No truly born-again believer can be comfortable in their sin. Anyone who defends their sin, even if it is in attitude, is not born again or eventually they will be ashamed and confess it.
Thursday, May 2, 2024
We Become Strong When the Holy Spirit Controls Us
Some of us are becoming stronger because we are on our own without support from other believers, except online. We are living as in the days of Noah and Lot in which everyone does what is right in their own eyes and few will listen.
The more time we spend reading God's Word and hearing from the Holy Spirit the less we will fit into almost anything going on around us.
The false Christian will follow man-made rules rather than Christ. They have anger toward anyone who corrects them Biblically and they gossip against those who expect obedience to God's Word.
Scripture twisting is common among those who want to claim Christianity their own way. Bowing to Christ is unthinkable, as they bow to their own rules but to no one else.
False Christian believe they are good enough for heaven, giving themselves the credit for their salvation while judging others who do not follow their mandates and expectations. In their mind they are going to heaven their own way.
Matthew 7:21-23 says, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’”
The false Christian spends more time ruminating on this world, its politics, religion, and personal pleasure than they do thinking about Christ if they even do that at all.
A false Christian is often rude and mean when they feel justified. They lack all the fruit of the Spirit of Christ because of the indwelling pride they possess. Judging small matters or misjudging others is the way of life for those who are proud of their own false religious spirit.
They do not judge "righteous judgment" but are prone to judge according to their own mindset not based on Scripture. Sadly they snatch out-of-context passages to justify their own ideas of what the Scripture says to justify their wrong judgments. Then they are agitated when confronted with the reality of Scripture in context. They are willful to make the Word of God say what they want it to say to elevate themselves and justify their pride.
Those who love to judge others often quote out of context the scripture that says; "don't judge" leaving out the whole rest of the passage that tells us not to judge others for things when we are doing the same things. The passage is addressing hypocrisy.
Matthew 7:1-6 1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."
In this passage, we are told not to give what is holy to dogs. This tells me that we are to discern between those who are open to the gospel and those who are dogs who have resisted the Word.
John 7:24 "24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."
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."
We are to judge whether or not someone has the fruit of the Spirit. It is Spiritually discerned by those who have Christ living in them.
1 Corinthians 2:14 "But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."
The same people who don't want us to judge will freely judge others. If we are not to judge at all then why do so many judge some people as good? If we were not to judge anyone ever then we would not be judging good or bad. However, God clearly tells us that we will be discerning right from wrong and an evil person from a born-again brother easily as we watch their walk and responses to others.
The world is in the church gatherings, the reason there is false doctrine and in-fighting. Those who are not regenerate will fight against the truth of Scripture making all kinds of rules and mandates God never made to make themselves superior as well as dominate over the group. Domination is not of God, only the Holy Spirit leads the born again believer, He alone takes priority over us and others.
1 Corinthians 1:23
"but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,"
1 Corinthians 1:25
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."
Do not be intimidates by those who attempt to dominate and intimidate, resist them with the Word of God. If we do not resist them we will become like them, full of pride over rules and principles God never gave in His Word.
John 14:17
the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
When Christ Changes Those Who Trust in Him
No one who is born again will be lost again. Christ changes the believer into a new creation, we cannot go back to the old again.
He gives us what we want when we trust in Him, that is to be changed forever.
Those who walk away after claiming to be Christians were never changed by Christ or they would not have gone back.
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
1 John 2:19-20 "19They 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. 20You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.…"
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
God never throws away those He has changed, their Spirit is changed but their body is still sinful and must be battled daily.
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 each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.…"
1 Corinthians 3:14-16 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
The Holy Spirit does not hop in and out of those who are children of God.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 "…21 Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, 22 placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come."
God never breaks His promises to us!
If we sin as believers He disciplines us until we confess to be cleansed. If we refuse then we miss the many blessings of walking with Christ and His Holy Spirit will go silent, He will not speak to those who will not listen to Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
"19 Do not quench the Spirit, 20 do not utterly reject [a]prophecies, 21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, 22 abstain from every form of evil."
The prophecies here are not new future telling or new revelations, they are the principles and prophecies already written in the Word of God. When a believer ignores the teachings of God in the Bible they will miss many blessings and rewards in heaven.
Since our salvation is not based on any good works we do keeping our salvation is not based on what we do, it is based on Christ Who lives in us. However, this is not a license to sin. Those who sin while born again are not blessed or content, they live in contiual guilt until they confess to be cleansed as God said they should in 1 John 1:9 written to believers.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Confessing sin for the non-believer does not save them unless they place their trust in Christ for paying their penalty for their sin.
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