Must We Sin?

"For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace..."

- Romans 8:3-6

Related to this post on actually doing what Jesus commands and this post on the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, let's talk about actually living the Christian life - every day and in every situation.

I was talking to a friend at lunch the other day. He'd asked me whether or not I believed homosexuals can "make it into heaven". During the conversation, he said something that shocked me. He said, "I lie every once in awhile - I can't help it...".

Now I'm not shocked that a human being can tell a lie. It happens a thousand times a day with the world the way it is. But I was shocked because this statement came from a brother in Messiah.

His premise was that, since all Christians sin, then what stops a practicing homosexual from "making it into heaven"? If every Christian sins, then what's the difference between a "homosexual Christian" and a "lying Christian"?

Hmmm... There's just too much questionable thinking in there to cover in one blog post. So let's just take the idea that Christians must sin, because after all, they're human.

Might someone kindly read the two posts hyperlinked above, and then the above passage from Romans 8, and then please tell us whether or not you can stop sinning, and whether or not you must stop sinning? If you believe you can stop sinning, tell us how. If you believe you cannot stop sinning, tell us why not.

Thanks! :)