The Real Deal

[tLostandFoundt]

Hi, as a matter of full disclosure I have also posted these thoughts at Christian Forums. I am somewhat ignorant regarding the Christian blogosphere and thought I would try two places to see how it goes.

I have a few thoughts/questions...

How does one actually give themselves over to Christ? I say the words. God's words cause things jump into reality. They have power and are The Truth. When I speak I can be wrong, insincere, lying, misleading, nuanced, etc. It would be nice if salvation was like joining the military. Sign on the dotted line and you have an unbreakable contract.

For some reason God is an active participant in my life. I cannot explain this. I do not deserve it. I wander aimlessly through life only to look back and realize there was a cleverly constructed path not of my own making and by it I see God and His love, mercy and generosity. It is a one way street. God gives and I am grateful but I must be a continual disappointment to Him and He deserves so much better from me. In addition He puts up fences. Barriers He knows I won't cross. I would quickly run away if not for those fences.

I read the post on how to become saved. There is one glaring problem with it. How does one actually walk away from sin? I am a profoundly broken person. Anything is possible with God but for some reason He allows me to continue in this state. He doesn't take out His God screw driver and change the mechanics of my mind, freeing me. I am not blaming God. It is just that it is beyond my power to fix myself.

While we can only be saved by grace, never works, I feel that a contract with Jesus still requires a concrete action on my part. If this action is dependent on departing sin I have already lost. I cannot blame the devil. I am totally capable of sinning all on my own and I believe my sinfulness comes from inside me, not from without. External forces may affect my state of sinfulness but it doesn't create it. It is already there, an inseparable part of my being.

I have at times taken comfort in the thought that if I perish, for whatever it is worth, at least I will still be a testimony to the goodness of God. As broken as I am I know the good things in my life have been an undeserved gift. I am both profoundly broken and profoundly grateful.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

[manuelf324]

How does one actually walk away from sin? You don't walk away because you can't. If your truly saved then you are dead to sin and you no longer serve it. You still have your sinful flesh though you can live in a cabin in the woods and still sin like the lost do. 

Unlike the lost when you do sin the Holy Ghost convicts you. The Holy Ghost  agitates your conscience and continues to do so until you confess your sin. 

  KJV Romans  6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 

[SavedOnebyGrace]

7 hours ago, tLostandFoundt said:

Hi, as a matter of full disclosure I have also posted these thoughts at Christian Forums. I am somewhat ignorant regarding the Christian blogosphere and thought I would try two places to see how it goes.

I have a few thoughts/questions...

How does one actually give themselves over to Christ? I say the words. God's words cause things jump into reality. They have power and are The Truth. When I speak I can be wrong, insincere, lying, misleading, nuanced, etc. It would be nice if salvation was like joining the military. Sign on the dotted line and you have an unbreakable contract.

For some reason God is an active participant in my life. I cannot explain this. I do not deserve it. I wander aimlessly through life only to look back and realize there was a cleverly constructed path not of my own making and by it I see God and His love, mercy and generosity. It is a one way street. God gives and I am grateful but I must be a continual disappointment to Him and He deserves so much better from me. In addition He puts up fences. Barriers He knows I won't cross. I would quickly run away if not for those fences.

I read the post on how to become saved. There is one glaring problem with it. How does one actually walk away from sin? I am a profoundly broken person. Anything is possible with God but for some reason He allows me to continue in this state. He doesn't take out His God screw driver and change the mechanics of my mind, freeing me. I am not blaming God. It is just that it is beyond my power to fix myself.

While we can only be saved by grace, never works, I feel that a contract with Jesus still requires a concrete action on my part. If this action is dependent on departing sin I have already lost. I cannot blame the devil. I am totally capable of sinning all on my own and I believe my sinfulness comes from inside me, not from without. External forces may affect my state of sinfulness but it doesn't create it. It is already there, an inseparable part of my being.

I have at times taken comfort in the thought that if I perish, for whatever it is worth, at least I will still be a testimony to the goodness of God. As broken as I am I know the good things in my life have been an undeserved gift. I am both profoundly broken and profoundly grateful.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I have felt exactly as you describe.  The thing is, we can never deserve God's grace.  By definition, grace means undeserved favor.  If you could earn it, it would not be grace.  This is a hard concept for some to undestand.  My mother-in-law felt this way and it kept her from a close relationship with Jesus, at least until she was close to death.  Accept God's free gift of grace and the joy that it brings.  You will never be alone.  Read God's word, the Bible, and meditate on what you read.  Start with the New Testament and find a good church were you have others who can help you with any bible difficulties.  And of course, there's always Worthy who have special sections for all manner of questions.  God be with you.

[tLostandFoundt]

Thank you all for the responses.

So what I have gleaned is the fact that I still have a sinful heart isn't really a surprise. It's what I do about it, IE; confess it and ask forgiveness. So it is not an indicator that I am just fooling myself about being saved. That doesn't mean I'm off the hook or that being sinful is okay. It is going to be a struggle and I'm not alone because it is a struggle for everybody. It probably wouldn't hurt to find a church. I was attending an EFCA church which I think was a very good church but there was a conflict amongst some of the membership. I stopped going and just haven't gotten around to finding another, busy life, you know how that goes. 

[FresnoJoe]

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24

[Littlelambseativy]

We all ask Jesus to forgive us our sins because we are sinners and accept Him as our Saviour. Does that mean we will not ever sin again? No. We all fall short of what He has done for us. We are not worthy, it is the blood of Jesus shed on the cross that covers our sin and us that the Father looks at and sees as worthy. When we do sin, the Holy Spirit who dwells in us convicts us of that sin and reminds us to ask the Father to forgive us. Because we love our Lord, we do things that please Him, whether for another who needs but a cup of water or a helping hand.

Yes, looking back on all our lives I know each one of us can if we are honest, see God's hand leading and directing us, our lives and choices we made. I know I can. There are choices I thought I should make yet events altered that course and I am eternally grateful. Daily I see God's hand, whether a delay or event, has made a lifesaving decision. I would rather have that than to wander on my own aimlessly.

Because we have seen God act in our lives it moves us to share and help others in Jesus' name. Not for our glory, not to be praised by man for then we are not honoured by God, but to please the One who means everything to us. The One who deserves all our honour and glory and praise.

[enoob57]

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 10:18 AM, tLostandFoundt said:

Hi, as a matter of full disclosure I have also posted these thoughts at Christian Forums. I am somewhat ignorant regarding the Christian blogosphere and thought I would try two places to see how it goes.

I have a few thoughts/questions...

How does one actually give themselves over to Christ? I say the words. God's words cause things jump into reality. They have power and are The Truth. When I speak I can be wrong, insincere, lying, misleading, nuanced, etc. It would be nice if salvation was like joining the military. Sign on the dotted line and you have an unbreakable contract.
The issue is we were born as sin in sin... self was everything (!) Those who have come to the end of this vanity has said life is empty of
anything worth living... There begins a search for something undefined inside... it is more like a void of something that was once there
but is nontangible to the senses that we rely on... The Word of God begins to be the focus for its substance seems to flow into that void.
Somehow initializing a hunger that comes from there and the drawing of The Word of God like food and drink in importance into the being
that we are... Truth becomes something that is tangible and real within the soul and it directly takes us to Jesus Who is not only our
creator but also our only deliverance from all that we are and are in... Salvation is to cry out in the emptiness of self to Jesus and invite
Him into and unworthy place of ourselves... and as He promises -> he enters providing a brand new place within us called s/Spirit and
it is here that we have Life In Him with war began in body and world for it cannot enter! The soul, (mind, will, emotion), now has true
choice once again either to walk in Spirit or flesh...  

For some reason God is an active participant in my life. I cannot explain this. I do not deserve it. I wander aimlessly through life only to look back and realize there was a cleverly constructed path not of my own making and by it I see God and His love, mercy and generosity. It is a one way street. God gives and I am grateful but I must be a continual disappointment to Him and He deserves so much better from me. In addition He puts up fences. Barriers He knows I won't cross. I would quickly run away if not for those fences.
God tells us that each individual must work out their salvation with fear and trembling... why because we try to force God to verify Himself
to the satisfaction of the flesh- a well worn pathway of evil and sin practiced in a body taught to hunger for it and desire it... thus we are
actually asking God to satisfy something He is not keeping and yet we are bound to, until it dies, as this the war of flesh and s/Spirit.... All people
are accountable to God by His spoken creative act of here- oh many will say I don't believe there is a God but that was a choice of once in
them that God had to be for what is out there demands it to be so Rom 1:18-22.

I read the post on how to become saved. There is one glaring problem with it. How does one actually walk away from sin? I am a profoundly broken person. Anything is possible with God but for some reason He allows me to continue in this state. He doesn't take out His God screw driver and change the mechanics of my mind, freeing me. I am not blaming God. It is just that it is beyond my power to fix myself.
We do not clean ourselves to come to God to be saved... we come to be cleaned and changed and it is for this life a continuing warfare
until we die! It is the satisfaction of s/Spiritual substance that we know better it is to be walking in The s/Spirit and crucifying the flesh
with it's evil desires than to walk in the flesh and grieving our Lord Who has literally given us all things to enjoy correctly as He has
created them so...

While we can only be saved by grace, never works, I feel that a contract with Jesus still requires a concrete action on my part. If this action is dependent on departing sin I have already lost. I cannot blame the devil. I am totally capable of sinning all on my own and I believe my sinfulness comes from inside me, not from without. External forces may affect my state of sinfulness but it doesn't create it. It is already there, an inseparable part of my being.
He loved us while we were His enemy as sinners running shoulder to shoulder with wickedness.... and will love us till we are sealed in our
choice of either Him and righteousness or satan and unrighteousness! You choose for real inside yourself without relying on that same
self to be able to so anything but cry out to Him to be delivered...

I have at times taken comfort in the thought that if I perish, for whatever it is worth, at least I will still be a testimony to the goodness of God. As broken as I am I know the good things in my life have been an undeserved gift. I am both profoundly broken and profoundly grateful.
When Jesus belongs to you and you belong to Him without regard to anything but His deserving (All) the glory- for there is nothing that
'IS' that He hasn't caused for that purpose- then you will hear The Spirit of God testifying that we are His and He is ours forever....
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[Kari]

Psalm 130:4

But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

 

 

Acts 13:38

“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

 

 

 

Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption through his blood, theforgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

 

 

 

Romans 7:25

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

[Littlelambseativy]

However, Nowhere in the Bible does it say the infant is born sinful. It does say we were born in sin....it does say that we were conceived in sin..

[Ezra]

On 20/01/2016 at 9:18 AM, tLostandFoundt said:

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

How does one actually give themselves over to Christ?

Salvation is (1) repentance toward God and (2) faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).  When a person recognizes that he is a sinner on his way to Hell, and that Christ died for his sins according to the Scriptures, and rose again for his justification,  that persons turns away from his sins and idols, and turns to Christ to receive Him into his soul as Lord and Saviour. So you must go directly to the Lord Jesus Christ in order to receive eternal life and receive Christ into you heart and soul (Rev 3:20).

God gives and I am grateful but I must be a continual disappointment to Him and He deserves so much better from me.

God knows us better than we know ourselves.  When we receive Christ we also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit within your “revived” spirit who will empower you to become less of a disappointment to God.

I read the post on how to become saved. There is one glaring problem with it. How does one actually walk away from sin?

By walking away from sin.  If you know that all you need is one helping of a dessert which you like, then you walk away from that dessert after your first helping. Otherwise you commit the sin of gluttony.

Also, you destroy everything you possess which could lead to sin or occultism.  When the occultists got saved as related in Scripture, they made a bonfire out of their precious books.

I am a profoundly broken person. Anything is possible with God but for some reason He allows me to continue in this state.

Not sure what you mean by “broken person”.  If life has gotten you beat, then Christ can give you the power to pick yourself up and move forward. If by “broken” you mean you have a contrite heart, that means (a) you will make amends to all those whom you have wronged, (b) you will restore back to all those from whom you have stolen, and (c) you will stop being self-centered and become other-centered and Christ-centered. While “anything is possible with God” if you fail to do what is yours to do, then don’t expect God will do it for you.

He doesn't take out His God screw driver and change the mechanics of my mind, freeing me. I am not blaming God. It is just that it is beyond my power to fix myself.

You have God’s written Word (the Holy Bible) and you have God’s Holy Spirit.  Those are the “tools” that God has given you to stop being a part of the problem and start becoming a part of the solution.

While we can only be saved by grace, never works, I feel that a contract with Jesus still requires a concrete action on my part.

Correct.  So what you do is every day make a “To Do” list for Christ, and then just go and do it.

If this action is dependent on departing sin I have already lost.

If you have not already repented of your sins, then do so immediately. Tell the Lord that you are now consciously and deliberately turning away from all your past sins and misdeeds, and putting yourself on the path of righteousness.

I cannot blame the devil.

Be aware that he is your primary enemy, but blame youeself if you listen to him.

I am totally capable of sinning all on my own and I believe my sinfulness comes from inside me, not from without. External forces may affect my state of sinfulness but it doesn't create it. It is already there, an inseparable part of my being.

Stop dwelling on your own sinfulness, and being obsessed with it. If you have not been baptized as a believer, be baptized by immersion as soon as possible, and when you rise up out of the water believe that you have been “raised to walk in newness of life”). IOW your past and your sinfulness have been buried with Christ, and now you will live and think by the power of the Holy Spirit (who is in you).

The main thing is to stop focusing on yourself and your deficiencies, and start focusing on Christ and His power to transform you. As long as you keep your eyes on Him, He will enable you to be a strong and fruitful Christian.  THIS IS THE REAL DEAL.