you sure do paint a picture of condemnation when I am not under it.
It is a fearful thing to stand under the wrath of God Almighty! Though we may think to play games with Him, He isn't playing games with us. This is what God's word says, not merely what I say.
John 3:36
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Romans 2:4-5
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
I would be a cruel and unloving person, thinking you are in danger of eternal hell but saying nothing to you about this danger.
But no one has to be in jeopardy of eternal hell. God has made a way through Jesus for all who will be reconciled to Himself to be so. Good News, eh?
Romans 5:6-11
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
20 ...We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Romans 10:9-10
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
I feel the Holy Spirit's presence daily and have done for two years and four months and it's one of love.
I don't know what this means. What does "feel the presence of the Holy Spirit" mean? What do you mean the feeling you have of his presence is one of love?
The Bible is crystal clear that
only those who have been "born-again" by the Holy Spirit, who have been made his "temple," his dwelling place, enjoy his life and power within them. All others are still in their sin and under the wrathful judgment of their holy Maker, whatever they might feel.
Romans 8:9
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
1 John 4:13
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Titus 3:4-6
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
The Holy Spirit is poured out on lost people richly
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Have you trusted, then, in Jesus as your Savior and submitted to him as your Lord? If not, whatever you may feel, the plain truth of God's word is that you don't have the Holy Spirit dwelling with you and so you are still lost in your sin and headed for an eternity in hell. I'm pointing this out, not because I want to condemn you, but because I believe God's word which says you can't afford to get this stuff wrong! My desire is to keep you from God's wrath, not sneer or point a finger at you.
I repented two years and four months ago but didn't come to faith because I had a psychotic breakdown due to demons and I didn't understand the gospel or salvation fully and said in my head when I saw Jesus in the spirit "I better get this right, this is a salvation event" so was striving.
Luke 13:23-24
23 And someone said to Him, "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
"Striving" to enter through the Narrow Door, who is Jesus (
John 10:9), is not about "getting it right," it's not about having
enough faith, or
sufficient sincerity, or a life that
deserves salvation, but about
pursuing salvation like one who is competing for a great prize. "Striving" for salvation means to go after it like a pirate goes after a vast treasure of gold, or an Olympic athlete goes after the gold medal, or a man dying of thirst in the desert goes after the oasis he sees in the distance. Jesus described it this way:
Matthew 13:45-47
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Is this you? Have you desired to enter through the Narrow Door - Jesus Christ - into God's family and kingdom like the man who desired the "pearl of great price" so much that he sold all he had to obtain it?
Jesus knows me better than a condemning Christian.
Yes, he does. Do you know him, though? As your Savior and Lord, I mean.
This demonic breakdown which included hallucinations threat of sacrifice and voices led to a suicide attempt. Therefore I am afraid of salvation.
There is only one state in which you can successfully resist the devil:
James 4:6-10
6 ...“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
When you have yielded yourself a "living sacrifice" to God (
Romans 12:1), when you've consciously, explicitly put your self under the Holy Spirit's control and continue to do so throughout each day, THEN you can resist the devil and he WILL flee from you. See also:
1 Peter 5:6-10.
What does it look like to submit to God? The apostle James explained:
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you...
What is it to "draw near to God"?
...Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
When you've submitted yourself to God and have drawn near to Him having "cleansed your hands of sin" and "purified your heart of double-mindedness" (
2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 1 John 1:9), humbling yourself before God in godly sorrow over your rebellion and sin, the devil and all his demons together cannot overcome you. This is so because the one who has drawn near to God as the apostle James described, is indwelt and filled with the Holy Spirit who cannot be overcome by any demonic power.
But everyday I ask Jesus to hurry up and save me but I don't feel convicted.
The conviction of the Holy Spirit is not a feeling but an awareness, a certain knowledge, of "sin, righteousness and judgment" (
John 16:8) that moves a person
toward God in repentance, love and surrender.
I have read nearly the whole Bible for a year and I already know how you get saved thanks.
If I was confident that you did, I wouldn't have written what I did. But, if you are entirely familiar with all I've written, that's great! My purpose in writing was to do all I could to make sure you knew the way to escape God's condemnation and wrath and enjoy life with Him.
Maybe you need to ask questions before judging.
Well, this is a two-way street, isn't it? Aren't
you making assumptions about my motives and attitude, accusing me of judging and condemning you, when you haven't asked me what my motives and attitude actually are?
Anyway, my posts are of the "If the shoe fits, wear it" kind. They kind of have to be since I know next-to-nothing about you. And so, if my posts "fit" your circumstance, I hope you'll "try them on"; if they don't, just move on to "shoes" of advice that better fit your situation.
