Good deeds vs Sinning

prophecy_uk

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Zoidar: "God wants genuine repentance, not a few words spoken at Mass or in the confession stand. God sees the heart of the believer, our intention and decisions."


Why speak what you think God wants, when it is testified and commanded what God gets.

Are you guys ever going to have a conscience and read anything other than your own opinions, that as seen in the false prophets to Israel, were only given for deception and death for all?

If you do not know Gods word, or do not speak it, the advice( command of God) is silence) to not speak, unless you know the oracles of God. 1 Peter 4:11.

Godly sorrow, makes carefulness in the soul, it is the clearing of themselves, the indigntion and fear of the Lord to deeply, desire through zeal, to never repent of again and your needing to repent again ever, is the sorrow of the world, which is your death by requiring repented of repentance..

2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.


2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
 
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prophecy_uk

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Confused: "Somewhere I'm sure it says "Love covers a multitude of sins" - but in the context that you are thinking about good and bad, with your framing - I don't know."


The soul converts from error, to be saved from sin which brings death, which covers the multitude of his sins.

Charity put on that conversion, ( no more error of way/ previously without charity) covers that sins, that is saying and showing the same thing then..



James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.



"The more important bits where justice, mercy and faithfulness - which seems hard to put a number to. They were according to Jesus, more important, and neglected."


To do one part of care, is hypocritical, for all parts are care, 100 percent, which is the law, of Gods judgement, mercy and faith, and is the love of God..


Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Luke 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
 
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Confused-by-christianity

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I seem to have an inbuilt score keeper who can not agree that God's grace is enough for such as me.
Why do you keep score? What does it do for you? What motivates you to keeping score?
 
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Strong in Him

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So I'm trying to understand how doing good and sinning balance out in a believers life.

I'm a simple man, so let me keep it simple.

Let's say I do a good deed this week: I know an acquaintance has medical bills to pay so I go to a GoFundMe account and contribute $25.

The same week, however, I also fall for temptation and spend 25 minutes watching inappropriate content on the internet.

Which option applies to my situation:

A. The sinning cancels out my giving, so God still holds my sin against me. So I'm in negative territory in my good versus bad account.

B. The $25 given cancels out the 25 minutes of sinning, so I'm in the positive on my good versus bad account.

C. They cancel each other out, so I don't have any good deed merit but on the other hand, I don't have the sin on my account either.

D. Other ( Please explain.)

D - neither.

God sent Jesus to die on the cross, to take our sins upon himself and reconcile us to God.
There is no other way to be reconciled to God than by accepting this - our good deeds never were, and never can be, enough to atone for our sins and bring us into unity with God.

However many good deeds a person does; if they reject Jesus, the good deeds mean nothing. In God's eyes, none of us can ever say "I did it my way".
If a person accepts and believes in Jesus and then sins, they can confess and receive forgiveness.
 
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renniks

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Why do you keep score? What does it do for you? What motivates you to keeping score?
I don't know. I find this is a common human assumption, don't you? I mean that our good deeds must outweigh our sins in order to earn a place in heaven.
I know it's bogus but I still have that tendancy to keep score.
 
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renniks

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D - neither.

God sent Jesus to die on the cross, to take our sins upon himself and reconcile us to God.
There is no other way to be reconciled to God than by accepting this - our good deeds never were, and never can be, enough to atone for our sins and bring us into unity with God.

However many good deeds a person does; if they reject Jesus, the good deeds mean nothing. In God's eyes, none of us can ever say "I did it my way".
If a person accepts and believes in Jesus and then sins, they can confess and receive forgiveness.
Thank you. This is what I believe too. I made my OP to see what response I would get.
It's been interesting.
 
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Confused-by-christianity

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I don't know. I find this is a common human assumption, don't you? I mean that our good deeds must outweigh our sins in order to earn a place in heaven.
I know it's bogus but I still have that tendancy to keep score.
I don't have this tendency. Got lucky I guess. I havent got that particular struggle but I have others haha

I can't keep score because I don't know the value as a number of moral things.

If I do a good thing, is that 1 point? What if I think I'm doing good but actually I do harm, do I gain a point for intent but lose a point for outcome? If I count outcomes, do I have to follow the ripple effect of every good and bad deed - and count all that to my account too?

I end up trying to answer questions like that and they get deeper and deeper until I don't know what to count and what not to count and couldn't possible keep accurate score anyway.
So, any number I had in my head would be meaningless to everyone except me. My score would be meaningless to God - which is the important bit.
It doesn't matter if I think I'm ahead on score when actually God is counting too and He counts me as behind on score?
Any cutoff of what I count and what I don't count would be arbitrary - so I guess I just don't bother.
 
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renniks

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So, any number I had in my head would be meaningless to everyone except me. My score would be meaningless to God - which is the important bit.
Of course. And I know this. But that doesn't stop guilt or pride from happening.
 
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Confused-by-christianity

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Of course. And I know this. But that doesn't stop guilt or pride from happening.
Yeah I wouldn't ever try to "logic" someone out of something like score counting.

I wouldn't even know where to begin in solving a problem like that. Likely, I'd make matters worse if I gave advice haha

My first thought is to ask questions like:
Why?
What does it do for you? It must provide a solution of some sort to some problem??
 
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Root of Jesse

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"That's for God to decide, isn't it? We believe you can repent at your last dying breath and be saved. But if you're not repentent of your sin, may God have mercy on your soul. "


Here is Gods exampled decisions then.

Repenting, can you repent at any time, including last breath ?

No, because the testimony is, peace and holiness with all men, or you never will see the Lord, as this is seeing the Lord ( while in earth) when we love sincerely and unfeigned.

Looking diligently then, to not fail of the grace of God.

The failure are, the fornicator and profane, as Esau's example, who was rejected from repentance, though he sought it carefully even with tears..

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
What happened to the thief on the cross next to Jesus? He repented as he was dying, and Jesus told him "Today you will be with Me in Paradise."

Also, Jesus asked this question: Which is better? A father asked one son "Go work in the field." The son said "I will", and then didn't. Likewise, he asked his other son "Go work in the field." The son said "I won't", and then did. Which son did his father's will? Matthew 21:28 and forward.
 
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Root of Jesse

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I don't think what you say is that wrong, I just see a problem with the idea we lose salvation sinning once. It all becomes mechanic, we sin/we confess, we are lost/we are saved. I don't like that idea, I don't even think it's Biblical. We confess our sin every day in church, in a mechanic way. I don't think God wants that. God wants genuine repentance, not a few words spoken at Mass or in the confession stand. God sees the heart of the believer, our intention and decisions.
I see it differently. I see every morning when I wake up as an opportunity to do better, to be a better version of myself. But I also know I make mistakes, many are inadvertent, yet they are still mistakes, no? Our human nature is sinful, so nobody merits heaven. We also know that nothing impure can enter heaven. So we rely on God to purify us. Also, if we are truly sorry, we have nothing to worry about, especially if God sees our heart. But, if a child bats a ball through your window, is it enough to say you forgive him? Don't you still have to fix the window? And probably the parent will make the child work to pay for it. Even a repentant prisoner in jail can say 'sorry' but still has to do the time...
 
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o_mlly

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D. Other ( Please explain.)
It would seem to me that you owe God.

The opposite of "good" is "nothing".

Watching inappropriate content is nothing. You did that on your own. "For without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Giving to charity is good but that good act did not come from you, only through you. "Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father" (James 1:17) and "“No one is good—except God alone" (Mark 10:18).

All we own are our evil acts.
 
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RDKirk

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Not really. The rich young man was looking for a formula, so he asked Jesus what he must do to be saved. Jesus, effectively, told him "You already know the answer". But the rich young man persisted. Jesus didn't answer him directly. Notice that the answer "Go and sell all you have, then come follow me..." The rich young man went away. He didn't do it.

The rich man was looking for a covenant, a deal, an instrument by which he could obligate God to grant him eternal life. "What can I do that will obligate God to grant me eternal life?"
 
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renniks

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It would seem to me that your owe God.

The opposite of "good" is "nothing".

Watching inappropriate content is nothing. You did that on your own. "For without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Giving to charity is good but that good act did not come from you, only through you. "Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father" (James 1:17) and "“No one is good—except God alone" (Mark 10:18).

All we own are our evil acts.
Oh I believe I owe God. But I can never repay what I owe so my only option is to ask for mercy.
 
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RDKirk

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I don't think we move in and out of salvation anyhow. If I'm saved every other week, lost the other, how can I know Jesus comes back when I'm in the "saved state"? Maybe you meant something else?

Salvation is an end state. A drowning man is not "saved" when the lifeguard grasps him, he's saved when he's on the shore.

But that doesn't mean the lifeguard is not reliably willing to bring the man all the way to shore.

It might mean, however, that the man can willfully fight off the lifeguard. Some people say that the lifeguard cannot be fended away, but there seems to be a lot of warning in scripture otherwise.

God is One who knows in advance each one who will actually get to shore, and from His point of view, those He knows will get to shore are "saved" all along.
 
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o_mlly

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Oh I believe I owe God. But I can never repay what I owe so my only option is to ask for mercy.
Agreed. However, the effects of one's sin ripple outward. In justice, all sins must be expiated by temporal punishment either in this life or in purgatory. Once purified, we can then see God face to face.
 
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renniks

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Agreed. However, the effects of one's sin ripple outward. In justice, all sins must be expiated by temporal punishment either in this life or in purgatory. Once purified, we can then see God face to face.
Um why does every sin require punishment if they are already forgiven? Christ took them on him, but we still must pay? Not.
Purgatory is not a real thing.
 
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zoidar

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It would seem to me that you owe God.

The opposite of "good" is "nothing".

Watching inappropriate content is nothing. You did that on your own. "For without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Giving to charity is good but that good act did not come from you, only through you. "Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father" (James 1:17) and "“No one is good—except God alone" (Mark 10:18).

All we own are our evil acts.

When we are born again we receive a new heart, a new Spirit. We then choose if we follow our flesh or the Spirit in our new heart. That is our choice.
 
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zoidar

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Salvation is an end state. A drowning man is not "saved" when the lifeguard grasps him, he's saved when he's on the shore.

But that doesn't mean the lifeguard is not reliably willing to bring the man all the way to shore.

It might mean, however, that the man can willfully fight off the lifeguard. Some people say that the lifeguard cannot be fended away, but there seems to be a lot of warning in scripture otherwise.

God is One who knows in advance each one who will actually get to shore, and from His point of view, those He knows will get to shore are "saved" all along.

Paul describes being saved at the present. He also describes being saved at the final judgement. Maybe you agree with that? Sure we can believe the one saved in the present also will endure to the end.

who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
— 2 Timothy 1:9

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
— 2 Corinthians 5:10

If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
— 2 Timothy 2:12

 
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