Sinlessness

[BoldlyProclaimingChrist]

I made an Excel spreadsheet entitled "Chart O'Sins" once (I know it's corny and I laughed too at first) and I wanted to see on paper what all my sins were. I did it on a monthly basis and had all my sins written on the left column. After a few months I noticed my major sins were getting fewer but then.....I noticed that there were a couple of days in which nothing was marked. Well then I knew that this spreadsheet was useless and it only proved to me that I was blind. It was a nice experiment while it lasted though.

By the way, NO I'm not sinless.

[serotta]

We are to aspire to be sinless, but it is a state we will not reach until we are in Heaven with God. Even Paul said I "I do what I shouldn't do and I don't do what I should do". There are sins of omission remember, and our thoughts too. No, I don't think any adult can lead a sinless life, even for a day.

[ted]

The problem is our sin-nature, not the individual sins themselves. We may hide or suppress them. We can try to overcome them. We can make decisions in life that keeps us from them. But NO ONE can be sinless for their whole life.

We can't even PAY for them.

The good news, of course is that Jesus already did!

Thank you, Jesus.

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This seems to be one of those "why even debate the issue" things. Is there anyone here that actually believes that they are sinless? That would nullify the Gift of God- our Saviour!

Are we in a "unable to sin" state upon Salvation? Impossible! But to try and live without sin and confess our mistakes and sins to God- well, yeah, of course. We are covered in the Blood of the Lamb. All praise His Name!!

t.

[Catsmeow]

Sin implies guilt. A person may be born with a sin nature but they may be rendered incapable of sin because of varying conditions:

1. being an infant

2. young child incapable of comprehending right and wrong

3. mentally incompetant

For instance, I worked at a school for the blind and we had children who were not only blind but literally incompetent...they couldn't hear, speak, were autistic and some completely immobile.

They had to be changed (diapers), fed and completely cared for...

Now, I challenge anyone to tell me that those persons are sinners. They have a sin nature but that nature is never allowed to develop or mature.

A rose is a rose but if you cut off the bloom before it sprouts, the beauty of the rose is never recognized.

If you prune a tree before it's fruit spring forth, you may still have an apple tree but no fruit.

A person who dies as an infant or young child or mentally incompetant cannot be considered a sinner, (sin nature...yes; but guilty of sin, no...).

An infant cannot be regarded a sinner. It messes it's diaper, cries for food and comfort, and is utterly helpless. Such as these who enter the Kingdom.

If the infant is allowed to mature to an age of understanding where they recognize right and wrong, then they become accountable.

I voted that it is possible for a person to be sinless because an infant, regardless of it's nature or a severely mentally handicapped person...cannot reason such that they are regarded guilty of sin.

Regardless of their nature, if no sin is committed, then no guilt remains.

John 9:39-41

39 Yeshua said, "It is to judge that I came into this world, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind." 40 Some of the P'rushim nearby heard this and said to him, "So we're blind too, are we?" 41 Yeshua answered them, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you still say, `We see,' your guilt remains

Jesus couldn't make it more plain.

The question asked was tricky. I had to say it is POSSIBLE to live a sinless life. The problem is you have to either be utterly incompetant OR an infant or very young child to qualify.

There comes an age where the child is no longer "innocent"...but aware of right and wrong.

That's why I voted "Yes"...and that's the ONLY reason I voted yes.

I myself am incapable of being perfected; my perfection is Christ only. His garment of glorious holiness is my covering and perfection.

[BoldlyProclaimingChrist]

You do not go to hell because you sin. You go because you reject Jesus. If an infant, or anyone given their limitation cannot have an understanding of Christ, then he/she is exempt from that judgment. But an infant is born with sin.

Respectfully I do not agree that sin = guilt. Before I was saved, and I'm sure many of us, we sinned and felt no guilt whatsoever. Do you think the celebrating homosexuals feel guilt when they perform those acts? Even a saved person can sin and not feel guilt if they're not aware of it or don't understand the magnatude of their sin. They would have a lack of conviction and only God can provide that.

My brother is physically and mentally handicapped. He reads on a third grade level but he knows what sin is and he knows who Jesus is. He was breaking into houses since he was a little boy, steealing, lieing, he very much knows what sin is and he is very limited in his thinking and understanding. so he did what came natural to him which was sin.

[Catsmeow]

First, I didn't say you had to FEEL guilt. I simply said you are not guilty. Read the scripture I referred to in RED.

The argument is with Jesus here. He said it pretty plain to me.

Infants are not "guilty" of sin or they'd be subject to eternal damnation. You won't convince me an infant or mentally handicapped person is condemned to hell fire for eternity.

I don't buy it.

Now, we...as thinking adults...are another story altogether..INCLUDING "Joe Bushman".

[Catsmeow]

When I am referring to mentally incapacitated I am referring to children I worked with who were literally helpless.

They couldn't feed or toilet themselves. They were severely impaired and unable to function. They would literally die without constant care.

[BoldlyProclaimingChrist]

You won't convince me an infant or mentally handicapped person is condemned to hell fire for eternity.

Then we agree.

But this really isn't the focus of this thread - it's that some people actually claim that they are sinnless.

[Catsmeow]

Oooh, well...Bodly...I can't even fit that bill. I'm a lowlife scumbag sinner and the ONLY thing that saved my skin was the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone.

I can assure you that I can't claim to be that...no matter how hard I try, I continually fall short.

I mean, as much as I cherish and honor my husband, there's days I'm not as nice as I should be. I get grumpy. So does he. We don't hold it against each other but we're both far from being "perfected".

So, I agree...we don't achieve perfection in our own right. But Jesus DOES impute His perfection to our account and we are "hidden in Him"...Thank You Jesus!

[Catsmeow]

That's a funny thought, though. To imagine myself sinless? I'd have to have an ego the size of Nebraska....