Hi there,
So post coming to the realisation that even having fallen away from the faith, I still had an opportunity to get a second wind (renewed faith), I started to wonder what it would have been like, if I had never fallen away. What I learned from the Holy Spirit, was that even if I had not fallen away: there would be an aspect of my faith, that nothing but steadfastness could protect. That is, there is an aspect of our faith, that is unknown to us, while we are still living according to this life. Nevertheless, despite being unknown, if we are faithful throughout life (the good life is 70 years), we have a chance to redeem that which sin would have destroyed. Now this, destruction is in our life, from the moment that we conceive sin but it is not set in stone. By repenting and carrying out works of confession, we actually reverse this destruction - and more than that we redeem the spirit of what was at the heart of that destruction.
So what is the Devil's part in this? Obviously he wants to make us feel guiltier about our sin than we need to and it takes time in repentance to clear the guilt. That guilt, is part of what keeps the destruction in our life ahead of us, in full view, when we would rather hide in shame. The Devil then, does a second thing, and discourages us from hoping we will ever get back what we started to lose to sin. Notice it says here "started to lose" that is very much on point, because we are not in most cases immediately destroyed, by the destruction that comes with sin. Far from it, our destructive bent affects everything we do, in little ways - and the Devil is powerless to stop, what his sin antagonizes.
So do we rebuke the Devil or do we confess or do we return to the faith? All of the above! Or put simply: we must trust in the Holy Spirit. That is, the Holy Spirit must make us ready to break free of the bondage to destruction that forms part of our destruction - fear of the Devil is part of this; second, we must learn to hear the still small voice of God, which makes up the majority of our strength, when we trust it more than the destruction that threatens us - confession is part of this; third, we must do these things consistently, by returning to the root of our faith, where they meet in reflection of each other - this is the binding of our confessed resistance to the command of our soul (if our soul is in command, having nothing else to resist or confess, we are able to turn to the restoration of our body - in anticipation of the body that is to come). This brings us new life.
The important thing, is not to marvel that our slated destruction will come to an end, but to grow in praise for the One who does it through the Holy Spirit, for us. If we are One, as we are meant to be, all the things promised to the faith will come to us. This is power. The meaning of our relationship to God, will be plainly manifest. We should be ready, with one another, to celebrate these things, the more vigor we see in our brothers' faith, the more our faith will grow also. The Holy Spirit may even quicken us together. That's how it will be in Heaven - we will endlessly celebrate that our destruction has come to an end! We must even ask to be watchful of this, as it is the culmination of what our faith in this life, is supposed to mean.
I hope this has been of some encouragement to you.
God bless.
So post coming to the realisation that even having fallen away from the faith, I still had an opportunity to get a second wind (renewed faith), I started to wonder what it would have been like, if I had never fallen away. What I learned from the Holy Spirit, was that even if I had not fallen away: there would be an aspect of my faith, that nothing but steadfastness could protect. That is, there is an aspect of our faith, that is unknown to us, while we are still living according to this life. Nevertheless, despite being unknown, if we are faithful throughout life (the good life is 70 years), we have a chance to redeem that which sin would have destroyed. Now this, destruction is in our life, from the moment that we conceive sin but it is not set in stone. By repenting and carrying out works of confession, we actually reverse this destruction - and more than that we redeem the spirit of what was at the heart of that destruction.
So what is the Devil's part in this? Obviously he wants to make us feel guiltier about our sin than we need to and it takes time in repentance to clear the guilt. That guilt, is part of what keeps the destruction in our life ahead of us, in full view, when we would rather hide in shame. The Devil then, does a second thing, and discourages us from hoping we will ever get back what we started to lose to sin. Notice it says here "started to lose" that is very much on point, because we are not in most cases immediately destroyed, by the destruction that comes with sin. Far from it, our destructive bent affects everything we do, in little ways - and the Devil is powerless to stop, what his sin antagonizes.
So do we rebuke the Devil or do we confess or do we return to the faith? All of the above! Or put simply: we must trust in the Holy Spirit. That is, the Holy Spirit must make us ready to break free of the bondage to destruction that forms part of our destruction - fear of the Devil is part of this; second, we must learn to hear the still small voice of God, which makes up the majority of our strength, when we trust it more than the destruction that threatens us - confession is part of this; third, we must do these things consistently, by returning to the root of our faith, where they meet in reflection of each other - this is the binding of our confessed resistance to the command of our soul (if our soul is in command, having nothing else to resist or confess, we are able to turn to the restoration of our body - in anticipation of the body that is to come). This brings us new life.
The important thing, is not to marvel that our slated destruction will come to an end, but to grow in praise for the One who does it through the Holy Spirit, for us. If we are One, as we are meant to be, all the things promised to the faith will come to us. This is power. The meaning of our relationship to God, will be plainly manifest. We should be ready, with one another, to celebrate these things, the more vigor we see in our brothers' faith, the more our faith will grow also. The Holy Spirit may even quicken us together. That's how it will be in Heaven - we will endlessly celebrate that our destruction has come to an end! We must even ask to be watchful of this, as it is the culmination of what our faith in this life, is supposed to mean.
I hope this has been of some encouragement to you.
God bless.
