The narrow way?

[jrlinz]

Actually, it says that anyone born of God DOES not sin.

Our spirit can not sin.

Sorry, don't see it. the spirit of Christ in us cannot sin, that I agree with. So, you are saying we do not have a dual nature?

 

[TheGloryisHere]

It says we cannot [continue to] commit sin and remain followers of Christ. It's pretty plain.

yes, that's what I think it means too.

 

[TheGloryisHere]

Actually, it says that anyone born of God DOES not sin.

Our spirit can not sin.

right, our spirit cannot sin.

You won't find not one scripture that says our born again spirit can sin. But, we ( the other two parts of us) can sin.

LOL Yep, it's a connumdrum.

 

[Tamara224]

But, not all think that way. Some are looking for a loop hole so they can continue in their sin. Some only want to be Christians so they can have a ticket to Heaven but still continue being the lord over their own life. Not all seek the will of God who call themselves Christians. That is my concern. I don't want to give them a out to continue in their sin, and cause them to think, ah, a loop hole!

I know you know what a loop hole means in law.

Some think that way, true...but are they truly Children of God? If they are only hearers of the word but not doers, if they claim to love Christ but do not do what He said, are they really 'Christians'?

These truths have been in the NT for nearly 2000 years. Some people have used them as a 'loop hole'. But God inspired it knowing people would, in their own sinful nature, try to use it to justify their sins.

We can't be afraid of encouraging one another with this wonderful truth just because some would make a mockery of it. Can we?

 

[PastorJoey]

Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."


What do these scriptures mean to you as a Christian?

I prefer the KJV:
Mat 7:13-14 KJV
(13) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
(14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
To me it means that it is quite easy. There isnt a lot of decisions to make on the straight and narrow & impossible to get lost.
jesus said, "My yoke is easy".

You often hear believers say, "Its hard to be a christian". But the bible says that the way of a transgressor is hard.
Pro 13:15 KJV
(15) Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

 

[~RENEE~]

There is such a thing as a backslider. If you don't believe that I can introduce you to my family. And yes a backslider is a sinner. They were saved at one time. Sin can destroy a person I have seen it with my own eyes. Guard yourself. You are right it is your spirit that is saved. Your flesh still has the ability to sin. If you do not keep it under control then one can backslide.

 

[TheGloryisHere]

Think about it this way... is there any instance in the Bible where someone who has accepted Christ is called a "sinner"?

There's actually a different word used to describe Christians in the Bible... We are Saints.

That's because we are sanctified (set apart) because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. We are no longer of the world. We are not the same as the people who have not accepted Christ (sinners). We've been set apart and God has placed His seal on us.

We still battle with the flesh and we are capable of doing things that "miss the mark" (even adultry, etc). But when we do, because of the Righteousness of Christ, we are not 'charged' with that sin.

For example... say you live in a small town and the Judge has a son. That son is usually a pretty good kid but one day he messes up big time and gets in an accident while driving drunk. That son is guilty of driving drunk. But the judge, because He loves his son, and because his son is different than the regular hoodlums he sees, refuses to allow the prosecutor to bring charges against the son. He doesn't "see" the guilt of his son. The son realizes he messed up big time and gratefully accepts his father's mercy and grace and goes on to college and being a good man.

That's a loose analogy, but it's the way it is with us and God. We are His children. Factor into it that really, Christ has already served the sentence for our guilt... God isn't going to charge us with that sin.

No, God doesn't "wink" at it. He takes it seriously and He will discipline us when we need it. But He doesn't treat us the same way He treats the other "hoodlums" that are not His children.

We are set apart (sanctified), we're different now that we have Christ. Christ is what makes us different, let's not forget...it's not by our own effort.

Excellent explaination of balancing those two thoughts together!!!

 

[jrlinz]

right, our spirit cannot sin.

You won't find not one scripture that says our born again spirit can sin. But, we ( the other two parts of us) can sin.

LOL Yep, it's a connumdrum.

So, we cannot sin, because 'we' are the spirit of Christ in us. We are responsible for the flesh, but if our flesh sins, it was the flesh and not us? Do I have that correct?

 

[ThorninHiscrown]

crucify the flesh

 

[jrlinz]

crucify the flesh

Amen!

 

[TheGloryisHere]

Does Jesus, maybe, see the heart? Is it possible she was terrified, so wishing she had never sinned before God, and taking full responsibility for her sin in her heart?

possibly. There must have been something in her heart that Jesus saw. Maybe He saw she was bound by sin and wished she was free.

 

[Tamara224]

Excellent explaination of balancing those two thoughts together!!!

I was going to rep your post, but you removed your rep link.

Thank you!

Weird, though, I didn't actually remove my rep link. I think maybe we're still experiencing a few 'glitches' with the database. I've noticed a couple of other wierdnesses - like sometimes the little camera for my photo doesn't show up in a post but it's back in the next.

 

[TheGloryisHere]

Some think that way, true...but are they truly Children of God? If they are only hearers of the word but not doers, if they claim to love Christ but do not do what He said, are they really 'Christians'?

These truths have been in the NT for nearly 2000 years. Some people have used them as a 'loop hole'. But God inspired it knowing people would, in their own sinful nature, try to use it to justify their sins.

We can't be afraid of encouraging one another with this wonderful truth just because some would make a mockery of it. Can we?

True, maybe they aren't really Christians, those who ask Jesus to come in merely to get an entrance into Heaven, but then do their own thing. I honestly don't know.

And I do believe in encouraging each other and declaring who we are in Christ, and showing the scriptures that prove we are, but I also want to make it clear to pretender Christians that there are no such loop holes as they think. Once saved always saved is mine because I don't want out, ever. But, I'm a real Christian, not a pretender, just to keep from going to hell.

If that makes sense....

 

[TheGloryisHere]

I just checked, and it looks like everyone's rep logo is missing. I repped someone maybe 30 min to an hour ago, and it worked just fine, so it must have just gone down over the last hour.

And now it is back!!! Wierd. Now to find that post... LOL

 

[PastorJoey]

Actually, it says that anyone born of God DOES not sin.

Our spirit can not sin.

Have you heard the one about the new convert that was pulled over for going 50 miles over the speed limit and his licenses was expired? He protested the ticket and on his court date he explained to the judge that He was a new creature on the inside and that it wasnt him that was speeding. He further explained, "It was my flesh, not the real me inside". The judge responded, "O.K. your spirit is free to go, but I am going to have to sentence your flesh to spend time in jail".

Imagine when we stand before God, the righteous and holy Judge and try to use this as our defense.

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Trust me, jrlinz....

I have asked the same question here several times since I have been here.... I have BEGGED & PLEADED just one to answer it...... you will NOT get a OSAS to give you an direct answer. They cannot/will not give a direct answer. They dance around it cryptically, even to the point of accusations of OSNAS being graceless, legalistic and judgmental.

If you read The Myth of Eternal Security you will see it is a common ploy of OSAS proponents.


IMO it proves further that OSAS is false.

In what post did I say I was OSAS????? You have assumed wrongly.

 

[TheGloryisHere]

There is such a thing as a backslider. If you don't believe that I can introduce you to my family. And yes a backslider is a sinner. They were saved at one time. Sin can destroy a person I have seen it with my own eyes. Guard yourself. You are right it is your spirit that is saved. Your flesh still has the ability to sin. If you do not keep it under control then one can backslide.

Yes, a backslider goes back to being a sinner. A very dangerous place to be in. I almost went to hell as a backslider, and I could still speak in tongues and feel God when I worshipped. I almost died, and I had a vision of being in a dark place. The most terrifying part of that to me was I couldn't feel the presense of God! That freaked me out. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face, it was that dark. I realized that even sinners on the earth could feel the presense of God. But, in hell, I couldn't feel Him at all. It's a total separation from the Father. I was 21. I had been saved at 17 and spirit filled at 18. I repented right then, and asked God to heal me and not let me die, and that I would serve Him and never backslide again. I have kept my vow all these years. I will never forget my sliver of time in hell.

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

For if after they have escaped the pollution of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them
2 Peter 2:20-21
What do you think this scripture means, exactly?

The key word here would be "entangled". Since the new believer has been freed from their bondage to the law of sin and death and they are a new creature it cannot be said that a failure of the flesh is entanglement.

Entanglement would be the continued ignoring of the voice of Holy Spirit and getting to the place where His voice is no longer heard.

 

[TheGloryisHere]

So, we cannot sin, because 'we' are the spirit of Christ in us. We are responsible for the flesh, but if our flesh sins, it was the flesh and not us? Do I have that correct?

I did not understand what you just said. sorry.

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Absolutely we are. But the Bible tells us that we can dominate the flesh, and we don't have to give into it. I think that's what Dods and Quaff and charity are saying. We can overcome this flesh, here and now. God would never have told us to do something that was impossible for us to do.

Yes! That is correct. Thank you