I think it is very relevant indeed. I have been stating that the only way a person can be made righteous in Gods sight is if they have their righteousness given to them by God.
You have been stating that a person can be righteous without practicing righteousness. You have said dozens of things, and I could chase you all over the Bible while you jump from any one of those things to another without ever answering anything.
I want to address only one thing you said. You said that a person can be righteous in God's sight without practicing righteousness. Then you are quoting 1 Jn 3:9, which says that a person born of God does not commit sin, as though this somehow supports you instead of flatly contradicting you. Completely bizarre.
You even say, "And if they do then good works (pleasing to God that is) follow as a matter of course."
Great, then let's see them follow, because only the person who practices righteousness is righteous in God's sight. That's what 1 Jn 3:7 says. The source of those good works has nothing at all to do with whether they have to be there to be righteous in God's sight.
It is utter nonsense to say that good works will happen as a matter of course, and then to deny that those good works are possible as you have. Craziness! At that point, no discussion is happening. That's some sort of babbling or something.
I pointed out to you that you only have to go to verse 9, which says "whoever is born of God...cannot commit sin". It is being born of God that puts a stop to sin here. Thus, a flat contradiction only two verses on - it would appear. Which is it: you trying to do it or God ensuring you don't do it.
What in the world are you talking about??? What sort of sane person would find any sort of apparent contradiction between 1 Jn 3:7 and 3:9? One says that the person who practices righteousness in righteous just as Christ is righteous, and the other says that the person born of God cannot commit sin. They absolutely agree.
Which is it: you trying to do it or God ensuring you don't do it.
I don't know who you're talking to, or why you think this has anything to do with what we're talking about. Maybe you've just got yourself into so many discussions you can't keep them all straight, but nothing you wrote makes any sense at all.
You said that a person could be righteous in God's sight without practicing righteousness. Now that contradicts 1 Jn 3:7, but 1 Jn 3:9 doesn't.
You said that it's impossible for a person to practice 1 Jn 3:7, which is weird for a person who claims to believe the Bible. But worse, you are somehow suggesting that 1 Jn 3:9 has something to do with making it impossible.
You're holding discussions with other people about trying, but you're not holding any discussion about trying with me. I'll give you, as I said in your last post, your idea that God is totally the source without a person's trying (bizarre of an idea as that is, I'll give it to you).
Trying or not trying, the person who is righteous in God's sight is the one who practices righteousness. That's what is says, and 1 Jn 3:9 completely backs this up.
You have got to be the only person in the whole earth who finds an apparent contradiction in those two verses unless there's someone else who's gotten tangled in theological web you're apparently tangled in.
This isn't rocket science. This isn't difficult. This isn't deep interpretation.
And again, trying has nothing to do with what we're talking about here, which is the assertion you made that a person can be righteous in God's sight without practicing righteousness (and worse, that this is impossible!!!)
And John says in verse 9 that a person who is a child of God cannot sin. Are you trying to tell me that you never, ever sin Truthlover. I don't mean tryin' now. I mean, you cannot sin.
Can or can't here is irrelevant. Either only a person who practices righteousness is righteous, as 1 Jn 3:7 says, or 1 Jn 3:7 is wrong or nonsense.
If you want to take 1 Jn 3:9 to mean that a person born of God cannot commit even one sin, go ahead. Then you'll be right, even according to John (1:8-10), that this isn't true for anyone. But you still won't have contradicted 1 Jn 3:7 or produced a good reason to ignore it or disagree with it.
I don't think 1 Jn 3:9 says that a person born of God cannot commit even one sin. Most translators agree with me on this ("the person born of God cannot continue sinning" fits the Greek present tense better), but even if they didn't, you have produced no good reason to disagree with 1 Jn 3:7, which I still say ought to have "duh!" at the end of it.
As for you Gospel at the end, we could chase each other all over the Bible, and I'm confident I could force you to have to explain away dozens of verses, which would make your position look terrible. But that's just a big mess. Let's stick to the one point. Can a person who does not practice righteousness be righteous in God's sight.
John says no, and there's nothing in 1 Jn 3:9 that remotely contradicts that.
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