Sinless perfection

 

Can we ever get to the point where we never sin? That idea was recently introduced to me not as a question but as an idea I encountered through several sources. What I didn’t know as that idea was presented to me was that that idea is what is called sinless perfection.

The problem as I see it with sinless perfection starts with the very idea that it’s possible to even consider the idea of being sinless in any way. We are born into sin through the sin of Adam and therefore can never live a sinless life. It’s not possible. We are all sinners and as I recently heard from someone speaking against the idea of ‘God loves everyone’ the wonder isn’t that the Lord doesn’t love everyone…the wonder is that He loves anyone. We are all so sin filled, so filthy in our sins before a holy God that it’s a wonder that He loves any of us.

So to consider the idea that anyone can ever, in any way, be sinless is to disregard the fact that we are all born full of sin. That very basic fact keeps me from ever being able to believe in the idea of anyone ever being sinless. But the fact that I can never believe in any form of being sinless there are those that believe they can in some way be sinless. At least they seem to believe that if they live out a life as sinless as they can that somehow God owes them something.

Scripture doesn’t support that theory but it’s an idea some hold to nonetheless. Sinless perfection…to me…doesn’t need to be explored beyond the term to know it’s unattainable. There is no person that will ever live that will be perfect…Christ was the only one. And there is no one that will ever be sinless. My mind, in my beliefs, stops at that very point. But I’m going to push past my own stopping point in order to tackle the subject of sinless perfection as I understand it.

I would assume that we all want to live sinless before the Lord. Anyone with any type of belief in God would…I assume…want to be found as sinless as possible. Many will in fact even claim not to sin. That’s impossible but it is a belief many hold to. How many people would tell you they haven’t sinned today?

If I open my eyes in the morning it’s a guarantee that I will sin. Not because I want to but because something…possibly everything…I do will fail to meet the perfect, holy standards of the Lord. Scripture even tells us that even once we are saved we will sin. 1 John 2:1 says…

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² He is the propitiation for our sins…

If the Lord has truly saved us it should be our greatest desire to avoid sin but complete sinlessness will never happen and so we are told that we have an advocate in Christ if we do sin.

I have to ask…based on the above verse alone…does it sound like those that are in Christ will ever reach a state of complete sinlessness? The idea that we can live a sinless life not only goes against my beliefs…it goes against Scripture. Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that we can ever reach a state of sinless perfection.

And if it isn’t taught in the Bible…it’s a false doctrine. If I ever heard anyone teaching or preaching the concept of sinless perfection I would have no choice but to walk away from that teaching knowing I had just heard a lesson of heresy. And that the person teaching that concept was nothing short of a false teacher.

I’m absolutely positive I’ve heard many a false teacher teach from a false doctrine but the idea of sinless perfection isn’t one I’ve ever heard preached or taught. It’s only been very recently that I’ve encountered the idea. Even still it’s something that should be opposed for the false teaching that it is no matter how we encounter it.

As I understand sinless perfection it’s a works system that holds at its foundation the idea that we can somehow attain a level of sinlessness…or at least of conscious sinlessness…that we manage to work ourselves into a place where the Lord can…and will…save us.

It’s something we do…rather, it’s something some people do…it’s an experience. It’s human workings with the idea that those deeds will get a person closer to Christ.

As I was researching the concept of sinless perfection I came across an article that said those that try and attain sinless perfection and think they have reached it often tend to be proud of their accomplishment and often try and get others to work toward the same state.

That very pride is enough to completely ruin their attainment of becoming sinless.

An high look, and a proud heart…is sin. Proverbs 21:4

But I can understand their pride in what they see as becoming sinless. I really can. If I held to the belief that it’s possible to live in a state of sinless perfection I think not only would I be proud of the fact that I had attained such a difficult feat but that my thoughts would go something like…if I can work my way into this perfect condition where I have reached the Lord then I need to show others how to get here. Much the way we…as Christians…want others to share in our faith and the security we have in Christ. But we can’t bring others to Christ any more than the sinless perfectionist can bring someone into a state of sinless perfection.

But I can understand their reasoning. I can even understand the pride that goes with the belief. We know that pride is a sin but to my way of thinking so is sinless perfection. And as a sin it’s something we should strive to avoid but for the person working their way toward Christ through sinless perfection they have already missed some key points in Scripture and therefore are already dealing with this concept out of what seems to me to be sin. I will give them credit though…it must be hard to be that perfect, to work that hard, to attain something…or to try to attain it.

So in their own pride, in their self-satisfaction, in that place where they believe they have reached sinless perfection…why wouldn’t they want to bring others into their hope? They now believe that they do not sin. If they can just convince the sinners to work hard enough…convince them to do enough…give up enough…act a certain way…then they can help them find salvation, or at least get to a place where the Lord can reach them so that He can save them.

The trouble with that is that we can never work our way to Christ. Salvation is a gift we are given and there’s nothing we can do to attain it. No amount of working or living as sin-free as we can manage will ever be good enough for our holy Lord. Our greatest works are but filthy rags to a God that is holy.

And shall we be saved? For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:5-6

Imagine for a moment the most filthy rag or item of clothing your mind can conjure up. Is it covered in blood? Bugs? Mud? Rotting food? Does it smell of death? Of decay? That is what our greatest deeds are before the Lord.

How then can anyone reach a place where the Lord looks on our works and calls them good enough for Him?

We can’t.

It’s only by His mercy that He will ever look at anything we do as good. But for those who believe in sinless perfectionism they often don’t see the many sins they commit. Or they soften them to see them as less than sin. In my research I discovered that sinless perfectionism isn’t just an idea that some believe will work them to a place where God can save them…for some they believe it is a state they must reach in order to be saved. To them…it is a necessity.

I can’t help but wonder how they manage to reach their idea of salvation if they somehow have to be perfect…without sin…before they can be saved. Scripture tells us that even after we’ve been saved we will never attain perfection. We will continue to sin, we will fail. We are to try to avoid sin but we aren’t told that we will ever be able to live a life free from sin.

Anyone subscribing to the belief of sinless perfection would have to disregard so much of Scripture that I can’t begin to list them all. I’m not even going to try. I would however like to point to one verse that sums it all up for me. This verse says so much to me on the topic of sinless perfection that I believe I could easily know that sinless perfection is heresy if this was the only verse I had to refute it.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8

Can that possibly be any plainer? If we…if anyone…says we have no sin…the truth is not in us. So anyone that believes they have reached a state where they do not sin…is in a state where they do not have the truth.

If that single verse isn’t enough to show us that sinless perfection is a false doctrine then we can look to…

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:10

What more do we need to disprove the teaching of sinless perfection? What more can be said?