Thread - Nostr Hypermedia

LeviJohnson.net levijohnsonnet@iris.to 4 months ago

Jesus is perfect theology, and all of scripture is interrupted through him. You can't be one with Jesus, and still be a sinner, because Jesus is not a sinner. A Christians identity should be build on Jesus, and His reality, fundamentally. What if Jesus isn't a sinner, so therefore you are not a sinner? Jesus could have sinned, but he didn't. You can sin, but you don't have to, because you are now a child of God. And Paul is clear about this point, spelling out that sin is optional is Christ. 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. You can't be a child of God and sinner at the same time, because it is performative contradiction relative to one's identity in Christ, since the universe of Jesus is a logical reality. What a Christian can do, since a Christian is free, is not the same as their fundamental identity in Jesus if Jesus lives in them as Paul delineates. If you want to be a sinner in identity, be a sinner. But if you want to be a child of God, a new creature, then believe Jesus. If not, your interpretation of scripture and your identity as a child of God will be deeply distorted because you do not believe what is most deeply true. If you believe you are a sinner, it will undermine every aspect and dimension of your life and belief system, including justification and sanctification, because psychologically you'll be in violation of Christ in you. It's up to you to believe your identity is Christ, and live from his and therefore your perfect righteousness, and therefore walk free from sin while focused intimately on interacting with him, Father, and Holy Spirit. A Jesus centered life is better than a sin centered life.

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Replies (2)

Dikaios1517 dikaios1517@nostrplebs.com 4 months ago

I think we may be talking past each other a bit. Are you familiar with the already/not yet nature of our salvation, and by extension of eschatology? Or the fourfold state of man? I again wholeheartedly agree that our fundamental identity is in Christ, and in him we are perfectly righteous, positionally. We should all endeavor to walk out our faith in accord with this reality. As you said, though we still can and do sin, we no longer are slaves to sin and can choose righteousness instead. You want to, because of the above truths, abandon any acknowledgement that we still remain sinners, because we still do sin, in thought, word, and deed every minute of every day. Every breath we take without adequate gratitude toward God for giving it to us is sin. We ARE perfectly righteous in Christ, but that is based on his righteousness credited to us. That is the already nature of our salvation. We ARE seated with him in the heavenly places. We have a down-payment on the inheritance in the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. I do not deny any of that. That said, we do still sin. Not just a little bit, but a lot. We are not yet glorified, but we war against the remaining corruption of the flesh every day. We still need to live a life of continual confession and repentance, relying on the grace of Christ to make progress in our sanctification, being conformed more and more to his image which we already have credited to us through faith. I do not in any way advocate for a "sin centered life." When I say that I remain a sinner in need of Christ to continually help me mortify my remaining sin, it is hard to conceive of a more Christ-centered statement a person can make.

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LeviJohnson.net levijohnsonnet@iris.to 4 months ago

I don't think we're talking past each other. I think there's a major fundamental difference in values. Primarily I think I'm interpersonally and strategically connected, whereas I think (I could be wrong) you are theologically connected. I understand the nature of reality spiritually, psychologically and beyond, and I relate to Jesus, Father, Holy Spirit personally, and I look at scripture through these lenses. Based on this, false identity destroys people, and true identity sets people free, and I don't agree with most of the deeply flawed theology the church or certain denominations teach and that doesn't work in the application of bringing Heaven to Earth. The Kingdom of Heaven is now, and so is it's application, according to the life and words of Jesus. So when people make absurd assertions like, "You're the righteousness of Jesus, and a sinner," it's too illogical and unworkable relative not only to the scriptures but to the nature of reality and my relationship with God, I think of the people who can be destroyed by that satanic lie. This isn't an attack again you, it's against the real enemy. You can continue to believe and perpetuate the enemy's lie that saints are sinners and try to use scripture to support it, but it is hurting you and other people too. If you want to grow, it would behoove you to recognize that people are not what they do. Bless you!