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_________________________________________________ Heritage Baptist Bible Church Dr. Max D. Younce, Pastor Walnut Grove, MN - USA Bible Questions and Answers _____________________________________________________ |
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Bible Questions & Answers Archive
A Christian Cannot Sin By: Dr. Max D. Younce
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Question Would you please help me find an answer to Galatians 5:19 which says, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye CANNOT do the things that ye would." My friend said, "If you are a Christian, you will never sin again because this verse says that you cannot." Answer
The word "cannot" in this verse is the Greek "me" and is defined in
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance as "a prime particle of qualified
negation," and is not an absolute. The proper translation from the Greek
would be "that ye SHOULD NOT do the things that ye would." To show you
the difference, look in Galatians 3:17 where the word CANNOT is
translated from a different Greek word, "ouch," and is a prime word in
the absolute negative sense. The Greek text has exactly the right word;
but, the translators used the wrong English word, "cannot," instead of
"should not." This is in perfect accordance with other portions of God’s
Word. For example, I John 1:8 (addressing Christians) says, "If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in
us." Your friend may say she has not sinned since she became a
Christian; BUT, her acquaintances and those who really know her
will have a different opinion. Not only has she deceived herself, but
she has also lied. The Word of God says she has sinned by lying about
the fact, or saying she has not sinned. When we sin after we become a
Christian, and we all do; we are to acknowledge it, confess it to the
Lord, and begin to walk in obedience to God’s Word. Your friend has the
same testings as every other Christian, since we still possess our old
sin nature. Galatians 5:16 tells the Christian, "This I say then, Walk in
( "be controlled by") the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust
of the flesh." |
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