Colossians 3:8-10
[SUP]8 [/SUP]But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.[SUP]9 [/SUP]Do not lie to each other,since you have taken off your old self with its practices[SUP]10 [/SUP]and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
It takes time and learning to decrease sin. repent means to change your mind but as we all know changing your mind is the first step of the actual action of change.
This is a fallacy because Paul is not teaching what you are teaching. Paul is addressing the Colossians and telling them what they MUST do. Paul is elaborating on what it really means to have put off the old man and his deeds. Paul is not teaching that it is a gradual long drawn out process.
Look at what Paul teaches here...
Eph 5:3
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Eph 5:4
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
Eph 5:5 For this ye know, that
no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5:6
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Eph 5:7
Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
Why don't you quote that passage? It doesn't match your rhetoric does it?
Paul says :
Galatians 5:17
[SUP]17 [/SUP]For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[SUP][a][/SUP] you want.
Your Flesh and Spirit are at war with each other over the things you do.
Yes the flesh is contrary to the spirit which is why those who are Christ's HAVE CRUCIFIED the flesh.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Why didn't you quote that? Again it does not match your rhetoric.
You didn't quote this either...
Gal 5:18 But
if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Gal 5:19 Now the
works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
That is a big IF in verse 18. The IF is a mandatory condition. Here are two more...
Rom 8:13 For
if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but
if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
John says:
1 John 1:10
[SUP]10 [/SUP]If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
This verse is used incessantly as a proof text for a state of ongoing sinfulness and is frequently used by the "sin you will and sin you must people" against those who preach genuine heart purity.
Yet you NEVER EVER see the "sin you will and sin you must" people present it in CONTEXT.
1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1Jn 1:7 But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and t
he blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
IF we walk in the light, that is the condition that must be met in order to be cleansed. In order to walk in the light one must approach God in REPENTANCE and that is the point John is making in 1Joh 1:8-10. He is teaching that you cannot approach God claiming you have not sinned or have no sin to your account, hence you cannot say "I am without sin."
But look at verse 9 for it says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." The cleansing is conditioned on the confessing. That is the pattern in the whole of Scripture.
Pro 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Jer 26:13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.
Isa 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Jon 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
2Ti_2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Look even at this passage...
Jas 1:26
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Jas 1:27
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Yet so many people defend ongoing sin and decry purity. It is an abomination to God what is going on today.
Mar_7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written,
This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
The point im trying to make is this, even the 12 apostles who learned from Jesus himself and where of the most holy people in history struggled with the fact that they saw sin in their lives and they hated it, they felt remorse for it and they wished it would leave them but to notice sin means that its is an unwelcome and a no longer natural element in your life it is when sin in increasing amount goes unnoticed by a person that there is cause for allarm.
So here you are teaching that sin is no cause for alarm so long as it is in little amounts and is not increasing unnoticed. What ever happend to...
1Th_5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God
your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,
what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things,
be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
I bet you have never quoted those passages. Have you even ever read them?
Paul prays that god relieve him of a "thorn in his flesh" but the answer i think is relevant for many questions we ask of God
2 Corinthians 12:9
New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]9 [/SUP]But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
The thorn is ongoing sinfulness??? Come on, at least make an effort to read the context.
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations,
there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
To rip 2Cor 12:9 out from the context by separating it from verse 10 which gives context is very deceitful. What you are in fact doing (even though you may be ignorant of the fact) is this...
2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood,
which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before,
beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
The difference is between Sinning and practicing sin, between stumbling here and there and going out of your way to do the wrong thing sins beget sins and it is a very slippery slope but if you are continuing to fight the good fight against sin and always confessing to the lord as soon as you recognize that you have sinned and the proof that you actually are looking and feeling the bite and the sorrow of having sinned you are fighting the good fight and you will notice that over time the victories outweigh the defeats the temptation will never decrease but the ability to overcome will and each time you see a sin opportunity you resist you will know its God who guides you.
Victories outwieghing defeats? Where is that in the Bible?
You are contending for being double-minded and the service of two masters, something which is impossible to do. I know you fluff it all up in lovely sounding rhetoric but come on, be real. You believe in SERVING TWO MASTERS. You have light and darkness mixing.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye:
if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Mat 6:24
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that
to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Rom 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
You either yield to sin and thus obey sin or you yield to Christ and thus obey Christ. It is one or the other! It is not both.
One is either FREE from sin or they are not. A person is not free from sin if they still obey it for we are slaves to whom we obey. You have a Christian jumping the fence continually, so long as they don't hang out to long on the sin side. Come on THINK! What does the Bible actually teach?
Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
There are so many who profess Christ today who believe they can be "set free indeed" and yet still be a "servant of sin."
Modern Christianity is rooted in the philosophical system of GNOSTIC DUALISM yet it is disguised via the use of Christian terminology.
Don't be fooled please.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
