I think part of the problem is that people confuse not sinning with perfection. All it is is the absence of the negative. The positive is God changing us into His image from glory to glory slowly but surely when we have, by faith, put on our new man. That is sanctification, the maturing and fruit bearing that comes as His children abide in Him with unbroken fellowship.
Hi Gids,
Yes, I've been accused of teaching sinless perfection; that is not true, only sinlessness. But I know it is just semantics, but I disagree that sanctification is slow over a lifetime, but that is what the Church has been taught for hundreds of years. That "we will always sin while in these bodies." What's more that teaching is about willfully committing sins unto death." 1 John 3:4. 1 John 5:16-17.
I saw that Hebrews 10:26-31 used the phrase "was sanctified" meaning it is instant and past tense at the time of justification when all our past sins, including willful sins of lawlessness, are cleansed, and we are given a new nature, and are set apart, sanctified unto good works of righteousness. So I prayed and asked God, "well, if sanctification is past tense, but we still grow to perfection over a life-time, what is
that process called?" I got an immediate response and heard the word "glorification," something I've never heard anyone preach! And with it the knowledge that we become like Christ/God having been given the mind of Christ. 2 Peter 1:2-4 confirms, teaching us we have been give a divine nature. Some believe we will be glorified, after death, but God is glorifying us who have His Spirit NOW. Romans 8:29-30. "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined
to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." The implication is that if justification is now and not after death, so is being glorified. (Interesting that "sanctified" is not listed. Personally, I believe because it is part and parcel of justification. Justification and sanctification are only parts of the whole: justification/sanctification that happen at the new birth, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.) John 17:22 "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
We have been taught that sanctification is our growing from old man to new man , from sinning a lot to sinning less. But that leads us to believe we have a "dual nature", the old 'black dog and white dog fighting inside us' scenario. But that is not true.
I agree, that is not true. We have been given the true meaning of God's Grace. Grace is only
unmerited favor when the Father draws us sinners to Christ who died for us while we were yet sinners. But then the true purpose comes into play. It is the divine power of God residing in us from the moment of justification/sanctification . Again, 2 Peter 1:2-4.
There are steps in glorification that have nothing to do with "sinning less." THIS is the "life-long process" and has to do with maturity of the fruit of the Spirit. Those steps are listed in 2 Peter 1:5-7. "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." Note that the number one fruit of the Spirit is love, but it takes a life-time to perfect.
As children of God, we all have brand new natures. However, we are still housed in fleshly bodies. There lies the battle, and God plants us on the high ground, and tells us to, by faith, KEEP the victory, by keeping our bodies under. And as new creatures, we are more than able to do so. Glory!
What I believe is "born again" is our nature, our soul and our spirit, or our mind and heart where the laws of God are written. They have taken on immortality, and partake of the divine nature and continues to take on fruit that God cultivates. Those are the parts of us that were nailed to the cross.
Our dead body on a slab will turn to dust. It is just an empty shell without our mind and heart - our life force - our nature. It still needs to take on immortality, and that will happen at the resurrection. The only sins we will commit are sins NOT unto death due to when our fruit is still in the process of being cultivated, with pruning and growing, and maturing, but I can't see that they have anything to do with our shell that is dying already without any help from us and out of our control, and still part of Adam's curse. Our body is not the source of sins.
This is wonderful.... if... IF we put off our old man, and believe it really did die when Christ died. Only then can we hold up our shield of faith that we are new creatures and can be kept from sinning. It is then that, when we are tempted to sin (temptation is not sin), we find that we always take the way of escape... every time. Why? God has promised to cause us to obey him, yet, for the most part, we have been totally blinded by unbelief that such a miracle is possible. Faith is about to be outpoured upon all as our hunger for Him increases.
It is more than head knowledge of what our theology tells us, and we have faith that it has already been imputed to us. It first must be fact, and then we can look back at that moment when we were born again and walk in it. There are many in the Church who have never been born again and experienced the life changing gift of a new nature. It is not something we can do by shear will-power of keeping commandments with a carnal nature as depicted in Romans 7:14-23. That is just knowledge of the law.
Fact: Romans 6:1-2 We are crucified with Christ and are "dead to sin." The rebirth of the Spirit.
Faith: Romans 6:11 "Reckon yourself dead to sin." Walk in the Spirit.
This is the latter rain that is our future! This is the awakening that will come to all His children in these last days. 'Flat-out amazing' does not come close to doing justice to what God has on store for us as His church in these last days. Right now, only a few are awakened, and I so thank God for them, but that will soon change. The harvest is coming into sight.
I believe we are already in the latter rain, the last wave of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with signs and gifts that started just before the 20th century, the most notable in 1906 at Azuza Street. But I've heard what you just said preached, but I can't find what they are basing it on. Maybe you can help. If anything, what I see is the great falling away being the Church's future, but on the other hand, that is even now with all the false teachings since the beginning of the church age of Sardis, five hundred years ago, making the grace of God into licentiousness. Jude 1:4. What I believe is in our sight is the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation, where nominal Christians will have a chance to wash their robes (that they already have - they are in the Church age of Laodecia) in the blood of the Lamb, proving this by finally taking a stand for Christ and not taking the mark of the beast, reaping the consequences of martyrdom. Then the glorious second coming of Christ!