Perfection, Sin No More, Power of Holy Spirit

civilwarbuff

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Landon Caeli

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We are to strive for perfection, because we are called to be in Gods likeness, and to be in friendship with God -just as the Saints are. The path I'm currently considering to reach this point, is through Christian Mysticism, particularly the threefold path. The Catholic Church has a very long tradition of mysticism, including Saints and doctors of the Church.
 
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cgaviria

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_mysticism

...Go to the Practice section towards the bottom and see the Threefold Path.

I would encourage you to seek the holy spirit in a different way. Its actually alot simpler. You need to repent by stopping sinning, all sin. The Law of Moses reveals all that is sin, so study up on all the commandments, and discover which ones you are breaking, and stop breaking them. You need to then humble yourself... meaning get rid of all properties and excess possessions of things you don't need. Then give alms to the poor. Then finally, ask God to give you his holy spirit, and then he surely will.
 
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Wgw

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We are to strive for perfection, because we are called to be in Gods likeness, and to be in friendship with God -just as the Saints are. The path I'm currently considering to reach this point, is through Christian Mysticism, particularly the threefold path. The Catholic Church has a very long tradition of mysticism, including Saints and doctors of the Church.

Indeed, as does the Orthodox. We share a common ascetic heritage. There are some distinctions: hesychasm vs. lectio divina, interior stability vs. locational stability according to a Benedictine concept, and so on.

I'm on the fence about which approach would be more difficult.

The fruits of the two traditions however seem broadly similiar to the point where, although I am Orthodox, I am inclined to refard several RC monastics as valid ascetics worthy of sainthood. I particularly like the Carthusians and the ransom-paying mendicant orders.
 
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Landon Caeli

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I would encourage you to seek the holy spirit in a different way. Its actually alot simpler. You need to repent by stopping sinning, all sin. The Law of Moses reveals all that is sin, so study up on all the commandments, and discover which ones you are breaking, and stop breaking them. You need to then humble yourself... meaning get rid of all properties and excess possessions of things you don't need. Then give alms to the poor. Then finally, ask God to give you his holy spirit, and then he surely will.

What you described is exactly the first step in what I'm speaking of. But Christians can go further by following the same path that the desert fathers of the Church took when they went to live solitary lives in the desert -these were some of the first Saints.

...Many people misunderstand Mysticism in considering it 'New Age', but in all honesty, it couldn't be more orthodox in the Christian faith. Its about living a life of prayer and the study of scripture... Giving away posessions and caring for the poor... It's about living out your Christian faith to the fullest and understanding God more fully as He reveals Himself.

...But I agree. We should strive to be sinless.
 
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cgaviria

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What you described is exactly the first step in what I'm speaking of. But Christians can go further by following the same path that the desert fathers of the Church took when they went to live solitary lives in the desert -these were some of the first Saints.

...Many people misunderstand Mysticism in considering it 'New Age', but in all honesty, it couldn't be more orthodox in the Christian faith. Its about living a life of prayer and the study of scripture... Giving away posessions and caring for the poor... It's about living out your Christian faith to the fullest and understanding God more fully as He reveals Himself.

...But I agree. We should strive to be sinless.

Nah, you ought not live in solitude, as we are all called to be laborers of the harvest, to be shepherds of the flock, fishers of men, meaning we are all called to separate ourselves from society, but still live in it, and spread the gospel, disciple, bring in converts, and expand the church. There are sects like the Amish, that do well in separating themselves as they have and have avoided many different evils that exist in society, but they isolate themselves, which is where their error is, and also avoid using technology, which is also an error, as there are ways to use certain technologies to spread the gospel and to be used for the advantage of a man of God to spread the kingdom of God. So the way the assemblies should actually function is exactly as they did in the Book of Acts, everyone sells everything that they have, meaning all houses and lands, and owning no property, except to rent your dwelling, and sell all possessions of things you do not need. Then all believers ought to share with each other, as each has need, and none claim one thing that they own as theirs. They should fellowship daily in their homes, breaking bread together, sharing scripture together, and this is where the church ought to be, in homes. And obviously being filled with the holy spirit. In receiving holy spirit you become perfected to never sin again. So you don't even need to do the work to become perfect, just receive him, and you will become perfected, as that is the whole point of the baptism in the holy spirit. He removes all evil desires from within you, and thus will cause you to never sin again. But you need to repent and humble yourself first. Entreat the favor of God to give you this free gift!

You seem like a zealous person, which is exactly how all believers ought to be, radical and zealous for God. Might I suggest reading some studies I've posted on my blog? http://www.wisdomofgod.co/ . Perhaps you can acquire some extra pearls of wisdom from it :)
 
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Wgw

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Nah, you ought not live in solitude, as we are all called to be laborers of the harvest, to be shepherds of the flock, fishers of men, meaning we are all called to separate ourselves from society, but still live in it, and spread the gospel, disciple, bring in converts, and expand the church.

The solitary vocation is only practiced by a minority of monastics. That said, it is scripturally justifiable, based on our Lord's retreat into the desert.

There are sects like the Amish, that do well in separating themselves as they have and have avoided many different evils that exist in society, but they isolate themselves, which is where their error is, and also avoid using technology, which is also an error, as there are ways to use certain technologies to spread the gospel and to be used for the advantage of a man of God to spread the kingdom of God.

The Amish are not mystical; they have precisely nothing in common with monasticism. Most monasteries use and employ technology to varying degrees.

So the way the assemblies should actually function is exactly as they did in the Book of Acts, everyone sells everything that they have, meaning all houses and lands, and owning no property, except to rent your dwelling, and sell all possessions of things you do not need. Then all believers ought to share with each other, as each has need, and none claim one thing that they own as theirs. They should fellowship daily in their homes, breaking bread together, sharing scripture together, and this is where the church ought to be, in homes. And obviously being filled with the holy spirit.

That is "not exactly as they functioned in the book of acts." The Upper Room was located in a house owned by St. Mark. Which is now a monastery of my Church.
 
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DrBubbaLove

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I would encourage you to seek the holy spirit in a different way. Its actually alot simpler. You need to repent by stopping sinning, all sin. The Law of Moses reveals all that is sin, so study up on all the commandments, and discover which ones you are breaking, and stop breaking them. You need to then humble yourself... meaning get rid of all properties and excess possessions of things you don't need. Then give alms to the poor. Then finally, ask God to give you his holy spirit, and then he surely will.
Having no other god before Him sounds important. Why should we believe someone who disregards that Law?
 
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Landon Caeli

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In receiving holy spirit you become perfected to never sin again. So you don't even need to do the work to become perfect, just receive him, and you will become perfected, as that is the whole point of the baptism in the holy spirit. He removes all evil desires from within you, and thus will cause you to never sin again. But you need to repent and humble yourself first. Entreat the favor of God to give you this free gift!

The only problem with this, is that it suggests that people don't actually have free will -which suggests also, that those who reject God are destined and created by God, to remain in sin and to recieve eternal punishment...

...the idea of no free-will is just too fundamentalist for people like myself, who believe in contemplative thought or being in Gods likeness. Also, Islamic fundamentalists are known for rejecting the idea of free will, which I argue against on a constant basis.

So ultimately, I do not believe that recieving the Holy Spirit takes away our free-will (forcing us to be good). Rather, I believe that recieving the Holy Spirit is the gaining of Knowledge of God.
 
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Landon Caeli

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Also, there is a grave danger in believing in one's self as being 'perfected'... It prevents us from admitting our own faults -another problem often witnessed in fundamentalism. Rather, we should strive for humbleness.
 
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