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C.H.Spurgeon. 1 John 2:6. "So to walk, as He walked. Why should christians imitate Christ? They should do it for their own sakes. If they desire to be in a healthy state of soul, if they want to escape the sickness of sin and enjoy the vigour of of growing grace, let Jesus be their model. For the sake of their own happiness, if they would enjoy holy and happy communion with Jesus, and if they would be lifted above the cares and troubles of this world, let them walk even as He walked. There is nothing that can assist you in walking toward heaven with good speed as much as wearing the image of Jesus on your heart to rule all its motions. It is when, by the power of The Holy Spirit, you are enabled to walk with Jesus in His very footsteps that you are happiest and most known to be the sons of God. Peter's position of being" afar off" (Luke 22:54) is both unsafe and uneasy. Next, for faith's sake, strive to be like Jesus. Ah, poor faith, you have been sorely shot at by cruel foes, but you have not been wounded half so dangerously by your enemies as by your friends. Who made those in the fair hand of godliness? The one who professed faith but used the dagger of hypocrisy. The man with pretences who enters the fold, being nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing, worries the flock more than the lion outside. There is no weapon half so deadly as a Judas-kiss. Inconsistent christians injure the Gospel more than the sneering critic or the infidel. But, especially, for Christ's own sake, imitate His example. Christian, do you love your Saviour? Is His name precious to you? Is His cause dear to you? Would you see the kingdoms of the world become His? Is it you desire that He would be Glorified? Are you longing that souls should be won to Him? If so, imitate Jesus, be an "epistle of Christ" ( 2 Cor 3:3 ), "known and read of all men "(verse 2). Praying that this is helpful to someone out there, just being obedient to the Holy Spirit's guiding, God bless.

Communication is key in any relationship, one with the Lord is no exception. Therefore, I've started a prayer/scripture journal and set aside time for more regular prayer and study. A brief prayer and verse hunt in the morning and a question with an in-depth study in the evening. Then yesterday the funniest thing happened. As some of you know, I've been considering my internship. Weeks ago, one came up for the summer and the process for getting into it was confusing. This didn't help with my tendency to freeze up on especially important decisions. So, I kept it simple and prayed, "Lord, if this is the right internship, open the door wide. If not, slam it in my face." After sending in my application, I received no response and assumed rejection. Closed door, on with summer, that's fine. From yesterday morning's verse hunt: "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." Proverbs 16:3 The day proceeded as normal. Then, right before bed, I looked at my email and saw a response for the internship much later than I expected. FREAK OUT, FREAK OUT, FREAK OUT!!! At that point, it looked like the door was swinging wildly on its hinges. So, I went into the deeper study of the day, "The Lord works out everything to it's proper end--even the wicked for a day of disaster." Proverbs 16:4 "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Proverbs 16:9 The Lord's answer: "What's changed? The door is open, just in my timing, not yours. Finish what you started and don't worry." My tears stopped flowing, and I settled. The worries shrank into irrelevancy and I felt more than a little silly. What was I afraid of, anyway? It is interesting to see just how little substance is behind fears for the future. Put the candle of faith to it, and you'll see it was nothing more than a shadow cast on the wall by your nightstand.

Have you come yet to the conclusion that it isn't the doctrine per se that makes one righteous before God...but how we hold onto it? One can be a grace legalist after all....just as much a legalist as someone who thinks eating pork sends one to hell. But isn't pushing grace on others an all forgiving assignment? As in...the ends justify the means? But the ways of God are to be the means we use. We only fool ourselves by trying to help God with our limited understanding about something. How can a person misapply grace? By white-knuckling an aspect of the truth but shutting one's eyes to another. By pushing a perceived understanding of a truism but in the power of the flesh. By trying to convey something that escapes our natural minds so as it not to affect our actual lives. We are to speak the truth in love. If love is missing in the message it may have an aspect of truth in it...but it is still lacking in Christ. Therefore it is lacking in truth. God is love. He is truth. Legalism displays an all too common rigidity in our demeanor towards others. But real life....real spiritual eternal life...is living and spontaneous...open to seeing new aspects and facets of God and His ways. We will have all of eternity to ponder the ways of God. But there are many here that believe they have received enough understanding already to shut their own books and now teach grace in a legalistic manner....calling all who would point out the imbalance as being legalists themselves. But this is not the way with they who seek the Lord from a pure heart. Pride does that. It refuses to be taught...but waits to decide for itself when and what is to be believed. It is the outward carnal man running the show. Sure, such a person will change their views from time to time. But if anyone shares that newly accepted view before he is ready to do it by self-will...then that one is ridiculed and despised. What is never learned is the WAY we do things...that it is the process that counts. No one will ever be judged by God for the accuracy of their beliefs. That is the domain and practice of the judgmental among us. What we believe is important. But what are those beliefs causing us to do? We will all be judged by what we have done with what we have been given after all. To whom much is given...more will be required.

25 And, behold, a certain jlawyer stood up, and ktempted him, saying, lMaster, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, mThou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and nthy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and othou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to pjustify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man qwent down from Jerusalem to rJericho, and fell among sthieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there qcame down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he tpassed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and tpassed by on the other side. 33 But a certain uSamaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and xbound up his wounds, pouring in xoil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two ||pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the sthieves? 37 And he said, He that yshewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

A friend would call a cafe and tell them to put a hamburger and a cup of coffee on her tab for the guy she was sending in. That would be a safe way for women who are alone to reach out to the poor.

A wonderful example of mercy and compassion. Thanks for posting it, Mel. God bless! Shalom, David/BeauJangles

In the end, it's God's Gospel of the Kingdom anyway, not our own. And the Gospel commands "men everywhere to repent" (beginning with the church). Man-made 'gospels' are full of humanism and universalism, but are contrary to the Word Jesus' preached.

Are we done ? I must have the last word! Lol

The cartels have a large presence in arizona with manned lookouts on the local mountains. They pay thousands to poor indians who live near the border to cross the border with drugs. Good money for an extremely poor tribe with unemployment well over 50%. We really need the wall.

I live in a border state. The illegals today are not like they were years ago. They have a mindset of pillaging the us. We constantly see in the news about the damage they do and thats despite the pro illegal bias of the local media.

A shot in the dark: None of the above? But by walking in the Spirit and yielded to do/say whatever He says to do, and not to when He says not to? The witness of His Presence? "Surely, God is with you". (Paraphrased, I can't find the scripture) Edit: 1 & 6...? they will know we are Christians by our Love

May I bring one of my favorite scripture songs to the table--concerning Moses, who God recorded as the most humble man on earth--Who spoke with him face-to-face. Moses certainly didn't understand God's ways, hence his prayer...Exodus 33:9-17 Herein shall it be made known in the earth, That we have found grace in Thy sight. If Thy Presence go with us, Within us to change us, To be Thine Inheritance. Show us Thy Way that we might know Thee. Separate us to Thy Rest. Show us Thy Glory, oh Lord our God. Descend in the cloud and proclaim Thy Name. Merciful, gracious, suffering Lord, Full of Goodness and Truth. Show us Thy Glory, Oh Lord our God. We would yield all and worship Thee.

Such a great testimony. Thanks for sharing. Seeing God’s hand in one’s life is a most blessed thing indeed! Just think the more and closer we get to Him, the more will we see of His hand in our life’s. Blessings, Much love in Christ, Not me

I've heard it said, "When we take a truth and make it "thee" truth we turn it into a lie." For instance, holiness is a truth, if we focus on holiness making it our central truth we reach a point we no longer walk in truth but in our own abilities. Jesus is the truth and all truth is predicated upon Him. Jesus crucified, resurrected and coming again. Walk in the Spirit to not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Without Jesus, we can do nothing.

What it means to love your neighbor.

@missmuffet Thanks for the quote. It makes me think of this: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV)

Help the poor neighbours Will we?

I told my 6th grade girls sunday school class that I never heard the church teach about repentance. They responded "what do you mean.? We have NEVER done anything wrong," I was aghast. Most of these girls had asked Jesus into their hearts and had been baptized. So I asked them if they had ever talked back to their parents, or lied, or stolen anything. They got very quiet. I told them that this is 10 commandment stuff. All they have to do is ask God to forgive them and make them more like Jesus. Then thank Jesus for dying for them so they can have a new clean life in Him. At this point a few fell away, but most became strong Christians now serving God. We don't have to scream or condemn. We just have to reason with people and speak on their level. It can be done with kindness and concern.

Thanks for your reply and your point of view of doctrine. However, as I see it, one of the biggest problems in the church today is that most seem to believe that "getting saved" is the end, and guarantees Heaven when we die, based solely on what Jesus did. I have asked many times over the years for a single verse that says 'getting saved means we go to heaven when we die.' I have never received a single reply that included clear verses that state that. Why? Because it is not Biblical. Seriously. Again, Paul & Peter & Jude specifically point out that our journey is as Israel in the wilderness. They were saved, baptized, were following the Lord and had partaken of Christ, yet their carcasses were strewn in the desert, because they refused to repent and obey. I can confidently say, "thus says the Lord" when I state that if we "saved" folks, who have confessed the Name of the Lord... if we do not obey the commands of God given through Christ, if we do not repent and turn from our sins and love not our lives to the death, and prove our faith by our works... we will not inherit the Kingdom. It is as simple as that. Sin and disobedience will separate us from God. I have several clear verses on that. And, as has been mentioned here in this thread many times... anything that we believe and teach MUST be backed up by the canon of Scripture. Peace.

Newbies? It's actually so many who were "saved" years ago who have become comfortable in their walk, enjoy their life in the world too much and fail to press in to know the Lord and God's purpose for their life. Sadly, some of these will be found to have failed to use their talents, learn to discern between good and evil and have become tolerant and lukewarm. These will no inherit the promises. I have seen many who began well (yes, they were without a doubt saved), yet turned aside to the left or right, fell from grace and shrunk back unto destruction. I praise God that, through the trials & tribulations, the mistakes and humbling experiences, I have continued on the path with Jesus for over 20 years now. I quickly grew past the false "easy grace" teaching and have been able to spot such heretical, deceptive doctrines such as the Faith & Prosperity, and eternal security, and rapture messages. Whenever I teach or share, I encourage my listeners to read the passages in context, for ALL of the epistles of the NT, and nearly every book in the OT were written specifically to warn God's people about the dangers of disobedience, getting comfortable or taking Him for granted.

I'm sure that's how pastors attempt to explain it today, but it's just not what the passage states. These absolutely were "saved" individuals who had experienced more in the Lord than you or I. We have to keep the passages in context and realize who the writers of the epistles are speaking to. There is not a single verse in the Bible written to the unsaved. All the promises and warnings are to God's chosen people. The Apostle Paul, as well, spends much of his letters warning those who were saved to hold on to what they had received, grow in the grace of God and come to maturity; for some were beginning to take God's grace and the Cross of Christ for granted and becoming lukewarm. Think... one cannot backslide or neglect something they never had. You can't turn back from the plow unless you were actually plowing. I'm currently sharing a Bible study on 1Corinthians 10 in which Paul shows the "saved" the path they must take as we travel the journey God has set before us that leads to the Kingdom. And he warns that, as Israel in their wilderness, many who began saved, baptized and partakers of Christ fell along the way and failed to obtain the promises of God.

That is not what it says. What you did is not properly interpreting scripture. It is changing it, and everyone sees this. You will post that nobody can pluck you out of God's hand. We will point out we can walk out, which the text allows for, and you will call that denying scripture, yet you just ignored the fact Paul says if you commit certain sins, you won't inherit the kingdom of God, no exceptions. This isn't going to work.

"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears." - Heb 12:14-17 Let us know that the writer is warning "saved" people -who truthfully were far beyond where we are now in the Lord (see Heb 6:1-2) - that they can fall from grace and find no way to return if they continue to sin and assume Jesus will continue to forgive them. He won't. "Without holiness, no one shall see the Lord." True Repentance is a "turning away from sin", not a 'feeling bad' as is often taught today.

I thank God he does chasten his children.

That is the message that the majority of church-goers hear from the pulpits Sunday mornings. Sadly. The great bulk of Scripture must be ignored or put off onto the Jews or unbelievers, or just flat our rejected to come up with such "doctrine." I won't belabor it, for I'm sure I will be dismissed as well (as were the prophets of old)... but without repentance (turning from sin), surrendering to Christ in everything (yes, it costs us everything), and walking worthy (we must be found worthy; not by association with Christ, but actually worthy) - which is the Way of the Cross, the Way Jesus calls us to follow - we will NOT inherit the promises given only to the Elect who "overcome." The whole of Scripture is clear on this.

That would be true if we were doing that on our own without Jesus. His blood washes away those sins done by mistake, and the willful ones we confess. You still have no answers for the scriptures I posted. This is deflection.

Those that think “ doing their best” is going to get them to Heaven are damned. Sorry. “ doing your best” is a far cry from meeting God’s Standard. That would be Perfection.If your eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit, you will see that you are nothing but a wretched, lost, Hell deserving sinner.If you are blessed in that manner to see the Truth of your condition before a God who is Holy, you might look for an alternative plan that was actually given by God to help us hopeless , helpless sinners.God has that plan that was hidden for millenia. It’s called “ the Gospel”. Sound familiar? I thought so. Find it in 1Cor15:1-4. Believe Jesus died for all of your sins and that He arose from the grave and you are home free— literally.You will be in my prayers....

Hi Last Daze, Well then let me spell it out for you to think upon. The `sudden destruction` comes from the first trumpet blast, heralding the judgment. ` The first angel sounded; and hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up. and ALL GREEN GRASS was burned up.`(Rev. 8: 7) Do we stop and think upon the actual consequences of a third of trees and ALL the green grass burned up? That means great famine, and scarcity of food at very high prices. You see the green grass is the grains that most of our food relies on - bread, cakes, biscuits, pastry, spaghetti, rice, cereals, margarine, and so much more, all affected. Then the animals who eat the grass wont have food, thus mass killing or dying cattle, sheep. goats, etc etc. Think also of all the dairy foods from cows etc. - milk, butter, cream, cheese, yogurt, etc That will all be affected. A third of the trees, means the fruits and nuts and oils..... Then add to that a third of the water becoming blood and thus much thirst and inability of many places to grow food. I would say that that is sudden destruction when the hail, fire and blood comes upon the earth and causes the main stay of food to be wiped out in one foul swoop. What happens after the `sudden destruction,` then, is a gradual escalation of judgments, till Armageddon. Marilyn.

Do you believe Paul when he says these who commit certain sins listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 won't inherit the kingdom of God? He doesn't make exceptions for Christians. I do believe him.

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and to fear God and keep his commandments is our duty.

I am KJV only, but that is okay. Of course Jesus didn't come to condemn the world. It was already condemned. Even though he died for the sins of world, not everyone is saved. You must believe to have a chance to be saved. Sinners do prefer evil over good. People in sin will often avoid coming to Jesus because they don't like feeling convicted. Those living right have confidence before God, not because they saved themselves, but because they know they are doing their best.

I do ! Hell was my motivation to be saved. It is a valid motivation. I don’t worry about Hell anymore.....if you believed the Gospel that saves...that part where it says “ Jesus died for my sins” you would escape the fear of Hell also.The only ones that should fear Hell are those who do not believe Jesus was who He claimed to be.God in the flesh.

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 2 Peter 2:20 Obviously, chastisement or even an early death is not as bad as hell. Do you believe Peter?

NOT for Salvation.....that is a gift for anybody that comes to Him with a Holy Spirit created , contrite heart that essentially says.... “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner”. “ ALL that ask for mercy shall receive it”. Call me a fool , but I just happen to believe Jesus when He makes a promise.

John teaches that we are all headed for the lake of fire until we receive Christ. It is definitely the destination of those who reject Christ. Joh 3:17 AMP For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. Joh 3:18 He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation—he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.] Joh 3:19 The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil. [Isa 5:20] Joh 3:20 For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved.

Amen. Truly, His promise is that "when we search for Him with all our heart, He will be found by us" (Jer 29:13-14) And "Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7). Our place is to be serving Him, having "presented our bodies a living sacrifice, holy & acceptable to God" (Rom 12:1), that we might truly have "ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches", and ourselves "always be ready to give an answer to those who ask you to give a reason for the hope that is within you." (1Pet 3:15)

I agree, Neighbor. It is pretty hard to deny Bible accounts when those same things are occurring in our own lives and in the lives of people we know well.

More sweeping, incorrect statements. All churches disobedient and having false salvation?! 10 Commandments the first step?! It is Jesus Christ who is our foundation, the first step, and we rest in Him, and abide in Him to walk in the Spirit. Another misstatement of what we believe. Sanctification is a life long process.... although we are also sanctified by Christ when we are born again....sealed with the Holy Spirit. Now even claiming our God is false?! Since you are continually putting down all churches, and Christians who believe we are saved by grace through faith (and have good works as a result of that)....may I ask you what you consider yourself to be? 7th Day Adventist or ??

Praying for it to become a minor event and distant memory in a long productive life. Sorry for your pain.

Therefore , you shall not fear man whose breath is in his nostrils . For he can kill only the body , not the soul . Fear HE who after he has killed the body can destroy both soul and body in hell fire . Ye shall not fear man , FOR THE LORD is our HELPER and HE is with us through it all . The LORD is our helper and we SHALL NOT FEAR a thing this world can do to us . And ye shall PRAISE THE LORD even in prison , even after being beaten for the JOY of the LORD shall be with you . Put those hands up and praise the LORD . WE GOT ALL HOPE . HIS NAME IS JESUS CHRIST .

Somehow, I doubt that you know this person, their mind, their heart, and their life, well enough to make such a sweeping conclusion about their Bible knowledge. Just because we disagree on some point, does not mean that they are wrong, and we are right. I suggest putting a little more love and humility and thought into our posts, before we start sounding too accusative, dismissive, and condescending.

@Rebecca Pickles This is one of my favorite and most comforting scriptures. It brings renewed hope.

@Gen Art This is such an important scripture to memorize and to practice. Thanks for posting it.

Locked at OP request.

And hopefully not before.

What rubbish. Do you think we were left here to fend for ourselves with no help. You quoted Romans 8:24. Just two verses below that verse shows us that we have guidance to live life with divine help and. God do intercede for his children and helps us to walk upright in this world. Yes, we have hope, which is the faith that we are saved by the grace of God to live according to his will. It's written below. So, believers has confidence as he live with the knowledge and practical experience that his life is being sanctified and he himself is a witness to it. Romans 8 King James Version (KJV) 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose

The simple minded remains simple. Even a child (youth) can understand these Scriptures. Yet your education has brought you down the path of the evil one. To much knowledge, very little Faith. The Son Prays to the Father in heaven, The Son is equal to the Father, because they are ONE. The Son does the will of the Father. Jesus says; I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by ME. I see two here, not one. Father and Son. (Elohim) But wait. Jesus claims to be the Truth. In 1 John 5:6, 7 This is the one who came by water and blood - Jesus Christ. The Spirit is Truth. For there are three that Testify. The Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. Praise be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These Three Testify and are in Agreement. In Christ Montana Marv Your testimony is from the Evil One. You are over educated and under Faithed. There are THREE that Testify, the THREE are in agreement. (The THREE are ONE)

I would suggest that there are a couple of ways to see this. The first way, is, as many time as is necessary, to restore those He forgives, to Hmself. The second way, addresses the question "Well just how many time is that, is that 70 X 7, or more, or exactly as many times as I have sinned?" To that I think: "No, not really, only once!" God's forgiveness was procured for us when Jesus died on the cross. He only died once, so He only forgave once. Jesus died for every sin that the sinner ever had done, in the case of those who had already passed on, and for every sin the living would commit over their lifetimes. Those sins were all covered. As all knowing, our sins do not come as a surprise to God, He knew every sin we would commit, and know every sin that will be committed even by those not yet born. Here is the thing though. It might be tempting to think, that if all the sins were forgiven at Calvary, then I am covered, and I can sin again with impunity, sins my debt was paid in full, and in advance!" That would be a huge mistake!. While Jesus gave those He foreknew, total forgiveness and imputed His righteousness to us and took our sins upon Himself, it is extremely foolish to think that we can sin freely without consequence, it does not work that way. In Hebrews 10 it says: 26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? When werw are saved, it was by grace alone, and for a purpose. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2 Then there is Romans 6: 1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, a that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Then there is John 14: 21Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” 22Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. There are other verses too, I do not need to belabor the point. The thing is, that those who are born again, have a new nature. They are no longer slaves to sin, but serve a new Master. Their hearts have been changed, and they now desire to please God and reject the temptation to live in sin. The old nature is still there, but we struggle against it, and sometime fail. We are not perfect (yet). However, our conscious is such, that when we sin, we confess it and repent, that is what real Christians, those who have a new nature, have been born again, do! Because God has given them a new nature, He loved them and they love Him, and forgiveness has e accomplished. If a person thinks they can sin with impunity, and desires to go on sinning, that have every reason to wonder, if they have ever really been born again in the first place. People act, like what they are. They act out, what they truly believe, not not just when others are watching! To those reading this, ask yourself: "Am I really saved, do I act like a child of God? Do I pretend? I might be able to fool others, but can I fool God?" How you answer those questions, should indicate to you, whether you need to confess, repent, and follow and love God with all of your heart. Be forgiven once, or not at all, those are the options, as I see them! Ryan, you ask a lot of questions about sin. So many, that I am very concerned for you. Why so much focus on sin? Why not focus on God, the savior and live for Him, and learn from the Bible, what He has for you, and wants from you. Asking questions is fine, but at some point, you need to decide to get the answers from the source!

I was listening to a sermon a couple of days ago where the sermon was about God disciplining His children when needed ,God will discipline us if we belong to Him, when we sin it will break our relationship with God and we will feel guilty if we don't confess our sins , when we do confess our sins, God will forgive us and heal the relationship. The same counts for our children, if they do something which is wrong and we as parents don't correct them and discipline them, they know they were wrong and will try to stay away from us but when we correct them and discipline them, they know that we love them and that we don't want the distance between them and us because of wrong behavior. A child who is not disciplined will not learn to forgive and will always feel guilty of something. Therefore we need to discipline our children if we love them. Proverbs 22:6 6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.