I have studied the book of Romans for many years. I have been left speechless, in awe of all that God has provided for man to live a successful Christian life in Christ.
I have learned through Paul's writing in the book of Romans that God's will for us is to live a life with no know sin. I'm not speaking of sinless perfection, that is impossible. I'm speaking of living a life of victory over sin where we are not aware of any practicing sin. I believe this is the center of God's will for all His children.
Paul begins taking us through this journey in Romans 6 by identifying the culprit, the sin nature. It would take many pages just to create a proper introduction to what God has given to Paul for our edification. I will attempt to scratch the surface in this OP.
The key to understanding Romans 6 is to learn some basic rules of the Greek language Paul uses. Without this it will be impossible to know and benefit from what Paul has given us.
The word "sin" which Paul uses many times in his letters, can be used as a noun or a verb. For example, Romans 6:1,
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?"
In the Greek Text, to identify a noun the "definite article" is used which is "the." This verse actually reads,
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in "the sin," that grace may abound."
This is not sin being used as a verb, as the action of sin. The definite article declares it a noun, it is a thing not an action.
This is a direct reference to the original sin that took place in the garden of Eden. That sin is a thing, theologians refer to it as "the sin nature" passed down to man.
This is what Paul identifies as mans problem. He goes on through chapters 7-9 giving us God's plan on how we achieve victory over this dilemma.
I was hoping we could have a discussion on this subject to better understand how we achieve this victory.
I placed this in CT because I believe there will be some objection to "the sin nature," but I hope we can move past this in search of the victory.
I have learned through Paul's writing in the book of Romans that God's will for us is to live a life with no know sin. I'm not speaking of sinless perfection, that is impossible. I'm speaking of living a life of victory over sin where we are not aware of any practicing sin. I believe this is the center of God's will for all His children.
Paul begins taking us through this journey in Romans 6 by identifying the culprit, the sin nature. It would take many pages just to create a proper introduction to what God has given to Paul for our edification. I will attempt to scratch the surface in this OP.
The key to understanding Romans 6 is to learn some basic rules of the Greek language Paul uses. Without this it will be impossible to know and benefit from what Paul has given us.
The word "sin" which Paul uses many times in his letters, can be used as a noun or a verb. For example, Romans 6:1,
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?"
In the Greek Text, to identify a noun the "definite article" is used which is "the." This verse actually reads,
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in "the sin," that grace may abound."
This is not sin being used as a verb, as the action of sin. The definite article declares it a noun, it is a thing not an action.
This is a direct reference to the original sin that took place in the garden of Eden. That sin is a thing, theologians refer to it as "the sin nature" passed down to man.
This is what Paul identifies as mans problem. He goes on through chapters 7-9 giving us God's plan on how we achieve victory over this dilemma.
I was hoping we could have a discussion on this subject to better understand how we achieve this victory.
I placed this in CT because I believe there will be some objection to "the sin nature," but I hope we can move past this in search of the victory.
