LessThan Any

"They are not of the world even as I am not of the world" John 17:16

Giving specific answers to hypothetical questions may get us into trouble. We are not be led by the Bible alone. An atheist can use the Bible alone to judge a persons actions. There are thousands of denominations based on the Bible because of a mixed message coming not from the Spirit alone, but the Holy Spirit mixed with the spirit of man. The Holy Ghost in a person's heart is to lead us by bringing the Word to Life within us so that when the time comes to make a decision it will as Jesus made all of His decisions, correctly in the eyes of God. If we decide that our limit is 2 times or even 7 times, or whatever number we in our carnal minds decide, we are wrong. It is not in man that walks to direct his own steps (Jerem 10:23). God should be the One deciding when to apply mercy and when to apply vengeance, which is His. Is defense different? Perhaps, but the lead of the Holy Ghost is always, or should always, be in us to make the correct decision, God's decision for the moment. Give God the glory!

In other words, there is no limit. How many times has God forgiven us? In my case I know that it is many more than 490 times. Give God the glory! Do I need to be a doormat to please God? Show where the door is...

Jesus knew exactly who the "church" was when He spoke those words. Each of us may believe that we do, but if we disagree about who the "church" is then... Taking along two witnesses who agree with you is only going to accomplish something "good" if all three of you agree with Jesus. This brings us back to the question of who is really agreeing with Jesus and who is saying that he is agreeing with Jesus. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matt 7:21

All of us are God possessions as others here have already confirmed, but not everyone here has successfully endured to the end, because the end for each us is not yet, or we would not still be here, still being tempted, and still working the works of God (hopefully) while it is still day. Soon the night cometh when no man can work, but in the meantime... When we are drawn to Christ, we are stewards left with responsibilities put into our hands by God. We are stewards of our flesh and blood bodies as well as of our material goods and opportunities; and also the spiritual gifts that we have received. What does it require for us to be changed from a steward to a son of God? What does it take for us to be changed into a joint-heir with Christ? When can we be assured that we are a part of the Body of Christ and that we will never lose that place? "... Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" Job 1:8 In spite of the good report God gives about Job in that verse, Job had a long haul ahead him. He had some more growing to do as do we. Our growing must continue until we have come to end of our course, which will be probably be when the dirt is finally thrown on our faces. if we do not grow then we will stagnate and finally and completely die without God.

"Very simply scripture does teach that there are differences in sins, both in the OT (Old Testament) and in the NT (New Testament). In the OT, if you read carefully in the laws given to Moses, the only punishment for known sins commited on purpose is death. For sins committed in ignorance, when it becomes known, a way is provided to make atonement for them usually by means of a sacrifice. In the NT, there is a sin, which is NOT unto death (I John 5:16), but there is also a sin, which is unto death. All of us are or have been sinners, but not all of us are reprobates. God is no respecter of persons. He treats everyone the same. But... all of us are not the same. We are not the same because we started out with different make-ups and we walked down different pathways making different decisions. If I as an old believer were to decide to and then go ahead and chew out another person for falling short of God's glory, the judgment of God upon me would very likely be harsher than it would for the person who did the same thing the first day of his walk with God. Consider also how many times the natural children of Jacob [israel] provoked God before He cut them off from the promised land. In the case of Moses, he lost his entrance to the promised land for one transgression. "But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Luke 12:48

This not only happens with 2 or more, but, unfortunately, also within a single person: "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." James 3:10 It ought not to be, but we know as James indicates that it is so even in people who claim to be serving God and who claim to have the Holy Ghost in them. The problem is that until we become overcomers of our own world of the flesh as Jesus overcame His, we continue in some measure to be double-minded. The new man may be alive within us, but the old man is not yet completely dead and this old fellow continues to press to retain or re-establish his dominion within you and me. So what is the answer? The answer, I believe, is to learn to always recognize the voice of God in our hearts as opposed to other voices, which are also speaking to us.