Unbelievers always do this, they claim things out of context from the Bible to justify their sin. Another one I have been hearing lately is that we are under the blood and in grace so sin doesn't matter anymore.
Romans 6:1-6 "6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin."
Do not say you love Christ if you minimize His commandments, ignoring them to enjoy your sin.
Romans 12:9
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Do not say you love Christ if you minimize His commandments, ignoring them to enjoy your sin."
If you love Jesus Christ you will care deeply about His commandments, His heart and His will.
John 14:15-16 "15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—…"
If you elevate any man to the degree that you can never see or expose the errors he speaks then you have an idol.
It doesn't take courage to do something you are not afraid of, courage is when we are fearful and we proceed to do what we should in spite of our fear.
Faith is when we believe truth! Faith in faith is no faith at all, its merely an attempt to calm ourselves by pretending things that are not truth.
Faith in Christ is real faith, it is proceeding in God's truth even when it doesn't make sense to us.
Hebrews 11:1 The Triumphs of Faith
11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
If you have no fear then courage is not necessary. Courage is demonstrated when we do that which is frightening to us because we see the greater good and do it in spite of our feelings.
Only moving out with courage can we overcome the fear. The fear is a feeling, it does not go away just because we proceed in spite of it, however we conquer it by proceeding to do what is right anyway.
Many people who divorcee and remarry today give into their fears. They fear not being loved or not having what they want so they bail out of hard things in marriage to find someone else they think will eliminate the fear and replace it with confidence and pleasure. There are many other things like this in life that we must endure to see the greater good.
The courageous ones are those who remain in difficult marriage circumstances when there seems little hope for change. When we love Christ we do not look at circumstances, we continually gaze on the truth of God's Word and obey it in spite of the lack of evidence that things will change. Going through with God shows far more faith than bailing out to save ourselves.
The focus becomes God's will more than our personal comfort. When we place our faith in Him we want to obey Him even if we see no results and even if there might not be any change.
The apostles continued spreading the gospel in spite of all the obstacles and even in spite of persecution and torture to remain faithful to Christ.
Faith in Christ is knowing that He tells the truth and knows what is best. He knows the future and the end of all things, to think we know better than He does is foolishness.
Often we must do the hard things that we don't understand, but in doing them we understand better than if we did not obey. Many people in the Christianize culture do not have a good understanding of what walking in faith looks like because they indulge their whims and justify disobeying God continually.
John 7:38 "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."
1 John 5:5 "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
Romans 10:9 "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Many people who claim to be Christian are using phrases like; "God gave us a brain" as though our thoughts are enough we need not consult with Him. The truth is that our brain is fallen and wicked without Christ. It is only seeking to think with the mind of Christ that we will come up with the right answers.
Romans 5:1-2 "Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory."
1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "…15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment. 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ."
Without Christ our brain is in its fallen state. Those who attempt to figure things out without Christ will fail and miserably. Sadly too many believers think they can by-pass God to make their own decisions and think their own way, only to remain foolish and unproductive because they do not think with His mind.
Hebrews 11:6
"6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."
