All Scripture is from the LIT unless noted
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DO CHRISTIANS SIN?
Isa 62:10 Pass! Pass through the gates; prepare the way of the people! Raise up! Raise up the highway; clear it from stones; lift up a banner over the peoples.
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Sin Thruway -Stony
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Salvation Freeway - Smooth
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Imagine two highways next to each other. One is made of huge stones. This is the highway of sin all unregenerate, unsaved people are driving on. Hitting stones is sinning which is all the unregenerate man can do. Next to this highway is another that is made of the finest materials available that make it as smooth as ... the smoothest surface you have ever seen. There are no stones on this highway; no, not even a pebble. It's as smooth as the glass on a crystal ball. This is the highway of our God and is the way of salvation. The guy on the stony highway can't get over to the smooth highway because he can't even see it. John 3:3 / 2Cor 4:4. And even if he could he still would not be able to get on it because he has no desire to. Luke 22:67 / John 4:48 / 5:40. He loves his rocky road of sin. John 3:19. He revels in it and enjoys every sinful bump along the way. He does not care that his car is being destroyed by all the bumps; Eze 18:4. He just likes the feeling of bouncing up and down and enjoys seeing everyone in his car getting all upset and bent out of shape because of how he is driving. Eph 2:1-3 He's having fun on his way to Hell.
Salvation is a changing of highways. But how does such a change happen? Only one way; God Himself must reach down and pick up the car and place it on the smooth highway of salvation.
Col 1:13 who (The Father) delivered us out of the authority of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God, in order that they may receive remission of sins, and an inheritance among those being sanctified by faith in Me.
And God must also give you another car.. a New one, because the old one in which you were barreling down the highway of sin is itself destroyed by sin.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it? ASV
Eze 36:24 For I will take you from the nations
and gather you
out of all the lands and bring you into your land.
25 Then I will sprinkle clean waters on you, and you shall
be clean. I will cleanse you from all your defilement and from all your
idols.
26 And I will also give you a new
heart, and I will put a new
spirit within you. And I will take
away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give to you a
heart of flesh.
27 And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk
in My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments and do them.
Objection;
*Your nutz Jay! All this stuff about highways is nothing but
theological nonsense!
Answer;
Prov 16:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that
keepeth his way preserveth his soul. KJV
Question;
How can one depart from evil if he is continually sinning, as so many
believe?
Answer;
He cannot. He who is still sinning is still on the rocky road to Hell
folks!
Objection;
The highway is for God, not people;
Isa 40:3 The voice of him who cries in the wilderness: Prepare the
way of Jehovah; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
See...?
Answer;
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they
follow Me.
Objection;
But the Bible is clear that God's people still sin.
Abraham lied; Gen 20:2
Noah got drunk; Gen 9:21
Isaac lied; Gen 26;7
Jacob lied; Gen 27:24
Aaron committed idolatry; Ex 32:3-5.. and lied about it; verse 34
Moses committed murder; Ex 2:12.. and whacked the rock; Det 32:51
David Murdered a man and stole his wife; 2Sam 12:7
Peter spoke as Satan; Matt 16:23.. He cursed and denied Christ right
in His presence; Mark 14:71 / Luke 22:60, 61.. and condoned a false
gospel
along with the Galatian believers... Galatians 1:6-9ff
Thomas denied Christ's resurrection; John 20:25
Answer;
True. It is possible for Christians to sin. But if they do they
hear the voice of their Shepherd, repent, get back up and continue
following
Him. In a word; they stop sinning.
Back to the highway; The Christian is driving a New car on the Smooth highway of salvation. But if he is not careful he will drift over the line and his tires will start hitting the stones of the highway that is still right next to him. 2Sam 11:2 / Luke 22:46.
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The doctrine of depravity addresses the creature in two areas of his personality; his Character and his Conduct.
First; The natural unregenerate man is, in his Character, wicked. He is the natural enemy of God simply by fact of what he is by nature. This is what Paul means when he says;
Rom 8:7..because the mind of the flesh is enmity towards God; for it is not subject to the law of God, for neither can it be.
And when Jeremiah says that;
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked:
who can know it? KJV
This speaks of man's Character, or what he is in his natural unregenerate state.
Second; Because the natural unregenerate man is wicked in his Character, the result is that all of his Conduct is nothing but sinful. So Scripture declares that even the plowing of the wicked is sin. Pr 21:4.
When God saves a man He changes the man's Character.. which results in a change in the man's Conduct. This and this alone is the one true Christian doctrine of sanctification.
But the vast majority of people who claim to be saved do not believe this. Most people believe the following in various forms;
}}}Although 'saved', Christians are still sinners in their Character. Their hearts are as Jeremiah 17:9 says, still desperately wicked and deceitful. Because this is so the Christian's Conduct is still sinful. He still sins and that continually; that is he cannot stop sinning. Whatever Paul meant by his doctrine of Newness of Life in Romans 6 it cannot mean a life apart from sin.{{{
How then do such people find acceptance with a Holy God who hates sin, cannot look upon it neither will He dwell with it? How can people who are still wicked both in Character and Conduct.. be holy? The answer is their false doctrine known as;
Positional holiness.
This employs the false doctrine of the
"jeezis
filter".
¿What's that?
"Oh..." they say; "When god looks at me he does not see me...
oh no. He sees... his son jeezis. Because I have accepted jeezis
as my personal savior.. or because I have 'believed on the lord jeezis
christ and I shall be saved'.. he is now in between me and god so god
sees
me through this 'jeezis filter'. When god looks at me he doesn't
see me, he sees his son; he sees jeezis' righteousness, not my sin. In
other words... I am holy... Positionally.
My Position in christ is
what
makes me acceptable to god. But as far as my Character and Conduct are
concerned I am still wicked in both. But god don't see my sin because
of
this 'jeezis filter'. See what Om sayin?"
Yes we see what you're saying and its rank heresy! What you're saying is that you are still driving your broken down car on the rocky road to Hell while claiming to be on the smooth highway of God. You are saying that the only difference between you and the 'unsaved' person is that you are now hiding behind your jeezis, for that's what the view amounts to. But you won't find a verse in all of Scripture that teaches that.
A variation of the "jeezis filter" is a view of "Christ in me." This looks good at first glance as it is supported by verses in the NT that do speak of Christ "living" in the believer. e.g. Gal 2:20 / Col 1:27. Unfortunately these folks end up in the same camp as the "jeezis filter" people. The only difference is, the "jeezis filter" view has their jeezis outside and between the person and god whereas the "christ in me" view has their jeezis inside the person. Not only is their jeezis 'living inside' them... he's the only one doing any living at all. The person does nothing; he just "let's go and let's [his] god".. live thru him. The one group has their jeezis outside them while the other has him inside. But the result is the exact same thing. They both hold to the false doctrine of Positional holiness and regard themselves as still wicked both in Character and Conduct. Both are still on the stony highway of sin which leads to Hell!
Many such people believe that they have "two natures". They talk of their "sin nature" for which the wicked NIV is largely responsible. Some have even said they have two hearts which is not only against Scripture but anthropological confusion. You won't find one word in the Bible teaching such dualism.
The doctrine of Positional holiness leads to such false views of the Christian life as the Carnal Christian, and Easy Believism. They adopt such mottos as; Let go and let God; It's all God and no me. It obscures and ultimately destroys the place of the law in the Christian life. Most of these folks take the Biblical truth that a Christian is "not under the law but under grace" Rom 6:14 to an extreme to where they eliminate the law from their lives completely. Yet John says;
1John 2:4 The one saying, I have known Him, and not keeping His commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that one.
And Paul tells us that faith establishes the law..
Rom 3:31 Then do we make law of no effect through faith? Let it not
be! But we establish law.
The view of Positional holiness unavoidably ends up in antinomianism!
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Problem / Solution...
What is the cause of such unbiblical views of the Christian life? The answer is very simple. False views of sanctification are the result of failing to distinguish the difference between three major doctrines of salvation and failing to correctly understand what each one accomplishes. Each of these three doctrines have their proper place in the scheme of salvation and to mix them up and/or place them in the wrong place results in false doctrine! The three doctrines are;
1. Regeneration.
2. Justification.
3. Sanctification.
Each one serves a different function and you must have all three or no salvation!
1. Regeneration is a moral operation performed by God *in* us. It is subjective in nature. It affects our Character or Condition by changing it. It is a work of God in us whereby He does something to us.
2. Justification is a legal declaration made by God *about* us. It is Objective in nature. It affects our State, or our Position which is our legal standing before Him. It is an activity of God whereby He says something about us.
3. Sanctification is a moral work done by God *in* us. It is Subjective in nature. It affects our Conduct. It is a work of God in us whereby He does something to us.
Justification changes one's POSITION.. or STATE
Regeneration changes one's CHARACTER.
Sanctification changes one's CONDUCT.
Most confuse and conglomerate these and in so doing end up in false doctrine.
Justification is by Faith. If "everything we do is tainted by sin" then that means that our faith is sinful. Does God then justify a man by his sinful faith? Is Jesus Christ a minister of sin? Nonsense!
Justification renders one Positionally holy before God. So Positional holiness is indeed a very proper doctrine of the Bible. The mistake folks make is, since they do not believe in a subjective change in Character and Conduct they clutch Justification to their bosom, see themselves as Positionally righteous exclusively, and [mis]interpret all the passages that address Regeneration and Sanctification as if they were speaking of one's Positional standing when they are actually speaking of one's Actual standing. Thus they fail to recognize that there is such a thing as Practical Subjective Holiness which flows from the truth of both Regeneration, which transforms the Character from wicked to righteous, and Sanctification which transforms the Conduct. To say that Positional holiness is the beginning, middle and end of the Christian life is to jettison both Regeneration and Sanctification. But if you do that what's left? Certainly not Christianity!
The Proper Place of the Law
Both antinomian "jeezis filter" and "christ in me" folks will chant Romans 6:14 at you ad nauseam. When you show them that the commandment is part and parcel of the Christian life they retort.. "Legalism"! But Jesus Christ Himself told His disciples;
If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15
Was Jesus Christ a "Legalist"? I already cited 1John 2:4.. and there are many more as well. The reason why these folks hang on Romans 6:14 is because, since they believe they are still "sinners" and wicked in both their Character and their Conduct, they see that with such a view it is patently obvious that law keeping is absolutely impossible! Therefore they need some way of being able to say; "I don't have to keep the law" so they say... "because I am 'under grace'; and besides, Christ kept it for me. I am Positionally holy". So they can still claim to be saved while they are sinning 24/7. But the Bible is against these people. All you have to do is show them the very next verse which asks the question;
Rom 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Let it not be!
It's clear that Paul is plainly teaching that Christians are not to sin! To use the truth that one is "no longer under the law but under grace" as an excuse to jettison the law is to suck poison from Scripture! To the contrary, the fact that one is now under grace is all the more reason to walk in God's commandments!
A couple more passages;
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not
in the counsel
of
the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the
seat
of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law
of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day
and night.
KJV
Psalm 119:1 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the
way, who walk
in the law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are they that keep
his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
3 They also do no iniquity:
they walk in his ways. KJV
1John 3:9 Everyone who has been begotten of
God does
not sin, because His seed abides in him, and he is
not able to sin, because he has been born of God.
1John 5:18 We know that everyone having been born of God does
not sin, but the one born of God keeps himself, and the evil
does
not touch him.
Could words be plainer? Christians Do Not Sin because they are Unable to do so. They are unable to do so because they have been transformed in both their Character and their Conduct. As transformed people they are now able to walk in holiness and keep the commandments. This is walking in Newness of life and employs the proper place and use of the law in the Christian life. A Christian keeps the law not under the pressure of legalism in an attempt to recommend himself to God. That's Death! He keeps the law because he has already been accepted by God on the basis of the Atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on his behalf. His "law keeping" is an expression of love and gratitude to God for all that He has done.. and will continue to do in Jesus Christ. So the Lord Jesus says...
He that has My commandments and keeps them, it is that one who loves Me; and the one that loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and will reveal Myself to him. John 14:21.
Love and Law are married folks! Paul concurs...
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one
another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled
the law.
Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love
is the fulfilling of the law.
Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one
word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself.
KJV
Revealing sin is not the only function of the law.
When a Christian
expresses Christian love he is fulfilling the law, and when he is
fulfilling the law he is by definition not
sinning!
The proper place of the law in sanctification is summed up by Paul in one word; Love. Both Law and Love are welded together and you can't have one without the other. Law without love is legalism and love without law is antinomianism. Once you separate them you have departed from the Biblical doctrine of sanctification and legions are doing so to their own destruction.
*Wait-a-minit Jay.. Are you saying these people are not saved?
Thus saith Jehovah;
Heb 12:14 Follow after peace with all men, and the
sanctification without which no
man
shall see the Lord: ASV
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they who do His
commandments, that their
authority will be over the Tree of Life, and they may enter in by the
gates
into the city.
15 But outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the
fornicators,
and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and makes
a lie.
No keeping commandments no sanctification. No sanctification.. NO salvation.
*Ahh-h-h Jay, you unregenerate heretik!! What about
Romans 7?
Next installment. Meanwhile feel free to write;
2Cor 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.