Char,
I just watched this and was blown away by one bit of information she shared which I felt was a revelation from the Holy Spirit and that is that there are many professed 'Christians', walking down the broad road that leads so destruction, living any way they want, yet thinking they are secure due to the teachings of some wolf in sheep's clothing who told them what they're itching ears wanted to hear: that they are saved because they raised they're hand in a service one time and said a little prayer. Falsely believing so, and deceiving themselves thinking they are saved, and therefore repentance and obedience are not required, because they view SANCTIFICATION AS WORKS. That is it exactly. So true...
God forbid we would be so self-serving, so self-seeking in our understanding of salvation..

Paul N. F. (28 Apr 2010)


ANYONE WHO SAYS HE IS A CHRISTIAN SHOULD LIVE AS CHRIST DID

First John 2:1-11 My little children, I am telling you this so that you will stay away from sin. But if you sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. His name is Jesus Christ, the one who is all that is good and who pleases God completely.

He is the one who took God's wrath against our sins upon himself and brought us into fellowship with God; and he is the forgiveness for our sins, and not only ours but all the world's.

And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By looking within ourselves: are we really trying to do what he wants us to?

Someone may say, "I am a Christian; I am on my way to heaven; I belong to Christ." But if he doesn't do what Christ tells him to, he is a liar.

But those who do what Christ tells them to will learn to love God more and more. That is the way to know whether or not you are a Christian.

Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did.

Dear brothers, I am not writing out a new rule for you to obey, for it is an old one you have always had, right from the start. You have heard it all before.

Yet it is always new, and works for you just as it did for Christ; and as we obey this commandment, to love one another, the darkness in our lives disappears and the new light of life in Christ shines in.

Anyone who says he is walking in the light of Christ but dislikes his fellow man is still in darkness.

But whoever loves his fellow man is "walking in the light" and can see his way without stumbling around in darkness and sin.

For he who dislikes his brother is wandering in spiritual darkness and doesn't know where he is going, for the darkness has made him blind so that he cannot see the way.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.

Amen! This is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ!

I agree with you on this one Melanie....there are some people who think that a prayer saves them. Only God knows if they truly believed on his Son for complete eternal life, but let's be clear about those christians who are already saved....those who truly believe in the atoning sacrifice that Christ made for them.

Does a Christian sin? Yes, he does! The Bible, as well as universal experience, bear abundant witness to this. Heb. 12:6-7 states: "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening God dealeth with you as with sons, for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye *******s and not sons." Paul writes in I Cor. 11:30-32: "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep, for if we judge ourselves we should not be judged, but when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world." Paul, speaking of himself, showed he was capable of being lifted up with pride; hence there was given to him a thorn in the flesh - some physical affliction- 2 Cor. 12:7. John writes: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us"- I John 1:8.

The hundreds of exhortations to believers in the New Testament to avoid sin, all tell the same tale. Such as: "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak": or: "let none of you suffer as a murderer or as a thief or as an evildoer or as a busybody in other men's matters". I Peter 4:15, etc., etc. Experience adds its solemn note, for every honest believer in Jesus will confess that he has sinned many times. The very holiest of men recorded in the Bible sinned at times.

But, some will say, does it not say in the Bible that "whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God?"- I John 3:9. Yes, it does, but please note this verse says that this is true of every believer ; it is true of everyone who has been born of God. Now we all know that sinless perfection is not true of every Christian, yet this verse says it is true. What is the explanation? Simply this: Every believer is born of God and at his new birth he receives God's life and nature, and those, of course, are sinless. However, by natural birth the believer received a life and nature from his earthly human parents which are sinful. Hence, every Christian has within him his old sinful life and nature. The one he received by his natural birth; the other by his spiritual birth. Both exist in the same body, so that he is capable to do things that please God and also capable of sinning. It all depends on which life has the upper hand in his daily experience.

Yes, there is no question whatever but that a believer in Jesus can and does sin, What happens when he does sin?

"If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." I John 2:1. Rev. 12:10 shows that court is in session in God's presence 24 hours out of every 24. Satan is the accuser- the prosecuting attorney- charging the believer with sin when he commits it. Our Lord is our Advocate, the Lawyer for the defense. If I sin, the Lord can only plead guilty on my behalf, for I am guilty. He has no plea on my behalf, but He has a valid one on His side. He died for that sin long ago; when I accepted Him as my Saviour, all my sins were purged away in His precious blood. That's what Christ pleads for me in God's court. He says as it were: Yes, this brother is guilty, but his guilt was paid for long ago at the Cross. And so the case is thrown out of court.

But, I can hear some say, if that is so, then the believer can go ahead and sin all he likes, for nothing will happen to him. Wait a minute; you're wrong on two counts! One- the believer does not like to sin; he hates sin; two- if he sins and does not care, something will happen to him.

As already said, our Lord pleads the infinite worth of His precious blood. He does this, even if the believer himself is utterly unaware that he has sinned, Next, I believe the Spirit of God will convict that believer of his sin and as a result two things may happen. A- the sinning believer will confess his sin- I John 1:9 and so God will forgive him; B- he may be indifferent, out of communion with God and so takes a don't care attitude; in that case, the Father will deal with him in chastisement. No, it doesn't pay for a believer to be indifferent as to how he lives, for it may cost him dearly. A sample of this is seen in King David's history. When he became aware of his guilt he immediately said: "I have sinned against the Lord," and the prophet Nathan assured him that God had put away his sin, but he added these solemn words: "Nevertheless, the sword shall never depart from thy house." David suffered greatly all the rest of his life.

The passage in I Cor. II, quoted earlier, states that because of careless living some of the believers were weak, sickly and some had even been taken away by death. God deals with sin in the lives of His own children.

Again, a Christian may sin and often does (let's be honest with our selves) but he does not like to. As Romans 6:15 asks and answers the question: "Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid." A believer may fall into sin, but he does not wallow there, as a pig in the mud. The love of God has been shed abroad in his heart and love constrains him henceforth not to live unto himself but unto Him who died for him and rose again- 2 Cor. 5:14-15.

It has been well said that God deals with the sins of a sinner on a credit basis; with those of believers on a cash basis. All the sins of a sinner are put on the books and at the great judgment throne those books are opened and (since he has no Saviour) the sinner is condemned to eternal punishment. But God deals with a believer's sins on a cash basis- day by day. As said already, if the believer confesses honestly, God forgives; if he does not, God may lay His heavy hand of judgment on him, in sickness, loss of money, death, etc., etc. Here briefly is the difference:

In the sinner's case, the Lord Jesus is the Judge- John 5:22; in the believer's case, God the Father is Heb. 12:9; 1 Pet. 1:17; 1 John 2:1, etc.

The sinner's judgment is after death; raised to stand before the Great White Throne- Rev 20:12. The believer is judged all during his life down here (and not hereafter) in regard to his sins.

The sinner's judgment is by the Lord Jesus for punishment.

The believer's judgment is by the Father for restoration to communion with Him.

How can the believer escape this humbling discipline and often its pain and grief? I John 3:6 furnishes the answer. "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not." "Abiding" simply means to keep in close touch with God. To realize our dependence upon the grace and power of God. This dependence is expressed in prayer and in the reading of and meditation of God's Word. Let a believer feed and feast on God's Holy Word and live a life of prayerful reliance upon God's power and love, and he won't need the Father's chastening hand upon him; or at least very little.

To sum it all up briefly:

1. Yes, the believer can and does sin. It has been said God has only one Son without sin, but none without sorrow.

2. Christ maintains the believer's standing before God by ever pleading the infinite worth of His precious blood which purged us from our sins when we trusted in Him as our Saviour.

3. The believer should confess his sins when aware of them, and thus be restored to communion with the Father and the Son and His saints.

4. If he fails to do so, God may and probably will deal with him in often painful correction. But this discipline does not affect the believer's eternal security, for I Cor. 11:32 plainly states that this judging of the believer is done so he will not be condemned with the world.

5. As an unfailing prescription to prevent sin in a believer, he should practice constantly the presence of God in prayer, and cultivate a deep appreciation of the Word of God, and a faithful appropriation of it to his own heart and conscience. "With open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord. the believer is changed into the same image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord."

August Van Ryn

Whoa! This gave me chills!! Amen, Millie!

Thanks for posting this Charity!! I hope you are feeling better, sis.

Oh sweet Eileen, you just keep thinking of others, even with your own struggles. God bless you. Well, it was a rough day for me, but I'm heading to bed now and I'm praying for some recuperation for my body during the night...

I read about you taking yourself to Urgent Care today. I pray that the meds will help even out your hormones...I can't imagine the shock it is for your body to suddenly be forced into menopause. Keep looking up, sister. His coming is SO NEAR!

WOW, Melanie...you pegged it....the whole confusion issue....sanctification isn't works, but that is where the enemy twists things. I never looked at it like that.

I read something I just loved...that we start at Passover (justification where we are accounted worthy through grace and His sacrifice on the cross) and move to Pentecost (sanctification moving away from sin by the help of the Holy Spirit..the process of breaking our vessel/flesh) and finally we will proceed to Tabernacles (where we are glorified with Him....being broken vessels/conduits through which His Spirit can pour out and flow through). We aren't to stop at any of the 'feasts', but to continue to move forward...from the outer court, to the inner court to the Holy of Holies! Tabernacles...Him dwelling IN us, His temple!!