Boy did this answer some questions I had.
I was struggling about the whole sin thing. Such as repenting, asking for forgiveness.
The sin issue is a done deal. God does NOT want the focus of your life to be on SIN, but on the SIN BEARER! We do not NEED to ask for forgiveness when we sin , as God has already TOLD us that our sins are ALL forgiven; Past, Present, and yes, even our FUTURE sins! ALL of them were included on the Cross when He died for them over 2000 yrs ago...isn't that astounding??? If even ONE sin was left out, Jesus could not and would not have RISEN FROM THE DEAD! That is why His resurrection is so critical to our understanding exactly what was accomplished on the Cross for us.
We are
NOT forgiven because WE ASK FOR IT or even WHEN we ask for it....we
WERE (past tense) forgiven 2000 yrs ago when HE DIED FOR ALL OF THEM. WE are to exercise our FAITH< by taking God at His Word and INSTEAD of ASKING For something He says He already DID (which in effect is UNbelief
)
This is what FAITH does: We should be thanking God that He took care of that very sin on Calvary two thousand years ago and put it OUT of His sight forever! Stop asking, and start thanking God for what He says HE already DID! See the difference?
One is BELIEVING God and placing your trust in what HE says He DID, and the other is "religion at its finest", making what YOU do (asking) being what makes God do something. It is always the reverse. WE love Him BECAUSE He first loved US. We ARE forgiven BECAUSE "God demonstrated His love for us in that while were were YET SINNERS. Christ died for us." We RESPOND to what HE has already DONE. We are
not forgiven because we ASK, but because He paid for all our sins ONCE and for ALL on the Cross.
Then I just asked Kab about this very thing the other day because my understanding started to become mixed. I was adding NT gospel and grace gospel together and wondering what do I do?
Thats right! YOU are asked to BELIEVE what God says He already DID! Thank you God that this is one of those sins that you paid for back on Calvary so that I could walk in newness of LIFE. Your job is to REST in the finished work of Christ! YOUR focus should be on allowing Christ to live His resurrected LIFE in and thru you.
So in the gospel of grace, once we believe on the Lords DBR, it's the Holy Spirit that dwells in us that gives us the "red" light or "green" light when it comes to our everyday lives? (you know what I mean?) We don't become sinless, we just start to sin-less? That makes sense to me. Is it because of the HS's convicting us when it comes to making a choice's?
As we grow in Grace, we learn to depend on the Life of Christ within us. You are correct...we don't become sinless because we live in these bodies and the presence of sin won't be gone until we get our NEW bodies. But we WILL sin LESS because we are learning how to walk in dependence on His indwelling Life. We KNOW when we sin...and I don't think its so much that God convicts us of our sin (He says He has put our sin OUT OF HIS SIGHT FOREVER) but we just know when we walked in the flesh instead of in the Spirit. God isn't going to convict us of something that He says HE has put out of His sight forever, is He? This is a belief system that I think we carry on from our denominational training, but one that I don't really see scripture backing up. God does not recognize sin in we who are IN Christ...He sees us clothed in the righteousness of Christ. He has taken care of the penalty and power of sin over us...and will take care of its very presence when we are given our new bodies. Until then, we are to depend on His Life and His provision for our sin, which IS the shed blood of Christ and the fact that God has already dealt with ALL sin for all time ON that Cross.
Does that make sense?
Now where does our conscience come in? Does God affect that in us?
You mentioned something about the "fruits" and how they are what comes out of our mouth? It's not in our actions?
There is so much to learn, but it doesn't seem that hard to grasp, it just takes time in the word to get the understanding.
Conscience is something that God has given all of us. It helps us to be aware of right and wrong, and yes, God uses it, most certainly.
We have the FRUIT (singular) of the SPIRIT actively working IN and THRU us as we allow Him access to our lives. Our actions usually reflect what we THINK...and that is why God always addresses our MINDS and what we THINK, over what we DO.
"Be NOT CONFORMED to the world and its way of thinking, but be ye TRANSFORMED by the renewing (ie: changing of) of your MIND." As we learn to think as God thinks, we are transformed from the INSIDE (thinking) /OUT, and not from the OUTSIDE (actions) /IN.
"As a man THINKS...so is he."
You are doing fine....I sent you a list of all the things that happened to you the minute you trusted Christ. I think that is what we will focus on in our study for women...OUR IDENTITY IN Christ. Those truths need to be nailed down as a foundation before we go onto other issues...whaddaya think?
I appreciate your comments and answers!!!
Love,
Diana
I know you do...and it is an honor to bring home these time honored truths so that we can all REST in who we ARE in HIM. These are very important issues. Let me know when you get your package from me....and then we will begin our ladies Bible Study. Hows that?
Grace Teacher Ministries
Author