A question about where I'm at with God.

I came across this website today
bethelministries . com / tozer . htm

For a while now and especially after reading this, I start to wonder if i've truley repented, I feel like I just can't seem to understand how to know Jesus on a personal level, I feel like I don't love god enough and through all this I have been I guess fearing my possilbe lack of salvation.
Reading this makes me think I really don't do enough as a christian.
I know the word says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, but I feel like I've been doing a lot of fear and trembling and not much working out.
When I first came to christ I felt so sure I had recieved him into my life. I could feel a burden lifted, I didn't fear death and I didn't feel angry any more. But now I just feel so confused as all that wasn't real.

I know I don't desire to turn back to my selfish desires, but I am having a lot of trouble, actually since I became a christian, I have had a lot of difficulty connecting with God and I have been struggling a lot latley to get through laziness.
Latley I've been feeling as though God loves me, yet for some reason he doesn't want me in heaven....As stupid as that sounds, I just feel like I'm never going to realise where I'm at and I fear hell so much at the moment

I really do feel like i'm in the middle of a battle and I want to be on God's side. It seems as though there's things in my life that are holding me back that I can't recognise.
I really really really really desire to obay God and to live for him, but I look at the way my time as a christian has been and it's as though I will do the simplest of things and think is that actually what god wants me to do.

So yeah, I'm really asking you guys for help, because I really don't know what to do.
Thank you!

What is Christianity really about? It seems as if you've been believing that our obeying His Laws makes us Christians. That's totally not what it is. We cannot earn any salvation by obeying God's Laws because He expects us to obey Him perfectly and none of us can do that...ONLY ONE MAN DID and that was Jesus the Christ.

Jesus is God in human form who came to earth, lived the perfectly obedient life we could not and then died on the cross in our place for the forgiveness of our sins so we could be reconciled to God. God gives us the gift of faith to believe in this good news so that we may have eternal life.

NOW, believing that, you can be rest assured that you are a Christian and you have salvation and that God is smiling upon you. When He sees you, He's not seeing all your sins...He sees His Son with whom He is well pleased. Trust in that.

Of course, that does not give us license to sin and it's good that you're feeling guilty about your sins. It shows true signs of repentance Yes, you will sin and yes you will struggle in trying to get rid of sin in your life. But because you cannot get rid of that sin, that does not mean you're not a Christian! It's by grace through faith that we have salvation, not works in trying to remove sin or do good things. That does not save us. Trusting in the works of Christ does.

None of us do enough as Christians and none of us can fully obey God or fully love Him enough. But we do want those things just because of the love He has so much for us that He came to earth to die for us so we can be forgiven and be with Him forever.

I am wondering about what it is you think "God wants you to do" that you are not doing, and why you think these matters are things God wants you to do.

If you notice in the teachings of Jesus it all starts with the heart. What I do everyday is making sure my heart is right with God by applying the teachings of God as Jesus showed us.


It is not a minor thing. It has to do with belief. It is not so easy to judge rightly and not be hypocritical... to be forgiving, and so on.

Forget any websites like that.Their theology is just wrong.

You were forgiven 2000 years ago That's when Christ did it all for you because we can't ever do it ourselves. All of creation is contained within God. We cannot get away from Him. You are in the middle of the unchangeable circle of God's love, always. All your wrongdoings, past,present and future have been forgiven and buried with Christ. Scripture tells us our life is hidden with Christ in God. That is our status, not something that comes and goes depending on how 'good' we have been. That's why the word 'gospel' really means 'good news'.

John
NZ

thank you so much, that was really helpful (:

It might be helpful to read this article.

Bible 101 • View topic - How to Draw Close to God/How to feel God's Love

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God is the Love of my life

Checked out the website a bit ... some interesting stuff , some seemed right , but they appear to be somewhat brutish in what they think they know - not a good sign !

It is essential that we come to be in harmony with God and His Kingdom , for only the harmonious may enter therein .

And while Salvation is a free gift ( or should one say free opportunity ) , based upon what Christ has done / is doing on our behalf , it is also not something that occurs automatically without the pouring out of our selves into it .

There appears to be basically two incorrect extremes .

1. Stresses strict adherence to laws and religious disciplines as the way to acceptance with God . ( This is wrong because it denies the necessity of Christ death , and attributes soul saving power to our own mortal efforts , which is a delusion of grandeur at best , and an atrociously insulting lie from the pits of hell at worst .)

2. Suggests that because we had no real part in The Salvation The Father & Jesus wrought for us , that we now also have no vital role in securing what Christ has purchased with His own blood . ( This is false , because if we have no vital role , then everyone will be saved , no matter what , because Christ died for the sins of the whole world - but Jesus Himself warned that many will try to enter into eternal life , and not be able to , and that those who remain workers of iniquity , ( in spite of all that has been done to free them from sin ), will be rejected / dismissed by Christ Himself , in the day of judgment .

The truth is that together with God's Gift & our complete surrender , The Lord's Will , will be done !

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. <-----> 2nd Peter 3:9

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; <-----> 2nd Peter 3:15

If The Lord didn't bear with us as we struggle to lay hold of His Gift of Salvation , ( surrendering fully in faith to God ), none of us would be saved ; but we are assured that Jesus becomes " the captain of many brethren " , for God's Grace is indeed sufficient to inspire and motivate us unto harmony with His Heavenly Kingdom and the eternal blissful life inherent therein !

May we successfully look unto Him Who Is The Author and The Finisher of our Faith . In Jesus' Name . Amen .

wm

Hi Orahh

You have nothing to fear, as a child of God. Here's why:

(Joh 10:28) And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand.

(Joh 10:29) My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all [else]; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father's hand.

So, basically that's what Jesus Himself said - that nobody will snatch you away from Him. That's an awesome promise.

Orahh,

"it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with OUR SPIRIT that we are children of God".....Romans 8:16.

"walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in everything (and everyone) that is GOOD AND RIGHT AND TRUE".......Ephesians 5:8 and 8.

There are some people who rather have a LOVE DEVOTION and don't have to be forced or "COMMANDED" to "OBEY" any rules (ordinances) in order to be peaceful and just (Godly). If they never had an evil lifesyle (torture, murder, etc,) they have nothing to repent of...

Luke 15:7
"righteous persons who need no repentance".

When they come to Christ, their love should become PERFECT and no longer have ANY fear of God, but they are taught the false teachings that were more appropriate for the cultures 2000 years ago when idol worshippers had to be taught they must HAVE REGARD ("FEAR" translated from Greek?) for the one true living God instead of the false gods.

We should not be 'God fearing' people, but should love Him with every fibre of our being...

"all your HEART, mind, soul, and strength" Mark 12:30.

FEAR of God is a commandment of MAN and is routinely believed by those who worship with "lips"/sound/voices...

Isaiah 29:13
"and their fear of me is a commandment of men".

1 John 4:18
"PERFECT love casts out fear".

This one false teaching (fear of God) causes alot of confusion in the true/sincere worshipper (Godlover) and even [subconscious psychological] heartbreak because endearment seems/becomes no longer possible/rational.

The ATTITUDES that are learned/inspired by false teachings can be VERY dangerous to a sincere love devotion (God is LOVE) and have caused the "strong delusion" since Antioch...

"and in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians"...Acts 11:26.

"Self abasement" is one of the worst and most dangerous attitudes ever taught because it is dehumanizing/demoralizing and prevents the human being from being able to think and reason as a free thinking human being...

Colossians 2:18
"Let no one DISQUALIFY YOU insisting on self abasement".

We must develop a CONSCIENCE (conscious/aware of SELF) in order to identify with and relate to "I am who I am" (Exodus 3:14, the Father's "forever" name) and be INside His Son as a spiritual (NEW) creation that has been transferred into the kingdom of His Son...

Colossians 1:13
"transferred us to the kingdom".

JESUS did "the works of God" and our ONLY responsibilty is to TRUST (manifest in us) that they were completely sufficient for salvation, then we should simply REST/relax INside His body...JESUS is our sabbath rest (no more sabbath DAY)....

John 6:28 and 9:3
"What should we be doing to do the works of God?".

John 9:3
"manifest in"........US.

Salvation was a FREE gift that was given GRACIOUSLY (not IMPERIALISTICALLY,....NOTHING is expected in return or "in trade"/repayment...as though it were possible). Anything good that we do to be helpful (if we want to) shall come from OUR spirit. When and IF we decide to give help or assistance to someone, we won't be giving GRUDGINGLY, we will be giving WILLINGLY/cheerfully because we feel like it ("cheerfull giver" has nothing to do with MONEY....unless we choose....in these hard times, be SELFish and donate to your first ministry,...FAMILY/children).

Acts 17:28
"as though He needed anything"........(don't be condescending to God, He is not needy)......the more you do nothing in return, the more you TRUST Him.

Jesus abolished (Ephesians 2:15) the sin laws and all rules so we could live under the PERFECT law...

James 1:25 and 2:12
"the PERFECT law...".

2:12
"So speak and so act as those who are to judged under the LAW OF LIBERTY".

.............yes there is a "god of confusion"...and he hasn't only used the 'moneychangers' to promote falsehoods since Antioch, he has also used the human sense of PRIDE/vanity to get us to be "master scholars" and "Christian of the year" intellectuals and cooperate with fear.

Don't be a 'climbing sheep', enter "by the door" and HEAR HIS VOICE (John 10:27).

Have a love devotion based on "the GREATEST of these" (1 Corinthians 13:13) and a "faith FOR FAITH" (Romans 1:17, Hebrews 11:6) and let God teach you the "depths of God" (1 Corinthians 2:10).

When you mature in your devotion after being trained with the doctrine of Christ, you will have God IN ENTIRETY/completeness (unlike the ancient Hebews) and need no longer be aware of "sin"...

2 John 1:9
"BOTH the Father and the Son"...............and Colossians 2:9.

Hebrews 10:2
"no longer have any consciousness of sin"...................the word "sin" is now just a figure of speech...'fashion sin' etc., but there is no more spiritual "sin").

...then you will recieve 'Godly common sense' ("anointing")....

1 John 2:27
"and you have no need that anyone should teach you; as His anointing teaches you everything AND IS TRUE".

Be like David...David chose to be INside the body of the promised Messiah (because he TRUSTED) and was carried inside Jesus's body...

Acts 2:34
"The LORD said to my lord...Sit at my right hand".

..............(the heavenly Father is in capital letters, Jesus is the small letters "lord").

All verses are from the RSV.

More excellent way thanks for your post as it seems I am starting to understand.
Jeffrey