The Teaching That Taught Us to Expect Defeat
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey · 2 min read
Where did the idea come from that Christians must keep sinning until they die? Professor Gary Maxey gives a historical answer in his book on the Highway of Holiness. It is his own reading and he states it strongly. Readers should weigh it as his view.
Holiness as an impossible dream
Professor Maxey writes that through the ages many Christians have believed true holiness is not possible for sinful human beings. The idea that ordinary men and women could live above sin and show the character of Christ has been ridiculed. He says this thinking has often had the official support of church leaders and theologians.
His account of Augustine
He points to Augustine of Hippo, whom he describes as perhaps the greatest theologian between the New Testament and the Reformation. In his view, Augustine made some serious errors. One was to treat sexual desire as the root of all sin. Professor Maxey suggests this came from Augustine's own struggles, which he described openly in his Confessions.
More damaging, in his opinion, was the way Augustine later argued with Pelagius. Pelagius denied inherited sin. In reaction, Professor Maxey says, Augustine went too far the other way and denied the possibility of freedom from sin in this life. In his earlier years, Augustine had correctly understood Romans 7 as Paul's struggle before conversion. Later he changed his mind.
Professor Maxey calls this shift possibly the most fateful theological blow ever dealt to the Bible's teaching on holiness.
The result
He says later teachers carried the idea forward. Luther and Calvin followed the later Augustine and rejected the New Testament picture of normal Christian life. Professor Maxey thinks the consequence is a deep conviction among many Christians that to be human is to be incurably sinful.
What Hebrews says
Against this, he cites Hebrews 12:14: "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." If holiness is required, he argues, it cannot be a practical impossibility.
Weigh it, then test it
Church historians debate Augustine at length, and Professor Maxey's summary is a short one. Read primary sources if you want to judge him. But do not let the historical debate hide the main point. What do the New Testament verses on freedom from sin actually say? Read Romans 6 once through, and let the text answer.
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey.
