Struggling with a lack of faith?

[vlad]

23 minutes ago, Yowm said:

What witnesses in the Gospel looked to man for approval rather than God? I never said there is no need for other's as a 'checks and balance (they sometimes reveal our blind spots as Nathan did with David) but their correction still must be in align with God's Word. So we are back to square one.

I wish their were more used...in proper context

Good works are a desire and delight to those born again. But...they are not the source of our assurance.

What mark? The one only Jesus reached? I'm under no delusions of reaching that. True faith is not idle as God is constantly at work in His Children both to will and do of His good pleasure.

God knows who are his and even their giving of thanks and prayers are a good work. Repentance is an ongoing process in the Christian's life.

#5. You say their giving of thanks and prayers are a good work. Not always. Not necessarily. I think it is also important what motivation people have when they pray or give thanks to God.  Do you know that there are many criminals who are praying before they commit a crime and then give thanks (they think to God). They sincerely believe that they are Christians and will be pardoned for their weaknesses. And there are so many other half and half cases like that.

Edited August 20, 2018 by vlad

[angels4u]

1 hour ago, vlad said:

1.That is General Truth. I am talking about every day's life. If you want to know something about yourself personally the only way out is to find out what people think about you. You will see if you are a good person or a bad person for example. You may find examples of the importance of witnesses in the Gospel. What do you think they are for? According to your theory there is no need for them as God knows everything. Never look down on people even if you are very clever and clean. Only if you are a monk and live in a secluded place and pray all day and you are fasting then it is different. Then probably you personally reached the degree when you do not have to listen to others. I do not know may be you are one of such exceptional people like saint. 2. I am for the citations but I have seen posts with pages of citations. 3. Defective or not go on with good works. Otherwise bad works will crop up. If you are not with good works you are against them. 4. Yes he did . All the more reason not to be idle concerning faith and good works. You have try hard to be up to the mark in every respect now. 5. People who constantly without repentance do evil things instead of good things are not Christians at all even if they pray in public and thank God (I remember you said that when they thanked God it was their good work).

8

Hello Vlad

First of all we have to make sure that we are really born again, born out of the Spirit of God.

John 3:1-21 New International Version 

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘ You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

It was really that by reading vs 16,the Holy Spirit opened my eyes for the truth,   I when I asked Jesus to forgive me for all my sins and to come to live in my heart , and HE DID! From that moment on ,my life changed and my understanding of the Bible changed,we need like Nicodemus to be born again to understand the Words of Jesus .

 

Quote

You said :1.That is General Truth. I am talking about every day's life. If you want to know something about yourself personally the only way out is to find out what people think about you. You will see if you are a good person or a bad person for example. You may find examples of the importance of witnesses in the Gospel. What do you think they are for? According to your theory there is no need for them as God knows everything. Never look down on people even if you are very clever and clean. Only if you are a monk and live in a secluded place and pray all day and you are fasting then it is different. Then probably you personally reached the degree when you do not have to listen to others. I do not know may be you are one of such exceptional people like saint.

5

After reading the Bible and to get to know God better, I came to the understanding that it doesn't really matter what men think of us, in this day and age, people call evil good and good evil  All I want to do is live for Jesus and do what He tells me to do. I do still sin because we all live in our old body as long as we still live on this earth (nobody is sinless , only God.) And when I die, I pray people will say that I love the Lord, that is what matters most to me is how we live on earth this small time that we're here, God put us on this earth to glorify Him, do we live as a testimony to other people? Only God knows and I pray He will use me for His glory and to shine the light in this dark world.

[angels4u]

Only Jesus saves--

 

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.Is.64:6

A Prayer for God's Power
…You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? 6All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. 7No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and made us melt in the hand of our iniquity.…

What does it mean that Jesus died for our sins?

Question: "What does it mean that Jesus died for our sins?"

Answer: Simply put, without Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins, no one would have eternal life. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). In this statement, Jesus declares the reason for His birth, death, and resurrection—to provide the way to heaven for sinful mankind, who could never get there on their own.

When God created Adam and Eve, they were perfect in every way and lived in a virtual paradise, the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15). God created man in His image, meaning they also had the freedom to make decisions and choices of their own free will. Genesis 3 goes on to describe how Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan’s temptations and lies. In doing so, they disobeyed the will of God by eating of the tree of knowledge from which they were forbidden: “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17). This was the first sin committed by man, and, as a result, all mankind is subject to both physical and eternal death by virtue of our sinful nature inherited from Adam.

God declared that all who sin will die, both physically and spiritually. This is the fate of all mankind. But God, in His grace and mercy, provided a way out of this dilemma, the shed blood of His perfect Son on the cross. God declared that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22), but through the shedding of blood, redemption is provided. The Law of Moses provided a way for the people to be considered “sinless” or “right” in God’s eyes—the offering of animals sacrificed for every sin they committed. These sacrifices were only temporary, though, and were really a foreshadowing of the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Hebrews 10:10).

This is why Jesus came and why He died, to become the ultimate and final sacrifice, the perfect (without blemish) sacrifice for our sins (Colossians 1:22; 1 Peter 1:19). Through Him, the promise of life eternal with God becomes effective through faith to those who believe in Jesus. “So that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:22). These two words, faithand believing, are critical to our salvation. It is through our believing in the shed blood of Christ for our sins that we receive eternal life. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). I gotquestions

[Fidei Defensor]

A good reminder is that Jesus chose a doubter and skeptic to be one of His twelve Disicples: 

“24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peacebe with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:24-29). 

Thomas doubted, and had a lack of faith, but He eventually came around and trusted.  

Edited August 21, 2018 by Fidei Defensor

[vlad]

It depends on the attitude. There is free will. It is given. Now some try to improve and aspire and fight sin and seek justice. Some live as they live. Both defend their stand with citations. So let us leave it at that.

[vlad]

9 hours ago, angels4u said:

Hello Vlad

First of all we have to make sure that we are really born again, born out of the Spirit of God.

John 3:1-21 New International Version 

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘ You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

It was really that by reading vs 16,the Holy Spirit opened my eyes for the truth,   I when I asked Jesus to forgive me for all my sins and to come to live in my heart , and HE DID! From that moment on ,my life changed and my understanding of the Bible changed,we need like Nicodemus to be born again to understand the Words of Jesus .

 

After reading the Bible and to get to know God better, I came to the understanding that it doesn't really matter what men think of us, in this day and age, people call evil good and good evil  All I want to do is live for Jesus and do what He tells me to do. I do still sin because we all live in our old body as long as we still live on this earth (nobody is sinless , only God.) And when I die, I pray people will say that I love the Lord, that is what matters most to me is how we live on earth this small time that we're here, God put us on this earth to glorify Him, do we live as a testimony to other people? Only God knows and I pray He will use me for His glory and to shine the light in this dark world.

It depends on the attitude. There is free will. It is given. Now some try to improve and aspire and fight sin and seek justice. Some live as they live. Both defend their stand with citations. So let us leave it at that.

[angels4u]

6 hours ago, vlad said:

It depends on the attitude. There is free will. It is given. Now some try to improve and aspire and fight sin and seek justice. Some live as they live. Both defend their stand with citations. So let us leave it at that.

Yes we all have a free will and some do try to improve their Salvation by works  and some people say they are saved but you don't see a different, ultimately it's up to the Lord to judge those people, But, I believe if we're really born again saved people we would want to do good works out of love for Jesus and it is the Holy Spirit who makes us want to live for Jesus and bear fruit.

What do you think the consequences of free will are? 

[vlad]

5 hours ago, angels4u said:

Yes we all have a free will and some do try to improve their Salvation by works  and some people say they are saved but you don't see a different, ultimately it's up to the Lord to judge those people, But, I believe if we're really born again saved people we would want to do good works out of love for Jesus and it is the Holy Spirit who makes us want to live for Jesus and bear fruit.

What do you think the consequences of free will are? 

Thank you for the post. I agree with you. There is a lot to say about free will. One of the aspects I think about is that it resembles  a kind of selection from above. There is  though lame but analogy with how we treat out pets. The analogy with man and his pet was prompted by the idea of a pot and a pot-maker. I have read in the Gospel that the distance between a man and God is like the distance between a pot and a pot-maker that is we can not judge God..  If we successfully make our pet obey our will it is valuable but how much more valuable is the ability of some "talented" pets to correctly guess what we want or expect from them. May be I am wrong about a kind of selection. May be it is just my guesswork. Who am I to judge?

[angels4u]

1 hour ago, vlad said:

Thank you for the post. I agree with you. There is a lot to say about free will. One of the aspects I think about is that it resembles  a kind of selection from above. There is  though lame but analogy with how we treat out pets. The analogy with man and his pet was prompted by the idea of a pot and a pot-maker. I have read in the Gospel that the distance between a man and God is like the distance between a pot and a pot-maker that is we can not judge God..  If we successfully make our pet obey our will it is valuable but how much more valuable is the ability of some "talented" pets to correctly guess what we want or expect from them. May be I am wrong about a kind of selection. May be it is just my guesswork. Who am I to judge?

Thanks for your reply back, I believe we want to do what Jesus wants us to do in this short time we're on this earth because we love Him, I just listened to a speaker who had this example: his daughter who was growing up moved out to live on her own to experience life,she came home and told her Dad "Do you know how expensive groceries are " ? Her Dad answered by "really" and then she realized that all those years she lived home her parents had bought groceries for her because they loved her, the same thing will happen when we die that on the end of our days, we will meet Jesus and when we die ,we experience death and after death we see Jesus and then we realize HOW MUCH HE REALLY LOVED US and that He gave His life for us ,so we can be where He is.

I believe the question is ,do we know Jesus? Do you agree?

[vlad]

1 hour ago, angels4u said:

Thanks for your reply back, I believe we want to do what Jesus wants us to do in this short time we're on this earth because we love Him, I just listened to a speaker who had this example: his daughter who was growing up moved out to live on her own to experience life,she came home and told her Dad "Do you know how expensive groceries are " ? Her Dad answered by "really" and then she realized that all those years she lived home her parents had bought groceries for her because they loved her, the same thing will happen when we die that on the end of our days, we will meet Jesus and when we die ,we experience death and after death we see Jesus and then we realize HOW MUCH HE REALLY LOVED US and that He gave His life for us ,so we can be where He is.

I believe the question is ,do we know Jesus? Do you agree?

 

1 hour ago, angels4u said:

Thanks for your reply back, I believe we want to do what Jesus wants us to do in this short time we're on this earth because we love Him, I just listened to a speaker who had this example: his daughter who was growing up moved out to live on her own to experience life,she came home and told her Dad "Do you know how expensive groceries are " ? Her Dad answered by "really" and then she realized that all those years she lived home her parents had bought groceries for her because they loved her, the same thing will happen when we die that on the end of our days, we will meet Jesus and when we die ,we experience death and after death we see Jesus and then we realize HOW MUCH HE REALLY LOVED US and that He gave His life for us ,so we can be where He is.

I believe the question is ,do we know Jesus? Do you agree?

Yes, I agree. Thank you.

Edited August 21, 2018 by vlad