Can one not sin?

[RGR]

Never heard that one, Forrest, lol! Now there are different "factions" within the Pentecostal movement so to speak. Nebula and I hold to the traditional view of Trinitarian beliefs, but there is one branch of Pentecostal that is called Oneness (they believe in no Trinity) and they also label themselves "Holiness" at times, so maybe they were of that sect? I've never heard our pastor, nor anyone else, preach that one could be perfect and I suspect we'd hear the same from Neb!

[forrestkc]

An hour? Where is the victory that God promises us? Where are the conquerors? Certainly we can rise up and serve our holy God for more than an hour at a time without sinning.

The victory is that we are no longer in the bondage of sin, it does not mean that we will no longer sin. To think that one can no longer sin is prideful if you ask me.

[Ovedya]

Well basically it's like this: Man is incurably sinful in every way. He is sinful in thought, intention, and deed. Man cannot go a single hour without breaking God's commandments. Were it possible for man to lose his salvation with each sin, man would have to be in a constant state of repentance, which is in and of itself physically impossible.

That I agree with, and while that was not the point I was trying to convey in this thread, it certainly goes along with the point I was trying to convey. No matter what we do, in our thoughts and deeds, we will always sin and anyone who claims they go without sinning for any time at all is a liar (whether they know it or not).

An hour? Where is the victory that God promises us? Where are the conquerors? Certainly we can rise up and serve our holy God for more than an hour at a time without sinning.

Yes, we are more than conquerors throught Christ Jesus. But we must also acknowledge that the heart is incurably wicked.

[apothanein kerdos]

An hour? Where is the victory that God promises us? Where are the conquerors? Certainly we can rise up and serve our holy God for more than an hour at a time without sinning.

The victory is that we are no longer in the bondage of sin, it does not mean that we will no longer sin. To think that one can no longer sin is prideful if you ask me.

[Kabowd]

An hour? Where is the victory that God promises us? Where are the conquerors? Certainly we can rise up and serve our holy God for more than an hour at a time without sinning.

The victory is that we are no longer in the bondage of sin, it does not mean that we will no longer sin. To think that one can no longer sin is prideful if you ask me.

And ironically, pride is a sin...so in claiming you no longer sin, you end up sinning..lol. Not to mention Scripture says we're liars if we claim such a thing. (1 John 1:8)

[PBob]

Below are a few verses that indicate that we are sinners and continue to sin - (New International Version)

I found a GREAT site to look up Bible verses as well as answers to many questions - check it out at

http://www.livingwaters.com/add-toolbar.shtml

Romans 7:24-25

24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God

[Floatingaxe]

An hour? Where is the victory that God promises us? Where are the conquerors? Certainly we can rise up and serve our holy God for more than an hour at a time without sinning.

The victory is that we are no longer in the bondage of sin, it does not mean that we will no longer sin. To think that one can no longer sin is prideful if you ask me.

It would be the height of idiocy to claim that one can NEVER sin again. I do believe, however, that there are people who have found such an intimate walk with God, walking in righteousness, that they can go more than an hour without sinning. It is entirely possible for us in walking in obedience and in communion with God through His Holy Spirit that we can be "more than conquerors" for more than 60 minutes at a time. We can walk in victory over those things that beset us. We aren't hopeless and hapless people--we are King's Kids living a Kingdom life.

We live in the power of the Holy Spirit and are so able to walk in righteousness..not perfect...but not defeated, either.

[Ovedya]

An hour? Where is the victory that God promises us? Where are the conquerors? Certainly we can rise up and serve our holy God for more than an hour at a time without sinning.

The victory is that we are no longer in the bondage of sin, it does not mean that we will no longer sin. To think that one can no longer sin is prideful if you ask me.

It would be the height of idiocy to claim that one can NEVER sin again. I do believe, however, that there are people who have found such an intimate walk with God, walking in righteousness, that they can go more than an hour without sinning. It is entirely possible for us in walking in obedience and in communion with God through His Holy Spirit that we can be "more than conquerors" for more than 60 minutes at a time. We can walk in victory over those things that beset us. We aren't hopeless and hapless people--we are King's Kids living a Kingdom life.

FA,

The hour thing wasn't intended to be literal. Yes. We can go an hour without sinning.

[nebula]

Back!

Cable/internet got knocked out by the ice storm.

Forrest, for clarification, I am not a part of the Pentecostal denomination, although I've belonged to a few Evangelical Charismatic churches for the past 20 years after growing up in a Lutheran Church. So, I'm a little sensitive to the "sin" focus versus the "overcoming" focus in the Christian walk. The "sin" focus tended to help fuel the chronic depression problem/ self-hatred I was afflicted with. The "overcoming" focus is what eventually helped lead to my healing and deliverance not too long ago.

Regarding sins as "weeds" rather than pitiful me enabled me to fight against it - and still does, actually. Regarding sins as my fate in life left me like the monks in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "Bless me, O Lord, for I am a human scumbag!" *Whack self on head with humongous Bible*.

[Guest shiloh357]

The wonderful thing is that God, knowing the weakness of our present frame, has with great compassion, given us fail-safe devices in our Christian walk.

There use to be a car, that had what was called "fail-safe" brakes. Basically it had to sets of brakes. If you pressed down on the pedal, and the brakes did not work, you had to mash down harder and the pedal would all the way to the floor board, and engage the "fail-safe" brakes which were guaranteed to work every time they were engaged, 100%.

God has made the Christian walk, fail-safe or to put it another way, He has fool-proofed it.

1. He made salvation totally dependent upon Himself, independent of us. We have nothing do with it. After all, we as humans have proven that we adept only at talking too much and screwing things up. He has never been able to trust us to keep our word, and so it would be foolish to make salvation dependent on us, in any form or fashion.

Jesus + 0 = Salvation.

2. He has provided us with ability to come to Him and confess our sins. Using Neb's "weeding the garden" analogy, sin is something we deal with everyday. The garden is daily in need of weeding. Confession of sin need not become a "religious" ritual, but something we do on a daily basis out of our love for the Lord. The minute we sin and are aware of it, we should confess it, pull it up and toss it over the fence into the burn pile. Confession of sin is not for God's benefit. It is for our benefit.

When we confess our sins, He says that He is willing and just to forgive us our sins, and that the blood of Jesus cleanses from all unrighteousness. What it is referring to there in 1 John is the cleansing of our conscience. This is what keeps the enemy from being able to use our sin against us to condemn us. That is why it is very important to stay under the blood all day long. The minute that weed pops up, pluck it out. It doesn't matter if it is the same sin you sinned yesterday. Get rid of it.

If there are recurring sins, then you need to look at your environment and see if there is anything in your life that keeps triggering that same sin over and over again. Just keep the garden of your heart clean.