> General Discussions
Just need to vent how about you?
theophilus:
--- Quote from: DougE6 on December 22, 2013, 01:04:07 AM ---"To give you an example, a husband cheats on his wife. The wife is devastated, the kids are torn, etc, etc. Say the husband knows that he has no free will. The husband explains to his wife that he had no choice in the matter. He did what he did because he has no free will. If anyone, God should be blamed since He was the one directing his steps. You wouldn't like to be the wife in this example listening to her husband "excuse", would you? Neither would I!"
God is not interested in anyone belonging to him being an adulterer or a fornicator. Adultery and fornication are sins of the flesh. If you are committing these you are in the flesh and not the spirit. Frankly, it is impossible for those in the spirit to commit these sins. So, if anyone commits these sins, they are in the flesh.
God is sovereign. He has ordained your life's path. Granted. BUT... Do you want to live in the flesh or in the spirit?
Is it possible that God has ordained your life's path to include these sins? Of course! Otherwise it would not happen.
Judge yourself!! God's sovereignty should be leading you into walking in the spirit and not in the flesh more and more if He has chosen you to be with Christ when He returns. Christ is looking for a pure bride. So weep if you are doing acts like adultery. Weep! NEVER EVER say...well I blame God's sovereignty. Granted this knowledge of God's sovereignty if present in others or in us should help us to deal with more grace with others weaknesses or maybe to give other's more grace. But never ever counsel and say..well this is God's desire for me/you to do these sins! To the sin committing sinner, the fact that one is doing such things should only be a HUGE wake up call.
I understand that sometimes God waits until the 11th hour to help deliver us or much more time goes by than seems reasonable. If one is learning to love righteousness and hate wickedness even in this time of weakness, sure ...good work is being done. Granted. Sometimes we need to see for ourselves our own wickedness and God's lets us store up a whole lot of sin before delivering us...
YET...
I do not understand all this focus on God's sovereignty. Please do not misunderstand me here. I feel God's sovereignty is not a hard understanding!
The death of the beast is a hard understanding! If my beast is dead, the proof of that is not if I believe in God's sovereignty, or use it to justify myself. The proof of a dead/dying beast is if I am living in the spirit and NOT doing the works of the flesh. The beast cannot let Christ rule nor does it submit to Christ...and Christ is not an adulterer. Believing in God's sovereignty is easy. Resting in His sovereignty in righteousness...is MUCH HARDER. Judging oneself and letting God destroy the beast and ruling man of sin and the beastly nature is HARD. So let God's sovereignty SHOW you how weak/fleshly/sinful your heart is... not so that you can just accept your fleshliness but so you will pray and pursue and beg Him to change your heart into something better! If one has no desire to do this...well, we ALL go through dry spells that may/must be necessary for our spiritual growth,...maybe in a dry spell counterfeit comfort can be gained by saying to oneself..this is God's plan for me to be so controlled by the flesh, but I don't see any scriptures anywhere that even hint even in a most put the blame for our sins on God. I just think that is in RETROSPECT looking back on my life I can say that everything that happened was planned and purposed...but in everyday living..well God can judge you because it is your heart that is evil, not his, and you are doing the works, so repent.
--- End quote ---
Hello DougE6,
I was just giving an example. God's sovereignty isn't a hard understanding to you NOW! How about before your eyes were opened? I have "tried" to help others see this sovereignty to no avail. They simply can't grasp it.
"God is sovereign. He has ordained your life's path. Granted. BUT... Do you want to live in the flesh or in the spirit?"
If I understand correctly, whether I want to live in the flesh or the Spirit is OF God. In response to your question, no, I do not want to live in the flesh. I would like to overcome every single temptation that comes my way, even though I know it's not possible.
Again, the husband example was a hypothetical.
rick:
Hi Theophilus,
I’m sorry to hear about your situation at work, no doubt it’s a very stressful situation to be in.
No doubt I’m already praying for you that your situation will change for the good, I mean that from my heart my friend.
I’m also confidant everyone else will be praying for you as well, God can soften your bosses heart in the blink of an eye, even quicker.
Peace and love to all.
rick:
Hi Doug,
I read somewhere in the lake of fire series that Christ did not sin, because God did not cause Him to sin, that maybe not a direct quote from Rays writing but the meaning remains the same.
I agree with the fact that God gave no one permission to sin and I believe most folks really want to do the right things in life.
But if one does sin we have a mediator Christ Jesus which is faithful and just to forgive those who ask to be forgiven.
We are under grace not law and God does call the base things in this life to confound the wise. My entire experience in Christendom was being told God loves me but if I sin God will send me to hell.
I’m beginning to understand things here at B.T. that otherwise in Christendom I would not have. This wake up call you talk about reminds me of and old saying ( its not over till the fat lady sings ).
When it comes to salvation what is not possible for man is possible for God, even the devil will be saved and all the fallen angles, Adolph Hitler too.
I remember reading in the lake of fire, Ray said that one will want to stop sinning long before they do stop sinning.
I cannot speak for anyone else but this I know about me that if I could press a magic button and never sin again I would press that button in a heart beat. For the first time in my life because of B.T. I understand why I sin, I understand that I do not have free will and my life really is in Gods hands.
I see my life as a believer and also I see a non believers life fully predestine by God. I believe what ever anyone experiences in this life could not be any other way and God never asked their permission either.
I cannot think of anyone who wishes to sin but maybe there might be some in life who do but even so the sin issue has been dealt with once and for all and now we who are believers are in process of learning righteousness,
Anyways I won’t know if I learned enough righteousness to be in the first resurrection until I die and am resurrected. Be it the first or second resurrection which ever one I’m in was ordain of God and I have no say in it, God never asked my permission in this life for anything and I don’t believe God will ask me in the next life either. Just my thoughts.
Peace and love to all.
Dave in Tenn:
My problem remains with the myriad voices, denominations, sects, and individuals who are always ready to pronounce me a 'sinner' because I do this or don't do that. It wouldn't be so unbearable IF they agreed with each other!!
So how do I make my choice? Grow in wisdom. Mature. Learn. Gain the "sound mind" and put on the Mind of Christ. Set aside what doesn't work. Follow what does. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Repent and believe. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Judgement isn't "punishment for bad choices" for the sake of punishment, but correction. It changes us and teaches us.
We seem to get to a certain point, then it all comes crashing down. I don't doubt that Peter fully intended to "not deny" the Lord. Yet he did--(and all the others with him). And the Lord knew He would, even if Peter didn't and so much as called Him a liar. Peter "chose" in advance, yet his choice meant nothing when the time came. Peter "chose" when he was confronted by accusers, and even though he "chose poorly", it STILL was CLEARLY in the plan of God. And the LORD used his failure to teach not only him, but US--and especially those of us who believe Peter absolutely could not have chosen differently than he did.
What was the lesson? "Deny the Lord."? Of course not. The Lesson is BELIEVE what He says. Lean not on your own understanding (like Peter telling the Lord just how it would be), but in all your ways acknowledge Him. It's everywhere in Scripture, not just there.
What I learn from that whole passage is: Don't despair. Our failure is not the end, even if our failure is our present circumstance. Desire to "do good", but be humble about your own abilities and control of situations. Keep the FAITH, no matter what. If you don't have it, how can you keep it?
And for all those pesky other people out there WANTING to sin and HAVING NO DESIRE to do good? Besides the fact that I don't think that number is very great, it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that "they" are here in the first place and require no "preaching" from the likes of me.
ez2u:
I was pretty much feeling this way" the world has gone mad" and read some of this post. I guess we all are feeling the madness of this world. I have nothing to say except everything in my life feels wrong right now. out of control and nothing has changed in my circumstances. reading the Bible and rays post helps. waiting on the Lord, waiting to feel the warmth of the sun again.1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
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