Do Not Be An Enabler

We do not forgive to release ourselves from a burden. We forgive a repentant offender for the sake of the relationship. If we say we forgive for ourselves we are being self-absorbed. We ought to care more about the offender being cleansed from their sin than our own personal feelings.

We forgive someone who is repentant so that he/she can be restored to fellowship with us and with God. To "just let it go" to make ourselves feel better lacks empathy and concern for the offender whose life might be ruined because they have not learned to confess to God for forgiveness and to us for a restoration of our relationship.

We are to follow God's example with us;

Hebrews 12:5-9

"6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Revelation 3:19 "19 Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent."

Proverbs 13:24

"He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly."

Discipline is a big part of loving others. Without it those who walk disobediently fall deeper and deeper into sin, even to the point of destroying themselves.

Ezekiel 3:18-19

"When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself."

We are to care so much about our Christian brothers and sisters that we are willing to lose them over the truth. If they don't want the truth that will save their life then there is nothing more we can do. Becoming more friendly only solidifies their choice and makes them comfortable with it. Then we become helpers, enablers in their sin.

Ephesians 5:6-8 "…6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,…"

Christ Changes, Christ Keeps and Christ Does all the Work

There are too many people now who think they are earning their way to heaven by following all the rules. They say they are saved by grace through faith in Christ but that they have to work at being good.

We do not work to be good, we work after we have been changed by Christ, this is a big difference. And, Christ does that work in us, we cannot take the credit for the good we do, the credit goes to Christ.

The doctrine of eternal security is not Calvinism. Calvin taught that no one had a choice to be born again, that some people were created to go to hell and some to go to heaven. He was an heretic.

When God changed us in response to our desire to be changed by Him, He made us into something opposite of what we were. We cannot nor do we want to turn back.

Born-again believers do not work at being different they are different, and they no longer think the way they used to think. Christ has changed them entirely from the inside. When Christ changes us we cannot change ourselves back, we are sealed with Christ.

We do not have to think about breathing, we do it without thinking, The same is true about born-again believers, we don't follow rules, because we already love the principles that brought the rules about. That is the mind of Christ Who is the Author of those rules.

We don't have to force ourselves not to steal because we don't want to, in fact, if we accidentally took something without realizing we quickly return it with big apologies. We hate sin and evil because Christ changed our hearts.

There is no need for laws and rules for born-again believers because they love and have the righteousness of Christ.

Galatians 5:22-24

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

When we know Christ in us is what drives us to be what He wants us to be, we never take glory for ourselves.

Ephesians 1:13-14

"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also [c]believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, 14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."

2 Corinthians 5:17

"17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Those who turn back are pretenders who believe they are saved but never trusted Christ.

1 John 2:19-20 " 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us. 20 You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth."

Anyone who thinks they are keeping their own salvation by their goodness is placing the onus of their salvation on themselves, this is salvation by works.

Ephesians 2:8-10 "…8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.…"

We have no part in our own salvation, when we want to trust in Christ He does all the work in us, we have no power to save ourselves either by our works before salvation or after salvation.

Ephesians 1:13-14

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, 14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 2:10

"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

My prayer is that those who think they must be "good enough" to earn heaven will come to trust Christ completely to save them, to keep them saved, to work good works in them and to take them home when He decides.

No Empathy, No Fruit

I am convinced it is not possible to have the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, and self-control while lacking empathy. If there is no empathy there cannot be this fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

When our character is that of Christ Who lives in us it is not possible to lack this fruit, it is the very nature of Who Christ is and He lives in us.

If someone cannot remain living in this fruit, they were never born again. If someone lives a lifestyle of narcissistic traits they do not have the fruit.

1 John 2:19-20 "This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us."

Those who are narcissists grow worse as they grow older because the fruit they seemed to have when they were younger was a disguise, they knew how to please those they wished to impress but could not do it with those they hated.

Those who have genuine fruit that is a part of their being like an arm or a leg, do not think about walking they just do it without thinking. They do not think about using their arms they just do it, because these things are so much a part of who they are they don't even have to ponder using these appendages.

The fruit of the Spirit is so much a part of the born-again believer that they don't have to think about it, it comes naturally like breathing. When something is a part of us we cannot act any other way except in the fruit.

It is foreign for us to do anything other than the fruit. Those who have to try to act like the fruit are fleshly and walk in their own pride.

May we seek the Lord Jesus Christ to become so much like Him that we don't have to think about the right things to do or be, we just do them because they are who we are deep down inside.