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Wyatt Graham

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Sanctification

Do We Have a Sinful Nature? Better to Say, We Have Passions And Desires of the Flesh.

May 8, 2020 by wagraham 5 Comments

We sometimes speak about our sinful nature. Which of course we have. The law of sin uses our flesh to further its aims (Rom 7:25). Yet one possible liability with using the phrase “sinful nature” entails what Paul Dirks recently described as a competition of opposing natures. 

I would add that the phrase sinful nature implies that sin has a substantial nature. In other words, it would mean that sinful natures have a created existence because the only things that exist are those created by God. God did not create sin, and therefore it is impossible for sin to have substantial existence. Rather, sin only corrupts God’s good creation like rust on metal. It is not a thing but a corrosion of things. 

A better way to speak of the power of sin comes directly out of Paul. He speaks of the flesh* and its passions and desires. By using such language, we can speak accurately about sin and also discover concrete ways to defeat sin since we will know what it is. 

Speaking of a sinful nature as such can often obscure sin’s real power by making it sound like a dualistic force that we have to fight in a battle like in the ancient teaching of Manichaeism. 

That is not the case. And here is why.  [Read more…] about Do We Have a Sinful Nature? Better to Say, We Have Passions And Desires of the Flesh.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: anthropology, Sanctification, sin

What does it look like to change by the Spirit?

May 7, 2020 by wagraham 1 Comment

Christians are supposed to be new creations whose lives exhibit the power of God (2 Pet 1:3ff). As new creations, we walk and live by the Spirit. Even knowing this, many of us struggle to understand what it looks like to change by the Spirit. We attend regular churches full of regular people who don’t appear very much like Spirit-indwelled new creations. What are we missing?

The answer to these questions involves understanding how we change, what the power of God means, and why sin still exists even among Christians.  [Read more…] about What does it look like to change by the Spirit?

Filed Under: Life, Theology Tagged With: Holy Spirit, Sanctification

We Only Have Partial Knowledge about Theology. So Be Restrained.

January 29, 2020 by wagraham 1 Comment

The more we learn about a topic, the greater our confidence in our abilities. Yet as in many fields, the more we learn about theology, the more we should grasp that the topic is too vast and too high for us to understand. Scripture itself provides a sufficient but specific revelation that fits our created and so limited capacities. 

As Paul says, “we know in part” because see theological truth through a dim mirror (1 Cor 13:12). John likewise admits, “what we will be has not yet appeared” since we have yet to enter the beatific vision of God (1 John 3:2). We simply must admit that we have partial yet sufficient revelation about God and his creation that should simultaneously make us confident in what God has revealed to us and humble in our conclusions due to our limited capacities. 

Reflecting on this limitation, we must take to heart the following three guidelines for thinking theologically. [Read more…] about We Only Have Partial Knowledge about Theology. So Be Restrained.

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Sanctification, Theological Method

Jesus Denied Pleasure in the Desert And Embraced Pain at the Cross for Our Sake

March 20, 2019 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Jesus denied pleasure in the desert and embraced pain at the cross for our sake. In each synoptic Gospel, Jesus begins his ministry after his baptism by his temptation in the wilderness. And in each Gospel, Jesus ends his sufferings at the cross. Jesus denies the pleasures of temptation in the wilderness and embraces the pain of death at the cross. He did both for our sake.

Maximos the Confessor (580–662) observed this twofold overcoming of temptation in his twenty-first reply to a bishop named Thalassios. And I think he is on to something (if not in whole, in part).

Here’s how I think it works. Jesus overcame the temptations of pleasure in the desert and pain at the cross in order to defeat demonic powers, disarming them, and providing us an example to walk in. While this does not describe the whole of Jesus’ redemptive work (e.g., penal substitution), it highlights the biblical theme of Christ our founder and perfecter of faith.

[Read more…] about Jesus Denied Pleasure in the Desert And Embraced Pain at the Cross for Our Sake

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Christus Victor, Sanctification

Our Gnostic Problem

July 4, 2018 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Evangelical Christians have a problem with Gnosticism. No, I don’t mean that some outsider is trying to persuade evangelicals of a secret revelation. I mean that conservative Christians have (sometimes) adopted a view of humanity that approximates the ancient and variegated philosophy of Gnosticism.

Here’s what I mean. [Read more…] about Our Gnostic Problem

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Sanctification

How Only a Right Christology Can Save You and Make You Whole

May 2, 2018 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Coffee, pencil, with the words "DeTrinitate Wyatt Graham"

Some think of theology as being reserved for bookish Christians but not for everybody. To experience a vibrant spirituality, many people turn to prayer, community, and music. But theology is not on the list.

Such a view, however, saps our confidence, minimizes our salvation, stalls our growth. The only way to grow in the Christian life is to know God and his son Jesus Christ. And more relevant for this article: only a right Christology can heal your whole person, whether your desires, your will, or your pain. Put another way, if you desire wholeness and a satisfying spiritual life, then only the biblical Christ can give it to you. [Read more…] about How Only a Right Christology Can Save You and Make You Whole

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Sanctification, wholeness

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Wyatt is the Executive Director of The Gospel Coalition Canada. He enjoys his family and writing. You'll generally find him hiding away somewhere with his nose in a book.

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