QUESTION

[Fiosh]

You won't sin with Christ's Spirit in you. If you don't have Christ's Spirit in you then you will sin and you are not His. It is time to ask God for His Spirit if you don't have it.

Ro 8

9  But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Ro 8

1  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,* who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Ga 5

16  I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Lu 11

13  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

Were these scriptures written in vain? Don't they mean what they say? Or is there another Gospel somewhere that will save you?

Denise

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

1Jo 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

[Trust & Obey]

I think we all[/] willingly sin at times. I'm sure there are times where we are ready to do something and the Spirit tells us not to, yet we forge ahead anyways.

So, we all willingly sin.

Now, regarding the "won't repent" thing. How long does one have to repent after realizing they sin before they are considered "willingly refusing to repent?"

Is it 5 seconds? 2 seconds? 500 milliseconds?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If we DIE in sin...

My Pastor says that if you DIE unrepentant you will still go to Heaven...I disagree.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The issue is whether or not you are walking in the light.

1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all (past, present, future) sin.

Sin can creep up on us in a moment. We can be enjoying the beautiful presence of God, weeping in worship even, and our flesh can rise up and claim the moment. That is sin, and Paul acknowledged that it wasn't us, but sin dwelling in us.

If what you said were true, we would always, every day, be in a state of "saved, unsaved, saved, unsaved, saved, unsaved, etc."

That is not what the Bible teaches.

Joh 5:24 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.

[ruah brit]

You won't sin with Christ's Spirit in you. If you don't have Christ's Spirit in you then you will sin and you are not His. It is time to ask God for His Spirit if you don't have it.

Ro 8

9

[Fiosh]

Quote: "This is true. You can not say you don't have sin if you are asking Christ to forgive you. But once the true spirit of Christ is in you it is Christ that has no sin."

Denise

Can you clarify that, Denise?

Are you saying that once you are born again, you do not sin.

Or are you saying that when you are born again, you still sin, but you can be forgiven.

Or are you saying something different?

I'm not sure I'm understanding you correctly.

Thanks,

Fiosh

[Aida]

Okay, reading all of this has worried me a bit. I am a Christian, and for the past few months I have been in a rut..one of those where I went through the motions of going to church, but without the feeling I should have as a Christian. I have failed to pray as often as I have, and I have struggled with not having pre-marrital sex..which I have committed in the past few months. I know I have sinned and I have been convicted. I knew at the time it was wrong, I have asked for forgiveness many times. I have tried my best to abstain (I do have a boyfriend..which is still very wrong I know..but just to get the point across that I am not having casual sex )..I am not downplaying this at all..because I have not been obeying God's Word..just wanted to explain it further.

I have not went before the church and asked for forgiveness, but I have prayed about it and have repented in my heart. Today I felt such peace. I felt wonderful and in touch with God's Word. This afternoon, I committed this sin (after I had been abstaining). This is an overshare I know, but I would like to explain this..which has been on my heart. I need prayers, and more than anything I need some re-assurance. I have asked for forgiveness for this, and am praying that God will help me to be strong with this situation. I feel like in the past few months I have had a big turn around in this area in my life..because that is something I battle. I understand that no one can tell me if God will forgive me for this..because with God..I can truly repent and he will help me to be strong. Am I wrong if I don't go before the church and repent. I have asked for forgiveness for this, and for the matter concerning my worldliness. Will someone please help me or give me some guidance? Thank you.

Aida

[Fiosh]

Hi Aida,

Believe it or not, it's a blessing that you are riddled with guilt.

The fact that God will not allow you to go on sinning without remorse and shame is evidence of His love for you.

Have no doubt, God will forgive you as many times as you repent, even 77 times (Matthew 18:22).

You are not alone. We all have weaknesses; areas of our life where we are constantly tempted, and constantly fail. (Rom 3: 23 "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" )

Even the apostle Paul was tormented by the conflict between his flesh and his spirit. (Read Romans chap 7 & 8)

That is not to say that you are "off the hook". For Jesus commands us in Matthew 5:48 to "be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect."

The bar has been set awfully high.

But the Bible also holds the promise that God will not allow us to be tempted without providiing sufficient grace for us to resist temptation. ( I Cor 10:13 "...God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape..." )

So you have no excuse when you give in to temptation. Sin is in reality a denial of God....a lack of faith in His sovereignty. A rellious act of a child against the authority of her Father. WE ALL DO IT.

Pray. Read the Bible and meditate on the word. Join a Bible study or prayer group. Seek out, if possible, a Christian sister in whom you can confide and who will hold you accountable. The best way to beat temptation is to strengthen your faith.

On last thing. Remember when Pilate brought Jesus, battered and bruised, in front of the people and asked them, "whom shall I release to you? Jesus of Nazareth or Barabbas? " What did the crowd cry out??

"Give us Barabbas!!!!

When you are faced with the choice to stay pure and follow Jesus or commit fornication and follow Satan, you also cry out, not "Give me Jesus", but rather, "Give me Barabbas!!!".

And Satan laughs at the crucified Christ.

Forgive my bluntness. But strong temptation requires strong weapons.

I say all this out of love for you as a sister and because I know what is effective in my own life.

I hope I have not offended. If I have I am deeply sorry.

Be strong, sister.

Peace,

Fiosh

[Trust & Obey]

Okay, reading all of this has worried me a bit.  I am a Christian, and for the past few months I have been in a rut..one of those where I went through the motions of going to church, but without the feeling I should have as a Christian.  I have failed to pray as often as I have, and I have struggled with not having pre-marrital sex..which I have committed in the past few months.  I know I have sinned and I have been convicted.  I knew at the time it was wrong, I have asked for forgiveness many times.  I have tried my best to abstain (I do have a boyfriend..which is still very wrong I know..but just to get the point across that I am not having casual sex )..I am not downplaying this at all..because I have not been obeying God's Word..just wanted to explain it further.

I have not went before the church and asked for forgiveness, but I have prayed about it and have repented in my heart.  Today I felt such peace. I felt wonderful and in touch with God's Word.  This afternoon, I committed this sin (after I had been abstaining).  This is an overshare I know, but I would like to explain this..which has been on my heart.  I need prayers, and more than anything I need some re-assurance.  I have asked for forgiveness for this, and am praying that God will help me to be strong with this situation.  I feel like in the past few months I have had a big turn around in this area in my life..because that is something I battle.  I understand that no one can tell me if God will forgive me for this..because with God..I can truly repent and he will help me to be strong.  Am I wrong if I don't go before the church and repent.  I have asked for forgiveness for this, and for the matter concerning my worldliness.  Will someone please help me or give me some guidance?  Thank you.

Aida

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Aida, it is hard for one to give "reassurance" that you are saved. Nobody can know your heart... only you and God.

What I do know is that we are saved by God's grace through faith in Christ. But, this faith in Christ will transform those who are saved because Christ's Spirit indwells that person. The fact that you are being convicted for your sin is a good sign.

My advice to you: since you are failing in this area... over and over and over... you need to recognize this is an area of weakness and temptation in your life. If you are serious about Christ then I would recommend you end your intimate relationship... at least for a while. You need to focus on Christ and your life in Him. Tell God that you love Him more than your boyfriend and will do what it takes to remain pure before Him. Then, if it is God's will, God can bring you two back together again after you each have a time of separation and consecration.

The thing you need to realize is that you are going to continue to sin in this way if you keep the source of the temptation around. It would be like someone who is given to drunkenness promising not to drink anymore, yet they refuse to empty their liquor cabinet.

We are all sinners... even after being saved. This idea of "once you're saved you never sin again" is nonsense. That's called "sinless perfection" and it is completely unbiblical.

You need to structure your life in a way so that you won't be tempted to sin. Our goal shouldn't be simply to resist temptation, but rather to avoid it whenever possible.

God bless you, Aida.

[Trust & Obey]

Okay, reading all of this has worried me a bit.  I am a Christian, and for the past few months I have been in a rut..one of those where I went through the motions of going to church, but without the feeling I should have as a Christian.  I have failed to pray as often as I have, and I have struggled with not having pre-marrital sex..which I have committed in the past few months.  I know I have sinned and I have been convicted.  I knew at the time it was wrong, I have asked for forgiveness many times.  I have tried my best to abstain (I do have a boyfriend..which is still very wrong I know..but just to get the point across that I am not having casual sex )..I am not downplaying this at all..because I have not been obeying God's Word..just wanted to explain it further.

I have not went before the church and asked for forgiveness, but I have prayed about it and have repented in my heart.  Today I felt such peace. I felt wonderful and in touch with God's Word.  This afternoon, I committed this sin (after I had been abstaining).  This is an overshare I know, but I would like to explain this..which has been on my heart.  I need prayers, and more than anything I need some re-assurance.  I have asked for forgiveness for this, and am praying that God will help me to be strong with this situation.  I feel like in the past few months I have had a big turn around in this area in my life..because that is something I battle.  I understand that no one can tell me if God will forgive me for this..because with God..I can truly repent and he will help me to be strong.  Am I wrong if I don't go before the church and repent.  I have asked for forgiveness for this, and for the matter concerning my worldliness.  Will someone please help me or give me some guidance?  Thank you.

Aida

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Also, I don't see why you would need to bring this before the entire Church. You might want to tell your Pastor and some close, godly Christian people in your life to help keep you accountable.

[DaBronx]

I think we all[/] willingly sin at times. I'm sure there are times where we are ready to do something and the Spirit tells us not to, yet we forge ahead anyways.

So, we all willingly sin.

Now, regarding the "won't repent" thing. How long does one have to repent after realizing they sin before they are considered "willingly refusing to repent?"

Is it 5 seconds? 2 seconds? 500 milliseconds?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If we DIE in sin...

My Pastor says that if you DIE unrepentant you will still go to Heaven...I disagree.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The issue is whether or not you are walking in the light.

1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all (past, present, future) sin.

Sin can creep up on us in a moment. We can be enjoying the beautiful presence of God, weeping in worship even, and our flesh can rise up and claim the moment. That is sin, and Paul acknowledged that it wasn't us, but sin dwelling in us.

If what you said were true, we would always, every day, be in a state of "saved, unsaved, saved, unsaved, saved, unsaved, etc."

That is not what the Bible teaches.

Joh 5:24 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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But it is... or else why would Paul need to keep going back to the churches to set them straight?

Why would Jesus send us the Helper - for what? We accepted Him and that's all we need to do...

Why the parable of the seeds? Why not just two seeds...One that grew and one that fell on the rocks?

I say that if you willfully refuse to repent before you die, you were never really saved in the first place.

Edited September 19, 2005 by DaBronx

[DaBronx]

My Pastor says that if you DIE unrepentant you will still go to Heaven...I disagree.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

DaBronx,

Please get your Bible out and read 1 John 5:16-17 "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that."

Ask your Pastor why John talks of certain sin that leads to death and other sin that doesn't. John is clearly telling us that we can lose our salvation from grave sin. If we all took your pastors advice, we could go out and do whatever, whenever and still go to heaven. This makes no logical sense, and goes against what John had to say in the Bible. I think you should listen to John and not your pastor.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

AMEN!!