Self-Awareness

[marks]

No, I am not making it up. Search the word out for yourself in the Textus Receptus Greek, and not the Westcott and Hort Greek. "Metanoeo"
It means to have another mind. Now go find out how that is so in 1 Cor. 2:16 and Rom. 8:9- KJV.
If you are in Christ, you should know what I'm talking about.

Even metanoia as a compound is the "after-mind", if I remember correctly. The result of an exchanged mind. We start with the mind of the flesh, but we receive the truth of Jesus, and exchange the mind of the flesh for the mind of Christ.

And then, we need to become self-aware - the true self-awareness, that we do in fact now have the mind of Christ, and reject everything that does not conform.

Much love!
Mark

 

[Nancy]

God is love. But God doesn't love us in our sin. He loves us out of our sin. Love that condones sin isn't really love...it is permissiveness. Those who count on God being permissive about sin...have not met Him.

People tend to love the hell in others...just look how many women fall in love with the basest criminals on death row! There is a wickedness that attracts people to each other...because of the flesh. But God loves the hell...out of us. As we who are in Christ also should love. God loves the death out of us by offering us to partake of HIS life. God stands for, as we also should stand for...only that which is eternal and gives life.

But there is a love and fascination with death in the world. All who turn their backs on God, even for a moment...are attracted to death.

Self-awareness doesn't mean we are without the love of death and the world. It means we are aware of this pull within our hearts and minds.

The righteous are they that hate their sin natures. These make no excuses nor are they trying to get away with their sins. Just like the publican who beat his breast and couldn't even look up to heaven...such was his shame and disgust at his own inclinations towards sin and wickedness.

God justified this appeal since it is only right to come clean with one's sins. The righteous take responsibility for their sins with self-loathing. God is then free to love and justify such a one...since the truth is already being embraced. God is love IN truth. Not away from truth. Likewise we are to speak the truth in love.

Jesus said.."I did not come to call the righteous to repentance"...since they are already self-aware and esteem their sinfulness correctly.

But then there is the rest of us...and among us many who are looking to get away with their sins. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, they who are called to repentance....so that we might go to God for forgiveness and a change of heart. (The human heart is very wicked and selfish of itself)

But in today's society and churches...we see something else. We see self-love promoted as if it was a requirement to higher virtues.

When a person is "loved" just as they are...without the change of heart in a deep repentance...and offered a religious justification IN their fallen sinful state...a worse situation is created. Jesus said to the Pharisees ...

Mat. 23:15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves."

It's one thing to justify the wicked OUT of their sins...and quite another to justify the wicked IN their sins.

Add to this the desire to fill the pews for human purposes such as success in ministry and increased finances...and we get the perfect storm of wickedness and iniquity whereby we do exactly as the Pharisees that Jesus condemned so roundly. Actually we become worse than the pharisees because we have the bible as a testimony to the truth.

Repentance is not popular any longer...as if it ever was. But today this is seen as disrespectful and intolerable. Even in the churches. There is a lack of taking responsibility for one's own sins and general behaviour....using Jesus as a license to remain carnal...based on this notion of preemptive forgiveness. (Actually a blatant disregard for the serious nature of sin)

So then people don't realize how evil they really are. Many have become much worse than before and under a worse judgment...all the while claiming to be saved.

The spiritual battle that was once outside the church..in the darkness of the world...has now entered into the church. The inconceivable has taken place. The light has been quenched by the darkness. The devil has penetrated the defenses and is in the courtyard. Are we his unwitting slaves who have not gone to the cross to be liberated from the sinful nature so as to become DEAD to sin? Are we so self-absorbed that we can't see how the devil uses us to bring divisions and death to the brethren?

There is an urgent need for repentance in the churches of today. We have been caught trying to serve more than one master. And that other master...the one who hides insidiously in our own self-love....has come to collect his due.

Spot on post! Sad. But, even so - too many in the Church's today have not grown an inch in the years they attend "a building". This Church age is unbelievably irreverent and flippant even, towards the things of God. Sin is just a word, and they believe the false teachers when they say stuff like: 'oh it's okay, everyone sins!' But, not much follow-up in the repentance dept. Going nowhere fast...cold hearts, dead hearts, lack of love and knowledge within the Church...altogether ineffective really. This is not at all to say that I am some pious, super Christian, by any means! (I wish) Yet, I recognize the lackluster-ness of today's Church.
Good post Epi


"The Church is asleep in the light" Keith Green

 

[aspen]

Boy, you guys sure are making this whole Christian thing difficult! Let me know when you’ve decided how many angels can fit on the head of a pin....and why your answer is acceptable to Jesus....

 

[Enoch111]

Boy, you guys sure are making this whole Christian thing difficult!

That's what happens when man-made theology overrides Scripture.

 

[Enoch111]

But God does not love sin because of that. You are misunderstanding in a great way here.

Who said God loves sin? But according to your warped theology God does not even love sinners. That contradicts Scripture. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." But according to you Christ Jesus came into the world to save the righteous.

 

[CoreIssue]

God is love. But God doesn't love us in our sin. He loves us out of our sin. Love that condones sin isn't really love...it is permissiveness. Those who count on God being permissive about sin...have not met Him.

People tend to love the hell in others...just look how many women fall in love with the basest criminals on death row! There is a wickedness that attracts people to each other...because of the flesh. But God loves the hell...out of us. As we who are in Christ also should love. God loves the death out of us by offering us to partake of HIS life. God stands for, as we also should stand for...only that which is eternal and gives life.

But there is a love and fascination with death in the world. All who turn their backs on God, even for a moment...are attracted to death.

Self-awareness doesn't mean we are without the love of death and the world. It means we are aware of this pull within our hearts and minds.

The righteous are they that hate their sin natures. These make no excuses nor are they trying to get away with their sins. Just like the publican who beat his breast and couldn't even look up to heaven...such was his shame and disgust at his own inclinations towards sin and wickedness.

God justified this appeal since it is only right to come clean with one's sins. The righteous take responsibility for their sins with self-loathing. God is then free to love and justify such a one...since the truth is already being embraced. God is love IN truth. Not away from truth. Likewise we are to speak the truth in love.

Jesus said.."I did not come to call the righteous to repentance"...since they are already self-aware and esteem their sinfulness correctly.

But then there is the rest of us...and among us many who are looking to get away with their sins. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, they who are called to repentance....so that we might go to God for forgiveness and a change of heart. (The human heart is very wicked and selfish of itself)

But in today's society and churches...we see something else. We see self-love promoted as if it was a requirement to higher virtues.

When a person is "loved" just as they are...without the change of heart in a deep repentance...and offered a religious justification IN their fallen sinful state...a worse situation is created. Jesus said to the Pharisees ...

Mat. 23:15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves."

It's one thing to justify the wicked OUT of their sins...and quite another to justify the wicked IN their sins.

Add to this the desire to fill the pews for human purposes such as success in ministry and increased finances...and we get the perfect storm of wickedness and iniquity whereby we do exactly as the Pharisees that Jesus condemned so roundly. Actually we become worse than the pharisees because we have the bible as a testimony to the truth.

Repentance is not popular any longer...as if it ever was. But today this is seen as disrespectful and intolerable. Even in the churches. There is a lack of taking responsibility for one's own sins and general behaviour....using Jesus as a license to remain carnal...based on this notion of preemptive forgiveness. (Actually a blatant disregard for the serious nature of sin)

So then people don't realize how evil they really are. Many have become much worse than before and under a worse judgment...all the while claiming to be saved.

The spiritual battle that was once outside the church..in the darkness of the world...has now entered into the church. The inconceivable has taken place. The light has been quenched by the darkness. The devil has penetrated the defenses and is in the courtyard. Are we his unwitting slaves who have not gone to the cross to be liberated from the sinful nature so as to become DEAD to sin? Are we so self-absorbed that we can't see how the devil uses us to bring divisions and death to the brethren?

There is an urgent need for repentance in the churches of today. We have been caught trying to serve more than one master. And that other master...the one who hides insidiously in our own self-love....has come to collect his due.

God most assuredly most assuredly loves us in our sin. If he did not know one would be born again.

You twist and add to Scripture so much that is why call you Gnostic.

You're always trying to sound profile. You act like you are a spiritual psychology.

Instead of examining others you need to examine yourself.

 

[CoreIssue]

Romans 4
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

1 Thessalonians 5
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Exactly. Even in their sinful state, people can be saved by faithed.

They need to understand that they will still sin.

Yeah the author of this thread seems to be constantly pushing total sanctification.

Much love!

 

[CoreIssue]

You need to back up a little. First focus on this:But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

We need to get a solid grasp of this FACT. Paul already showed us that there is none righteous, that all have sinned, and that all are guilty before God. So before the Father sent the Son into the world, He already saw the whole human race as sinners.

Yet God -- IN SPITE OF THIS -- demonstrated, showed, proved, exhibited, established, commended, His love towards all of humanity by sending Christ to die for us! So God loved us IN SPITE OF OUR SINS, while we were yet sinners, enemies, and aliens. But you cannot swallow this anomaly.

And salvation -- by definition -- means deliverance from sin. So of course we are saved to turn away from sins and idols. And Christ said that He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Exactly. We are born again sinners who will continue to sin until the rapture or death.

 

[CoreIssue]

Are you being serious or just your normal difficult self here. Everyone will be judged...so then your post is pointless. If there was no judgment then your point would stand up. God loves us (all the world) OUT of our sins. But if we (all the world) persist in our sins...we shall die.

God is giving us all a chance. That's what love does. But God does not love sin because of that. You are misunderstanding in a great way here.

The born again will be judged for rewards, not punishment.

The lost will be judged punishment, not rewards.

 

[CoreIssue]

There is another side to self-awareness. It is the self-awareness of a saint. One who walks in the power of God realizes that it is not him...it is Christ walking in Him. No one can walk without sin...unless that one walks IN Christ. So then a person who realizes that he is walking in the light...in holiness...KNOWS it's NOT him doing it.

That's why Paul said...it is no longer I...but Christ. No one can walk like Jesus...with miraculous signs following...in his own power. So then the self-awareness of a saint is to become MORE humble than before.

In the full stature of Christ there are wings to fly in the heavens as eagles...but there are also roots that keep us grounded. Wings AND roots.

Those who deceive themselves...that claim their own connection to God...but lie...will become very proud...because secretly they ARE doing everything in their own strength. But walking with God is very humbling indeed.

So then a humble person gives the appearance of wisdom...even if that person is not walking by the power of God. But make no mistake...a proud man is NOT with God. At least no longer so.

A person who has walked with God but is no longer doing so at a certain time...in order to test the character of that person...can indeed become proud...very proud....since the person feels special...as in..."I must be very special to have walked with God"!! But that person is immature and lacks self-awareness. Returning to the carnal walk can induce a return to the carnal mind from whence we all came.

Humility is far better. Even if we have walked with God...it is by HIS strength. His grace. Nothing that we do can attain this. It is a gift. A man should never boast himself for a gift he has received.

God gives...but He can also take away. Better to remain humble and thankful for any visitation and revelation from God.

May the Lord be glorified in us all. We have this treasure in ordinary earthen vessels. It is not the vessel that is special and precious....but what the vessels contain.

Gnostic Ramblings.

 

[CoreIssue]

To forgive them of THAT sin. So that they would not suffer the fate of Judas...who knew Jesus and yet acted without considering who Jesus was. The extent of the sin...attacking God directly would have been unthinkable to many of the guilty ones...since they thought they were putting a mere mortal to death...as bad as that might be in itself.

So then by asking that the gravity of their sin not be charged to them (they who delivered Him up had the greater sin)...it doesn't absolve them of a life of sin.

We must consider that there are some punishments worse than others...as in...

Mat. 10:15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Jesus would spare those who put Him to death that worse fate...seeing their ignorance was complete.

It says nothing about saving them from the fate of Judas. Not a single word.

 

[CoreIssue]

Those who have a righteous disposition can react badly to a direct intervention of God. It is like the direct light of the sun of the daytime (holiness) blinding the lesser light of the moon (righteousness). This is shown clearly in the reaction to the father's forgiveness of the faithful son towards the prodigal son. He wasn't so happy about his brothers' return. We often tend to react that way because we are not as forgiving or loving as God is.

We need to remain aware of that.

We see the same thing with Jonah....who was not desiring to be as merciful as God. Who were these Ninevites anyway to merit an unmerited favour of God?!!

Zacharias was a righteous man yet he had a hard time with God's miraculous intervention.

In the parable of the denarius...were the workers who had been toiling all day happy that the newly arrived workers got the same pay as they did? Were they as generous as the One who hired them?

God is merciful. He judges righteously. How would we react to knowing that God will spare many non-Christians...and yet judge Christians more harshly? Would our righteous dispositions not react in a fleshly way to knowing that non-Christians may rule over us in the next age? What a shot to our religious pride that would be. Yet God is greater than we are. We tend to maintain our own idea of righteous judgment. That is, until we learn humility...real humility. We need to remain humble and tread carefully. Let's not judge others...but trust to God's judgment. Let's remain self-aware of our own tendency towards judgment.

More Gnosticism.

 

[CoreIssue]

I would ask that responders to this thread show a little self-awareness...if they want to be taken seriously. I am stating what I always state...that to whom much is given MORE is required. And that Jesus said.. that prostitutes and blatant sinners will get into the kingdom before the religiously careful and judgmental.

You'd think the reading skills and comprehension of many on this forum was at a low level...unless we are talking of a willful blindness to the plain teachings of Jesus Christ. Both of these are probably in evidence here.

I have a number of posters on "ignore" setting...so unless we all have the same list it might look like I'm not answering legitimate questions. If the questions were indeed legitimate...they would not be on "ignore."

Many posters like baiting...knowing that the bible supports what they disagree with. So the issue is not with me.

And since I believe I am on
I can bluntly say yourself elevation and ego is stunning.

Clearly a false prophet.

 

[CoreIssue]

Those who have a righteous disposition can react badly to a direct intervention of God. It is like the direct light of the sun of the daytime (holiness) blinding the lesser light of the moon (righteousness). This is shown clearly in the reaction to the father's forgiveness of the faithful son towards the prodigal son. He wasn't so happy about his brothers' return. We often tend to react that way because we are not as forgiving or loving as God is.

We need to remain aware of that.

We see the same thing with Jonah....who was not desiring to be as merciful as God. Who were these Ninevites anyway to merit an unmerited favour of God?!!

Zacharias was a righteous man yet he had a hard time with God's miraculous intervention.

In the parable of the denarius...were the workers who had been toiling all day happy that the newly arrived workers got the same pay as they did? Were they as generous as the One who hired them?

God is merciful. He judges righteously. How would we react to knowing that God will spare many non-Christians...and yet judge Christians more harshly? Would our righteous dispositions not react in a fleshly way to knowing that non-Christians may rule over us in the next age? What a shot to our religious pride that would be. Yet God is greater than we are. We tend to maintain our own idea of righteous judgment. That is, until we learn humility...real humility. We need to remain humble and tread carefully. Let's not judge others...but trust to God's judgment. Let's remain self-aware of our own tendency towards judgment.

I I will react by stating again you are a Gnosticism false prophet.

 

[Preacher4Truth]

Yep, too many preachers are telling people God loves them just as they are, so they remain just as they are and then call themselves Christians. This is the cause of many false gospels, and stems from many false gospels.

 

[CoreIssue]

Yep, too many preachers are telling people God loves them just as they are, so they remain just as they are and then call themselves Christians. This is the cause of many false gospels, and stems from many false gospels.

Seems to me Calvinism takes people just the way they are.

 

[Earburner]

Even metanoia as a compound is the "after-mind", if I remember correctly. The result of an exchanged mind. We start with the mind of the flesh, but we receive the truth of Jesus, and exchange the mind of the flesh for the mind of Christ.

And then, we need to become self-aware - the true self-awareness, that we do in fact now have the mind of Christ, and reject everything that does not conform.

Much love!
Mark

Which is exactly what I said: "another mind".

Which is to say, NOT your mind, but rather HIS Mind, being a literal "another mind" within you, which is the literal Person of the Holy Spirit. As was described in Rom. 8:9.

When we have the Holy Spirit of Christ, we have the literal mind of Christ, which is very much "another", and not a copy, or a human fabrication thereof.

 

[Earburner]

Metanoia is a reformed, change of mind.
Metanoeo is an "another" mind, not of the origin from our own mind.

 

[marks]

Which is exactly what I said: "another mind".

Which is to say, NOT your mind, but rather HIS Mind, being a literal "another mind" within you, which is the literal Person of the Holy Spirit. As was described in Rom. 8:9.

When we have the Holy Spirit of Christ, we have the literal mind of Christ, which is very much "another", and not a copy, or a human fabrication thereof.

And this to me leads to the true self-awareness for any child of God, that this is exactly what we are, God's spirit children, born, not created, alive in Him, and as He lives, so we live.

I think this awareness of God living in and through us is what 2 Corinthians 3:18 is speaking of:

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

We see what God does in us, and realize that this is who He is making us, as we come to live that life.

Much love!
Mark

 

[Episkopos]

We are born again sinners

This is so telling...

We can only get to where we are going by walking away from where we've been.