good responce and also i wreckon those who are the done deal will never sin again. im just hoping ill get there..
james 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
sin is based on the persons awareness of right and wrong. you arent accountable for what i know, and oim not accountable for what you Know. its between you. Jesus, and God the Father. and is based on what we grasp as we learn Gods Word. we Know what sin is by the Law, yet many do not have any understanding of the Law. we cant pretend we dont Know what we know because Gods spirit is there within us He knows exactly what we Know in our conscience. and that is where we hear from God thats the pledge of a clear conscience we walk in.
1 peter 3:20-22 "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21The like figure where unto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 22Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
thats what baptism is about, it reflects back to a time BEFORE the Law was given. Our pledge of a clear conscience is to act according to what we Know and grasp. I guess what im saying is repentance happens as our understanding Grows, so does our need to repent. because sin is doing what we Know is wrong, or rather Not doing what we Know is right, as our Knowledge Grows as we Seek in the word and in prayer God brings things to light in our conscience and makes us aware that were sinning with whatever behavior. when we repent of that and continue growing more comes up as we follow repentance and grow in Knowledge which grows our consciousnes of sin so that we are able to repent of sin.
so a person who isnt yet finished, is still blameless as they keep in step with the spirit. in my past i was a truly terrible sinner. I was already aware of some things i was doing being sin because ive studied so much of the word for so long. when i came into the repentance season. My conscience went through a one thing at a time process. drinking and fighting in bars on the weekend that used to be a hobby something that was a sport really for me. i became so convicted of how terrible that was, and through that conviction i came th=o the thought " How can i pretend to be a christian when this is something i do and rather enjoy?
there was so much regret, so much true sorrow for my sin. I stopped drinking all together, and started learning to be a peacemaker rather than a trouble maker. when i made the decision to stop and actually wuit doing that. the guilt, shame sorrow just disappeared. from the decision came the action and from the action came the cleansing. Now days i hate when people fight, truly see it as foolishness and have no inclination to even fight when someone offends me. it changed my Heart through that repentance. i felt like i had really accomplished something through the spirit and the Word.
i felt justified now like i was finished, then though another behavior popped into my conscience, same thing i dealt with it through Gods Word and conviction, again and again that process grows. each time i think well im finally finished things i never even realized were wrong, come to my mind because i find them in the word where i had read them before, and not seen them now they sticj out and i cant miss them.
I guess what im saying is as we keep in step, were righteous even though we arent finished yet. our conscience needs to remain clear as we remaoin in the word and as we repent through that process. for me anyways its not a finished thing. its more of when im conscious im in the wrong, the need is repentance because it affects my prayer life when im convicted. it doesnt feel as intimate. but when i have a good conscience knowing God is pleased, prayer is so much more powerful because i know that i know that i know God is right there listening with a pleased Heart toward me. but when something comes to mind i need to deal with, i know he lves and hears me but that conviction rides in me and is present in prayer. as if God is saying i love you you know that and im here listening, but go deal with this thing, its now time for you to get rid of this....
ongoing process sorry for the length here i have issues saying things in few words God bless