The bible is clear.....the following was written with saved people on the planet...
There is not a just man upon the earth that does good and sins not.
There are two interesting different interpretations of this position.
1. All are caught in sin no matter their belief, ie sin is never cleansed from the heart
2. All men have sinned in their lives, some are cleansed and forgiven while others are not.
This is by nature the divide between those who hold we are static, and there is only faith in a
promise that delivers us, and those who believe we can walk in Jesus's way, refined and growing
closer to Him, by every step as we follow, into the Kingdom of heaven.
And here is the problem. I sit in a room only thinking. Am I pure, Holy, cleansed and true or a sinner
lost and doomed to judgement and the fire?
If I can be either or just one, that determines ones theology. And what is my perception of where I am?
My perception will determine my faith, my energy, my enthusiasm, what I sow to and what I reap from.
If I believe I have nothing, no treasure, no benefit or result from my behaviour, I will behave as my heart
dictates, whether good or evil. If I believe in consequences, or earning something, a balance of good and
evil, I will respond in one way, or if I need to be open honest, work through things, be inspired by love and
service I will respond in another.
What I am and how I feel about it matters.
My past matters, and the pain I have from the failure of doing things in the wrong way.
I may hate some things so much, I go too far in the opposite direction to compensate, and end up worse
than I was before.
So how we sit in that room, and what we know God feels about us moulds our life.
It moulds the words we use to others, our respect and politeness, our love and reaching out, our ability
to change and adjust, to become, to get alongside.
I have come to see, until we see ourselves as forgiven, redeemed, loved, cleansed, blameless, pure individuals
who the Lord in dwells through the Holy Spirit, to give and share love for others, it will be hard for us to follow
Jesus.
Sin entangles, destroys, makes complicated, lies, deceives, destroys, confuses, hides, obscures. It is sin that says
things are too far gone to resolve, too complicated to sort our, unredeemable to purify and cleanse, which is why
it claims its hold and stays in domination. But it is the cross and Jesus who declares this a lie, and proclaims
through the resurrection that there is victory over the biggest fear we have, death. Nothing is impossible for God.
To have faith and to believe Jesus is to believe in this victory, in this hope brought by the Holy Spirit to our hearts
that this path is true and real, Amen.
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