"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23)

When we come to the Lord, we all come as sinners and nothing can make us clean and acceptable to our Heavenly Father, except that we be washed in the Blood of Jesus, through newness of faith and knowledge that He alone can save.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1John 1:8-9)

John is saying here that when we live in denial of our sin, we are essentially living in a lie between ourselves and our Father. Refusing to face ourselves and confront our sins creates an obstacle and possibly a stronghold that keeps us apart from Him.

(Furthermore, even if we reach a point of blamelessness, we must always keep in mind our propensity for sin; keeping ourselves in check.....)

But if we trust in our Lord Jesus as the propitiation for our sins, confess our sins and repent; (turn away from the sin; realizing the wrongness in it) we are forgiven of our sins.

MORE ON SIN--

WARNING AGAINST WORLDLINESS
"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?" (James 4:4-5)

AND THE LAW CANNOT SAVE US, it's only a mirror; revealing our sin--
"Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3:20)

GOD'S GRACE IS NOT TO BE ABUSED OR MANIPULATED
"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!" (Romans 6:15)

GOD HATES SIN; IT CAUSES A DIVIDE BETWEEN HIM AND HIS CHILDREN
"Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5)

LORD HELP ME
"Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me." (Psalm 119:133)

"Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin." (Psalm 51:1-2)

"Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin." (Proverbs 28:13)

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7)

GOD COMMANDS, as well as GRANTS REPENTANCE (2Timothy 2:25 & Acts 5:31), WHICH DEMONSTRATES HIS UNDERSTANDING OF OUR STRUGGLE WITH SIN

 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent." (Revelation 3:19)

"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance," (Matthew 3:8)

However fierce the struggle; notwithstanding, those who are in Christ no longer want to sin, as Paul teaches in Romans 7:15-20. Sin will bother us when we succumb to it, and struggling with sin isn't a sign of a lack of faith, but a sign OF faith because our conscience is vexed by the Holy Spirit and we cannot maintain our peace in that condition--

"For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."  

So we see here that All HAVE sinned and struggling with sin does not mean we aren't saved, however, we do not HAVE to remain in sin. With continued spiritual growth and steadfastness in Christ, it is possible, even though we will slip occasionally, to consequently reach a point of blamelessness--

"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." (Luke 1:5-6)

"being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;" (Philippians 1:6)

"Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." (1John 3:9)

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

Moreover, for those who are a 'new creature' in Christ, His Nature abides in us and we no longer make a practice of sin (as stated clearly in the NLT and the BSB)--

"Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God." (1John 3:9, NLT)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2Corinthians 5:17)

"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:7)

Also see: Psalm 15:2-3 & 119:1 & James 3:2 

NKJV, NLT

Linzy is a certified Bible Counsellor, with countless republications on her viewers blogs, Bible Studies, Ezines and the like. Her portfolio includes, non-fiction articles, short stories for all ages, and Christian poetry.