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SANCTIFICATION
We have been predestinated for Sanctification ie Fore-ordained for conformity to the image or nature or likeness of Christ Jesus our Lord. Sanctification is the process by which God makes us holy and conformed to Christ’s image. This is purely the work of…
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A Response to Jon Bloom’s “Can I Follow My New Heart?”
By Biblical Researcher, Psychologist, & Award-Winning Author, Eli Kittim
In an article entitled “Can I Follow My New Heart?” (published July 1, 2021), which was posted on John Piper’s desiringGod website, Jon Bloom, staff writer of https://www.desiringgod.org/ writes:
When Christians are born again, we enter
into a lifelong internal war where ‘the
desires of the flesh are against the Spirit,
and the desires of the Spirit are against the
flesh, for these are opposed to each other,
to keep you from doing the things you want
to do’ (Galatians 5:17).
That is incorrect, inaccurate, and misleading. When Paul talks about the war within, between the flesh and the Spirit, he is referring to a *pre-regenerative* rather than a “post-regenerative” state of mind. This battle or war between the flesh and the Spirit is waged BEFORE “Christians are born again,” NOT after! After “Christians are born again” this battle ENDS! The War within ends, provided an *authentic-regeneration* has taken place (not simply a fake “rebirth” based on a profession of faith or an altar call) in which we have died to our selves in order to receive a new identity (Ephesians 4:22-24). There is no more internal struggle. Sin no longer reigns within. God is now on the throne of your heart and, instead of war, there is peace. Instead of bitterness and anger there is love and self-acceptance. Sin has not been completely eradicated. It’s still there. But it no longer dominates your mind and heart. So, the notion that we enter a battle or a war AFTER we are reborn is completely false. On the contrary, that’s when the battle, in a certain sense, ends for us and tranquility ensues.
Jon Bloom misinterprets both the authorial intent of the Biblical authors as well as the concept of authentic rebirth. He mistakenly employs certain Biblical quotes to suggest that they are referring to a condition AFTER rebirth, when in fact they are referring to a carnal mind PRIOR to regeneration. Thus, he misreads the following verses out-of-context:
their ‘passions are at war within’ them
(James 4:1). Peter warns his readers (and
us), ‘Do not be conformed to the passions
of your former ignorance’ (1 Peter 1:14).
Paul describes this internal experience of
warring passions as ‘wretched’ (Romans
7:24).
Finally, the fact that he’s been totally misreading and distorting the Biblical authors becomes apparent. He writes:
And he [Paul] admonishes the Colossian
Christians (and us) with strong language:
‘Put to death therefore what is earthly in
you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion,
evil desire, and covetousness, which is
idolatry’ (Colossians 3:5). Why did these
apostles feel the need to speak this way to
regenerated people? Because the hearts of
these regenerated people were not yet fully
free from the influence of their flesh, their
old selves.
Why would Paul say “put to death” all these vices to regenerated Christians who have already done just that and have died to sin? And if reborn, recreated Christians are “not yet fully free from the influence of their flesh” (i.e. “their old selves”), then that implies that Christ either lied or was confused when he said “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NIV). No! It is Jon Bloom himself who is confused because in spite of what he writes, he nevertheless seems to acknowledge that after rebirth sin no longer dominates. He writes:
Paul lays the theological foundation of our
understanding by explaining ‘that our old
self was crucified with [Christ] in order that
[our] body of sin might be brought to
nothing, so that we would no longer be
enslaved to sin’ (Romans 6:6). Our new
selves were ‘raised with Christ’ (Colossians
3:1) so that ‘we too might walk in newness
of life’ (Romans 6:4). Therefore, we ‘must
consider [ourselves] dead to sin and alive to
God in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 6:11).
In sharp contrast to Jon Bloom’s overall message, Paul declares a radical change that has ALREADY occurred in the personality as a result of the *NEW BIRTH,* as well as a new way of being that is no longer dominated by sin or the carnal mind (Romans 8:1-2 ESV):
There is therefore now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of
the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ
Jesus from the law of sin and death.
I therefore take issue with the notion of *regeneration* as an “internal war” between the flesh and the Spirit in which we “are not yet fully free.”
For a comparative reading, see the undermentioned link:
“Can I Follow My New Heart?” (Article by Jon Bloom, Staff writer, desiringGod website): https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/can-i-follow-my-new-heart?fbclid=IwAR0SjG4T6TVZN8TVuB0Sjt-10zS5UnRy05rxjPd00YiVWcixmVCR6dm3EW0
——-
Rom 6:19 19 I am speaking in familiar human terms because of your natural limitations. For as you yielded your bodily members [and faculties] as servants to impurity and ever increasing lawlessness, so now yield your bodily members [and faculties] once for all as servants to righteousness (right being and doing) [which leads] to sanctification. AMP
By Dr. Jeanne Sheffield Estrada
Have you noticed that people these days don’t seem to use the word 'SIN' or even recognize that it even exists? The truth of the matter is that Sin Does Exist and the Bible says that sin is any action, feeling, or thought that goes against God’s standards of unrighteous. [ 1 John 3:4; 5:17 ] Sin, quite simply, is simply failing to do what is right.
All of our sins – be they acted out or nurtured secretly in our heart are born out of a belief that by doing the sin will make us happier or make our life easier than obeying God. Nobody sins out of duty, but instead out of SELF.
A good example of this was Adam and Eve. While God told them not to eat from the tree of good and evil, the snake tricked them into believing that “Their eyes would be opened and be as gods, knowing good and evil.” [ Genesis 3:5 ] Satan’s deceitful spin on this tricked Eve into believing that she would be better off if she ate the fruit, and that is exactly what sin is — a deceitful idea that is acted out, but in the end it is never how we’d like it to turn out.
The continuing problem with sin is that one sin usually leads to another. When we are caught in an addicting, habitual sin, we are held captive like a ball and chain in a deceptive belief that it will make us happy, yet it is not only difficult - but destructive - to ourselves, and often times to others. We may even loathe our sin in certain ways, even feel shame over it with a sincere desire to be free, but as long as we allow it we are chained to it.
If that sounds familiar, the secret to cutting that chain is instead realizing that the better promises God has made by following His path and this ALWAYS leads to a better end than “enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season” [ Hebrews 11:25 ]
Is this easy? Honestly, it’s hard because you have shaped your perceptions and behaviors for a long time, and you need to RE-SHAPE your mind into God’s thinking…and this is at the heart of the deep meaning of the word REPENT. To truly repent means to Change One’s Mind. To break free from the chains of sin you have and cut the chain that ties you to old thinking. It cannot be halfway! Either you remain tied or you Cut The Tie.
Friend, unless you become convinced that this is true, your old way of thinking will keep you tied to your sin. Starting today, CHANGE YOUR MIND and “Cut The Chain That Binds You To Sinful Thinking” by “Having the Mind Of Christ.”
God Bless Your Day Jesus Loves You
Have you ever felt that you have sinned so much, that you can't be redeemed? Has thinking that way prevented you from getting into or back to church? Tune in for tomorrow's video to find out more, 'You Don't Have To Be Perfect To Be Worth It.' #perfection #sinless #perfect #perfectionism #Christianity Please leave any questions, comments, or suggestions below.
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