A Willful Sinner versus a Man Trapped in Romans 7- BIG difference!

[Gideons300]

We have all been taught that it is impossible to get free from the grip of sin. We have been taught correctly. WE can’t. What we have missed is that to all who call Jesus both savior and Lord, while it may be impossible for us to get free from the chains of sin by our diligence and efforts, our birthright is that we get FREED from them by the God who is IN US. Glory.

We are about to awaken to the amazing power we have thus far been blinded to in the new covenant. It is the power to walk in victory over the world, the flesh and the devil as overcomes soaring with wings of eagles. Glory to God! I will gladly share more on that in other posts as I have done in the past, but here, I would like to concentrate on differentiating sins of weakness, and willfully committed ones. They are nowhere near alike.

We need to understand that God has given us clear words where it is impossible to mis-understand Him. Willful sin, if continued in, will send us to hell. Don’t believe you can lose your salvation? Great. Then choosing to sin willfully simply proves you were never saved to begin with. Ouch.

When we read Romans 7, we see a man imprisoned by a task master he does not want to serve. The things His heart longs to do, he finds no power to do them. The things he hates and longs to be free from, despite a great battle in his mind and heart, He succumbs to them again and again.

In the church today, this line has been blurred by the enemy of our souls. We have been taught a grace where because of the shed blood of the son of God, God winks at even our willful sins, sins we know are wrong, but sins we like, and so we refuse to stop. We presume upon the goodness of God that because of our one time prayer, the state of our heart does not matter at all. We are wrong. The state of our heart is EVERYTHING.

If we are truly mired in Romans 7, there is a battle every time we are tempted to sin. Because we have never been taught how to escape the grip of our old nature, like Paul did, we languish there, hating our sin, hating ourselves and longing for deliverance from the grip of the enemy of our soul. Look at the state of Paul here. How did he see himself?

“O wretched man that I am!”

Is that is? Those strongholds Satan has placed in our lives, do we hate them and long to be freed from them, but simply do not see how, or have we made peace with our enemy, seared our consciences with a grace that is not grace at all, So that we can enjoy our pet sins with no guilt at all?

This is no small difference. It is the difference between light and darkness, between the wheat and the tares, between the children of God and the children of the devil. We are warned by God Himself, and we desperately need to read it, and out loud, if we dare, so that our own ears can hear rhe truth in these sobering words.

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”

Hebrews 10:26-29

Do we read that. This foolish man WAS sanctified. And his foolishness cost him eternity. Guys, I beg you. If you have fallen into this trap, no matter the sin, no matter how big or small, lay it on the alter to be forever taken away. If you have been convinced that somehow God will bless you despite your willingness to do it again and again, with no real hatred for your sin, it is not too late to repent of this grievous misuse of the precious blood of our Lord. I promise you, God will forgive and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

To those who languish in Romans 7, and have continued to sin even after their salvation, because no matter their efforts to get free, and to find deliverance and rest for their souls, take heart! God fully understands you do not yet know how to defeat these enemies of your soul and He abundantly pardons. He knows full well that you simply do not know how to defeat these strongholds, so may I encourage you that there is light coming for you on the horizon?

We as God’s people have made a mess of it, haven’t we? We are told to walk out our time here on earth in holiness and righteousness, knowing how to possess our vessels in sanctification and honor, and we have done anything but. But thank God, He does see our struggle and the deep desire of our heart to walk totally pleasing to Him, and in these last days, He is about to open our eyes to the truth that will set us free indeed. We are about to learn the HOW of holiness and discover that what is impossible with man is not only possible with God, such a walk is guaranteed!

Blessings to all,

Gideon

 

[drjean]

Word study. I agree with John Gill's exposition of Hebrews 10:26: Hebrews 10:26 Commentary - John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

After that we have received the knowledge of the truth;
either of Jesus Christ, or of the Scriptures, or of the Gospel, or of some particular doctrine, especially the principal one, salvation by Christ; of which there may be a notional knowledge, when there is no experimental knowledge; and which is received not into the heart, but into the head:
​

These are the same type of non-believers who will argue, "Lord Lord have we not done many wonderful works..."

Willful sin, if continued in, will send us to hell. Don’t believe you can lose your salvation? Great. Then choosing to sin willfully simply proves you were never saved to begin with. Ouch.

Absolutely. There is no "falling away" of true believers. In fact we cannot fall away because we are "sealed unto the day of redemption" and held in God's own "hand" for security. Once a true believer immersed in God's Word and Will, we have no desire to err.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate us from the Love of Go.​

 

[Jonathan Leo]

We have all been taught that it is impossible to get free from the grip of sin. We have been taught correctly. WE can’t. What we have missed is that to all who call Jesus both savior and Lord, while it may be impossible for us to get free from the chains of sin by our diligence and efforts, our birthright is that we get FREED from them by the God who is IN US. Glory.

We are about to awaken to the amazing power we have thus far been blinded to in the new covenant. It is the power to walk in victory over the world, the flesh and the devil as overcomes soaring with wings of eagles. Glory to God! I will gladly share more on that in other posts as I have done in the past, but here, I would like to concentrate on differentiating sins of weakness, and willfully committed ones. They are nowhere near alike.

We need to understand that God has given us clear words where it is impossible to mis-understand Him. Willful sin, if continued in, will send us to hell. Don’t believe you can lose your salvation? Great. Then choosing to sin willfully simply proves you were never saved to begin with. Ouch.

When we read Romans 7, we see a man imprisoned by a task master he does not want to serve. The things His heart longs to do, he finds no power to do them. The things he hates and longs to be free from, despite a great battle in his mind and heart, He succumbs to them again and again.

In the church today, this line has been blurred by the enemy of our souls. We have been taught a grace where because of the shed blood of the son of God, God winks at even our willful sins, sins we know are wrong, but sins we like, and so we refuse to stop. We presume upon the goodness of God that because of our one time prayer, the state of our heart does not matter at all. We are wrong. The state of our heart is EVERYTHING.

If we are truly mired in Romans 7, there is a battle every time we are tempted to sin. Because we have never been taught how to escape the grip of our old nature, like Paul did, we languish there, hating our sin, hating ourselves and longing for deliverance from the grip of the enemy of our soul. Look at the state of Paul here. How did he see himself?

“O wretched man that I am!”

Is that is? Those strongholds Satan has placed in our lives, do we hate them and long to be freed from them, but simply do not see how, or have we made peace with our enemy, seared our consciences with a grace that is not grace at all, So that we can enjoy our pet sins with no guilt at all?

This is no small difference. It is the difference between light and darkness, between the wheat and the tares, between the children of God and the children of the devil. We are warned by God Himself, and we desperately need to read it, and out loud, if we dare, so that our own ears can hear rhe truth in these sobering words.

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”

Hebrews 10:26-29

Do we read that. This foolish man WAS sanctified. And his foolishness cost him eternity. Guys, I beg you. If you have fallen into this trap, no matter the sin, no matter how big or small, lay it on the alter to be forever taken away. If you have been convinced that somehow God will bless you despite your willingness to do it again and again, with no real hatred for your sin, it is not too late to repent of this grievous misuse of the precious blood of our Lord. I promise you, God will forgive and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

To those who languish in Romans 7, and have continued to sin even after their salvation, because no matter their efforts to get free, and to find deliverance and rest for their souls, take heart! God fully understands you do not yet know how to defeat these enemies of your soul and He abundantly pardons. He knows full well that you simply do not know how to defeat these strongholds, so may I encourage you that there is light coming for you on the horizon?

We as God’s people have made a mess of it, haven’t we? We are told to walk out our time here on earth in holiness and righteousness, knowing how to possess our vessels in sanctification and honor, and we have done anything but. But thank God, He does see our struggle and the deep desire of our heart to walk totally pleasing to Him, and in these last days, He is about to open our eyes to the truth that will set us free indeed. We are about to learn the HOW of holiness and discover that what is impossible with man is not only possible with God, such a walk is guaranteed!

Blessings to all,

Gideon

Totally agree with you,
OSAS is a great deception straight from the pits of hell.
I have a troubled mind because I believe I am not saved. I know it’s the Holy Spirit convicting me about this and it only comes every time I deliberately sin. Falling and willing are totally different.
Trust me guys, just recently I went through a tough time and I ended up not giving a hoot, not even for God. My mouth uttered hatred, my mind lusted, and my attitude was basically screw you God.
So believe me when I say you will know deliberate sin. The reason you will know is because your hearts will be hardened towards God.
And no doubt in this state we will have Satan in our ears whispering either it don’t matter your saved or never mind Him your only human

2 scriptures I’d like to add to this true post

We cannot keep on sinning if we have been born of God, ( Holy Spirit convicts us ) But He who keeps on deliberately sinning is of Satan

The wicked enjoy the darkness and refuse to come into the light lest their evil deeds be exposed

God bless and keep the faith.
Ps, an acronym for OSAS

O. Only
S. Sending
A. All of ye
S. South

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Totally agree with you,
OSAS is a great deception straight from the pits of hell.
I have a troubled mind because I believe I am not saved. I know it’s the Holy Spirit convicting me about this and it only comes every time I deliberately sin. Falling and willing are totally different.
Trust me guys, just recently I went through a tough time and I ended up not giving a hoot, not even for God. My mouth uttered hatred, my mind lusted, and my attitude was basically screw you God.
So believe me when I say you will know deliberate sin. The reason you will know is because your hearts will be hardened towards God.
And no doubt in this state we will have Satan in our ears whispering either it don’t matter your saved or never mind Him your only human

2 scriptures I’d like to add to this true post

We cannot keep on sinning if we have been born of God, ( Holy Spirit convicts us ) But He who keeps on deliberately sinning is of Satan

The wicked enjoy the darkness and refuse to come into the light lest their evil deeds be exposed

God bless and keep the faith.
Ps, an acronym for OSAS

O. Only
S. Sending
A. All of ye
S. South

The Holy Spirit does agree with our spirit to tell us we are saved, that is biblical. Paying attention to the fact and making the right response of repentance and showing forth the change of mind toward the behavior is essential. Thank you for pointing that out.

 

[Jonathan Leo]

The Holy Spirit does agree with our spirit to tell us we are saved, that is biblical. Paying attention to the fact and making the right response of repentance and showing forth the change of mind toward the behavior is essential. Thank you for pointing that out.

Indeed He does agree with our spirit,
My point is I know I am saved because of this and when I deliberately sin against God, The Holy Spirit causes my conscience to burn with fear of not being saved. He does this because of 2 reasons.

Convict me that I’m sinning
Telling me if I don’t repent, I’m in danger of losing
salvation.
To say salvation is a once off is unbiblical, we must work out our salvation. Not saying works save us because they don’t but if one says their saved and yet live a life of evil, are they really saved? No. That’s why Jesus said you will know them by their fruit

We must continue in faith towards God. We must live a life for God. This is true faith

 

[Gideons300]

Indeed He does agree with our spirit,
My point is I know I am saved because of this and when I deliberately sin against God, The Holy Spirit causes my conscience to burn with fear of not being saved. He does this because of 2 reasons.

Convict me that I’m sinning
Telling me if I don’t repent, I’m in danger of losing
salvation.
To say salvation is a once off is unbiblical, we must work out our salvation. Not saying works save us because they don’t but if one says their saved and yet live a life of evil, are they really saved? No. That’s why Jesus said you will know them by their fruit

We must continue in faith towards God. We must live a life for God. This is true faith

I agree with almost all of what you have said. However, think for a minute. Suppose you stop paying heed to the warnings and your heart is hardened a bit. You end up over time not repenting “ because now it is no big deal. God’s grace is bigger than my sin, right?” Eventually you can end up not saved and miss heaven, correct?

It is possible, as you have said. That is why we find the warnings throughout the New Testament. Now, you said you know you are saved because the Spirit bears witness with your Spirit, but you see, that “feeling saved” is not the guarantee we want to make it. Heck, most everyone “feels saved”. But...... so did those in the final judgment who said “Lord, Lord.....”, only to hear “I never knew you”. Do we think they knew that was coming? Nope. They were blown away in shock and confusion.

So how do we know we are saved? What is the basis for our confidence? As you said yourself, we must continue in the faith with clean consciences, and live lives for God. We need to do those things that are pleasing to Him. We need to avoid willful sin as if it is the plague. We are to set our affections on things above, not on things of the earth. We repent when needed, and here is the biggest. We do lol these things.....to the end. Scripturally, that is the true way to know. We endure, seeking His will, not ours.... always.

But think, if this is true, then this is a scary scene, because that means nothing is secure, as we always have our “other self”, the black dog, the one who listens at times to the enemy. The Bible calls it our old man, our fleshly nature, who can lead us astray. As long as he lives inside us, we remain in danger with no security whatsoever.

So IS there security for us? Absolutely! Where is it found? One place and one place alone. Romans 6, when we put off our old nature by faith, and never let it rise from the grave again. You see, when we finally reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to Him, when we finally come into agreement with God that we are dead and our life is hid with Him in Christ, and yield ourselves to Him as those who are now alive from the dead, everything changes.

No more is it up to us to keep us from falling, but it is on Hid broad shoulders. He becomes the one who keeps us from falling, praise God! Now THAT is good news! But you see, the promises God has made to us to keep us from falling, to not let us be tempted above that which we are able to bear, our I,penetrable shield of faith, they only works when we are walking in the new man.

Yes, OSAS is true, but only IF we put on our new man, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. That is why there are so many arguments between OSAS people and conditional salvational people. There is a razor thin line between these two, and it is called the highway of holiness, where a man, though he be a fool, shall not err therein. There is TOTAL security there. However, as long as we choose to live in our old nature, refusing to believe that God has already made us new people, we give Satan a huge advantage. You see, he still has influence over our old natures. We cannot trust ourselves, if we still have a fight going on between our black dog and white dog. The man with the battle going on inside is not safe.... ever.

Listen, though! Here is the truth that has been hidden from us. Here is the truth we are even now awakening to. We are NOT both black dog and white dog! If we are His, we ARE new creatures, and old things, and the “old us” are passed away. We are not a mixture, trying to get more white and less black over time. But there is something we must do to “activate” this truth in our lives.

And what is this activating ingredient? It is combining the precious blood of the lamb with the words of OUR testimony. It is not a work but rather a leap of faith! We do not look at how much sin we have to still overcome, we do not look at how much fruits we still have to see to be considered worthy of being called “new creatures”. We believe we are new simply because God tells us we are.

How important this is. You see, unless we align our testimony with this truth, we enable the black dog to live on, and brothers and sisters, I pray you believe me, our black dog, our old nature, cannot be trusted, not for a nano-second.

Blessings,

Gideon

 

[Jonathan Leo]

I agree with almost all of what you have said. However, think for a minute. Suppose you stop paying heed to the warnings and your heart is hardened a bit. You end up over time not repenting “ because now it is no big deal. God’s grace is bigger than my sin, right?” Eventually you can end up not saved and miss heaven, correct?

It is possible, as you have said. That is why we find the warnings throughout the New Testament. Now, you said you know you are saved because the Spirit bears witness with your Spirit, but you see, that “feeling saved” is not the guarantee we want to make it. Heck, most everyone “feels saved”. But...... so did those in the final judgment who said “Lord, Lord.....”, only to hear “I never knew you”. Do we think they knew that was coming? Nope. They were blown away in shock and confusion.

So how do we know we are saved? What is the basis for our confidence? As you said yourself, we must continue in the faction with clean consciences, and lives lives for God. We need to do those things that are pleasing to Him. We need to avoid willful sin as if it is the plague. We are to set our affections on things above, not on things of the earth. We repent when needed, and here is the biggest. We do these things.....to the end. Scripturally, that is the true way to know. We endure, seeking His will, not ours.

But think, this is a scary scene, because that means nothing is secure, as we always have our “other self”, the black dog, the one who listens at times to the enemy, our lower nature, who can lead us astray. As long as he lives inside us, we remain in danger with no security whatsoever.

So IS there security for us? Absolutely! Where is it found? One place and one place alone. Romans 6, when we put off our old nature by faith, and never let it rise again. You see, when we finally reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to Him, when we finally come into agreement with God that we are dead and our life is hid with Him in Christ, and yield ourselves to Him as those who are now alive from the dead, everything changes.

No more is it up to us to keep us from falling, but it is on Hid broad shoulders. He becomes the one who keeps us, praise God! The promises God has made to us to not let us be tempted above that which we are able to bear without falling, only works when we are walking in the new man.

Yes, OSAS is true, but only IF we put on our new man, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. That is why there are so many arguments on OSAS people versus conditional salvational people. There is a razor thin line between these two, and it is called the highway of holiness, where a man, though he be a fool, shall not err therein. There is TOTAL security there. However, as long as we choose to live in our old nature, refusing to believe that God has already made us new people, we give Satan a huge advantage. You see, he still has influence over our old natures. We cannot trust ourselves, if we still have a fight going on between our black dog and white dog. The man with the battle going on inside is not safe.... ever.

Listen, though! We are NOT both black dog and white dog! If we are His, we ARE new creatures, not trying over time to become them. But there is something we must do. Not a work but rather a grand leap of faith! We do not look at how much sin we have overcome or not overcome, we do not look at how much fruits we have to see if we are worthy to be considered new creatures.

The truth is, we come to Him EMPTY and in need of everything. all we come with is exercised faith and praise God, He does the rest for us, IN us. How important this is. You see, unless we align our testimony with this truth, we enable the black dog to live on, and brothers our black dog, our old nature, cannot be trusted, not for a nano-second.

I hope this clarifies a bit.

Blessings,

Gideon

Good info brother.
There is one scripture that I’m concerned about and it shows believers in Christ walking away.
The great apostasy. 2 Thessalonians 2

I get the sense from the Bible that it’s not Jesus job to keep us but to save us from Gods wrath. It’s entirely up to us to respond and obey His teachings in order that we are saved
“ why do you call me Lord and not do what I say? “
“ work out your faith with fear and trembling”
“ it’s impossible to come to repentance if once enlightened and you turn back to your worldly ways”
“ there will be lots leave the faith in the last days”

I believe in Jesus as the Christ, redeemer. I was on fire for Him at the start but since last year I have been hurt by some Christians friends and have left the church. I still believe in Jesus but have become worldly in a way I go out and get drunk to socialize because no Christian has rang me up and asked me to do anything. I left church and nobody battered an eyelid. The only people who do contact me are unbelievers. It’s hard to stay isolated.
I’m starting to believe that I’m so sinful that I’m going to hell anyway and so I’m not fearing God the way I used to.

Also when I had my conversion, it all seemed great but I know it was all emotional. If Jesus promised the Holy Spirit then why aren’t I filled with Him the way the apostles were? I mean if I were filled with the spirit, it would be easier for me to say no to worldly stuff.

 

[Gideons300]

Good info brother.
There is one scripture that I’m concerned about and it shows believers in Christ walking away.
The great apostasy. 2 Thessalonians 2

I get the sense from the Bible that it’s not Jesus job to keep us but to save us from Gods wrath. It’s entirely up to us to respond and obey His teachings in order that we are saved
“ why do you call me Lord and not do what I say? “
“ work out your faith with fear and trembling”
“ it’s impossible to come to repentance if once enlightened and you turn back to your worldly ways”
“ there will be lots leave the faith in the last days”

I believe in Jesus as the Christ, redeemer. I was on fire for Him at the start but since last year I have been hurt by some Christians friends and have left the church. I still believe in Jesus but have become worldly in a way I go out and get drunk to socialize because no Christian has rang me up and asked me to do anything. I left church and nobody battered an eyelid. The only people who do contact me are unbelievers. It’s hard to stay isolated.
I’m starting to believe that I’m so sinful that I’m going to hell anyway and so I’m not fearing God the way I used to.

Also when I had my conversion, it all seemed great but I know it was all emotional. If Jesus promised the Holy Spirit then why aren’t I filled with Him the way the apostles were? I mean if I were filled with the spirit, it would be easier for me to say no to worldly stuff.

Brother, my heart hurts for you. I pray what I write may help you.

When you said you sensed from the Bible that it was our job to keep us and His job to save us from wrath, let’s consider a few of God’s promises.

1) Unto Him who is able to keep us from falling....

2) We are equipped with shields of faith, that will quench ALL the fiery arrows of Satan.

3) God promised that He would not allow us to be tempted above our ability to resist.

4) God has delivered us from the POWER of darkness.

5) and in Ezekiel36, God tells us about the new covenant, and here He tells us that He will CAUSE US to walk in obedience. Whoa.

So, the idea that it is on our shoulders is simply not biblical. If it is on our shoulders, and a part of us likes sin and disobedience, then there is ZERO security.

So how can we keep that fire burning inside? WE can’t. Not if we are in our old nature, thinking the black and white dog are fighting for supremacy. So what do we do? Escape our old nature! How? By reckoning it dead. Romans 6. This is no gimmick, nor a theological stance. It is a definitive transaction, where we put off our old nature and put on our new one. All those promises listed above? They work only on our new man.

I would love to talk further with you. If this piques your interest at all, you may want to read any of my posts. They are all saying variations of the same thing. Eleven years ago, at my lowest, addicted to inappropriate content and hating m flesh but unable to escape its grasp, God appeared to me (Yeah, I know, but it really happened) and told me what I share. By doing what I am telling you, God has taken an angry, judgmental, thoroughly bound man and freed him to walk as a true child of God. Spiritual fruits are even produced.

This is NOT sinless perfectionism. That is something WE achieve....impossible. But when we couple the blood of the lamb with OUR testimony as to who we now are, the power of God flows in. Once we believe we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit, and owe our old sinful nature NOTHING, once we finally yield ourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, we can finally say as Paul did, “it is no longer I that live, but Christ who now lives in me” Glory to God, dear brother. What I share works!

Be blessed,

Gideon

P.S. oh, as to the great falling away, that happens when the other half of the virgins awaken and light their lamps.

 

[Lily of Valleys]

This is NOT sinless perfectionism. That is something WE achieve....impossible. But when we couple the blood of the lamb with OUR testimony as to who we now are, the power of God flows in. Once we believe we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit, and owe our old sinful nature NOTHING, once we finally yield ourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, we can finally say as Paul did, “it is no longer I that live, but Christ who now lives in me” Glory to God, dear brother. What I share works!

Practically speaking, how do you combine the blood of the lamb with the words of your testimony? And which testimony are you referring to?

 

[Gideons300]

Practically speaking, how do you combine the blood of the lamb with the words of your testimony? And which testimony are you referring to?

Eleven years ago, I was of all men most miserable. I loved the Lord but was defeated, angry that the church had no answers, was addicted to inappropriate contentography, and no matter how hard I tried, my pendulum always eventually swung to sin.

I was the poster boy for Romans 7. There was no contentment without godliness. We are told that it is the pure in heart who shall see God, and heart purity was not ever even on the horizon.

My testimony is long for that night was amazing, but God appeared to me, no face, just blinding light, and spoke to me audibly. I had tried everything I knew to overcome my fleshly nature and failed and come to the point I simply had nothing else to try.

Bottom line, He asked if I had ever obeyed what Paul told me to do, and simply illuminated the answer. Romans 6, reckoning myself dead. Oh, I believed that when Christ died, we died as well, and yeah, I believed when Christ rose from the dead, we rose with Him. Ok, now what? It was the next verse.

“Therefore, reckon yourself dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God.”

In an instant, I saw. I had never “personalized” those truths as MY truths, my possessions.My shield of faith was down, gathering dust.what did I do? I spoke out loud.... loudly...and put off my old nature by faith. I believed Ixwas a new creature and that sin no longer had me. I yielded myself unto God as those who are alive from the dead, not as one still needing to die.

That, dear sister in the Lord, is the night I coupled the blood of the Lamb with the word of my testimony. Eleven years and past, and as I have trusted Him and having done all to stand, stood, God has been a faithful Father and kept me from falling.

I have tons more to say, so if you are still curious or have more questions, feel free to ask or message me. God is awakening us all to this truth, this second half of the gospel, discovering and wearing our new nature. It works.

Blessings,

Gideon

 

[Not me]

I can imagine it highly personal, but I would love to hear more about your experience with God. Don’t know if you’ve made a post about it, but it’s sounds like it would be fascinating/amazing to hear more details. The fruit of that encounter is off the charts glorious.

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Gideons300]

Eleven years ago, I was of all men most miserable. I loved the Lord but was defeated, angry that the church had no answers, was addicted to inappropriate contentography, and no matter how hard I tried, my pendulum always eventually swung to sin.

I was the poster boy for Romans 7. There was no contentment without godliness. We are told that it is the pure in heart who shall see God, and heart purity was not ever even on the horizon.

My testimony is long for that night was amazing, but God appeared to me, no face, just blinding light, and spoke to me audibly. I had tried everything I knew to overcome my fleshly nature and failed and come to the point I simply had nothing else to try.

Bottom line, He asked if I had ever obeyed what Paul told me to do, and simply illuminated the answer. Romans 6, reckoning myself dead. Oh, I believed that when Christ died, we died as well, and yeah, I believed when Christ rose from the dead, we rose with Him. Ok, now what? It was the next verse.

“Therefore, reckon yourself dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God.”

In an instant, I saw. I had never “personalized” those truths as MY truths, my possessions.My shield of faith was down, gathering dust.what did I do? I spoke out loud.... loudly...and put off my old nature by faith. I believed Ixwas a new creature and that sin no longer had me. I yielded myself unto God as those who are alive from the dead, not as one still needing to die.

That, dear sister in the Lord, is the night I coupled the blood of the Lamb with the word of my testimony. Eleven years and past, and as I have trusted Him and having done all to stand, stood, God has been a faithful Father and kept me from falling.

I have tons more to say, so if you are still curious or have more questions, feel free to ask or message me. God is awakening us all to this truth, this second half of the gospel, discovering and wearing our new nature. It works.

Blessings,

Gideon

I want to clarify something so there will be no misunderstanding. When I said above that as I have trusted Him, He has kept me from falling, some might take that as me saying I have not sinned in eleven years. Not so.

I have tried to make clear that what God has asked me to share is NOT sinless perfectionism. This is not man’s achievement. This is not some magic pill and once you take it, you walk like Jesus. I pray everyone gets that.

With that said, after my supernatural visitation, two full years passed before I was cognizant of my first willful sin. Two years! For a man who thought going three full days without looking at inappropriate content was a milestone, that in itself was a miracle. But after that long, I was indeed beginning to think I had taken that magic pill. Remember, I had no one to instruct me, except for the Holy Spirit. Seeing God face to .....well, face to back of my neck energizes one’s faith, amen?

But I did fall. Why? I had a lesson that I had to learn. This was not an “experience”. This was a walk of faith on the highway of holiness. This was an abiding, moment by moment. My faith finally wavered, and plop, down I went.

Two months of darkness ensued. I panicked. Like trying to get the jumper cables adjusted just right, hoping for that spark again, and ...... nothing. Why? Why did God hide from me? Several reasons.

First, to realize the deep sinfulness of willful sin. There are no ‘small’ sins. Each one cost Christ the agony of the cross. We do not have that mentality.... yet.

Secondly, I had to learn this was no experience, no magic pill. This was a faith walk, and my armor and shield needed to be put on daily. Satan never rests. Vigilance is called for. Please understand, there is no fear. Just an understanding that he will try to steal from us if we let him. So....we do not.

When one reckons themselves dead, they begin a walk of faith. They have finally fully begun their good fight of faith, with the goal of being established in it. Here, we can fall, just the same way Joshua got his butt whipped by little Ai in the taking of the land of promise. (By the way, that entire account of the wilderness walking and taking of the land of promise happened for OUR benefit. See if you can figure it out. Amazing shadows and types.)

Remember what John said. IF we fall..... not when but IF...we repent, get up and believe again....immediately! Sin is always theoretically possible until we become established in the faith, with deep roots, much fruit and a walk with Jesus truly being a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Work calls, that is enough for now, but I am glad I have cleared the air on this. God has this for EVERY single child of His. Your weakness here is an advantage, because it is when we come to Him knowing we have NO strength, it is then that we feel ourselves mounting up with eagles wings.... HIS wings.

Blessings to all, and so nice to see you again, NotMe.

Gids

 

[GTW27]

I want to clarify something so there will be no misunderstanding. When I said above that as I have trusted Him, He has kept me from falling, some might take that as me saying I have not sinned in eleven years. Not so.

I have tried to make clear that what God has asked me to share is NOT sinless perfectionism. This is not man’s achievement. This is not some magic pill and once you take it, you walk like Jesus. I pray everyone gets that.

With that said, after my supernatural visitation, two full years passed before I was cognizant of my first willful sin. Two years! For a man who thought going three full days without looking at inappropriate content was a milestone, that in itself was a miracle. But after that long, I was indeed beginning to think I had taken that magic pill. Remember, I had no one to instruct me, except for the Holy Spirit. Seeing God face to .....well, face to back of my neck energizes one’s faith, amen?

But I did fall. Why? I had a lesson that I had to learn. This was not an “experience”. This was a walk of faith on the highway of holiness. This was an abiding, moment by moment. My faith finally wavered, and plop, down I went.

Two months of darkness ensued. I panicked. Like trying to get the jumper cables adjusted just right, hoping for that spark again, and ...... nothing. Why? Why did God hide from me? Several reasons.

First, to realize the deep sinfulness of willful sin. There are no ‘small’ sins. Each one cost Christ the agony of the cross. We do not have that mentality.... yet.

Secondly, I had to learn this was no experience, no magic pill. This was a faith walk, and my armor and shield needed to be put on daily. Satan never rests. Vigilance is called for. Please understand, there is no fear. Just an understanding that he will try to steal from us if we let him. So....we do not.

When one reckons themselves dead, they begin a walk of faith. They have finally fully begun their good fight of faith, with the goal of being established in it. Here, we can fall, just the same way Joshua got his butt whipped by little Ai in the taking of the land of promise. (By the way, that entire account of the wilderness walking and taking of the land of promise happened for OUR benefit. See if you can figure it out. Amazing shadows and types.)

Remember what John said. IF we fall..... not when but IF...we repent, get up and believe again....immediately! Sin is always theoretically possible until we become established in the faith, with deep roots, much fruit and a walk with Jesus truly being a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Work calls, that is enough for now, but I am glad I have cleared the air on this. God has this for EVERY single child of His. Your weakness here is an advantage, because it is when we come to Him knowing we have NO strength, it is then that we feel ourselves mounting up with eagles wings.... HIS wings.

Blessings to all, and so nice to see you again, NotMe.

What a man believes in his heart so he is. If he speaks it out loud, then it comes to pass. For in a man's tongue is life or death. If a man reckons himself dead to sin then then dead to sin he will be. What is missing in the good teaching you bring, is the enemies role (devices). The unseen role that kept you stuck for all those years. The bible says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. The enemy gets permission to come near a person after the first time a willfull sin is commited. He usually sends the spirit of lust which in turn applifies the temptation that is found in a person's heart. At this point the person feels powerless over that temptation. The person then acts on that temptation and then feels shame and guilt for what they did. "Oh wretched man that I am". Had that person known the enemy was standing in the same room with him, then he could have rebuked the enemy and resisted him. Had that person known that there was hole(door) in his protective hedge (caused by himself) it could have been closed. Had that person known, that there is power and authority found in His Name that door could have been closed. I like what you bring, but I thought it was time for a more complete understanding of the other side of things. Be Blessed and continue fighting the good fight.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

What a man believes in his heart so he is. If he speaks it out loud, then it comes to pass. For in a man's tongue is life or death. If a man reckons himself dead to sin then then dead to sin he will be. What is missing in the good teaching you bring, is the enemies role (devices). The unseen role that kept you stuck for all those years. The bible says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. The enemy gets permission to come near a person after the first time a willfull sin is commited. He usually sends the spirit of lust which in turn applifies the temptation that is found in a person's heart. At this point the person feels powerless over that temptation. The person then acts on that temptation and then feels shame and guilt for what they did. "Oh wretched man that I am". Had that person known the enemy was standing in the same room with him, then he could have rebuked the enemy and resisted him. Had that person known that there was hole(door) in his protective hedge (caused by himself) it could have been closed. Had that person known, that there is power and authority found in His Name that door could have been closed. I like what you bring, but I thought it was time for a more complete understanding of the other side of things. Be Blessed and continue fighting the good fight.

The garden of the mind well weeded. A great little booklet on that topic was written in the early 1900's . still in circulation and still relevant today.

In 1902 Allen began to publish his own spiritual magazine, The Light of Reason, later retitled The Epoch. In 1902 Allen also published his third and most famous book As a Man Thinketh. Loosely based on the biblical proverb, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he," the small work eventually became read around the world and brought Allen posthumous fame as one of the pioneering figures of modern inspirational thought.

 

[Jonathan Leo]

Brother, my heart hurts for you. I pray what I write may help you.

When you said you sensed from the Bible that it was our job to keep us and His job to save us from wrath, let’s consider a few of God’s promises.

1) Unto Him who is able to keep us from falling....

2) We are equipped with shields of faith, that will quench ALL the fiery arrows of Satan.

3) God promised that He would not allow us to be tempted above our ability to resist.

4) God has delivered us from the POWER of darkness.

5) and in Ezekiel36, God tells us about the new covenant, and here He tells us that He will CAUSE US to walk in obedience. Whoa.

So, the idea that it is on our shoulders is simply not biblical. If it is on our shoulders, and a part of us likes sin and disobedience, then there is ZERO security.

So how can we keep that fire burning inside? WE can’t. Not if we are in our old nature, thinking the black and white dog are fighting for supremacy. So what do we do? Escape our old nature! How? By reckoning it dead. Romans 6. This is no gimmick, nor a theological stance. It is a definitive transaction, where we put off our old nature and put on our new one. All those promises listed above? They work only on our new man.

I would love to talk further with you. If this piques your interest at all, you may want to read any of my posts. They are all saying variations of the same thing. Eleven years ago, at my lowest, addicted to inappropriate content and hating m flesh but unable to escape its grasp, God appeared to me (Yeah, I know, but it really happened) and told me what I share. By doing what I am telling you, God has taken an angry, judgmental, thoroughly bound man and freed him to walk as a true child of God. Spiritual fruits are even produced.

This is NOT sinless perfectionism. That is something WE achieve....impossible. But when we couple the blood of the lamb with OUR testimony as to who we now are, the power of God flows in. Once we believe we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit, and owe our old sinful nature NOTHING, once we finally yield ourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, we can finally say as Paul did, “it is no longer I that live, but Christ who now lives in me” Glory to God, dear brother. What I share works!

Be blessed,

Gideon

P.S. oh, as to the great falling away, that happens when the other half of the virgins awaken and light their lamps.

Thank you man, great encouragement.
I guess I must be feeling that I know I am completely lost without Jesus and know doubt Satan is in my head telling me I am not worthy.
The thing is I know I’m not worthy and that’s why Jesus had to die in my place. I just hope I become more and more like Him, I hate this struggling life of sin

 

[Gideons300]

Thank you man, great encouragement.
I guess I must be feeling that I know I am completely lost without Jesus and know doubt Satan is in my head telling me I am not worthy.
The thing is I know I’m not worthy and that’s why Jesus had to die in my place. I just hope I become more and more like Him, I hate this struggling life of sin

If you struggle still with sin, you are a perfect candidate! Being trapped in Romans 7 is one thing, when one hates it, but it is those who resign themselves to a life of Romans 7 as the best God can do for us til we die who have a hard time entering the rest. They theorize, “Hey, only Jesus is perfect, and after all, we are only human”, and thus try to justify continuing in self and willful sin.

For these, there is no battle going on at all.... dangerous ground. But I am convinced God will shake everyone awake, even if it means upending our beds! LOL. It is that important. Every true child of God will be awakened so that they can light their lamp and BE light.

But brother, if you are there, identifying with Paul’s struggles and self hatred, not one more day needs to pass with you still in the wilderness, and not enjoying the rest found in the land of promise. What do you do? If you fully realize that given twenty more years of trying to wrestle your flesh under control, you will still fall short with no real victory, then not one thing stops you from crossing over.... right now.

There are two important truths found in Romans 6, truths we are told we must KNOW.

1) When Christ died, so did we. Our old nature was slain with Christ.

2) When Jesus rose from the dead to newness of life, He brought us up with Him as brand new spiritual beings. We are still clothed with fleshly bodies, but our nature is no longer fleshly. We are new!

Ok, got it? One last thing. Do not fall for the lie that you are not “ready”. Your failure is your qualification. So step out of the boat and appropriate these truths as YOURS. Reckon that these truths apply to you, NOW, this very minute. Believe that your old nature is gone, done, finis. Believe you are a brand new you. You are dead and your life is now hid with Christ. You do not need to wait to “feel like you believe”. We believe we are new simply because Christ told us we are. End of debate.

Oh, and do this OUT LOUD. Mine was very out loud, lol. I wanted Satan to hear my declaration of freedom from his tyranny. I find this extremely important for your ears will hear this truth and the faith you have, a gift from God, will sprout. Why? Faith comes from hearing truth, amen?

Listen, you may have fallen into willful sin an hour before this. Your life might be devoid of any and all Spiritual fruits. Perfect! We come to Him needing EVERYTHING. And guess what? He provides EVERYTHING!

You may get a feeling of a burden lifting. You may not. It does not matter. Dying to our old man already happened. It does not happen when we believe it. We can believe it because it is in our rear view mirror! And once you do it, stand fast. God will strengthen you. God will change you. All that is the responsibility of the master potter. Our job? Believe. And keep on believing.

Remember, the way of the Pharisees is to cleanse ourselves outwardly toward the inside. Ah, but our salvation is different. Inside to outside. You will not look different immediately...outwardly. But inwardly, at your core, you are pure and clean. And as you abide in this truth, God makes your faith take root and grows and soon, to your amazement, you will see spiritual fruits you KNOW are not your doing. The inward to outward metamorphosis really works! Therefore, we are not cognizant of us, and what we look like. That is God’s responsibility. Our job is to abide in Him.... by faith.

I pray this helps.

Blessings,

Gideon

 

[Lily of Valleys]

I want to clarify something so there will be no misunderstanding. When I said above that as I have trusted Him, He has kept me from falling, some might take that as me saying I have not sinned in eleven years. Not so.

I have tried to make clear that what God has asked me to share is NOT sinless perfectionism. This is not man’s achievement. This is not some magic pill and once you take it, you walk like Jesus. I pray everyone gets that.

With that said, after my supernatural visitation, two full years passed before I was cognizant of my first willful sin. Two years! For a man who thought going three full days without looking at inappropriate content was a milestone, that in itself was a miracle. But after that long, I was indeed beginning to think I had taken that magic pill. Remember, I had no one to instruct me, except for the Holy Spirit. Seeing God face to .....well, face to back of my neck energizes one’s faith, amen?

But I did fall. Why? I had a lesson that I had to learn. This was not an “experience”. This was a walk of faith on the highway of holiness. This was an abiding, moment by moment. My faith finally wavered, and plop, down I went.

Two months of darkness ensued. I panicked. Like trying to get the jumper cables adjusted just right, hoping for that spark again, and ...... nothing. Why? Why did God hide from me? Several reasons.

First, to realize the deep sinfulness of willful sin. There are no ‘small’ sins. Each one cost Christ the agony of the cross. We do not have that mentality.... yet.

Secondly, I had to learn this was no experience, no magic pill. This was a faith walk, and my armor and shield needed to be put on daily. Satan never rests. Vigilance is called for. Please understand, there is no fear. Just an understanding that he will try to steal from us if we let him. So....we do not.

When one reckons themselves dead, they begin a walk of faith. They have finally fully begun their good fight of faith, with the goal of being established in it. Here, we can fall, just the same way Joshua got his butt whipped by little Ai in the taking of the land of promise. (By the way, that entire account of the wilderness walking and taking of the land of promise happened for OUR benefit. See if you can figure it out. Amazing shadows and types.)

Remember what John said. IF we fall..... not when but IF...we repent, get up and believe again....immediately! Sin is always theoretically possible until we become established in the faith, with deep roots, much fruit and a walk with Jesus truly being a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Work calls, that is enough for now, but I am glad I have cleared the air on this. God has this for EVERY single child of His. Your weakness here is an advantage, because it is when we come to Him knowing we have NO strength, it is then that we feel ourselves mounting up with eagles wings.... HIS wings.

Blessings to all, and so nice to see you again, NotMe.

Gids

Thanks for your sharing, and your clarification already answered the questions I was about to ask. Spiritual experience helps us to strengthen our faith, but the question is how to maintain it at the same spiritual high. It seems like there is probably no magic pill that can do away with our body of sin once and for all. Like you said, it is a moment-by-moment abiding, for without Christ, we can do nothing.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 NASB)​

 

[GTW27]

The garden of the mind well weeded. A great little booklet on that topic was written in the early 1900's . still in circulation and still relevant today.

I am a reader of only one book, for in it, can only the truth be found.For the truth can only be found in Jesus. In here, I only write what I have been given. If per chance, I bring wisdom, it is from the gift of wisdom. It is not from any other book or the deceived. All the knowledge and wisdom of man verses The Lord is like comparing a snowflake that falls upon a giant iceberg. And as you know, the largest part of an iceberg can not be seen, for it is under the surface. Have a Blessed Day!

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

I am a reader of only one book, for in it, can only the truth be found.For the truth can only be found in Jesus. In here, I only write what I have been given. If per chance, I bring wisdom, it is from the gift of wisdom. It is not from any other book or the deceived. All the knowledge and wisdom of man verses The Lord is like comparing a snowflake that falls upon a giant iceberg. And as you know, the largest part of an iceberg can not be seen, for it is under the surface. Have a Blessed Day!

It would be great if we all could be such. Your posts have always been appreciated as a source of blessing. I added the booklet as a source of perspective but others add their own perspective also and it wasn't until I had posted the link that I noticed it had a buddhist reference on it. Sorry about that.

 

[GTW27]

It would be great if we all could be such. Your posts have always been appreciated as a source of blessing. I added the booklet as a source of perspective but others add their own perspective also and it wasn't until I had posted the link that I noticed it had a buddhist reference on it. Sorry about that.

You need not be sorry. Sometimes, the response that I write, is written not just for one, but for many. If the reading of many books, per chance, has corrupted or led The Body away from The Truth, then the words that I wrote needed to be said. If The Body depended on Him alone, then we would all be of One accord. Just as sheep wander from the fold, sometimes words are needed to bring them back.These words are not directed to you, for I know you are my sister in Christ Jesus.