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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is sinless perfection possible on earth? | 1 John 1:8 | Morant61 | 228705 | ||
Greetings Beja! Allow me to response to the two Scriptures you cite: 1) Gal. 5:16-17: Are these verse really describing a conflict? Verse 16 makes a very clear statement of fact. If you live by the Spirit, you WILL NOT gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Now, how does v. 17 fit into the picture? Are we to understand that the flesh sometimes wins out over the Spirit of God? Or, is the verse saying that the Spirit wins our over the flesh? I believe the latter. God is sovereign and all-powerful. I can't believe for a minute that my sinful nature could win out in a conflict against the third Person of the Godhead. 2) Eph. 4:20-24: This is an excellent passage, but neither does this passage indicate a struggle. The verbs 'put off' and 'put on' are Aorist infinitives, which indicate a one time action, not an ongoing one. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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2 | Is sinless perfection possible on earth? | 1 John 1:8 | Beja | 228714 | ||
Tim, Thanks for your reply, I'll follow the same format as I ask for clarification. 1.) I understand that you see a saved individual as winning, but I am wondering if you grant that it is in fact a battle? Now I would suggest that we don't always win this battle, but lets put that aside. In your mind, though we who live by the spirit do win over the flesh, do you grant that it is a battle, a stuggle in the sense that we must put our minds to doing so since there is an opposing drive to be overcome? 2. On Ephesians 4, I readily grant that aorist tense in these would typically indicate a one time action, but also keep in mind that aorist serves greatly as an "unmarked" tense as well. In other words if Paul was simply not trying to stress aspect, this is how he would have done it. However, I base what I'm saying on the fact that it is a current command. He is instructing saved souls to do this now, and is not looking at it as something already finished. Perhaps you disagree still with my interpretations of Ephesians. And I'm not trying to sway you from your view but rather understand it. I am wondering if you see the Christian as in the process of putting to death old habits and sinful inclinations. However, much victory your ascribe to a christian in it, are we now doing so. That is what I refer to as a struggle. When I suggest there is a struggle I do not mean to suggest a Christian living in defeat. BTW, I think in many places scripture uses an already not yet with regards to the old man being crucified. It has been accomplished, yet being brought into realization over time. We know scripture often speaks of things this way. I'd offer the topic of "all things being placed in subjection to Christ" as an example. See Ephesians 1:22 and 1 Cor 15:27,28. One might easily argue that God has (aorist) put all things under his feet. Yet we see that it is still ongoing. I would argue a similiar scenario with regards to the past tense accomplishing of our sanctification and the ongoing process of our sanctification. I am doubtful you'll agree on that point, but do let me know in what sense you would say the Christian is still battling sin, if at all. In Christ, Beja |
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3 | Is sinless perfection possible on earth? | 1 John 1:8 | Morant61 | 228723 | ||
Greetings Beja! Thanks for the great questions! I have sent you an e-mail response. I'm not going to participate in this thread from here on out. Thank you for the great discussion. You are a scholar and a gentleman. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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