Hi @amadeus,
Yes, I definitely don't neglect the scriptures of the Bible or put this document in place of them. I actually don't read the document as much as I used to (because the message of the document finally got through to me as the Holy Spirit wanted me to understand it). I wrote it so that I would be able to reinforce in my mind certain biblical truths that I believe are keys to victory over sin. I found that in church there were certain things being spoken that robbed me of these truths, so I wrote them down so that I would not keep losing hold of them as seemed to keep happening from time to time.
And yes, I finally explained what the Wet Paint Principle is, at the end, rather than at the beginning, because the document is intended to be read more than once; and I did that so that understanding might be gained by those who take the time to read it more than once.
No; I don't think you are condemning what I wrote any more, and I am happy that you merely read it. I believe that I made it clear that the Wet Paint Principle is the main theme of the document in the very title of the document.
And by all means, I am interested in what your understanding might be, if you should have the time and inclination to add it. I personally don't believe that any discussion of biblical principles is a waste of time.
It is primarily written as a response to Galatians 5:4, which was a stumbling block to me for many years. Part of what the document is about has to do with me finally discovering the definition of what sin is and how the Cross applies to my sin as pertains to my own obedience before the Lord. I believe that the Lord does not want us to sin; but certain things in the Bible and certain things in what I was being taught in church seemed to be telling me that sin didn't matter because Jesus died for it. The document as a whole, I believe, is a discussion on why we as Christians are not to sin in light of the fact that all of our sins are forgiven, i.e. shall I continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!
Understanding the wet paint principle as being what is written by Paul in Romans 7:7-13 (if you would meditate on that scripture in light of the document) will help in understanding the document immensely. The document is intended to be read in light of understanding this principle and it is intended to shed light on this principle of scripture. Freedom 1:8, 1:11, 1:12, 1:16, 1:18, 1:25-26, I believe are key verses in chapter 1. Chapter 1 is primarily about how the law competes with the Cross as the means of salvation; but that the law is not to be completely ignored because it defines sin for us and therefore when Christ tells us not to sin in certain passages of scripture He is telling us to obey His word as it is given to us in His law. In chapter 3 I expound on this more by showing how in the New Testament we are merely to walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh, but that this doesn't nullify the law as a definition for sin. Chapter 3 has as its basis a desire to be great in the kingdom as Jesus spoke of it in Matthew 5:17-20; in setting forth the law as a schoolmaster to lead people to Christ and as something that is now written in our hearts and minds as redeemed saints.
Chapter 2 is a reminder that holiness is something that the Lord desires in each and every one of us and is also something that He is able to produce in us through His abundant grace.
Chapter 4 is something of a conclusion that I made from all of the writing before. At some point in writing this thing, I was advised to try to summarize what I was trying to say by all of what I wrote; and so somewhere along the line that is what I do. I try to reiterate the principles in different words so that people can understand what I am saying. But I know also that if what I have written is in any way like scripture, that it is spiritually discerned and therefore people may not be able to understand it apart from comparing spiritual things with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:13-14). They may even reject it as foolishness for all I know (I am glad that you did not).
Part of the entirety of the document is also a response to a false teacher that I encountered once on a different message board, who taught that we are under the "law of Christ" and that therefore we are bound to obey the righteousness of the law (and are not forgiven, is my estimation of his teaching, unless we are perfectly obedient to this "law of Christ") as it is set forth in the New Testament. I try to point out in chapter 3 (and a little also in previous chapters) that both the Old Testament and the New Testament laws apply as a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ and that the fact that we are not under the law as believers does not only apply to the Old Testament but also applies to New Testament principles that might be defined as moral tenets or law--do's and don'ts of scripture that tell us how to behave and live...so that as redeemed and forgiven sinners, the law no longer condemns us whether it is the law of the Old Testament or "the law of Christ".
But again, the whole of the document is my response to what I felt Galatians 5:4 was saying to me---that if I ever were to succeed at becoming a sanctified Christian (see such verses as 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Hebrews 10:14, 1 John 3:9, and Romans 6:6 w/ Colossians 2:11) in ceasing to sin against the Lord, that I would no longer be saved. Surely that is not what Paul meant by that scripture; but that is what I felt that it was saying to me time and time again. I believe I resolved the issue in my mind by writing the document primarily as a response to that verse and the spiritual problems that it was causing me.
Yes, I definitely don't neglect the scriptures of the Bible or put this document in place of them. I actually don't read the document as much as I used to (because the message of the document finally got through to me as the Holy Spirit wanted me to understand it). I wrote it so that I would be able to reinforce in my mind certain biblical truths that I believe are keys to victory over sin. I found that in church there were certain things being spoken that robbed me of these truths, so I wrote them down so that I would not keep losing hold of them as seemed to keep happening from time to time.
And yes, I finally explained what the Wet Paint Principle is, at the end, rather than at the beginning, because the document is intended to be read more than once; and I did that so that understanding might be gained by those who take the time to read it more than once.
No; I don't think you are condemning what I wrote any more, and I am happy that you merely read it. I believe that I made it clear that the Wet Paint Principle is the main theme of the document in the very title of the document.
And by all means, I am interested in what your understanding might be, if you should have the time and inclination to add it. I personally don't believe that any discussion of biblical principles is a waste of time.
It is primarily written as a response to Galatians 5:4, which was a stumbling block to me for many years. Part of what the document is about has to do with me finally discovering the definition of what sin is and how the Cross applies to my sin as pertains to my own obedience before the Lord. I believe that the Lord does not want us to sin; but certain things in the Bible and certain things in what I was being taught in church seemed to be telling me that sin didn't matter because Jesus died for it. The document as a whole, I believe, is a discussion on why we as Christians are not to sin in light of the fact that all of our sins are forgiven, i.e. shall I continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!
Understanding the wet paint principle as being what is written by Paul in Romans 7:7-13 (if you would meditate on that scripture in light of the document) will help in understanding the document immensely. The document is intended to be read in light of understanding this principle and it is intended to shed light on this principle of scripture. Freedom 1:8, 1:11, 1:12, 1:16, 1:18, 1:25-26, I believe are key verses in chapter 1. Chapter 1 is primarily about how the law competes with the Cross as the means of salvation; but that the law is not to be completely ignored because it defines sin for us and therefore when Christ tells us not to sin in certain passages of scripture He is telling us to obey His word as it is given to us in His law. In chapter 3 I expound on this more by showing how in the New Testament we are merely to walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh, but that this doesn't nullify the law as a definition for sin. Chapter 3 has as its basis a desire to be great in the kingdom as Jesus spoke of it in Matthew 5:17-20; in setting forth the law as a schoolmaster to lead people to Christ and as something that is now written in our hearts and minds as redeemed saints.
Chapter 2 is a reminder that holiness is something that the Lord desires in each and every one of us and is also something that He is able to produce in us through His abundant grace.
Chapter 4 is something of a conclusion that I made from all of the writing before. At some point in writing this thing, I was advised to try to summarize what I was trying to say by all of what I wrote; and so somewhere along the line that is what I do. I try to reiterate the principles in different words so that people can understand what I am saying. But I know also that if what I have written is in any way like scripture, that it is spiritually discerned and therefore people may not be able to understand it apart from comparing spiritual things with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:13-14). They may even reject it as foolishness for all I know (I am glad that you did not).
Part of the entirety of the document is also a response to a false teacher that I encountered once on a different message board, who taught that we are under the "law of Christ" and that therefore we are bound to obey the righteousness of the law (and are not forgiven, is my estimation of his teaching, unless we are perfectly obedient to this "law of Christ") as it is set forth in the New Testament. I try to point out in chapter 3 (and a little also in previous chapters) that both the Old Testament and the New Testament laws apply as a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ and that the fact that we are not under the law as believers does not only apply to the Old Testament but also applies to New Testament principles that might be defined as moral tenets or law--do's and don'ts of scripture that tell us how to behave and live...so that as redeemed and forgiven sinners, the law no longer condemns us whether it is the law of the Old Testament or "the law of Christ".
But again, the whole of the document is my response to what I felt Galatians 5:4 was saying to me---that if I ever were to succeed at becoming a sanctified Christian (see such verses as 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Hebrews 10:14, 1 John 3:9, and Romans 6:6 w/ Colossians 2:11) in ceasing to sin against the Lord, that I would no longer be saved. Surely that is not what Paul meant by that scripture; but that is what I felt that it was saying to me time and time again. I believe I resolved the issue in my mind by writing the document primarily as a response to that verse and the spiritual problems that it was causing me.
Last edited: