1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Featured A Bible verse on which I would like some guidance

Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by Sam_the_Brave, May 13, 2021.

  1. Sam_the_Brave

    Sam_the_Brave Member

    Joined:
    May 13, 2021
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    9
    Faith:
    Baptist
    A church member I know said that he had overcome his sin - I pointed him to the verse above, and he said it applied to non-believers only. Is he right?
     
  2. Martin Marprelate

    Martin Marprelate Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2010
    Messages:
    8,817
    Likes Received:
    2,106
    Faith:
    Baptist
    He is wrong. The clue is in the word 'we.'
     
    • Agree Agree x 4
    • Like Like x 2
    • Winner Winner x 1
  3. Sam_the_Brave

    Sam_the_Brave Member

    Joined:
    May 13, 2021
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    9
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Yes, I take your point. He is a self-righteous kind of guy. Maybe I shouldn't listen too closely to him.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Like Like x 1
    • Useful Useful x 1
  4. tyndale1946

    tyndale1946 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2001
    Messages:
    11,001
    Likes Received:
    2,396
    Faith:
    Baptist
    So Sam is sin an action or a condition?... The action doesn't cause the condition, the condition causes the action!... I think David said it the best!... Brother Glen:)

    Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

    We ALL come into the world the same way!
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  5. Yeshua1

    Yeshua1 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2012
    Messages:
    52,624
    Likes Received:
    2,742
    Faith:
    Baptist
    By stating that and believing its truth, he is still sinning!
     
  6. rlvaughn

    rlvaughn Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2001
    Messages:
    10,544
    Likes Received:
    1,558
    Faith:
    Baptist
    No, he is wrong. John is writing to believers, so we cannot remove believers from the equation and insert unbelievers.

    This reminds me of a friend who was talking to someone who believed she had reached a state of sinlessness. He mentioned the struggles of Paul the apostle, and referred her to Romans 7:22-24.
    Unimpressed, she told him that was Paul’s problem and not hers!
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Informative Informative x 1
    • Funny Funny x 1
  7. Rob_BW

    Rob_BW Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2015
    Messages:
    4,320
    Likes Received:
    1,242
    Faith:
    Baptist
    And he meant all sin in general, not some specific sin that had impacted his life?

    He is wrong.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Agree Agree x 1
  8. Marooncat79

    Marooncat79 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2014
    Messages:
    3,573
    Likes Received:
    627
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Also!

    What about he Lord’s Prayer in Matthew?

    Jesus says “give us this day our daily bread” which means daily prayer

    AND

    “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”

    they are hooked together

    why do we ask for pardon if we do not sin?

    The teachings on here are correct in regards to the teachings on I John
     
    • Like Like x 1
  9. Van

    Van Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Messages:
    26,995
    Likes Received:
    1,021
    Faith:
    Baptist
    John says two very different things, and it takes some thoughtful analysis to fit them together rather than ignore one and embrace the other.

    In 1 John 1:8 (which you presented in the OP) says we (believers) are not without sin. How would we know? By evaluating ourselves against the standard of scripture and Christ. Do we still fall short? Yes, of course.

    But John also says
    1John 3:9
    No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

    So since we are justified for our sins, past, present, and future (Christ dying once for all sin) we cannot sin in that we cannot store up wrath for our misbehavior. From God's perspective, as a born anew believer, washed by the blood of the Lamb, we are sinless, yet from our own perspective we know we think and do things not according to God's will. So, because of our own awareness, we are to strive to become more like Christ, walking the talk and evaluating our performance every day.
     
  10. Van

    Van Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Messages:
    26,995
    Likes Received:
    1,021
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I once knew a man who was an Elder at our church, and he sure seemed like a saint to me. I asked him about it, and he smiled and said, Van, God never tires of revealing our faults, so even though we might have walked quite a ways along the path to spiritual maturity, we are always keenly aware, we have a ways to go.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  11. Dave G

    Dave G Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2018
    Messages:
    5,858
    Likes Received:
    1,333
    Faith:
    Baptist
    1) He overcame it?
    See Romans 7:14-25 and Galatians 5:17.

    " For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." ( Galatians 5:17 )

    With the inherent problems that all born again people have, I doubt that he did.
    I also doubt that he understands Who it is that overcomes the flesh ( Romans 8:12-13, Galatians 5:16 ).
    Based on what I see in God's word, we don't do it, and neither can we.
    If it happens, He does it.


    2) Here's what I see when I read the verse:

    "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." ( 1 John 1:8 ).

    Here it is in the Greek:
    https://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/NTpdf/1jo1.pdf
    1 John 1:8 Greek biblehub

    I see the Scriptures teaching that it is not us that overcomes the flesh and its tendency to sin,
    but rather the Holy Spirit who indwells us...giving us power over it and the growth of true spiritual fruit ( Galatians 5:22-23 ).

    I also do not believe that Christians can be completely sinless until we see the Lord.

    3) Lastly,
    The book of 1 John is written to professing believers and applies to all professing believers.
     
    #11 Dave G, May 13, 2021
    Last edited: May 13, 2021
  12. Sam_the_Brave

    Sam_the_Brave Member

    Joined:
    May 13, 2021
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    9
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Well, he actually said, and I quote "I haven't sinned this morning". Then he told me the John 1:8 passage only applied to unbelievers.

    Thank you all for clearing this up for me.
     
    • Informative Informative x 1
  13. atpollard

    atpollard Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2018
    Messages:
    4,643
    Likes Received:
    1,158
    Faith:
    Baptist
    That reminds me of the MORNING PRAYER:

    Dear Lord,
    So far I've done all right.
    I haven't gossipped,
    haven't lost my temper,
    haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent.
    I'm really glad about that.

    But in a few minutes, God,
    I'm going to get out of bed.
    And from then on,
    I'm going to need a lot more help.​
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Winner Winner x 1
  14. percho

    percho Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2009
    Messages:
    7,326
    Likes Received:
    458
    Faith:
    Baptist

    That's me.

    Everyday.
     
  15. Sam_the_Brave

    Sam_the_Brave Member

    Joined:
    May 13, 2021
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    9
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Yeah, that's a funny and insightful poem, but seriously, this guy told me he hadn't sinned that morning...
     
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
  16. atpollard

    atpollard Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2018
    Messages:
    4,643
    Likes Received:
    1,158
    Faith:
    Baptist
    ... and some people think they are Napoleon. It's best not to waste too much time arguing with them about it. :)
     
  17. RighteousnessTemperance&

    RighteousnessTemperance& Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2017
    Messages:
    7,359
    Likes Received:
    1,464
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Perhaps he hadn't knowingly sinned. We all have blind spots, however. There's a very good reason they're called blind spots.
     
  18. Ziggy

    Ziggy Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2004
    Messages:
    1,162
    Likes Received:
    163
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I remember a pastor some thirty years or so back who claimed he had never sinned since he was saved in 1956. He loved to repeat that in the pulpit often.

    When confronted with scriptures refuting that position, he then claimed he never had sinned wilfully or knowingly, but he was certain otherwise that he had not sinned since salvation.

    Then he was asked, what about the sin of pride?
     
  19. 37818

    37818 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2018
    Messages:
    16,039
    Likes Received:
    1,241
    Faith:
    Baptist
    My take on 1 John 1:8 (also 1 John 1:10) is the need for the daily or as needed cleansing which God provides for those whom He has aleady saved. The promise to us who are saved being found right there in 1 John 1:9, ". . . If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. . . ." This is something we need from God which we cannot do for our selves.
     
  20. Reynolds

    Reynolds Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2014
    Messages:
    13,795
    Likes Received:
    2,468
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Is he talking about a sin or all sin?
     
Loading...