So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Galatians 5:16
There is a somewhat ambiguous traditional teaching espoused by evangelicals, which really does not include a sufficient teaching on regeneration and the Holy Spirit. Its a teaching that focuses much more on faith and grace and salvation. I say that because its important to distinguish something in clear terms - what we mean by salvation. To do that I want to exegete the book of Galatians as best I can. Now to expound on the verse above:
What is the sinful nature? In verses 5:19-21 Paul gives us the acts of the sinful nature, so its not hard to know what the result of the sinful nature is. In verse 3:22 Paul says that the whole world is a prisoner of sin. And in 5:1 he states that Christ has set us free from sin. This is the Spirit that Paul speaks of, the Holy Spirit. Paul implies in 3:5 that the Galatians received the Holy Spirit when they believed the message of Christ rather than obeying the Old Testament law. Then in 3:14 he plainly states that by faith we receive the Holy Spirit. We can conclude that by faint in Christ Jesus, who was sent to earth by the grace of God, we receive the Holy Spirit to be set free from sin (overcome the sinful nature). That means that we produce the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in 5:22-23, and not the acts of the sinful nature 5:19-21.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires Galatians 5:24
This is very important to note, because I've heard a number of evangelicals say that a person will always have the sinful nature. This idea is vaguely derived from the doctrine of Total Depravity, which has no biblical basis but that's another note. I want to make this point really clear: Everyone who is born of the Spirit by faith in Christ puts to death the sinful nature. There is no "occasionally we sin" or "we sin because we're sinners" or other such excuse-breeding statements.
Now lets get back to the point: What do we mean by salvation? What does it mean to be "saved"? That's a very important question to answer, and here again I think many evangelicals do not sufficiently answer this question. Paul writes about receiving the Holy Spirit by faith, as we have noted above. Certainly we can call this salvation, but is this entry into heaven? This salvation is regeneration (being born again), and becoming a son of God, as Paul writes in 4:6. But we would have a contradiction if we believe that this meant the race was won, the game was done, and salvation by faith grants automatic entry to heaven. Paul states clearly in 5:21 that no one who lives to gratify the sinful nature will inherit the kingdom of God. So there must be more than just faith if anyone is to enter heaven. I conclude (but I encourage you to make your own conclusion by your own studies of Scripture) that there is a salvation by faith, which is regeneration, and an ultimate salvation by the fruit of regeneration, which is eternal life in heaven. Its not just what can be gleaned from the book of Galatians, but also what is written in the rest of the New Testament. Galatians, however, seems to be a favorite of many evangelicals, along with the rest of Paul's letters. I would encourage evangelicals to avoid sloppy evangelism, and to make sure that every doctrine and tenet of their faith is in line with Scripture, as well as clearly defined. When we do not concisely and clearly define the terms we use, it often leads to many misunderstandings.
There is a somewhat ambiguous traditional teaching espoused by evangelicals, which really does not include a sufficient teaching on regeneration and the Holy Spirit. Its a teaching that focuses much more on faith and grace and salvation. I say that because its important to distinguish something in clear terms - what we mean by salvation. To do that I want to exegete the book of Galatians as best I can. Now to expound on the verse above:
What is the sinful nature? In verses 5:19-21 Paul gives us the acts of the sinful nature, so its not hard to know what the result of the sinful nature is. In verse 3:22 Paul says that the whole world is a prisoner of sin. And in 5:1 he states that Christ has set us free from sin. This is the Spirit that Paul speaks of, the Holy Spirit. Paul implies in 3:5 that the Galatians received the Holy Spirit when they believed the message of Christ rather than obeying the Old Testament law. Then in 3:14 he plainly states that by faith we receive the Holy Spirit. We can conclude that by faint in Christ Jesus, who was sent to earth by the grace of God, we receive the Holy Spirit to be set free from sin (overcome the sinful nature). That means that we produce the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in 5:22-23, and not the acts of the sinful nature 5:19-21.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires Galatians 5:24
This is very important to note, because I've heard a number of evangelicals say that a person will always have the sinful nature. This idea is vaguely derived from the doctrine of Total Depravity, which has no biblical basis but that's another note. I want to make this point really clear: Everyone who is born of the Spirit by faith in Christ puts to death the sinful nature. There is no "occasionally we sin" or "we sin because we're sinners" or other such excuse-breeding statements.
Now lets get back to the point: What do we mean by salvation? What does it mean to be "saved"? That's a very important question to answer, and here again I think many evangelicals do not sufficiently answer this question. Paul writes about receiving the Holy Spirit by faith, as we have noted above. Certainly we can call this salvation, but is this entry into heaven? This salvation is regeneration (being born again), and becoming a son of God, as Paul writes in 4:6. But we would have a contradiction if we believe that this meant the race was won, the game was done, and salvation by faith grants automatic entry to heaven. Paul states clearly in 5:21 that no one who lives to gratify the sinful nature will inherit the kingdom of God. So there must be more than just faith if anyone is to enter heaven. I conclude (but I encourage you to make your own conclusion by your own studies of Scripture) that there is a salvation by faith, which is regeneration, and an ultimate salvation by the fruit of regeneration, which is eternal life in heaven. Its not just what can be gleaned from the book of Galatians, but also what is written in the rest of the New Testament. Galatians, however, seems to be a favorite of many evangelicals, along with the rest of Paul's letters. I would encourage evangelicals to avoid sloppy evangelism, and to make sure that every doctrine and tenet of their faith is in line with Scripture, as well as clearly defined. When we do not concisely and clearly define the terms we use, it often leads to many misunderstandings.
No comments:
Post a Comment