Posted on 03/30/2002 7:53:37 PM PST by malakhi
| Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue. - John Adams |
Someone who is saved will never engage in a sexual sin. No, that's not it either. People can fail.
What you mean is that saved people can't possibly do things that bad. You are putting a stipulation on salvation. Instead of salvation by "faith alone" you have added a clause. If you fall into sin that is too "heinous" God won't pull you out.
Dave, my belief is that when a man begins to seek God, God sees his sincerity, whether he's sinning or not.
God judges his sincerity, and then calls him by giving him more information and more opportunities to begin learning and thinking of God.
When God knocks on his door, and he answers, then God gives him knowledge of his Son and his redeeming blood, and he's forgiven of all sin past present and future by His one sacrifice, and he’s given the Holy Spirit..
He then follows the Spirit that directs him to a belief that will start his growth toward God's kingdom.
By the time Christ has covered his sin, he has already begun to hate his past sins, and with the Holy Spirit in him, he should never have similar problems again.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
V-45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
V-46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father
47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Anyway, that’s how I see it all come down, and it’s not the belief of my church, or any others that I’m familiar with, and it’s the way God seemed to work in my life.
If a man still sins continually as before, I find it hard to believe God would put His Spirit in a body that still has not turned from sin.
A man who seems religious, but is still steeped in the same sin as before, I believe God is watching him and waiting for him to come to the point he can be called.
Perhaps that's why Paul said to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.1 Cor 5:5
JH :-)
I'm beginning to understand why Catholicism needs a purgatory. :-)
JH
Per the request regarding opinions on the commission of sin by believers.
I believe that true Christians have the power available to them to ultimately be victorious over any particular temptation to sin.1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.The question at hand is ... how faithful are we in availing ourselves of that power (i.e. finding God's way out and taking it) ?
Also, depending upon the compulsion to any particular sin ... I believe deliverance from such sin may come sooner or later. Pragmatically, I believe that the christian who is successfully dealing with their sin (through repentence and looking to the Lord for His way out) will experience a diminishing of said sin until said sin is expunged from his/her life.
That being said, I believe that a christian can, for a time, decide to leave their sin unattended to ... and so, commit such sin for an indefinite period. I also believe that God chastens His children in regard to their sin, in an effort to bring them to a point where they will deal with it.
That being said ... I wish to throw out another question. It's one that has been haunting me for a while now. I ask that those who will render an opinion.
Are there some sins that a Christian cannot commit ?
Are there some paths that are simply too dark for a Christian to set foot upon ?
I ask this as I contemplate the various child killings ... as I view yet another dramatization of a past serial killer.
Are there some sins that a Christian (being who they are) simply cannot commit ?
What do you think ?
I would definately say yes, because God would never put His Spirit in a man He saw would, or had potential to do certain henious crimes.
Repentance is to turn your life around and go a different direction then you were going.
If God doesn't see you've turned, but are still looking back, He will not consider it as repentance, and you'll not be considered a Christian.
JH :-)
Leave a sleeping Havoc lie. Lol
Okay, you talked me into it.
Go back to post #50,954 and start, then go to 959, 961, #51,081, o77, and 081, but don't say I didn't warn you. Lol
JH :-)
I thought this article concerning pigs and SARS was an interesting read...
A true Christian is free NOT to follow the Holy Spirit. I think that if a Christian actually gets to the point where they commit a heinous crime then they long ago rejected and that spirit and let it die, or slip away.
The worst sins start off as the smallest sins. To get to the point of murder it seems like one would have to commit sin upon sin upon sin, rejection upon rejection upon rejection before finally doing the actual physical crime.
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