USCGrad90
Seeker
bobbarry - your story mirrors many of our own. In my younger years, I also drank. It started with a few beers and ended in nights of drinking hours upon hours with my friends and having them pick me up and put me in bed at night. I came to the point where I was dependent upon it and it was an everyday thing - not just the social aspect or party, but in my home as a constant presence. This changed when the Holy Spirit convicted me of my sins and I stopped drinking entirely. I cannot count the years since I last had a drink and I have no desire, temptation of concern otherwise about alcohol. I attend parties, business dinners, and even sometimes have to meet friends at the local bars for some reason or other. Still - I have no issues thanks to my choice, which was guided by the Holy Spirit.
My Friend - you can't simply tell us that if we truly have the Holy Spirit it will cleanse us of the sins we have, removing all desire and ability to sin - and then tell us that you had the Holy Spirit at one point - but it didn't work the way you said it should. I don't care if it's homosexuality, drunkeness, or any other sin, by your statements - you have said there is no sin that should be able to claim you in that way.
I'm not trying to antagonize or condemn you, but simply show you that this is where all that you have been saying doesn't bear out. If you or anyone else lived totally free of sin and you could show me an example, I might be able to believe what you say, but no such example exists that I know of.
I agree that simply reading the Bible, attending church and praying doesn't always work out for many people - especially if you are letting sin control your desires, thoughts and actions. This is the curse of the flesh that we carry. Temptation is there and the potential for sin exists - which we have a way to defeat - when we follow the Holy Spirit.
What you fail to realize is that for all the statements you say that we live as defeated Christians - we're not. We have conquered death already and most of us live with hope in that knowledge, which I think is the main point that Jesus tries to show us.
My Friend - you can't simply tell us that if we truly have the Holy Spirit it will cleanse us of the sins we have, removing all desire and ability to sin - and then tell us that you had the Holy Spirit at one point - but it didn't work the way you said it should. I don't care if it's homosexuality, drunkeness, or any other sin, by your statements - you have said there is no sin that should be able to claim you in that way.
I'm not trying to antagonize or condemn you, but simply show you that this is where all that you have been saying doesn't bear out. If you or anyone else lived totally free of sin and you could show me an example, I might be able to believe what you say, but no such example exists that I know of.
I agree that simply reading the Bible, attending church and praying doesn't always work out for many people - especially if you are letting sin control your desires, thoughts and actions. This is the curse of the flesh that we carry. Temptation is there and the potential for sin exists - which we have a way to defeat - when we follow the Holy Spirit.
What you fail to realize is that for all the statements you say that we live as defeated Christians - we're not. We have conquered death already and most of us live with hope in that knowledge, which I think is the main point that Jesus tries to show us.
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