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The Bible says that this purification is certainly a process that takes time. The Bible says that Christians are being purified. This implies that Christians still have sin in their lives, yet it is passing away.
"Christians" is a vague term never used by Christ. I am speaking of salvation which the Bible says once reached is never lost....but we don't reach it at the start of the journey only the end of it (he who endures to the END will be saved).
"Christians" is a vague term never used by Christ. I am speaking of salvation which the Bible says once reached is never lost....but we don't reach it at the start of the journey only the end of it (he who endures to the END will be saved).
It doesnt make me feel good, or better than others, to try to sound more educated or spiritual than others.....so i tend to use common language that everyone can understand and follow....even though they may be inappropriate at times. In fact...many spiritual things cannot be comprehended by the carnal mind, therefore, rendering all words useless.That is a "level"?
Paul was re-named, just as Jacob was.
It does not denote a "level", however.
We might want to be very careful. "Levels" can sometimes feed into the "pride" that we all struggle with. Even Paul did. That's why he was given a "thorn in the side".
You sound like a Catholic.
In what sense are you a Calvinist?
It doesnt make me feel good, or better than others, to try to sound more educated or spiritual than others.....so i tend to use common language that everyone can understand and follow....even though they may be inappropriate at times. In fact...many spiritual things cannot be comprehended by the carnal mind, therefore, rendering all words useless.
But yes it is not a level reached....but the beginning....the start of a long journey.....a journey many will not start because they already believe themselves to be at a certain "level" on the path.....
Even though the Word emptied Himself to become man, the baby Jesus, the seed of the Father was in Him from the beginning of conception. Therefore, during His life even before He was baptized by the Spirit for ministry and miracles, He didn’t sin, though He was tempted by Satan, just as we are. And for us, God always makes a way of escape.
That same seed is in Christ’s followers who have been baptized with the Spirit. 1 John 3:says, 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
This is also why we must have that seed in us. Romans 8:9 "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His."
If you still willfully sin (and don't be spiritually ignorant and say all sin is willful. There are also unknown (to us) sins that are not sins unto death in 1 John 5. Willful sins are rebellious against God - and without repentance will produce death.), do as Jesus said, "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works." So what are the first works? Acts 2:38, I believe are those in a nutshell.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.The scriptures I quote say that the saved do not sin because the old sinful self dies and a new self is made by God.
People may not like to hear that, but its what the scripture says.
There are many of you who almost proudly say you still sin. So the question is, is the seed of Christ in you? Because those who have the seed in them, cannot sin. And by the teachings of all the apostles we know that this refers to willful sin.
Don't come to me and ask me if you are a Christian. Read the words of the apostles and judge yourselves. And if you are not a Christian, then what are you waiting for? Who else has the Words of eternal life?
I'm interested in your very first comment that Jesus emptied himself to become man. Do you believe that Jesus gave up his deity when he was conceived? Philippians 2 seems to say that he did, but if you look for that which he gave up, it's not there. You have to use other passages to find out if it was his deity. For example, Jesus claimed while on earth over and over that he was God (Andy Stanley: "God in a bod"). He said in John 6, 10, 11, and 14 that "I AM" the bread of life, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, and the way and the truth and the life. Since he identified himself directly ("I am") with the God of the burning bush (Exodus 3) and the LORD as David's shepherd, he must have been fully God and fully human while on earth. Therefore, he must have given up his high status and privilege of being at the Father's right hand.
Your reference to 1 John 3:9 is a difficult one, but 1 John 1:8-10 makes it clear that John was not claiming in 3:9 that believers are sinless. The best interpretation that I have found is that he is referring to the fact that sin no longer controls believers like a master the way it did before they believed. For example, God made me a Christian at 16. I felt God's call to be a pastor but then rebelled against that call like Jonah. I spent 8 years as an English teacher and 3 as a sales manager until God renewed his call and made me a pastor 27 years. Then, he sent me into retirement to write Christian books. He knew what he was doing all along, even though I didn't ask him about the English part. The central commitment of my life was to him, but I decided to do something different for my vocational life.
There are many of you who almost proudly say you still sin. So the question is, is the seed of Christ in you? Because those who have the seed in them, cannot sin. And by the teachings of all the apostles we know that this refers to willful sin.
Don't come to me and ask me if you are a Christian. Read the words of the apostles and judge yourselves. And if you are not a Christian, then what are you waiting for? Who else has the Words of eternal life?
There are many of you who almost proudly say you still sin. So the question is, is the seed of Christ in you? Because those who have the seed in them, cannot sin. And by the teachings of all the apostles we know that this refers to willful sin.
Don't come to me and ask me if you are a Christian. Read the words of the apostles and judge yourselves. And if you are not a Christian, then what are you waiting for? Who else has the Words of eternal life?
1 John 3:8I willfully sin. Does this mean I'm not a Christian?
1 John 3:8
"The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning".
How one can willfully partake with devil and follow Christ?
2 Corinthians 6:14-15
"what fellowship does light have with darkness? And what agreement does Christ have with Beliyaʽal [the devil]?
1 Corinthians 4:3-4Do you sin in thought, word, or deed, Anand Prabhu Antony?
1 Corinthians 4:3-4
"I do not even judge myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, but not by this am I vindicated. But the one who judges me is the Lord".
I believe the above verse for me
When was the last time you knowingly fell short of the glory of God in thought, word, or deed?
In 1981 I asked the Lord "how long"? And He spoke to me and said "10 years." This question was about a previous prophecy.
Eight and a half years later I met a fellow Christian at work (we both worked at 20th Century Fox in L.A.), and had a short engagement, ten months later, I started having a check in my spirit during the week before the wedding to not marry him. But I had already booked the best florist in Beverly Hills, and my photographer was the only photographer allowed 100% access to photograph the Pope when he was in Los Angeles. The wedding was going to be a big deal. The check in my spirit was letting me know he wasn't the one for me, but I felt I would have to make it work, so I reasoned with myself that God would be okay with it seeing as he was a "Christian." My sin was talking myself into the belief that my will was God's will. So, basically, I lied to myself.
I went through 13 years of every kind of abuse imaginable. But I blamed myself that I had not waited the full ten years. I learned obedience through suffering.
Now do you really think I EVER want to sin again? Not on your life, my life, or the life of anybody else!
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Sin causes so much heartache. I often wonder what my life could have been like if I had just waited. That sorrow keeps me on the very straight and narrow; but I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. Why? Because His seed is in me.
So why do you continue in sin? I told you my story. Or do you just say that, somehow thinking it makes you appear humble.
I found something interesting in Romans 6. Even though when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are dead to sin, we must keep reminding ourselves of that truth. Why? It is so you don't buy into the lie of the devil, that says, "Did God really say that"? "Go ahead and sin; your present and future sins are also forgiven, because they were all 'future' when Christ died." Oh, really? Where is that found?
Peter makes reference to the fact that it was our old sins that were forgiven in 2 Peter 1:9.
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