Do Christians Have Power Over Sin?

[DevotiontoBible]

Amen, and all this is possible through Christ, and only through Christ.

I could list sin after sin and problem after problem that I've just... lost and left behind and walked all over and cast off me. And I couldn't take credit for a speck of an inch of an iota of it. I tried to be a christian for years, trying to go by all these suggestions and "encouragements" to "stand firm against sin" etc etc... to NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER. Nobody around me got any better at it, either. It simply doesn't work. It's the same principle at work as when Paul talks about the law (with all its GOOD commandments) and says that it's simply powerless.

Discipline doesn't work.
Dedication doesn't work.
Re-dedication doesn't work.
"Accountability partners" don't work.
"WWJD" doesn't work.
Vows and promises don't work.
Zeal doesn't work.
Getting a hold of yourself doesn't work.

In short, YOU don't work, and you never will. There's absolutely NOTHING that you have in you that can or will conquer sin. You will never ever make it.

The grace of God, however, does work. Grace is free, anyone can come and get it. But you can only benefit from it to the degree that you LET GO of your own strength and STOP trying to do what God does best. Jesus said to DENY yourself and DIE. Daily. Dead men don't struggle. It can be a struggle to stay dead, though...

Your lack of Biblical support for your statements shows you are only spewing out your own invented religion.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

I don't find it much of a burden personally, but rather a relief and a blessing

Then tell the Holy Spirit He used the wrong words there.

 

[holo]

That is not in the Bible you are making that up. The Bible says God enlightens mans conscience, not the devil, accuses them:Romans 2:14-15 (NLT)
Even when Gentiles, who do not have God's written law, instinctively follow what the law says, they show that in their hearts they know right from wrong. [15] They demonstrate that God's law is written within them, for their own consciences either accuse them or tell them they are doing what is right.

Yes, but our consciences are pliable and change over time and depend very much on culture and religion and so forth.

Making decisions based on a feeling of guilt, for example, is hopeless at best. We should listen to our emotions, because they can tell us important things, but they should never decide how we act, neither toward men nor toward God. I may feel guilty if I remember some particular sin from the past, but that doesn't mean I actually have any blame. Jesus has already taken that blame, I'm just having an emotional reaction to a memory. Likewise, I may do something wrong without feeling guilty about it, but I may still know that it was wrong. You can't, and shouldn't, steer by your conscience. It's extremely unreliable.

 

[holo]

.

 

[holo]

Please explain.

The principle of the commandment being the power of sin isn't limited to the mosaic law.

If you tell a child that he's not allowed to watch this or that film, you can bet he'll be wondering A LOT about what that film is all about, and he will want to watch it. If it's forbidden, it's tempting. That's the effect rules often have on people. The prohibition turns your focus onto what's prohibited.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

Yes, but our consciences are pliable and change over time and depend very much on culture and religion and so forth.

Making decisions based on a feeling of guilt, for example, is hopeless at best. We should listen to our emotions, because they can tell us important things, but they should never decide how we act, neither toward men nor toward God. I may feel guilty if I remember some particular sin from the past, but that doesn't mean I actually have any blame. Jesus has already taken that blame, I'm just having an emotional reaction to a memory. Likewise, I may do something wrong without feeling guilty about it, but I may still know that it was wrong. You can't, and shouldn't, steer by your conscience. It's extremely unreliable.

Maybe your conscience is. Some people's consciences are even seared and that is what you are basically telling people to do. You are telling people in this forum to violate their conscience because it is really the devil making them feel guilt. If they follow your advice they will end up in hell as a result of seared a conscience.

 

[holo]

The Bible says it is our work to stop sinning not God's.

Jesus stopped sin once and for all 2000 years ago. All we do, is to partake in that victory. All the sin in the world has already been judged and dealt with.

We are born again. We can choose to believe it and act like it, or we can choose to believe that we are still sinners and act like that. Most christians seem to choose the latter. I don't. And therefore, I am in fact victorious over sin. Only, it's not MY victory, but HIS.

 

[holo]

Your lack of Biblical support for your statements shows you are only spewing out your own invented religion.

Which of the points in that post lack biblical support?

 

[holo]

Then tell the Holy Spirit He used the wrong words there.

Hehe.

Yes, maybe He did. Or maybe it was the one who wrote the notes from the meeting, or maybe it was one of the thousand people who transcribed it, or maybe it was one of the people who translated it to english, or maybe the english language will never do justice to the original manuscripts, not to mention the true meaning of the spoken words 2000 years ago, anyway...

 

[DevotiontoBible]

The principle of the commandment being the power of sin isn't limited to the mosaic law.

If you tell a child that he's not allowed to watch this or that film, you can bet he'll be wondering A LOT about what that film is all about, and he will want to watch it. If it's forbidden, it's tempting. That's the effect rules often have on people. The prohibition turns your focus onto what's prohibited.

Sin is always prohibited in the New Testament. Resisting it is not a commandment. There is no such thing as willing not to sin as being something forbidden. The Bible never tells us to deny the existence of sinful impulses. It tells us they are there and to resist them.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

Jesus stopped sin once and for all 2000 years ago. All we do, is to partake in that victory. All the sin in the world has already been judged and dealt with.

We are born again. We can choose to believe it and act like it, or we can choose to believe that we are still sinners and act like that. Most christians seem to choose the latter. I don't. And therefore, I am in fact victorious over sin. Only, it's not MY victory, but HIS.

You have no Biblical support.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

Which of the points in that post lack biblical support?

All you do is blab your opinons without giving any Scriptural support. You are making up a religion.

 

[holo]

Maybe your conscience is. Some people's consciences are even seared and that is what you are basically telling people to do. You are telling people in this forum to violate their conscience because it is really the devil making them feel guilt. If they follow your advice they will end up in hell as a result of seared a conscience.

I have never told anyone to violate their conscience.

Stopy lying about me. Seriously.

I am saying what is true, that the human conscience is NOT a reliable guide. Our conscience consists of emotions. Our conscience is subject to culture, tradition, religion, how much you've slept lately (haven't you noticed that you can get all mushy if you've stayed up all night, for example?), and so forth.

God declares you righteous in the instant that you receive His grace, but your brain doesn't automatically follow suit. You may need a lot of time to get your brain, including your feelings of guilt, or lack of it, along with the idea of being free and saved. That's why we have rehabilitation centers for junkies - though they may have been saved in an instant, there is still work to do.

Listen to your emotions, but don't be controlled by them.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

Hehe.

Yes, maybe He did. Or maybe it was the one who wrote the notes from the meeting, or maybe it was one of the thousand people who transcribed it, or maybe it was one of the people who translated it to english, or maybe the english language will never do justice to the original manuscripts, not to mention the true meaning of the spoken words 2000 years ago, anyway...

So you just make up your own religion? I'm going to follow what God says in the Bible. He know what we need to do to stop sinning, not you.

 

[Heartland]

A man I once knew skrimped and saved, denying himself everything but the barest necessities for years and years, struggling board by board to build himself a house. He was so disciplined that he eventually lost contact with everybody he knew, even his family. Most everyone came to avoid his company because there was no way they could live up to his stern, self disciplined demands. He eventually completed his house and he would sit alone in it nightly just reflecting upon every sacrifice each board represented. Then one day a nephew of his that he had never known came to call on him. The nephew had good news and bad news. The bad news was that the man's parents had both died within one week of each other. The good news was that the man's father had made a fortune in the oil business, and he had left it all to the man, including a beautiful mansion on the coast. Surprisingly, the man got very angry and told the nephew he wanted no part of it. The man could not face the idea of giving up all he had sacrificed so terribly for. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

 

[DevotiontoBible]

I have never told anyone to violate their conscience.

Stopy lying about me. Seriously.

.

You said it right here http://foru.ms/showpost.php?p=38614550&postcount=68 You said don't listen to the devil (which is in reality the persons conscience convincting them) You are telling people to violate their conscience.

 

[holo]

You have no Biblical support.

What don't I have any biblical support for? That Jesus died once and for all? That we are born again? That as a man thinks, so he is?

 

[holo]

All you do is blab your opinons without giving any Scriptural support. You are making up a religion.

So you can't actually mention at least one particular point where I lack biblical support?

 

[holo]

So you just make up your own religion? I'm going to follow what God says in the Bible. He know what we need to do to stop sinning, not you.

What the hell are you talking about? If you're not going to answer anything sensible, don't post at all. Don't throw dirt at me like an offended kindergarten kid.

 

[holo]

You said it right here http://foru.ms/showpost.php?p=38614550&postcount=68 You said don't listen to the devil (which is in reality the persons conscience convincting them) You are telling people to violate their conscience.

OK, I'll explain it once more:

1. Accusation is from the devil.
2. Your reaction to that accusation is YOUR OWN.
3. An emotion isn't a very good guide. It would be better to let God decide your behaviour, for example.

Again, stop lying about me. I have never said what you are claiming I said.