Why must you have this written in scripture exactly how I said it for it to be true?
Hmmm! Must I? No, what I must have on this and anything else before acting is direction from the Lord. I don't believe that perfection as God depicts perfection in the Bible is impossible for a follower of Jesus. To say so, I believe, would be to call the Lord a liar and he certainly was not that. Notice I said "perfection as God depicts perfection" That is not perfection as most men see perfection. The difference to me is important.
You portray yourself as a mature Christian and you don't know this?
I don't portray myself as anything more than a disciple of Christ, that is to say, a follower. Only God is accurately able to measure my maturity or lack thereof... and any that He has chosen to share it with...
Do you believe that a Christian can be perfect.?
Yes, I do, but as David presented it to his son, Solomon:
"And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever." I Chron 28:9
And even some of the people of Israel at times were perfect in their heart:
"Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy." I Chron 29:9
"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars." II Chron 16:9
And as Job was described as "perfect":
"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." Job 1:1
Sometimes going outside of scripture and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for definitions can be helpful, but not, I believe, when it comes to understanding what God means:
"For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it." Prov 2:21
Consider Job's answer:
"If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse." Job 9:20
I think he would have been careful to answer as Job answered, but nevertheless he said this...
"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." II Tim 4:6-8
Is Christ not in you and is he not perfect?
Jesus overcame his little world of flesh where he was tempted in every point as we...
Jesus fought his last real battle not on Calvary, I believe, but in Gethsemene when he prayed to have the "cup" removed [Matt 26:36-42]. Then he was an overcomer prior to his crucifixion as is testified here:
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
We have the Holy Spirit in us so that we also can overcome our own little world as he did. Since we already have a history of sin and sinful ways there is more work to be done in us than was necessary in the man Jesus. We have to kill the
old man and the only one up to the task is the
new man in us:
"He [the new man] must increase, but I [the old man] must decrease." John 3:30
Are you going to be without sin, 24/7 for the rest of your life.
The question perhaps should be, 'is my heart toward the Lord in a perfect way'? The difference between King Saul and King David was that while both of them sinned, of the two, David had his heart directed toward God. When he became aware that he was guilty in the matter of Uriah and Bathsheba he knew that either of his sins under the Mosaic Law was punishable by death and he fully expected it. King Saul, on the other hand, confronted with sin tried to blame others and to justify himself. David had a perfect heart toward God with what he had in spite of his sin. God forgave David. God rejected Saul.
Eventually as we continue to overcome more and more of the old man of us, if we endure with God to the end of our course we will become also without sin. To deny this is to deny the promise of Jesus.
"... According to your faith be it unto you." Matt 9:29
If we have a negative faith, will not our result be negative? If we believe that we cannot overcome everything that leads us into sin, then is that not a negative faith and is that not the reason that we cannot overcome? It is certainly not because the power of God that was in Jesus was not in us. Isn't it rather because we quench the Holy Spirit with our negative faith?
Here is just a few of many, many verses:
1 John 1:8-10
What exactly is the blood of Jesus that cleanseth us but the Holy Spirit? If we are quenching that Spirit, if we are "limiting" God, what do we expect?
"For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."
And so then when Solomon penned those words was he not writing about unredeemed carnal man? Did Jesus come for nothing?
"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:." Acts 1:8
Have we not received power to overcome that "old man" that would lead us again to sin?
You must have messed up on your reference. I don't find a James 3:20.
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
Was he not speaking of the literal written law given by God to Moses? Do we suppose that Joshua and Caleb the two adults who had lived in Egypt and were allowed to enter the Promised Land did something more than obey all of the law without fail at all times?
