God will not change those who only want His "stuff." He only changes those who are broken and desire to be changed by Him into a new creation.
When I became saved I fell to my knees in deep sorrow over my sinfulness and never wanted to return to it. Each sinful thought after that was met with conviction and cleansing. I began to develop a love for the Word of God, while desiring the fellowship of godly believers.
Everyone who becomes born again must come to Christ the same way, in deep sorrow over their sinfulness with a desire to be cleansed by Christ. After that there should be a hunger to know God better, a ravenous appetite for the Word of God, wisdom and prayer. There should also be a love for the Brethren that is greater than any love we have for anyone else.
1 John 3:14 "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."
Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
Anyone who comes to God without brokenness over their sinfulness was never born again. If they joined a church club, enjoyed the antics and programs, said the words they were told to say without conviction about them, were merely entering into a superficial dead experience that did not save them. They were given a false security based on feelings and pleasure.
A person who entered the church gathering this way will only dilute the gathering, feeling safe, they will not add to the strength of the worship, unless they learn the true way of salvation and become born again. Without correction and challenge they will remain superficial and even regress as time goes on, they will become weary of the pretense and return to their vomit.
Proverbs 26:11 "As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly."
Those who have been born again through repentance and cleansing by Christ, not only continue with Him, but grow stronger and bolder as time goes on.
Those who are pretenders will become hostile the first time they are confronted, many church goers know this deep in their heart, wanting them to stay, they neglect the test that is necessary to weed out the goats from the sheep. That test being a challenge to everything that is not Biblical.
Pretenders do not love the Brethren, they join he gathering to get for themselves without concern for anyone else in the body. Their main objective is to be accepted as they are, while harming anyone in the body who threatens their elevated view of themselves.
Unfortunately many pretenders are never challenged, they remain in the church gathering to influence weak and new believers.
1 Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."
1 Thessalonians 5;21 "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
Want to discern the character of a pretender? Simply correct them when they bring bad theology or attitudes and watch what comes out, this will give you strong clues. A true believer will welcome a challenge, go home to seek the Word to find the answer while praying. The true believer does not become offended by a challenge because they are only interested in truth, they are not the focus of the challenge, truth is and they desire that.
The pretenders often becomes hostile and vengeful when challenged, even attacking the one who brought truth. Pretenders must maintain their elevated view of themselves through attacks on the believer. Truth is not very important to them, only their appearance, what looks superficially good is all the pretender cares about.
The pretender will run from a challenge and even destroy the reputation of the believer who confronted them, to discredit them. When they have sufficiently managed to polarize believers in the church, they have a sense of victory, they remain in their prideful and sinful stance while glorying over the division they created. They care nothing of the spiritual health of their brothers and sisters, but care deeply about their desire to remain sinful and still be accepted.
It takes time to get to know these people, they tend to hide until they are caught, watch their language, their actions and attitudes, over time it will become evident who the pretender is, they cannot hide or pretend forever, eventually their real selves will emerge, sadly by then, they will have managed to bludgeon and discredit true believers ruining any influence the godly man or woman may have had to help brothers and sisters to grow spiritually.
Most of our churches are in this condition, besides the unBiblical nature of the gathering, there is a large smattering of pretenders who keep the gathering impotent through the fear of offending the pretender.
Pretenders cause trouble, through drama, bad influence on new and baby believers while maligning the reputation of those who are deeply committed to love for God and His principles and commands.
Many godly believers are leaving the organized apostate church because they are feeling a dearth of proper and convicting preaching while spending far too much time rebuking sin and bad theology. I have known several cases where godly loving people were asked to leave a church because the unBiblical leadership refused to hear a correction or rebuke.
Amos 8:11 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:"
The solution: For the pretenders to become born again and for the believers to boldly speak truth and moving on when no one will listen while never neglecting to seek God no matter who comes against us.
I would rather be pleasing to God, than loved by every man.
Proverbs 29:25 "The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted."
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Narcissists Can They Be Saved?
Have you experienced people who treat you with contempt through dismissiveness, ignoring you completely, leaving you out of any plans they make to punish you for some imagined or perceived wrong you have done? Those who would attempt to ruin every good time, just to keep you from being happy or fulfilled, will do this out of jealousy, they cannot tolerate the object of their contempt enjoying themselves, they must destroy their targets happiness any way they can.
Many people are experiencing this form of persecution because they speak the truth boldly and the narcissist just can't stand that someone is not elevating them as they feel they must be admired.
This evil of narcissistic behavior is growing exponentially since the onset of the self esteem teaching. The culture has taught many people to love themselves above everyone else and it has appealed to the basest of all human traits, selfishness.
Those who call a narc to account or disagree with them, about anything, will be their target of hate. They will go out of their way to negate all that their target does, even when there is no reason to, simply to keep, as they see it, the upper position.
Narcissists are people who must be continually elevated by their friends, they cannot stand being in second place in anything. When a friend challenges them on even the slightest matter, the narc will retaliate through various tactics to beat down their target.
If they can get their target to become angry, the narcissist counts himself as having won. If the target refuses to be manipulated and stands his ground the narc will isolate the target from the group or himself, to maintain the superior position.
A narcissist cannot have anyone in their life that does anything better than they do or who will not succumb to their manipulative tactics.
You will find them attempting to "one-up" those in their sphere of influence, if they cannot do it, then they will negate their rival in every way possible. Often triangulating, a term that means to turn others against their target through often subtle forms of manipulation and even blatant disregard for them.
I have had a narcissist tell me to my face that he did not respect me, while convincing another narcissist to follow suite. Simply because I told the truth, stuck to my guns in my stand, the narcissists couldn't tolerate it and began gossiping about me.
He thought that it would intimidate me to tell me his hatred for me. Little do narcs realize that their attempts to destroy their target only works in their own minds, most often all they are able to accomplish is chasing away everyone who will not place themselves under the narcs thumb. The narc has only superficial friends, because anyone who gets close enough to really know them, leaves as soon as they realize what they are dealing with.
Narcs will tell half truths and lies to turn others against us, even though, if they were asked to tell the story of what the problem was, all they could say would be that we had verbally spanked them for something, their reasons are purely selfish, contrived and self glorifying.
Narcissists cannot stand correction, it flies in the face of their need to be superior to others. Narcissists will compete with others for top position even in spiritual matters, desiring to know more while being better educated in their own minds. They believe they are superior, often it is not true, but they must think so to keep their elevated position. They have a child like fragile view of their own self importance, that must be continually stroked.
This is why we see so many narcissists in the pulpits today. Those who think they have something special to offer God often become Bible school educated to flaunt their knowledge as though it makes them more spiritual or superior to others or as though going to Bible college really does make someone wise. There is a vast difference between having knowledge and having wisdom. But knowledge is honored much more highly than wisdom is among the narcissists. Since Bible school was man's concoction in the first place it was bound to eventually go bad.
Appearing better is enough for the narc, they don't have to actually BE better as long as they can convince others that they are, they are satisfied. Given enough time, the narc begins to believe he is better when the facts do not bear it out.
It is impossible to have friendships with a narc, they will not listen long enough to learn anything, believing they already know it all. They make judgements about others without evidence or so little evidence that they couldn't possibly know the truth.
Narcs must have "heroes", they need to be able to identify with other human beings that they think are as highly valued as they value themselves. Without heroes, narcs have no stability from which to draw. They do not trust Christ, because all their trust is in themselves, they do not trust anyone except those who are famous or deeply accomplished, having proven they are worthy of love and respect, but the narc does not love, they only elevate.
Narcs cannot enjoy love in the true sense, the Christ-like love of God, because their love is based on earthly accomplishments and how much the object of their love elevates them personally.
The only solution for the narcissist is to become born again, realizing they are nothing and sinful before a holy God, then and only then can Christ change them. The difficulty is that a narc is so full of themselves, it will take a monstrous disaster that they cannot control to show them their total helplessness. Until they can admit they are worthy of only death in the presence of a holy God, they will not be able to be saved.
No one can come to Christ thinking they have anything to offer, and be saved. It is only when we admit that we are nothing, and are worthy of hell fire, that Christ will save us and change us into a new creation.
I fear that there are far too many people calling themselves Christians who have never been born again, believing they had something special to bring to God, never having been broken over their sin, they plod along stroking their own egos about their elevated self importance, while resisting the truth of their lost estate, chasing off anyone who will challenge them in holiness.
May the Lord open the eyes of these self righteous narcissists, may they be broken over their sinfulness!
Matthew 7:21-23
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Many people are experiencing this form of persecution because they speak the truth boldly and the narcissist just can't stand that someone is not elevating them as they feel they must be admired.
This evil of narcissistic behavior is growing exponentially since the onset of the self esteem teaching. The culture has taught many people to love themselves above everyone else and it has appealed to the basest of all human traits, selfishness.
Those who call a narc to account or disagree with them, about anything, will be their target of hate. They will go out of their way to negate all that their target does, even when there is no reason to, simply to keep, as they see it, the upper position.
Narcissists are people who must be continually elevated by their friends, they cannot stand being in second place in anything. When a friend challenges them on even the slightest matter, the narc will retaliate through various tactics to beat down their target.
If they can get their target to become angry, the narcissist counts himself as having won. If the target refuses to be manipulated and stands his ground the narc will isolate the target from the group or himself, to maintain the superior position.
A narcissist cannot have anyone in their life that does anything better than they do or who will not succumb to their manipulative tactics.
You will find them attempting to "one-up" those in their sphere of influence, if they cannot do it, then they will negate their rival in every way possible. Often triangulating, a term that means to turn others against their target through often subtle forms of manipulation and even blatant disregard for them.
I have had a narcissist tell me to my face that he did not respect me, while convincing another narcissist to follow suite. Simply because I told the truth, stuck to my guns in my stand, the narcissists couldn't tolerate it and began gossiping about me.
He thought that it would intimidate me to tell me his hatred for me. Little do narcs realize that their attempts to destroy their target only works in their own minds, most often all they are able to accomplish is chasing away everyone who will not place themselves under the narcs thumb. The narc has only superficial friends, because anyone who gets close enough to really know them, leaves as soon as they realize what they are dealing with.
Narcs will tell half truths and lies to turn others against us, even though, if they were asked to tell the story of what the problem was, all they could say would be that we had verbally spanked them for something, their reasons are purely selfish, contrived and self glorifying.
Narcissists cannot stand correction, it flies in the face of their need to be superior to others. Narcissists will compete with others for top position even in spiritual matters, desiring to know more while being better educated in their own minds. They believe they are superior, often it is not true, but they must think so to keep their elevated position. They have a child like fragile view of their own self importance, that must be continually stroked.
This is why we see so many narcissists in the pulpits today. Those who think they have something special to offer God often become Bible school educated to flaunt their knowledge as though it makes them more spiritual or superior to others or as though going to Bible college really does make someone wise. There is a vast difference between having knowledge and having wisdom. But knowledge is honored much more highly than wisdom is among the narcissists. Since Bible school was man's concoction in the first place it was bound to eventually go bad.
Appearing better is enough for the narc, they don't have to actually BE better as long as they can convince others that they are, they are satisfied. Given enough time, the narc begins to believe he is better when the facts do not bear it out.
It is impossible to have friendships with a narc, they will not listen long enough to learn anything, believing they already know it all. They make judgements about others without evidence or so little evidence that they couldn't possibly know the truth.
Narcs must have "heroes", they need to be able to identify with other human beings that they think are as highly valued as they value themselves. Without heroes, narcs have no stability from which to draw. They do not trust Christ, because all their trust is in themselves, they do not trust anyone except those who are famous or deeply accomplished, having proven they are worthy of love and respect, but the narc does not love, they only elevate.
Narcs cannot enjoy love in the true sense, the Christ-like love of God, because their love is based on earthly accomplishments and how much the object of their love elevates them personally.
The only solution for the narcissist is to become born again, realizing they are nothing and sinful before a holy God, then and only then can Christ change them. The difficulty is that a narc is so full of themselves, it will take a monstrous disaster that they cannot control to show them their total helplessness. Until they can admit they are worthy of only death in the presence of a holy God, they will not be able to be saved.
No one can come to Christ thinking they have anything to offer, and be saved. It is only when we admit that we are nothing, and are worthy of hell fire, that Christ will save us and change us into a new creation.
I fear that there are far too many people calling themselves Christians who have never been born again, believing they had something special to bring to God, never having been broken over their sin, they plod along stroking their own egos about their elevated self importance, while resisting the truth of their lost estate, chasing off anyone who will challenge them in holiness.
May the Lord open the eyes of these self righteous narcissists, may they be broken over their sinfulness!
Matthew 7:21-23
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Idols are Sinful!
I feel so frustrated over this matter of idols. People just don't want to let go of their idols. I have known little old ladies who say "when I look at that picture of Jesus, it reminds me of my Lord." It makes no sense.
If I put up a picture of a man who is not my husband and called him by my husbands name, he would be offended, because that picture is not a picture of him. He would think I was desiring that man in the picture instead of him.
Those who need a picture to look at to have faith, actually lack faith, they must see to believe.
When we look at a picture of a man designed to represent our Lord, we are misrepresenting Him, because that picture is not actually of Him.
To place a picture on the wall and call it Christ is lying, we know it isn't Him, those who do it want to believe an untruth. Lying is a sin and lack of faith.
When we must have an idol, we lack faith, we must see to believe, exactly what Christ spoke about in His Word.
Acts 17:29 ""Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man."
If I put up a picture of a man who is not my husband and called him by my husbands name, he would be offended, because that picture is not a picture of him. He would think I was desiring that man in the picture instead of him.
Those who need a picture to look at to have faith, actually lack faith, they must see to believe.
When we look at a picture of a man designed to represent our Lord, we are misrepresenting Him, because that picture is not actually of Him.
To place a picture on the wall and call it Christ is lying, we know it isn't Him, those who do it want to believe an untruth. Lying is a sin and lack of faith.
When we must have an idol, we lack faith, we must see to believe, exactly what Christ spoke about in His Word.
Acts 17:29 ""Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man."
"Chick" is Doing it Right!
It is good to question all things and test them by the Word of God and get ministries to clarify their position. I was given a good answer and clarification on the bent of the "Chick" tracts that satisfied my concerns about the charge that they were teaching "Lordship Salvation." I wish Ray Comfort would answer this question too for those who have concerns. At the very least he should change the way he words things, to make sure of what he is teaching.
I am pleased with the explanation I heard concerning "Chick" publications.
It is important to question all preachers and publications in terms of the Scriptures. Just because something sounds good, does not necessarily make it right and we should never elevate any man or ministry to the status of god, they are all men who develop these things and should be challenged from time to time to keep them on their toes.
If we cannot question or challenge a man or ministry because we have them on a plain with God, then we have an idol.
Every ministry or man should welcome challenges and desire clarifications, it opens the door to good communication and squelches any rumors or even genuine concerns.
I am pleased with the explanation I heard concerning "Chick" publications.
It is important to question all preachers and publications in terms of the Scriptures. Just because something sounds good, does not necessarily make it right and we should never elevate any man or ministry to the status of god, they are all men who develop these things and should be challenged from time to time to keep them on their toes.
If we cannot question or challenge a man or ministry because we have them on a plain with God, then we have an idol.
Every ministry or man should welcome challenges and desire clarifications, it opens the door to good communication and squelches any rumors or even genuine concerns.
The video link answers the question of "Chick" publications and Lordship Salvation, thankfully it does not teach that at all.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Fear of the Food!
I am so tired of the health craze, my father smoked for 40 years, quit for his health, ate white bread, bacon and normal food and lived to be 90. I reject the notion that "food" has very much to do with health or length of life.
The health industry told us eggs were bad because of cholesterol when in fact they have both kinds and are very good for us. I lowered my cholesterol by eating lots of eggs. My father stopped eating eggs and had to be on cholesterol meds in his old age. My contention is that, if he had just eaten eggs he could have lowered it without meds.
The health industry told us that we needed more grains and now people are having bowel problems because our intestines are not designed to handle that much roughage. Now we are going back to white bread, it was good all along.
Eat the way you please, but I would challenge everyone to ask God what the truth is about food, since most of our information is coming from godless natural food proponents who live in fear of the environment, earth worshipers, who do not trust Christ.
As believers we can trust Him to bless the food to our bodies, we don't have to live in fear that the food is perfect, but we can trust that God will take care of us.
The health industry told us eggs were bad because of cholesterol when in fact they have both kinds and are very good for us. I lowered my cholesterol by eating lots of eggs. My father stopped eating eggs and had to be on cholesterol meds in his old age. My contention is that, if he had just eaten eggs he could have lowered it without meds.
The health industry told us that we needed more grains and now people are having bowel problems because our intestines are not designed to handle that much roughage. Now we are going back to white bread, it was good all along.
Eat the way you please, but I would challenge everyone to ask God what the truth is about food, since most of our information is coming from godless natural food proponents who live in fear of the environment, earth worshipers, who do not trust Christ.
As believers we can trust Him to bless the food to our bodies, we don't have to live in fear that the food is perfect, but we can trust that God will take care of us.
Christ is the Only Way!!!! We are Nothing!
Romans 10:9-11
"9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."
When we believe and God changes us into a new creation, our desires completely change. The sin we used to love we now hate and the righteousness we used to have contempt for, we now love.
2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
Psalm 97:10
"Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked."
We do not have to be commanded to hate evil when we become born again, we automatically hate it through our new nature that is controlled by Christ. We can still sin, but we are grieved when we do, the Holy Spirit within us causes us grief when we disobey God. That sin is of the flesh not of the Spirit. Our flesh is still dead and we must battle it continually, the more we battle the flesh, the greater God works in our life and the less the struggle becomes.
Galatians 5:17-25
"17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[a] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Those who walk with God and have been changed will fall occasionally but they will not practice a lifestyle of sinfulness and they will grow in holiness, every sin they confess will be cleansed from them.
Ephesians 4:30
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
When we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, because we belong to Christ, He pleads for us to the Father.
1 John 2:1
"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;"
God was speaking to believers in 1 John, non-believers do not have an advocate with the Father, they are at the mercy of the devil.
No child of God will continue in sin, the Holy Spirit will bring grief and torment to our soul until we confess it and ask for cleansing.
1 John 5:18
"We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him."
If someone keeps on sinning, defends their sin and is hostile to the Word of God, even though they call themselves "Christian", could not have ever been born again, they have only played the role in the flesh because there is no conviction of sin. These people are pretenders, those who want the protection of God without loving Him. Often the motivation for these pretenders is the safety of the church gathering and companionship, as soon as they are challenged about their sin, they will run away or they will become born again from the challenge.
Matthews 15:8
"'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME."
God assures us in His Word that when we believe He does all the rest of the work of saving, changing and keeping us until He comes for us. He also warns those who think they can pretend to believe without any desire to love or obey God, that those who do this have never been born again. God will not save someone who merely wants to use God to get out of trouble. He will save only those who have been broken over their sinfulness and desire to be changed by Christ. When we have been changed, we fall in love with Christ, He is what we think about continually, every action is measured by His desires and principles.
Matthew 7:21-23
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Lawlessness is in the heart, even someone who seems to do and say all the right things can be a candidate for the fires of hell, because they didn't want to be changed, they only wanted to appear good to others, they never believed in Christ for saving grace, they thought they could gain heaven on their own merits. They are even proud of their good deeds never giving Christ the glory for them because their life is not about Christ, but about self.
It is only possible to gain heaven through the spilt blood of Christ covering our sin, His sacrifice alone saves.
Ephesians 2:1-10
"1 You were dead in your transgressions and sins
2 in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.
3 All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
9 it is not from works, so no one may boast.
10 For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them."
Our good deeds will not save us, only trusting Christ and what He did on our behalf will save us, then He cleanses us and keeps us until He comes for us.
Anyone who is working to gain salvation or working to keep it, cannot be born again, they must learn to place their trust in Christ alone, knowing their efforts are nothing in the sight of God.
"9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."
When we believe and God changes us into a new creation, our desires completely change. The sin we used to love we now hate and the righteousness we used to have contempt for, we now love.
2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
Psalm 97:10
"Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked."
We do not have to be commanded to hate evil when we become born again, we automatically hate it through our new nature that is controlled by Christ. We can still sin, but we are grieved when we do, the Holy Spirit within us causes us grief when we disobey God. That sin is of the flesh not of the Spirit. Our flesh is still dead and we must battle it continually, the more we battle the flesh, the greater God works in our life and the less the struggle becomes.
Galatians 5:17-25
"17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[a] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Those who walk with God and have been changed will fall occasionally but they will not practice a lifestyle of sinfulness and they will grow in holiness, every sin they confess will be cleansed from them.
Ephesians 4:30
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
When we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, because we belong to Christ, He pleads for us to the Father.
1 John 2:1
"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;"
God was speaking to believers in 1 John, non-believers do not have an advocate with the Father, they are at the mercy of the devil.
No child of God will continue in sin, the Holy Spirit will bring grief and torment to our soul until we confess it and ask for cleansing.
1 John 5:18
"We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him."
If someone keeps on sinning, defends their sin and is hostile to the Word of God, even though they call themselves "Christian", could not have ever been born again, they have only played the role in the flesh because there is no conviction of sin. These people are pretenders, those who want the protection of God without loving Him. Often the motivation for these pretenders is the safety of the church gathering and companionship, as soon as they are challenged about their sin, they will run away or they will become born again from the challenge.
Matthews 15:8
"'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME."
God assures us in His Word that when we believe He does all the rest of the work of saving, changing and keeping us until He comes for us. He also warns those who think they can pretend to believe without any desire to love or obey God, that those who do this have never been born again. God will not save someone who merely wants to use God to get out of trouble. He will save only those who have been broken over their sinfulness and desire to be changed by Christ. When we have been changed, we fall in love with Christ, He is what we think about continually, every action is measured by His desires and principles.
Matthew 7:21-23
"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Lawlessness is in the heart, even someone who seems to do and say all the right things can be a candidate for the fires of hell, because they didn't want to be changed, they only wanted to appear good to others, they never believed in Christ for saving grace, they thought they could gain heaven on their own merits. They are even proud of their good deeds never giving Christ the glory for them because their life is not about Christ, but about self.
It is only possible to gain heaven through the spilt blood of Christ covering our sin, His sacrifice alone saves.
Ephesians 2:1-10
"1 You were dead in your transgressions and sins
2 in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.
3 All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
9 it is not from works, so no one may boast.
10 For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them."
Our good deeds will not save us, only trusting Christ and what He did on our behalf will save us, then He cleanses us and keeps us until He comes for us.
Anyone who is working to gain salvation or working to keep it, cannot be born again, they must learn to place their trust in Christ alone, knowing their efforts are nothing in the sight of God.
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