My argument against this is that just *having the sin nature* means we must, in some sense, sin.
Hi Randy,
I think your post is excellently stated, and I want to come back to a few other things, but on this one part above, I'd rather say that as we have access into the grace in which we stand through faith, by trusting in Jesus, and that faith can be increased, and that God sometimes gives faith,
I think that God can, and I think does, give gifts of faith that allow us to walk without any known sin. Not that I say without sin, only that we can have no consciousness of sin.
This has a lot to do with how I see the "corruption of the flesh". And I see some interesting similarity in what you've described.
Talking with my wife, with the "mind of the flesh" supplying it's deviant dialog. But at the same time rejecting that and speaking from the spirit. Or in another example, I suffer from chemical depression, sometimes pretty badly. The interesting thing is, as I am walking in the Spirit, while in the flesh I suffer from depression, in the spirit I don't.
So the undercurrent of the flesh is all the emotions of the depression, and all the physical symptoms, with varying degrees of debilitation. But at the same time, in my mind, I am so happy that I'm alive in Christ, and not that mess any longer! I watch him, I see him, I know he's there, but I'm not him, I'm free of him!
So long as my eyes don't get drawn off of Jesus onto the waves.
You said that if we are able to overcome sin entirely by faith, then in theory we never have to sin. Personally I believe this to be true, that we never do have to sin. But we don't manufacture faith. God has given to each a measure of faith, and gives gifts of faith.
One the one hand we are waiting for Him to increase our faith, Jesus, the Auther and Finisher of our faith. But on the other hand, we work out what His is working into us, and are we fully? Work out your salvation with fear and trembling . . . how far short do I maybe fall from what God has already given me?
In living with depression I've been able to see how the corruption of my body has affected my mood, my wants, my needs, all sorts of things. It's a biological issue. But with a profound influence on my thinking and behavior. The corruption of the body, the parts, I think this is just more of the corruption of the flesh.
We inherit the sin nature somehow, I think we receive it in our bodies, that physical humanity is damaged by Adam's choice to sin, to seek to know good and evil, now that's what we do, we seek to know good and evil, and are bent to evil.
When we seek life in Christ we are living from our new source, the other tree, if you will.
If the reason we sin is because our bodies are damaged, both by nature and nurture, as it were, well, we will be in these bodies until they die, and we receive the redemption of our bodies. Our spirits are restored now, bodies will be restored then.
OK, gotta run!
Much love!