Lighthouse said:
That doesn't answer the question. We agree that the you outside of Christ can, and does, sin. But there is another you. Not that there is really a separation, but there is a difference of identity. You were not who you are now, in Christ. In Him you are a new creation. So when that comes to pass you should no longer identify yourself as you once were. You should identify yourself as that new creation. And even though the "flesh" is dead, it still lives in the technical sense. But we should not identify it as such. We are to count ourselves dead to sin, and alive to Christ. Identify with Him, not with yourself.
I agree with identifying with Christ, but that does not make us robotic sock puppets. You seem to double speak contradictions.
Christians have a responsiblity to respond to the Word and the Spirit in faith and obedience. I Jn. 3:3 says we are to purify ourselves because of this hope and 2 Cor. 7:1 (for the Mid-Acts people who reject John) says the same thing, perfecting holiness by purifying ourselves with a cooperation in the Spirit. Without our cooperation (Rom. 6 yield, obey), sanctification does not become real and experiential (initial, positional issues are one side of the coin at justification, but not the whole story).
The issue is about being dominated by the Spirit or flesh, not a plateau of perfectionism that is automatic and instantaneous at conversion. Maturity is not self-righteousness (sozo's rookie mistake). We can cultivate one form of life or the other (Spirit vs flesh). Wesley's entire sanctification (another form of sinless perfectionism error) should not mean absolute perfection immediately, since this quality alone belongs to God. It is a relative perfection that will be completed when we are glorified. In the meantime, there may be a struggle (Rom. 7; Phil. 3). We are not free from temptation or the possibility of imperfection in this life. If you say we are perfect in Christ and cannot sin, then do not come up with a semantical system to explain away a believer who does a specific sinful thing without negating the bent and desire to live for Christ, not self/flesh. No matter how consecrated we may be, it is not possible, one minute after conversion, to apply all of the knowledge of the Word and Spirit as we are being transformed from glory to glory into the image of Christ (in actuality, not just in theory).
Through the Spirit and the Word, we are able to not sin, but this does not necessitate the idea that we are not able to sin (will not vs cannot).
Though we are dominated by the Spirit and radically new creatures in Christ (compared to our former domination by the flesh), this does not preclude having a wrong thought, motive, deed, word (sinful).
Be a man. Take responsibility if you sin (don't blame it on Adam, devil, or a nebulous flesh nature), confess, repent, renew obedience and experience again intimacy with a holy God (I Jn. 1:9). Euphemizing, rationalizing, theologizing (sic >?) away things to retain a convoluted system is not necessary. Take the word at face value and learn from the OT saints (2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 11) that we should seek God and respond to His conviction, not rationalize it away.
If my people...then I will... (Chronicles).
