NOTABLE SCRIPTURAL CORRECTIONS
HOLY BIBLE:  ANCIENT PATHS VERSION (APV)

ROMANS 6:22
Salvation by Justification vs Justification and Sanctification

Romans 6:22 in the New King James Version reads, “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

The Scriptures teach that salvation is achieved in two steps, “justification” and “sanctification.”

Justification, the first step, is a one-time act of accepting Messiah Yeshua as Savior through faith alone (Rom. 3:28; Eph. 2:8-9) by having our past sins forgiven (Rom. 5:1; 3:24; 4:24-25; Titus 3:7; etc.). Sanctification, the second step, is a lifelong process of remaining faithful through the combination of faith and works, i.e. Torah observance (James 2:24), and overcoming sin to the end (Matt. 10:22; Matt. 24:13; Mark 13:13; Rev. 2:26), when we receive salvation (Rom. 6:22; 1 Thess. 4:1-10; 1 Cor. 1:2; etc.).

Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13; Gal. 2:1-10) and it was in this capacity that he was addressing the new Roman converts to the faith. In his letter to them, he explains the two-step process of salvation. In Romans 5:1, He addressed the first step of salvation, justification. He said, Having been therefore justified by faith, we have peace with Elohim through our Lord Yeshua Messiah….” Then, in Romans 6:22, he addressed the second step of salvation, sanctification. He said, “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” This is not a correct translation, as the translators have Paul telling the converts that they had already achieved sanctification and eternal life.

The key to understanding this discrepancy is to understand that the KJV translators translated this verse according to their preconceived doctrine. They added the pronoun “you” to the text in order to conflate the one-time act of justification with the life-long process of sanctification in an attempt to do away with the requirement to keep Torah and to overcome to the end. The fact is that after the act of justification, we are indeed required to keep the Torah with the help of the holy spirit. Thus, this verse is correctly translated, “But now, having been set free from sin, and having become servants of Elohim, have your fruit of sanctification, and its end, eternal life.”

Thus, rather than telling the Romans that they had already achieved sanctification, the Apostle Paul was encouraging them to achieve salvation. This is how this verse is translated in this version.

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