Well it's just a real honour to have Michael Eaton read my book. I really respect him as a theologian, greek expert and just a good man! He has a lot to say about my book- wow! And I think if you boil it all down, you'll find that actually we're pretty much saying the same thing but each having a slightly different angle. Or at least arriving at the same place in the end but with different was of getting there! (To be honest though, and with all respect to him, I struggle a bit with his angle and believe it will leave confusion and doubt in the mind of a believer.) We're both saying that because of the effect salvation had on our spirit the power of sin is broken. That dying and rising with Christ is what brought us out of Adam and into Christ. Out of sins slavery and into righteousness' freedom. Out of the law and into grace. Out of being in the flesh to being in the spirit- as are the themes of Romans 5,6,7 and 8.
His angle on Romans 6:6 is that the 'body dominated by sin' is done away with. (If I'm understanding him correctly.)
My angle is that the 'sin dominating the body' is done away with!
His angle on Romans 6:6 is that the 'body dominated by sin' is done away with. (If I'm understanding him correctly.)
My angle is that the 'sin dominating the body' is done away with!
The rest of verse 6 says why this happened- so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. It wasn't the body that was enslaving us, it was the sinful nature! It's not dealing with the body that frees us from slavery, it's dealing with the inner man that frees us from slavery. The sinful nature was not located in the body, it was located in the spirit.
I personally think it's a bit confusing to say that our body was done away with when we know quite well that nothing changed in our body at salvation. It's a bit confusing I believe to even say that the 'body dominiated by sin' was done away with. How can that be? I still have my body. It's exactly the same before and after salvation. Nothing changed in my body! The change took place in our inner man (spirit, old self now new self) that has the affect on our body. The body of sin is not talking about our literal body but the entity of sin- the sinful nature that was enslaving us! I think the context of the scripture is proof enough of that! This is the whole point of my book- to show christians that the dominating power of sin (sinful nature) has been done away with- circumcised. It's to break the lie that tries to build up in Christians minds that the reason I sin is because I have a sinful nature. Anytime you say to Christians you still have a sinful nature disarms them and empowers an excuse for giving into sin! 'Well it wasn't me it was my sinful nature. I just need to die more to myself'. I just believe that's robbing Christians from being able to do the things that God has empowered them to do! Now of coarse I believe it's still possible for a christian to sin and to feel like sinning. But as you teach the clear distinction between why an unregenerate person sins and why a regenerate person sins you'll empower people! We sin because of external temptation that entices the natural appitites of the body and can be triggered or strengtherened by unrenewed patterns of thinking carried over from before we were saved. Salvation only affected your spirit- not your body or your mind. We need to offer our body and renew our mind - Rom 12. The more we offer our body and renew our mind the less pull temptation is going to have and the less temptation will be triggered in us!
Well I do appreciate Michaels comments and there are some things I think I'll need to polish up on in my book, but as for the convictions I have on the general themes of my book- I stand by them 100%. And to be honest I don't think they're that far off what Michael was saying. I bless him and his work, and pray God increases his influence and impact in the nations! My dad is sharing a pulpit with him at Word and Spirit conference in Cape Town 2nd week of July! And we believe there's a Holy Spirit linking taking place across the globe with people who are hearing the sound of new covenant glory!
With much love and grace
Ryan Rufus
3 comments:
Great response Ryan, I read the review and found his position confusing as well. I think sometimes we don't like to take a stand on some things because we feel it will be alienting those who disagree...but some things are important to know the truth about! We can still love and have unity with our brothers and sisters who see things differently without giving up our freedom.
Here's my review of the book:
"YUM!"
Hi Ryan
I want to commend you. Most guys really crack at critisism, or deliberation. I think that this is a healthy deliberation more than a critisism, and that these types of debates must be encouraged, coz growth and learning is a by product.
most react with harsh defences, and insinuations of "herecy" and the like. Ryan you have showed tremendoud maturity, and most of all you show that you truly understand grace, coz you live in it and you give it out.
Your book is excellent...write another!!!!
Bless ya
Wayne Duncan
I think Ryan's response was full of grace. In my 13 years of walking in grace (and longer than that if you include my Christian life in general), I've seen lots of explanations of sin and the sin nature, coming from various people who I highly respect. Many wonderful grace teachers have varying views on it. I've also personally studied it and have come up with my own thoughts.
But here's what I've seen: So many of the terms and phrases that are used in this type of study can easily be understood in different ways, especially when you dig deeper into the Greek and context and all, so it's easy to see how, as Ryan alludes to, we can perhaps come to a similar place in the end, but arrive there through different ways.
(By the way, I think the reason we end up arriving at similar conclusions is because in the end the "answer" is pretty much the same: Walk according to the Spirit and you won't fulfill the desires of the flesh. Renew your mind daily. Set your mind on things above. Etc.)
I guess what I wanted to point out is that there is a danger in being dogmatic in studies such as this. (Which is why I think it's wonderful that Ryan handled this with grace, not dogmatism). I think it's great when we can discuss our views and lay out our individual cases for what we see in the scriptures, and stand behind them 100% (in fact, don't most people think they're 100% right on given issues? LOL), but I think we're only asking for disunity when we become dogmatic about a subject that is easily seen in different ways.
I think we must always leave breathing room for each other in such cases. And much more than that, we shouldn't let our differences keep us from building one another up and walking in love with one another. Again, I think Ryan has done a great job here of making his case without putting down his brother who holds a different view.
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