Wesley Corpus

For in many things we offend all.” We / Who? Not the Apostles nor true believers, but they who were to “receive the greater condemnation, because of those many offences. Nay, Thirdly, the verse itself proves, that “we offend all, cannot be spoken either of all men or all Christians. For in it immediately follows the mention of a man who ‘offends not,’ as the we first mentioned did; from whom therefore he is professedly contradistinguished, and pronounced a ‘perfect man.’ “But St. John himself says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves; and, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” “I answer, (1.) The tenth verse fixes the sense of the eighth : “If we say we have no sin, in the former, being explained by, “If we say we have not sinned, in the latter, verse. (2.) The point under consideration is not, whether we have or have not sinned heretofore; and neither of these verses asserts that we do sin, or commit sin now. (3.) The ninth verse explains both the eighth and tenth : “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As if he had said, ‘I have before affirmed, The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.” And no man can say, ‘I need it not; I have no sin to be cleansed from.” “If we say, we have no sin, that “we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves, and make God a liar: But “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, not only ‘to forgive us our sins, but also ‘to cleanse us from all unrighte ousness,’ that we may “go and sin no more.’ In conformity, therefore, both to the doctrine of St. John, and the whole tenor of the New Testament, we fix this conclusion: A Christian is so far perfect, as not to commit sin. “This is the glorious privilege of every Christian, yea, though he be but a babe in Christ. But it is only of grown Christians it can be affirmed, they are in such a sense perfect, as, Secondly, to be freed from evil thoughts and evil tempers. First, from evil or sinful thoughts. Indeed, whence should they spring ?