Christians are no longer under the condemnation of sin. They have eternal life as promised by Christ. Christians do sin but as they mature in the Lord they ought to sin less. We have two natures and they war against each other.
Radical dualism—or
absolute dualism, posits two co-equal divine forces. Manichaeism conceives of two previously coexistent realms of light and darkness that become embroiled in conflict, owing to the chaotic actions of the latter. Subsequently,
certain elements of the light became entrapped within darkness; the purpose of material creation is to enact the slow process of extraction of these individual elements, at the end of which the kingdom of light will prevail over darkness. Manicheanism inherits[SUP]
[27][/SUP][SUP]
[28][/SUP] this dualistic mythology from
Zurvanist Zoroastrianism,[SUP]
[29][/SUP] in which the eternal spirit
Ahura Mazda is opposed by his antithesis,
Angra Mainyu; the two are engaged in a cosmic struggle, the conclusion of which will likewise see Ahura Mazda triumphant.
Gnosticism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christians are no longer under the condemnation of sin. They have eternal life as promised by Christ. Christians do sin but as they mature in the Lord they ought to sin less.
The tenets of Gnosticism force people who claim they believe the Bible to actually deny certain parts of the Bible when they conflict with their Gnostic beliefs.
1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for
he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
Peter does not say Christian's "sin less," rather he says "ceased from sin." That statement simply cannot be accepted by those of a Gnostic persuasion (whether they label their Gnosticism as Christianity or not is irrelevant) because they view the flesh itself as evil and sinning is connected to being present in a flesh body. Thus as long as the flesh body is present then sin will be present. Sin is redefined to be some kind of ethereal or material substance connected to the body as opposed to a moral issue wrought from the exercise of the will. This subtle redefinition of sin redefines everything that is built upon it.
John was very clear when he wrote...
1Jn 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1Jn 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
John taught that the outward manifest conduct bore witness as to whether one was a child of God or a child of the devil. It is in the DOING that reveals whether one is righteous or wicked...
1Jn 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
This is why God judges people upon their DEEDS...
Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6
Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Rom 2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
Rom 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Rom 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
Rom 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Those who teach that Christian's "sin less" are defending sin because they are making an allowance for rebellion in salvation, just "less rebellion." If we take that to its logical outcome we could have a serial killer who becomes a Christian and simply "murder less" over time. Satan does not care if people sin less because they are still sinning and Satan knows that the wages of sin is death, so long as one keeps sinning unto death, whether a little or a lot, the end is still death and destruction.
Christians are no longer under the condemnation of sin. They have eternal life as promised by Christ. Christians do sin but as they mature in the Lord they ought to sin less.
We have two natures and they war against each other. When I sin as a Christian I have the Holy Spirit alive in my heart to bring conviction and lead me to confess and repent of my sin. If I ignore the Holy Spirit and persist in my sin I will be chastised by God. Not to the loss of salvation but to experience tribulation of disobedience.
Here is the perfect example of someone contending for the fact that one can be in rebellion to God and still be "saved." What is the rebel saved from? Certainly not sin because they are still a servant of sin. No. In the mind of these people salvation is merely a pardon for wicked people. They have the "forgiveness of sin without a true "cleansing of sin."
It is the cleansing in the Bible they deny. They teach that salvation only encompasses being forgiven not a cleansing from filth. It is all a delusion these people are under. The best proof for this delusion is to bring up the subject of HEART PURITY with these people. They simply cannot discuss it because any discussion on genuine heart purity, a clean heart, genuine love from a pure heart, that concept utterly refutes their notion of "being saved and still wicked." It is Gnosticism which teaches one can be "still wicked" and "saved at the same time." That is DUAL NATURE teaching where they blame "still wicked" on the flesh body and teach that is inevitable, while they teach that the "spirit is POSITIONALLY in Christ" and therefore cannot be touched. It is pure folly, it is pure nonsense, and in order to believe it one must throw reason right out the window and ignore facts.
Peter taught that those whom are born again are PURE.
1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
These deceived people will quote verses like 1Pet 1:23 but they will ALWAYS omit verses like 1Pe 1:22 because OBEDIENCE TO THE TRUTH is OPTIONAL and even IMPOSSIBLE because they blame the flesh body for their sin, not their choices. Thus their religion is a total denial of personal responsibility for one's own conduct. If one denies they are personally responsible for their rebellion to God then it is impossible to repent. Impossible.