PaladinValer
Traditional Orthodox Anglican
- Apr 7, 2004
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That wasn't much help. I was looking for a solution.
The solution is not to put off what you should do right away.
If you are not sorry for each individual sin in and of itself alone, then you cannot be truly repentant, for you were never sorry.
If you are not repetant for each individual sin in and of itself alone, then you cannot be truly confessatory, for you never repentant.
If you are not confessatory for each individual sin in and of itself alone, then you cannot be truly penitent, for you never confessed.
If you are not penitent for each individual sin in and of itself alone, then you cannot be truly absolved, for you were never penitent.
You must be contrite that you sinned (truly sorry), repent (change your mind and have a stance to, if in the same situation again, don't make the same mistake), confess (admit that you sinned), and then do penance (if you stole, give it back; if you lied, tell the truth. Otherwise, not doing it again the next time is penance). Otherwise, you will not be forgiven).
If you forget, that's your ego way out of control to the point that you are now in deep trouble: how can you earnest go through the process if you don't remember?
The only solution is to simply be sorry for all your forgotten sins, promise not to do them again, confess that you had a sinful past, and live as much a holy life as you can. The only problem is, how can you really do all this if you don't remember? How can you be truly sorry for individual sins that you don't remember doing? Even harder is to change your mind and nigh impossible is to confess those individual sins. Penance isn't really approachable. You can however do what I suggested with an earnest heart, and God will probably (I would not dare say definitely) put away your sins and absolve you.
This is why ego is such an issue. It is also why I reject the OSAS doctrine: sin is devalued and antinomianism is pretty much standard issue.
The Bible literally says to work out your salvation in fear and trembling. Salvation is not easy. You must stay the road. There is no one-way ticket. God will not forgive those who are not sorry, repentant, confessatory, and penitent.
These are hard words, but they are truth. Too many people have lulled themselves into thinking "I'm saved." That concept is only as old as the last century. If you were "saved," then you'd be like Elijah or Enoch and wisked away into heaven, or perhaps like the Blessed Virgin Mary upon her Dormition; ascending to heaven upon her death. That's the real sign of salvation: the experience of actual heaven. Until you experience heaven, then you cannot know if you are "saved."
It is the ego that tells you that you are "saved." You want it now and you want it forever. Christianity teaches however that salvation is difficult. How many people left Jesus because the road became too hard? They believed in Him, they just couldn't follow through. They thought they were going to have it easy, but they were in for a rude shock.
If you want easy salvation, you will not find it in Christianity. You will not find easy salvation in any religion, with the noted possible exception of the various Neopagan religions, although Gardner would probably flip his lid if he saw what Wicca is today (though I digress here).
The point is this: there is a sure Way, but not a sure, easy Way. The Way of Christ which is the straight path to salvation is not easy. If you make it easy, then you know that it isn't the straight path. If someone tells you that it is easy in so many words, then ignore that person. His yoke is easy in that it will not burden us to the point that we cannot bear it, not that there is no yoke at all. You still must bear it, and it may even lead to your death, but if you don't, then you have strayed.
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