Does Romans 6 Contradict Romans 7?

Before I get into Romans 6 and 7, I’d like to quote some Scriptures that compliment and supplement Romans 6.  These go to show why what Paul says in Romans 6 is true and are a good Segway into it. We all know the saying, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13.  I Corinthians 10:13, says “God is faithful, and  he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”  If Christ gives you so much strength that you can “do all things”, then it only stands to reason that you can overcome any temptation that comes your way.  I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, Romans 8:9, 1 John 4:13 and Galatians 2:20 teach us that “you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you”, “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God”, “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you”, “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit” and “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”.  Since your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells inside of you, it shouldn’t be surprising that you can “do all things” including resisting any temptations that come your way.  Of course, none of these things apply to unbelievers because the Spirit does not dwell in them.  And just because God provides a means of escaping temptation, that doesn’t mean that you always will.  But these things show that the content of Romans 6 is reasonable.

Romans 5:20-6:11 says,

Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:14 says, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

 

Romans 6:13, 19, and 12:1 say,

 

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness…For just as you once presented your members  as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

 

It makes sense that we can resist temptations.  Surely God would not give us these instructions if he didn’t give us the means of obeying them.  Notice that Romans 6 is addressed to “all of us who have been baptized into Christ” and its statements are intended to apply to that group. 

 

Now let us get into Romans 7.  Romans 7:14-23 says,

 

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

 

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For  I delight in the law of God,  in my inner being, but I see in my members  another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

That kind of upsets the applecart, doesn’t it?  Examine this chart:

Statement	Reference	Contrasting Statement	Reference
I (Paul) can do all things through him who strengthens me.	Phil 4:13	For I (Paul) have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.	Romans 7:18
God's Spirit lives in you.	1 Cor 3:16, 6:19, Romans 8:9, 1 John 4:13, Gal 2:20	For I (Paul) know that nothing good lives in me.	Romans 7:18
You are dead to sin.	Romans 6:11	Sin lives within me.	Romans 7:17, 20
Present your body parts to God as instruments for righteousness. present your bodies as a living sacrifice	Romans 6:13, 19, 12:1	A law of sin lives in my body parts. Who will deliver me from this body of death?	Romans 7:23, 24
Christ set you free from sin so that you are no longer enslaved to sin.	Romans 6: 7, 18, 22, 6:14, 6:6, 17, 20	I am of the flesh, sold under sin and captive to the law of sin.	Romans 7: 14, 23

You could resolve this by saying that what’s on the left side of the table is sort of true, sometimes, for some Christians depending on how you look at it…and what is on the right side of table is equally vague.  I don’t know about you, but this makes everything murky to me.  It’s not satisfying because it brings all these Scriptures down to have little or no meaning.  In John 8:36, Jesus leaves no room for such explanations, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

In general, whenever you find something in Scriptures that you don’t understand, follow these steps :

1.   Pray and ask God for wisdom and understanding.

2.   Take the passage in context.  This includes the immediate context, as well as the entire book that it is contained in.  Get an overview of what the book is all about and try to discern how it fits into its theme.

3.   Find other passages which speak of the same subject or that use the same key words (in English to start with).

4.   Use a Hebrew/Greek concordance and an interlinear to find the meanings of the key words in the original language and find how these words are used in other parts of the Bible.

5.   Research the usage of grammar rules, idioms, and other literary devices which might appear in the passage.

These measures are particularly prudent for understanding the epistles of Paul.  The apostle Peter warns:

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters.  There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

II Peter 3:14-16 (ESV)

In the above passage, the reference to the “ignorant and unstable” and the “twist[ing]” of Paul’s epistles clearly indicates a deliberate misuse of the Scriptures.  But don’t miss that Peter also says that there are “things in them that are hard to understand”.  This implies that it is not to be unexpected for a sincere reader of the text to misunderstand it.

Looking back at the above analysis of Romans 6 and 7, notice that I jumped directly from 6:19 directly to 7:14.  Therefore, the most logical place to look for the answer to the perplexing question at hand is Romans 7:1-13.  But I am actually going to put that on the back burner for now and go on to what might be the second most logical place to look.

Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  First take note of two key words.  Paul frequently uses the word therefore in his epistles to say that what comes before it in the text goes to show what he is about to say.  In verses preceding 8:1, Paul just got done saying things like, “What a wretched man I am!” and “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  How does it follow from these that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ?  Maybe, just maybe, it might make a whole lot more sense if you read those first 13 verses of chapter 7!  The other key word is now.  This word implies that there was condemnation for the recipients of this letter some time before, but something changed and it is no longer the case.  Putting the words therefore and now together, we should be able to see that what Paul said in some part before 8:1 proves that something happened in the recent past that caused the condemnation to go away.  Maybe, just maybe, you might find out what this is if you read those first 13 verses of chapter 7!

Verse 2 of chapter 8 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Note that the KJV has this in the first person.  If that rendering is correct, then it is an apparent direct word-for-word contradiction of 7:23.  If 8:2 is really in the second person, then Paul would seem to be saying, “I am captive to the law of sin and death, but you (the recipients of this letter) are not.”  Either way we need more information to make any sense of it.

In verses 3-5 of chapter 8, when Paul speaks of those who “walk according to the Spirit”, it sounds a whole lot like chapter 6.  But when he talks about those who “walk according to the flesh”, it sounds a whole lot like chapter 7 (or at least the second half of it).

Up until this point, I have been focusing on the stark differences between the “Romans Chapter 6 Man” and the “Romans Chapter 7 Man”.  However, it is prudent to point out that there are also many similarities.   The “Romans Chapter 7 man” says “I agree with the law, that it is good”, “I have the desire to do what is right”, “evil I do not want” and “I delight in the law of God”. Similarly, the “Romans Chapter 6 man” also wants to do what is right by presenting the parts of his body to God as instruments of righteousness.  The main difference is in the ability to carry it out, which has to do with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  When we think of those who live according to the flesh, we generally think of those who want to live that way--and certainly the earth abounds with such as these to say the least.  But in chapter 7, Paul is saying that there are also those who live according to flesh, but do not want to.  But who are these people? Why do they turn out differently than the “Romans 6” people?

OK, I admit that I’m kind of leading you, the reader, down somewhat of a dead end just to further prove the point that, without some further explanation, 7:14-23 just doesn’t fit in its context.  But before we get into those first thirteen verses in chapter 7, I’d like to go back to 6:14.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Earlier, I put all the emphasis on the fact that God’s grace is the reason baptized believers are freed from the bondage of sin.  Certainly that is true, but there is another reason given in this verse which is that the baptized believer is “not under the law”.  I note here that the word law appears once here in verse 14 and once in verse 15, but nowhere else in chapter 6.  But in chapter 7, “law” appears a whopping 23 times!  That’s almost an average of one time per verse!  Maybe, just maybe, being under the law (and not grace) is really what chapter 7 is really all about!  Let’s find out now. Verse 1 says,

Or do you not know, brothers —for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?

Recall that at the beginning of chapter 6, Paul is addressing baptized believers, but here he addresses “those who know the law” and provides them with an intriguing rhetorical question.  He is here obviously beginning an argument that the law is no longer binding.  The “law” the he is talking about here and for the rest of chapter is the Law of Moses and, as we shall see, its consequences.  Picking it up from the middle of verse 1 he writes,

…the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Paul is using marriage as an analogy to explain his point.  A marriage covenant between a woman and her husband corresponds to the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses between God and his people.  If the woman’s husband dies, she is free to marry another man because the covenant is no longer in effect.  The New Covenant in Christ’s blood is symbolized by a marriage of the woman to a new husband.  The death of the first husband must occur before there can be another covenant.  You might expect Paul to make the death of this husband the symbolic representation of Christ’s death on the cross.  We ordinarily think of Christ’s death on the cross as being the fulfillment of the law—sufficient so that we don’t have to fulfill its requirements ourselves as the Israelites did in Old Testament times.  But Paul says that it is the “death to the law” of “you my brothers” that is symbolized by the death of the husband in the analogy. Of course, this “dying to law” is “through the body of Christ” clearly indicating that it is also absolutely necessary for the covenant change to take place.  But the main point Paul is making is that, for each Old Covenant Jew, there must be a conscious choice to let go of the Old Covenant in order for the New Covenant to go into effect in his life, and by implication, all the promises found in chapter 6.  This “dying to the law” language and its consequence (i.e. “in order that we may bear fruit for God”) are similar to those of “dying to sin” found in the first eleven verses of chapter 6. Paul transitions from using the second person “you” to the first person plural pronouns “we” and “us” from verse 3 to verse 4.

Picking it back up at 7:5, Paul continues,

For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.

Continuing with the second person plural, Paul is clearly establishing an inextricable link between being “under the law” and enslavement to sin, here expressed with the phrases “living in flesh”, “our sinful passions aroused”, “bear fruit for death”, and “held us captive”.

Paul continues in 7:7-13,

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."

But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness.  Apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

It is important to note that verse 7 marks the beginning of Paul’s use of the first person singular “I”.  Paul here starts to use his own experiences as evidence for what he is saying. 

He begins by making a side note, digressing from his main point, to be sure that his readers do not reach a false conclusion about the Law of Moses being sinful.  After all, it did serve the purpose of showing him his own sinfulness (v. 7, 13) so that he would see the need, not only to repent, but also the need for God’s grace.  (See also Galatians 3:24-25.)  But this in no way nullifies his main argument that the law cannot do what only God’s grace can do.  Being under the Law is (or can be) but a stepping stone into God’s grace.  It’s like taking one step back in order to take many steps forward. 

He seems to recall a time when he did not know the Law (“I was once alive apart from the law”).  From what we know about Paul he was taught the Law from the time he was a boy. (Philippians 3:4-6) One could conclude that he is talking about before he knew right from wrong. (Isaiah 7:15-16, Romans 4:15, 5:13)  Whatever the case may be, it doesn’t detract from the main point, which is that when he came under the law “sin came alive and I died…. [It] promised life [but] proved to be death to me.”  Being under the law does not solve the problem of sin, but makes it worse indirectly through sin (v. 8-11). In other words, the Law of Moses is good, but by itself brings more bondage in sin.  It makes sense that he uses past tense with the first person here because we know that Paul was very zealous for the Law before becoming a Christian.

When we come again to v. 14 and following, we see that Paul continues to speak negatively about himself and the futility of trying to obey the Law.  If anything, he here gives an even bleaker picture.  But notice that Paul changes from using past tense to present tense.  It is natural to then assume that v.14-23 are now about his life as a Christian, and not about his former life as Old Covenant Jew under the Law.  But this makes no sense! The problem of sin, even under grace, seems to be no better solved than it was under the law!  The assumption totally contradicts not only Romans 6, but chapter 8 and many other passages.  It totally undercuts the point he starts out to prove at the beginning of 7.

The final piece of the puzzle is the following.  In Koine Greek there is a literary device called “historical present”.  This is used on some occasions in which the author is telling a story about something that happened in the past.  The author starts out using past tense, but switches to present tense even though he is still talking about past events.  Scholars believe that the purpose of this literary device is to make the story come alive to the readers.  In most translations, most of the time, historical presents are translated into English as past tense.  See the NASB forward.  

God’s grace is the key to freedom from the bondage of sin.  There are two things that get in the way of God’s grace.  In Romans 6, Paul tells us how taking grace as a license to sin defeats its purpose. In Romans 7, Paul tells us how trying to be under the Law of Moses at the same time as being under grace also defeats the purpose.  Romans 7 does not contradict Romans 6 or any other part of the Bible.  You don’t need to water down any Scriptures to get it to fit.  Once you read its immediate context and understand the Greek use of historical presents, all of the apparent contradictions go away and you can see that 7:14-23 supports, rather than detracts from the main point. If you are a baptized believer, you will face many difficult trials, persecution and temptations.  But you are not weak, helpless and pathetic in the face of these because you have the power of the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you who is your source of strength to overcome the world.

Are Christians Sinners? Do Christians Sin Every Day?

The word saint means “one who is holy”.  Believers are called holy or saint over 50 times in the New Testament.  In addition, there other places where it says the God sanctifies believers.  (The word sanctify means to make holy.)  Believers are also called righteous many times.  But many Christians insist on calling themselves sinners, which is not found in the Scriptures.  In many churches, if you were to address the congregation as holy and righteous or as saints, it would sound weird to them.  But why should it?

Consider the following statements.  Do they make sense?     

1.     As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us (Psalms 103:12)…but I’m still a sinner.

2.     You have cast all my sins behind your back (Isaiah 38:17)…but I’m still a sinner.

3.     Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (II Corinthians 5:17)…but I’m still a sinner.

4.     Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self (Ephesians 4:22-24)…but even if you do these things, you’ll still be a sinner. 

Ask yourself these questions. Do you want to be a sinner? Does God want you to be a sinner? Is God able to change you from a sinner into a saint, or is there just not enough power in the blood of Jesus to accomplish it?

If it is true that you are sinner, then you ought to be able to list some sins which are the reasons why you believe this.  These may be sins that you have committed in the past, sins you are committing now, sins you may commit in future or sins that you are prone to commit.  Whatever the case may be, you must, at the very least, be able to name one specific sin.  Now if you can think of one such sin, try calling yourself the name of a doer of that specific sin.  It only stands to reason that if this sin is a reason why you feel the need to call yourself a sinner, you should also be calling yourself a doer of the specific sin.  So for example, if your lying is a reason why you should call yourself a sinner, then you should also call yourself a liar!  Does calling yourself a liar help to advance the Kingdom of God?  If not, then why would calling yourself a sinner be of help to anyone?  What could be clearer than that?  The word “sinner” has somehow become a more innocuous word than the words we use to describe specific types of sinners, but there is no reason why that should be. 

Revelation 21:8 says, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars,  their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." So the truth of the matter is, if you really are a liar (or any other type of sinner listed in this verse), then you are in big trouble! More bad news can be found in I Corinthians 6:9-10:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Clearly, if you are “unrighteous”, you are in big trouble!  The word sinner and the word “unrighteous” sounds pretty similar, if not an exact synonym.  And again, all the types of sinners listed in the above verse are in the same boat as those listed in Revelation 21:8.  But if we continue reading in I Corinthians, we find some good news,

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 

The word were is past tense, clearly indicating that if you are in Christ, you can only truthfully talk about yourself being sexual immoral, a thief, greedy, etc. in the past tense.  “…you were washed” means you have been immersed in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the remission of your sins.  When Paul received Christ as his Savior, Ananias told him to “Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16)  Does it make sense, after you have had your sins washed away, to still say, “I am a sinner.”?  The word sanctify means to make holy.  The word justify means to make righteous.  This makes perfect sense because you couldn’t be saved as long as you were unrighteous. (I Corinthians 6:9) If God changes adulterers, drunkards, revilers and swindlers into people who are not any of those things—so that they can be saved, then is it too much of a stretch to say that God changes all kinds of sinners into non-sinners so that they can be saved?  In case that there is any doubt, read Romans 5:8.  It says, “…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Within the same context, it also says that we were ungodly and that we were enemies (of God), but now we are reconciled and saved. 

Suppose you were to tell someone about Christ.  What would you say?  “I am a sinner just like you.”?  Why would you want to become a Christian only to remain the same sinner that you were before?  It has become a no-no to talk about hell because that is supposedly condemning and will scare people off.  So if you can’t talk about that and you can’t say that you’ve been changed from sinner to saint, then what can you say?  It is no wonder that Christians are having such a hard time spreading the gospel.

You might be saying, “OK, what about passages like Luke 5:8, Luke 7:37, Luke 18:13, and Luke 19:7.”.  These were before Jesus died on the cross.  But more importantly, they were before the washing, justification and the sanctification in the lives of these individuals.  These passages and others demonstrate the irony that, in order to become someone who is not a sinner, you must first admit that you are one!  But this should not be surprising at all.  Even in the secular world, people recognize the fact that, the first step in overcoming an addiction is to admit that you are an addict.

You might be saying, “OK, what about I Timothy 1:15.  Paul is saying, ‘I am the worst of sinners.’.”.  You have to take this passage in context.  In v. 12, “… him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.”  It is interesting to note that the word was is in the present tense in the Greek.  The word translated formerly, however, qualifies the linking verb so that it is understood by the Greek reader to be a past event.  Of course Paul did not continue to blaspheme Christ or persecute the Church after his conversion!  But who is to say that the use of the word formerly is exclusively for qualifying the tense in that sentence?  It could have been intended to extend to subsequent verses, even down to verse 15.  The whole tone of the passage is that Christ mercifully transformed Paul into a faithful servant in spite of his former sinful state.  It makes no sense to use this passage to say that he still is the “foremost of sinners” despite the transformation.

In Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus says,

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

What does this passage say to a person who is “the worst of sinners” about judging and correcting people? Continuing in I Timothy 1, Paul writes, “…some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”  In I Corinthians 5, it describes what is meant by “handing over to Satan”.  It means the congregation must refrain from associating with the person and should not even eat with them.  It is the most extreme form of church discipline.  In view of Matthew 7, if Paul really is, as he is writing this, “the worst of sinners”, does he have any business making such a pronouncement on Hymenaeus and Alexander?

In Luke 6:37-34, Jesus says, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you…. bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you….Even sinners love those who love them… [do good to those who do good to them and]… lend to sinners to get back the same amount.”  Jesus is clearly identifying a group of people as sinners and calling for his followers to stand out from them by doing things that sinners do not do. 

I suppose some Christians feel the need, even after being saved, to continue to call themselves sinners out of humility.  The Bible does say that we should be humble (Acts 20:19, Ephesians 4:2, Philippians 2:3, Colossians 3:12, James 4:6, James 4:10, 1 Peter 3:8, 1 Peter 5:5-6).  But if you examine these passages, you’ll find that, especially for believers, humbling yourself is mainly accomplished by adjusting your attitude toward others.  Nowhere does it instruct us to try to achieve humility by putting ourselves down.  On the cross, Jesus took upon himself that ugly label “sinner” so that you wouldn’t have to have it on you!  To call yourself a sinner after Jesus has washed away your sins is to deny Jesus the glory for what he has done in your life.  Once you realize that you are free from this word, you have one more thing to be thankful for.   “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Corinthians 5:21)  There is no problem with losing your humility when you call yourself a saint as long as you remember that it is Jesus who mercifully changed you not because of your own merit.  Knowing that you are a saint and an ex-sinner, you have nothing to boast about except what Jesus has done.

I John 3:6 says, “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” Jesus said in John 15:5-7, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” Jesus said in John 8:34-35, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” And in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters”.

Of course this doesn’t mean that once you become a Christian, you won’t ever sin again.  I John 2:1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  But notice that it says “if” and not “when”, indicating that for believers, sin is only a possibility, not an inevitability.  Another passage which expresses this idea is I Corinthians 10:13, which says that whenever believers are tempted, God always provides a means of escape.  Some Christians say things like, “I sin every day and that is the way it will be for the rest of my life.”   When you hear things like that, know that that statement may be true, but it doesn’t have to be!

The heart of man is a major source of temptation to sin in this world. (Genesis 6:5, Genesis 8:21, Psalms 55:15, Jeremiah 4:14, Jeremiah 13:10, Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 12:34, Matthew 15:19) But upon becoming believers, Christ gives us a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19), and our hearts are continually purified (I Peter 1:22, I John 3:3) thereafter so that we don’t really want to sin.  Thus if we do sin, we ask God for forgiveness and he helps us to stop sinning.  Thus, sinner is not at all what a Christian is about, but rather we are redeemed because we are saved from our sinfulness.

In conclusion, all who are not in Christ are sinners because the heart of man is basically sinful.  We all have been sinners, but true Christians, who truly abide in Jesus are not now sinners.  Upon being born again, there is a transformation which occurs in the new born babe in Christ which makes the word sinner an inaccurate description for this new Christian.  Likewise various words defined as doers of specific sins are also no longer truthful descriptors of the believer.  There are many false converts who are unrighteous, but true believers are holy, righteous, redeemed, reconciled saints and are children of God.  The label “sinner” has been removed by Jesus and taken upon himself by his shed blood.  The result is that sin is not only forgiven, but is now uncharacteristic, undesired, and no longer an inevitable (though possible) occurrence. In the New Heavens and the New Earth, sin will no longer even be a possibility, because the hearts of the saved will be completely purified and all other sources of temptation will be completely removed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does Satan “Own” the Governments of the World?

In this article I will examine the proposition that Satan has all of the governments (kingdoms) at his disposal (except the nation of Israel).  In particular, he can give them away to anybody he chooses.  The argument for this proposition is based partly on the Scripture passages concerning one of Satan’s three temptations of Jesus in the desert.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Matt 4:7-10 (ESV)

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."

Luke 4:5-8 (ESV)

Another part of the argument is based on the book of Daniel.  That part is beyond the scope of this article.  I will just focus on the temptation in desert. One could argue that the devil must have had the kingdoms of the world at his disposal when he tempted Jesus because otherwise it would be obvious that Jesus would have known if it was a lie. 

I reject this argument on several grounds.  First, at that time, Jesus did not have perfect knowledge.  For example, he did not know the day or the hour of his return.  (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32)  This is because Jesus lowered himself temporarily when he was born into this world.  (Hebrews 2:7-9) 

More importantly, the devil did not have perfect knowledge.  That is, even if Jesus knew that the devil not have the kingdoms, the devil may not have known that he knew it.  Although Satan is very smart, cunning, persistent, and skillful, he is also subject to being blinded by his own pride, anger and desperation.  Therefore he is willing to try anything to defeat God, even something that would seem to be quite irrational.

Another thing to keep in mind is that even if the devil had such authority at that time, that doesn’t mean that he has it now.  One could suggest that the testing of Job parallels (and perhaps foreshadows) this temptation of Jesus.  Satan had to ask permission from God to do the testing of Job. (Job 1:6-12) Perhaps the same thing occurred before the temptation of Jesus.  Perhaps the kingdoms of the world were given to Satan at that time, but only temporarily for the purpose of the temptation.  After all, Satan was also allowed to test Job with various afflictions, but only temporarily.

Romans 13:1-7 indicates that the governing authorities and rulers are “…God’s servant for good…” and therefore we should be subject to them.  It is very hard to reconcile this if all governments are under the control of Satan. 

Furthermore, Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18) Note that in this passage, the Greek word for authority, ἐξουσία [1832], is the same that is used in Luke’s account of the devil’s temptation of Jesus above.  Hebrews 2:8 says, “Now in putting everything in subjection to him [Jesus], he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”

All this is not to say that Satan does not have an influence on the governments of world.  Just like everything else in this fallen world, governments are broken and frequently do not function according to God’s purpose for them mentioned in Romans 13:1-7 and other NT passages.  There are many corrupt government officials and injustices in this present age. This is because Satan is “the god of this world” (II Corinthians 4:4) and “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). 

But the devil’s influence is obviously limited at present.  God limits Satan’s ability to wreak havoc in the world depending on the time and place.  In general, in this present age, the more people turn their backs on God, the more control Satan is afforded.  Eventually Satan will be given full control over the kingdoms of the world (Revelation 13:7). But for now, he restrained at least to some degree (II Thessalonians 2:6).

The Only Other Remedy

For many Christians, Valentine’s Day is a special occasion in which fondness for one’s spouse or potential spouse is especially expressed. But for others, it is a painful time. The apostle Paul actually says that it is better not to get married seven times in 1 Corinthians 7 (vs. 1, 8, 27, 28, 32, 38, and 40). But in this chapter he recommends marriage for those who can’t control themselves (vs. 9, 36) so as to avoid fornication (vs. 2).

But this is not to say that a Christian should always marry when in this condition (not being able to control oneself with respect to a particular person). There are several cases in which marriage would be in violation of God’s Word. Christians should never marry non-Christians (I Corinthians 7:39, II Corinthians 6:14). And they should not even entertain the idea that they might later persuade the non-Christian to become a Christian. You don’t know that this is going to happen and it would just encourage the non-Christian to get baptized for the wrong reasons, leading to a false conversion. If someone is a fornicator, covetous, an idolater, filthy-mouthed, a drunkard, or an extortioner and yet claims to be a believer, then you shouldn’t even eat with such a person! (I Corinthians 5:11). The Bible also says that remarriage after divorce is adultery (Mark 10:11, 12, Luke 16:18) except in certain cases (Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:9, and possibly I Corinthians 7:15). It also seems logical that one should not marry someone who takes an opposing position on an issue that one feels strongly about, such as abortion. There are also times when God may be leading two people to two different geographic locations at some future time, so things just can’t work out, but in the mean time there is temptation. Other times the romantic feelings one has just aren’t felt by the other person. Sometimes the young are too young to marry or their parents don’t approve.

So what is one to do when one finds oneself in one of these situations—not able to control oneself and not able to stop having impure thoughts about the other person when Paul’s recommendation of marriage can’t be followed because it is forbidden by other scriptures or scriptural principles? Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Matthew 5:27-30 (ESV)

Don’t fool yourself. If marriage is not an option in this situation then the only other remedy is to stay away from the person whose presence causes you to sin. You may have to start going to a different church, quit your job, or even move away. Everyone else may think that this is a foolish overreaction, but such is often the case when a Christian does the right (1 Corinthians 2:14, 3:19).

This is a hard to decision to make and it should be done with great care. It is a sad thing when a great friendship has to come to an end because of something like this, but what must be done must be done. It is often no one’s fault. In this case, telling the other person that this is the way it has to be should be done so that there is no impression that you are laying blame for the situation. Whatever the case may be, you should be careful to make clear that the reason is the avoidance of sin and not to hurt the other person.

These situations are made worse when you put off talking about the important issues mentioned above (2nd paragraph). They are also made worse when tempting situations aren’t avoided and by engaging in things that lead to fornication or cause impure thoughts. I recommend the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris.

This is an unpleasant topic, but I hope that someone will benefit by reading it.