I have tried to stay away from too much discussion about politics here because it is an issue that brings conflict over something that has nothing to do with Christ or salvation.
But I feel a need to say a few things. Please do not come and try to convince me of anything other than what I am saying here. I have had far too much experience with narcissism and pretenders to be swayed this late in the game.
Here goes:
So many Christians are not seeing the narcissistic traits that prove the malintent of the presidential candidates. Malintent meaning "malitious" intent. There is a hidden agenda not at all what the Christians are expecting. Because they do not see the subtle signs, that are not nearly as subtle as they might be, they are being sucked in by their own hope and emotion.
Words do not express the truth in any candidate. They are well versed in saying whatever is needed to accomplish their goal, that being, power over others. I do not hear any candidate expressing a serious and deep desire to do the will of the people or showing a concern for the welfare of the masses. What little they do display is phony and diluted.
What we have in this election, are two people deeply vested in pursuing power and wealth their entire lives. They have drunk the wine of prestige and influence early on in their careers, deeply entangled in the web of trickery to gain their objectives.
No one who has lived their entire lives entrenched in this lifestyle will change their spots, just because they are in the public eye. They do however become very adept at manipulation, rhetoric and even intimidation to gain what they seek. Televangelists use these same tactics and methods to secure their position and affluence.
Bottom line!!!!! Things are not at all what they seem! Do not allow emotions and hope to blind you to truth. Go ahead and do as you are led by Christ while not allowing anyone to dissuade you from obedience to Him. However, and this is a big "however", do not place your trust in anyone or anything except Christ.
When our country falls, as I believe it will, no matter what happens in the election, the believers who have trusted Christ not only for salvation but also for everything else, will not be moved. They will not whine or cry over the outcome, they will not become discouraged, nor will they relent from their appointed task, that is to carry on as led by the Holy Spirit.
We are not in this world to be entertained, comfortable or pursuing happiness as we have been taught all our lives. We are here to spread the Gospel and grow in holiness while serving those Christ has sent to be a part of our lives.
Galatians 3:6-9 "6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith."
It is Israel that will be blessed and protected, no other nation can own this but Israel.
Our faith and trust is in Christ alone, for every thing!
Sunday, August 28, 2016
The Thought Police Ride Again
For a few years now, from time to time, my husband and I have gone to breakfast at a local omelet restaurant a few minutes from our house. They make the best omelet and bacon in town from our perspective, along with very pleasant and welcoming waitresses.
On the kitchen door behind the cashier of that restaurant was a sign that read something like this; "Don't let these smiling faces fool you, these are mean vicious women."
Every time I saw that sign I laughed and enjoyed the sense of humor and the waitresses there thought it was funny too. We knew it was a joke because it was the opposite of truth, everyone enjoyed the little splash of humor.
Sadly political correctness set in recently and the sign was removed. I suppose the word "women" is no longer tolerable as well as a joke that teased a particular gender.
I find it very sad that all resemblance of personality is being removed as though we are all suppose to walk around like programmed robots saying and doing the perfect thing, so as not to offend the bratty and self righteous hyper-sensitive thought police.
We are encountering more and more chaos, egg shell walking and intimidation than I have ever seen in my life time. I notice too that people are less happy and almost completely devoid of joy because of this overreach of power to control our personalities, our thoughts and our expressions.
Becoming weary, of the few that manipulate and intimidate the masses while they do whatever they want I have lost any concern about expressing myself as have a few others. These bastions of self righteousness in the form of "thought police", do not place such restraints on themselves in their personal expressions but demand others do as they say or suffer for their independence.
On the kitchen door behind the cashier of that restaurant was a sign that read something like this; "Don't let these smiling faces fool you, these are mean vicious women."
Every time I saw that sign I laughed and enjoyed the sense of humor and the waitresses there thought it was funny too. We knew it was a joke because it was the opposite of truth, everyone enjoyed the little splash of humor.
Sadly political correctness set in recently and the sign was removed. I suppose the word "women" is no longer tolerable as well as a joke that teased a particular gender.
I find it very sad that all resemblance of personality is being removed as though we are all suppose to walk around like programmed robots saying and doing the perfect thing, so as not to offend the bratty and self righteous hyper-sensitive thought police.
We are encountering more and more chaos, egg shell walking and intimidation than I have ever seen in my life time. I notice too that people are less happy and almost completely devoid of joy because of this overreach of power to control our personalities, our thoughts and our expressions.
Becoming weary, of the few that manipulate and intimidate the masses while they do whatever they want I have lost any concern about expressing myself as have a few others. These bastions of self righteousness in the form of "thought police", do not place such restraints on themselves in their personal expressions but demand others do as they say or suffer for their independence.
Proverbs 28:1 "1The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, But the righteous are boldas a lion."
Cultural Christianity Run Amuck!
The End of Comfortable Christianity by Bill Muehlenberg
Aug 26, 2016
"Let’s face it: believers in the West have had a dream run up until recently. It has been easy street, big time. Christians and non-Christians pretty much lived together conflict-free, and often one was not all that distinguishable from the other."
"In fact, for many, what they thought was Christianity was simply cultural Christianity. Everyone more or less believed in God, believed in Jesus, acknowledged the reality of sin, and so on. Most people gave mental assent to the Christian religion, and many went to church each week believing this was the thing to do."
"How many of these folks were actual regenerate believers is another matter of course. But the stroll through the park is now coming to an end. As things really do start to heat up, with anti-Christian bigotry and persecution now becoming the norm in the West, it is no longer a free ride for believers."
Aug 26, 2016
"Let’s face it: believers in the West have had a dream run up until recently. It has been easy street, big time. Christians and non-Christians pretty much lived together conflict-free, and often one was not all that distinguishable from the other."
"In fact, for many, what they thought was Christianity was simply cultural Christianity. Everyone more or less believed in God, believed in Jesus, acknowledged the reality of sin, and so on. Most people gave mental assent to the Christian religion, and many went to church each week believing this was the thing to do."
"How many of these folks were actual regenerate believers is another matter of course. But the stroll through the park is now coming to an end. As things really do start to heat up, with anti-Christian bigotry and persecution now becoming the norm in the West, it is no longer a free ride for believers."
Friday, August 26, 2016
Irrational Derangement Prevails
O.K. it is official, the world has become insane almost completely. The New York City Commission on Human Rights has declared that there are 31 genders. LOL, LOL, LOL!!!!!!
Facebook in England has declared 71 genders.
In the town I grew up in, Gresham Oregon, there was a teacher who teaches elementary school who sued the school district because her fellow teachers would not call her "they."
She was awarded $60,000 by the school district for emotional distress.
If I were principle of that school I would have her detained for mental instability and charged with cruelty and child abuse on behalf of her students.
When I was growing up in that sleepy little town it had a population of 7,000 people. Today it is over 100,000 and growing. How did this happen? How could a tiny little farm community turn into a Sodom and Gomorroah in only one generation?
I think that teacher saw an opportunity to cash in on all this hoopla about gender and ran with it. She knew because she was in the teachers union she would never be fired and that in the present climate of fear, she would be guaranteed to come out like a bandit in a civil suit against the school district.
Sadly the school district caved, allowing the probability of many more such actions of insanity to continue and grow. When fear drives those in power, we can expect total chaos.
40 years ago we expected immorality to grow in these end times, but never did we expect the irrational mental derangement that is occurring now.
Maranatha! May the Lord come quickly!
Facebook in England has declared 71 genders.
In the town I grew up in, Gresham Oregon, there was a teacher who teaches elementary school who sued the school district because her fellow teachers would not call her "they."
She was awarded $60,000 by the school district for emotional distress.
If I were principle of that school I would have her detained for mental instability and charged with cruelty and child abuse on behalf of her students.
When I was growing up in that sleepy little town it had a population of 7,000 people. Today it is over 100,000 and growing. How did this happen? How could a tiny little farm community turn into a Sodom and Gomorroah in only one generation?
I think that teacher saw an opportunity to cash in on all this hoopla about gender and ran with it. She knew because she was in the teachers union she would never be fired and that in the present climate of fear, she would be guaranteed to come out like a bandit in a civil suit against the school district.
Sadly the school district caved, allowing the probability of many more such actions of insanity to continue and grow. When fear drives those in power, we can expect total chaos.
40 years ago we expected immorality to grow in these end times, but never did we expect the irrational mental derangement that is occurring now.
Maranatha! May the Lord come quickly!
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Trump and Hillary are no Different
I am not a Democrat, but this is absolutely true. It is time for America to stop placing their trust in a man and begin to obey Christ in sharing the gospel.
Matthew 7:1-5 "“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
James 7:24 "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Many people are judging Trump as the savior of America without using righteous judgement, they are judging him good by appearances and words alone, but only listening to the words they like while ignoring the other words he says that don't show consistency.
In other words Trump and Clinton are liars through and through. This nation may think Trump is better than Hillary, but I suggest to you that he is no better. They are both liars, con artists and manipulators.
Watch the video to prove the point!
https://www.facebook.com/TheDemocraticCoalition/videos/496910710512309/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED
Christ Changes Us!
The entire matter is this; When we God changes us into a new creation we are completely changed by Christ, we do not change ourselves. The old things are gone and we are all new. Christ comes to live in us and has said that we are "sealed" with His Holy Spirit of Promise as a Guarantee of our inheritance.
Then the Father treats us like sons, when sons disobey they are disciplined. 1 John 1:9 was written to believers, we have an advocate with the Father. Why do we need an advocate? Because we are sinful creatures, Christ had to die to cover our sin and our sin is accounted to what He did for us. When we disobey God we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. Only those who belong to Christ have an advocate, the unsaved do not have this.
1 John 2:1-2 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours alone, but also for the sins of the whole world.…"
There is no good humanly speaking that we could do to keep what we did not earn. We made the initial choice to trust Christ's sacrifice for us and then He responded with love and changed us, lives in us and keeps us until He comes for us.
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, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.…"
The sacrifice on the cross would have been silly if we had to try to be good to earn any measure of salvation or to keep what we did not earn. We would have to die ourselves but that wouldn't work because only a perfect sinless man could do that and that was Christ the Lord.
We do have a choice to walk away, but we don't want to, our heart has been changed into something entirely different from what it was before. Our Spirit is now that of Christ's but we are trapped in this body of Sin that we must battle with continually until we are taken out of this world.
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 "…16 So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:…"
Since we regard no one according to the flesh any more we do not look at their sinfulness but at Christ. Every born again believer has fruit from the Holy Spirit that changes the way they think and live, but they still battle that old man flesh.
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 one another, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.…"
Ephesians 1:12-14 "…12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. 13 And in Him you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, having heard and believed the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. 14 The Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.…"
Hebrews 12:6-8 "…6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.…"
Christians can act very badly, they will have consequences in this life and lost rewards in the next but they remain born again.
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 one being snatched from the fire. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
In these last days of rebellion it is difficult to tell the difference as to who is born again and who is not. If we see someone walking contrary to Christ then we need to ask them to go and pray to ask God if they have ever been born again. If they are convinced they are saved then we need to obey God and avoid them to help them to see the seriousness of ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 5:21-13 "5 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 [a]You have become [b]arrogant and [c]have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.
3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and [d]I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord [e]Jesus.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?
13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves."
God never said that the one in the church acting immorally was not a brother in Christ. He called Him a brother, and the purpose of discipline, God's discipline and man's for the brother is to bring him back into obedience. No one comes back into "salvation", but we can be brought back into obedience through discipline, man's and God's.
Galatians 6:1 "1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ.…"
Hebrews 12:6 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
It makes no sense that we could hop back and forth into and out of salvation, that would mean that Christ never changed us into a new creation, as He said He did.
Ephesians 2:9-11 "…9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. 11 Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—…"
Then the Father treats us like sons, when sons disobey they are disciplined. 1 John 1:9 was written to believers, we have an advocate with the Father. Why do we need an advocate? Because we are sinful creatures, Christ had to die to cover our sin and our sin is accounted to what He did for us. When we disobey God we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. Only those who belong to Christ have an advocate, the unsaved do not have this.
1 John 2:1-2 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours alone, but also for the sins of the whole world.…"
There is no good humanly speaking that we could do to keep what we did not earn. We made the initial choice to trust Christ's sacrifice for us and then He responded with love and changed us, lives in us and keeps us until He comes for us.
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, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.…"
The sacrifice on the cross would have been silly if we had to try to be good to earn any measure of salvation or to keep what we did not earn. We would have to die ourselves but that wouldn't work because only a perfect sinless man could do that and that was Christ the Lord.
We do have a choice to walk away, but we don't want to, our heart has been changed into something entirely different from what it was before. Our Spirit is now that of Christ's but we are trapped in this body of Sin that we must battle with continually until we are taken out of this world.
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 "…16 So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:…"
Since we regard no one according to the flesh any more we do not look at their sinfulness but at Christ. Every born again believer has fruit from the Holy Spirit that changes the way they think and live, but they still battle that old man flesh.
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 one another, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.…"
Ephesians 1:12-14 "…12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. 13 And in Him you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, having heard and believed the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. 14 The Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.…"
Hebrews 12:6-8 "…6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.…"
Christians can act very badly, they will have consequences in this life and lost rewards in the next but they remain born again.
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 one being snatched from the fire. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
In these last days of rebellion it is difficult to tell the difference as to who is born again and who is not. If we see someone walking contrary to Christ then we need to ask them to go and pray to ask God if they have ever been born again. If they are convinced they are saved then we need to obey God and avoid them to help them to see the seriousness of ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 5:21-13 "5 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 [a]You have become [b]arrogant and [c]have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.
3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and [d]I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord [e]Jesus.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?
13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves."
God never said that the one in the church acting immorally was not a brother in Christ. He called Him a brother, and the purpose of discipline, God's discipline and man's for the brother is to bring him back into obedience. No one comes back into "salvation", but we can be brought back into obedience through discipline, man's and God's.
Galatians 6:1 "1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ.…"
Hebrews 12:6 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
It makes no sense that we could hop back and forth into and out of salvation, that would mean that Christ never changed us into a new creation, as He said He did.
Ephesians 2:9-11 "…9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. 11 Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—…"
You Cannot Lose What You Did Not Earn
It makes no sense that we could hop back and forth into and out of salvation, that would mean that Christ never changed us into a new creation, as He said He did.
Not one person who believes a born again believer can lose their salvation can explain to me these things;
How many sins would lose us our salvation?
How big do the sins have to be to lose what we didn't earn?
How often do we have to sin to lose it?
And most importantly of all, "why was Christ's shed blood on the cross not enough?
It is silly to think that avoiding sin could gain us everything when it was the shed blood of the perfect Lamb that had to cleanse us from our sins.
For those who think avoiding sin will keep them safe, you are working your way to heaven by works and God condemns that. Since you think you can keep yourself from sin, you are sinning by that claim. It was the blood of Christ that covers sin. Could you die and shed your own blood to cover sin? Of course not, you are a sinful man as all of us are, it is only Christ's blood that covers sin.
1 John 1:1-2 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours alone, but also for the sins of the whole world.…"
Since no one can shed their blood for sin except Christ, then avoiding sin in a prideful manner thinking we can do it, is sin in and of itself. It is only Christ who can keep us from sin, but only if we trust Him for that after we have trusted Him for salvation.
NO man can keep himself saved by not sinning! We were and are sinful in the flesh, it is only Christ in us that saves and keeps us.
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.…"
We as born again believers do sin, that's why God tells His children to confess their sin. He does not say "repent", that is for salvation. He does say to confess and forsake to grow in holiness. Believers can remain spiritual babies by resisting the Holy Spirit that lives in them, but they do not lose what Christ made them into, that New Creation.
Galatians 5:17 "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 one another, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.…"
We grow in holiness and spiritual strength in direct proportions to how much time we spend with Christ and how often we seek the Holy Spirit and obey what He tells us. We learn His heart through His Word the Bible, and hear His promptings as we seek Him. We can only recognize His voice if we know His mind, we know His mind through His Word. The Holy Spirit will never tell us anything that does not agree with His Word.
Not one person who believes a born again believer can lose their salvation can explain to me these things;
How many sins would lose us our salvation?
How big do the sins have to be to lose what we didn't earn?
How often do we have to sin to lose it?
And most importantly of all, "why was Christ's shed blood on the cross not enough?
It is silly to think that avoiding sin could gain us everything when it was the shed blood of the perfect Lamb that had to cleanse us from our sins.
For those who think avoiding sin will keep them safe, you are working your way to heaven by works and God condemns that. Since you think you can keep yourself from sin, you are sinning by that claim. It was the blood of Christ that covers sin. Could you die and shed your own blood to cover sin? Of course not, you are a sinful man as all of us are, it is only Christ's blood that covers sin.
1 John 1:1-2 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours alone, but also for the sins of the whole world.…"
Since no one can shed their blood for sin except Christ, then avoiding sin in a prideful manner thinking we can do it, is sin in and of itself. It is only Christ who can keep us from sin, but only if we trust Him for that after we have trusted Him for salvation.
NO man can keep himself saved by not sinning! We were and are sinful in the flesh, it is only Christ in us that saves and keeps us.
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.…"
We as born again believers do sin, that's why God tells His children to confess their sin. He does not say "repent", that is for salvation. He does say to confess and forsake to grow in holiness. Believers can remain spiritual babies by resisting the Holy Spirit that lives in them, but they do not lose what Christ made them into, that New Creation.
Galatians 5:17 "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 one another, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.…"
We grow in holiness and spiritual strength in direct proportions to how much time we spend with Christ and how often we seek the Holy Spirit and obey what He tells us. We learn His heart through His Word the Bible, and hear His promptings as we seek Him. We can only recognize His voice if we know His mind, we know His mind through His Word. The Holy Spirit will never tell us anything that does not agree with His Word.
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