Restin wrote:

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Another principle the SDA are always promulgating is that the instant you sin you are out the door until such time as you repent.

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Perhaps the following will help:

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"Any one act, either good or evil, does not form the character, but thoughts and feelings indulged, prepare the way for acts and deeds of the same kind." EGW in YI 12-15-1886.

"The harvest of life is character, and it is this that determines destiny, both for this life and for the life to come." EGW in Ed 108.

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And remember that,

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we are HIS workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13.

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Our "will" is strengthened by the strong motives of faith, hope, and love. And these are the fruit of the Spirit.

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The great motive powers of the soul are faith, hope, and love; and it is to these that Bible study, rightly pursued, appeals. Ed 192.

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That's why Paul wrote:

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The GOAL of our instruction is LOVE from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1:5 nasb.

But without FAITH it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6.

For we are saved by HOPE: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Romans 8:24-25.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows (by thoughts, words, and actions), that shall he also reap. For he who sows to his flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Galatians 6:7-8.

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The quote posted by Stan:

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"Any one act, either good or evil, does not form the character, but thoughts and feelings indulged, prepare the way for acts and deeds of the same kind." EGW in YI 12-15-1886.

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The above quote would compliment the thought that the Bible verse quoted in an earlier post does refer to practicing sins rather than committing any one sin.

It is the practicing sins that form the character.

Does this then explain what Christ meant when He said to the woman caught in adultery to no longer practice this sin as well as to sin no more with the focus being on no longer practicing the sin of adultery?

From another quote in this topic, it also seems to me that those who actually sin no more are the living saints who are sealed. Is this referring to the translation generation (the 144,000) just before Christ returns?

Daryl, perhaps you are confusing sin that leads to damnation versus sin that leads to character. Just because it requires repeated failures in a particular area in order to form character does not mean that one sin will not keep us out of heaven. One sin was all it took to banish our parents from the Garden of Eden. And it only takes one unpardoned sin to keep us out of heaven.

It would be a mistake to assume that 1 John 3:9 is talking about sinning and repenting rather than not sinning at all. And if not sinning is reserved only for the 144,000 then God's promises of perfection apply to them only as well. Thus we have no business expecting God to empower us now to cease from sin. 1 Peter 4:1,2.

What will God do differently in future, that He is unwilling or unable to do for us now, that will make it possible for the 144,000 to cease sinning?

I believe that if we are in a relationship with Jesus Christ and we commit a one act of sin, we will confess and repent of that sin which will then maintain our relationship with Christ.

I don't believe the relationship with Christ is lost between the committing of that one act of sin and the confessing and repenting of that sin.

I believe that it is the repeating of that sin that constitutes practicing sin.

I also believe that the difference of those who no longer sin is the fact that they have been sealed.

Daryl, can you please address the following questions:

1. What will God do differently in future, that He is unwilling or unable to do for us now, that will make it possible for the 144,000 to completely cease sinning?

2. What does 1 John 3:9 mean?

3. Where in the Bible does it teach we are saved and justified after we sin but before we repent?

Yes, I agree that God is able to empower us not to sin and to be perfect. He could also empower me to not have tooth decay, or not make mistakes that get me in financial trouble. But someone eons ago in the great universe questioned God's right to empower his subjects. He called those people slaves and puppets under the power of God. So here we are on this stage of demonstration, where much of God's empowering ability is restrained that all may see that He does not force his subjects to be perfect, or even be better faster than they are willing or able to go. And it is under the cross and grace of Christ that people are able to develope their relationship to God, from very far from Him, to very near...at their own pace, not yours!

Here's a couple more interesting and inspired statements for this thread:

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That which will bless humanity is spiritual life. If the man is in harmony with God, he will depend continually upon him for strength. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." It should be our life-work to press forward continually toward the perfection of Christian character, ever striving for conformity to the will of God, remembering that the efforts begun upon earth will continue throughout eternity. EGW in ST 6-17-1886.

Those who are seeking to acquire knowledge in the schools of earth should remember that another school also claims them as students,--the school of Christ. From this school the students are never graduated. Among the pupils are both old and young. Those who give heed to the instructions of the divine Teacher are constantly gaining more wisdom and nobility of soul, and thus they are prepared to enter that higher school, where advancement will continue throughout eternity. EGW in RH 8-22-1912.

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Amen! Thank you Restin and Stan.

Jesus began perfect and He became perfect. Think about that. If He was born perfect how could He become more perfect? Isn't perfect perfect? How can we improve upon perfection? Easy! Like the light that "shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov 4:18), so too eternity isn't long enough to exhaust our potential to become more and more like Jesus.

But the difference between each stage of growth is not less sin, rather it's more righteousness, a deeper and more mature form of it. That's how it was for Jesus as He grew from childhood to manhood. He began perfect, that is, He possessed all the fruit and righteous attributes of God when He was born a babe in Bethlehem, but as He grew in grace He matured more and more in them. He did not accumulate or acquire fruit or attributes He did not possess at birth. He was born complete. And we are born again complete in the same way Jesus was.

We are born again perfect. The implanted mind of the new man comes complete with all the fruit and righteous attributes of God. Not one is missing. But we must grow and mature in them in the same way Jesus did. And the growth we experience as we mature does not involve sinning and repenting or discovering new and unknown defective traits of character. It didn't work that way for Jesus and it doesn't work that way for born again believers who are actively and aggressively walking in the Spirit and mind of the new man.

I need to clarify that we are born again morally perfect, not necessarily mentally or intellectually perfect. But neither was Jesus born mentally perfect. He too had to grow in knowledge as He passed from childhood to manhood.

This is good news.

Daryl, can you please address the following questions:

1. What will God do differently in future, that He is unwilling or unable to do for us now, that will make it possible for the 144,000 to completely cease sinning?

2. What does 1 John 3:9 literally mean when it says born again believers do not and cannot sin?

3. Where in the Bible does it teach we are saved and justified after we sin but before we repent?

Mike Lowe, in response to your concern about my posts, I want to say I certainly do not despise you. I believe your heart is sincere. It's not easy to be a youth pastor as you are. I just feel that you kinda go to one extreme of the pendulum about perfection topics. You know how it is possible for anyone to get on one side of a Bible subject and bring forth endless scripture to support their view. We see it all the time. Im sure you believe you are absolutely perfect about perfection, as you quote scripture to "prove" it. But others, such as Stan McCluskey, are balanced better (seems to me)and I would a thousand times rather confide my personal agonies to Stan than ever I would to someone perfect like you...especially when I was young and rambunctious and dared to go where angels fear to tread. My problem with you, I think, is that it doesn't allow for the real stuff of life that people get all tangled up in. You seem to me to have a nice string of words from the Bible, but not dipping into all that which lurks in the hearts of mankind. Nothing personal, but is my reaction as I had a very long way to go to get back to the ways of the Bible and SDA. And still not there yet.