially in word, the true Christian does not commit and continue in ANY known sin, and if he stumbles, he will find true repentance quickly. If you are living in any known sin, and you continue to do that sin over and over, and aren’t fighting for your deliverance with a holy violence, and seeking victory above everything else in life, then you have very much reason to doubt the reality of your salvation. Those born of God have a new nature within them, which causes them to hate sin and love holiness, and the practical conduct of all Christians who have been born again undeniably proves that their practice is one of habitual righteousness and true holiness by faith in Jesus Christ.
