Whoever is born of God does not sin. Yet, whoever says he has no sin is a liar and the truth is not in him.

So if you ask a born-again non-sinner if he has sin, what would he say? Do you know any born-again non-sinners that I could ask personally?

I know some born-again people, but none of them claim to be without sin.

Whoever is born of God does not sin. Yet, whoever says he has no sin is a liar and the truth is not in him. So if you ask a born-again non-sinner if he has sin, what would he say? Do you know any born-again non-sinners that I could ask personally? I know some born-again people, but none of them claim to be without sin.

M: "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not." Repeatedly the Bible describes believers not sinning while they are actively, aggressively abiding in Jesus. But I hear you saying, no, they are guilty of sinning unknowingly.

G: I read that verse to mean when we are abiding in Jesus we do not choose to sin. This is not quite the same as we do not sin.

"All have sinned". This will be true throughout eternity. No one can claim to have never sinned. But, praise the Lord, while we are abiding in Jesus we do not, cannot sin. Thank you, Jesus.

When is a person no longer a sinner?

We do not, cannot sin while abiding in Jesus. However, we do not lose the freedom or ability to neglect to abide in Jesus and sin. Good news, though, is that we will not sin while abiding in Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

We need to know and may know that Christ is abiding in our hearts by faith, and that we are abiding in Jesus by faith. Jesus says, "I am the Vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." Now listen to the conclusion of the verse: "For without me ye can do nothing." From this you can see how our Lord Jesus Christ regards unsanctified, human ability. We may have an education in the sciences, we may have all the knowledge in the world, and yet if it is not sanctified, if it is not brought under contribution to God, if we are not depending upon his merits every moment, if we are not continually drawing from Christ, we cannot live the life of Christ; we can do nothing worthy of his name. We want to hear the voice of Jesus and invite his presence. We should open the door of the heart to Christ, and invite him to come in. He says, "Without me ye can do nothing." Is it because men work without Christ that we see so many efforts made without accomplishing any good? Is it because man depends upon his own efforts, and his own power, and thinks that he can do great things of himself? I know that this is why the Lord can do so little for man. He uses the gifts of God as weapons to destroy himself. We want Jesus simply, Jesus who offers himself to us as a free gift; and if we accept the offering with the whole heart and soul, we shall praise God at every step, we cannot help it, because he has given us this manifestation of his love and condescension. What we want is Jesus, and the power of his grace; and may God baptize us with his Holy Spirit. "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." {RH, September 27, 1892 par. 3}

That is a wonderful promise, "If ye abide in me, and my words"--be careful to take that in--"my words abide in you." How are we to know that the words of Christ are abiding in us? how are we to understand them? It is by appropriating his promises to our souls that we feed upon Christ. We are to study his words carefully, and be doers of his word. Many trust in a flight of feeling, and think that in order to be accepted of God, they must have some special emotion come upon them, or they do not have the grace of Christ. But this is not what we are to look for. Jesus came that we might obey as well as receive; but we must believe in him, and receive, in order to obey. We are to ask, Are his words cherished by us? Are we doers of the word of Christ? This is an important question. If we are following the light just as far as it shines upon our pathway, if we are seeking to do the will of our heavenly Father, just so surely shall we be prepared for greater light to come into the heart and mind. Especially will this be the case when we are prayerfully searching the Scriptures. We have had the Spirit of God here in this meeting; we would dishonor God if we did not appreciate this, and praise his holy name that we have felt the manifestation of his Spirit in power. {RH, September 27, 1892 par. 4}

God permitted great light to shine upon the minds of these chosen men, revealing to them many of the errors of Rome; but they did not receive all the light that was to be given to the world. Through these, His servants, God was leading the people out of the darkness of Romanism; but there were many and great obstacles for them to meet, and He led them on, step by step, as they could bear it. They were not prepared to receive all the light at once. Like the full glory of the noontide sun to those who have long dwelt in darkness, it would, if presented, have caused them to turn away. Therefore He revealed it to the leaders little by little, as it could be received by the people. From century to century, other faithful workers were to follow, to lead the people on still further in the path of reform. {GC 103.1}

In short, you are talking about sin that you did in the past, while John is talking about sin that you have in the present. The distinction is important, and perhaps is the key to understanding what John meant when he said whoever is born of God does not sin (verb). He didn't say that whoever is born of God has no sin (noun).

M: We do not, cannot sin while abiding in Jesus. However, we do not lose the freedom or ability to neglect to abide in Jesus and sin. Good news, though, is that we will not sin while abiding in Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

G: In this case, Huss, Jerome, Wycliffe, Luther, Melanchthon, William Miller and a great host of others, including the majority of "saints" in the church today, never ever experienced "abiding in Jesus." Perhaps this great host also includes Ellen White, who never fully understood some truths that affected her lifestyle. I cannot accept this view, Mike. You need to temper it with some additional information (truths). There is a great difference between choosing to sin (voluntary, willful sin) and sinning ignorantly (involuntarily, without knowledge). It is not possible to abide in Jesus while knowingly going against His law. But it is possible to abide in Him while involuntarily ignorant of some portions of His law, portions against which one may be sinning ignorantly.

To me, Mrs. White says that to abide in Christ, we must have His Word in our hearts. She further explains that experience of His Word entering our hearts in terms of "light" which we do not reject, but cherish and follow. Yet she is careful to speak of this following as "following the light just as far as it shines upon our pathway." In other words, we are not accountable to follow light which we do not have. We have not other human ability beyond that which is given us, and if God Himself will not present all of the light to us, how shall we follow it all?

God cannot, and does not, reveal all of the truth to our minds at once. If He did, we would either reject it, or perish outright. We are not yet able to bear it. This being the case, I can be nearly certain that I am sinning in unknown ways, along with any known sins I may have in my life. According to you, then, I could not possibly have any hope of "abiding in Jesus." Do you think you "abide in Jesus?"

Sin as a verb or a noun?