Many have said, “It’s impossible to be perfect”. Yet, Jesus said we must “be perfect, therefore, as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
Many will argue that sin is inevitable and unavoidable, but this is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says that everyone has sinned, but not that everyone continues going on sinning forever helplessly. The Bible teaches the exact opposite – that we must in fact stop sinning.
Have you ever gone 1 minute without sin? How about 1 second? Of course you have. So will you say, then, that since “perfection isn’t possible”, that it’s impossible to go without sin for even 1 second? Nonsense. Okay, so you have admitted that there is some time frame to go without sin. Have you have gone an hour without sin? Is that possible? Of course. You go 8 hours without sin every night.
Ok, so during waking hours? Ok so now you specify a time of the day and a form of consciousness. So there is a scope in which you can never sin? Actually I believe you can sin in your dreams too, although it’s likely overflow from a wicked heart. How long can you go without sin during waking hours? Has anyone gone a day without any sins? Of course. There are many woodsman hermits who are without sin for longer than a day, toiling away at some building alone.
Oh, so you have to be around others to sin? So at this point you said there is a time period, a level of consciousness, and it matters depending on environment. So what is it? Everyone sins every second or some people don’t sin all the time? If the latter, then it means you can be without sin.
Have you ever stopped one sin? If a smoker can stop smoking then you can stop cursing or lying or whatever your vice is. And if you can stop one sin then you can stop more than one sin. So redefine what you are saying. You aren’t saying it’s impossible to stop a certain sin, but you are saying it’s impossible to never slip up. But is that true? Probably not. Is it hard? Yes. Will temptations make it much harder? Definitely. So why not avoid all the temptations?
So you admit that temptations cause at least some of the sin and those sins can be eliminated by eliminating the temptations, but do we really have a sin nature? No! The sinful man died when you accepted Christ and a new man was born. To go on sinning just because you don’t believe it’s possible to “be perfect” is to ignore the fact that you simply lack discipline.
A dog that never bites
Has there every been a dog which never bit anyone? If a dog can never bite anyone, then you can never curse at anyone. If a horse with blinders on can never stray from the path, then you with blocked internet can go without porn. If a trained stallion never kicks off its rider, then you when you build self-discipline can carry the burden of Christ and carry your cross daily while avoiding sin.
We can and we must endeavor with every grain of our being to not sin ever again. Will you falter? Sure, but only until you become disciplined. But Satan’s lie is that you are a helpless victim of a “sin nature” that was part of the person that died when you accepted Christ.
“Oh no, legalism!”, cry the faithless. Lies. This is not legalism, this is scripture. These are the direct words of Jesus in Matthew 5:48, to be perfect as God is perfect. And Paul said, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5).
So if you set your mind after the spirit and not after the flesh, then you will have victory over the flesh. “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). So do not be in the flesh and you will not be subject unto it.
Dismiss the lie of Satan “no one is perfect”. No one has been perfect since birth, but this does not preclude people from stopping sinning. People have stopped doing drugs, people have stopped smoking, people have stopped cursing, and you can stop sinning.
First stop generalizing. Identify your sins. Be specific! And one by one eliminate them. Is it lying? Stealing? Lust? Drunkenness? Malice? Anger? Cursing? What is your sin? Identify them one by one and spend your life seeking to destroy these sins by whatever means possible.
If a drug addict can quit drugs, then you can stop your sins too. Don’t believe otherwise; pick yourself up when you stumble, but don’t believe the lie that you will always stumble. When an athlete trains hard, many never fall again.