There are those who are teaching that mankind is not sinful by nature, that we can become sinless by not sinning anymore.
Mark Slappey said this: "Psalm 51-5 -Genesis 2-16,17 --Romans 5-12 -Acts 17-26 -Romans 5-18 and 19--one John 1-8 ---Eccl-7-20 -think you were not born in sin read these -for the that called me a liar I will pray for you to understand Gods written word."
I agree with Mark, anyone who thinks that sinful acts is what makes them sinful are missing the point entirely. It is our very nature that is sinful even if we don't happen to be sinning at a given moment, we are predisposed to sinfulness.
The reason our sinfulness needs to be covered in the blood of Christ is evident, we cannot be sinless, we are still stuck in this sinful flesh.
Yes, after Christ makes us into a new creation we sin less because we are being cleansed daily. Our old self is "passing away", being replaced by the righteousness of Christ. But that righteousness is not our own, it is only Christ Who is righteous.
2 Corinthians 5:21 "21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Ephesians 2:10 "10 For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the form of works or our own righteousness can save us from our sin and hell. Only trusting Christ can do that. Trusting Christ means that we agree with Him that we have no way of saving ourselves, that He died in our place, paying the penalty for sin that should have been ours. Then and only then will Christ change us into a new creation, making us like Him in our thoughts and desires.
Our spirit are made new but it is trapped in this sinful flesh so there is a constant battle going on to resist the flesh.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
God says to flee the sexual immorality, while at the same time telling us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. If we never sinned after being born again, then there would be no need for the command to flee the temptations.
Our Spirit desires to be holy, but our body continually tempts us as well as the demons who use our thoughts and bodies against us. There is a battle that must go on. If there is no battle that is raging then there is probably no salvation. Those who are unsaved don't bother to battle, they simply lean into whatever their desire is.
Ephesians 5:16-18 "16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,"
God is saying these things to believers, who are born again and sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise as a guarantee of our inheritance.
Ephesians 1:13-14 "13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."
Those who think they do not sin after salvation would be miserable to live with, every time they have a bad attitude they would never apologize or admit anything was wrong. They would blame everyone else for their own behavior, claiming they don't sin.
We are to continually be confessing our sin to reconcile relationships, without this there is nothing but brokenness. Relationships can never be fixed or resolved without dialogue and confession. There can be no close relationships with those who hurt us but think they are perfect.
When we do wrong to others the Holy Spirit tells us and we are miserable until we make it right. Anyone who never admits their sinfulness are not being convicted by the Holy Spirit, how could they know Him and believe they never do wrong?
There are many people who believe they are earning their way to heaven through their works, this all by itself is sin and blasphemy, it is the expression of a person who loves themself, believing they have a part in their own salvation on any level, is a self willed one who refuses to admit that Christ is all that is needed and that He can make us what we need to be. It also denies the continual ongoing cleansing that must take place until the day we leave this earth.
Ephesians 5:2626 "to make her holy, cleansing her (the church)by the washing with water through the word,"
1 John 1:99 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:7 " But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
Romans 12:2 "2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."
The verses listed are written to born again believers who are sealed with the Holy Spirit, they were not written to the unsaved.
