My friend.
I grew up in a church where the "thou shalt not" people thrived. The demanded we must not forge the law. That the law shows us how to be righteous.
When they would go witness. Instead of showing Gods love. they would say..
You have to stop "insert sin here" if you want to get to heaven. Jesus came to die so you can get there. But you have to stop that sin.
I was embarassed. I was offended by these things. Is this really what God says?
Does God not explain clearly that the unsaved can not stop sin. They they do not have the power to do what is right, that the carnal mind is at enmity with God? So how can they possibly even think of stopping a huge sin habit which has them so ensared in enslaver BEFORE they are born again and given Gods spirit.
I do not have to judge them. God judged them. I have to do as Jesus did. LOVE THEM. And SHOW THEM GODS GOOD NEWS.
Secondly. The same church pushed law down everyone throat. If you are doing this. You are in sin and God will jduge you seriously!
1. Everyone knows the law. so why tell them what they already know?
2. Your judging, Not loving the person when you do this
3. When the person would ask for help. the only help they would get is. God said not to do it., what more do you want. do you believe God when he said do not do this or not??
4. If the sin issue did not stop. Again instead of loving them. They would say "you must not be trusting God. or you would do what he says! The law says do not do this. and your doing it. So you are not trusting in God. Maybe your not saved, or if you continue and you are saved, you will lose your salvation!!
Absolutely NO HELP. No love. No knowledge of how to do what the law tells you not to do. And how to walk a life of Christ. ONLY LAW!!
I have seen many walk away from god (why bother. I can;t live up to his standard) News flash. NO ONE CAN LIVE UP TO GODS STANDARD!!
I have seen people hid sin because of fear. and got deaper in sin. Some died because of their sin. Some ended up hurting so many people because of their sin. Some (as for as the gospel goes) wanted nothing to do with God. How dare a God tell me I have to stop something I CAN NOT STOP before he will save me? What Kind of God does this??
So I vowed from now on. When I see people preach this crap. I WILL FIGHT IT TOOTH AND NAIL.
If people do not like it . thats to bad.,
If your going to preach law. SHOW ME HOW THE LAW TELLS ME HOW TO DO GODS WILL..I have been asking this for MONTHS now. And NO ONE HAS ANSWERED me. So I WILL CONTINUE TO ASK.
Sorry to hear about what you dealt with.
It's true that we can't overcome anything without Christ, and He does show us where we are in error. That is no excuse to reject and ignore His law.
We can't force others to walk in what they don't understand. It is a process, and that is made clear in several passages in the word. We can't even walk in what we don't understand! It's so very important that we seek HIM with our whole hearts.
The first and most important step is to accept Christ and Him crucified. That is why Paul said this:
1 Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
We can't make anyone comprehend anything, but we can point them to Jesus/Yeshua, and to the entirety of HIS word.
We can discuss and sharpen one another through the word, but we can not condemn.
Jesus is the one who lights our understanding, and HE did say, "seek and you shall find, Knock and the door shall be opened unto you." That is a promise.
I know enough in my own walk, that I have overcome certain things with HIM, and I am still overcoming other things as I continue in HIM and as HE reveals the things that need to go that in my own heart and my own life. I want to appear before HIM without spot on wrinkle. That should be the goal of every believer no matter how young they are in Christ.
We all have to get that understanding from HIM. We can't walk in what we don't understand. And Jesus told us how to do it.
I also know that He backs all of this up with HIS word.
John 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
When people get only parts or half of the word, then it's evident in how they treat others through their own understanding.
I personally don't want half truths. I want the full counsel of God, so that I will be fully equipped to withstand the whiles of the devil.
Only God can give us the understanding we need to overcome.
Kind of removes all of the fighting and bickering between believers.
"Do it my way," comes from not understanding that It's GODS way that causes us to overcome. It's all there in the scriptures.
It all points back to God.