Having begun in the Spirit

[brakelite]

Let us now apply this illustration in a case of conflict against sin. Here comes a strong temptation to do a thing known to be wrong. We have often proved to our sorrow the strength of the temptation, because it has vanquished us, so that we know that we have no might against it. But now our eyes are upon the Lord, who has told us to come with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So we begin to pray to God for help. And we pray to the God that is revealed to us in the Bible as the Creator of heaven and earth. We begin, not with a mournful statement of our weakness, but with a joyful acknowledgment of God's mighty power. That being settled, we can venture to state our difficulty and our weakness. If we state our weakness first and our discouraging situation, we are placing ourselves before God. In that case Satan will magnify the difficulty and throw his darkness around us so that we can see nothing else but our weakness, and so, although our cries and pleading may be fervent and agonizing, they will be in vain, because they will lack the essential element of believing that God is and that He is all that He has revealed Himself to be. But when we start with a recognition of God's power, then we can safely state our weakness, for then we are simply placing our weakness by the side of His power, and the contrast tends to beget courage. Then, as we pray, the promise of God comes to our mind, brought there by the Holy Spirit. It may be that we can think of no special promise that exactly fits the case, but we can remember that "this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15), and that He "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present world, according to the will of God and our Father" (Gal. 1:4), and we may know that this carried with it every promise, for "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Rom. 8:32. Then we remember that God can speak of those things that are not as though they were. That is, if God gives a promise, it is as good as fulfilled already. And so, knowing that our deliverance from evil is according to the will of God (Gal. 1:4), we count the victory as already ours and begin to thank God for His "exceeding great and precious promises." As our faith grasps these promises and makes them real, we cannot help praising God for His wonderful love, and while we are doing this, our minds are wholly taken from evil and the victory is ours. The Lord Jesus sets ambushments against the enemy. Our ascription of praise shows to Satan that we have obtained reinforcements, and as he has tested the power of the help that is granted to us, he knows that he can do nothing on that occasion, and so he leaves us. This illustrates the force of the apostle's injunction:- 85 "Be careful for nothing [that is, do not worry about anything]; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Phil. 4:6.

From Christ our Righteousness. E J Waggoner

 

[Waiting on him]

Let us now apply this illustration in a case of conflict against sin. Here comes a strong temptation to do a thing known to be wrong. We have often proved to our sorrow the strength of the temptation, because it has vanquished us, so that we know that we have no might against it. But now our eyes are upon the Lord, who has told us to come with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So we begin to pray to God for help. And we pray to the God that is revealed to us in the Bible as the Creator of heaven and earth. We begin, not with a mournful statement of our weakness, but with a joyful acknowledgment of God's mighty power. That being settled, we can venture to state our difficulty and our weakness. If we state our weakness first and our discouraging situation, we are placing ourselves before God. In that case Satan will magnify the difficulty and throw his darkness around us so that we can see nothing else but our weakness, and so, although our cries and pleading may be fervent and agonizing, they will be in vain, because they will lack the essential element of believing that God is and that He is all that He has revealed Himself to be. But when we start with a recognition of God's power, then we can safely state our weakness, for then we are simply placing our weakness by the side of His power, and the contrast tends to beget courage. Then, as we pray, the promise of God comes to our mind, brought there by the Holy Spirit. It may be that we can think of no special promise that exactly fits the case, but we can remember that "this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15), and that He "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present world, according to the will of God and our Father" (Gal. 1:4), and we may know that this carried with it every promise, for "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Rom. 8:32. Then we remember that God can speak of those things that are not as though they were. That is, if God gives a promise, it is as good as fulfilled already. And so, knowing that our deliverance from evil is according to the will of God (Gal. 1:4), we count the victory as already ours and begin to thank God for His "exceeding great and precious promises." As our faith grasps these promises and makes them real, we cannot help praising God for His wonderful love, and while we are doing this, our minds are wholly taken from evil and the victory is ours. The Lord Jesus sets ambushments against the enemy. Our ascription of praise shows to Satan that we have obtained reinforcements, and as he has tested the power of the help that is granted to us, he knows that he can do nothing on that occasion, and so he leaves us. This illustrates the force of the apostle's injunction:- 85 "Be careful for nothing [that is, do not worry about anything]; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Phil. 4:6.

From Christ our Righteousness. E J Waggoner

 

[Waiting on him]

To the OP. Nothing is resolved in darkness!
James 5:16 KJV
[16] Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Tecarta Bible PremiumGood job,I’ll be praying!!

 

[Phoneman777]

There is a certain private sin that is recurring (pm if you want to know) and whenever I slip up I always feel like a failure.

I tell you the truth, I lie not. If you do not surrender that sin to Jesus, you will burn up with it in the end. Works cannot save us, but they surely condemn us. No one is holding a gun to your head when you indulge it, right? You do so because you love it - sin is pleasurable. The question is: Do you love Jesus more?

If so, He says, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." Here's how to overcome:

1. Go to Him, confess your sin (not because He doesn't know, but b/c you want HIM to know that you know
2. CLAIM BY FAITH that you are both forgiven AND delivered from its power
3. Go forth "more than a conqueror", rejoicing in your Savior Who has given you that which you are helpless to obtain for yourself - victory over sin.

There are many professing Christians here who will argue what I've said is "legalism" or "salvation by works" - they are deceived by the "smooth sayings" of false prophets and preachers. What could be more smooth a saying than to tell someone, "You can keep your sin and you Jesus too." Jesus gave all for us, and if we will be His child, we must give all to Him, right?

 

[farouk]

Paul's similar thought in Philippians 1.6 is: '...He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ'.

 

[Heart2Soul]

I have a question.....the Bible says God who is our Father (to those born again) chastens or corrects us as a father would a child. What are we being chastised or corrected from? Is it not from the sins that so easily beset us? Or our disobedience? Or our lack of faith?
Has anyone here never committed a sin after salvation? ANYONE?
I only ask because I would like to invite you to come to my church and share how you did it.

 

[farouk]

I have a question.....the Bible says God who is our Father (to those born again) chastens or corrects us as a father would a child. What are we being chastised or corrected from? Is it not from the sins that so easily beset us? Or our disobedience? Or our lack of faith?
Has anyone here never committed a sin after salvation? ANYONE?
I only ask because I would like to invite you to come to my church and share how you did it.

It's partly all about the daily conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, of which Romans speaks.

 

[Heart2Soul]

It's partly all about the daily conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, of which Romans speaks.

Exactly...the flesh is corrupt....Paul was struggling in his own self and finally concluded that he discovered a law....where good is present evil is present also.

 

[mjrhealth]

Has anyone here never committed a sin after salvation? ANYONE?

Find me teh perfect me other than Christ and I will show you a liar. But you missed teh whole thing as so many do and than they run to works thinking somehow that will fix all the problems by trying to show God how "good " they are, thereby falling into unbelief and disobedience

 

[Heart2Soul]

Find me teh perfect me other than Christ and I will show you a liar. But you missed teh whole thing as so many do and than they run to works thinking somehow that will fix all the problems by trying to show God how "good " they are, thereby falling into unbelief and disobedience

I keep seeing replies that a truly saved person will not sin. So this is what I was referring to.

 

[farouk]

I keep seeing replies that a truly saved person will not sin. So this is what I was referring to.

John's First Epistle 'sinneth not' refers to the new life in Christ not being at the origin of any sin in the believer's life.

 

[mjrhealth]

I keep seeing replies that a truly saved person will not sin. So this is what I was referring to.

Christ didnt come to stop you sinning He paid the price so that you would not have to die in your sin, He paid the price, the ransom, so that sin will no longer have a hold on you, which is about the time the religious and the lawyers and the hypocrits jump and and tell you, that doesnt give you an excuse to sin, yet they sin with the best of them, and besides they never needed a reason before, what changed,
those who are in Christ who walk in the spirit are no longer under condemnation. Ie they have died and became alive just like this,

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

if you are feeling condemned when you mess up, than you simply dont believe in what he has done, and believe me the devil and the religious people in this world will love to keep you there, so if you dont understand, ask Jesus, really, it isnt that hard, He can hear you this bit

1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

He will lteach you if you ask and believe He will answer, that is what faith is all about...

 

[Heart2Soul]

Christ didnt come to stop you sinning He paid the price so that you would not have to die in your sin, He paid the price, the ransom, so that sin will no longer have a hold on you, which is about the time the religious and the lawyers and the hypocrits jump and and tell you, that doesnt give you an excuse to sin, yet they sin with the best of them, and besides they never needed a reason before, what changed,
those who are in Christ who walk in the spirit are no longer under condemnation. Ie they have died and became alive just like this,

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

if you are feeling condemned when you mess up, than you simply dont believe in what he has done, and believe me the devil and the religious people in this world will love to keep you there, so if you dont understand, ask Jesus, really, it isnt that hard, He can hear you this bit

1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

He will lteach you if you ask and believe He will answer, that is what faith is all about...

Dont get me wrong...I was delivered of condemnation years ago....but some posts try to keep people in bondage to condemnation with what they try to share on here as truth .

 

[farouk]

Dont get me wrong...I was delivered of condemnation years ago....but some posts try to keep people in bondage to condemnation with what they try to share on here as truth .

I don't believe in 'sinless perfection', so called.

But the believer does indeed have the victory in Christ: 1 Corinthians 15.57.

 

[Hidden In Him]

My question is, in my adherence to the commandments, am I focusing too much on following the Law itself? Am I missing what it means to truly live a life governed and led by the Spirit?

Hey, Friend Of. I would say about this that you just need to keep resting in Him and walking with Him, trusting Him to complete the good work He has begun in you. If you try to accomplish sanctification by "focusing on things" in your own strength it simply won't work and you will just stress yourself out, so a life governed and led by the Spirit will be one that is not only increasingly successful in bringing the fleshly and soulish natures under, but also will be free of stress in the process.

Blessings in Christ, brother.
Hidden

 

[farouk]

PS: @Heart2Soul The 'no condemnation' of Romans 8.1 begins a very wonderful and far-reaching chapter.

 

[mjrhealth]

Dont get me wrong...I was delivered of condemnation years ago....but some posts try to keep people in bondage to condemnation with what they try to share on here as truth .

cool, yes there are many out there , and teh devils time is short, he aims to get as many as he can to walk in unbelief, and religion does not help.

They just think, oh now I am in Christ I will no longer "sin", well I have news for them it doesnt happen as they presume it will and so the unbelief creeps in, took me years to "get" it.

 

[farouk]

@friend of I think it's important for us, who are not under the law, to remember that the law was changed in any case and what we now have is better than the law.

(Hebrews 7.12; Hebrews 7.19)

 

[farouk]

Hey, Friend Of. I would say about this that you just need to keep resting in Him and walking with Him, trusting Him to complete the good work He has begun in you. If you try to accomplish sanctification by "focusing on things" in your own strength it simply won't work and you will just stress yourself out, so a life governed and led by the Spirit will be one that is not only increasingly successful in bringing the fleshly and soulish natures under, but also will be free of stress in the process.

Blessings in Christ, brother.
Hidden

Philiippians 4.13: 'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me'.

 

[mjrhealth]

@friend of I think it's important for us, who are not under the law, to remember that the law was changed in any case and what we now have is better than the law.

(Hebrews 7.12; Hebrews 7.19)

What you fail to mention is we never had the law, we are children of promise, we are supposed to provoke the Jews to Jealousy because we get the best option off the bat. No Rev 2 for us.