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Post by John on Sept 6, 2020 17:23:56 GMT -5
When God appeared to me fourteen years ago, He revealed to me many things concerning His bride and what was in store for her before He returned. One particularly interesting things revolving around this particular discussion was this. There will be a generation of believers who will saved , delivered and sanctified BEFORE they truly repent, not afterwards. i realize some here will want to call me on this. They will demand scripture to back such a heretical sounding statement up. If you will then, read the 36th chapter of Ezekiel. Here God tells His own that they have blasphemed His holy name wherever they have gone. Guys, whether we like it or not, it is speaking about us. Not just those of the side of greasy grace. But yes, those of us who have determined to obey God but without the Spirit being the power behind it. We have offered the world a religion where our hypocrisy is on full display. Some want to make the grace of God their excuse for remaining in sin. Others want to think they are the true servants of God by their own diligence and obedience, while totally lacking compassion, mercy and tears. These are quick to judge and condemn, and like the two disciples who asked if Jesus wanted them to call down fire from Heaven upon those they saw in error, Jesus responded that they knew not what spirit they were. Our job is to display Jesus to others, not just quote His words. It is the love we have for those we see trapped in error that will do far more to awaken and draw them than our quickness to point out their errors, declaring them lost. So, that generation I spoke of, found in Ezekiel 36? God said that this generation that, by their lives, did not gather but scattered abroad, this same people who blasphemed His Holy name wherever they went, would be used as God-filled laborers to gather in the great end time final harvest. Whoa. And how will God accomplish this miracle, this demonstration of His mercy on ALL of us who call ourselves as Christians? "And I will sanctify My great name which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God , when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes." Ezekiel 36:23 Guys, we are all guilty, myself at the head of the class. We, and I in particular, have not displayed Jesus to a lost and dying world, desperate for light, nor to His own people bound in a religion that sets no one free. We have not displayed His love, nor His compassion. We have lacked His patience and mercy. We have set ourselves on pedestals as if WE are the people of God and that we are living pure and holy lives. We are not. And yet..... And yet... What a wonderful continuation to our dilemma. What hope remains! What amazing mercy! And yet, despite our blindness and contentment without overflowing with fruits, God is going to restore us to our former glory. All the elect, all who love the Lord, no matter how far they may have drifted through erroneous teaching, WILL hear His voice. They WILL be sanctified wholly, body, soul and Spirit. And just as God has promised us, He WILL cause us to obey Him. We WILL walk as new creatures, and resist satan steadfast in the faith that the old us truly died when Christ died, And guess what? Satan WILL flee from us! Every temptation! It is when this occurs, and God's church is revived from the dead, where we have been healed bur only slightly, that the truth God reveled to me will come to pass. it will be THEN that we will look back and see how blind we have been, how content in our version of what we thought Christianity looked like. Here is the verse where God has promised such an amazing display of mercy and undeserved grace. "“‘Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them. “‘I will also save you from all your uncleannesses; and I will call for the corn and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Ezekiel 36:25-27,29-31 Did you catch that amazing last verse? There it is! The generation forgiven before they repented. US! Wow! Look guys, I do not want to start a war here. But I have seen a lot of judgment thrown around here, but sadly, how seen few tears shed . Mercy rejoices against judgment. If we feel our brothers are led off in error, we are to warn, yes. But above all we are to PRAY. We are to INTERCEDE. We are to stand in the gap till they see what God desires of all of us. An obedience fueled by Him living inside us, with us reckoned DEAD. We who are awake to the truth are to cry out to our God to withhold judgment till all His children return to Him. Every single one. We cannot damn others to hell for not obeying if we do not tell them HOW to do so. And if there are still areas of our own lives not fully subdued to His authority, should we not rather be on our knees seeking God to fully deliver us from our own disobedience, from our lack of compassion and empathy and our hard judgments when judgment is not yet? Now is the time for mercy, and we cannot receive it till we acknowledge our own need for it. Love is what will break the yoke of blindness. If those we warn do not see or feel love as the motivator of our warnings, they will reject us and so they should. Christ cares for those in deception, whether in the church or out. And if Christ is in us, we too will walk the same way. blessings and I pray any reading this hard-to-read post will bear in mind how much I care as I speak these words. Gideon Coming here telling us in advance that we will demand scripture to back up what you said will not stop me from doing so. I want scripture to back up the coming awakening and scripture in context to back up the rest of what you said. I do not believe what you posted shows what you claim it does.
Jesus said what He said, and He meant it. The Apostles said what they said and they meant it. I actually believe what they said. People like Frienduff actually believe what they said. This has nothing to do with judging anyone. It has to do with taking Jesus and the Apostles at their word. You say we did not tell them how to get free? That is nonsense. All of us did just that. We all said, almost in unison, that people need to resist when they are tempted and cry out to God for help. When we are serious, He will hear and deliver. We do not have to wait on some future awakening! Jesus never told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more once the awakening occurs, or only after he gave her points about how to do it. People claim God reveals all kinds of things to them all the time, but I measure all against the Bible, so I am not going to just believe there will be an awakening where people will suddenly have the power to live right.
You said we cannot just go around damning people to hell. Neither can you go around speaking for Jesus and basically disagreeing with Him, because all I have been doing is repeating His words. He is the final judge on things, not me and not you. When I show what He says, if His words are damning people to hell, that is not me doing it. That is Jesus doing it, and those who come in here saying that is not true are not at odds with us, but with Jesus. He did no sin, so He can judge others. I am just repeating His words, and I most certainly can just do that. I was told by the Lord to preach the Word. I can back that up in Timothy that this is scriptural. I feel you are the one led off in error. There is this phony love message going around where we are not to be straight forward with people about what the Bible really says, but we are to love and woo them. Jesus and the Apostles never taught that. How do you know if we are praying for each other? You do not! How do you know if tears are shed? You do not! How do you know if we are judging people? You do not! The judging is coming directly from Jesus and the Apostles, and I do not plan to let up one bit, because people are going to hell believing lies. If they are waiting on some awakening to repent, they will be in trouble.
I take you at your word that you are not trying to start a war, and I am not going to war against you, but I do not receive what you said as being right. I do not care if you are saying it in love or hate. It is false. I have been listening to the church claim we cannot preach fear into people, but we must love them in. Look where that has gotten us! Look at the condition of the church since we started down that road with the seeker friendly model in the 90s. No fear of God. No concern that daddy God will cast anyone out. I am sorry, but you are barking up the wrong tree with that stuff here.
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Post by John on Sept 6, 2020 17:29:59 GMT -5
When God appeared to me fourteen years ago, He revealed to me many things concerning His bride and what was in store for her before He returned. One particularly interesting things revolving around this particular discussion was this. There will be a generation of believers who will saved , delivered and sanctified BEFORE they truly repent, not afterwards. i realize some here will want to call me on this. They will demand scripture to back such a heretical sounding statement up. If you will then, read the 36th chapter of Ezekiel. Here God tells His own that they have blasphemed His holy name wherever they have gone. Guys, whether we like it or not, it is speaking about us. Not just those of the side of greasy grace. But yes, those of us who have determined to obey God but without the Spirit being the power behind it. We have offered the world a religion where our hypocrisy is on full display. Some want to make the grace of God their excuse for remaining in sin. Others want to think they are the true servants of God by their own diligence and obedience, while totally lacking compassion, mercy and tears. These are quick to judge and condemn, and like the two disciples who asked if Jesus wanted them to call down fire from Heaven upon those they saw in error, Jesus responded that they knew not what spirit they were. Our job is to display Jesus to others, not just quote His words. It is the love we have for those we see trapped in error that will do far more to awaken and draw them than our quickness to point out their errors, declaring them lost. So, that generation I spoke of, found in Ezekiel 36? God said that this generation that, by their lives, did not gather but scattered abroad, this same people who blasphemed His Holy name wherever they went, would be used as God-filled laborers to gather in the great end time final harvest. Whoa. And how will God accomplish this miracle, this demonstration of His mercy on ALL of us who call ourselves as Christians? "And I will sanctify My great name which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God , when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes." Ezekiel 36:23 Guys, we are all guilty, myself at the head of the class. We, and I in particular, have not displayed Jesus to a lost and dying world, desperate for light, nor to His own people bound in a religion that sets no one free. We have not displayed His love, nor His compassion. We have lacked His patience and mercy. We have set ourselves on pedestals as if WE are the people of God and that we are living pure and holy lives. We are not. And yet..... And yet... What a wonderful continuation to our dilemma. What hope remains! What amazing mercy! And yet, despite our blindness and contentment without overflowing with fruits, God is going to restore us to our former glory. All the elect, all who love the Lord, no matter how far they may have drifted through erroneous teaching, WILL hear His voice. They WILL be sanctified wholly, body, soul and Spirit. And just as God has promised us, He WILL cause us to obey Him. We WILL walk as new creatures, and resist satan steadfast in the faith that the old us truly died when Christ died, And guess what? Satan WILL flee from us! Every temptation! It is when this occurs, and God's church is revived from the dead, where we have been healed bur only slightly, that the truth God reveled to me will come to pass. it will be THEN that we will look back and see how blind we have been, how content in our version of what we thought Christianity looked like. Here is the verse where God has promised such an amazing display of mercy and undeserved grace. "“‘Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them. “‘I will also save you from all your uncleannesses; and I will call for the corn and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Ezekiel 36:25-27,29-31 Did you catch that amazing last verse? There it is! The generation forgiven before they repented. US! Wow! Look guys, I do not want to start a war here. But I have seen a lot of judgment thrown around here, but sadly, how seen few tears shed . Mercy rejoices against judgment. If we feel our brothers are led off in error, we are to warn, yes. But above all we are to PRAY. We are to INTERCEDE. We are to stand in the gap till they see what God desires of all of us. An obedience fueled by Him living inside us, with us reckoned DEAD. We who are awake to the truth are to cry out to our God to withhold judgment till all His children return to Him. Every single one. We cannot damn others to hell for not obeying if we do not tell them HOW to do so. And if there are still areas of our own lives not fully subdued to His authority, should we not rather be on our knees seeking God to fully deliver us from our own disobedience, from our lack of compassion and empathy and our hard judgments when judgment is not yet? Now is the time for mercy, and we cannot receive it till we acknowledge our own need for it. Love is what will break the yoke of blindness. If those we warn do not see or feel love as the motivator of our warnings, they will reject us and so they should. Christ cares for those in deception, whether in the church or out. And if Christ is in us, we too will walk the same way. blessings and I pray any reading this hard-to-read post will bear in mind how much I care as I speak these words. Gideon I can vouch personally for the compassion of those here. I've said some off the wall things here due to being off my medication. I was still treated very well and with patience. I know John to be compassionate to the point of self-sacrificing in his actions. He often gives difficult people multiple chances to get things right. Frienduff takes a hard line but he really cares about us. He remembers little details about all of our lives. Self righteousness is not the goal of anyone here. Anyone can come off sounding a certain way online. But in action, all here are sincere. Thank you Tabith3319. I promise you that the last thing I want is people going to hell. I am not seeking to go around judging people to hell. I know what an awful place it is from what the Bible says, and here is the truth of the matter. If it was me doing the judging, few would go to hell, and none would suffer forever. That is because I am a human being, and I understand what pain and suffering forever means for anyone. From my standpoint, I would not wish that on the worst of the worst, but I am not the judge, and I am not more righteous than the Judge. gideons300 If you think we are sitting back with an attitude we are better than others, and they deserve to go to hell and want to be able to come back saying we told you so, you do not understand anything about us. We want nobody to go to hell, so we tell the truth. Watering down the gospel will not help anyone in the long run.
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Post by gideons300 on Sept 6, 2020 18:06:02 GMT -5
I am not questioning the compassion some here have for others belonging to this site. But there have been several instances where judgment was quickly given to those who do not k along the lines presented here. Yes, we are to obey, but how that obedience comes about is the issue. If we are truly abiding in Him, we will not keep ourselves. He will keep us from falling. We will have compassion for others in the body to be awakened to their danger, and not simply deterimine they are not part of the body at all. Will there be carnal believers who enter Heaven, who will see all their works burned up but still enter Heaven? The Word declares it so. Can one be carnal and still saved? Evidently. And so our job is to first walk fully in Him as new creatures, and then lovingly warn them, and pray their eyes be opened to who they are in Christ.
blessings, Gids
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Post by bethany on Sept 6, 2020 18:09:09 GMT -5
When God appeared to me fourteen years ago, He revealed to me many things concerning His bride and what was in store for her before He returned. One particularly interesting things revolving around this particular discussion was this. There will be a generation of believers who will saved , delivered and sanctified BEFORE they truly repent, not afterwards. i realize some here will want to call me on this. They will demand scripture to back such a heretical sounding statement up. If you will then, read the 36th chapter of Ezekiel. Here God tells His own that they have blasphemed His holy name wherever they have gone. Guys, whether we like it or not, it is speaking about us. Not just those of the side of greasy grace. But yes, those of us who have determined to obey God but without the Spirit being the power behind it. We have offered the world a religion where our hypocrisy is on full display. Some want to make the grace of God their excuse for remaining in sin. Others want to think they are the true servants of God by their own diligence and obedience, while totally lacking compassion, mercy and tears. These are quick to judge and condemn, and like the two disciples who asked if Jesus wanted them to call down fire from Heaven upon those they saw in error, Jesus responded that they knew not what spirit they were. Our job is to display Jesus to others, not just quote His words. It is the love we have for those we see trapped in error that will do far more to awaken and draw them than our quickness to point out their errors, declaring them lost. So, that generation I spoke of, found in Ezekiel 36? God said that this generation that, by their lives, did not gather but scattered abroad, this same people who blasphemed His Holy name wherever they went, would be used as God-filled laborers to gather in the great end time final harvest. Whoa. And how will God accomplish this miracle, this demonstration of His mercy on ALL of us who call ourselves as Christians? "And I will sanctify My great name which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God , when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes." Ezekiel 36:23 Guys, we are all guilty, myself at the head of the class. We, and I in particular, have not displayed Jesus to a lost and dying world, desperate for light, nor to His own people bound in a religion that sets no one free. We have not displayed His love, nor His compassion. We have lacked His patience and mercy. We have set ourselves on pedestals as if WE are the people of God and that we are living pure and holy lives. We are not. And yet..... And yet... What a wonderful continuation to our dilemma. What hope remains! What amazing mercy! And yet, despite our blindness and contentment without overflowing with fruits, God is going to restore us to our former glory. All the elect, all who love the Lord, no matter how far they may have drifted through erroneous teaching, WILL hear His voice. They WILL be sanctified wholly, body, soul and Spirit. And just as God has promised us, He WILL cause us to obey Him. We WILL walk as new creatures, and resist satan steadfast in the faith that the old us truly died when Christ died, And guess what? Satan WILL flee from us! Every temptation! It is when this occurs, and God's church is revived from the dead, where we have been healed bur only slightly, that the truth God reveled to me will come to pass. it will be THEN that we will look back and see how blind we have been, how content in our version of what we thought Christianity looked like. Here is the verse where God has promised such an amazing display of mercy and undeserved grace. "“‘Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them. “‘I will also save you from all your uncleannesses; and I will call for the corn and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Ezekiel 36:25-27,29-31 Did you catch that amazing last verse? There it is! The generation forgiven before they repented. US! Wow! Look guys, I do not want to start a war here. But I have seen a lot of judgment thrown around here, but sadly, how seen few tears shed . Mercy rejoices against judgment. If we feel our brothers are led off in error, we are to warn, yes. But above all we are to PRAY. We are to INTERCEDE. We are to stand in the gap till they see what God desires of all of us. An obedience fueled by Him living inside us, with us reckoned DEAD. We who are awake to the truth are to cry out to our God to withhold judgment till all His children return to Him. Every single one. We cannot damn others to hell for not obeying if we do not tell them HOW to do so. And if there are still areas of our own lives not fully subdued to His authority, should we not rather be on our knees seeking God to fully deliver us from our own disobedience, from our lack of compassion and empathy and our hard judgments when judgment is not yet? Now is the time for mercy, and we cannot receive it till we acknowledge our own need for it. Love is what will break the yoke of blindness. If those we warn do not see or feel love as the motivator of our warnings, they will reject us and so they should. Christ cares for those in deception, whether in the church or out. And if Christ is in us, we too will walk the same way. blessings and I pray any reading this hard-to-read post will bear in mind how much I care as I speak these words. Gideon well, this post is not speaking about me, or anyone I know. The whole post seems about those who are not Born Again Christians.I want to remind people that no-one knows our hearts, or the hearts of others except God. I dont care how much someone else says they post in love, Bible truths are Bible truths. And this doesnt seem like Bible truths to me. I will wait for the other, more knowledgeable ones to come in and explain this. But it just doesnt sit right with me. I am also uncomfortable with judging and claiming the whole group of Christians are bad, uncaring and harsh, unscriptural etc etc. This sounds like blood and thunder preaching to me.
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Post by bethany on Sept 6, 2020 18:11:36 GMT -5
I am not questioning the compassion some here have for others belonging to this site. But there have been several instances where judgment was quickly given to those who do not k along the lines presented here. Yes, we are to obey, but how that obedience comes about is the issue. If we are truly abiding in Him, we will not keep ourselves. He will keep us from falling. We will have compassion for others in the body to be awakened to their danger, and not simply deterimine they are not part of the body at all. Will there be carnal believers who enter Heaven, who will see all their works burned up but still enter Heaven? The Word declares it so. Can one be carnal and still saved? Evidently. And so our job is to first walk fully in Him as new creatures, and then lovingly warn them, and pray their eyes be opened to who they are in Christ. blessings, Gids 1) define carnal 2) what do you mean by He will keep us from falling?
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Post by Tabitha3319 on Sept 6, 2020 18:23:17 GMT -5
I am not questioning the compassion some here have for others belonging to this site. But there have been several instances where judgment was quickly given to those who do not k along the lines presented here. Yes, we are to obey, but how that obedience comes about is the issue. If we are truly abiding in Him, we will not keep ourselves. He will keep us from falling. We will have compassion for others in the body to be awakened to their danger, and not simply deterimine they are not part of the body at all. Will there be carnal believers who enter Heaven, who will see all their works burned up but still enter Heaven? The Word declares it so. Can one be carnal and still saved? Evidently. And so our job is to first walk fully in Him as new creatures, and then lovingly warn them, and pray their eyes be opened to who they are in Christ. blessings, Gids What about Romans 8? Romans 8:5-7 King James Version 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. I know you were referencing 1 Corinthians 3. But you can't be carnal and make it to heaven.
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Post by John on Sept 6, 2020 18:25:58 GMT -5
I am not questioning the compassion some here have for others belonging to this site. But there have been several instances where judgment was quickly given to those who do not k along the lines presented here. Yes, we are to obey, but how that obedience comes about is the issue. If we are truly abiding in Him, we will not keep ourselves. He will keep us from falling. We will have compassion for others in the body to be awakened to their danger, and not simply deterimine they are not part of the body at all. Will there be carnal believers who enter Heaven, who will see all their works burned up but still enter Heaven? The Word declares it so. Can one be carnal and still saved? Evidently. And so our job is to first walk fully in Him as new creatures, and then lovingly warn them, and pray their eyes be opened to who they are in Christ. blessings, Gids Carnal is not sinful. As such, I do believe there will be some in heaven that may still have some carnal tendencies. We show compassion for others by being truthful with them. We tell them what the Bible says, not it says this, but does not really mean it. We are told in scripture that if we fail to warn the wicked of their sinful state, their blood will be on our hands. As such, we warn.
As far as judgment goes to those who do not hold the line here, we are not to entertain false doctrine. Like nearly every message board, we have a statement of faith, and it is true that we do not allow doctrine to be promoted that goes contrary to it. That is to protect people. The issue here is, what is the final authority, personal feelings and experiences, or scripture. We make it clear that to us, it is scripture.
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Post by John on Sept 6, 2020 18:28:44 GMT -5
I am not questioning the compassion some here have for others belonging to this site. But there have been several instances where judgment was quickly given to those who do not k along the lines presented here. Yes, we are to obey, but how that obedience comes about is the issue. If we are truly abiding in Him, we will not keep ourselves. He will keep us from falling. We will have compassion for others in the body to be awakened to their danger, and not simply deterimine they are not part of the body at all. Will there be carnal believers who enter Heaven, who will see all their works burned up but still enter Heaven? The Word declares it so. Can one be carnal and still saved? Evidently. And so our job is to first walk fully in Him as new creatures, and then lovingly warn them, and pray their eyes be opened to who they are in Christ. blessings, Gids What about Roman's 8? Romans 8:5-7 King James Version 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. I know you were referencing 1 Corinthians 3. But you can't be carnal and make it to heaven. Excellent point Tabitha3319! Even I failed to remember that scripture in my reply. I was thinking more about carnal in the sense of not having gotten to the point of understanding meat of the Word, but of being in the place of being on the milk. Carnal minded in that way, you are absolutely right.
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Post by gideons300 on Sept 6, 2020 18:32:20 GMT -5
A carnal believer is one wh has been given a brand new nature but who has never put it on by reckoning their old nature as dead. Thus they are still living as people in their old fallen natures, both their good parts as well as their bad.
As to being kept from falling, it means just that. God is the only one who can bring us to a place where, no matter the temptation, we are caused to take the way of escape. We do not overcome by our determination or effort. It is our shield of faith that is to keep us from giving in. So, how can we tell whether we are walking in our old nature or not? When we fall into temptation, do we try to resist as best we can, or do we stand on the truth that sin shall not have dominion over us because it is not more us that live, but Christ who now lives in? Is it His strength keeping us, causing us to obey, or is it us?
The first way does work on occasion, but has limits, and is for those who are strong. The second always works and causes satan to flee us, and is for those who have been shown how weak they really are outside of walking in their new nature. I pray this helps.
blessings, Gids
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Post by gideons300 on Sept 6, 2020 18:35:37 GMT -5
A carnal believer is one wh has been given a brand new nature but who has never put it on by reckoning their old nature as dead. Thus they are still living as people in their old fallen natures, both their good parts as well as their bad.
As to being kept from falling, it means just that. God is the only one who can bring us to a place where, no matter the temptation, we are caused to take the way of escape. We do not overcome by our determination or effort. It is our shield of faith that is to keep us from giving in. So, how can we tell whether we are walking in our old nature or not? When we fall into temptation, do we try to resist as best we can, or do we stand on the truth that sin shall not have dominion over us because it is not more us that live, but Christ who now lives in? Is it His strength keeping us, causing us to obey, or is it us?
The first way does work on occasion, but has limits, and is for those who are strong. The second always works and causes satan to flee us, and is for those who have been shown how weak they really are outside of walking in their new nature. I pray this helps.
blessings, Gids
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Post by John on Sept 6, 2020 18:47:43 GMT -5
A carnal believer is one wh has been given a brand new nature but who has never put it on by reckoning their old nature as dead. Thus they are still living as people in their old fallen natures, both their good parts as well as their bad. As to being kept from falling, it means just that. God is the only one who can bring us to a place where, no matter the temptation, we are caused to take the way of escape. We do not overcome by our determination or effort. It is our shield of faith that is to keep us from giving in. So, how can we tell whether we are walking in our old nature or not? When we fall into temptation, do we try to resist as best we can, or do we stand on the truth that sin shall not have dominion over us because it is not more us that live, but Christ who now lives in? Is it His strength keeping us, causing us to obey, or is it us? The first way does work on occasion, but has limits, and is for those who are strong. The second always works and causes satan to flee us, and is for those who have been shown how weak they really are outside of walking in their new nature. I pray this helps. blessings, Gids I know that is what you believe, but I do not think it is true. I personally think that you just came to a place in your walk where you got serious about serving God completely, and in your case, you associate it with that scripture. It has happened for others, where they did not associate it with that scripture.
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Post by Tabitha3319 on Sept 6, 2020 18:48:01 GMT -5
A carnal believer is one wh has been given a brand new nature but who has never put it on by reckoning their old nature as dead. Thus they are still living as people in their old fallen natures, both their good parts as well as their bad. As to being kept from falling, it means just that. God is the only one who can bring us to a place where, no matter the temptation, we are caused to take the way of escape. We do not overcome by our determination or effort. It is our shield of faith that is to keep us from giving in. So, how can we tell whether we are walking in our old nature or not? When we fall into temptation, do we try to resist as best we can, or do we stand on the truth that sin shall not have dominion over us because it is not more us that live, but Christ who now lives in? Is it His strength keeping us, causing us to obey, or is it us? The first way does work on occasion, but has limits, and is for those who are strong. The second always works and causes satan to flee us, and is for those who have been shown how weak they really are outside of walking in their new nature. I pray this helps. blessings, Gids Both. I will admit, reckoning myself dead to sin did help. It did help me to know and have faith that sin didn't have power over me. Before, I thought sin was just an inevitable every day experience for everyone. I think what I do now is exhort myself to resist sin because I want to continue in the Spirit. The temptation is every day. I resist because I want to honor God in all my ways and stay in His presence. To me, walking in newness of life is possible but not effortless. I have not found a path free of self effort. But I have victory over sin, knowing that it is possible to resist as a Holy Spirit filled believer.
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Post by bethany on Sept 6, 2020 18:52:48 GMT -5
I agree tabitha3319. I am the same.
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Post by John on Sept 6, 2020 18:56:26 GMT -5
I agree tabitha3319. I am the same. I also agree with what Tabitha said. I do not disagree with the scripture about reckoning yourself dead, but it is not magical to suddenly understand that, and then we no longer have to do anything with any self effort.
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Post by Tabitha3319 on Sept 6, 2020 18:56:55 GMT -5
I can't say enough about how empowering to know I was called to live in righteousness and not sin and that the Spirit gives the power to do so.
I believe without the Spirit, I'd have no desire to live a Holy life.
But I began to feel such joy when I surrendered fully to the Lord. He began to bless me so much with the spiritual Fruit that I was looking for, thereby also confirming that I was truly saved.
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