Originally posted by Sozo
I don't give a crap what any of you think "sin" is, and neither does God.
Sin can only be defined by God.
Here are the facts:
Paul makes it clear...
"For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not."
Paul says that it is impossible for the flesh to do any good.
"the doing of the good"
Jesus made it clear...
" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. "
If you are going to call Him good, then you must call Him God.
We are not God, and those who continue to teach that in their flesh they keep the Law, obey the 10 commandments, and do not fall short of the glory of God, are out of their minds! They are lost, deceived, and making themselves out to be God.
Paul continues...
"For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me."
Paul admits that he does no good... "I do not do". Then Paul admits that he practices evil. However, he also acknowledges, that it is not him, but rather sin that dwells in him. As he also states:
"For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me."
Paul makes it clear that the Law is good, as should we, because it reveals sin, and it is the sin in our flesh that prevents us from doing good, and therefore we can only practice evil. But he confirms again, that it is not him, but the sin dwelling in him that prevents him from doing good.
John writes...
"The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God."
Does Paul do evil? He said that is all he can do "I practice the very evil that I do not wish". He says this in referrence to sin "I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me"
So in the flesh, the Law has revealed to Paul that he practices sin, and that the sin brings forth death "For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death." Paul came to understand this condition of sin in his flesh through the Law "I would not have come to know sin except through the Law." The Law revealed the the indwelling sin in Paul's flesh "I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead."
Paul says that his indwelling sin produced in him "coveting of every kind". However, "apart from the Law sin is dead"!
Again John writes... "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness."
Paul just confirmed that he practices sin, because in his flesh, he can do no other.
John continues...
"No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him."
So what is Paul going to do with a statement like this? He just admitted that there is indwelling sin in his flesh, that he practices the evil of sin, and that it is the Law that reveals his sin.
John continues...
"Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning."
Things appear to be getting worse for Paul, he now knows that if he practices sin (which he just admitted he does), then he is of the devil.
John continues...
"No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God"
Paul appears to be in a hopeless situation...
"Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?"
So Paul needs help, and where do you suppose that he is going to get it?
John writes...
"And you know that He (Jesus) appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin."
Jesus is free from sin "...in Him there is no sin"
Looks like Paul might have an answer!
Paul needs freedom from sin, his flesh, the Law that reveals his sin, or pehaps all three.
Paul needs Jesus, and so do those who are in Paul's condition.
Paul comes to some conclusions...
"For the death that He (Jesus) died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. "
Jesus has died to sin; Paul needs to die to sin, and be alive to God. Paul needs the life of Christ.
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"
"For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh..."
Sounds like good news for Paul! Jesus condemned the sin in Paul's flesh! Jesus passed judgement on Paul's sin, and removed it from him, as far as the east is from the west. Paul can no longer be condemned for the indwelling sin, because Jesus condemned it!
Why did Jesus condemn the sin in Paul's flesh? "...in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
So Paul no longer walks according to the flesh. And what is the result of those who do? "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
Those who subject themselves to the Law, are walking according to the flesh, and they are hostile toward God, and they cannot please God.
Paul comes to anther conclusion...
"However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness."
Sounds like those who are in Christ are in the Spirit, and not in the flesh. And even though your body is still dead because of sin, your spirit is alive because of the righteousness of God.
Now, we still have misguided fools who claim that they are both in sin, and in Jesus. They claim that they are both righteous and unrighteous at the same time. That is impossible!
The life we now have that has set us free from sin, through the death that we died with Christ, is in fact Christ's life, and in Him there is no sin.
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."
Those who claim that they are in sin, confirm that they are not in Jesus, because no one who abides in Him sins, and no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
Those who are in Christ are free from condemnation, because Christ condemned sin in the flesh.
But these false teachers want to resurrect the flesh and put you back in sin, and back under condemnation.
Let them be accursed.
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