Steaver brought up an interesting point, He says that when one lacks a proper view of regeneration and being born again, one cannot understand OSAS. Why has this never been brought up before? By all means I want to give Steaver and others believing in OSAS a clear opportunity to share with us their superior understanding of regeneration and being born again so we can understand OSAS. If one feels there are other basic areas one must understand to understand OSAS by all means post them here. Let's get to the very core of understanding OSAS and the truths that one must hold to believe in it.
Steaver is correct. The new birth is a washing and renewing of the inward man (Tit. 3:5) as to be created in true holiness and righteousness (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10) and thus renewed in the image of God. This is the "seed" in human nature that has been born of God and cannot sin (1 Jn. 3:9 - your body was not born again) simply because it is renewed in the image of God or true righteousness and true holiness. Sin does not exist in true righteousness and holiness or it cease to be TRUE righteousness and holiness. Hence, there is an aspect of our being that is sinless.
In addition, what accompanies this new creation within us is the Holy Spirit of God who "never leaves us or forsakes us." The new birth is what inclines the will toward doing good and it is the Holy Spirit that supplies the power for the inclination of the will to actually do good, thus it is "God that worketh in us both to WILL and to DO according to his good pleasure."
Where sin enters the picture is from some other source within us other than this new creation and the Holy Spirit. When the believer does not yeild to the Holy Spirit where the POWER to accomplish the "good" we are inclined by new birth to do, then sin is the consequence. Thus the child of God can legitimately say, "It is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me" (Rom. 7:16, 20) in regard to defining the inward source of sin within the regenerated man. Hence, it is a question of power not inclination for good (Rom. 7:18b).
The proof of indwelling sin in the flesh is that sin always wins in regard to our body as it is "this body OF DEATH" and corruption is the consequence of sin "for the wages OF SIN is death."
The child of God always sins MORE THAN HE WANTS TO. The new birth changes the inclination of the will but does not provide POWER to accomplish the good it is inclined toward. The will can be dominated by another source within man which is yet unredeemed and by that very character is still dominated by sin. However, the inward man will NEVER be inclined to will to reject Jesus Christ no more than God can as the inward man is CREATED IN TRUE HOLINESS and RIGHEOUSNESS and there can be no inclination to evil by the very nature of that creation.
Not only so but the Indwelling Spirit of God not only supplies the power for this inclination to continue toward goodness but will never allow the complete dominance of indwelling sin as it is the very purpose of the Indwelling Spirit of God to progressively and eventually save what He has regenerated so Paul could say "Being CONFIDENT of this very thing that he which hath begun a work IN YOU shall PERFORM it UNTO THAT DAY."
