It is a curious thing that some, who teach the re-application of the blood of Christ, should go to the other extreme, and claim that the heart of the believer can be thoroughly cleansed, every trace of evil eradicated, and henceforth the believer be made free of sin in thought, word and deed, arriving thereby at a state of sinless perfection while in this world. But this is very far from the teaching of Scripture.
It is most instructive that the verse we are about to quote, stands in close proximity to the one, telling us that the blood of Christ cleanses from ALL SIN. We read, " If We [believers] say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us... If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (1 John 1:88If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8) and 10). Scripture thus tells us plainly that the one claiming " sinless perfection " is deceiving himself, and, we may add, deceiving nobody else. He makes God a liar, and His truth is not in him
The story is told of John Wesley, introducing to George Whitefield a man, who claimed to have arrived at a state of "sinless perfection." Mr. Whitefield happened to be washing his hands at the moment, and he resorted to the very severe test of flinging the soapy water in the face of this man, who immediately fell into a towering rage. "Away with your 'sinless perfection '!" cried George Whitefield. How simply and effectually does Scripture make short work of this foolish pretension.