There are those who are barely saved who have promptings from the Holy Spirit and ignore them.
1 Corinthians 3:15 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
"19 Do not quench the Spirit, 20 do not utterly reject prophecies, 21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, 22 abstain from every [b]form of evil."
God gave us commands such as these because He knows we are trapped in this body of flesh and must fight against that flesh to walk in the Spirit.
The more we confess the sin as it becomes a thought the less we sin outwardly. However God calls it sin when it is merely a through pondered too long even if it never becomes an action.
The longer we ignore the sin in our hearts the more likely it is to become outward action.
Romans 12:1-3 "1Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.…"
Galatians 5:16-18 "16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.…"
1 Corinthians 3:14-16 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
No one is free from sin as long as they remain in their bodies, however, we are not likely to act out the sin in our hearts if we confess it when it is still just a thought or temptation.
Temptations are not sins, but if we ponder that temptation wishing we could lean into it, it is no longer a temptation but moves into the realm of sin of the heart.
One does not have to "do" something on the outside to be in sin. As long as someone is harboring jealousy in their heart, they are guilty of that sin or any other sin they desire in their heart.
Matthew 9:4
"And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?"
Proverbs 23:7
"7 For as he [a]thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But his heart is not with you."
There are times when someone will do a good deed for you but something feels off, as though the deed was not authentic. This is because we can sense the heart of someone at times, whether genuine or manipulative.
Matthew 5:28 "
but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
God says that committing adultery in the heart is no different from committing adultery in actions. They are the same because God is looking at the heart first. Adultery begins in the heart before it becomes an action.
The same is true of desiring someone else's possessions or being jealous of them, the jealousy can be seen at times, but there can be jealousy in the heart that no one can see.
All of us battle things in our hearts, if there is no battle then the person not battling has given into their sin of the heart. We can hide from people to some degree but we can never hide from God.
How do we battle the sins of the heart or the temptations sent to us by our own flesh and the devil?
Its not hard if we are not lazy. We battle the temptations that fly into our minds by praying immediately that we reject that thought. If we know the Bible well we will know immediately when something is a sin and battle it immediately.
This is why God told us in 1 John 1:9 to confess each thing, sins of the heart to God and outward sins against others to them. In the case of confessing to God we do it to be cleansed by Him. confessing our sin to the person we have harmed we cleanse a relationship if they are willing to forgive because of our confession.
I am convinced that the reason so many people do not want to expect repentance from others to be forgiven is that they themselves do not want to do the hard work of confessing their own sins. They want others to just shrug their shoulders and forget what they have done and then call it forgiveness.
Confessing sin to God and to others is the cleaner that renews a person to right relationships. Without confession there is no cleansing and the sin has not been dealt with, it will continue at a later date and eventually become a habit. Once the habit takes hold it is unlikely that the person who sins will ever admit the sin to be cleansed, often they grow worse and more hardened with age.
Ephesians 4:18
"They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart."
Hardness of heart is the worst of all conditions, it sends people to hell for the unbeliever and it restricts and diminishes growth in the born-again believer.
For the born-again believer, there is discipline coming from a hardened heart. God will not allow a believer to remain hardened without serious consequences.
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
A born-again believer will not get away with a lifestyle of sin without the consequences of discipline from God. That discipline might be the natural consequences of sin or possibly His direct hand upon them in some way to cause repentance.
No one "gets one over on God." He sees all things, He is patient but not forever.
Romans 2:3-5 "…3 So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.…"
Those who fight against the flesh will see forgiveness and progress in their growth toward holiness. Those who do not fight against the flesh will see the Holy Spirit go silent so there will be no instruction from Him. God will not instruct or help someone who is resisting His promptings.
Ephesians 4:29-31 "…29 Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.…"
If we want to walk in holiness and sweet communion with Christ we must be willing to be chastised by Him as well as confessing when we discover we have sinned in our heart against Him.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
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