Hi EG,
I'm not the one to say. Jesus, not man, knows the heart.
What I do know is that what I've seen displayed tells me that none of us have reached a state of moral perfection yet. Regardless of what people may or may not claim for themself, or what someone wants us to think about them.
But at the end of it all, for me, it's in Paul's words,
1 Corinthians 4
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God
Paul says here he knows nothing against himself. A.T. Robertson puts it this way, "for guilty knowledge against oneself".
But even so he doesn't consider himself justified just because he doesn't know anything against himself. He acknowledges that only Jesus is a fit judge, because He is the one who will reveal what is hidden, and will make known what is truly in our hearts. There are no secrets from God, though men have secrets from each other, and from themselves.
So were someone to tell us that they do, or have lived sinlessly, I find that to be quite against Scripture. In truth, none of us are qualified to say.
So this teaching of sinlessness in the Christian completely removes any certainty of salvation, and so far as anyone is concerned, they should have no expectation of salvation. Anyone who understands the Scriptures, and is honest with themself realizes that of necessity, they would need to wait until after death to find out of God will accept them, and, as we know we stand guilty before Him, simply hope for His mercy.
And yet Scripture is replete with passages that tell us about the life God has brought us into, and the certainty of our hope.
Our hope is the expected outcome of our faith according to God's promise. Attack the salvation and you attack the hope. Attack the hope and you are attacking the faith.
The faith is in one of two sources.
Either you are trusting in Christ to bring you safely to Him in glorious eternal life, or you are trusting in yourself to bring yourself through to glory.
That's it, no third option.
There is no, Him + me. Trust in Christ + trust in myself? Sure! Only as good as the weakest link.
So those who demand of you that your life show perfect sinlessness, according to them I guess, or according to yourself, are not calling you to a higher standard, not calling you to glory, they call you to glory in your flesh, and not in Christ.
They call you to work the works of approval and acceptance, denying our acceptance in Christ.
And those who teach sinlessness in the True Christian must of themselves admit to not knowing whether their relationship with God, their walk with Him is true or not, or otherwise go straightly against clear Scripture.
But my faith is in Him and not in myself, so none of this is ever in question. The life purely in faith is pleasing to God.
There was a time when God gave me a walk in that faith for a portion of time. While there was no consciousness of sin, yet how can I say that? But this was only a step in the learning of how to walk in this faith at all times that we simply trust Him for what He has done, and continues to do in us.
"A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth."
I think the abundant life in Christ is found in our acceptance by God in Him. Christ has removed every obstacle and broken every chain, and be it to us according to our faith.
So should we base our faith on our assessment of our works, plus or minus a little denial? Or base our faith on Jesus? Because I've earned it? Or because He purchased my life for me.
I trust in Jesus.
Much love!
Last edited:
