This is the essence of repentance. It is what people have been doing since forever.
Now however people construct theology around such issues, it is our conscience, our sense of doing the right thing that matters. Paul was constantly talking about his conscience and walking righteously.
Now the whole point about the gospel is the people of God walk in righteousness. That is the testimony of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The debate is always is this "perfection" or sinless etc. but this language assumes two issues. Perfection is linguistically linked to aspirations of individuals which are often not the Lords, and sinless for many is often thought of as no fleshly thoughts, no desires or trials and temptations which is not what sinless actually means, but not doing sinful acts.
Quite rightly pride in walking in righteousness is a trap, as it is powered by love through Jesus. But many would claim it is actually impossible, but I would now hold, it is possible, and Paul and the apostles would say they walked righteously.
What you may not realise is I do understand how hard this is, as a goal, but that is the point, it is the goal. But the core issue is expressing love through service, meeting need through a servant heart.
Somehow this aspiration or desire for holiness has been morphed into legalism, and the gospel is about grace and not looking at behaviour at all. It is this step that I call heresy, and changing reality, which is reflected in the view of two covenants.
As soon as someone says Jesus's words are the old covenant, they fail. All Jesus's words were written down as light for what the covenant between man and God was through Jesus, it was all about the present not something past.
You have spoken of what you see as the error of many who speak of grace.
I will tell you why I view Grace as I do, why I stress what I do of the subject.
I was raised in a Pentecostal/Evangelical church. When I was ten I responded to an altar call, and a kindly man chatted to me and told me my name was written in the Lambs book of life. I had no doubt it was. I knew at that moment in time my sins were forgiven I stood spotless in God's sight because Jesus died for me.
The impression I received at the church was(for no one taught otherwise) Jesus died to wipe the slate clean at the point of conversion, now it was up to me to ensure I lived a good and holy life if I wanted to attain Heaven. Though I did not see it this way at the time obviously, I set out to obey God's good and holy laws, believing heaven hinged on obedience to them.
IE
Don't get angry
Don't lie
Be kind to others
Don't lust.
Now the church said it stood full square on the bible, and kept stressing this, but here I was in reality trying to attain Heaven as did Paul the Pharisee tried to. How can I be sure of this? Because the following is how I ended up:
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.[SUP]
8 [/SUP]But sin, taking occasion by the commandment,
wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
[SUP]
9 [/SUP]For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
[SUP]
10 [/SUP]And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
[SUP]
11 [/SUP]For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Rom 7:7-11
I could have repeated the above word for word when I was growing up. I used to look back to the time before I responded to that altar call, I had felt alive then, for the law had not yet come to me, I had been a happy young lad, but when it did come sin(consciousness) sprang to life and I died(spiritually) The commandment I believed would give me life if I obeyed it, instead brought death(condemnation)for I could not keep it)
I knew the problem was not God's good and holy laws, but rather my sin.
So you speak of errors you believe people have who speak of grace. Do you not believe churches have error, even evangelical churches if they leave people in reality trying to attain Heaven as Paul the Pharisee did?
