This was written last year......and sadly......it needs re-posting. :( A LOT OF POSTS ARE APPEARING THAT SUGGEST THAT WHEN WE BECAME BORN AGAIN WE AUTOMATICALLY BECAME RIGHTEOUS AND THAT WE AUTOMATICALLY WERE GRANTED THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE....FROM THAT VERY MOMENT. Scripture begs to differ .....many, many scriptures beg to differ. As we know that ALL scripture is truth I trust that the following ones will not be dismissed or argued with ....but that they will be studied , in context, and accepted as truth....even though they contradict any beliefs we may have on our own righteousness. Time to post an old note......... Recently , a believer told me that even WHEN we sin....we are dead to sin. This makes no earthly sense, let alone spiritual sense. That statement has no scriptural backing and neither does the teaching that Jesus died to deliver us from past, present and future sin. No He didnt. Jesus died to FORGIVE us from the sins we had committed up until the time we accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour AND to enable us to be free from HAVING to sin. We no longer are bound to sin, as the lost are. They cannot help but sin as they have not yet met the ONE who will dwell in their hearts....and change their lives. If Jesus died to deliver us from our present and future sin........then we wouldnt sin....pure and simple. But we do sin. The true believer does not go on sinning, we do not deliberately sin.......hopefully we sin inadvertently, not realising that we have sinned , until we come to God in prayer. It is in prayer that God will tell us what we need to know, or convict us of any hidden sin....which the Word says is in our hearts. Lets have a peek at a few scriptures that tell us WHEN we were forgiven for all the sins we HAD committed: Acts 2:38 - Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This clearly shows our state prior to meeting Jesus.......repent and be baptised for the remission of sins.....this is what is preached to the lost. What does remission mean ? re·mis·sion /riˈmiSHən/ Noun The cancellation of a debt, charge, or penalty. A diminution of the seriousness or intensity of disease or pain; a temporary recovery. Synonyms pardon - forgiveness If we are still sinning....after we have been baptised and born again then Jesus could not have died to deliver us of present and future sin....that would make the Bible a lie.....and it is not. 1 John 1:8-10 - If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. This does not say if we HAD no sin....it says if we HAVE no sin....a present . not a past tense. In other Words, the Bible is acknowledging that we DO have sin Acts 3:19 - Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; All our PAST sins were blotted out. Jesus did not BLOT out our future sins. This scripture refers to BEFORE we became born again....not after. If Jesus forgave us for our present and future sin, while still on the cross then why do we have to repent , as Christians ? Why do we have to confess , as Christians......if we were already forgiven ? I believe the following scriptures says it best: 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then: James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. To preach that Jesus died to deliver us of our present and future sins means that His death ensured that we will never sin again.......and we know, sadly, that we are not perfect....as He is perfect. But to know that He DOES forgive us when we repent and confess is THE most reassuring thing on this earth......but it is not a licence to go on sinning. The greatest apostle that ever lived, Paul, said that he does the things he does not want to do.....in other words he sins despite not wanting to. Scripture clearly tells us that not ONE is righteous....not one and that OUR righteousness is as filthy rags to the Lord. If we think we are righteous then we are deceived. What the Word clearly says is that when we are IN Christ we have HIS righteousness: 2 Corinthians 5:21 ► God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. This clearly says when we are IN Him we have the righteousness of Christ.....when we are IN Christ. Are we always IN Christ ? Not when we sin we aint. Neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit leads us into sin.......so when we do sin ( hopefully not deliberately) we are not IN Christ.....for sin separates us from God: Isaiah 59:2 ► But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. John 9:31 ► We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Only when we are IN Christ....that is obeying Him......doing His will........are we considered to be godly. Paul said he didnt want to take his eye off the prize ( eternal life) and that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. He went so far as to say that he did not want to be cast away: 1 Cor. 9:27 Paul says, “But I discipline my body and BRING IT INTO SUBJECTION: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified (a castaway)” Disqualified ? Castaway ? Does that sound like assured salvation ? No. Paul said we are BEING saved....because our walk is a daily walk. 1 Timothy 4:1 - Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Some shall depart from the faith. One can only depart from the faith if one was IN the faith in the first place. The great falling away is just that....falling away FROM God. The unsaved are already separated from God....they have never been with God, only those who were once saved can fall away from the one who saved him. 2 Corinthians 11:3 - But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Clearly, we are capable of being corrupted....if it was not so God would not have said that it is possible. Romans 6:1-23 - What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Hmmm....we are quite capable of continuing to sin. Scripture could not be clearer. And here, in this one scripture , is our reassurance....that when we do fall ( as we all will) then we have Jesus to intercede for us. He who searches our hearts will KNOW if our hearts are toward Him....despite our weaknesses. He KNOWS if we love Him, believe on Him and if we hate sin enough to want to turn from it. 1 John 2:1 - My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We simply cannot go on sinning , thinking that it is ok to do so....it is not. If in doubt please read Hebrews 10: 6-31 which talks about the unsaved and the saved sinner....the end result is the same as sin is sin, no matter who commits it. There will be NO difference between an unsaved and a saved sinner on judgement day.....IF we do not confess our sin and ask for forgiveness. If we do not, and we die in a state of sin then the truth of scripture will be revealed.....sin separates us from God. May the Holy Spirit use these scriptures to convict us that any righteousness we have is Christs righteousness .....and that we only ever have His righteousness when we are IN Christ....walking in the Spirit, obeying the Lord. When we take our eyes off the prize that is when we are not on the narrow path, that is when we sin, that is when we are separated from God ....UNTIL we repent and confess....THEN He is quick to forgive: 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Clearly when we are in a state of sin we are UNrighteous....only His forgiveness restores us to Him. Hallelujah...we serve a MOST wonderful, just, righteous God who KNOWS that we will fall but who promises, through His Grace and Mercy to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When Jesus returns and resurrects the dead in Christ He will bestow upon them , and all the righteous that are living at the time of His second coming, the gift of eternal life....immortality and ONLY then will we have an incorruptible, pure body like that of Jesus: 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. We are changed at the LAST trumpet ( the 7th is the last) .....when the dead in Christ rise.....and that ONLY happens when Jesus returns....NEVER before. Until then we are to remain IN Him, to abide IN Him....for only IN Christ , only when we are obeying Him do we have His righteousness .....otherwise we are in the flesh. 2014 looms. My prayer, for us all, is not that we have a prosperous or happy new year....but that we have a Godly new year. That we learn how to remain Godly when adversity strikes. That we remain IN Christ. That we abide IN Christ. That we run the race and keep our eyes on the prize. That we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. God bless each and every one of you as you uphold each other, pray for each other, love each other.....and that you do exactly the same for the lost. I would greatly appreciate your prayers for me... in these areas.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 17:37:05 +0000
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