Sin

[Look Homeward Anglican]

Is it possible for a person to repent and literally sin no more in the remainder of his life? If by having an impure thought, we are already guilty of adultery -- who can keep his thoughts so guarded as to avoid all sin for the rest of his life?

How is sin forgiven?

 

[rmwilliamsll]

the best online reference about perfectionism (imho)is:
http://www.mbrem.com/life/perfectionism.htm

Warfield wrote a book on the topic, i thought it was online but unable to find it. The reformed have consistently condemned both Finney's, Welseyian, and RC perfectionism.

there is a nice links list on substitutionary atonement at:
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/atonement.html

 

[HiredGoon]

Pro 20:9 Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"?

 

[heymikey80]

Is it possible for a person to repent and literally sin no more in the remainder of his life? If by having an impure thought, we are already guilty of adultery -- who can keep his thoughts so guarded as to avoid all sin for the rest of his life?

How is sin forgiven?

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 Jn 1:8-10
​

You've read it before, but for this moment, read it anew. John isn't saying we're forgiven solely of the sins we confess (lit., agreeing with God about our sins). John goes further, he's much more radical. Jesus will "cleanse us from all unrighteousness"! Not just the sins we confess.

And of course the idea that we have no sin, is self-deception. We have sin. We should go about confessing it; and if we live in this way of truly agreeing with God about our sin, then we can be encouraged, because God forgives not only that sin, but vows to clean us up completely at the Resurrection, our glorification.

 

[edie19]

Is it possible for a person to repent and literally sin no more in the remainder of his life? If by having an impure thought, we are already guilty of adultery -- who can keep his thoughts so guarded as to avoid all sin for the rest of his life?

How is sin forgiven?

We will continue to sin until we leave this life for the next life. We do grow in our sanctification - sin loses it's appeal. But, we are still sons and daughters of Adam - sin is part of this world. What we don't have, in our redeemed and regenerate state, is an excuse to sin.

How is sin forgiven - by the active work of Christ on the cross. He lived the life we should, but can't. He bore the punishment that we deserve, took the full brunt of God's just wrath upon Himself, then rose from the dead to conquer sin. He imputes (credits) His righteousness to us. It isn't just that our sin is forgiven - it's as if it never was - we have been declared "not guilty."

Our God is awesome in His mercy and grace.

edie

 

[Look Homeward Anglican]

Thank you all for these careful explanations. heymikey80, you do say that we should go about confessing our sins -- how do we do this? The Catholic way that I am used to is that we go to our priest and call out all the sins we can remember, by name, type, number of occurences, etc... and by doing this, it is considered for us that we have done what is required and confessed our sins. What is the Reformed way of confessing sins and being assured that we are forgiven?

 

[PETE_]

Thank you all for these careful explanations. heymikey80, you do say that we should go about confessing our sins -- how do we do this? The Catholic way that I am used to is that we go to our priest and call out all the sins we can remember, by name, type, number of occurences, etc... and by doing this, it is considered for us that we have done what is required and confessed our sins. What is the Reformed way of confessing sins and being assured that we are forgiven?

Christ is the High Priest. We confess to Him. He is always available. We can come to Him constantly.

Here is a link to a little booklet about a 16th century monk. It is free to anyone to read or download. I think you will find his opinions on organized rituals interesting.

http://www.practicegodspresence.com/brotherlawrence/index.html

 

[Look Homeward Anglican]

Christ is the High Priest. We confess to Him. He is always available. We can come to Him constantly.

Here is a link to a little booklet about a 16th century monk. It is free to anyone to read or download. I think you will find his opinions on organized rituals interesting.

http://www.practicegodspresence.com/brotherlawrence/index.html

Thank you for the link.

 

[HiredGoon]

What is the Reformed way of confessing sins and being assured that we are forgiven?

In most Reformed worship services there is a "call to repentence" usually in the form of a Scripture reading (such as James 2:10 or 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18). Then a time of confession where the congregation prays silently and then is lead in prayer by the pastor. Which is followed by an "assurance of pardon," usually another passage of Scripture (for example, Romans 5:8 or 1 Peter 3:18) read by the pastor.

 

[Look Homeward Anglican]

In most Reformed worship services there is a "call to repentence" usually in the form of a Scripture reading (such as James 2:10 or 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18). Then a time of confession where the congregation prays silently and then is lead in prayer by the pastor. Which is followed by an "assurance of pardon," usually another passage of Scripture (for example, Romans 5:8 or 1 Peter 3:18) read by the pastor.

Ah, yes. I do remember this from my mother's church. So, when the people are given the assurance of pardon, their sins are forgiven at that time?

What if a person were to sin during the week, and ask Jesus for pardon? Would he receive forgiveness at that time, or not until the assurance of pardon during the service on Sunday?

 

[PETE_]

Ah, yes. I do remember this from my mother's church. So, when the people are given the assurance of pardon, their sins are forgiven at that time?

What if a person were to sin during the week, and ask Jesus for pardon? Would he receive forgiveness at that time, or not until the assurance of pardon during the service on Sunday?

We are forgiven when we ask for it. The reading of scripture or statement by the pastor has no affect on the work of the Holy Spirit. The verbal word may help assure our minds, but the Spirit will assure our heart. The joy He brings to our hearts is wonderful, if we are willing to allow Him to work in it.

 

[calmcoolandelected]

Ah, yes. I do remember this from my mother's church. So, when the people are given the assurance of pardon, their sins are forgiven at that time?

What if a person were to sin during the week, and ask Jesus for pardon? Would he receive forgiveness at that time, or not until the assurance of pardon during the service on Sunday?

I think you are misunderstanding. The Assurance of Pardon is just a promise to believers that God will do what He says He will do. It doesn't have any power of absolution. The Holy Spirit uses the Scripture used in the Assurance of Pardon as a hope and comfort to the sinner.

CC&E

 

[mlqurgw]

Ah, yes. I do remember this from my mother's church. So, when the people are given the assurance of pardon, their sins are forgiven at that time?

What if a person were to sin during the week, and ask Jesus for pardon? Would he receive forgiveness at that time, or not until the assurance of pardon during the service on Sunday?

Pardon and forgiveness for sin, all of them (past, present and future) was accompished at the cross. Confession is as has already been stated. Forgiveness doesn't come when we confess but the assurance does. The Spirit once again assures me that the death, burial and ressurection of Christ is sufficient to have blotted out as a thick cloud, purged and covered my sin. Peace is restored in my heart and I can once again be bold to come to the throne of grace to find mercy and help in the time of need.

 

[bradfordl]

Ah, yes. I do remember this from my mother's church. So, when the people are given the assurance of pardon, their sins are forgiven at that time?

What if a person were to sin during the week, and ask Jesus for pardon? Would he receive forgiveness at that time, or not until the assurance of pardon during the service on Sunday?

My position, which may or may not be reformed, is that all our sins were forgiven at the Cross; past, present, and future. The confession of our sins to God is to acknowledge our complete moral bankruptcy outside of Christ, and the assurance of pardon is to acknowledge the complete efficacy of His atoning work on the Cross to us who are in Christ, which then leads us to the overflowing gratitude that is due Him for our salvation. This is something that goes on in a moment by moment basis individually, and is practiced in a service of worship corporately. All to keep us mindful of our own inadequacy, His super-adequacy, and how thankful we should always be for it.

So my view is that forgiveness is not an event that happens at different points in time contingent upon any specific action of our own, but rather an event that happened once, at the Cross, and is sufficient for all time. By grace He applies it to us throughout our lives, by grace He makes us capable of seeing our sin, by grace He makes us sorry for our sin, by grace He brings us to repentence of our sin, by grace He brings us to confess our sin, by grace He forgives us of our sin, and by grace He cleanses us of all unrighteousness, by grace all the time.

 

[JimfromOhio]

For God in Christ, reconciled us to Himself, no longer counting our sins against us. This is the wonderful message He has given to us to tell others. Love does not demand its own way. Love keeps no record of when it has been wronged.
There are two kinds of sinning:
1. Sin on purpose (with a will) Those who were unwilling to pick up the Cross and unwilling to put away their sins as Christ commanded. Becoming a disciple, following Jesus Christ requires personal cost, giving up your selfish "me" and become like Christ. Discipleship requires following Jesus on His terms. A person who looks back is not fit to be His disciple (Luke 9:62). I must love Jesus more than myself and any other persons in my life (Luke 14:26). Looking back is a struggle for me that I need to work on NOT looking back. Remember a story about Sodom and Gomorrah? The angels warned Lot and his family not to look back when they run from the cities or they will die (see Genesis 19). Lot's wife died when she looked back. Looking back means you are still holding on to sin or sins that you will miss. Hebrews 10:26-27 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 1 John 3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; His eyes examine them. God is not impressed by my appearance (1. Samuel 16:7). The Lord said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord don't make decisions the way you do. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person's thoughts and intentions (heart)." (NLT) Jesus even said that appearances can be deceiving (Matt. 23:27), therefore we are not to judge others by their appearances (James 2:2-4). "The trouble with you is that you make your decisions on the basis of appearance." 2 Corinthians 10:7 (NLT) “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You do scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways” (Psalm 139:1-3). “He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:27). The heart is where God meets us because that is where we make our decisions. Our hearts are where our desires and motives are located. It is important to understand that our hearts is the state of our "flesh". Our flesh search for pleasure, pride, passions and selfish motives.

2. Sin by accident as part of our sinful nature: Those who are in Christ Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Galatians 5:17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. We just need to be looking at our adequacy in the Holy Spirit, which will always be in us. This is God's design, and it pleases Him to do so that we can rely on the Holy Spirit. "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."--Matt. 26:41. Biblically, Christians are no longer "in the flesh": "You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him" (Rom 8:9). The Greek word for "dwells" is okv (oike), which means "I inhabit." "If Christ is in us, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness" (Romans 8:10). In other words, our human body is subject to death (and is already dying) because of sin, however our spirit is alive in Christ. We have eternal life in our possession, even though our body is dying because of sin. However, as Christians, our spirits are fully alive and thriving "because of righteousness"--because HE is justified and therefore already has "passed out of death into life" (John 5:24). "My temorary body is decaying at the same time, my inner being is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor 4:16). "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:25.

If you keep sinning and not feeling guilty, not remorsing that you are not willing to repent and change your ways, it is a "sign" that you may not be saved. You are saved for Eternity because you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. That we should "not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30). You are saved when the Holy Spirit convicting YOU to repent and help you change your ways. If you didn't feel the conviction and didn't have the motivation to change from "within", then you will know that you are not saved.

Repent is NOT an addition to salvation but PART of salvation along with Grace. This is a CONTINUIOUS sanctification process of repenting throughout your Christian life. Remember the story about the rich ruler? Jesus looked after the rich young ruler as he walked away, but Jesus did not follow him or attempt to coerce him. Jesus wants people make their own moral choices; and Christ knew this and permitted rich ruler to go his own chosen way. Jesus is saying that He cannot do our repenting for us. He died for our sins, now it is up to us to pick up the cross. "Salvation is free, ... but discipleship will cost you your life." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

A disciple must understand that God is both holy and loving; that I am a sinner, are made in the image of God; that Christ's death was the substitute payment for my sin; and that because of Jesus' payment, I am granted access to the heart of God.

Luke 14:27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

This is an "inward" relationship with the Holy Spirit and His conviction in our hearts to repent. Jesus said in John 16:8 "When He (Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment." Later in the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians 1:5 "because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction."

We will continue to sin. The issue is this: After we sinned, did we repent and ask God to help us to change and learn to live in a Holy life? Romans 12:9 (NIV) "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." Ephesians 4:24 "and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

Hebrews 5:11-14 is really about the spiritual dynamics underlying the Christian's stalled growth in Christ. New babes fails to understand the true nature of the Christian life, which is not static but dynamic and expanding. Many of us had plenty of time to mature and we had adequate time to grow and change is not a problem. These verses explains that Christians continue to manifest childish behavior instead of growing to spiritual adulthood. They often ignore the sanctifying effects of the cross carrying and skip the need for spiritual training. Spiritual training which is necessary for forming spiritual fruits that are needed to wrestle against the world, the devil and the flesh. Spiritual growth with maturity and balance will happen only when we apply ourselves to God's guidance. This is like an athlete training for physical prowess, our spiritual renewal involves moral conditioning through making the right motives from our hearts which leads to spiritual and emotional maturity. The main principle is going back what Jesus commanded: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross!" In our spiritual training of the Cross, certain number of distractions are bound to come to each one of us; but if we learn to be inwardly still these can be rendered relatively harmless. Grace of God will enable us to overcome distractions. Our hearts are like a garden and must be kept free from weeds and insects. To expect the fruits and flowers bloom in an untended heart is to misunderstand completely the processes of Grace and God's will. (Read Hebrews 6:7-8). Later in Chapter 11, there were examples of great Faiths who kept their heart with God.

Quote by A.W. Tozer:
"In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews we have a long list of benefits which faith brings to its possessors: justification, deliverance, fruitfulness, endurance, victory over enemies, courage, strength and even resurrection from the dead. And everything that is attributed to faith might with equal truth be attributed to prayer, for faith and true prayer are like two sides of the same coin. They are inseparable."

Of course, we must not forget Hebrews, Chapter 12 where our spiritual training really happens. God wants us to be strong and He is our spiritual trainer and He will do anything to get us prepared and go for the prize. God's promise is great, but it is as great as we experience spiritual growth from God's perspectives by cultivating the knowledge of God while at the same time cultivate our faith. As we are training for our spiritual growth, we look NOT AT our faith but in Christ of WHO we have faith in, who is THE author and finisher. "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1). The Holy Spirit tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus not on others who are also running the race! There are important things each of us should know and understand about our struggles as the faithful people of God. Jesus provides both strong warning and loving encouragement, for there is always the danger of losing the race, but there is also the victor's reward awaiting those who run with patience and endurance.