Rom 6:21  What fruit then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. ASV

Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. KJV

Rom 6:21  Therefore what fruit did you have then in the things over which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. LITV
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                     COMMENTARY

Fruit!  Now where have I seen that before?

By their fruit you shall know them!  Mat_7:16-20.
What does the Romans 7 guy's fruit look like to you folks? Anybody who tries to get good fruit from that guy is lost!

  Now, my Messiah taught me the following principles that apply to the Christian life,

Mt 7:17  Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.
 18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
 19  Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Mt 12:33  Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

  This is easily seen as an "either/or" principle that can  be applied to the Christian life and the doctrine of Sanctification.
What the Lord Jesus Christ is clearly teaching here is that the "root" is -either- good  -or-  it's corrupt, and the person is producing -either- "good fruit" -or- "evil fruit".  It is the "root" that determines what kind of fruit is produced. The "root" is a reference to one's Character and the "fruit" refers to his Conduct and Jesus says that with reference to both root and fruit, they are -either- one -or- the other. That is to say the root is -either-  good  -or-  it's corrupt,  the result of which the fruit is  -either-  good   -or-  corrupt. But.. and this is the whole point... Neither can be  -both-  at one and the same time.

  The puritanical, false doctrine of Sanctification crumbles under the weight of such a principle because that teaches that a Christian still possesses an evil 'heart' which is the root, or Character, which is corrupt, and that the Conduct, which is the 'fruit',  is "tainted with sin", or sinful. And it is in such a condition that a Christian is supposed to walk in holiness and kill sin. In other words sin and holiness are co-existent  ~At one and the same time~! It doesn't take a degree in rocket science to see that the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ and that of the puritans are two entirely different, and ~Opposite~ principles. And folks..  we're talking -vital- Gospel doctrine here. Hebrews 12:14 informs us that apart from holiness -no- one will see the Lord. Sanctification, therefore, is a -vital- Gospel doctrine and anybody who operates under the influence of a false doctrine of Sanctification cannot possibly be saved! John tells us in 2John 9 that anybody who sins and does not abide in the doctrine of Jesus Christ does not have God, which means he is still lost. This is vital stuff folks. The doctrine of Sanctification is a matter of Life and Death!

  Paul exhorts his readers/hearers to "examine themselves" to see whether or not they are in the faith and Peter concurs with his exhortation to make one's calling and election sure.  One sure way to comply with these exhortations is to see if we are both holding to the Biblical doctrine of Sanctification and are operating according to it.
 
  The Lord Jesus Christ taught an "either/or" while the puritans taught a "both at one and the same time" doctrine of Sanctification and the Christian life. Which one is correct? Which one do -you- hold dear reader?

Romans

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