I assumed the questions, posted at the beginning of this thread, were asked in the third person - so I answered them in the third person. I did not mean to "claim" or "boast" - I am sinless. If it seems as though I have claimed or am claiming that I am sinless, then please hear me now: I am sorry, that was/is not my intention.

Are born again believers capable of committing a known sin while abiding in Jesus, while walking in the Spirit and mind of the new man? If so, then please substantiate your answer with inspired quotes. Thank you.

My answer is - NO. Here's my supporting quotes:

Matthew
6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Romans
8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Galatians
5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

1 John
3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

MH 180
Christ came to make us "partakers of the divine nature," and His life declares that humanity, combined with divinity, does not commit sin. {MH 180.5}

How does this passage from Romans 7 affect the argument?

"14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[3] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. "

I believe Paul is saying that his sinful nature generates and communicates unholy thoughts and feelings, which, while walking in the Spirit and the mind of the new man, he finds detestable. He is not excusing sinful behaviour. Rather, he is explaining the origin of post-conversion sinful thoughts and feelings.

Romans
7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not.
7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

The origin of post-conversion sinful thoughts and feelings is sinful nature. That is, sinful nature has, as it were, a mind and voice of its own. It has the ability to generate and communciate unholy thoughts and feelings, which we must recognize as the voice of sin, self and Satan. Talking about sinful flesh nature, Sister White wrote:

AH 127
The lower passions have their seat in the body and work through it. The words "flesh" or "fleshly" or "carnal lusts" embrace the lower, corrupt nature; the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of God. We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How shall we do it? Shall we inflict pain on the body? No; but put to death the temptation to sin. The corrupt thought is to be expelled. Every thought is to be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. All animal propensities are to be subjected to the higher powers of the soul. The love of God must reign supreme; Christ must occupy an undivided throne. Our bodies are to be regarded as His purchased possession. The members of the body are to become the instruments of righteousness. {AH 127.2}

I believe Paul is talking about the one and only thing sinful nature can "do" and that is - produce unholy thoughts and feelings, which, at least initially, are only temptations. When he says, "It is no more I that do it", I believe the "do it" he's referring to are the sinful thoughts and feelings manufactured by his fallen flesh nature.

All temptations begin as unholy thoughts and feelings, but God does not count us guilty of them until we cherish them or act them out in thought, word or deed. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, if we continue to abide in Him, then, like Paul, we may say, "So then with the mind {of the new man} I myself serve the law of God."

1 Corinthians
9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

2 Corinthians
10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Galatians
2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Galatians
5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

By the way, when Paul said, Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, he gave a long list of known sins that we would not commit, which one of these known sins, and such like, will born again believers commit while walking in the Spirit, while abiding in Jesus?

Galatians
5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Tom, I just reread your last post, and a thought came to mind. Just because we have a history of committing sin, and just because we slip in and out of sin, it does not mean that the promises of perfection do not apply to us while we are walking in the Spirit and mind of the new man, while we are abiding in Jesus.

I wrote this:

"You seem to be equating not committing a known sin as being free of sin. Using this logic, Paul was free of sin when he was persecuting Christ.

Christ commited no sin period. Neither known or unknown. We cannot say that. Hence we are not sinless. EGW said since she was 14 she was willing to do the will of God, yet she never claimed to be sinless. She said those who are far from Christ claim to be holy and sinless, and that she claimed no such thing."

You wrote:

"Tom, I just reread your last post, and a thought came to mind. Just because we have a history of committing sin, and just because we slip in and out of sin, it does not mean that the promises of perfection do not apply to us while we are walking in the Spirit and mind of the new man, while we are abiding in Jesus."

I don't see the connection here.

As a comment, it appears to me that your theology has sin as its focalpoint. I don't think such a theology can succeed. A theology whose focalpoint is Christ is one which is bound to succeed.

My point is that to be sinless one would have to be without sin, either known or unknown. Christ fits this category, but we do not. None of us are sinless.

Are born again believers capable of committing a known sin while abiding in Jesus, while walking in the Spirit and mind of the new man? If so, then please substantiate your answer with inspired quotes. Thank you.

My answer is - NO. Here's my supporting quotes:

Matthew
6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Romans
8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Galatians
5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

1 John
3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

MH 180
Christ came to make us "partakers of the divine nature," and His life declares that humanity, combined with divinity, does not commit sin. {MH 180.5}

Tom, please provide an example of an unknown sin that makes a born again believer morally sinful. I realize some non-SDA believers are guilty of sins of ignorance, like the Sabbath and other doctrines not known naturally, but such things do not mean they are morally sinful. So long as they are living up to the light they know instinctively and intellectually, in the eyes of God, they are morally sinless, which is all that matters for salvation. But to be one of the 144,000 they must learn and live all truth necessary to be translated alive.

Revelation 7

144,000 Sealed

1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3"Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." 4Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the ...( list of tribes)
8 ... Benjamin 12,000.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb." 11All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying:
"Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!"
13Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?"
14I answered, "Sir, you know."
15And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,
"they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,
nor any scorching heat.
17For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."


Matt 20

20Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21"What is it you want?" he asked.
She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."
22"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"
"We can," they answered.
23Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."
24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
25Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--
28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."