Avalee, this is a great article of Ellen White's on sanctification. I believe that it is possible to overcome all sin and to willfully stop sinning under sanctification. I believe this is the perfection that Ellen White is speaking of here. However, we will have to constantly battle our sinful nature until this nature is removed from us. Hebrews 10:13 says that God will perfect those who are being sanctified. I believe this is a promise that all who are growing under sanctification will have their sinful natures removed and be totally perfected in their minds.

Zechariah chapter 3 is also speaking of perfection. In this chapter Jesus says, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee." Verse 4. I believe this is speaking of the removal of our sinful natures from us. Later in the chapter it says, "I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." Verse 9. What day is this? On what day does God cleanse sin? The Day of Atonement, or Judgment Day. Because of this Judgment Day is a day to eagerly anticipate and look forward to, rather than to fear.

Look up the word Judgment in Psalms and see that David looked forward to Judgment with eager anticiipation. He obviously must have understood this truth that Judgment is to be welcomed, not feared.

Charlene, I find it hard to believe that Jesus stumbled and fell in and out of sin as He grew from childhood to manhood. I'm sure that's not what you meant. Since Jesus is our example, the example of a born again believer, then we must conclude that the growth we experience after we've been born again does not involve gradually out growing our moral perfections of character - based on the fact it wasn't that way for Jesus.

Jean, thank you for clarifying that point. I too believe that when Jesus blots out our record and memory of specific sins our mind will perfect in the sense it no longer contains the memory of specific sins.

We are saved by grace through faith.

That means we are not saved by our perfect character or perfect moral.

By grace mean, God saved us in all our imperfect character but we have fruit of the Spirit, His love that seeks no self I our heart that opens the gate of heaven for us and allow us to live there.

In is love

James S.

Jesus cannot save anyone who willingly clings to a known defect of character.

Mike.

Jesus cannot save anyone who willingly clings to a known defect of character.

Unquote.

You are absolutely true! But my post is not saying about keeping a ‘willingly known defect character.”

I said as according to the Gospel of Christ, “you are flesh sold under SIN.” Your nature is self-love that is the SIN in you. Christ redeemed us from the wages of SIN, but it doesn’t change our nature unless we live by the Spirit, because “love” that seeks no self as fruit of the Spirit will be filled in our heart to change our nature of self-love. Now we could love our fellow man. But, since self-love is your nature that is the root of all selfish and flesh desires, the change of character is not an instant work. It is a life time work of the Spirit, and in that life time span, you may still do the deeds of the flesh (Romans 7:13-23; Galatians 5:17). This deeds happens not because you willingly cling to it desire (if so is the case, you are living by the flesh) but because it is your nature that you want and are going to defeat it by the power of the Spirit through faith, you are living after the Spirit and not after the flesh.

But this deeds, although it is a sin, but this sin “God will remember no more” as you are under His grace because of your faith in Christ and your life according to the Spirit. The law could not justify or condemn you since you are not under the law, you are not under the jurisdiction of the law. Read Romans 8:1-4, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, not because the law can not touch them even though they are under the law (which s impossible; “they that sins under the law would be judge by the law” but because they live according to the Spirit and are not under the law (Galatians 5:18).

By clinging to a known defect character that is the same as living by the flesh and not by the Spirit.

In His love

James S.

Paul and Peter put it this way:

Romans
7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

1 Corinthians
9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

2 Peter
1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

When we crucify self (the old man) and are born again we begin partaking of the divine nature. But our sinful flesh nature continues to war against the Spirit and mind of our new man. Jesus does not change our nature, rather He empowers us to resist the unholy clamorings generated and communicated by it. We will not receive our new nature until Jesus changes us in the twinkling of an eye when He returns. 1 Cor 15.

John and Paul put it this way:

1 John
3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Galatians
5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

As a result of a new topic that may be somewhat of a duplicate of this topic, I am bringing this topic back to the top of the list of topics.