What constitutes slavery to sin?

Man, Sin, & Salvation
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dseusy
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What constitutes slavery to sin?

Post by dseusy » Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:41 am

James 2:10 states,

"For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all."

Jesus states in John 8:34,

"Jesus answered them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.'"

Is there a difference between being guilty of breaking the whole law and being a slave of sin?

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steve
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Re: What constitutes slavery to sin?

Post by steve » Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:19 am

While both passages cited say something about sin, I do not think that the things they say about it are very closely related.

James is saying that one should not think he has fulfilled his duty of obedience to God simply because he is obedient in general. In order to fulfill what God requires, one must not be neglecting any particular command. In the context, James is saying that keeping the "royal law" of love is required, but this requires that one do so without partiality. Love that is given out selectively is not comprehensive. Comprehensive obedience is what God expects.

On the other hand, Jesus seems to be saying that the commission of sin is a symptom of a spiritual bondage from which one needs to be made free—a freedom that comes from knowing the truth, which comes of heeding Christ's words and being His disciples.

Both passages, as I mentioned, are about some aspect of the broad topic of "sin," but, as they belong to separate discussions, so they also deal with aspects of the subject that are not very closely related, it seems to me.

dseusy
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Re: What constitutes slavery to sin?

Post by dseusy » Fri Dec 09, 2011 3:58 pm

Paul states in 1 Timothy 1:15:

"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."

Why do you think he stated "I am" instead of "I was"?

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steve
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Re: What constitutes slavery to sin?

Post by steve » Fri Dec 09, 2011 4:28 pm

I believe that Paul forever was weighed down with the stigma of having been a persecutor of Christ. To say he was the "chief" of sinners (as if there was none worse), must be seen as the kind of hyperbole that we often hear when people wish to magnify the grace of God in telling how bad they were before they were saved—e.g., "I was the worst husband in the world!" or "I was the farthest thing from a Christian..."

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RICHinCHRIST
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Re: What constitutes slavery to sin?

Post by RICHinCHRIST » Sat Dec 10, 2011 12:00 am

dseusy wrote:Is there a difference between being guilty of breaking the whole law and being a slave of sin?
There must be, I think. If they are the same thing then either all Christians are still slaves of sin... or all Christians can no longer sin. The former is impossible since Jesus said we could be set free, and being His disciples we would be set free. And the latter cannot be true because we clearly do stumble in many things, or James would not even have to be writing that chapter in his epistle! (along with verse 1 of chapter 3!)
dseusy wrote:Why do you think he stated "I am" instead of "I was"?
I agree that Paul was brokenhearted and frequently felt tempted to feel condemned about his past. However, Paul did say, "I am the chief of sinners", not "I was the chief of sinners".

I think he thought this because he realized that he was still capable of tremendous evil. I have noticed that the closer I get to God, the more I realize how sinful I really am (and I notice things I must repent of which I may not have realized earlier on). I don't think Paul thought that he was no longer an evil man after coming to Christ. After all, Paul saw his entire justification, sanctification, and ministry as a gift from God (Eph. 2:8, Phil 2:13, 1 Cor 4:7, respectively). Paul still saw himself as a wretched sinner. Just because he stopped killing Christians and started loving them sacrificially and began truly pleasing God with his life, doesn't mean that he was less of a sinner. I think Paul must have thought that if Christ did not stop him on the road, the propensity for him to remain evil was within him nonetheless. I believe Paul's struggle in Romans 7 reveals to us how sinful he really saw himself to be (even if he wasn't living like an unregenerate anymore). I believe there is a principle that the closer we get to God the more we see how unlike God we really are. In the middle of the night, you cannot see the grime on your bedside window when you look out of it. But when the sun rises, you can see all of the grime that needs to be washed away.


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An interesting progression of Paul's thoughts on his sinfulness as he continued to mature:

AD 55


AD 62


AD 64


Notice, the first verse says he was least of all "apostles", second he was least of all Christian saints, and third least of all sinners. I think this is probably a coincidence that he spoke in this way in this chronological order (since I'm sure Paul was not proud to think that he was better than other Christians when he wrote 1 Corinthians, since he wrote "love is not puffed up"). It's just an interesting preacher point (after all, I heard it from a preacher!). I think the principle is true, though. We gradually see our need to repent more and more. Paul never lost his sense of personal wretchedness and his need for Christ's grace and saving power.

However, I think there is a tendency (at least in Calvinist circles) to see ourselves as much more wicked than we really are... as if agreeing with this statement is a mark of spirituality. Perhaps it is though! I have thought many times that I am the worst sinner in the world. I strive to not judge others, but always judge myself. If you are constantly looking inwardly and seeing the junk of sin there and judging it as sin, you rarely find the opportunity to look around to point fingers at others. I guess if you do enough self-examination it forces you to see your need for Christ. I probably am not the worst sinner in the world (since I haven't murdered or raped or whatever else), but who knows, if I had the same opportunities as a worse sinner than myself, perhaps I'd make the same decisions (or even worse ones!). I think many Christians often look at isolated acts of sin as the mark of an evil man. I suppose I try to look at the very root of sin as the evil, and surely all people equally have the same root of sin, so perhaps we all have equal propensity toward evil if we were given the right opportunities. Makes you think! I think it's important to have a healthy view of our sinfulness, but I know it's also possible to self-condemn and judge ourselves too harshly and fall into despair.

dseusy
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Re: What constitutes slavery to sin?

Post by dseusy » Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:04 am

RICHinCHRIST wrote:
I think it's important to have a healthy view of our sinfulness, but I know it's also possible to self-condemn and judge ourselves too harshly and fall into despair.
I agree. I think there must be a delecate and profound spiritual balance which follows three truths related to your points:

1. God is righteous, perfect, holy, and love.
Psalm 5:4 "For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You."
Psalm 119:104 "Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way."
Psalm 45:7 "You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."

In all love, goodness, righteousness, godliness, and holiness, we should sincerely hate sin, which is lawlessness. It corrupts, destroys, and hurts.

However, as you mentioned, I agree that we shouldn't neglect God's promises of hope and condemn ourselves into despairity. There must be a way to condemn the sin in our lives without condemning who we are in Christ... a new creation. I believe a new creation in Christ is not condemnable. There is no sin in Him, so to be in Him rings true with:

"And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." 1 John 3:3

2. God is merciful, full of grace, and love.
Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Titus 3:5 "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit"

3. Ecclesiastes 7:15-18
" In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise-- why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool-- why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all [extremes]."

Romans 12:9 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."

I believe we can avoid extremes, hate our sin, and know God's love for us at the same time.

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