Thank you again, Brad, for your good words. Praying also for your father's recovery and your family.
If you have the time, I'd like to pick your brain. I've been puzzling over the tension (or apparent tension) I find between the "Pauline" teachings and the "Johannine" teachings. I grew up in a tradition that was very heavily influenced by John, and perhaps a little avoidant of Paul. I was late to appreciate Paul's Epistles as much as I do now, but often I return to things that John writes and I try to line them up with what Paul writes, and it seems as though they might be contradictory.
For example, John says something like, "No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning: no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him... Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning... No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God..." Etc
John often confuses me (as does Paul, frankly), but it is especially puzzling because, to me, the surface reading seems to cause tension, if not outright contradiction between them both
To be clear, I don't bring this up to argue anything. I would much rather hold to "saint and sinner simultaneously" as true, if only because I am selfishly worried about my own sinful hide :) But John seems to be arguing for something more black-and-white and behavior-based. Is there harmony to be found here between Pauline and Johannine theologies that I'm not seeing?
I should add: I'm not a scholar, or a theologian. I have no academic credentials here. But like you, I am a minister's kid (I've even preached once or twice) and have been saturated in this stuff for much of my life. Perhaps my rote familiarity can obscure sometimes :)
Thanks for the comment and encouragement. Your question is thoughtful, and it's good that you are wrestling with Scripture. At first glance, John's strong statements about sin can seem at odds with Paul's emphasis on grace, but they are not contradictory. Rather, they are complementary. Paul acknowledges the ongoing struggle with sin (Rom. 7) while affirming that believers are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). John, with his bold contrasts, isn't denying indwelling sin (1 John 1:8) but is describing identity – who we belong to and what characterizes our lives. His phrase "makes a practice of sinning" refers to an ongoing, willful pattern, not the daily struggles of a believer fighting sin. Paul's "simul justus et peccator" speaks to our standing before God and the process of sanctification, while John emphasizes that those born of God will bear the fruit of righteousness. They are two sides of the same truth. I love how you put it, though, that sometimes our "rote familiarity" can make things harder! Keep asking these good questions, that's part of the joy of discipleship.
There are many difficulties between Paul and Hebrews and James and John.
One way that has helped me is the Law/Gospel distinction found throughout scripture and beautifully discussed in John Colquhoun's " Treatise on the Law and the Gospel." Also, Walter Marshall's "The Gospel mystery of Sanctification".
Yes, Ken, great point! Walter Marshall’s “The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification” is a classic work to read on this matter. I’ve loved returning to that volume. I haven’t read John Colquhoun’s “Treatise on the Law and the Gospel,” but I plan to in the next year. Stephen H. Tyng’s “Lectures on the Law and the Gospel” is also helpful in this regard.
I'm sure you'll get a better reply than mine, but as I've understood this apparent tension is to see that John is not so much chiding us towards not sinning, he's actually stating that, in Christ, we - the born again, new believer, with a new nature - do not sin. It's the already and not yet aspect of our experience, again in Christ. We don't see it in our lives to be sure, but it is a reality none the less.
Thank you again, Brad, for your good words. Praying also for your father's recovery and your family.
If you have the time, I'd like to pick your brain. I've been puzzling over the tension (or apparent tension) I find between the "Pauline" teachings and the "Johannine" teachings. I grew up in a tradition that was very heavily influenced by John, and perhaps a little avoidant of Paul. I was late to appreciate Paul's Epistles as much as I do now, but often I return to things that John writes and I try to line them up with what Paul writes, and it seems as though they might be contradictory.
For example, John says something like, "No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning: no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him... Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning... No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God..." Etc
John often confuses me (as does Paul, frankly), but it is especially puzzling because, to me, the surface reading seems to cause tension, if not outright contradiction between them both
To be clear, I don't bring this up to argue anything. I would much rather hold to "saint and sinner simultaneously" as true, if only because I am selfishly worried about my own sinful hide :) But John seems to be arguing for something more black-and-white and behavior-based. Is there harmony to be found here between Pauline and Johannine theologies that I'm not seeing?
I should add: I'm not a scholar, or a theologian. I have no academic credentials here. But like you, I am a minister's kid (I've even preached once or twice) and have been saturated in this stuff for much of my life. Perhaps my rote familiarity can obscure sometimes :)
Thanks for the comment and encouragement. Your question is thoughtful, and it's good that you are wrestling with Scripture. At first glance, John's strong statements about sin can seem at odds with Paul's emphasis on grace, but they are not contradictory. Rather, they are complementary. Paul acknowledges the ongoing struggle with sin (Rom. 7) while affirming that believers are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). John, with his bold contrasts, isn't denying indwelling sin (1 John 1:8) but is describing identity – who we belong to and what characterizes our lives. His phrase "makes a practice of sinning" refers to an ongoing, willful pattern, not the daily struggles of a believer fighting sin. Paul's "simul justus et peccator" speaks to our standing before God and the process of sanctification, while John emphasizes that those born of God will bear the fruit of righteousness. They are two sides of the same truth. I love how you put it, though, that sometimes our "rote familiarity" can make things harder! Keep asking these good questions, that's part of the joy of discipleship.
Excellent and helpful.
There are many difficulties between Paul and Hebrews and James and John.
One way that has helped me is the Law/Gospel distinction found throughout scripture and beautifully discussed in John Colquhoun's " Treatise on the Law and the Gospel." Also, Walter Marshall's "The Gospel mystery of Sanctification".
Yes, Ken, great point! Walter Marshall’s “The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification” is a classic work to read on this matter. I’ve loved returning to that volume. I haven’t read John Colquhoun’s “Treatise on the Law and the Gospel,” but I plan to in the next year. Stephen H. Tyng’s “Lectures on the Law and the Gospel” is also helpful in this regard.
I'm sure you'll get a better reply than mine, but as I've understood this apparent tension is to see that John is not so much chiding us towards not sinning, he's actually stating that, in Christ, we - the born again, new believer, with a new nature - do not sin. It's the already and not yet aspect of our experience, again in Christ. We don't see it in our lives to be sure, but it is a reality none the less.
This is a great reply, Ken! Spot on 🤙