fhansen
Oldbie
Yes, and sufficiently to satisfy God, apparently, since gross sins as outlined in Gal 5, for example, will keep us from heaven, from Him, while we'll nonetheless still struggle against sin, and sometimes fail. So John also says:The obvious implication from, "...do not let sin reign in your mortal body...", and, "Make every effort...to be holy...", and, "consider yourself dead to sin", and any exhortation from a NT writer to believers to be obedient, pure, dedicated, etc, is the same thing spoken outright by John:
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The "old man" must be continually put to death.
"Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." 1 John 3:7-9
We need to do the best we can with all we've been given, seeking perfection with God's grace while knowing that it isn't likely to be completed until the next life. We must find that balance, as the church has outlined it in the past, between antinomianism -or thinking that obedience/righteousness is unnecessary with the new covenant- and the notion that only perfect sinlessness should satisfy God. We must be on that road to holiness-and expect that He'll put the finishing touches on us in the next life, giving us a heart finally pure enough to be able to "see" Him.
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