Dave, you are ignoring the Scriptures that I quoted and referred to that teach that if we live in sin we will die in our sins, we won't have eternal life with God. Your Scripture from 1 Jn 3:9 has to do with making sin our practice, with continuing to live in (to walk in) sin. It is not saying we can never sin or that we will never sin, for other Scriptures make it quite clear that we can (1 Jn 2:1-2, for example). And because we are quite able of sinning, that is why we have so many warnings in the NT written to the church warning us against being deceived into thinking that we can live in sin and still be saved and still have eternal life with God.
Also, there are all kinds of instructions to Christians in the New Testament with regard to putting off certain sins and putting on righteousness, holiness, etc. and about stopping certain behaviors and about following Christ's example, etc. And there are many passages of Scripture which warn us that if we commit murder, adultery, sexual immorality, idolatry, etc., as a matter of practice, that we will not have eternal life with God but we will die in our sins, and these warnings are written to the church. We can't live in sin and have eternal life with God. That is not my opinion. It is what the word teaches.
