The Complacent christian world.

[livingbygrace]

The modern concept of Dispensationalism / Cessationism was invented in the 1800s by those looking to justify certain beliefs they held which conflicted with scripture and or prophecy contained in scripture. This belief is common among those who believe in the salvation experience only with little regard to other on going biblical principals such as sanctification and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The reason being that many of these beliefs systems hold to the idea that once saved, God only looks to the indwelling Spirit and completely ignores the flesh thus a person can be saved "in sin" rather from sin as the bible clearly indicates. What these belief systems choose to ignore is that fact that the bible plainly states that the primary role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is to reveal and help us overcome areas in our lives which prevent us from growing in Spiritual Maturity / Christ likenesss. In fact scripture clearly indicates that the Holy Spirit does not ignore sin but is clearly grieved by sin thus why wouldn't the Holy Spirit be reluctant to give Spiritual gifts to those who willingly choose to be dominated by the flesh rather than submitting to the Holy Spirit. Thus these men came up with the belief that the gifts of the Holy Spirit had ceased with the original 12 Apostles. However if you research the Ante Nicene period, the period in the 2nd and 3rd centuries a.d. before the Catholic church had been established, we do know that many of the gifts were still in operation.


The same men who established the concept of Dispensationalism / Cessationism also came up with both Replacement Theology (the belief that the church replaced the nation of Israel during the endtimes which we now know is not true seeing as the nation of Israel has since been reestablished) as well as Pre Tribulational Rapture ( in order to justify their beliefs in Once Saved Always Saved / Preserverance of the Saints which would be proven false if a believer in such doctrine were to live during the tribulation and take the Mark of the beast which would automatically damn their soul to hell despite their belief ).

I agree with this post, but would mention that the baptism of the spirit is not initially given dependant on personal goodness

Does God give you his spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard(the Gospel of grace) Gal 3:5

Now Paul is saying this to a church that turned bacck from grace to a works/law based Christianity, but the truth of it is sure.
But obviously as you say if people choose to willfully sin when they do not have to, or when Christ has delivered them from certain sin the Spirit will obviously not bless them with gifts
The idea is that if a person is SINCERE and wants in their heart to follow after Christ and live as he would have them live the Spirit will not then withold a gift due to a persons imperfections/sin that needs dealing with, for the heart is where it should be with God

I hope that makes sense!

 

[FireOnTheAltar]

I agree with this post, but would mention that the baptism of the spirit is not initially given dependant on personal goodness

Does God give you his spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard(the Gospel of grace) Gal 3:5

Now Paul is saying this to a church that turned bacck from grace to a works/law based Christianity, but the truth of it is sure.
But obviously as you say if people choose to willfully sin when they do not have to, or when Christ has delivered them from certain sin the Spirit will obviously not bless them with gifts
The idea is that if a person is SINCERE and wants in their heart to follow after Christ and live as he would have them live the Spirit will not then withold a gift due to a persons imperfections/sin that needs dealing with, for the heart is where it should be with God

I hope that makes sense!

Faith... the righteous shall live by faith. Obedience is the fruit of authentic saving faith.

Personally I agree with Finney that it is the baptism of the Holy Spirit which gives us the wisdom & strength needed for the sanctification process.

 

[livingbygrace]

Faith... the righteous shall live by faith. Obedience is the fruit of authentic saving faith.

Absolutely

Through him and for his namesake we received grace and Apostlkeship to call people from among alkl the Gentiles to the obediance that comes from faith

Rom 1:5

 

[zone]

Of course different men came up with different concepts and it did take time for the concepts to form however those concepts were widely embraced with the publication of certain english bible in the 1800's (which name slips my mind) and because of that, these three principles were widely embraced and taught. They have since become widely accepted religious tradition and have little to do with true biblical scholarship.

Scofield/Darby etc.

dispensationalists don't say the church has replaced israel: just the opposite.

in reality, the church is the fulfillment of the Promise that The Lord would have a people for Himself: jew and gentile....that's the New Covenant church.

apostate or unbelieving jews or gentiles are not part of the church, so there's nothing to "replace".

 

[livingbygrace]

Again I agree with you. In fact, I was in a simular situation several years ago. However, everything in my Spirit told me that I was not walking in true victory. That's when I delved deep into both scripture and church history and begun studying sanctification as well as the lives of those men (and women) whom God has used over the centuries to save hundreds of thousands. They preached the same message: total submition and reliance on the Holy Spirit brings victory over the flesh, that is if we desire it. And while I will admit that I still have stumbled from time to time, God have never failed to deliver me from my flesh when I called upon his name in the moment of temptation.

I completely agree, it is the message of faith in Christ and a total dependance on the Holy Spirit that is needed for true victory. And how much victory we have over the flesh depends on how close we really want to come in our lives, how much we really love God and will submit to him

Many will emphaisie the 'grace'

They emphasise that we are saved by faith not our personal goodness. We are not under law but grace(through faith in Christ) And all the emphasis is on this. And often any mention of living 'holy' lives is met with accusations of ignoring the grace of God


I do wonder if in many of these cases the person simply does not want in their heart to really yield to God what he requires from them. They will only go so far and therefore not see the victory available or preached in the NT. Therefore they only emphasise the grace and not the obligation which comes with the grace

For if a person loves God with all their heart and understands the truth of the Gospel of grace as plainly preached in the NT they assuredly must see great victory overr the sin in their life
No one will be perfect in the flesh whilst on earth, and we all at times fall, but great victory over sin would have to be seen. Otherwise the true message of the cross could not be one of power and victory

I guess it comes down to that first commandment
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body and soul, for it does not come down to the individuals strength, it is what Christ can do in them, but how much are they willing to let him do?

 

[FireOnTheAltar]

I completely agree, it is the message of faith in Christ and a total dependance on the Holy Spirit that is needed for true victory. And how much victory we have over the flesh depends on how close we really want to come in our lives, how much we really love God and will submit to him

Many will emphaisie the 'grace'

They emphasise that we are saved by faith not our personal goodness. We are not under law but grace(through faith in Christ) And all the emphasis is on this. And often any mention of living 'holy' lives is met with accusations of ignoring the grace of God


I do wonder if in many of these cases the person simply does not want in their heart to really yield to God what he requires from them. They will only go so far and therefore not see the victory available or preached in the NT. Therefore they only emphasise the grace and not the obligation which comes with the grace

For if a person loves God with all their heart and understands the truth of the Gospel of grace as plainly preached in the NT they assuredly must see great victory overr the sin in their life
No one will be perfect in the flesh whilst on earth, and we all at times fall, but great victory over sin would have to be seen. Otherwise the true message of the cross could not be one of power and victory

I guess it comes down to that first commandment
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body and soul, for it does not come down to the individuals strength, it is what Christ can do in them, but how much are they willing to let him do?

I couldn't agree more!

 

[dmdave17]

This whole thread is a crying shame! Does anyone even remember the original point of contention?

 

[FireOnTheAltar]

Scofield/Darby etc.

dispensationalists don't say the church has replaced israel: just the opposite.

in reality, the church is the fulfillment of the Promise that The Lord would have a people for Himself: jew and gentile....that's the New Covenant church.

apostate or unbelieving jews or gentiles are not part of the church, so there's nothing to "replace".

I completely agree. It is never my intention to lead anyone astray so if I am wrong by aligning replacement theology along with the other two, then I do apologize. However, as you probably have realized by now I don't hold to any of them. *lol*

I do a lot of study and research thus it doesn't surprise me that on occassion I would place things together in my own mind seeing as I will study a couple things at once thus the association.

 

[FireOnTheAltar]

This whole thread is a crying shame! Does anyone even remember the original point of contention?

This thread is about complacency in the modern church. You don't feel that improper theology is the root cause of complacency?

 

[unclefester]

This whole thread is a crying shame! Does anyone even remember the original point of contention?

Nah.....we're too complacent to bother

 

[Red33]

Originally Posted by livingbygrace
I completely agree, it is the message of faith in Christ and a total dependance on the Holy Spirit that is needed for true victory. And how much victory we have over the flesh depends on how close we really want to come in our lives, how much we really love God and will submit to him

Many will emphaisie the 'grace'

They emphasise that we are saved by faith not our personal goodness. We are not under law but grace(through faith in Christ) And all the emphasis is on this. And often any mention of living 'holy' lives is met with accusations of ignoring the grace of God


I do wonder if in many of these cases the person simply does not want in their heart to really yield to God what he requires from them. They will only go so far and therefore not see the victory available or preached in the NT. Therefore they only emphasise the grace and not the obligation which comes with the grace

For if a person loves God with all their heart and understands the truth of the Gospel of grace as plainly preached in the NT they assuredly must see great victory overr the sin in their life
No one will be perfect in the flesh whilst on earth, and we all at times fall, but great victory over sin would have to be seen. Otherwise the true message of the cross could not be one of power and victory

I guess it comes down to that first commandment
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body and soul, for it does not come down to the individuals strength, it is what Christ can do in them, but how much are they willing to let him do?

I couldn't agree more!

You know how a believer gets victory over sin, by doing the will of God, because the Spirit told him to through the scriptures. His sins have already been paid for and put away through the blood of Christ so he does not fret over sin but deals with it God's way without condemnation. So the believer walks by faith in the promises of God and by doing that keeps sin from having dominion in his life. He gets so busy walking by faith in the will of God that it becomes his meat and potatoes.

He's not occupied with his sins or failures or weaknesses in the flesh because he is occupied with Christ and has His word saturating his thought life and has learned how to think with God. When he serves, it is a joy and not a burden. When he goes out to seek and save the lost through preaching and ministering the gospel it is a joy and rejoicing to his heart. When he goes home at night and gets on his knees to pray he senses by faith that God is present to hear and eager to answer what he prays for. He lives in faith-rest and is not anxious for anything because he is content in the love of God. Everthing he commits to God he knows that God is able to keep it. When he goes to sleep his sleep will be sweet (Prov 3:24, Jer 31:26) because he has good emotions, a good self image through the new creation and he puts his trust and confidence in the living God who will never leave him or forsake him.

 

[livingbygrace]

Originally Posted by livingbygrace

You know how a believer gets victory over sin, by doing the will of God, because the Spirit told him to through the scriptures. His sins have already been paid for and put away through the blood of Christ so he does not fret over sin but deals with it God's way without condemnation. So the believer walks by faith in the promises of God and by doing that keeps sin from having dominion in his life. He gets so busy walking by faith in the will of God that it becomes his meat and potatoes.

He's not occupied with his sins or failures or weaknesses in the flesh because he is occupied with Christ and has His word saturating his thought life and has learned how to think with God. When he serves, it is a joy and not a burden. When he goes out to seek and save the lost through preaching and ministering the gospel it is a joy and rejoicing to his heart. When he goes home at night and gets on his knees to pray he senses by faith that God is present to hear and eager to answer what he prays for. He lives in faith-rest and is not anxious for anything because he is content in the love of God. Everthing he commits to God he knows that God is able to keep it. When he goes to sleep his sleep will be sweet (Prov 3:24, Jer 31:26) because he has good emotions, a good self image through the new creation and he puts his trust and confidence in the living God who will never leave him or forsake him.

You know when I was younger I went to a particular church. The emphasis was on scripture 100%

And if you asked a question you always got the absolutely perfect scriptural reply. I did at home too. And I grew up thinking that I must always act in perfect accordance with the 'perfect' answers I was constantly being given according to scripture. It became a great strain on my life, in the end I buckled beneath the strain and gave up with God.
It was strange though, the church never saw any power or healings, but firmly believed in the power of the Holy Spirit for today. And the church was maninly made up of the more academically gifted half of society.

When I was older I came back to God. I met a Christian couple who ran a soup kitchen and I used to go along with them and chat to the down and outs they befriended. They had that knack of being able to be totally at ease as they chatted to them, as if there was no barrier at all between the people they were helping and themselves.
They were much different from the people I had met at the church of my youth. They did not continually recite scripture and showed that they were just ordinary folk, and did not give the 'perfect response' to questions asked. I warmed to them and felt at ease in their company

One day we were at the soup kitchen and one of the alcoholics from the street was vomiting. He did a lot apparently due to alcohol abuse. The woman prayed with him and his vomitting stopped. I was amazed. These people did not continually reel off scripture, nor did they give an air of great Godliness. They were just plain ordinary folk who loved God.

It kinda made me think. Why did that church who recited the scriptures continuously, always gave you the perfect biblical response to every situation and seemed so Godly in appearance never see any power of the holy spirit manifest in their church as I saw in a soup kitchen from people who didn't constantly recite the scriptures or always give the percect Biblical response to a situation?


It makes you think doesn't it

 

[Crazy4GODword]

You are so filthy and rude.

whoa let you guys stop and think what you both are saying....We are brethren and sisters here in Christ

 

[Red33]

You know when I was younger I went to a particular church. The emphasis was on scripture 100%

And if you asked a question you always got the absolutely perfect scriptural reply. I did at home too. And I grew up thinking that I must always act in perfect accordance with the 'perfect' answers I was constantly being given according to scripture. It became a great strain on my life, in the end I buckled beneath the strain and gave up with God.
It was strange though, the church never saw any power or healings, but firmly believed in the power of the Holy Spirit for today. And the church was maninly made up of the more academically gifted half of society.

When I was older I came back to God. I met a Christian couple who ran a soup kitchen and I used to go along with them and chat to the down and outs they befriended. They had that knack of being able to be totally at ease as they chatted to them, as if there was no barrier at all between the people they were helping and themselves.
They were much different from the people I had met at the church of my youth. They did not continually recite scripture and showed that they were just ordinary folk, and did not give the 'perfect response' to questions asked. I warmed to them and felt at ease in their company

One day we were at the soup kitchen and one of the alcoholics from the street was vomiting. He did a lot apparently due to alcohol abuse. The woman prayed with him and his vomitting stopped. I was amazed. These people did not continually reel off scripture, nor did they give an air of great Godliness. They were just plain ordinary folk who loved God.

It kinda made me think. Why did that church who recited the scriptures continuously, always gave you the perfect biblical response to every situation and seemed so Godly in appearance never see any power of the holy spirit manifest in their church as I saw in a soup kitchen from people who didn't constantly recite the scriptures or always give the percect Biblical response to a situation?


It makes you think doesn't it

What I wonder about is why so many do not put the word of God in their life above everything. Job did it (Job 32:12) and so did David...

Ps 119:105 Thy word is a lamphttp://christianchat.com/#fn-descriptionAnchor-k unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Ps 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Ps 119:148 Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.

Jm 1:22-25 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way , and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was . 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.http://christianchat.com/#fn-descriptionAnchor-d

Ps 1:1-3 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,http://christianchat.com/#fn-descriptionAnchor-a nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful . 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither ;http://christianchat.com/#fn-descriptionAnchor-b and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper .

Ps 19:7-14 The lawhttp://christianchat.com/#fn-descriptionAnchor-b (doctrine) of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure , making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are truehttp://christianchat.com/#fn-descriptionAnchor-c and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb .http://christianchat.com/#fn-descriptionAnchor-d11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned : and in keeping of them there is great reward. 12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. 13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright , and I shall be innocent from the greathttp://christianchat.com/#fn-descriptionAnchor-e transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength,http://christianchat.com/#fn-descriptionAnchor-f and my redeemer

Do these scriptures, given by the Holy Spirit, have an application for the believer or are they just stagnant verses that have no place in the believer's life? There is not a single believer that can walk by faith as a just man without living and giving heed to every word of God (Mt 4:4, Heb 2:1, 4:1,2, Rom 1:17, 10:17). What some have missed in their brand of Christianity is how important God esteems His very own word (Ps 138:2) because they have become occupied with the cares of this life and these cares have choked the word (Mk 4:19).

 

[livingbygrace]

What I wonder about is why so many do not put the word of God in their life above everything. Job did it (Job 32:12) and so did David...

Ps 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Ps 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Ps 119:148 Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.

Jm 1:22-25 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way , and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was . 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Ps 1:1-3 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful . 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither ; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper .

Ps 19:7-14 The law (doctrine) of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure , making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb .11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned : and in keeping of them there is great reward. 12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. 13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright , and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer

Do these scriptures, given by the Holy Spirit, have an application for the believer or are they just stagnant verses that have no place in the believer's life? There is not a single believer that can walk by faith as a just man without living and giving heed to every word of God (Mt 4:4, Heb 2:1, 4:1,2, Rom 1:17, 10:17). What some have missed in their brand of Christianity is how important God esteems His very own word (Ps 138:2) because they have become occupied with the cares of this life and these cares have choked the word (Mk 4:19).

It seems you did not understand at all what I wrote in my previous post, if that was my fault I apologise, I will try and speak more plainly


I was not speaking concerning what a believer knows of the word of God in their own heart, but how they use the word of God when meeting others, there is a big difference here.

Take the Pharisees for example. They KNEW the literal words of the then scriptures off by heart, they used them to try and criticise and condemn others, they even tried to condemn Christ with them.

So what should we take from scripture when speaking to others?

I would say show them heartfelt love, let them nkow you really care about them with the love God has put in your heart, they will respond to that for sure. Then you can speak to them of God, not with an attitude of just reeling off scripture, that will not be seen as loving, but use the heart of the message the Gospel cointains, not the literal words, that is far more powerful a testimony

And if we understand in our hearts what matters most from the conviction of the Holy Spirit in reading scripture we will of course know that we must always seek the glory of God, if we seek in any way our own our knowledge of scripture becomes ineffectual.

But so many just continually recite verse after verse of scripture from the head, not the heart, I have seen over the years the ineffectiveness of this.

A heart filled with pride and seeking the praises of men can easily recite the literal word, but can they follow the true heart of the message? I do not believe they can, and therefore they have no true power from above and are seen as ineffectual, despite their excellant knowledge of the LITERAL words of scripture

 

[mpaper345]

YOU CLAIMED TO CHANNEL JESUS (among other fabrications).
an extremely serious offense that got one stoned in the OT.
i don't reckon The LORD cares for it now either.
and you haven't repented.

If she did claim to have channeled Jesus,she could be of the New Age religion.

God gave us the Holy Spirit that always dwells with us,which Jesus said I am with you always,so why is there a need to channel Jesus,when He is always with us.

 

[Red33]

It seems you did not understand at all what I wrote in my previous post, if that was my fault I apologise, I will try and speak more plainly


I was not speaking concerning what a believer knows of the word of God in their own heart, but how they use the word of God when meeting others, there is a big difference here.

Take the Pharisees for example. They KNEW the literal words of the then scriptures off by heart, they used them to try and criticise and condemn others, they even tried to condemn Christ with them.

So what should we take from scripture when speaking to others?

I would say show them heartfelt love, let them nkow you really care about them with the love God has put in your heart, they will respond to that for sure. Then you can speak to them of God, not with an attitude of just reeling off scripture, that will not be seen as loving, but use the heart of the message the Gospel cointains, not the literal words, that is far more powerful a testimony

And if we understand in our hearts what matters most from the conviction of the Holy Spirit in reading scripture we will of course know that we must always seek the glory of God, if we seek in any way our own our knowledge of scripture becomes ineffectual.

But so many just continually recite verse after verse of scripture from the head, not the heart, I have seen over the years the ineffectiveness of this.

A heart filled with pride and seeking the praises of men can easily recite the literal word, but can they follow the true heart of the message? I do not believe they can, and therefore they have no true power from above and are seen as ineffectual, despite their excellant knowledge of the LITERAL words of scripture

If you know what you are suppose to be doing according to the will of God then go do it and stop being occupied with all these other things. If you were lead of the Holy Spirit you would be doing the works of God and not concerned whether someone has power in their life or not. If you have the power of God then go preach the gospel and stop hindering others from doing it by making them introspective and questioning the authority of grace that God has given to them. Your posts do nothing to edify and encourage others to go and preach Christ and Him crucified. Let believers walk by faith through the word that God has delivered unto them.

 

[FireOnTheAltar]

You know when I was younger I went to a particular church. The emphasis was on scripture 100%

And if you asked a question you always got the absolutely perfect scriptural reply. I did at home too. And I grew up thinking that I must always act in perfect accordance with the 'perfect' answers I was constantly being given according to scripture. It became a great strain on my life, in the end I buckled beneath the strain and gave up with God.
It was strange though, the church never saw any power or healings, but firmly believed in the power of the Holy Spirit for today. And the church was maninly made up of the more academically gifted half of society.

When I was older I came back to God. I met a Christian couple who ran a soup kitchen and I used to go along with them and chat to the down and outs they befriended. They had that knack of being able to be totally at ease as they chatted to them, as if there was no barrier at all between the people they were helping and themselves.
They were much different from the people I had met at the church of my youth. They did not continually recite scripture and showed that they were just ordinary folk, and did not give the 'perfect response' to questions asked. I warmed to them and felt at ease in their company

One day we were at the soup kitchen and one of the alcoholics from the street was vomiting. He did a lot apparently due to alcohol abuse. The woman prayed with him and his vomitting stopped. I was amazed. These people did not continually reel off scripture, nor did they give an air of great Godliness. They were just plain ordinary folk who loved God.

It kinda made me think. Why did that church who recited the scriptures continuously, always gave you the perfect biblical response to every situation and seemed so Godly in appearance never see any power of the holy spirit manifest in their church as I saw in a soup kitchen from people who didn't constantly recite the scriptures or always give the percect Biblical response to a situation?


It makes you think doesn't it

I so agree there bro. It's one thing to know the scriptures however it is a totally different matter to truly live by those scriptures. I truly believe that when we stand before the Lord, He's not going to ask us how much of the bible we know but rather how of of the bible we lived for ourselves.

 

[FireOnTheAltar]

If you know what you are suppose to be doing according to the will of God then go do it and stop being occupied with all these other things. If you were lead of the Holy Spirit you would be doing the works of God and not concerned whether someone has power in their life or not. If you have the power of God then go preach the gospel and stop hindering others from doing it by making them introspective and questioning the authority of grace that God has given to them. Your posts do nothing to edify and encourage others to go and preach Christ and Him crucified. Let believers walk by faith through the word that God has delivered unto them.

That's just it. If you are truly doing God's will, thus posessing God's heart through His Spirit, you will operate in power. If not then you are not in God's will for God always provides the means in which to accomplish His will.

I don't believe that LBG is suggesting that we should question God's grace. What he is saying though is that we should search ourselves to see if we are truly living for God and being led by His Spirit or are we really living for ourselves doing what we think God would want us to do (ie. religion). There's a huge difference.

 

[FireOnTheAltar]

That's just it. If you are truly doing God's will, thus posessing God's heart through His Spirit, you will operate in power. If not then you are not in God's will for God always provides the means in which to accomplish His will.

I don't believe that LBG is suggesting that we should question God's grace. What he is saying though is that we should search ourselves to see if we are truly living for God and being led by His Spirit or are we really living for ourselves doing what we think God would want us to do (ie. religion). There's a huge difference.

Definition of COMPLACENCY

1: self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies

2: an instance of usually unaware or uninformed self-satisfaction

I truly believe that my previous statement is an accurate assessment of christian complacency. We may think we are living for God, doing good deeds and doing our best not to break any of God's rules and basically doing what WE THINK God wants us to do. This is the worst thing we could possibly do because we are doing what WE BELIEVE God wants thus we are still being led by our flesh instead of taking the time and effort to seek out God's heart and leadership in the matter. If this is all you have than all you have is worthless religion.

We are to be lead by the Spirit not the flesh. I would rather have a handful of inexperienced teenagers who cry out to God earnestly seeking his presence and His will concerning a matter than a group of well educated pastors who on;y think and act according to their interpretation of the scriptures. This is exactly why we have so many different belief systems out there. Because we are doing what we think is best rather than knowing for certain what God wants.