I believe that actions speak louder than words. If I testify to my own works, I am boasting in myself.
And I have never said that I am "sinless". I say that we can walk in freedom (John 8:31-36) and victory (1 Corinthians 15:57) over sin. We don't have to sin; sinning is not inevitable for the believer in Christ.
If I told you what my works are, I would be sinning from my perspective. It would be like blowing a trumpet in front of me drawing attention to alms or something.
You don't seem to get that. You think that I am trying to make some kind of excuse for not telling you what my works are.
I'd be interested in knowing why you want to know what my works are.
I consider that works are not to be trumpeted before the people but that we are to do our best to hide them. Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your alms may be in secret, and such other things.
Hi
@HisLife,
Do you really believe in that verse?
You believe that we can be sanctified wholly unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that when the last person is wholly sanctified, we go up?
My disability is a mental one. My experience has been that when I go witnessing to people outside my home, that they have called the authorities on me and I have ended up in the mental hospital. Yes, this does happen. People who don't want to hear it from you can become vengeful. It is not so much that I am going off the deep end when I share my faith with them; it is that they know a little something about psychology: that it has three tenets that are conducive to the persecution of Christians: 1) persecution complex (if you believe what it says in Matthew 5:10-12, 2 Timothy 3:10-12, Luke 6:22 you are considered to have one) 2) religious preoccupation (if you desire the sincere milk of the word you are considerd to have it)
3) mania (when you stay up into the wee hours of the night watching and waiting for the Lord's return). Therefore they can in fact utilize this if you are sharing the Bible with them and say to the authorities that you are "religiously preoccupied" and that you are pushing your religion on them.
So, i tend to stick these days to people who want to hear the word; and the perfect place for this is a Christian Message Board where people specifically go there to hear the word.
I know that I stay out of the hospital this way and am also more effective to minister because I am safe from being bodily taken in when I am on the other side of a computer screen.
No, I am not physically disabled. But I feel safer relegating my witnessing to people of the church on an internet website than going out and witnessing on the streets. And such witnessing (on the internet) is not invalid. If I say more I am in danger of losing my reward for the things that I do on the streets in the way of witnessing; for I do witness on occasion in such a manner. Of course, there has to be a reason why they won't call the authorities on you; such as you giving them alms or food in the cases of those who are homeless.
Well, I guess I couldn't hide it for ever. The Bible does say that these kinds of things cannot be hid. But I wanted to keep it under wraps; and in the end I couldn't do so. At least I haven't told you everything.
I suppose that now, a lion is going to devour me on the road (I am referencing a biblical story here). Because the Lord told me not to tell you; but you assured me it was alright; and then I told you.
But I felt that it was needed to relate properly what needed to be related.
Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Now that I have lost my reward, I want you to tell me what you do in the way of works so that you will also lose your reward. It is only fair. Because I resent the fact that you made me spill the beans.
I am going to hit "Post Reply" on this because my wife is waiting for me to finish so that we can go to the store.
Come what may.