Saved Sinners Are Sinners Still
I John 1:8-10
Those who teach the doctrine of sinless perfection, or even the possibility of sinless perfection in this life, are simply dishonest men who do not know God and refuse to acknowledge the truth about themselves. To make such a statement as that is neither harsh nor judgmental. It is simply telling the truth (I John 1:8-10).
The fact is, God’s people in this world are sinners still. To say
otherwise is to speak in direct contradiction to the Word of God and the constant
experience of God’s elect in this world. No true believer has to be convinced
of this fact. It is painfully obvious to all who know the Lord. There is in
every believer’s heart a continual warfare between flesh and spirit (Rom.
There is in every
regenerate person two opposing natures, the one flesh and the other spirit, the
one is a principle of nature and the other a principle of grace. It is our
responsibility to mortify the outward actions of sin, but we cannot rid
ourselves of sin. We are to “put off
concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to
the deceitful lusts” (Eph.
Not only does sin dwell in us, not only is
it true that we are sinners and that sin mars everything we do, we all commit
sin constantly “There is not a just
man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Eccles. 7:20). I know
that the apostle John declares, “Whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him: and he
cannot sin, because he is born of God” (I John 3:9). That new man, that new
nature, which is born of God, cannot sin. But, as we have already seen, the
believer is a person with two natures, the old man and the new, the flesh and
the spirit. Our sins, everything evil in us and everything evil done by us, are
the works of the flesh. Our goodness, (if I may use such language), everything
good in us and everything good done by us is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.
Don Fortner