How long can a Christian go without sinning?

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Feb 24, 2015
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You are so misguided in all this I don't even know where to start. .....
The point is that anger isn't what you think it is because your thinking in regards to it is very shallow.
and those other things you mention like lust are coping skills born out of unprocessed feelings mentioned above.
Sirk - Thankyou for showing emotion is embedded in all we do and is not simple.

Amen, good post brother.
 

valiant

Senior Member
Mar 22, 2015
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Sirk - Why do you want to project? If I had two glasses of water, one cloudy and one
clear. I am told, someone can make the cloudy one clear. I say ok.
They produce two new glasses, one with a cutout picture of a clear glass of water,
which they put infront of a cloudy glass of water and the other is a clear glass of water.

I am then asked which is actually clear. I point to the clear glass of water.
There is no point having a picture of clear glass of water, it is pointless.

Gods holiness in Christ purifies us and makes us clean or it is pointless.
Now this is not an instant walk, a zap and you have arrived, it is a walk,
a relationship. It has always been, "I will die for you" "You will deny me"
learning situation, with growth and change, but it is still real.
but it is not a glass of water we are talking about, it is a human soul of vast complexity troubled by something all pervading.

And that human soul is permanently affected by deep rooted sin.

Sin is not so easily dealt with
 
Mar 2, 2016
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Sirk - Thankyou for showing emotion is embedded in all we do and is not simple.

Amen, good post brother.
Why thank you Peter. I had an expectation that you'd bite me. You surprised me. Emotions are something I've spent a great deal of time and effort and resources studying on the account of working thru my own.
 
Feb 5, 2017
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Sirk, I really believe that the capacity to love and care for others is built into all of us. God is always with us. If we experience a lack of love or care for ourselves, it is more of a rejection. It might not even be a hate for ourselves, but just a painful point of focus.

Can someone who is physically disabled, teach someone to run? Of course they can.

Can someone depressed, teach someone how to be happy? Of course they can.

Can someone with no money, teach someone how to make money? Of course they can.

The outward expression of love is within all of us. What can make it hard for us to love people we choose not to love, is more what is to do with our lack of love for ourselves. As we judge ourselves most often is how we judge others.

:)

How can a person who doesn't know how to love and care for themselves possibly know how to love others?
 
Feb 24, 2015
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but it is not a glass of water we are talking about, it is a human soul of vast complexity troubled by something all pervading.

And that human soul is permanently affected by deep rooted sin.

Sin is not so easily dealt with
Let me make a suggestion. The complexity in the human soul is caused by hurt,
defences and sin. The more we defend and become conflicted and irrational, the more
the complexity becomes, so that often people feel there is no way out.

Jesus remakes us from the inside out through new behaviours, healing, building.
We become someone different in His hands. And what once was complex becomes simple.

At the centre of all of us is love and betrayal, which led us to defend who we are.
As long as we defend ourselves, Jesus can never gain entry and start the work He needs
to do.

The cross is the key, to unlock the door, to say you can trust and rely on Him.
So much of what is inside just should not be like that, because its foundation is
wrong. With Christ as the foundation, we can become new living whole people, and
what was complex and flawed can be made whole and perfect.
 
Mar 2, 2016
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Let me make a suggestion. The complexity in the human soul is caused by hurt,
defences and sin. The more we defend and become conflicted and irrational, the more
the complexity becomes, so that often people feel there is no way out.

Jesus remakes us from the inside out through new behaviours, healing, building.
We become someone different in His hands. And what once was complex becomes simple.

At the centre of all of us is love and betrayal, which led us to defend who we are.
As long as we defend ourselves, Jesus can never gain entry and start the work He needs
to do.

The cross is the key, to unlock the door, to say you can trust and rely on Him.
So much of what is inside just should not be like that, because its foundation is
wrong. With Christ as the foundation, we can become new living whole people, and
what was complex and flawed can be made whole and perfect.
it still takes effort and practice to undo a lifetime of bad habits...bad habits we don't even know we have until we do.
 
B

BeyondET

Guest
[video=youtube;TG6s8DxQJ5w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG6s8DxQJ5w[/video]
 
Mar 7, 2016
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Why thank you Peter. I had an expectation that you'd bite me. You surprised me. Emotions are something I've spent a great deal of time and effort and resources studying on the account of working thru my own.
yeah your always trying to get people to bite... just like your followers,,, thats evil in my book...ill pray for everyone not to follow this mentality.. its as peter says it is denyal. its a bitter pill inside many that have been mistreaded in there lifes... they grow cold with a hardened bullyish like attitude,,, i hope youll wake up and learn to let go of your ego.. sirk.:( you may have to learn one day that being sarcastic is a fruit of the devil you have to let go of this mockery towards a brother,,, because your followers are mockers and i can see good in you sirk,, but brothers do not call you a brother and then mock you.. true haters who dont mean what they say when they call you a brother.. would you call me a brother one minute then spread false lies about me the next ?....
 

valiant

Senior Member
Mar 22, 2015
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Valiant - Ok. Have you had face to face experience with mental health issues,
I have experienced mental health issues in my family for 26 years.

and the emotional complexity of families, especially schizophrenic families with
a lack of boundaries and totally repressed emotion and understanding.
That is mere jargon. Schizophrenia is a mental issue, not an emotional one. There is no such thing as a schizophrenic family. It is not caused by emotional suppression. It is caused by dopamine connectors in the brain. You simply show your ignorance.

Now compare this to a family with totally open and well defined relationships,
functional, caring and loving with sensitivity to how each person is doing.
that is irrelevant, it is not one or the other. Mental health problems and Schizophrenia can strike anyone. It does not matter how open their relationships may be. It is a disease.


I know both situations, one into which I was born and the other which the Lord brought about with His grace.
you quite clearly do not know even begin to know what you are talking about. You think it is all psychological, which is nonsense.

So please do not try to correct me. I am telling you about realities of life, and
it is not really a debate, it is something you obviously do not understand.
you are talking utter rubbish. I not only correct you. I say you are totally false. You do not know what you are talking about, You no not even begin to understand mental illness. Mental illness is a disease in the brain caused by physical factors.
 
Mar 2, 2016
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yeah your always trying to get people to bite... just like your followers,,, thats evil in my book...ill pray for everyone not to follow this mentality.. its as peter says it is denyal. its a bitter pill inside many that have been mistreaded in there lifes... they grow cold with a hardened bullyish like attitude,,, i hope youll wake up and learn to let go of your ego.. sirk.:( you may have to learn one day that being sarcastic is a fruit of the devil you have to let go of this mockery towards a brother,,, because your followers are mockers and i can see good in you sirk,, but brothers do not call you a brother and then mock you.. true haters who dont mean what they say when they call you a brother.. would you call me a brother one minute then spread false lies about me the next ?....
I don't know that I'd consider you a brother. Honestly I'm pretty glad that this gulf of the interweb exists between me and you. I'm also fairly confident that if it didn't I'd have to take out a restraining order on you. Lol!
 
Mar 2, 2016
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I have experienced mental health issues in my family for 26 years.



That is mere jargon. Schizophrenia is a mental issue, not an emotional one. There is no such thing as a schizophrenic family. It is not caused by emotional suppression. It is caused by dopamine connectors in the brain. You simply show your ignorance.



that is irrelevant, it is not one or the other. Mental health problems and Schizophrenia can strike anyone. It does not matter how open their relationships may be. It is a disease.




you quite clearly do not know even begin to know what you are talking about. You think it is all psychological, which is nonsense.



you are talking utter rubbish. I not only correct you. I say you are totally false. You do not know what you are talking about, You no not even begin to understand mental illness. Mental illness is a disease in the brain caused by physical factors.
i would submit that some mental illness is caused by unprocessed pain which lead to poor coping skills which lead to more unprocessed emotional pain. Some mental illness is also genetic or a combo of the two.
 

valiant

Senior Member
Mar 22, 2015
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i would submit that some mental illness is caused by unprocessed pain which lead to poor coping skills which lead to more unprocessed emotional pain. Some mental illness is also genetic or a combo of the two.
Mental illness is a physical disease of the brain. Any connection with emotions is purely secondary. Such emotion may be a partial trigger, but that is all :).
 
Mar 2, 2016
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Mental illness is a physical disease of the brain. Any connection with emotions is purely secondary. Such emotion may be a partial trigger, but that is all :).
I hear what you are saying. What I am saying is that a persons brain is "wired" from zero to 6 or 8 years of age. It is actual physical connections that are made in the brain by a child's experiences in the world. While there are obviously a lot of variables like personality traits that are probably hard wired in a person...I think some credit has to be given to the "nurture" side of things.
 
Mar 21, 2017
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I have experienced mental health issues in my family for 26 years.
That is sad. Will pray for you.
Some people are born with mental challenges. Chemical imbalance: depression, voices, headaches, etc.
Hope you or those in your family can find help.
Will pray.
 

valiant

Senior Member
Mar 22, 2015
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Let me make a suggestion. The complexity in the human soul is caused by hurt,
defences and sin. The more we defend and become conflicted and irrational, the more
the complexity becomes, so that often people feel there is no way out.
The complexity in the human soul cannot be so easily explained. Are you suggesting that Adam's soul was simple? What hurt and defences did he endure? That is purely atheistic propaganda which you appear to be very fond of

Jesus remakes us from the inside out through new behaviours, healing, building.
We become someone different in His hands. And what once was complex becomes simple.
yes I see that you have became simple. I on the other hand am more complex because the Spirit is guiding me daily..

At the centre of all of us is love and betrayal, which led us to defend who we are.
As long as we defend ourselves, Jesus can never gain entry and start the work He needs
to do.

Rubbish. You may be on the defensive, but I and many others are not. You have been studying too much atheistic psychology.

The cross is the key, to unlock the door, to say you can trust and rely on Him.
In fact the cross is where we admit our guilt and come humbly to Him. We trust Him before we come to the cross. The cross is the end of our trust, not the beginning.

So much of what is inside just should not be like that, because its foundation is
wrong.
Ye, we sinned in Adam.

With Christ as the foundation, we can become new living whole people, and
what was complex and flawed can be made whole and perfect.
with Christ as the NEW foundation. We sinned in Adam, we are made alive in Christ. But we will only become whole and perfect in that Day,
 
D

Depleted

Guest
I've noticed a trend in you lately that any time you offer criticism its always about the premise of self. I don't know who you have been listening to, but its like you've gone to an extreme that anything having to do with self is sin. There is a word for this, but I can't at the moment grasp it to articulate it.

Often people bring up this word to say, for example, that if you are a giving person and it pleases you to give then it really isn't "something." I suppose, it really isn't selfless. So the fact that one gains something inherently makes it so that it isn't selfless, no matter how small a benefit.

My issue with this mindset of selflessness is that we have many instances in which scripture notes a benefit from doing that which is good. Be it rewards at the Bema seat of Christ, or in this life, as we give we also receive (sowing and reaping). Its kind of just bothered me, lately, when I continue to see you bring up this concept of selflessness in all things when, for example, even Jesus died on the cross with the joy set before Him.

Selflessness and denying my part in the Gospel (God died for me) is not a healthy stance that I keep seeing you bring up. Any time someone is discussing topics revolving around our relationship with God for example, your immediate response is that its about Him not you. Yet, God is bestowing the riches of His grace upon us. He loves us. We are His children. We are in this equation just as much as God, its Him and us.

I don't know Depleted, I just find this almost borders on the line of a false sense of humility. Just because self is involved it doesn't somehow negate the act as righteous. If I grow a business that serves people, I am gaining but so are others (from the product sold). This isn't selfless, and yet it is perfectly righteous in that both parties are gaining something.

God doesn't mind if we look after self, remember that we are after all the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Calmer now.

Okay, so Jesus summed up the law in Mark 12:30-31, right? Three aspects of love there:
Love for God.
Love for others.
Love for self.

BUT there is something else it says. Those three things aren't equal. If they were on a three-way scale, they wouldn't be even. One's a counterbalance. Something like "We know the amount here is a constant. It will not rise. It will not fall. It's weighted and remains the same weight." Self.

We can measure our love of others by that counterbalance. We know what we want when we want to be loved, so it's a constant measurement.

Let's call that a quarter. (Imagine weight of quarter, not size or George Washington's face.)

What's that make others and God? Mark 12. Should God be a quarter? A half-dollar? A gold piece? (I think gold is heavier than silver. Never really checked that out.) Or maybe he's only a penny, or a dime. But we're measuring according to the quarter. According to how we see self. I'm thinking, weight for weight, God should at least be a quarter. But, as much as Jesus emphasized God there, (spirit, mind and body, not merely a generalized overall feeling to it), I'm more inclined to think God is more of a $20 gold piece. The king daddy of all American coins, (and significantly more expensive than $20.) BUT, I could be wrong. God might just ask that he weighs a quarter. Equal weight/love.

How does that compare to our weight in reality though? I admit I reduce God down to dime size. I see where I'm missing something. Aka "fall short." aka "sin."

And then there is our neighbor, which, of course, is supposed to be everyone. (The Good Samaritan story.) When we walk by someone in need, there is no doubt that person is less worth to us than we are. We "deserve" love at a quarter. That person might as well be a piece of dust. Not even a dime worth to us. The weight should be equal.

The reason this is important to me is because it's a measuring device. Admittedly, I'm anal. (I really wish I could come up with a nicer word that that, but I haven't come up with one better in decades. You couldn't figure out the word you were trying to come up for what you're confused about for me? Yeah. I get that. lol) I need to know how far I'm to go.

And, after a number of years with the Lord, my shallow end has exhausted it's usefulness. I have never killed anyone. I've not lied in years. I've never committed adultery. I don't rob. The basic shallowness list we all use to measure ourselves. The 4-out-of-10 in the commandments we all pat ourselves on the back for not doing, as well as that Pharisees patted himself on the back for not being as wretched as that mere publican with him in the temple. The shallowest way to interpret God's law.

It's also the easiest way folks use to measure their sinfulness. Ask about breaking the 10 commandments, and most people only think of those four at the shallowest level, so we can say, "Yeah. I don't sin."

Jesus kicked that pillar out from under our feet by reminding us that adultery also includes thinking of that woman. Nuts! Missed the mark on that one. (One pillar holding my feet up.) He reminds us that calling a brother a fool is the same as murder. (Crash goes another of my pillars.) One by one, he took those and showed us the deepest end.

Mark 12 is the deepest sin goes. No more shallow list to defend myself. How deep does God want us to go? The finishing line is Mark 12:31-32. Love God completely and utterly. Love others as ourselves.

I'm not saying I got it. I'm not saying that I've achieved it. It's impossible to achieve for us. Might as well ask me to swim through the Mariana Trench with no equipment, because at least it wouldn't take this much work to do something I am completely, utterly unable to do.

Through God in me, it is doable, but even letting God be the center -- giving way for him to take over my entire being to get there, is always a tug-of-war with the sinful side of me to step down to let him do that. That is the war we're all facing. Our daily struggle.

Many people come here and talk about sin like we don't have to try, we are capable, they do it every day. And, when you get into specifics they're talking surface-level, shallow end, "I ain't never killed a man" "sinlessness."

To see that mark, (literally "that Mark," since it is in the gospel of Mark lol), shows me how far away I'm from that.

The day we can all understand just that much is the day we can probably start admitting our falling-shortness. This isn't any ole falling short. I didn't throw the ball and miss the catcher by three feet. The catcher is hundreds of miles away from me, and that's a hotdog in my hand. That level of falling short.

Meanwhile, the keen interest on this site are pre or post trib, who is wrong on female pastors issue, and OSAS. Even on this thread, how many times have people interpreted sin in their own ways? Missing the mark means so many things to so many different people that even whether you're pre, post, or anti trib becomes "missing the mark."

Love God fully.
Love your neighbor.

That's the mark. That's what everyone and their grandmother's dog misses. If we don't, at the very least, acknowledge the real mark, what is the purpose of following God?

False humility? I can see you thinking I'm doing that. This is my repeat message, because I've got a hotdog in my hand, not a ball. I'd love to have help in balancing scales and ball throwing, but so many people are so busy figuring out what such and such or whatchamacallit means, that I can't find help to get to that mark.

And, honest? StunnedbyGrace is catching on to this. She offered help to pull me up out of something she thought I was caught in that she used to be caught in. Isn't that what we're supposed to do together? Help each other through this obstacle course while we race to the end to hit that mark?

Wouldn't that be something if we could just get what the mark is and help each other rather then make sure everyone is caught up on "that word meaning this." (I did see you define sin. Took you a bit to get to a short answer, but, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not good at short answers either. lol) Or "I can teach you my POV about some minor issue perfectly, if you'd listen to me." Or, the worst is "I know the right answer but I'm so superior I don't need to bother with you ever."

The mark is loving God and others. The rest is ...? (If I say it, it's going to be a long defense.) My scales are unbalanced, and yet absolutely not getting any help even figuring out how the scales ought to be balanced.

This you should get, because I have no idea what page this answer will land on, and you're still stuck explaining exactly what you meant (yet again) by your first post.

The mark is love God and love others. We sin... I SIN because reaching that mark is harder for me to figure out how to do than rewiring my whole house. BUT it's much more important to me, because God is worth it. Have enough people focusing on The Mark/The Goal, and maybe we can help each other get there.
 
Feb 24, 2015
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I have experienced mental health issues in my family for 26 years.....
you are talking utter rubbish. I not only correct you. I say you are totally false. You do not know what you are talking about, You no not even begin to understand mental illness. Mental illness is a disease in the brain caused by physical factors.
Thankyou for your open attitude.
Schizophrenia is a weakness, a genetic weakness which means patients who are in
a stressful environment often go on to show this illness. LSD can cause schizophrenia
as well as it is a dopamine drug.
Now imagine this. We are built with systems in our brains that compensate for stress
or pressure but only to an extent. People who learn to stress relief and handle these
break points are much less likely to develop the illness than those who have no stratagies
at all.
Families that repress emotions and do not recognise the emotional inter play, are most
vulnerable. So you valiant are probably from one such family.

Now these are simple provable facts. I see you are in denial and want to say nothing
can be done to compensate for these weaknesses. Well there is a lot you can do.
Once schizophrenia is displayed probably there is no way back.

It would not surprise me if part of this is developmental in early childhood, depending
on the environment the children grow up in, feeling loved and open to express whatever
they like with boundaries, or is a repressed and unexpressive environment where each
feels lost and alone. I know both environments, and I know which one works.

And this matters to me, because the statistical chance of serious mental issues in my
kids is high. But among my wider family, the ones with better social openness and caring
skills did much better. One family was totally devastated with 2 kids totally disabled and
one very withdrawn.

So just to reiterate, in this world we have one shot and caring and growing, so let us do
it with love and in Christ with an open heart. Those who are closed down and shut out
literally stand little chance in this life or the next.
 

stonesoffire

Poetic Member
Nov 24, 2013
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Jesus Christ! I can't take much more of this garbage.
I pictured you punching wileybob in the nose. If it could be done in love would it work? ;)

That vile sin that disqualifies anyone from receiving the inheritance of the kingdom is unbelief. Otherwise the whole world would be saved...if only..