God never says to forgive ourselves, there is no scripture to support that.
If we confess our sin and can't get over it, as though they are not forgiven, then it is the same as not believing God who said that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin if we confess it. So not to accept God's forgiveness, not to believe Him is a sin too.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The devil will continue from time to time, using the mouths of unbelievers, to accuse us of what God has forgotten, we must fight that with scripture and prayer.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
How Does God Rate In Your Life?
1 John 3:4-10
New King James Version (NKJV)
Sin and the Child of God
"4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
The Imperative of Love
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."
[David Levy said these things:
"The word commit does not refer to one sin committed at a particular time but to an ongoing lifestyle of sin."
"Although John said a saved person "does not sin," he was not teaching that believers can attain sinless perfection, not at all."
"Rather, John was saying true Christians do not willfully rebel against God by habitually practicing sin."]
Knowing Who God is and even saying we believe in Him does not cause us to be born again. God knows the heart of every person, He can see if someone is broken in their heart over their sinfulness or if they are merely voicing mantras to get something out of Him.
Ritual is the biggest killer of relationships. When we do things to manipulate others to like us, or provide something for us, we are not sincere in our kind acts toward them, our good deeds are about us not about the person we serve, even if God is the person we think we can manipulate. God sees all of it, He knows when we have been broken and desire to be changed by Him or if we are just seeking safety from the world.
John 3:10 is a test showing who is the true believer and who is not.
"10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."
We meet many people these days who call themselves Christians but conspicuously absent from our senses when in their company, is love. Their love seems to be based on what you can offer them. Enhancing the non-believer in some way is the expression of our narcissistic culture.
This is also the reason we see so many overly sensitive personalities who are easily offended by the slightest correction or rebuke. Those who are born again want to be a blessing to others, they are others oriented continually. They show hospitality for the purpose of blessing others. They are willing to give up their own personal comfort to enhance the comfort of a brother or sister in Christ.
When a true believer is rebuked, they want to know if it is justified and if it is they are not defensive, but ashamed. If it is not justified then they are not defensive for that either, but trust that Christ has their back.
This is the reason, I am convinced, that we see so much cliquiness in the churches today. Many people hang with those that make them feel good about themselves. The true believer hangs with those who desire holiness even if it exposes them at times, making them weep over their own lives.
Believers who have been changed into a new creation by Christ are more concerned about what God thinks of them, than what people think and they are more concerned about spiritual growth than they are about appearances.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Sin and the Child of God
"4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
The Imperative of Love
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."
[David Levy said these things:
"The word commit does not refer to one sin committed at a particular time but to an ongoing lifestyle of sin."
"Although John said a saved person "does not sin," he was not teaching that believers can attain sinless perfection, not at all."
"Rather, John was saying true Christians do not willfully rebel against God by habitually practicing sin."]
Knowing Who God is and even saying we believe in Him does not cause us to be born again. God knows the heart of every person, He can see if someone is broken in their heart over their sinfulness or if they are merely voicing mantras to get something out of Him.
Ritual is the biggest killer of relationships. When we do things to manipulate others to like us, or provide something for us, we are not sincere in our kind acts toward them, our good deeds are about us not about the person we serve, even if God is the person we think we can manipulate. God sees all of it, He knows when we have been broken and desire to be changed by Him or if we are just seeking safety from the world.
John 3:10 is a test showing who is the true believer and who is not.
"10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."
We meet many people these days who call themselves Christians but conspicuously absent from our senses when in their company, is love. Their love seems to be based on what you can offer them. Enhancing the non-believer in some way is the expression of our narcissistic culture.
This is also the reason we see so many overly sensitive personalities who are easily offended by the slightest correction or rebuke. Those who are born again want to be a blessing to others, they are others oriented continually. They show hospitality for the purpose of blessing others. They are willing to give up their own personal comfort to enhance the comfort of a brother or sister in Christ.
When a true believer is rebuked, they want to know if it is justified and if it is they are not defensive, but ashamed. If it is not justified then they are not defensive for that either, but trust that Christ has their back.
This is the reason, I am convinced, that we see so much cliquiness in the churches today. Many people hang with those that make them feel good about themselves. The true believer hangs with those who desire holiness even if it exposes them at times, making them weep over their own lives.
Believers who have been changed into a new creation by Christ are more concerned about what God thinks of them, than what people think and they are more concerned about spiritual growth than they are about appearances.
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