Do Christians Have Power Over Sin?

[DevotiontoBible]

Surely you can come up with a better attack than that!...LOL

If it isn't a teaching in the Bible then you are making it up. There is no better way to attack a lie then with God's Word.

 

[Heartland]

Yes, and what we DO is to repent; to turn FROM ourselves TO Christ. FROM our ability TO HIS ability.

I would reverse the order. We repent by turning TO Christ which in turn automatically creates the FROM everything not Christ.

 

[holo]

You are preaching Christian Science.

OK... whatever that is...

The Bible nowhere tells us to deny the existence of anything let a lone sinning.

No, of course not, and Jesus didn't tell Peter to deny the existence of gravity either. But there was a force GREATER THAN GRAVITY at play there, too.

If Peter could defy gravity by simply looking at Jesus, then obviously we can also defy the "law of sin and death" and walk in faith, miraculously, as he did.

I have already shown in Romans that we are to not let sin have it's way by not letting it use our bodies.

And I'm not contradicting that in any way, I'm confirming it

The commandment is the power of sin, so the more commandment you throw on the fire, the fiercer the sin will burn.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

I guess it's telling that you choose to accentuate the "burden" part instead of the "light" part.

It's not much of a burden, really. It's certainly much lighter than the yoke of trying to force ourselves to change, as you seem to be suggesting. The burden HE gives us is LIGHT. The burden christianity gives us, is so heavy that only hypocrites believe they actually bear it...

It seems good enough for the Holy Spirit doesn't it? Acts 15:28 (NLT)
"For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these requirements:

 

[Heartland]

If it isn't a teaching in the Bible then you are making it up. There is no better way to attack a lie then with God's Word.

I wasn't referring to whether or not it is in God Word, I was referring to the somewhat petty nature of attacking the word "feelings" in Holo's post. I'm not accusing you of being petty, just that I'm sure you could have attacked the point of the post instead of picking something so totally obscure.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

OK... whatever that is...

No, of course not, and Jesus didn't tell Peter to deny the existence of gravity either. But there was a force GREATER THAN GRAVITY at play there, too.

If Peter could defy gravity by simply looking at Jesus, then obviously we can also defy the "law of sin and death" and walk in faith, miraculously, as he did.

And I'm not contradicting that in any way, I'm confirming it

The commandment is the power of sin, so the more commandment you throw on the fire, the fiercer the sin will burn.

You are contradicting it by saying to ignore that sin's desires exist in you and only think about Jesus. Show me where that idea is in the Bible?

 

[holo]

Feelings of guilt for doing wrong things come from the Holy Spirit and the persons conscience, not the devil. IMO you are telling people how to shipwreck their faith 1 Tim. 1:19 (NLT)
Cling tightly to your faith in Christ, and always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.

No, feelings of guilt is only your own emotional response. It doesn't come from anybody but yourself. Accusations, however, come from satan, and nobody else. The Spirit NEVER accuses you. When God leads you to live a better life, He does so by inspiration, not condemnation. The Spirit DRAWS us toward God, He doesn't push our emotions.

God doesn't want to, or do, make anyone feel guilty, of course! He has already placed all the guilt in the world on the cross! Again, as Jesus said, "I will give you REST," and as Paul said, "THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ" - so you can be absolutely 100% definately sure that if you feel ANY condemnation whatsoever, it's NOT from God.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

The commandment is the power of sin, so the more commandment you throw on the fire, the fiercer the sin will burn.

where is this in the Bible?

 

[holo]

You are contradicting it by saying to ignore that sin's desires exist in you and only think about Jesus. Show me where that idea is in the Bible?

I have never said to ignore sin in any way.

It's not a matter of ignorance, it's a matter of true knowledge. Peter didn't deny the existence of gravity and water. He simply saw Jesus as well, and chose to focus on HIM. But as soon as he began focusing on the water and the waves again, he SANK. And that's EXACTLY what happens to believers, too, when they take their eyes OFF Jesus and being looking at themselves and their sin. So your suggestions, however well-meant, are counter-productive. You will NEVER conquer sin, you will not even sin any LESS, by focusing on sin.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

No, feelings of guilt is only your own emotional response. It doesn't come from anybody but yourself. Accusations, however, come from satan, and nobody else. The Spirit NEVER accuses you. When God leads you to live a better life, He does so by inspiration, not condemnation. The Spirit DRAWS us toward God, He doesn't push our emotions.

God doesn't want to, or do, make anyone feel guilty, of course! He has already placed all the guilt in the world on the cross! Again, as Jesus said, "I will give you REST," and as Paul said, "THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ" - so you can be absolutely 100% definately sure that if you feel ANY condemnation whatsoever, it's NOT from God.

Where does the Bible say feelings of accusations come from the devil?

 

[holo]

I would reverse the order. We repent by turning TO Christ which in turn automatically creates the FROM everything not Christ.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

I have never said to ignore sin in any way.

It's not a matter of ignorance, it's a matter of true knowledge. Peter didn't deny the existence of gravity and water. He simply saw Jesus as well, and chose to focus on HIM. But as soon as he began focusing on the water and the waves again, he SANK. And that's EXACTLY what happens to believers, too, when they take their eyes OFF Jesus and being looking at themselves and their sin. So your suggestions, however well-meant, are counter-productive. You will NEVER conquer sin, you will not even sin any LESS, by focusing on sin.

Yes you did by this statement to ignore sins existence and think only about Jesus

That's why you need to get out of this "sin consciousness" and over into "Christ consciousness." Instead of looking at sin and the world and yourself, look at Jesus. Simply behold Him. Pay no mind to yourself or any fault you may find there, because He IS perfection, and the more you look on HIS perfection, the more perfect you will become, too.

 

[Heartland]

No, feelings of guilt is only your own emotional response. It doesn't come from anybody but yourself. Accusations, however, come from satan, and nobody else. The Spirit NEVER accuses you. When God leads you to live a better life, He does so by inspiration, not condemnation. The Spirit DRAWS us toward God, He doesn't push our emotions.

God doesn't want to, or do, make anyone feel guilty, of course! He has already placed all the guilt in the world on the cross! Again, as Jesus said, "I will give you REST," and as Paul said, "THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ" - so you can be absolutely 100% definately sure that if you feel ANY condemnation whatsoever, it's NOT from God.

Amen, and it is in understanding this concept that one begins more and more to walk in the spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Grace is not just forgiveness, it is the mechanisim of victory.

 

[Heartland]

where is this in the Bible?

1 Cor 15:56-5756 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[holo]

where is this in the Bible?

Sin is a fire, and the law is gasoline:

Romans 7:8
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.

Romans 7:9
Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

Romans 7:5
For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.

Romans 6:14
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

1 Corinthians 15:56
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

 

[holo]

That is not what it says. It says DO NOT LET...DO NOT GIVE IN TO... Romans 6:12-13 (NLT)
Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. [13] Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.

Yes, and the only way to escape "this body of death" is to turn to Christ and HIS power and HIS victory and HIS righteousness.

We're not supposed to struggle any more than Adam and Eve struggled before they fell!

 

[Giver]

Have all Christians been given the power to overcome sin in their lives?
Yes! Galatians 5:16“Let me put it like this if you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence....”.

(Romans 8:1-4) “The reason, therefore, why those who are in Christ Jesus are not condemned, is that the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. God has done what the Law, because of our unspiritual nature, was unable to do. God dealt with sin by sending his own Son in a body as physical as any sinful body, and in that body God condemned sin he did this in order the Law’s just demands might be satisfied in us, who behave not as our unspiritual nature but as the spirit dictates.



If not, why not?

If so, then why do christians still commit sin?


Peace...

(1 Corinthians 3:1-3) “Brothers, I myself was unable to speak to you as people of the Spirit; I treated you as sensual men, still infants in Christ. What I fed you with was milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it; and indeed, you are still not ready for it since you are still unspiritual. Isn’t that obvious from all the jealousy and wrangling that there is among you, from the way that you go on behaving like ordinary people? “

(1 John 3:5-6) “Now you know that he appeared in order to abolish sin, and that in him there is no sin; anyone who lives in God does not sin, and anyone who sins has never seen him or known him.”

 

[holo]

It seems good enough for the Holy Spirit doesn't it? Acts 15:28 (NLT)
"For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these requirements:

Yes, and those weren't many requirements...

And they were directed at a praticular group, by the way, not to be taken as eternal commandments from God to all believers everywhere. Even when almost forced to, they kept the requirements and commandments to an absolute minimum. Because we're not supposed to live according to commandments, but according to the Spirit

 

[holo]

It seems good enough for the Holy Spirit doesn't it? Acts 15:28 (NLT)
"For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these requirements:

No, that's not what I said, and I think you know that.

I don't deny the existance of sin, but why should I be preoccupied with sin at all? I can live like sin doesn't exist, just like Peter could live like gravity didn't exist. He conquered gravity as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus.

You can't simply pretend that sin doesn't exist. But when you start looking on Christ, you will have no interest in sin whatsoever, and you will start to think and behave as if sin isn't even an option. And it will have NOTHING to do with you, much less your self-discipline and abilities, but it will have EVERYTHING to do with Christ.

 

[holo]

Where does the Bible say feelings of accusations come from the devil?

The feeling doesn't come from the devil. The accusation comes from the devil, the feeling is just your emotional response to it.