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I sin. What I don't do is purposely sin thinking I can do that because I'm under grace. I usually sin because I'm afraid for myself in some way. I act wrongly out of fear most of the time. I don't sin on purpose thinking that I can because I'm under grace. God gave me his grace to not sin. He did not give me his grace so I can sin. There is no scripture that says that. But there is scripture that says God's grace is given so you don't sin.
I guess that's where we're different. I don't end up doing the sin I want to do. That's how it was for me before I got saved. And was the reason why I got saved. I couldn't be a different person. Now I can. And I am. And it had nothing to do with now having some supposed privilege to sin under grace. Exactly the opposite. Under grace I could stop sinning! I guess that's why not sinning is the sign of God's grace in a person. You sound like you're saying being able to sin is the sign of God's grace in a person.
Ok...still a bit confusing since you said "I don't sin because..." but then acknowledge you do sin but then say "God's grace is given so you don't sin."
I'm born again and I see the opposite in me. I CAN'T purposely sin. Purposely sinning is not even a thought to me. I sin because I got scared or it snuck up on me or I didn't know I was sinning until later. And through the years I do less and less of that. I don't see your thinking about sin in the Bible. I see the opposite. Purposely sinning is the purview of the unsaved person still in the bondage of sin not the purview of the saved person. I think that's what John was talking about when he said the born again person doesn't sin anymore, the unbeliever does, in 1 John 3:8-10
I know it was confusing. I should have said it like this........The reason I sin is not because I'm under grace.
Hopefully now you can see that I was saying "I don't sin because of this reason. I sin for other reasons".
You say you have a new heart that doesn't want to sin but then you talk about purposely doing the sin you want to do. I would tend to think that shows a person does NOT have a new heart in salvation. Because that's what the Bible says. That's how it was for me before I got born again.
No, being tempted is not a sin. Being tempted but then rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit and continuing to think about the sin is when it becomes a sin just as if you had done it. Jesus was showing the Pharisees that coveting your neighbor's wife is just as unlawful as committing adultery. He was showing them that they aren't the righteous keepers of the law that they think they are because not coveting is also required by the law. It had nothing to do with temptation being the same as actually sinning. It had everything to do with them violating the law they took so much pride in thinking they kept.
Why aren't both sins chastised? You just said being tempted to sin in your mind makes you just as guilty of that sin as if you had done it. Why does God not chastise both sins—the sin of thinking and the sin of actually doing what you're thinking? You said they are both equally sinful but that only you doing it is what God will chastise.
It's funny how to the church obedience to God's commands always means trying to save yourself. It only means that if that's what it means to the person trying to be obedient to God's commands. And you know how you can tell that's what you're doing? You won't be able to keep God's commands. If you're trying to keep God's commands in order to be saved that means you're not relying on the forgiveness of God to save you, which means you don't have the Holy Spirit, which means you ain't gonna be keeping any commands of God, lol. Keeping God's commands shows you DO have the Holy Spirit in salvation, but the corrupted church calls that trying to save yourself by your works.
What you are describing here is what John calls being 'perfected in love'—1 John 4:18. It takes time to get to this place in the Christian walk where we obey because we care about other people and not just because we are afraid of the judgement of God. Does this mean we have a pass on sin and don't have to try not to sin until we can not sin because we care about other people, and because God is not pleased with that reason for not sinning? No, lol. We have the obligation to not sin whether we have been perfected in God's love yet or not. That is not trying to save yourself by your works. Unless you make it that. And if are making it that you will see that you won't be able to not sin. And by the way, God is not displeased with you when you don't sin out of fear of the judgement. It's just that you will be more able to not sin if you are motivated by love and not fear of the judgement.
You talk junk that's not in the Bible. I know it's because that's what the corrupted church is teaching these days and people aren't reading the Bible. And when they do read it they're filtering it through what they've been told it means. The Bible says love of the world is enmity toward God, not love for God. Why in Christ's name would you (and Luther) tell God's people to go for the gusto of this world? What a horrible theology!
Faith IS a gift.
While faith is indeed a gift, it is incumbent upon a person to receive and retain faith in God. Unbelievers are defined by the fact that they have rejected the gift of faith and chosen not to believe.
Unless I'm mistaken - it sounds like you agree with my post.
I love righteousness! My heart swells at the opportunity to do righteous things. That is the work of God's grace in me. Until the church is taught that you do right whether you feel like it or not they will never learn how you experience the joy of God's presence by obeying his commands. Instead they have this demonic, corrupted message from a corrupted church that tells them purposely doing righteous things is you trying to save yourself and so they never learn about and experience the reward of God's felt presence, his eternal life, by purposely seeking out and doing his commands.
I do agree with your post. I wondered how you'd take it, lol. And homework is fine but I like to try to make it as easy as possible for people to lay hold of the truths of God without spoon feeding them something they aren't really interested in eating.
Call me a fool but I feel compelled to share the grace of insight I've received with those who haven't. Sometimes it gets so frustrating I just want to say the heck with them! But something inside just keeps wanting to blurt it out wherever and whenever I can.
To be honest - part of it is force of habit on my part - and some of it might even be laziness.
