Will you listen to what God has to say about OSAS? Just scriptures?

[eternally-gratefull]

Okay, it is obvious you are getting emotional over this. For you are now putting words in my mouth that I did not say. I did not claim I was perfect or that I was better than anyone else.

You do it every time yuo claim your better than the person who believes in osas, and more deserving of salvation.

whether you see what you say is beyond the point.

But Paul says the unrighteous wil not inherit the Kingdom of God. That is Scripture. If you have a problem with it, take it up with God.

I do not have a problem. if you do not have the righteousness of God imputed to you at the moment of justification, you will not inherit the kingdom of God.

according to the law. there is not a righteous person on earth. that would inlcude yuo and i and every other person alive on the face of the earth.

God will not tolerate willful rebellion against him. But as I stated before, the person who repents and has Godly sorrow is likened unto the Tax Collector.

Well than that is not you. Your not repenting of you sin, you somehow think your sin is not as bad as the person who believes in osas. who would always have sorrow for their sin, because the HS is always convicting them of their sin.

maybe if you repented, and allowed God to give you the HS you would understand this, and not puff yourself up so much.

The Pharisee did not repent and or have Godly sorrow. This is the attitude of the OSAS belief.

No, it is the attitude of your belief and the belief of legalism.

they think their stuff does not stink because they do not commit murder, or adultry, or fornication.. yet as God said, their inner selves are filthy they are wolves in sheeps clothing, having a form of godliness, but denying its POWER. LIke YOU Are DOING.

No repentance is truly required.

NO ONE CAN BE SAVED unless they repent. God does not save unrepentuful people. where did you hear that?

I did not state that I was better than you or anyone else. Those are your words. Not mine.

You do it every time you post. and your too blind to see it, because your stuck on all your righteousness, and refuse to acknowledge your unrighteousness before God and the whole world.

I am the one who has confessed of my sin to you, to God and to everyone in this room. I am not puffing myself up. I am puffing GOD UP.

But God has a dim view on doing evil. It's not wrong to say that God's people in doing evil is wrong. There will be no sin or evil in Heaven. God does not change your behavior (after you die) so that you can enter Heaven. God is changing and perfecting His saint's behaviors now while they are alive. God's people do not do evil. I claimed that I was nothing. Yet you are falsely putting words in my mouth and claiming otherwise.

lol. You know nothing of the plan of God or what will happen to those he ressurects. God does not have to change our behavior. Our full sinlife is totaly exposed. and we found out we were worse sinners than we even thought, even though (those who are his children anyway) KNOW how wretched they are.

No one will sin in heaven, because they EXPEIENCE truth, Their FAITH IS MADE WHOLE.

it is called being glorified, where our position in Christ, and sanctification in Christ is made perfect.

 

[Bookends]

Sin separates us in FELLOWSHIP not RELATIONSHIP...

Partly true, again, it depends whether or not sins are ignorant or willful.

1 John 3 (NKJV)
[h=3]Sin and the Child of God[/h]4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Amplified

4 Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God’s law by transgression or neglect—being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will).
5 You know that He appeared in visible form and became Man to take away [upon Himself] sins, and in Him there is no sin [[d]essentially and forever].
6 No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains [e]in communion with and in obedience to Him—deliberately, knowingly, and [f]habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].
7 [g]Boys (lads), let no one deceive and lead you astray. He who practices righteousness [who is upright, conforming to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action, living a consistently conscientious life] is righteous, even as He is righteous.

8 [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].

 

[Jason0047]

First, this is not my first day on the job in debating OSAS. I have been debating OSAS for many years now. In my many years of experience, the usual tactic ends up leading into an attack upon me and not an attack upon the doctrine. When certain verses are brought up, they are either not explained or they twisted so far beyond what the text actually says. This is evident just by looking within this thread.

Second, when I say the word "OSAS" I am referring to Classic and Mid Range OSAS and not OSAS Lite (Please read below to learn more).

Personally, I believe in the Biblical View of "Conditional Salvation" that teaches that a true believer who is saved will naturally bring forth a life full of holiness and fruitful works. Now, do not misunderstand me, works are not done to be saved, but they are merely the evidence that you have been saved when one repents and accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. If a believer sins, they need to immediately confess that sin and forsake it and continue to walk uprightly with their Lord. If a believer continues to abide in unrepentant sin that leads unto death (lying cheating murder etc.) then they are not saved.

So seeing I hold to the Biblical View of "Conditional Salvation", I am naturally against all forms of OSAS. However, that said, I believe that only those who hold to "Conditional Salvation" and "OSAS Lite" are true Christians (or my brothers). I believe all other forms of OSAS are teachings from the pits of Hell. Anyways, there are three major types of OSAS.

OSAS Type #1:
Classic OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) which says you can practice unrepentant sin that leads unto death (Such as lying, murder, hate, fornication, etc.) and yet you can somehow still be saved.

OSAS Type #2:
Mid Range OSAS says that you cannot practice sin otherwise you do not know God. However, abiding in an occasional or small unrepentant sin and then dying in that sin will not necessarily send you to Hell.

OSAS Type #3:
OSAS Lite teaches that you if you practice or continually abide in unrepentant sin then you were never saved to begin with. Meaning that a true believer is characterized by them living righteously. So falling away from the faith would be impossible (Despite the many verses that talk about such a thing).


Side Note:

If your view of OSAS does not fit the categories above, please explain it to me.

Thank you, and may the Lord's love shine upon you this fine day.

 

[Bookends]

This is the attitude of the OSAS belief. No repentance is truly required. QUOTE]

And this is a lie as NO one I know who teaches eternal security teaches this or believes this......So...quit spreading LIES and falsehoods which is the very sin which you need to repent of or loose your salvation (according to your dogma)!

Some may take OSAS as a means to continue in their sin, but I don't you do nor EG, and some others. I'm not sure if we have those OSASers who believe like gnostics here of CC, but some people do believe they can live however they please. IMO, if you are truely repentant, and In Christ, dependent of God/Christ as your all in all, then you should feel eternal security. Therefore I don't have a problem with it. However, it seems to me that one could be grafted into the Body, and then be cut off as Paul points out in Romans 11, there are other warnings to Christians in the NT as well regarding this as well.

 

[Elin]

Read the book of Leviticus. Animal sacrifices were performed for unintentional/ignorant sins only, that were committed by the people for a temporary atonement for sin. There is not forgiveness for sin that was willful or Intentional! Sins that were intentional by the people were either CUT OFF from the Israelite community/people or PUT TO DEATH. I believe God is giving us a object lesson about sin here (since Paul say the OT is for teaching, rebuking, exhorting),
Willful sin is an intentional ongoing rebellion against God, and there is no forgiveness for that.

Because it is unbelief, for which there is no forgiveness.

 

[notuptome]

First, this is not my first day on the job in debating OSAS. I have been debating OSAS for many years now. In my many years of experience, the usual tactic ends up leading into an attack upon me and not an attack upon the doctrine. When certain verses are brought up, they are either not explained or they twisted so far beyond what the text actually says. This is evident just by looking within this thread.

Second, when I say the word "OSAS" I am referring to Classic and Mid Range OSAS and not OSAS Lite (Please read below to learn more).

Personally, I believe in the Biblical View of "Conditional Salvation" that teaches that a true believer who is saved will naturally bring forth a life full of holiness and fruitful works. Now, do not misunderstand me, works are not done to be saved, but they are merely the evidence that you have been saved when one repents and accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. If a believer sins, they need to immediately confess that sin and forsake it and continue to walk uprightly with their Lord. If a believer continues to abide in unrepentant sin that leads unto death (lying cheating murder etc.) then they are not saved.

So seeing I hold to the Biblical View of "Conditional Salvation", I am naturally against all forms of OSAS. However, that said, I believe that only those who hold to "Conditional Salvation" and "OSAS Lite" are true Christians (or my brothers). I believe all other forms of OSAS are teachings from the pits of Hell. Anyways, there are three major types of OSAS.

OSAS Type #1:
Classic OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) which says you can practice unrepentant sin that leads unto death (Such as lying, murder, hate, fornication, etc.) and yet you can somehow still be saved.

OSAS Type #2:
Mid Range OSAS says that you cannot practice sin otherwise you do not know God. However, abiding in an occasional or small unrepentant sin and then dying in that sin will not necessarily send you to Hell.

OSAS Type #3:
OSAS Lite teaches that you if you practice or continually abide in unrepentant sin then you were never saved to begin with. Meaning that a true believer is characterized by them living righteously. So falling away from the faith would be impossible (Despite the many verses that talk about such a thing).


Side Note:

If your view of OSAS does not fit the categories above, please explain it to me.

Thank you, and may the Lord's love shine upon you this fine day.

Great now you want to play the victim in this. You refuse to allow your self to learn from the scriptures so you must ask yourself what kind of salvation did you receive? The root of the problem is in your relationship with the Savior.

You make salvation to be dependent upon you when it is and always has been dependent upon God. If the salvation you claim to possess is dependent upon you then your did not get the genuine article from God.

Grace must first be accepted then over the years you learn to begin to understand it.

I suspect you confuse pride with joy. I take no pride in my salvation but I joy in my Savior. Any good thing in me is because of Christ.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

 

[eternally-gratefull]

So you do believe having Godly sorrow (by acknowledging your sin) and forsaking your sin is necessary to have a right standing with God (or to be saved)?

If you have not repented, your not saved, never have been saved, and never will be saved.

repentance is not a get out of hell quick card so we can excuse our sin, it is a true change of heart, and agreeing that sin is sin is sin and sin has separated us from him, and we deserve hell.

The tax collector repented. And God saved him. He was justified (not perfect. not sinless. not going to be sinless. but declared innocent by God) based on his faith.

 

[Jason0047]

Some may take OSAS as a means to continue in their sin, but I don't you do nor EG, and some others. I'm not sure if we have those OSASers who believe like gnostics here of CC, but some people do believe they can live however they please. IMO, if you are truely repentant, and In Christ, dependent of God/Christ as your all in all, then you should feel eternal security. Therefore I don't have a problem with it. However, it seems to me that one could be grafted into the Body, and then be cut off as Paul points out in Romans 11, there are other warnings to Christians in the NT as well regarding this as well.

As I had shown above. There are different levels of OSAS. But when OSAS proponents say to people that there is nothing that can do that can cause them to lose their salvation, and then stop there and don't talk about how a true believer is defined as being sorrowful over their sin before God and in living holy, then they are basically saying that a person can sin and still be saved. For they are not telling the whole story. Which makes me think there is something fishy that is going on with what they believe. Saying that believers are defined as being holy later (when another believer has to force it out of them) does not help folks because they may not read or hear everything that they say and get the wrong impression about what they are trying to say.

 

[Jason0047]

If you have not repented, your not saved, never have been saved, and never will be saved.

repentance is not a get out of hell quick card so we can excuse our sin, it is a true change of heart, and agreeing that sin is sin is sin and sin has separated us from him, and we deserve hell.

The tax collector repented. And God saved him. He was justified (not perfect. not sinless. not going to be sinless. but declared innocent by God) based on his faith.

Please re-read what I had written. I have been pushing repentance (Godly sorrow) and forsaking one's sin as one being defined as being a true believer from the beginning. My mention of that seems to have caused a lot of disagreement; And now you want to agree with me? Before you were talking about how I sin daily as if that was a normal behavior for believers (When nothing could be further from the truth). Paul says, such WERE some of you. I am not claiming to be perfect. No, no. I never said that. I am nothing (As I said before). It is only by God's grace that saves me. But there is no excuse for sin. Sin will separate a person from God if they do not repent.

 

[dcontroversal]

As I had shown above. There are different levels of OSAS. But when OSAS proponents say to people that there is nothing that can do that can cause them to lose their salvation, and then stop there and don't talk about how a true believer is defined as being sorrowfu over their sin before God and in living holy, then they are basically saying that a person can sin and still be saved. For they are not telling the whole story. Which makes me think there is something fishy that is going on with what they believe. Saying that believers are defined as being holy later (when another believer has to force it out of them) does not help folks because they may not read or hear everything that they say and get the wrong impression about what they are trying to say.

Originally Posted by Jason0047

This is the attitude of the OSAS belief. No repentance is truly required.

The word "the" is indicative of ALL and as usual you contradict yourself and do that which you accuse others of doing.....and your division of OSAS into groups is ridiculous.......

Another quote by you.....
OSAS Type #1:
Classic OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) which says you can practice unrepentant sin that leads unto death (Such as lying, murder, hate, fornication, etc.) and yet you can somehow still be saved.

So, when you attribute your first quote here to OSAS believers is that LYING as NO ONE I KNOW who teaches OSAS believes that? And if LYING...did you just lose that which CANNOT be lost?

 

[eternally-gratefull]

First, this is not my first day on the job in debating OSAS. I have been debating OSAS for many years now. In my many years of experience, the usual tactic ends up leading into an attack upon me and not an attack upon the doctrine. When certain verses are brought up, they are either not explained or they twisted so far beyond what the text actually says. This is evident just by looking within this thread.

Second, when I say the word "OSAS" I am referring to Classic and Mid Range OSAS and not OSAS Lite (Please read below to learn more).

Personally, I believe in the Biblical View of "Conditional Salvation" that teaches that a true believer who is saved will naturally bring forth a life full of holiness and fruitful works. Now, do not misunderstand me, works are not done to be saved, but they are merely the evidence that you have been saved when one repents and accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. If a believer sins, they need to immediately confess that sin and forsake it and continue to walk uprightly with their Lord. If a believer continues to abide in unrepentant sin that leads unto death (lying cheating murder etc.) then they are not saved.

So seeing I hold to the Biblical View of "Conditional Salvation", I am naturally against all forms of OSAS. However, that said, I believe that only those who hold to "Conditional Salvation" and "OSAS Lite" are true Christians (or my brothers). I believe all other forms of OSAS are teachings from the pits of Hell. Anyways, there are three major types of OSAS.

OSAS Type #1:
Classic OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) which says you can practice unrepentant sin that leads unto death (Such as lying, murder, hate, fornication, etc.) and yet you can somehow still be saved.

OSAS Type #2:
Mid Range OSAS says that you cannot practice sin otherwise you do not know God. However, abiding in an occasional or small unrepentant sin and then dying in that sin will not necessarily send you to Hell.

OSAS Type #3:
OSAS Lite teaches that you if you practice or continually abide in unrepentant sin then you were never saved to begin with. Meaning that a true believer is characterized by them living righteously. So falling away from the faith would be impossible (Despite the many verses that talk about such a thing).


Side Note:

If your view of OSAS does not fit the categories above, please explain it to me.

Thank you, and may the Lord's love shine upon you this fine day.

your not even debating osas.. (yet there you go puffing yourself up again, although yuo will deny it)

all your doing is rambling, twisting people words. and puffing yourself up.

you do not even know what osas is, you prove it every time you speak.

 

[Jason0047]

Originally Posted by Jason0047

This is the attitude of the OSAS belief. No repentance is truly required.

The word "the" is indicative of ALL and as usual you contradict yourself and do that which you accuse others of doing.....and your division of OSAS into groups is ridiculous.......

Another quote by you.....
OSAS Type #1:
Classic OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) which says you can practice unrepentant sin that leads unto death (Such as lying, murder, hate, fornication, etc.) and yet you can somehow still be saved.

So, when you attribute your first quote here to OSAS believers is that LYING as NO ONE I KNOW who teaches OSAS believes that? And if LYING...did you just lose that which CANNOT be lost?

I have divided OSAS into groups based on the beliefs of people I have encountered both online and in person. Which version of OSAS do you believe?

 

[eternally-gratefull]

Please re-read what I had written. I have been pushing repentance (Godly sorrow) and forsaking one's sin as one being defined as being a true believer from the beginning. My mention of that seems to have caused a lot of disagreement; And now you want to agree with me? Before you were talking about how I sin daily as if that was a normal behavior for believers (When nothing could be further from the truth). Paul says, such WERE some of you. I am not claiming to be perfect. No, no. I never said that. I am nothing (As I said before). It is only by God's grace that saves me. But there is no excuse for sin. Sin will separate a person from God if they do not repent.

Me agree with you?

You teach one must repent to be saved. then when they sin repent again to be resaved. the repent again to be re-re-saved.

How can one be saved if they did not repent to begin with?

Repentance to you is a get out of hell free card you pull out of your pocket when you think you have sinned,

And Not what God calls it to be.

If you have not repented of your sin nature, your sin debt, and your inability to be saved apart from the blood of Christ, You are still dead in your sin.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

Originally Posted by Jason0047

This is the attitude of the OSAS belief. No repentance is truly required.

The word "the" is indicative of ALL and as usual you contradict yourself and do that which you accuse others of doing.....and your division of OSAS into groups is ridiculous.......

Another quote by you.....
OSAS Type #1:
Classic OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) which says you can practice unrepentant sin that leads unto death (Such as lying, murder, hate, fornication, etc.) and yet you can somehow still be saved.

So, when you attribute your first quote here to OSAS believers is that LYING as NO ONE I KNOW who teaches OSAS believes that? And if LYING...did you just lose that which CANNOT be lost?

the problem is, legalists like him teach repentance, but they do not even understand what it means.

they have no more repented than the licentious people the speak against who teach OSAS.

Pride has both parties stuck in unbelief. even though they both claim they believe.

 

[Jason0047]

Me agree with you?

You teach one must repent to be saved. then when they sin repent again to be resaved. the repent again to be re-re-saved.

How can one be saved if they did not repent to begin with?

Repentance to you is a get out of hell free card you pull out of your pocket when you think you have sinned,

And Not what God calls it to be.

If you have not repented of your sin nature, your sin debt, and your inability to be saved apart from the blood of Christ, You are still dead in your sin.

Okay, so now you are saying that you do not have to continue to confess of any evil that you might do towards God, is that correct? Is this just in regards to confession? Or is repentance (forsaking sin) not necessary either? I just want to know what you believe or stand on this issue.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

Partly true, again, it depends whether or not sins are ignorant or willful.

1 John 3 (NKJV)
Sin and the Child of God

4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Amplified

4 Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God’s law by transgression or neglect—being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will).
5 You know that He appeared in visible form and became Man to take away [upon Himself] sins, and in Him there is no sin [[d]essentially and forever].
6 No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains [e]in communion with and in obedience to Him—deliberately, knowingly, and [f]habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].
7 [g]Boys (lads), let no one deceive and lead you astray. He who practices righteousness [who is upright, conforming to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action, living a consistently conscientious life] is righteous, even as He is righteous.

8 [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].

so you never go out and willfully do something you know is wrong, but can't fight it? but your flesh (will) is so strong, and you fall?

Not to try to argue, but if this is the case. I will just say you are better than any Christian I have ever met. How do you do it?

 

[Jason0047]

the problem is, legalists like him teach repentance, but they do not even understand what it means.

they have no more repented than the licentious people the speak against who teach OSAS.

Pride has both parties stuck in unbelief. even though they both claim they believe.

If your version of OSAS is not on my list, I would be happy to know how you define OSAS in relation to the list I created (in regards to sin); Or do you not want people to know the truth (as you so call it)?

 

[eternally-gratefull]

Okay, so now you are saying that you do not have to continue to confess or repent of any future evil that you might do towards God, is that correct?

How can you re repent of something you already agreed was sin?

Your stuck in religion dude, Your using a religious defenition of a word which does not mean what you think it does. Your stuck in religion, which is why you can not see the truth.

Is this just confession? Or is repentance (forsaking sin) not necessary either? I just want to know what you believe.

When the HS convicts and chastens a son of sin, Can that son refuse to acknowledge it is sin? Even the prodigal son never refused to admit he was in sin.

drop your religion, it has blinded your heart.

confession and repentance to you is a cheap way to excuse your sin. It is your get out of hell card.. yet it will nto keep you from hell. because you have yet to fully repent.

 

[Jason0047]

1 John 1:9 is not religion. It is in your Bible. What are we forgiven of according to 1 John 1:9? What do you have to do to be forgiven according to 1 John 1:9? What are you cleansed of in 1 John 1:9? According to 1 John 5:17, is not all unrighteousness sin? I get no indication that 1 John 1:9 is optional. What do you have to do in 1 John 1:7 to be cleansed of all sin by Christ's blood?

 

[VioletReigns]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=+1]Confessions of a Recovering Legalist[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]by Steve Reynolds[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Legalists often place a high premium on commandment keeping and obedience.[SUP]1[/SUP] They are extremely zealous for God’s law. The standard that they bear is the Ten Commandments, and they are diligent to point out every misstep in the lives of people they come in contact with. They can also be very diligent in pointing out their own missteps as well. As a result, they can carry around an extraordinary amount of self-imposed guilt. I know. I am a recovering legalist.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Legalism is a Christian heresy that is as old as the church. When God devotes an entire book of the Bible to combating a certain thing you can know for sure that it was, is and will be a problem for the church. That is exactly what God did with the book of Galatians. He devoted an entire book, perhaps the most impassioned book of the Bible -- to combat the heresy of legalism. I can honestly tell you that I used to read Galatians and think, "Hey, Paul, what’s the big deal? After all, isn't it a good thing to want to keep God’s law?" Now I understand what the big deal is. Let's not sugarcoat it. Paul called legalism "a different gospel."[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SUP]2[/SUP] That is serious business.

A Definition
What exactly is legalism? I’ve developed my own simple definition after years of struggling with my own legalistic tendencies. I believe that legalism is trying to attain or maintain rightness (righteousness) with God by human effort. Most of us don’t have a problem with the “attain” part of that definition. We would never tell a lost person that if they try real hard and do all the right things, they can be saved. No way! We say, you’ve got to admit there is nothing that you can do to be saved -- that you are lost without Jesus![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, here’s where the heresy and perversion of the gospel comes in. Keep in mind that the book of Galatians was not written by Paul to lost people, telling them how to be saved. It was written to people who had already received the Holy Spirit.[SUP]3[/SUP] Paul was angry with these baby Christians because they were trying to live out the Christian life by keeping the law!

The heresy of legalism involves telling people that there are certain things that they must do to “maintain” their rightness with God or to achieve victory in the Christian life! Paul says it this way: “After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Galatians 3:3). The victorious Christian life is a gift attainable by allowing the Holy Spirit to live through us by faith!

Peter tells us that, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Isn’t it just like God to give us the victory? Is that not what he did over and over in the Old Testament? “It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them” (Psalms 44:3). Having a great work ethic is a good thing in the world, but it will get you no where in the economy of God’s plan of salvation. He will not share his glory with you or me. He’s paid too high a price to purchase our salvation.

When I came to Christ, my philosophy was, “I’ve accepted Christ, now I’m ready to commit myself to keeping his commandments.” I was really ignorant of how the Christian life is to be lived out -- by faith.[SUP]4[/SUP] I thought if I read enough of the Bible and obeyed what I read, that I would achieve victory. Sounds logical doesn’t it? Some of you who are reading this are saying, “What’s wrong with that?” Ever wonder why the Bible talks about obeying or disobeying the gospel?[SUP]5[/SUP] How exactly does one obey the Gospel and keep obeying it? The answer is by trusting Christ to live the Christian life through them by the gift of the Holy Spirit that was given to us at salvation. He is indeed “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2 KJV).

When I was steeped in legalism, struggling was a way of life for me. I was extremely critical of myself and others, and I just could not seem to help myself. I remember telling this to a trusted counselor, and he told me, “You’ve got to learn how to apply grace in your life.” Well, I didn’t know about all this namby-pamby grace and love stuff (To be honest we legalists often begin to squirm in our seats when people talk about God’s love too much). It all smacked of liberalism to me, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted any part of it. Thank God he opened my eyes enough that I took a chance on living by grace. I haven’t been the same since I took that first step!

When I first discovered living the Christian life by grace through faith, it was like a door opened and I began to see the world through different eyes -- eyes full of child-like wonder and awe. Every song that I heard was God’s sonnet of love written to me. Every breeze that I felt on my face was him gently caressing the skin of his beloved child. Every moment of every day began to take on purpose and meaning, and God began to speak to me in ways that he never had before.

Over the history of the Christian church living by grace has been called by various names. Paul called it “walking in the spirit.” Others have called it “the exchanged life,” “the spirit-filled life” “the victorious life” or even more recently, “the gracewalk.”[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SUP]6[/SUP] In the book of Galatians it is presented as the antithesis of living under the law.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Legalism is bad medicine. If your heart is full of bitterness towards others and self-condemnation, could it be that you have been going about living the Christian life all wrong? If anything that I have said has struck a chord with you, you can be sure that God desperately wants you to be set free from legalism. Let me share with you a remarkable truth. God loves legalists. He hates legalism, but he loves legalists. I believe that one of the most passionate statements in the Bible is Jesus lamenting, heart-broken over the fact that the legalists of his day had rejected him.[SUP]7[/SUP][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]F. F. Bruce, one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century, said that “Doing the will of God is not a matter of conformity to outward rules but of giving expression to inward love, such as the Spirit begets.”[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SUP]8[/SUP] The Christian life was never meant to be a life of drudgery, although some of us have made it to be. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). The Christian life was never meant to be a burden, although some of us have made it to be. Jesus said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). The Christian life was meant to be a life of supernatural love, joy and peace that is squelched when we attempt to live under legalism. I confess I have been guilty of that, but God is showing me a better way.[/FONT]