Can Believers Be Sinless?

Some people believe that people will be able to live sinlessly here on earth as Christ did.

True believers are positionally righteous, but we still have to battle the flesh here on earth. 

Believers are no longer slaves to sin, but we are not practically without sin here on earth.

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 
Colossians 3:3 NASB

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5 ESV

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 

For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
Wretched man that I am!  Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Romans 7:21-25 NASB

Repentance & fruit will be evident as the Spirit works.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

1 John 1:8 -10 NASB

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 NASB

Christians have been sanctified and are being sanctified and will desire to obey. 

Believers are told in Scripture to walk by the Spirit and not carry out the desires of the flesh. 

As Christians, we are to do good deeds (but they are not the means - in part or in whole - of making us right positionally with God). 

This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds.
These things are good and profitable for men.
Titus 3:8 NASB

There are those who claim to be saved but do not have a living faith.   

Their lives demonstrate that they do not truly believe.

 A living faith will have fruit (James 2:26).

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12-13 NASB

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 

The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
1 John 2:3-6 NASB

If there is no love for God at all (and I realize sometimes we as believers question our love for God due to seeing the remaining sin in our lives), & if there is no desire to submit to the Lord - then a person should examine themselves.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!  Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test?
1 Corinthians 13:5 NASB

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Matthew 7:21 NASB

There are believers who stray, and they are disciplined to bring them back.

God will not lose any of His true sheep, but we may suffer.

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
James 5:19-20 NASB

FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
Hebrews 12:6 NASB

What we do to obey cannot make us right before God or keep us saved.  

Only what Christ did can justify us before God.   

We are saved by His grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

It is His blood that cleanses us from our sin...not our deeds.  

Jesus is the only one who was sinless on earth as God.  He was the only acceptable propitiation for sin.  

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB

To summarize:

There are no sinless believers.  We aren't justified by deeds in whole or in part.  Believers should be growing.  True faith will have some fruit.  If we disobey as believers, we will be disciplined.  

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
John 8:31 NASB

The Gospel In Marriage, Guarding Against Immorality, & Creative People

WE ARE ALL SINNERS!
Todd Friel's G3 Breakout session was really good and convicting. 
It's about husbands and wives, but it is just as good for those of us who are not married.
Discipling Your Spouse

GUARDING AGAINST TEMPTATION
Learn about the tactics that lead to immorality & guard against them as a Christian.
This was given to college students.  It's the kind of message that a lot of young people should hear (and older people needing to be reminded).
Message by Tom Pennington

CREATIVE PEOPLE
I have met some really interesting people online.
The following is one of them!

Discipleship - From A Pastor's Perspective - Guest Writer Nate Pickowicz

One of the key challenges any pastor will face in ministering to the flock of God is how to disciple believers. As we were planting our church, our EFCA district supporters were encouraging us to think through how this might happen. It’s one thing to preach and teach from the pulpit, but how do you apply the truths of Scripture to the lives of people on an individual basis?

A few years earlier, I had read a blog post about theology reading groups. The concept was simple: take a group of guys, give them the challenging task of reading theology, and walk with them through the process. I was immediately excited about the prospect of teaching theology to a group of men, but I could almost hear the objections, “It’s not practical”, “They’ll never stick it out”, “It’s too academic”, etc. However, I felt convinced that this was the right thing.

I announced in church one Sunday that I wanted to start a men’s theology group and that we were going to tackle Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. The first day, two men approached me. In my mind, that was a huge win. Two guys that would spend the next several months with me, studying the doctrines of the Bible. But then the interest grew. More and more guys started asking me about the group, and by the time we were ready to start, I had ten men who had committed. So we began.

At first, we inched our way in, working through the chapters and discussing the doctrines, as well as their respective Bible verses. Within a few months, a few more men started to show up. But more than the numbers, the interest began to grow; and then interest turned into desire.

Over the next 15 months, I would watch a dozen men—the majority of them had never opened a theology textbook before—become transformed and grow in their love for God, for His Word, and for each other. Each week, these men rose to the challenge, having done their assigned reading, and were ready to discuss meaty subjects.

These men weren’t scholars; they were landscapers, carpenters, servicemen, office workers, and lab technicians. They ranged in age from their early thirties to their late sixties. They had wives and kids. They had hobbies. They were just regular New England men who were growing in grace.

While I don’t personally agree lock-step with all of Grudem’s doctrine, studying together provided many opportunities for us to think through Scripture and theology as a group. And even as we approached controversial doctrines and viewpoints, it gave me the opportunity to teach through it. As a group, we were learning how to “do theology” in an honest, intentional way.

Since the end of the group, some men have moved on to other things, and some have stayed on for more theology. But not a single man has been the same. God has used His Word, combined with the earnestness and faithfulness of these ordinary men, to accomplish in them extraordinary works.

And for that, I am deeply thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ.  

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Thank you to my guest blogger and online friend Pastor Nate Pickowicz for writing this post.

I would request Christians to pray for this Pastor and the church he is pastor of.

To learn more about Harvest Bible Church and find messages given by Pastor Nate:

HARVEST BIBLE CHURCH

You can also find his contributions to another blog of another online friend:

Entreating Favor