Sinless is possible. In fact, every Christian on Earth has been sinless for at least part of their Christian life. Let’s take a look at a 1 John 1:9-2:1.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.
What do you believe about God’s forgiveness? Do you really believe that if we confess our sins, he, “will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness?” You say that you believe that? Then, what do you call the state of a person whose sins have been forgiven and who has been purified from all unrighteousness? Hopefully, you say that the person is sinless. No, I am not playing word games with you. This is very important because it has to do with the quality of God’s forgiveness and what you really believe about it. In your heart of hearts, do you really believe that God forgives you when you repent and confess your sins and then purifies (cleanses) you from all unrighteousness? If you truly believe that, then you believe that the person who is thus forgiven and cleansed is sinless.
Some of you are snorting and saying that you may be sinless, but you only stay sinless for the microsecond that it takes you to sin again. I would have two comments to make to you. One is that you are in danger of scorning God’s grace on your behalf. The second is that this post has to do with Lent and with a bit of why we fast. When you repent, God forgives you and purifies you. Notice that he does not just forgive you; he also purifies you. In other words, he makes you sinless, for however long it may last. His full intention is that you will not sin again. This is why in the quote from 1 John above, the Apostle John says, “I write this to you so that you will not sin.” The phrase makes no sense unless God’s whole purpose in forgiving you and cleansing you is, “so that you will not sin” again. This is why I comment that scorning remarks about how short a time it is between the time you confess and the time you sin again can easily communicate the impression that you do not fully appreciate God’s work every time that you truly repent and confess. More than that, it all too readily communicates that you have no intention of taking seriously God’s (and the Apostle John’s) statement that God’s purpose in forgiving you is “so that you will not sin” again.
Nevertheless, neither God nor the Apostle John are deluded. God does face the current situation of fallen and damaged humanity. Thus, the Apostle John continues on to say:
But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
In other words, if you sin again after confession, and then confess again, then Our Lord Jesus Christ will again forgive you. But, Saint John does not write this merely to give us confidence to keep again and again (eti kai eti) confessing our sins. Rather he writes this to remind us that our calling is to be sinless and that Our Lord’s expectation is that we be sinless. As Our Lord says to the woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin no more.” That is our calling. The fact that Our Lord has made a graceful provision for our fallen and damaged human nature does not mean that his call for us to be sinless, “Be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect,” was simply hyperbole! It was not hyperbole!
Rather, as Saint John continues to write, he writes that if we know him we will obey his commandments. That is, we will make a decision of the will to follow what Our Lord has said we must do. The point here is not whether we will sin again. Rather, Saint John’s expectation is that our decision to follow Jesus means just that, a decision to do what is necessary to stay sinless. So, what is necessary to stay sinless (whether or not we fully succeed)? Well, that is in part what Lent is about.
===MORE TO COME===
Are you very sure?
Question: If, after the initial episode of sinless purification, I sin again, what am I? Am I still a Christian? Do I have to be rebaptized? Yes to the first, No to the second! Because of God’s grace, when he looks at me he sees Jesus’ perfect life. I don’t have to still try to appease God by being sinless! Jesus has done that for me and is the only one who could! I’m sorry, this is “western legal thinking,” but I think that what you are proposing in your diatribe is “perfectionism.” I realize that saying “Christians are not sinless” is a heresy to you. To Lutherans, the heresy is the perfectionism. The Pentecostals do it in America, but I see it is nothing new.
Lastly, am I really supposed to be joyful about God’s grace “for however long it may last” ? Or, rather about God’s grace that lasts for an ETERNITY, no matter that I do and will sin while I am still in the flesh?
Trust me, brother in Christ, you will sin tomorrow. And we all will. But God still loves us. Soli Deo gloria.
Actually, I was not thinking of baptism here. I was thinking about daily life after baptism, of the times that we go before the Lord and/or go to Confession. One of the Orthodox evening prayers is a confession. That is, we assume that you need to confess to God daily. Some of the Orthodox morning prayers in some of the traditions will even include a confession for the sins you are about to commit!
What I am talking about, and will become clearer in the next post, is the process of theosis, which the West calls sanctification. So, in this case, I am not actually touching upon justification or appeasing God. I am talking about pleasing God, which is a vastly different concept. Finally, nowhere do I say that I ought to be joyful about God’s grace for however long it may last. It is the sinless state that does not last, and I pointed out that God’s graceful provision is to keep returning us to the sinless state as we keep confessing our sins and growing into Christ. That was Saint John’s reassurance in the Epistle.
Lutherans do have difficulty with sanctification, and in Luther’s writings, the assumption is often that there is no lasting growth in Christ, but rather a pure dependence on Jesus’ work. That is, Luther appears to jettison sanctification for all practical purposes, a critique that has been made of him not merely by the Orthodox, but also by some of the Calvinists and certainly by the Anabaptists.
Fr. Ernesto, you have given me some things to ponder. I realized as I was reading this article that my understanding of forgiveness and sin were woefully lacking. As a seeker who is on his way to becoming Orthodox, I am perpetually shocked at my own misunderstandings of basic Church doctrines.
We now know who’s not aiming to make the “sinless” list. lol
Do I really have to say anything here… I mean, the red phone to the big man is already ringing off the hook because of me. Lol
Yeah….okay Mr. 0666. Can’t imagine why there have been reinforcements called. Uncle Ernie needs to “bring on the holy water”!! lol
I’ve been negotationing the terms of my “sinning surrender” for awhile now with Uncle Ernie. We’ve already decided on the amount of coffee needed for the duration of my confession (s).
OMG!! The family will go broke buying coffee for this Intervention!
CAFECITO!!!!
Actually, I have been getting JP ready with Father Ernesto stories. You should ask him. GRIN.
BOY!!! do I know those stories….
My children like to say that they come out of confession with a “minty-fresh soul.” I think that’s a good analogy!
And they still let him be a priest!!! ahahahahahaha……
From the stories I’ve heard they should have him standing guard mount or performing some kind of standup. lol
Has he set fire to the altar again?? roflol
Not exactly, it had to do with the effects of some food I had eaten the day before and how the lower parts of my stomach reacted to it. It meant that it was a good thing that we use lots of incense.
Oh no! That’s hysterical!