Living Sinfree is a Must

[LadyInHim]

As Saints, we are to reach a point in our Spiritual walk whereas we are living sinfree lives. Jesus came and exampled to us how to live without sin. Why do so many so-called Bible believing people accept the teaching that we cannot live sinfree. The Word of God does not supprot that teaching. Romans 3:23, clearly states that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Note that it speaks in past tense and speaks of the way we come to God. We all come to God as sinners. Moreover, the Bible tells us that there is a perfection that we must reach. And, to be perfect is to be sinfree. The following verses speaks of this perfectness...
II Corithians 13:11, Ephesians 4:11-13, I Peter 5:10. It is God who makes us perfect in Christ Jesus but we must keep all his commandments after we become born again. I pray that all Saints of God become sincere in their walk and ban together to glorify Jesus' coming.

 

[n2thelight]

LadyInHim

As Saints, we are to reach a point in our Spiritual walk whereas we are living sinfree lives

It's impossible to live in the flesh and not sin,Christ was the only one,true He set the example,and we are to strive for that, but we will come up short,no matter how hard we try.

If we could possibly be completely sin-free, then Jesus would not have had to come and give His life as the penalty for our sin. But He did, in fact, need to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins so that we, through Him, could have eternal life.

In other words we could have stayed under the law

 

[Vic C.]

While we cannot not live a sinfree life in our mortal flesh, we can be and are called to be blameless.

Phil 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Phil 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

2 Pet 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

 

[stranger]

While we cannot not live a sinfree life in our mortal flesh, we can be and are called to be blameless.

Phil 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Phil 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

2 Pet 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Hi Vic,

The question is can Jesus set us free from all sin? My answer is yes and I believe that the scriptures affirm that. If someone says 'no' then it implies that there are some sins from which Jesus cannot set us free, (or even if there is one sin from which we cannot be set free) then we slaves to sin.

Being free from sin does not mean you cannot sin, nor does it mean you are perfect. It simply means that some have appropriated the full benefits of the Gospel while others have not.

I find a direct comparison with the children of Israel entering the promised land. After the 12 spies returned - 10 said the land could not be occupied - the inhabitants were too powerful, only Caleb and Joshua believed that with God's help the land could be occupied. The ten spies gave an evil report of the land. Anyone who says that we cannot be free from all sin does likewise.

 

[unred typo]

quote by stranger:
The question is can Jesus set us free from all sin? My answer is yes and I believe that the scriptures affirm that. If someone says 'no' then it implies that there are some sins from which Jesus cannot set us free, (or even if there is one sin from which we cannot be set free) then we slaves to sin.

That, I believe, is the power of the gospel. A dear old friend of mine always used to say, ’Can’t’ never could do nothin’. Ignoring the double negative, there is a lot of wisdom in that old saying.

quote by stranger:
Being free from sin does not mean you cannot sin, nor does it mean you are perfect. It simply means that some have appropriated the full benefits of the Gospel while others have not.

I find a direct comparison with the children of Israel entering the promised land. After the 12 spies returned - 10 said the land could not be occupied - the inhabitants were too powerful, only Caleb and Joshua believed that with God's help the land could be occupied. The ten spies gave an evil report of the land. Anyone who says that we cannot be free from all sin does likewise.

I agree. The faith that Joshua and Caleb exhibited is a perfect example here for us. This is the faith that saves.

 

[handy]

I don't think that anyone would disagree that the Bible teaches us that we will eventually be free from all sin.

The question is, do we achieve this state of living sin free during this lifetime, or does this come when we recieve our resurrected, everlasting bodies?

In other words, is sinfree living a result of just really hard work to be holy on the part of the believer, or is it a work of God in us, that starts with our regeneration and is completed after judgment?

In my opinion, it's the latter. While I agree that we always must strive to live a life pleasing to God, I don't agree that we must live sinfree. This word must begs the question, or what? What will happen if we don't live sinfree?

BTW, Lady, welcome to the board, and I'm sorry I'm starting off with being so disagreeable. I do think that you've posted a thought provoking post, and it raises an issue that is an important one to come to an understanding about. I belong to a Church of the Nazarene, and they hold to the doctrine of 'entire sanctification' which teaches that the Spirit will work in the believer in such a way that the believer does come to live a life free from sin. I just don't think that this is truly biblical.

Looking at the verses posted, I do not see that the Scriptures are exhorting us to live sinfree, but rather to complete our faith by remaining faithful:

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. NASB

The KJV translates the greek word katartizo as perfect and the NASB translates it complete. Looking at the Strong's definition of the word, I believe that complete is a better translation for English. Perfect works as a verb here, to perfect, to make whole and complete. The word is not however an adjective as in "a perfect life".

katartizo is the same word used in 1 Thessalonians 3:10 "night and day, praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith."

We see here that it's obvious that Paul is speaking of a process. I am in the process of perfecting my faith until the end. I am not as of now perfect.

To this end, I think 1 Peter 5:10 is a great verse: "And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you."

To me, this makes it clear that, as we live a life perfecting our faith, ultimately it will be God HImself who will make us perfect indeed. The context of this verse is the end of days, when the Chief Shepherd appears and we receive the unfading crown of glory. (verse 4)

Bottom line is that we are to daily put the flesh and it's lusts to death and to live for the Spirit. But, I think we wander into dangerous territory when we put a burden of living perfectly on each other. It's too heavy of a burden to carry, because pretty much everyone will fail, know that they've failed and perhaps shipwreck their faith because of it.

 

[Vic C.]

I don't think that anyone would disagree that the Bible teaches us that we will eventually be free from all sin.

The question is, do we achieve this state of living sin free during this lifetime, or does this come when we receive our resurrected, everlasting bodies?

In other words, is sin free living a result of just really hard work to be holy on the part of the believer, or is it a work of God in us, that starts with our regeneration and is completed after judgment?

In my opinion, it's the latter....

Handy, you're not being disagreeable, you're being truthful, honest... and you provided valid scripture to support your belief.... and I agree. We will never achieve that state while in this mortal shell of ours. It's only when we achieve that incorruptible state will we be truly "sinless".

1 Cor 15: 50 And I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood is not able to inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.(LITV)

When do we inherit this incorruptible state? It's just like Handy said, when we receive our new, glorified bodies. Here are the following verses:

51 ¶ Behold, I speak a mystery to you: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed.
52 In a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet; for a trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (LITV)

Actually, most of 1 Cor 15 talks about this very subject.


We all would agree Paul was far more righteous than any of us, yet he referred to himself as chief of sinners.

1 Tim 1:15 Faithful is the Word and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. (LITV)

Notice he says "am", not "was". He uses present tense in his statement.

 

[guibox]

Well said Handy.

Sinless perfection is an erroneous doctrine that has permeated my own SDA denomination for many years. There are some die-hard traditionalists that insist that when the events of Revelation 13 are happening, we must be completely sin free in thought and action and that Christ is no longer mediating on our behalf 'whoseover is filthy, let him be filthy still and whosoever is righteous, let him be righteous still'

They say that we are only going to take our character to heaven and that glorification will not change our character. This work must go on during our lifetime so that by the time of tribulation, we are perfect. They do not consider this salvation by works because these acts are done through the power of the Spirit and not on our own merits. To me this is a cop out because it is us who makes the choices. It is us who chooses to walk away from a temptation or give in. Saying that it was the Spirit making me turn away from the bottle of whiskey is a nice justification for sinless perfection but it comes down to salvation by works. Salvation by sanctification.

Such a mentality can cause strict, soul destroying legalism. Some will feel they are not saved because they can't get good enough to be saved. Some will fall away from the faith because they feel they cannot measure up and are lost.

Our perfection is found in the imputed righteousness of Christ. Does that mean we sin? No. Does that mean that we don't have a standard to maintain or strive towards? No. Neither does it mean taht I measure my acceptability and "saveability' by how 'clean' I can keep my actions and thoughts.

 

[stranger]

vic C wrote:

We all would agree Paul was far more righteous than any of us, yet he referred to himself as chief of sinners.

1 Tim 1:15 Faithful is the Word and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. (LITV)

Notice he says "am", not "was". He uses present tense in his statement.

Hi vic C,

Did Paul keep on persecuting the church of God after he was converted? Or did Paul consider himself the chief the sinners (present tense) because he remembered what he did in the past?

 

[stranger]

handy wrote:

While I agree that we always must strive to live a life pleasing to God, I don't agree that we must live sinfree. This word must begs the question, or what? What will happen if we don't live sinfree?

The alernative is living in sin, so to what are Christians called?

BTW, Lady, welcome to the board, and I'm sorry I'm starting off with being so disagreeable. I do think that you've posted a thought provoking post, and it raises an issue that is an important one to come to an understanding about. I belong to a Church of the Nazarene, and they hold to the doctrine of 'entire sanctification' which teaches that the Spirit will work in the believer in such a way that the believer does come to live a life free from sin. I just don't think that this is truly biblical.

There are those who testify that they have been freed from sin to the extent that 'evil thoughts don't enter their minds, they have a serene peace within and a conscious presence of God and His abiding love moment by moment, while previously their minds were full continual lust and other evil thoughts.

Looking at the verses posted, I do not see that the Scriptures are exhorting us to live sinfree, but rather to complete our faith by remaining faithful:

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. NASB

The KJV translates the greek word katartizo as perfect and the NASB translates it complete. Looking at the Strong's definition of the word, I believe that complete is a better translation for English. Perfect works as a verb here, to perfect, to make whole and complete. The word is not however an adjective as in "a perfect life".

Is it possible to wholly live in Adam? If so, why is it impossible to wholly live in the Second Adam? Also perfection probably requires a perfect world - and such will be the age to come. Perfection appears to have become a stumbling block that is cast at the feet of those who want to live a life free from all sin. Surely, we are called to nothing less! So I think being free from sin starts by considering ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

 

[handy]

What will happen if we don't live sinfree?

The alernative is living in sin, so to what are Christians called?

I don't agree that this is an either/or situation: Either we live totally sinless or we are living in sin. This isn't Biblical. What is Biblical is that we are new creatures in Christ with the old passing away and we are becomming new. We can live our lives according to God's purposes, and yet still stumble in sin. Stumbling in sin isn't the same as living in sin.

Take for example Peter. Long after Pentecost, when he became recognized as a leader, if not the leader of the church at Jerusalem, he still sinned in the matter of being hypocritical towards the Gentiles.(Galatians 2:11) Are we going to say then that Peter was "living in sin"? Of course he wasn't.

There are those who testify that they have been freed from sin to the extent that 'evil thoughts don't enter their minds, they have a serene peace within and a conscious presence of God and His abiding love moment by moment, while previously their minds were full continual lust and other evil thoughts.

There are those who will testify to just about anything. Sorry if I sound a little cynical. The problem is, for as long as I've been associated with the Church of the Nazarene, (over 20 years now) I've only heard of those who will testify that such persons exist. I've yet to hear anyone actually say that they themselves have this totally sin-free existence. One thing I appreciate about the Church of the Nazarene is that, while this is part of their official doctrine, they never push it or put anyone down for not agreeing with it, and even in the official handbook of the church, the doctrine is taught as a secondary outpouring of the Spirit, not as something that anyone can achieve just by really good living.

Frankly, I can imagine that there may indeed be saints, probably older, who have lived their lives so totally within God's will that they may not sin in deed or thought. I'm not saying that it's impossible, for nothing is impossible with God.

What I am saying is that it is neither normal nor, more importantly Biblical. Stranger, if the Bible taught that we must achieve totally sin-free living on this planet, then I would agree with the principle. But it doesn't. Every text that speaks of our perfection, speaks of it as the ultimate outcome of our walk in faith, something that God bestows upon us at the time of His not that we would achieve that outcome here on this earth. As you say, part of the age to come. And, it's a wonderful hope that we all have in Christ.

I think being free from sin starts by considering ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Now this I am in total agreement with. We are alive in Christ Jesus, and it is by Him and through Him that we will ultimately be sin-free. Until then, we are to strive towards that goal by agreeing that God's will is good, and that our natural desires are against His perfect will.

vic mentioned Paul, and he is a good example for this as well. Note the language Paul used with Timothy, "of whom I am the chief". Am, present tense. Also, in Romans hear his anguished cry, "Wretched man that I am". Paul had no difficulty presenting himself honestly as still a sinner yet to be perfected.

Again, my main beef against the idea of 'sinless living' is that it places an unrealistic burden upon others. That was the main sin of the Pharisees. We need to learn from their mistakes.

 

[Vic C.]

... vic mentioned Paul, and he is a good example for this as well. Note the language Paul used with Timothy, "of whom I am the chief". Am, present tense. Also, in Romans hear his anguished cry, "Wretched man that I am". Paul had no difficulty presenting himself honestly as still a sinner yet to be perfected.

Again, my main beef against the idea of 'sinless living' is that it places an unrealistic burden upon others. That was the main sin of the Pharisees. We need to learn from their mistakes.

Yes we do.. and thanks Handy.

Stranger, Paul is speaking in present tense; I do not think he was lamenting over who he was. The context doesn't really suggest that. We are told throughout the Bible to let go of things past, for what they can do to our spirits. Paul knew that, so did James and Peter and all the rest.

I do not mean to offend anyone, but if one feels they can truly live a sinless life (that includes thoughts); they either deceive themselves or don't really grasp the nature of sin. This is one of the simplest and most straight forward of all Jesus' parables:

Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luke 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luke 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, "God be merciful to me a sinner".
Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.


So, to be inline with what Handy just posted, are we publicans or Pharisees? 8-)

 

[LadyInHim]

I urge that every person who believes or is taught that he or she cannot live sin free to read this. This passage is from the King James Version Bible…
1 John 3:1-10
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.
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
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.
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.
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.

I want to state that the Bible never contradicts itself. Therefore, if you believe or are taught that any other scripture in the Bible makes reference to or means that man cannot live sin free; you are deceived. Sin is the transgression of the law (God’s laws). To transgress the law is to violate it, to break it, to disregard it, to disturb it, or to defile it. In the Old Testament, God gave man His law, and man always failed attempting to keep the law. In the New Testament, God sent Jesus to show man how to keep the law and to give his life as the ultimate sacrifice for sin; making man have to go through Jesus to get to God.

In the beginning, God made man in His likeness or like Him (without sin and everlasting) and placed man in the sinless Garden of Eden. Man was told not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Man disobeyed and became knowledgeable of and instilled with both good and evil. Since good and evil cannot reign together, man was cast from God’s good Garden of Eden to live in the world riddled of sin. In earth, man has to choose good (eternal life) or evil (eternal death) – either way man’s soul shall forever exist in Heaven or in Hell.

When we repent of our sins and ask Christ to come into our lives, we are instantly forgiven and washed clean of all our sins. Right then, we are equipped with the power to cease from all sin and to no longer serve sin and to go and sin no more. To repent means to turn from our evil works. Accepting Christ in our lives gives us an anointing of God’s Spirit that keeps us in Him.

To sum it all up, the Bible tells us that we can live sin free only in God.

 

[handy]

When we repent of our sins and ask Christ to come into our lives, we are instantly forgiven and washed clean of all our sins. Right then, we are equipped with the power to cease from all sin and to no longer serve sin and to go and sin no more.

How long have you lived without sin in word, thought and deed, Lady and what do you do to overcome each and every temptation you face?

 

[mondar]

(...snip...)but if one feels they can truly live a sinless life (that includes thoughts); they either deceive themselves or don't really grasp the nature of sin.

I agree with the above statement. I would also add that a concept of the sinless life also does not grasp the concept of sin nature. Both the understanding of the nature of sin, and sin nature are faults of the believe that we can be sinless. This does not mean that we cannot have victory in the Christian life. God has provided the tools for the Christian life so that we need not be enslaved by our sin nature. This does not mean that the sin nature is irradicated. The sin nature still remains, but we are no longer slaves to that sin nature. Regeneration and the creation of the new nature simply means that the sin nature is no longer our master.

To really understand the sin nature, and its effects upon the current sanctification of the christian life, one must understand the material in Romans 6. The effects of Spirit Baptism (Rm 6:3-5) and the death of the "old man" in Romans 6:6 are key concepts.

Concerning the slavery concept, it would be important to notice Romans 6:14-20,22. What I want you to notice is the context. The context is about slavery. Now I want to causion you that many translations do not use the term slave and master. The NASB is correctly communicating the concept of "doulos" as a bond slave. Notice the bolded terms in this context.
14For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
16Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
17But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
18and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
22But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

Now the concept above is that as unbelievers we were enslaved to our sin nature. After salvation this slavery to our sin nature died. In Chapter 7:1-6 it tells us we are married to another, Jesus Christ. Let me give an analogy on how this slavery to our sin nature works.

ILLUSTRATION--- Before the civil war, black slaves were slaves by law. They had no legal rights to work where they please. Then Lincoln issued the immancipation proclaimation. Then slaves had the right to leave the plantation and get a different job. Nevertheless, where do you think many of them received employment? Yes, many went right back to the plantation and became sharecroppers for the old master. Yet, they were free!

So then, the way I am looking for this analogy to be applied is that we are free! We are no longer slaves to our sin nature (see Romans 6). This does not mean the sin nature is no longer present, but we are loosed from the slavery to serve a new master.

---There are other advantages to the Christian life. In the Romans 6 issue I mainly addressed the fact that the sin nature is present in the Christian life, but not the legal master of the Christian. There are also issues with the baptism of the HS, the ministry of the word, and many more advantages for sanctification that God has provided the Christian.

Nevertheless, I agree with Vic, final sanctification will come only at the resurrection when the death of sin is complete. Then will be brought to pass the saying "Death is swallowed up in victory." Until death, we will wrestle with sin. We can have victory, but this victory is not sinlessness, but it is being free from the power of sin.

 

[mondar]

In the previous post I focused on Romans 6. I also want to mention that there is a great and massive pit fall for the Christians sanctification. Legalism will place the Christian under the power of sin once again. This is spoken of in Romans 7.

In Romans 7....
8 but sin, finding occasion, wrought in me through the commandment all manner of coveting: for apart from the law sin is dead.
9 And I was alive apart from the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died;
10 and the commandment, which was unto life, this I found to be unto death:
11 for sin, finding occasion, through the commandment beguiled me, and through it slew me.

Without the law, the sin nature has no power. With any form of law or legalism, the sin nature is revived to be the controling force in a persons life. So then the law which can be a schoolmaster to lead one to Christ, after salvation will become very destructive of a persons sanctification. This does not mean that the law is sinful, God forbid. The law is a perfect moral code. The problem is even a perfect moral code will lead a person to sin, not away from sin. Only being focused on serving the correct master will lead one to victory (not sinlessness). That master must not be the law, that master must be Christ alone!

 

[unred typo]

I cannot miss this opportunity to agree with Mondar…

quote by Mondar:
That master must not be the law, that master must be Christ alone!

Amen! Christ’s message of love one another, forgive as you have been forgiven, humility, confession and faith in his blood, honesty and faithfulness, etc. far surpasses the legalism of the ordinances and the ceremonialism of the Pharisees.
Romans 8:1-2
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

 

[LadyInHim]

I came to the Lord with a sincere heart, repented and invited Him to come into my life and to help me to transform into a Son of God. The Lord is faithful and just! When we first get saved we are to stop all our sinful doings immediately. Then, we undergo the process of growth learning how to be Holy.

1 Peter 1:15, 16…
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so BE YE HOLY in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, BE YE HOLY; for I am holy.
Everyday that we live we are to become more and more holy in our walk. We are the Saints of God and our lives should be representative of Christ on Earth in every aspect; at work, at home, to strangers, at leisure, over the phone, in public, and in private – in other words, at all times. The Word tells us to grow nigh (near) to God, and He will grow nigh to us. We must have the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit to survive because man alone is no match for Satan.

You asked me about being tempted. First of all, temptation is not a sin – yielding to temptation is a sin. Jesus demonstrates to us how to handle temptation not how to stop it from coming. He responded to every temptation with the Word of God. That is how we are to handle temptation as mature, Bible knowledgeable Saints – because demons fear the Word of God. And, we know that Jesus is the Living Word of God. However, I instruct babes (new, unlearned saints) to call upon the name of Jesus or to rebuke temptation in the name of Jesus – because demons flee upon the name of Jesus. Evil temptations come from the Devil; God tempts no man with evil. We grow and become more fruitful by the trials we pass and the good deeds that we do.

The following passage from the Bible examples how Jesus dealt with temptations from the devil.

Luke 4:1-8 …
1 And Jesus being full of the HOLY GHOST returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

You asked me how I control my thoughts. The enemy attacks us through our own minds. The Bible tells us to renew our minds, which is the way in which we think. I watched Dr. Fredrick Price on television last Sunday, Oct. 28, and he said something very interesting. He told his congregation that the voice of the Devil comes into our minds imitating our voices, as though the thoughts are uniquely ours – in doing so, he tricks us to entertain his thoughts. So true! During the process of renewing our minds (which we do daily), we must control our own thoughts by knowing that every evil or unpleasant thought is not from God. So, we must entertain it not by rebuking it or replacing it with a godly thought.

Imagine this ... You approach a walk-up window, you see a lady (from neck up) at the window and she has scraggly, uncombed hair. The first thought that comes into your mind is: “she should be ashamed of her self.†Instead of entertaining that thought into further negativity, replace it with a thought like this: “Lord, she must really be going through troublesome times, please Bless her.†Or, rebuke it like this: “I rebuke that thought of yours Satan, in the precious name of Jesus. Then, as you get closer, you discover she has no hands. Where does sin lie? In further entertaining the first thought from the Devil. By replacing negative thoughts with godly ones or by rebuking them in the name of Jesus, we feel no need for repentance from how we handle negative thoughts. This type of discipline is always in practice and is highly rewarding.

You also asked me how I live without sin. Honestly, I do so by not allowing myself to sin. We have to be conscience of our every reply before we speak. We have to be very watchful for the tricks of the enemy. All the sins are named; there is no knew sin under the sun. Foremost, I understand that sin separates me from God. Augh! It truly terrifies me of the thought of ever being separated from God again. Oh! How I love God!

 

[guibox]

You asked me about being tempted. First of all, temptation is not a sin – yielding to temptation is a sin.

Sin and 'not sinning' is not merely the gritting of teeth and refraining from falling into temptation. The reduction of 'sin' to merely 'acts' is not taking into account the sinful nature that permeates our thoughts as well. If you think it is easy to control your thoughts without thinking sinful thoughts, you really don't need a Savior.

You asked me how I control my thoughts. The enemy attacks us through our own minds. The Bible tells us to renew our minds, which is the way in which we think....During the process of renewing our minds (which we do daily), we must control our own thoughts by knowing that every evil or unpleasant thought is not from God. So, we must entertain it not by rebuking it or replacing it with a godly thought.

And if you have a pornographic image run through your mind and you may even be slightly affected by it, you have sinned. Any envious, lustful, arrogant or prideful thought that comes through your mind has caused you to 'sin'. You say, not to 'entertain' the thought. What exactly is that? At what point in time is that thought 'entertained' as opposed to merely 'flickering' briefly through your subconscious?

Are you saying that I can see a pornographic image, have it stuck in my mind and then simply walk away from it without dwelling on it, that I really haven't sinned? How can that be when Christ made it plain that any lustful thoughts is breaking the law. Can one not have lustful thoughts in their mind without 'entertaining' them?

You have sinned regardless of entertaining according to the the letter of Jesus' magnified law.

You also asked me how I live without sin. Honestly, I do so by not allowing myself to sin. We have to be conscience of our every reply before we speak. We have to be very watchful for the tricks of the enemy. All the sins are named; there is no knew sin under the sun. Foremost, I understand that sin separates me from God. Augh! It truly terrifies me of the thought of ever being separated from God again. Oh! How I love God!

And you think that every thought that entertains you 'separates you from God'? If so, you sure can't be very sure of your salvation. That would mean that salvation is nothing more than an 'on/off again switch' that we control based on our actions.

Which nature do you serve? What desires do you have? That is the key. Not that if you do that one sin you are not fit for heaven thus, you have to grit your spiritual teeth and make sure that you are completely sinless in thought and action before you can be glorfied.

 

[SpiritualSon]

Man enters heaven or hell to the degree that heaven or hell enter him. Do your best to live sinless.

God said to Jeremiah:
Stand in the gate of Jehovah's house, and there proclaim this word. Thus spoke Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel, Make your ways good and your works also. Put not your trust in lying words, saying, This is Jehovah's Temple, Jehovah's Temple (that is, the church). Will you after stealing, murdering, and swearing falsely, then come and stand in my presence in this house, on which my name is written, and say, We were carried away, when you do all those abominations? Has this house become a robbers' cave? Behold, even I have seen it, this is the word of Jehovah. Jer. 7:2-4, 9-11.

Harry