John, this is really good. I don't know if I
would call confession, prayer, and repentance "substitutes" for
sacrificial offering, but I certainly understand what you are attempting
to convey. I notice something in your use of Heb 10.14 that may even
strengthen your case. The word for "He has
perfected" (teteleioken) is a perfect active indicative 3rd person singular, a
verb which describes a completed aspect*; but the word for "those
who are sanctified" (hagiazomenous) is a present
passive participle, the voice of which is not reflected in the
translation you are using. Hence this verse should probably read something
like "by one offering he has perfected forever those who are
being sanctified." Now think of this: the "forgiveness" of verse
18 is as definite and complete as the "one offering" of verse 14 (as
you have stated -- thus the cessation of sacrificial offerings), and this
because that one offering is Jesus Christ, he who has perfected
forever those who are in the process of being
sanctified.
I wonder if Paul knew about
these Gk verbs.... they could have saved him a lot of
grief.
Here's the point, John (and I know you agree
with this), forgiveness does not ebb and flow depending upon where we are
in the process of sanctification. Prayer, confession, and repentance,
while important, speak not to whether we are forgiven, but rather to
the quality and beauty of our relationship with the
Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit; your words speak to fellowship, in other words, and not to
justification.
What if you are out there in
fornication does sin no longer cause a relationship problems with the
Father o we no longer need clean hands and a pure heart to ascend His
holy hill?
Moreover, sanctification, while yet unfinished, is also
as definite as the one offering of Christ Jesus, and this
because in him we have been perfected
(and I read this as much more than a legal imputation or
declaration; i.e., even though there is an already-but-not-yet at
play here, it is nonetheless an ontological
fact: in Christ we have been
perfected). And because we are in Christ -- and this is the
exciting part: -- our
sanctification is as if it were perfected; said another
way, its end is as definite and absolute
as it would be if it were finished even as we speak.
Then none of this involves
faith? How sad Paul didn't know about it. Can you imagine that
Paul actually believed that he could be a "castaway"
himself if he didn't keep his body under - after preaching to other
ppl?" (1 Cor 9:27) also that Paul taught ppl to "Mortify
their members and put off some things?" (Col
3:5)
And so, the passive
voice of the participial phrase "those who are being sanctified" is
therefore crucial in our understanding of this: we participate or fellowship in our sanctification,
but we do not produce it; we are being sanctified by a
sovereign act of God. He is the active
agent; hence its outcome is certain. Paul says it like
this: "For I am confident of this very thing, that
he who began [this] good work in you will perfect it until the day of
Christ Jesus" (Phi 1.6). We will be sanctified, and this is for sure,
because it is God who sanctifies us.
So 1 Cor 9:27 is a
mistake? What about Romans 8:13 "If you live after the flesh you
will die?" and Romans 6:17,18 where Paul talks about obeying from the
heart and becoming servants of righteousness,
You say Fellowship is where
it's at - huh!!
Now, does that produce hope and assurance,
or what?
I had hope anyway
which rests in the truth of God's Word (in English). Greek
verbs do nothing for me.
I do understand that we have
been saved, are being saved (sanctification), and will be saved but
your
certainty seems a bit
premature to me. If it were that certain there would be no warnings in
scripture and
there are plenty of
them.
Bill
* In
Greek grammar, "aspect" indicates what type of action a verb
describes. A verb which occurs in the "perfect aspect" indicates
an action that was brought to its full completion but
has effects carrying on into the present (See Mounce, 119-120). If I need
to explain further I will (not that you will need it, but maybe
others will).
________________________________________________________________________________________
John writes > In
Hebrews 10.16ff, there is a presumption by Divine revelation
-- that sin is only forgiven in the offering of
sacrifice. We do not catch the importance of this fact.
ONLY IN THE OFFERING OF A SACRIFICE IS THERE TO BE
FORGIVENESS. That is why sacrifice has been with us from the
beginning, post-garden. When Jeremiah predicts that
"....I will remember their sins no more," he was, in fact, speaking
of the sacrifice that was offered once and for all time: "For
by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are
sanctified" (10:14). Confession does not secure
forgiveness. Prayer does not. Repentance does
not --------------- these are presented to us in
scripture as substitutes for sacrificial offering. "Now where
there is forgiveness of these things (full and completed),
there is no longer any offering for us"
(10:18).
