Obedience or Lip Service?

[Lifelong_sinner]

The Lord told us to repent. You aren't going to do that?

i can repent all day long, doesnt mean i become sinless. 1 john explains this so well. If we say we have no sin, then the truth is not in us. See that keyword, have? Notice the tense, have, not had.
This isnt a difficult concept, but plenty sure seem to get it wrong, and i can only say that ego is involved.

 

[Pearl]

i can repent all day long, doesnt mean i become sinless. 1 john explains this so well. If we say we have no sin, then the truth is not in us. See that keyword, have? Notice the tense, have, not had.
This isnt a difficult concept, but plenty sure seem to get it wrong, and i can only say that ego is involved.

Before we came to Jesus we all lived sinful lives - that was our old nature. In Christ we become new creations and live lives that may contain sin but are no longer sinful in the way they were before we accepted Jesus as Lord.

 

[Raccoon1010]

i can repent all day long, doesnt mean i become sinless. 1 john explains this so well. If we say we have no sin, then the truth is not in us. See that keyword, have? Notice the tense, have, not had.
This isnt a difficult concept, but plenty sure seem to get it wrong, and i can only say that ego is involved.

Yes I'm without a doubt that all of mankind are sinners. And on this forum they appear to have trouble grasping that concept. I'm noticing an extreme to both sides: Hyper Grace and Legalism.

 

[Michiah-Imla]

Should we obey the Lord or is he satisfied with lip service?

Obedience is paramount.

Lip service is abominable to God.

“Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:23-24)

“Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.” (Isaiah 1:13-17)

Unfortunately many are deceived with doctrines that promote unmotivated Christians…

Once Saved Always Saved is a popular one these last days.

 

[Lifelong_sinner]

Before we came to Jesus we all lived sinful lives - that was our old nature. In Christ we become new creations and live lives that may contain sin but are no longer sinful in the way they were before we accepted Jesus as Lord.

so i gotta ask, and i’d like to use you as an example, how was it that you accepted Jesus as Lord??

 

[Pearl]

so i gotta ask, and i’d like to use you as an example, how was it that you accepted Jesus as Lord??

Well I always thought I was a Christian because I was brought up to go to church and sunday school. Then when I approached the vicar of a local church to get my son christened he gave me a copy of a little booklet called 'Journey Into Life'. It was an eye-opener as it told me the things that don't make you a Christian - like going to church, believing in God, being a good person or being born into a Christian family. Then it proceeded to tell me that I was a sinner who need to be reconciled to God and I needed to turn my back on sin (repent) and ask God to forgive me and then ask Jesus into my life accept him as Lord because he had taken the punishment for my sin. I said the prayer at the end of the book and began my own journey into life.

 

[Lifelong_sinner]

Well I always thought I was a Christian because I was brought up to go to church and sunday school. Then when I approached the vicar of a local church to get my son christened he gave me a copy of a little booklet called 'Journey Into Life'. It was an eye-opener as it told me the things that don't make you a Christian - like going to church, believing in God, being a good person or being born into a Christian family. Then it proceeded to tell me that I was a sinner who need to be reconciled to God and I needed to turn my back on sin (repent) and ask God to forgive me and then ask Jesus into my life accept him as Lord because he had taken the punishment for my sin. I said the prayer at the end of the book and began my own journey into life.

sounds great! Now suppose i tried the exact same thing you did, but lets say my life doesnt change. I still am the same person i was before all of that. Would you tell me that i was saved?

 

[Bob Estey]

A good article that can put the words much better than I.

What does Jesus mean when he says 'Be perfect...'?

In my walk with the Lord, he has given me a few simple "rules" to follow (Jeremiah31:33). They aren't always easy to follow. Still, I think some people make it a lot more difficult than they need to.

 

[Bob Estey]

It is impossible to be 100% sinless at all times but that doesn't mean that we are still sinners which is our human nature before we are born again. Once we are born again - which is to washed in the blood of Jesus - God then sees us as his own; just like a bereaved ewe will accept an orphaned lamb as her own if it is cover by the bloody skin of her own dead lamb. When we are covered by the blood of the Lamb we seen by God as righteous.

I don't think it is impossible to be 100% sinless all the time. We've all sinned, but why do we need to continue sinning?

 

[Bob Estey]

Bob, have you sold all and given the money to the poor to follow after Christ? Have you fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and taken in strangers that are homeless? If not then you have not obeyed the Lord.

You're posts seem to be surrounding the 10 commandments and obeying that. Those 10 commandments were even obeyed by the Pharisees. This is the reason for the parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee. Some people proclaim the gospel from a self righteous level (Luke 18:9-14). Non are good nor righteous.

I would encourage you to try to obey the higher laws of God. (Matthew 25:35-40).

God never commanded us to sell all.

 

[Bob Estey]

i can repent all day long, doesnt mean i become sinless. 1 john explains this so well. If we say we have no sin, then the truth is not in us. See that keyword, have? Notice the tense, have, not had.
This isnt a difficult concept, but plenty sure seem to get it wrong, and i can only say that ego is involved.

"Repent" can mean anything you want it to mean, but if it doesn't mean "turn from your sin," then it has no value.

 

[Raccoon1010]

God never commanded us to sell all.

Bob he said those that don't follow what he teaches here get sent to the lake of fire. What more message do you need to hear? Matthew 25:35-40.

I find the problem with this forum is that we have a lot of people attempting to teach, which brings the stricter judgment:

James 3:1 NKJV
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

 

[Pearl]

sounds great! Now suppose i tried the exact same thing you did, but lets say my life doesnt change. I still am the same person i was before all of that. Would you tell me that i was saved?

Depends if you were genuinely repentant. If you were and nothing in your life was changing that I don't have an answer for that. It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that brings about the change - we have no possibility of making a permanent change by ourselves. They say a leopard can't change it's spots - but God can.

 

[Bob Estey]

Bob he said those that don't follow what he teaches here get sent to the lake of fire. What more message do you need to hear? Matthew 25:35-40.

I find the problem with this forum is that we have a lot of people attempting to teach, which brings the stricter judgment:

James 3:1 NKJV
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

There are ten commandments - twelve, if you count the two great commandments. You seem to be counting everything in the Bible as a commandment. I don't think you need to do that.

 

[ChristisGod]

i can repent all day long, doesnt mean i become sinless. 1 john explains this so well. If we say we have no sin, then the truth is not in us. See that keyword, have? Notice the tense, have, not had.
This isnt a difficult concept, but plenty sure seem to get it wrong, and i can only say that ego is involved.

1 verse does not trump the rest of the book of 1 John either.

1 John 2
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

1 John 2
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

1 John 2
If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

1 John 3
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

1 John 4
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 5
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith

 

[Pearl]

I don't think it is impossible to be 100% sinless all the time. We've all sinned, but why do we need to continue sinning?

So do you never sin - at all? Never get agitated or frustrated when driving, never criticise somebody? I do not believe you are can possibly live without some sin creeping in. Do your eyes never follow a pretty woman? Do you never feel dislike for another person? Sins aren't just what we might call the big ones like rage and hate and abuse. If you can say, hand on heart, that you have never sinned since you became a Christian I still wouldn't believe you.

 

[Raccoon1010]

There are ten commandments - twelve, if you count the two great commandments. You seem to be counting everything in the Bible as a commandment. I don't think you need to do that.

Well, I think if I were going to be telling people to obey the commandments they should be included so people don't get the wrong idea. Or if I were going to promote not sinning the same. The commandment to love God and our neighbor are the greatest commandments and are covered in the extensive commandments here: Matthew 25:35-40

And if we are to tell people to obey the commandments then we should also be telling them also of a merciful Lord. That we are sinners and there is a way to be saved. Matthew 19:16-26. Because following those commandments given by Jesus seems impossible.

And then promoting unity between sinners so that we can fellowship and not come across judgmental like the self righteous are:Luke 18:9-14

 

[ChristisGod]

sounds great! Now suppose i tried the exact same thing you did, but lets say my life doesnt change. I still am the same person i was before all of that. Would you tell me that i was saved?

The new birth comes with the new man- the Spirit of the Living God dwells in believers.

1 Corinthians 5
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you

1 Corinthians 6
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Galatians 5
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Ephesians 5
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

 

[Pearl]

Well, I think if I were going to be telling people to obey the commandments they should be included so people don't get the wrong idea. Or if I were going to promote not sinning the same. The commandment to love God and our neighbor are the greatest commandments and are covered in the extensive commandments here: Matthew 25:35-40

And if we are to tell people to obey the commandments then we should also be telling them also of a merciful Lord. That we are sinners and there is a way to be saved. Matthew 19:16-26. Because following those commandments given by Jesus seems impossible.

And then promoting unity between sinners so that we can fellowship and not come across judgmental like the self righteous are:Luke 18:9-14

People can keep all ten commandments but still sin.

 

[Michiah-Imla]

Never get agitated or frustrated when driving

Getting angry is not a sin.

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26)

And Jesus got angry too!

“And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.” (Mark 3:5)