The BIG Picture (Q&A)

This comment/question (by Jake) is important and I thought I'd highlight it in a post of its own. QUESTION: I am glad someone else is digging into this word "reprobate" or adokimos which means unapproved or tested and failed. Would you agree that when we are tempted to sin and we cave into that sin that is adokimos? and if we continue to fail we develop a pattern which in the end could condemn us. sooner or later don't we need to dokimos or began the difficult task of passing the test of sins temptations? ANSWER: You're absolutely right to lean into the meaning of adokimos—unapproved, tested and failed—and how that relates to the believer’s struggle with temptation. The distinction you draw between repeated failure and eventual spiritual consequence is compelling, but it’s important to see temptation itself as part of the proving process, not the disqualifier. When a believer caves into sin, it doesn’t automatically render them adokimos—instead, it reveals an are...

The moment one quotes scripture, like, “we are not under law but under grace”, Rom.6:14 , you get people defending the law with all their might, rejecting the post, and calling one a heretic. The typical defense will come in arguments like, the law is our tutor, or the law upholds morality, or they claim you're saying the law is sinful. The most common argument is when they say, even though the law cannot save one, it does not mean we do not have to practice it. Arguments like these are typically raised by believers, — yes, you read that correctly, believers . Either believers who lean too much upon a legalistic faith, or uninformed believers who have a carnal opinion of spiritual things without having studied the Word to discover the truth that is presented clearly and concisely in its pages. So, how does one correct such carnal thinking? Tutorship of the law:  The tutorship of the law aims to justify us, and it accomplishes this with little empathy. It brings us to ...