John wrote:
>If you regard sins of character as legitimate aspects
>of the biblical view if "sin," as I do, are you a sinner
>and sinning at this time. Is there no degree of selfish
>within you? No degree of the lazy's, no pride
>whatsoever, no conceit, an anger, no arrogance.
>Whatever?
We apparently are working with different definitions and a different model
of man's makeup. I will break down your questions and try to answer each
question briefly.
You should keep in mind that I perceive a dual nature to man's makeup, as
per Romans 7. There is the physical body, the flesh, which is the source of
the sin within man, and then there is the spirit, which is connected to God
in the Spirit-filled man. I perceive that Jesus also had this sin nature
within his flesh. In other words, he had a source of pride, laziness,
conceit, anger, arrogance, etc. within his flesh, his physical body.
However, he never sinned because he did not yield unto these temptations of
his flesh. Therefore, I look to Jesus as the perfect example of how we may
walk when we abide in him.
I have granite tops coming on Thursday and have to cut it short -- early to bed early to rise. But I do want ot chim in here briefly and later (maybe Friday, I can give this discussion the time it requires.
Your reasoning, David, is at first glance, difficult to oppose. But I Will say what is obvious to me, at this time (and more later).
What is obvous is that you use "sinful nature" and arrogance, pride, envy, conceit, laziness, aS if they were the same thing. Your point #3 below makes that equation. Basically, you are saying that your sinful nature contains selfishness (among other issues) and when you act on this sin source, you then commit sin.
Here is the problem with your conclusion that the sinful nature is, in fact, made up of such things as selfishness and arrogance........ all of those things are actually called "sin" in the biblical message. In Romans 1, we have greediness, deceit, malice, insolent, arrogant, merciless, unaffectionate. Ro 1:29 calls all these things "unrighteousness." Probably not a good idea to attribute these things to the nature, be it fleshly nature, of Jesus Christ. These are not things people do. They are things people ARE. Add to this list jealousy, anger, selfishness (Gal 5).
We do sin, in the biblical message and we possess sin. We do sin occasionaly but we are unrighteous all the time. I Jo 1:8 puts it this way: "If we say that we are having no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Of course, "we are having" is a present indicative verb -- presenting action in present time and without ending. This possessing or having sin is a bad thing -- so we are to keep on confessing.
1. Am I a sinner? Yes, in the sense that I have sinned in the past. I am
a sinner who has been washed in the blood and sanctified by the Spirit of
grace.
2. Am I sinning at this time? No.
3. Is there any degree of selfishness within me? Yes. The flesh is
selfish and is a source of temptation for me to be selfish.
4. Is there any degree of laziness, pride, conceit, anger, and arrogance
within me? Yes. Within my flesh, a sin principle resides that is a source
of temptation in these areas. Nevertheless, because of the work of the
Spirit in my life, I find my flesh is dead, and so I do not incline myself
toward the appetites of my flesh. The spirit works contrary to the flesh
and leads me into paths of righteousness. I trust the Lord will always
provide a way for me to escape yielding to the sinful desires of the flesh.
I do not sin daily in thought, word, and deed. I live in Romans 8, not
Romans 7. I could say some more about when evil thoughts become sin, but I
will keep this post short for now.
