Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Romans 6:12 ¶ Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 6:12 ¶ Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts and passions. |
Subject: Can we live life without sinning? |
Bible Note: Dear Lookin, First, your doctrine shouldn't require altering the meaning of the word righteousness. Being guiltless before a Holy God does not admit to degrees. Moral perfectionism is about being entirely sinless -- in affections, thoughts, deeds, and words. (Besides, look to the didactic passages for doctrine, not narrative.) Second, you told me I shouldn't build doctrine inductively on my experience, yet you are asking me to build doctrine inductively on your experience. Hmm. Regardless, it would be cool if we could meet. I could introduce you to lots of imperfect men, growing in righteousness. You could introduce me to to those two fellows that had achieved a sinless state. (I don't think I'd be tempted to test their faultlessness as Spurgeon did (see post #201760), but I'd love to ask them a question or two.) Third, since our judgment may be skewed, God has graciously given us many gifts (Ephesians 4:11-14) specifically in order that we may not be swayed by a few theologically aberrant individuals here and there. (By the way, this whole "skewing" arises from the doctrine of total depravity.) There are a great cloud of learned, scholarly witnesses from the early church through today that teach progressive sanctification from the clear, didactic passages of Scripture. Fourth, regarding Wesley-Finney-Parham trio, the fathers of this teaching of moral perfectionism: You see, the nature of this doctrine necessitates its application in every respect -- heads, hands, hearts, and habits. Since these men rejected the doctrine of total depravity, their moral inability does great violence to their teaching and authority (Matthew 7:15-20). You see, they taught that moral perfectionism was a God-given ability that could be achieved simply by dint of will power. Failure to do so can only mean either or both of two things: they loved sin more than righteousness or they were in error. It is not simply a matter of academics. Remember, a pragmatic doctrine must be able to stand up to real pragmatic application. One lay person stated it quite well: "What you have faith in you are willing to bet your life on." In orthodox theology, the pursuit of holiness is absolutely essential. We lay aside the sin that so easily besets us, and persevere -- and we do that precisely because God has already accomplished it for us! (cf Hebrews 12:1-2.) I'll bet my life on the doctrine of imputation, because it isn't about me. It is about a sovereign Lord, working out His eternal purpose, fulfilling His every promise -- just as the Scripture describes Him. I'll not bet my life on the fickle human will, always faltering and so frequently failing -- just as the Scriptures describe it. Lookin, don't let your doctrine so easily off the hook... if the teaching is true, you've no choice but to make it true in your life. Anything short of that, leaves you with far more doctrinal problems than wishful thinking. Orthodoxy yields orthopraxy. Truth won't shift out from under your feet. In Him, Doc |