Memo
Kinda taking it easy this Labor Day.
TAGS: none
- Did dishes
- Went to store and filled gas tank
- Mowed lawn
- weeded and pruned
- took out trash
- cleaned garage somewhat
- spent some time organizing workshop
- Cleaned out the car somewhat
- cleaned up the basement somewhat
- finished Reincarnated as a sword anime
TAGS: none
Kinda pondering, but in the battle to stay away from sin I have learned a few things during my lifetime.
Sin is always with us in this life; at least while we are still alive.
To be free of sin forever one must be a born again Christian. To be a born again Christian one must receive Christ as Lord and Savior. A Christian desires to be free of sin. Removing sin is a process.
This means that to put sin to death you must also replace it with something good.
This means that in order to remove sin, we need to replace it with meditations on God. We can meditate on worry or lust or envy, etc., but we must instead meditate on the good things of God such as prayer, Bible reading, maybe a good Christian book or helping a neighbor. The things I just mentioned have varying degrees of effectiveness. Prayer is number 1, meditation on God's word is number 2. There is a time and place for all of these things and it takes wisdom to know what method to use and when.
To stay strong in the fight against sin you must abide in Christ. If, as a Christian, you drift away from Christ, you will become rapidly and increasingly weak to the pull of sin. Now, if you abide in Christ you will grow stronger and stronger. If you are away too long you may well reach a point where you will be unable AND unwilling to return. This alone should scare you away from the pull of sin.
When a person continually abides in Christ, they will love Jesus and God more and more and it will spur them to love others more and more with a great love for others and a desire to bring them to a Saving Faith in Christ. See What is Saving Faith? by John Piper
TAGS: bible
Sin is always with us in this life; at least while we are still alive.
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Romans 8:13
Romans 8:13
To be free of sin forever one must be a born again Christian. To be a born again Christian one must receive Christ as Lord and Savior. A Christian desires to be free of sin. Removing sin is a process.
43 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."
Matthew 12:43-45
Matthew 12:43-45
This means that to put sin to death you must also replace it with something good.
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
John 15:1-6
John 15:1-6
This means that in order to remove sin, we need to replace it with meditations on God. We can meditate on worry or lust or envy, etc., but we must instead meditate on the good things of God such as prayer, Bible reading, maybe a good Christian book or helping a neighbor. The things I just mentioned have varying degrees of effectiveness. Prayer is number 1, meditation on God's word is number 2. There is a time and place for all of these things and it takes wisdom to know what method to use and when.
To stay strong in the fight against sin you must abide in Christ. If, as a Christian, you drift away from Christ, you will become rapidly and increasingly weak to the pull of sin. Now, if you abide in Christ you will grow stronger and stronger. If you are away too long you may well reach a point where you will be unable AND unwilling to return. This alone should scare you away from the pull of sin.
When a person continually abides in Christ, they will love Jesus and God more and more and it will spur them to love others more and more with a great love for others and a desire to bring them to a Saving Faith in Christ. See What is Saving Faith? by John Piper
TAGS: bible
Assurance of Salvation
A Christian is one who believes in Christ as Lord and Savior. It is through no accomplishment on the Christians part that they have received Jesus as their Savior. It is the Holy Spirit that has regenerated the heart.
The believer or Christian may wonder if their faith is a saving faith, for, after all, even demons believe and are still damned. Saving faith has a regenerative quality in that the believer was once dead and only lived for and cared for this life and the flesh, but now love God and live for Him and want to be like Him and desire to put to death the idolatry of the world and the flesh.
When one looks to God and loves the Kingdom of God, the pleasures of this world pale to nothingness in comparison. To have assurance of faith one must focus more and more on God. This is done through meditation on God and good and honorable and noble things. This is done by expressing your heart to God. This is done by reading the Bible with a desire to communicate with God and to be more like what God wants us to be.
Christians struggle against sin while accepting that Christ has already paid the price for sin and welcome God's sanctifying us in this life and look forward to being redeemed with Christ both at the end of this life and at His return in judgement and Glory.
Greater Freedom from sin occurs as we focus more on God and his Kingdom. The more we do that, the more we will Love God.
But I still sin and on purpose!
You are still a Christian if you struggle against sin, hate your sin, take pains to put to death your sin, turn away from your sin, turn instead to Christ, and confess your sin to God.
But I still take pleasure in sin!
Well, yes, that's why Christians still sin. Remember that you hate your sin and hate that you take pleasure in sin. The pleasure that you take in sin is the desire of your old nature. Rejoice in your struggle against sin as it is an indication that the Holy Spirit is within you fighting against your old nature. In the times that you do experience success in a battle against sin, you can praise God and thank Him for your victory!
The one who is not saved desires forgiveness so that he can enjoy sin guilt free. The Christian desires forgiveness from sin to have a right standing with Christ and to fight against sin with renewed strength.
TAGS: mini-review