Purity - Without being purified do we know anything

FollowHisSteps · Apr 25, 2019

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
matt 8

7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
1 Thess 4

5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--
has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5

Never accept the word of a sinner who justifies their sin, like it is a badge of honour.
What sin are they talking about? Murder, theft, lying, adultery, coveting, miss-representing others,
dishonouring their parents. Or is it hurt covering vengeance, hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness.

3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
Matt 7

There are people who will say we are sinners never capable of walking like Jesus.
Now the audience for such a proposition of unbelief is equally unpurified individuals.

14> Do everything without complaining or arguing,
15> so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked
and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
16> as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that
I did not run or labor for nothing.
Phil 2

If one has never had the faith to believe God can purify you, or cleanse your heart, or
resolve the issues you will not let go of, little wonder change and walking like Jesus
is impossible. Repent and believe through the cross you have redemption and cleansing,
and God can begin to work in your heart.

FollowHisSteps · Apr 25, 2019

Many are scared of purity.
The confusion is desires from our physical life are not evil.

We can appreciate the opposite sex, we can appreciate well made things, wealth, power,
knowledge, family, houses, jobs, safety. But we can desire them above what is appropriate
and despise the blessing we have got, as if using what we have already is not the blessing
God intends us to celebrate.

Purity comes through purification, washing by the blood of Jesus, through repentance and
confession.

1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything
that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
2 Cor 7

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us
from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
1 John 1

3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
1 John 3

TLC209 · Apr 25, 2019

Luke 8:21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

Our declaration of Jesus as Lord accompanies us doing the will of God. We no longer belong to ourselves.

1John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

No one is perfect except Jesus. We can only aspire to walk in the light and remain in the light not losing patience in doing so. We may stumble but we stand back up and continue. God is there with us to lift us up. He wont let go of us if we focus on Jesus as our guiding light.

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

This is not something most are willing to do. And they cannot be worthy to serve Jesus Christ. People claim to accept Jesus Christ but does Jesus Christ accept them? A repentant heart, humble attitude, denying oneself, surrendering ones own selfishness. Is alot for most but Jesus requires it.

Matthew 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

If we get impatient or side tracked and go off the path and we get caught slipping, it won't be good. Hell waits for all men. Jesus is the only way to salvation. Staying on the path is the only option.

FollowHisSteps · Apr 26, 2019

Perfection - perfect

This is an interesting concept that many avoid.
Bible translators translated perfect as mature.
We do not regard mature to mean perfect rather just fully grown.

Our expectations have often be reduced because we do not see as the
apostles wanted us to realise what we are in Christ.

teleiōn Heb 5:14
But solid food is for the perfect, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
teleioi James 1:4
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be perfect and complete, not lacking anything.
teleioi Col 4:12
that you may stand perfect and fully assured
teleioi Matt 5:48
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly
teleioi 1 Cor 14:20
but in your thinking be perfect.
teleioi Phil 3:15
as many as are perfect, have
teleiois 1 cor 2:6
among them that are perfect: yet
telesphorousin Luke 8:14
bring no fruit to perfection.

We need to discover perfection, as God declares in His people, and the ways of holiness,
truth and love. If we use the words of denial and unbelief, then we will spiritual deny
our inheritance.

Paul described this tension as aiming for perfection, but then not knowing your have arrived,
because in knowing you would have fallen.

seed_time_harvest · Apr 26, 2019

FollowHisSteps said:

We are purified by the blood of JESUS this Is true for salvation but the scriptures you presented are talking living holy after Salvation.

1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything
that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

IMO this verse Is talking about living holy or renewing our minds After salvation but GODs promises are yes and amen and IMO we don't need to continuously repent for salvation after being reborn,but we should continue renewing our minds to the new creation we have become.
+++
This scripture I believe Is talking about getting saved
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us
from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1

seed_time_harvest · Apr 26, 2019

TLC209 said:

Luke 8:21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

Our declaration of Jesus as Lord accompanies us doing the will of God. We no longer belong to ourselves.

1John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

No one is perfect except Jesus. We can only aspire to walk in the light and remain in the light not losing patience in doing so. We may stumble but we stand back up and continue. God is there with us to lift us up. He wont let go of us if we focus on Jesus as our guiding light.

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

This is not something most are willing to do. And they cannot be worthy to serve Jesus Christ. People claim to accept Jesus Christ but does Jesus Christ accept them? A repentant heart, humble attitude, denying oneself, surrendering ones own selfishness. Is alot for most but Jesus requires it.

Matthew 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

If we get impatient or side tracked and go off the path and we get caught slipping, it won't be good. Hell waits for all men. Jesus is the only way to salvation. Staying on the path is the only option.

Yes a person needs to get saved but If a person believes that after they have gotten saved that they do not sin they would have to be talking about being born from above or the Spirit that was made perfect but If they are saying that they no longer sin anymore then we know that that Is deception because christians do still sin and are not perfectly sinless with perfect thoughts but they should present their bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to GOD which Is reasonable.

crossnote · Apr 26, 2019

We are all a work in progress, but even like a plant, too much fertilizer is not a good thing.

FollowHisSteps · Apr 26, 2019

seed_time_harvest said:

You distinguish the point of holiness is coming to faith from our walk.
I see our walk is our walk. We start as we mean to continue in it.

Repentance is not for salvation but for the forgiveness of sins. It has always
been a biblical principle that sin needs repenting of, no matter where it occurs.
And repentance involves resolution and restitution. Our faith is our salvation
but we need to learn the Lords ways and walk in them.

FollowHisSteps · Apr 26, 2019

seed_time_harvest said:

11 Aim for perfection
2 cor 13

If one has never been purified, one can not know what it means to begin the walk.
So many think believing a few ideas about Jesus is enough to be saved, and keep
their hearts locked away, and sins unresolved.

Maturity or being perfect is not as impossible as it sounds.
The question is whether we know the meaning of the words and Gods ways in our
heart.

crossnote · Apr 26, 2019

FollowHisSteps said:

Are you equating the word 'perfect' with being 'sinless'? I hope not as the word 'perfect' καταρτίζω carrys these and other meanings. 'prepare', 'fit', 'restore', 'thoroughly prepared' and 'complete'.

In any case, being perfect is impossible apart from God's ongoing grace upon our lives...

John 15:5 (KJV) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

FollowHisSteps · Apr 26, 2019

crossnote said:

Perfect is whatever God defines it as. I would call this as walking as the Lord desires
us to walk. And this walk in always in Christ, through Him and by Him.

For me this is the assumption as the gospel is without Christ we can do nothing, He is
the Alpha and Omega, through whom all things that were created.

gb9 · Apr 26, 2019

just so anyone posting or reading this will know- the O.P, does not recognize any definitions of words that he choses , he just makes up his own meanings, with out care for the actual language,

in another thread, he and I were discussing the definition of sin, he stated that the greek language ( which the N.T. was written in ) as a " philosophy ".
that's it, saying no more, just wanted to point out the mindset at work here.

seed_time_harvest · Apr 26, 2019

seed_time_harvest said:

After looking at that scripture closer I am having some conflict about the stance I took.

1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything
that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

crossnote · Apr 26, 2019

gb9 said:

That was the impression I was getting and was confirmed by this statement...

Which translated means 'whatever I define it as'.

FollowHisSteps · Apr 26, 2019

gb9 said:

Thank you for this, from the bottom of my heart.
You make my point very well, nothing should be assumed, but explored.
We need to explore and find Gods will in all things, as Paul says,

15 Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise,
16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.
Eph 5

FollowHisSteps · Apr 26, 2019

crossnote said:

Hi crossnote,

What is Gods perfect altar? What did Jesus mean to the rich young man to say that following
Jesus would make him perfect? What did Jesus mean by saying we should love our enemies
as the Father does, and doing so would be perfect?

A perfect score, a perfect meal, a perfect presentation are all phrases we use in common life,
yet is this how God refers to what is perfect?

Cynics can always say things fail a standard, but if the definer of the standard is happy, then
we should be happy.

Peter faced this with accepting gentiles into the people of God. He saw them as unclean, but
God saw them as clean.

15 Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.
Acts 10

So I am in the strange position, declaring Gods acceptance of people and forgiveness over loving
behaviour while the legalists call it sin and failure, just like the enemy of Gods people says
continually before the Father.

seed_time_harvest · Apr 26, 2019

FollowHisSteps said:

Nope,the point of holiness Is not from our walk but from our belief.

Very true Indeed.🙂

Why do you think restitution Is Involved I’m talking about what does restitution have to do with salvation?

Our faith as In the sense knowledge that we use when It comes to repenting and I think I’m In agreement with the rest of your quoted statement.

FollowHisSteps · Apr 26, 2019

seed_time_harvest said:

We are made Holy through Christ and the cross, through repentance and faith.
But we can become defiled, unclean through what we say and do. So our walk is part of Holiness.
If our walk does not effect us, why repent, why obey, why is there any morality in Jesus and the Father?

Restitution is about resolving our evil behaviour, recognising the hurt we have done to others and how
we can get things restored. If we are not prepared to pay the price of restitution how can we claim to
know love and righteousness? Salvation is desiring to follow Jesus and walk in His ways.

As Jesus says to love Him is to obey Him.

FollowHisSteps · Apr 26, 2019

crossnote said:

15 Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.
Acts 10

I am shocked. You change what I declare, which is what God says about everything, He is the
creator, He defines the rules and ways and His way is perfect, into me saying things are as
"whatever I define it as"

My experience of people who do this, it they are mirroring the truth, their definitions are not
Gods, and they want to justify their view as opposed to Gods word. I have met this before, and
know the signs.

Sinful men do exactly this as David describes in a Psalm

1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.
3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and
does not reject what is wrong.
Psalm 36

3 I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful
God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Deut 13

Nehemiah6 · Apr 26, 2019

crossnote said:

While perfect can and does mean complete, it also means absolutely perfect, as God is absolutely perfect. And as Christ is absolutely perfect.

When we are justified by God's grace, we are washed in the blood of the Lamb, and we are also given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit begins His work of sanctifying us, but we will only be perfected at the Resurrection/Rapture. In the meantime, God expects us to purify ourselves by turning away from sins and idols, and by practising righteousness and holiness.

1 JOHN 3
1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Purity - Without being purified do we know anything

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