A response to the teaching that a Christian dies spiritually every time he sins
I came across a list of verses that supposedly prove that when a child of God sins they die spiritually. This teaching says that if a believer sins they automatically become a child of the Devil and are on their way to hell. My desire is to show that the verses that are used to support this theory are unfounded and taken out of context.
We will consider each of these verses in light of who the writer is speaking to and the context in which they were written.
The first verse that was given as a proof verse for the theory that born-again believers die ‘spiritually’ when they sin is found in Genesis.
Gen 2:17, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
First of all it should be obvious to any one reading their Bible that we are not Adam and Eve and we do not have the same relationship to God as they did. In fact we are not even a part of the same race of people as Adam any longer! We are in Christ, not in Adam.
Secondly the type of death that God meant when He said that Adam and Eve would die, is made clear in the death of the animals that took the place of Adam and Eve. They did not die spiritually! No one dies spiritually. I looked up every time the Hebrew and Greek word for die was used in the Bible and it is never used in reference to a spirit dying, or someone dying spiritually. Just look up the word spirit in your Bible and you will see unregenerate sinners having their spirits stirred up by God on many occasions. Many people respond to this saying, I don't mean that their spirits die but just that they are separated from God. If what you mean is that people are separated from God, then say they are separated. Separation from God is not death, it is separation.
This is a not a very effective verse for people to go to if they are trying to prove this point. The verse says nothing about spiritual death and even if it did it is in reference to Adam in the garden, not born-again believers that are in Christ, who have their lives hid together with Christ in God!
Next verse
Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
The context of this verse is one of distinguishing between believers and unbelievers. If someone says that they are a Christian and is known as any one of the things listed in this passage, then you can rest assured, they are clearly not a believer. This passage says nothing at all about a Christian dying by committing these sins. It says that people that commit such sins are not Christians at all.
I may be very simple in my understanding of scripture, but the passage just very simply does not prove that believers die spiritually when they sin.
The next verse in the list,
Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
The context leading up to this passage is this,
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; Heb 10:21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
The issue in the book of Hebrews is holding fast the profession of our faith without wavering! Anyone that has extensively studied the book of Hebrews should know this. The Hebrew Christians were being tempted to turn their back on Christ and His redemptive work. They were tempted to stop holding their profession of faith, they were tempted to turn again to trusting in the Jewish religion and to stop trusting in the finished work of Christ. This is the ‘willful sin’ of the book of Hebrews. I have seen these two words so misused that is is sickening. When the Bible speaks of willful sin, it is not talking about lying, stealing, lusting, or being angry, it is speaking of the ultimate sin of turning your back on the finished work of Christ and seeking peace with God through some other means. It is the sin of unbelief. Read the book of Hebrews with this in mind and it will make a lot more sense. There is a difference between sin and this 'willful sin' that Hebrews is speaking of and it is made clear right here in the book of Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. (Notice that what would cause us to depart from God would be a heart of unbelief, not a willing lie, or lusting).
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (The author makes a distinction right here between the SIN of departing from the living God and sin that hardens the heart to the point of departing from the living God).
Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
All of the ‘IF’s’ in the book of Hebrews are warnings to not quit the faith, to continue to trust in the work of Christ or else Gods soul will have no pleasure in you. The book never says that if a man tells a lie, or gets angry that he has died ‘spiritually’! The book is a warning to Hebrew Christians not to depart from holding fast to the simple gospel. The gospel being that Christ has forever perfected them that are sanctified through one sacrifice made by himself, taking care of our standing with God forever! Don’t ever turn from that to some other thing to make you right in the sight of God.
Besides all of this, shortly after the authors warning to ‘not depart or be lost’, he reaffirms his confidence in them by telling them,
Heb 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Again, there is nothing here in regards to believers dying spiritually after a single sin!
I will take the next two verses in one, because they are both saying basically the same thing.
1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
The entire book of 1John is very clear, it is a book written to distinguish between Children of God and the Children of the Devil. 1John 3:10. It is not a book that tells us of how a Christian can lose his salvation and die spiritually. If it did then it would also instruct us to not even pray for a Christian that has sinned, seeing that he has sinned a sin unto death.1 John 5:16. Which obviously would be ridiculous.
If you look at the word light in the New Testament you will find that Christians are not in darkness, they are in the light. It is not and in and out thing. You are either, saved and in the light, or else you are lost and in the darkness even until now.
The last four verses that were in the list were all found in the book of Revelation, so I will group them all together.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Anyone should be able to tell that this passage is in reference to unbelievers, not ‘spiritually dead’ believers!
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Again, nothing in this verse about the ‘spiritual death’ of believers. Obviously all names of believers are written in the Lambs book of Life.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
No use in saying much here, this is talking about sinners, not believers that sin once! There is not even one hint in this verse about believers dying spiritually and going to hell. In fact, 1 Cor. 6:9, Eph. 5:5, and Gal. 5:21, all say something similar in regards to these types of sinners. It warns that we should not be deceived, none of the people that are known as these things shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The way to get your part taken out of the book of life according to this passage, is by altering the book of Revelation. By either taking words out of it, or by adding words to it. This passage does not say anything about believers dying ‘spiritually’ upon sinning.
Now, I’m sure there are many more verses that could be thrown my way that would supposedly prove this ‘spiritual death’ theory, but if they all fall apart like these did when examined in the light of context and reason, then there isn't much for them to stand on, is there?
There is no doubt about it, the Bible does say that the wages of sin is death, and the soul that sinneth it shall die, but the death is physical. Even a sinning Christian is in danger of death coming upon him prematurely.
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul says that a sinning Christian should be handed over to Satan for the destruction of ...what? the spirit? No, it says the destruction of the FLESH! Notice that is also does not say that he should be handed over to Satan to be separated from God, it says for the destruction of the flesh, that the soul might be saved. In the book of James there were certain Christians that were sick and ‘dying’ because of their SIN. They were not dying ‘spiritually’, they were on their sick bed.
When a Christian sins he can find hope and peace in the fact that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. If a Christian continues in sin, like all good fathers, God chastens them, usually by bringing some physical calamity or sickness upon them. He does not cause His children to die ‘spiritually’ if they sin.
This may not be enough evidence for some to be convinced against this teaching, but it should be obvious that the verses that are used to support this theory do not do so at all.
This type of teaching comes out of a response to what we see around us. We see so called Christianity naming the name of Christ, but living like the Devil. The Bible is clear about such matters, be not deceived they shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. Our reaction should not be to prove that Christians never sin, nor should it be to prove that if a Christian does sin that he has again become a child of the Devil. If someone claims Christianity and yet does not live like one, our conclusion should be that they are still darkness and are in need of the saving power of Jesus.
Our motivation for victory over sin should not be the fear of death and hell, but rather our motivation should come from the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and our participation with him. We are dead and freed from sin according to Romans 6. We are alive from the dead and now are told to live as though that is the reality.
I have nothing personally against the people that teach this and I do not respond with this article because I hate them. I am responding to this false teaching simply because I love the truth, and because I want God’s children to walk in the liberty that He has purchased for them. I did not say I want them to walk in loosness and sin, but rather in liberty. I want them to have the confidence that the finished work of Christ is effectual even for today’s sin, and that when they sin they would not despair, but rather look again to the advocate that we have with the Father, Jesus Christ, ....and be humbled and thankful!
God bless, Dan Blatz
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Actually, we are already children of the devil. We don't become children of the devil each time we sin. We already are. And we don't become spiritually dead each time we sin. We are already spiritually dead. Look at Ezekiel and the dry bones. Dead bones cannot bring life to themselves. We are dead in trespasses and sins and cannot bring spiritual life to ourselves. It is God who breathes into us and gives us new life, making us dead to sin and alive to God. Once we are Christians, if we sin, we cannot become spiritually dead nor can we become children of the devil. Nowhere has Christianity ever taught such nonsense.
ReplyDeleteI would be careful whom you are reading and the types of verses they are quoting. That's like someone quoting Paul saying, "I bear on my body the marks of Christ," and arguing in favour of tattoos. To take up arms and defend that verse as if all of Christianity thinks that is poor debate skills. Galatians 5 and Hebrews 10 have nothing to do with the subject and have never been used by any credible biblical teacher in support of the truth of spiritual death.
Further, it might be wise to note that on occasion the Bible interchanges "spirit" and "soul," and therefore you need to look at the immediate context to determine which is being spoken of. Just as "heart" doesn't refer to the bodily artery, nor does "flesh" refer to mere skin. False teachers like to pick one of the many meanings of a word and then attempt to run with it, stating that all occasions of that word imply the same meaning. That's where you get Rob Bell interpretations from. The Hebrew word for "compassion" can also be translated "womb," and so Rob Bell goes on this rant, picking one of the many interpretations of the word, and claims that God is a woman because it can be translated "womb". Michael Pearl does the same foolishness with the Greek for "flesh."
Are you aware that the Greek for "world," (kosmos) has over eight different renderings/meanings? Which is the correct one we should employ in interpretation? Are you also aware that the Greek words for "all," and "every" rarely mean "all" and "every"? In the English language "all" and "every" rarely mean "all" and "every." Search these out in Scripture and ask yourself of every occurrence, "Does this mean each and every single individual?" The answer is clearly "No!" If you're going to try and butcher a text, PLEASE don't do it to something holy and sacred like the Bible. Do it to Homer's Iliad. If you can't study the Scriptures correctly and honestly, please leave them alone. Unless you know the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages, their words and various meanings, and their subtle nuances, I suggest you leave such up to the teachers God has put in place throughout history, as 1 Corinthians 12:28 tells us. Everyone is not a teacher, and those who are not should not try to assume roles for which they were not given because those who teach will receive the greater condemnation.
I'm sorry, I guess I should run everything by you before I post.
ReplyDeleteYou misunderstood the doctrine that I was opposing.
ReplyDeleteThere is a man in our congregation that teaches sinless perfection. One of his main points is that if a Christian sins they lose their salvation and die spiritually. He bases that on 1 John, He that commiteth sin is of the Devil, and he that is born of God cannot commit sin. He would then teach that a lost 'christian' needs to get born again, again.
By your strong opposition of my article it would almost seem that you agree with that kind of teaching?!
At the end of your comment you disqualify me from teaching others based upon the fact that I don't know Greek or Aramaic. I would say to that, I know God, I believe the Bible, I understand the gospel (which is what people need to hear). It seems rather absurd that I should not teach the Bible because I don't know Greek, when I do know God.
I know some people that don't even know God personally, or perhaps they just got born again, and yet because they know Greek (or at least they can read a strongs definition of a greek word, which is just another translation by the way), they feel that they have more of a right to teach the Bible.
I would say knowing God and being His child is a much better qualification to teach the Bible then knowing Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic put together.
I understand what your trying to say Dan. I've found that at least if I get my thoughts out there I get a chance to talk through them. It's good exercise. By the way it looks like you work really hard on what you put out there. May the Lord bless you as you continue to do that.
ReplyDeleteBy the way I was signed in under my wife's account when I posted that last account.
ReplyDeleteD Miller
Yes Dan it looks like we must all get their approval before we post anything.Can I have his address so I can get my stuff approved.Just kidding.
ReplyDeleteI`ve noticed since I`ve been learning this computer stuff and going onto sites when someone says anything about anything there is always someone else that knows more than everyone else.But we can handle criticism along with the compliments.So,preach on brother!
By the way,Peiter De Wit gave me your name and site.I`m just a voice in Mississippi trying to spread some good news.That`s something that we all need these days,but you already know most don`t even want to hear it.
I hear you Dell. Thank you for posting a response, it sure is encouraging to know that what I am saying makes sense to someone! hehe.
ReplyDeleteAnyway keep being that voice down there! We're always in need of more voices. God can do a lot with only one voice, imagine what he could do if we all let him use us, amen?