The Heresy Of Sinless Perfection

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

This blog will be very offensive to self-righteous people. We are way more sinful than we'd like to believe. We need Jesus way more than we realize. The idea that you can be sinless lowers God's standards of holiness, creates self-righteousness, and downplays your great need and appreciation for Jesus Christ and His finished work at the Cross. So the doctrine of sinless perfection is not biblically sound.

The belief that you can stop sinning completely and achieve sinless perfection is unbiblical. The Bible says that if we claim to be without sin, we call God a liar, we deceive ourselves with self righteousness and the truth is not in us:

1 John 1:8 (KJB)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
(have no sin - present tense)

1 John 1:10 (KJB)
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
(have not sinned - past tense)

The Bible also says that apart from the imputed righteousness of God, there are none that are righteous by their own performance. There is no man without sin:

Ecclesiastes 7:20 (KJB)
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

Proverbs 20:9 (KJB)
9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

Why this doctrine of sinless perfection is very dangerous? The belief that you can become sinless and perfect by your own doing creates a deceptive self righteousness within:

Galatians 6:3 (KJB)
3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

It downplays your sinful condition and downplays your desperate need of Jesus Christ and His blood sacrifice for sin, His imputed righteousness and His finished work at the cross. You submit to your own righteousness which is filthy, instead of submitting to and relying upon the righteousness of God which is by simple faith in Christ. This can send you to Hell:

Romans 10:3 (KJB)
3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Galatians 2:21 (KJB)
21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Galatians 3:3 (KJB)
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

How sinful you really are in your dead corruptible flesh? Many people, even Christians, have a skewed perspective of sin. They think sin is just murder, fornication, stealing, doing drugs, etc. But God's standard of perfection is much higher than man's. The average human has an average of 70,000 thoughts per day. God not only looks at our actions, but our words, our thoughts, and motives. We sin every day in some way:

Luke 16:15 (KJB)
15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Proverbs 21:2 (KJB)
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: But the LORD pondereth the hearts.

Matthew 5:28 (KJB)
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Below is a list of sins that one may overlook or not even realize they are committing. Keep in mind if you commit one sin, it's as if you committed them all (James 2:10, Galatians 3:10):

• Unbelief - Lack of faith (Hebrews 3:12)
• Doubt - Anything outside of faith (Romans 14:23)
• Not loving God with ALL of your heart, soul, & mind (Mark 12:30)
• Not loving your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31
• Not doing what you know you should (James 4:17)
• Any pride, arrogance, or Ego (Proverbs 15:6)
• Stubbornness/ Hardheadedness (Jeremiah 18:12)
• Gluttony - Eating beyond your needs (Philippians 3:19)
• Any foolish thought (Proverbs 24:9)
• Any careless word (Matthew 12:36)
• Crude joking (Ephesians 5:3-4)
• Love of money (2 Timothy 3:2)
• Bad stewardship, foolish with money, wasteful (Proverbs 21:20)
• Gossip (Proverbs 20:19)
• Unthankful / Ungrateful (2 Timothy 3:2)
• Complaining (Philippians 2:14-15)
• Unjust anger (Colossians 3:8)
• Bitterness (Ephesians 4:31)
• Unholy speech, not limited to cussing (Colossians 3:8)
• Lustful thoughts (Matthew 5:28)
• Idolatry - relying on, spending more time focused on something than God (1 Peter 4:3)
• Sensuality (Galatians 5:19)
• Coveting - Desiring what someone else has (Exodus 20:17)
• Envy- Desiring someone to not have something ( 1 Peter 2:1)
• Boasting/ Bragging (Romans 1:30)
• Clamor - Shouting obnoxiously (Ephesians 4:31)
• Deceit - Twisting truth, or withholding truth (Mark 7:22)
• Lying, even the white ones (Proverbs 12:22)
• Tattletale (Matthew 18:15-17)
• Judging unrighteously; Hypocrisy (Luke 12:1)
• Fearfulness (Matthew 10:26)
• Cowardice (Revelation 21:8)
• Quarreling / Arguing (James 4:1-2)
• Swearing an oath (James 5:12)
• Giving with an impure motive (2 Corinthians 9:7)
• Holding Grudges / Unforgiving (Colossians 3:13)
• Harshness, mean attitude (Colossians 3:19)
• Enmity - Being hostile or opposed to someone (Galatians 5:20)
• Desiring fame (John 12:43)
• Effeminate - A man acting feminine, unmanly (1 Corinthians 6:9)
• Chambering - Living together before marriage (Romans 13:13)

If God should mark iniquities, not a single saint could stand. Psalms 130:3, “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?”