Has my spiritual house fallen ?

[loretta]

Ray writes in The Lake of Fire - Part XIV, The Beast Within

http://bible-truths.com/lake14.html

EXCEPT THERE COME A FALLING AWAY FIRST
What an astonishing truth it is, that God CAUSES all those destined from the foundation of the world, to be chosen in Christ, that they should "fall away" from the Truth and "leave their first love" before they can be truly spiritually converted. Yet this is the plain declaration of Scripture.
Paul fell away:
"As for Saul [renamed Paul], he made havock of the church..." (Acts 8:3) [while at the very same time he was "blameless" in keeping the Law of Moses] (Phil. 3:6).
Paul was a believer in a sense?
Why is it that this Scriptural truth is not taught in the Church? Simple: Most in the church have not as yet experienced "leaving their first love." Therefore, they are still deceived, and CANNOT see the beast within. They are still in the process of constructing their spiritual house upon the sand. Most will never see the beast in this lifetime.
Yes, when we fall on Christ we are broken, we are wounded (by the "sword" of God—Rev. 13:14 vs. Heb. 4:12). This is our human attempt at salvation. But then we fall, and our "deadly wound [which we received by the Word of God] was healed" (Rev. 13:3), we went back into the world, back into Babylon, thus leaving our first love. When the wound of the Sword of God's Word that had slain us, is healed, we fall from the love of God, and we again turn our love to the world from which we came.

In Christendom we were taught that it was better to repent of one's sin and fall on the Rock, that is Christ, rather than have the Rock fall on us and destroy us. But Ray taught differently,

But here's the good news concerning this stone. If we are among the chosen that overcome, then the Stone falls ON US, and our spiritual house built upon the sand comes crashing down. And when Jesus falls on us, HeGRINDS US [along with all of our idols of the heart] TO POWDER!

So how do we know for sure if our spiritual house has fallen?  Some of us havn't yet gone back into the world.

[rick]

Hi Loretta and God bless you.

This is a great topic but I don't feel qualified to give and answer but after reading this thread you have me wondering why I left Jesus and B.T almost five years ago.

I'm looking forward to reading all the replies this topic gets. Thanks you for putting this out there Loretta.

Love and peace to all of you.

[Kat]

Hi Loretta,

The understanding I have from this teaching is that our 'first love' is in the church... we come to know and believe in Christ while in the church.

Yes, when we fall on Christ we are broken, we are wounded (by the "sword" of God—Rev. 13:14 vs. Heb. 4:12). This is our human attempt at salvation. But then we fall, and our "deadly wound [which we received by the Word of God] was healed" (Rev. 13:3), we went back into the world, back into Babylon, thus leaving our first love. When the wound of the Sword of God's Word that had slain us, is healed, we fall from the love of God, and we again turn our love to the world from which we came.[/i]

The church does have a big emotional show of being 'saved' or 'born again,' I believe many are sincere in their desire to repent and change, to serve God. "Whoever falls on that stone will be broken" (Luke 20:18), yes there can be a feeling of being emotionally wounded by the Sword of truth, revealing the knowledge of our sinful nature. So we set out on our new Christian life.

At first (for a very little while anyway), we make an attempt to live righteously... we think that we have freely determined what we will do. It's a real desire, but quite an impossibility. Soon "the deadly wound is healed" and our carnal human nature continues unabated... whether we remain in the church or we go back out in the world the beast within us all will run amuck and our sinful lusts will be satisfied. That's our human attempt at salvation, as Ray put it. It's pretty short lived, then we serve our beast, our church, the world, certainly not our God, it's our losing the simple truth that Jesus is Lord... we have left our first love.

But here's the good news concerning this stone. If we are among the chosen that overcome, then the Stone falls ON US, and our spiritual house built upon the sand comes crashing down. And when Jesus falls on us, He GRINDS US [along with all of our idols of the heart] TO POWDER!

So how do we know for sure if our spiritual house has fallen?  Some of us haven't yet gone back into the world.

Mat 7:26  "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
v. 27  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

When we try to do/obey the sayings of Jesus Christ we fail miserably... and we do what comes natural and go the way of the world and follow man made doctrines of man and build our house on the sand. Whether we develop our beliefs from the church or the world we still are "tossed to and for" gaining much false knowledge from our experiences.

Eph 4:14  that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

Not until we are drawn to Christ to receive His Spirit indwelling and shown that we are beasts, repent, then does our house built on sand" finally come crashing down, "and great was its fall" indeed.

Mat 21:44  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

Yes our carnal human nature is ground to powder as we die daily.

1Cor 15:31  I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
v. 29  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
v. 30  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
v. 31  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
v. 32  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
v. 33  Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
v. 34  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
v. 35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
v. 36  As it is written:
       "For Your sake we are killed all day long;
       We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

mercy, peace and love
Kat

   

[loretta]

At first (for a very little while anyway), we make an attempt to live righteously... we think that we have freely determined what we will do. It's a real desire, but quite an impossibility. Soon "the deadly wound is healed" and our carnal human nature continues unabated... whether we remain in the church or we go back out in the world the beast within us all will run amuck and our sinful lusts will be satisfied. That's our human attempt at salvation, as Ray put it. It's pretty short lived, then we serve our beast, our church, the world, certainly not our God, it's our losing the simple truth that Jesus is Lord... we have left our first love.

Tks Kat, I think I understand it now and I believe that I have also experienced it.  A particular sin, which I thought I had overcome after my conversion, for which I took great pride in (not the sin but the overcoming).  I thought that I was able to overcome because of my perceived salvation or born again experience.  Till the Lord allowed me to revisit it and caused me to nearly sin again   Almost, but by His grace. It left me feeling like a total failure, that I had betrayed the Lord.  I felt worse than I did when I had actually sinned and for weeks after that I thought that I had backslidden, to borrow a term from Christendom. I began to doubt my salvation and the grace of God.  Then the Lord led me here to BT and I was forever changed.

Welcome back Rick and good to know you, brother   From your posts, I can sense your excitement.  I felt the same after finding BT.  Don't regret the five years you spent in the wilderness, God has a purpose for it too.

[arion]

To be blunt and IMO only if someone has to wonder if their spiritual house has fallen then it probably hasn't.  When the day came that I realized that I could easily have been a child molester or a murderer of the Jews as bad as Hitler then I knew that my spiritual house had fallen.  The old man harbors the idea that his sins really aren't all that bad compared to others and the he will compare himself to others and start to feel a bit smug at times. 

When you come to know that except and only by the grace of God you, yourself could of just as easily been a Saddam Hussein or have committed the most wicked and vile sins known under heaven then we see ourselves as we really are.  Then our house has fallen.  Makes you real humble pretty quick and God has a way of reminding me of that almost every day.  He has a way of throwing some trouble my way as a reminder just at the time I start to think that things are running pretty smoothly. 

[loretta]

To be blunt and IMO only if someone has to wonder if their spiritual house has fallen then it probably hasn't. 

True Arion, which is why I posed the question in the first place.

However, when we are called out of the world and come into the church, we are aware of our position as sinners before a Holy God and we strive to live righteously (works).  I don't believe its true that the old man becomes smug over comparisons.

Which makes me wonder whether the spiritual house falling is a process rather than an event, given that He GRINDS US [along with all of our idols of the heart] TO POWDER!  Aren't we always raising up new idols of the heart

[Dave in Tenn]

Loretta, for me it has been a process marked by events.  That's the way life seems to work, and in my opinion a good way to read scripture.

[Rhys 🕊]

for me its not that we won't walk the same way - but that we will not react the same old way

I quite like the line Hayley. Even if I do the same wrong things my reaction to them has changed.

Yes idols come up but they get knocked down quicker too I've noticed in me. You see things more clearly for what they are once God's truth has entered into your spirit you react different. A process is taking place of His truth being established within you and this takes much time.

I feel when I fall over know there is so much of God's truth to fall back on that I don't fall too far and getting back up is easy with the truth you do know. It sets you free bit by bit as God intends doing in you.

Rhys