THE POSSIBILITY OF A PURE HEART Part 2

The wisdom of the fathers

THE POSSIBILITY OF A PURE HEART? ? Part 2

A second verse is Ecclesiastes 7:20: “For there is not a just man upon earth, that does good, and sins not.” This passage is felt to be very strong by the objectors, and is quoted with smiles of certain triumph. But the seeming strength of the verse arises from an improper translation. No less a Bible critic and scholar than Dr. Adam Clarke calls attention to the fact that the mood in which the verb appears in the original is not made to appear in the King James version, and that the true reading is: “There is not a just man upon earth that does good and may not sin.”?

With this fact we all heartily agree; we firmly believe in the possibility of sinning while in the body on probation. If a good man fell in Eden, a good man may fall outside of Eden, and in his home and in the Church. No well balanced holiness teacher ever says that we cannot sin, but declares instead that while we may sin, yet, thank God, through Christ we need not. “I cannot sin” is a speech that belongs to the fair land and country beyond the grave, while “I can, but do not sin” is an utterance that we are privileged beyond question to utter in this life.?

A third quotation is made from 1. Kings 8:46 and Chronicles 6:36. They are identical. “if they sin against thee (for there is no man that sins not).” The explanation is that there is the same failure to bring out the proper mood, which when done we have the words: “for there is no man that may not sin.”?

A striking confirmation of this meaning is seen in the word “if.” “If they sin” shows that possibly they may not, and anyhow need not. For how silly it would be to say: “if they sin—for there is no man that sins not.” It is seen that the two sentences thus arrayed against each other make an absurd statement. So we are doubly driven to the true rendering, “If they sin against thee (for there is no man that may not sin).”?

(from "The Old Man" by Rev. Carradine)