RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (Full Version)

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jfaye -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 5:55:48 PM)

First of all, thank you, Mrs. Oliver for trying to understand my intent in what I am saying!
I do feel I have been misunderstood but it may be because I am so 'wordy' that it may be
difficult to follow what I'm saying, I admit!

The truth that those who find themselves enslaved to sin, need to know is that there is freedom in Christ.
We do not have to continue in our constant sin. He does not want to leave us defeated. He knows the
damage we do to ourselves and others around us when we stay stuck in sin! He died that we may live free
of the penalty on the eternal plane but we do live with the consequences of our failing to seek to be freed,
even if it means we 'die to self' and live clinging to His cross! It's worth it to be free and that is why He told us
to deny ourselves, our natural instincts toward sinning, and take up His cross to follow closesly with Him.
It's hard work, but not work we do alone! He has fitted His yoke to fit our shoulders that bears the burdens
we struggle with. He is able to deliver us! Trust Him and cling to Him and refuse to give up the fight!

Just so you know, I have found myself in positions where I could be involved in the sin of the woman brought before
Jesus. I was tempted--it was hard, and all I could do was cry out to God to deliver me from the situation I found
myself in and being tempted in! I was not walking with Him as I should and was very vulnerable to the attentions
of another. I have been flirted with by men at times of my life but this was different. This was a good man, not one
on the prowl and our friendship became the ground on which many fall victim to by the enemy! The enemy knew I
would not be so inclined toward a womanizer, and this man, I believe, was not out to commit adultery, but that is how
we are so easily ensnared, more often--we are unaware of what lies ahead.

I thank my God, that He was faithful when I was not faithful to stay close by His side. I could have been like so
many but He delivered me and I am forever grateful for that because I have a wonderful husband, and two godly
daughters and have been abundantly blessed by 3 beautiful grandchildren. How differently that story would have
been had I ignored the warnings of His Spirit within me! Could I have been comfortable in my sin by giving in?
I hope not, and I think not! My spirit knew the cost and my heart did not want to sin but being weakened I was
vulnerable and in danger and the Lord moved quickly to change my circumstances so that I did not have to continue
to be in that state of temptation.On the surface it was not a sexual temptation, it was emotional adultery that can
ultimately wind up with moral compromise, if not walked away from, very abruptly. The moment it became evident
that our frienship had advanced for my friend, to another level, is when I walked away, but it was absolutely in
His power!

I do not easily share this of myself. It makes me very sad that I feel I need to explain to you all, in this way
why I speak the way I do. It is not expected or acceptable to stay comfortable sinning against our Lord, in a
way that we are identified by doing so. It is harmful to us and so many others around us and we have to deal
with it when the temptation comes, severely and even brutally if necessary! We will not win in that battle
therefor we dare not stay in the arena for the enemy knows us better than we know ourselves, I think!

So, again, my thoughts are that if anyone does find themselves at ease in a sinful lifestlye, turn around, review
your commitment and see if you are truly 'in the faith' so that you may make a sincere decision to follow Him,
trusting Him to save your soul and deliver you from living a sinful, enslaving lifestyle, if there is any chance
you are not truly a 'new creation' in Christ Jesus!

If you are saved and find yourself habitually sinning, then make a determined decision to embrace the truth
of His word, be in it daily and long--pore over it till you live and breathe it and walk in that 'newness of life' that is real
and evident when we cling to our Lord, to take us by the hand in our baby steps and will never leave nor forsake us in
our walk and maturing process to the end of Eternity which has no end.

We all fall short of the glory of God--not a one of us is righteous in ourselves and none of us came to the Lord without
sin in our past!

Romans 6:

1 "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have

been baptized into His death?

4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ

was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness

of life.

5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also

be in the likeness of His resurrection,

6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might

be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

7 for he who has died is freed from sin."



jfaye -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 6:00:03 PM)

Sorry Walker--I dug myself into a hole I find I have to dig out of!

I will bow out now!!!![:o]



Walker311 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 6:19:55 PM)

quote:

so if you believe this: then why the statement?

this is the very essence of our Christ Walk! We will fall and we will be guided back...'the sin' doesn't matter.

Your statement does suggest judgement. Because it is false even according to your quote from above..so you really are contradicting yourself, are you not?


msoliver,

The statement stands on it's own merit without my help or slinging scripture... and you know it!

God hates sin and it's a big deal. Not because I say it is but because He says so. Sin is not a booger (sorry! it just seems to fit) that sticks until you can sling it off, SIN is always choice and it is not something that we can carry with us into heaven.

God knew how difficult it would be for you and I to live in this flesh and though at times it may seem that we will lose the fight, He built conviction into salvation which causes us to be miserable.

I know what it is like to be living in a continuous lifestyle of sin and then sweating in church under great conviction. I either had to repent or turn my back on God.

I appreciate your input and your opinion even if it does not line up with mine. Btw! "The Sin" does matter! Also, I agree with your statements about love but that is not what this thread is about.



Walker311 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 6:22:29 PM)

Janice, digging builds character. Thanks for posting!



rcjames -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 7:19:10 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: doinkdom

What about the prodigal son?

He was in continuous sin - for a time - and then repented.

So...does continuous sin have a shelf life? And if so...who decides how long that is? Paul talked with frustration about knowing what to do and not doing it in full awareness of his own sin.

How do we reconcile all this?


Are we sure that the son was saved before he wasted his inhetitance, or is the parable saying that no matter how we have sinned we can still become a child of God?

Thsnks
RC



rcjames -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 7:41:27 PM)

Here is what Paul says is expected of Christians;

(Rom 12:1-2) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

And it never ceases to amaze me that folks can think living a life continually diaopposed to this instruction can be done by a child of God.

The Apostle John says;

(1Jo 3:7) Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

(1Jo 3:8) He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

(1Jo 3:9) Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

(1Jo 3:10) In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

John is directly addressing continuing in sin in this passage and folks just ignore it. Amazing.

The Word teaches us that Christ is returning for a bride without spor or wrinkle and continually living in sin just sorta misses that mark.

We are instructed over and over by Scripture to avoid sin, not to live as the gentiles do, not to serve the flesh, but to serve the Spirti and Jesus also says in Scripture;

(Luk 6:46) And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

So those who continually live in sin cannot call Jesus Lord and therefore are not Christians.

Jesus also speaks to this in Revelations;

(Rev 21:6) And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

(Rev 21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

(Rev 21:8) But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Seems to be very clear that those sinners do not make the cut for heaven, but are comdemned to hell.

I maintain that a Christian cannot continue in sin or he is not (and never was) a true believer.

Just my humble opinion.

Thsnks
RC



earthless -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 7:48:27 PM)

RC,

So you do indeed believe a born-again believer can one day, one second, become UNborn-again.

Am I correct about that being what you believe?



rcjames -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 8:14:54 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: earthless

RC,

So you do indeed believe a born-again believer can one day, one second, become UNborn-again.

Am I correct about that being what you believe?


That is not what I am discussing here. The question is can a Christian continue in sin, and I say absolutely not.

Now whether that person was a Christian and fall away (the term I believe Scripture uses) or was never a Christian to begin with is irrevelant.

If we get into a OSAS discussion we will surely get spanked by the mods, and it also is not pertinant to the cpnversation.

In Matthew 7 Christ said he never knew the ones who were working iniquity, and of course they were denied entry into heaven. Now these folks were very convinced that they were Christians, but evidently Christ did not agree.

In ! Cor 5:11 those who were fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner called themselves Brothers, but according to Paul they were not and should be shunned.

So can a Christian continuously sin, I say no?

Can a person who calls themselves a Christian continuously sin, sure; but they are not Christians just because they call themselves Such.

Which is why Paul suggest that we;

(2Co 13:5) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

If upon that examination, one finds that they are continually in sin (walking in sin) then hete's your sign; you ain't a Christian.

Thanks
RC

edited for spelling



earthless -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 8:19:03 PM)

RC,

I should have PM'ed you. I respect a lot of what you say and am just sincerely curious as to whether or not you believe a born-again believer is secure in Jesus Christ or not.

If you want to PM me the answer, please do. If not, I understand.



Ephesians4_32 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 8:20:45 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Walker311

As I am glad to see the lively responses here, I am somewhat disappointed that the purpose of the topic has strayed.

It is simply this!

A Christian accepts Christ and loves Him. The salvation concept does not include a special place for living in continuous sin because sin wars against the spirit of Christ that is in each of us.

We may attempt to live in a sinful lifestyle but it will ultimately prove that we were never truly saved or we will be compelled to come out of that continuous life of sin.

This thread was not about passing judgement or claiming that we can be sinless. It is pointing out that the Holy Spirit helps to correct us and keep us on track. We may be living out of His will for a long period of time but God's great mercy will help guide us back into his loving arms.

You may not like or understand the statement A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin... but it is a fact that we cannot embrace both sin and Christ. One will overcome the other.


Amen! I agree with you and I'm grateful that you've taken the time to clarify.



inthysite -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 9:20:07 PM)

quote:

Here is what Paul says is expected of Christians;


RC, I agree that the bible teaches what is expected of us, that we are to be holy as our Father in heaven is holy. But that is not the topic. The topic is that a Christian will not continuously sin.

Now the question becomes is what is meant by the word continuously as is posted as the topic? Does it mean continuously as in forever, the rest of their lives, ie. someone professes to believe in Christ and then nothing changes, they continue to live in sin for the rest of their life?

If that is what is meant then I agree this cannot happen, God will get your attention sooner or later.

However I do not believe that this is what was meant. I believe the intended meaning was/is that a Christian will not continually repeat the same sin for a period of time. If I am wrong someone please correct me.

As I have shown in scripture and as I have seen in my own life this is definitely possible. Someone can be truly saved but still caught up in a sinful habit or addiction for days, weeks, months, even years. This is what happened to me. I struggled with alcohol addiction for years and tried to "give it over to God", but it is not that simple.

You cannot just say one day, 'Okay Lord take this from me', and then poof! the addiction is gone. It is a process, a very hard process. Your mind says this is wrong but your body craves whatever it is you are trying to give up. At this point you go one of two ways, toward God or away from Him.

Unfortunately I continued to go away from Him and He finally gave me over to my sin and allowed me to hit rock bottom. It was not a pretty place but it served it's purpose. Just as the prodigal son I came to my senses and realized that this was no way to live.

Now I no longer have any desire for alcohol but I still live with the consequences of living in that sin and will for the rest of my life. Some will try and say that I wasn't saved to begin with and I'll tell you right now that is downright wrong.

Bottom line, yes a Christian can continuously sin, no a Christian shouldn't continuously sin, yes the bible tell us how to live, but we still live in this world and in the flesh, we still have freedom to choose and we don't always make the right choice.

Regardless of what is preached in the pulpit, sometimes sin is fun and hard to resist. I'm not saying it is okay, I'm not condoning sin or making allowances and I definitely don't think we can live in sin and say that we are covered by the blood. What I am saying is that true Born-Again Christians can and do fall into this trap.

As the old saying goes; "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay!"



Walker311 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 9:21:48 PM)

quote:

Amen! I agree with you and I'm grateful that you've taken the time to clarify.


I should have been able to post nothing but the title for this thread without any clarification and received a thousand amens.

The title was not a question but rather an exclamation and it was directed mostly toward me.



ta_mosquito -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 9:29:51 PM)

LOL! You really expect that to happen on a forum?

I could post "The sky is blue!" and SOMEONE would disagree or want to argue the point! [8D]



URForgiven -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 9:37:47 PM)

Sin is unbelief. A Christian cannot sin because, by definition, they believe. It is impossible for a believer to be an unbeliever.

"Sins", by contrast, are anything short of the perfection of God. How ya doing now?

Thank God that through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, that our sins have been forgiven.



Walker311 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 9:46:17 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: URForgiven

Sin is unbelief. A Christian cannot sin because, by definition, they believe. It is impossible for a believer to be an unbeliever.

"Sins", by contrast, are anything short of the perfection of God. How ya doing now?

Thank God that through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, that our sins have been forgiven.


I disagree!

Sin is disobedience.

An unbeliever is dead, he is depraved. A dead person cannot sin. It looks and smells like sin but it is merely death.



Walker311 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 9:51:53 PM)

quote:

LOL! You really expect that to happen on a forum?

I could post "The sky is blue!" and SOMEONE would disagree or want to argue the point!


Ha!



URForgiven -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 9:55:38 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Walker311

quote:

ORIGINAL: URForgiven

Sin is unbelief. A Christian cannot sin because, by definition, they believe. It is impossible for a believer to be an unbeliever.

"Sins", by contrast, are anything short of the perfection of God. How ya doing now?

Thank God that through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, that our sins have been forgiven.


I disagree!

Sin is disobedience.

An unbeliever is dead, he is depraved. A dead person cannot sin. It looks and smells like sin but it is merely death.


The absence of sins is perfection...there is only One who is perfect. Sins will be with us till we shed these bodies. Thank God our sins are forgiven.



ladyichigo -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 9:58:37 PM)

quote:

it was directed mostly toward me.


That's what I thought. From the short amount of time that I've gotten to know about you, I've learned that your posts are things that you are trying to understand yourself, and at the same time, getting responses from other posters help you understand it better.



Stacy08 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 9:59:13 PM)

I have been a Christian throughout my sin. I was a back-slidden Christian however. I went through spurts of being passionate about God, and a couple of times where I fell to sin. I found that when I couldn't fill the hole in my heart that only God could fill, I was very, very, succeptible of the advances of men. My husband was busy drinking and doing everything else but spend time with me. I finally succumbed to the advances of another man...soon neither of us could stop. Every week I believed that it would stop, that I would never see him again, but it always happened again. He was a sex and romance addict, he couldn't phsically stay away from me, and every time he'd come by he purposely tried to seduce me. The same went for me, it was a vicious cycle that would never end until one of us stopped it. Despite his claim that he could and would stop...and his plea to me to tell him "no!", he wouldn't stop persuing me. Finally, I completely surrendered myself to God. I realized that I was an addict, love, relationship, and possibly even a sex addict.

So to sum it up, I still believed in Christ, I believed that I was saved, however I questioned whether I would lose my salvation through my sin. I still considered myself a Christian, yet I was hopeless to stop sinning on my own, I had to counstiously push God out of my mind. So take that as you see it...I can't explain it other then sin is a choice, however, when it comes to addiction, it is very hard and sometimes impossible to break. Without God, that is. If it were just a matter of will and prayer, we wouldn't have millions of addicts. However, God does have the power to transform us...but we have to do the hard work.



inthysite -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 10:03:39 PM)

quote:

Sin is disobedience.


Definition of sin:

G266
ἁμαρτία
hamartia
Thayer Definition:
1) equivalent to 264
1a) to be without a share in
1b) to miss the mark
1c) to err, be mistaken
1d) to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour,to do or go wrong
1e) to wander from the law of God, violate God’s law, sin
2) that which is done wrong, sin, an offence, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act
3) collectively, the complex or aggregate of sins committed either by a single person or by many
Part of Speech: noun feminine
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G264
Citing in TDNT: 1:267, 44



URForgiven -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 10:10:24 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Stacy08

I have been a Christian throughout my sin. I was a back-slidden Christian however. I went through spurts of being passionate about God, and a couple of times where I fell to sin. I found that when I couldn't fill the hole in my heart that only God could fill, I was very, very, succeptible of the advances of men. My husband was busy drinking and doing everything else but spend time with me. I finally succumbed to the advances of another man...soon neither of us could stop. Every week I believed that it would stop, that I would never see him again, but it always happened again. He was a sex and romance addict, he couldn't phsically stay away from me, and every time he'd come by he purposely tried to seduce me. The same went for me, it was a vicious cycle that would never end until one of us stopped it. Despite his claim that he could and would stop...and his plea to me to tell him "no!", he wouldn't stop persuing me. Finally, I completely surrendered myself to God. I realized that I was an addict, love, relationship, and possibly even a sex addict.

So to sum it up, I still believed in Christ, I believed that I was saved, however I questioned whether I would lose my salvation through my sin. I still considered myself a Christian, yet I was hopeless to stop sinning on my own, I had to counstiously push God out of my mind. So take that as you see it...I can't explain it other then sin is a choice, however, when it comes to addiction, it is very hard and sometimes impossible to break. Without God, that is. If it were just a matter of will and prayer, we wouldn't have millions of addicts. However, God does have the power to transform us...but we have to do the hard work.


Thank you for sharing this. God is always with us, even when we move away from Him. He is not judging us, but is waiting patiently, always.

You cannot do the work, that is the whole point. Our "work" as Christians is to abide in the vine. We are only branches, God is the vine. It is He who works in and through us as we allow Him to. Keep your eyes on Jesus.



Walker311 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 10:51:06 PM)

quote:

So to sum it up, I still believed in Christ, I believed that I was saved, however I questioned whether I would lose my salvation through my sin. I still considered myself a Christian, yet I was hopeless to stop sinning on my own, I had to counstiously push God out of my mind. So take that as you see it...I can't explain it other then sin is a choice, however, when it comes to addiction, it is very hard and sometimes impossible to break. Without God, that is. If it were just a matter of will and prayer, we wouldn't have millions of addicts. However, God does have the power to transform us...but we have to do the hard work.


Excellent example here. You are Christian who tried to "push God out of your mind" and your salvation would not let you rest. You could not continuously keep doing what you were doing because there was a war going on in your heart. God did a work in you. You didn't do it because you could not stop. We cannot continuously keep on sinning because this is by God's design in the plan of salvation.

Thanks Stacy!
_____________________________

quote:

That's what I thought. From the short amount of time that I've gotten to know about you, I've learned that your posts are things that you are trying to understand yourself, and at the same time, getting responses from other posters help you understand it better.


Absolutely! I think this could be said about a majority of us who come here. There are some mean people who come here and won't admit it but this stuff rubs them the wrong way and then it rubs off on them.



Walker311 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 10:54:45 PM)

quote:

The absence of sins is perfection...there is only One who is perfect. Sins will be with us till we shed these bodies. Thank God our sins are forgiven.


Right and so I don't spend a lot of time arguing about it. How ya doing now?



URForgiven -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 11:08:20 PM)

Thank God the Christian life is not about sins. Thank God that Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. Thank God that our sins are forgiven.

Thank you Jesus for your work on the cross, for the forgiveness you have provided once and for all. Thank you Jesus for now offering every man, woman and child life. Your resurrected life. Eternal life. The wages of sin is death. The only thing a dead person needs is life, and the only One who has life is you Jesus. Thank You Lord. Amen.



Walker311 -> RE: A Christian WILL NOT Continuously Sin! (4/1/2008 11:37:08 PM)

quote:

Thank God the Christian life is not about sins.


Amen! He came that we might have life. IT is His great love toward us.
How can we who have been born again and have received the love of Christ, continue in our sins? We cannot!



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