"Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
Everyone who resides in him does not sin;
everyone who sins has neither seen Jesus nor known Jesus." 1 John 3:5-6
No Charlie, I am not a sinner. I was set free a long time ago when I surrender everything to the Holy Spirit's control. The Holy Spirit, that I have given control of my life, and keeping the helmet of salvation, which is the Word of God, keeps me free from rebellion and disobedience (sin). It is exciting, in some ways, to live under the direction of the Holy Spirit and see the fruit of obedience to His control. In other ways, like seeing people suffering because of choices they make, cause it to be rather painful.
Thank you for question regarding sin. As for the remainder of your questions you would have to read and understand the lengthy posts. I really do not desire you to reply to with opinions, but to compare your beliefs to the scriptures that I give you.
The following is another lengthy post. It is an explanation to you, of my comparison of you and Judas. It is also an attempt to help those that had a problem with the rebuke understand my thinking, if they wish to know.
Your lack of desire to read and understand the Scriptures would be comparable to the quote from A.W. Tozer below referring to Judas. He spent a lot of time with Jesus, as did Peter, but Judas did not understand Jesus.
May God have mercy and forgive you for your choices. I know that you believe that He already has.
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The following is an explanation or reason for my use of Judas as a reference example.
I do not believe that anyone really thinks about who or what Judas was except that he betrayed Jesus; the worst mistake he ever made.
What type of person or character would he have had in order to fit in with the other eleven men? Pretty much, one would think, that he would have resembled the rest in every way.
We know that he did everything that all that the rest of the disciples did when Jesus allowed them to experience the power of the Holy Spirit. The all were able to deliver hurting people from evil, both physical, mental and spiritual. He would have experienced the same excitement at seeing sickness and demons yield to the name of Jesus. Judas spent the same amount of time with Jesus as the rest.
He is often pictured as shifty eyed, angry, demonic, etc. Is that not a better way to deceive people into believeing that is only that type of people that are going to eternal torment?
Do you really believe that is the way the hurting would have pictured him after they were healed or delivered by his touch or words?
The poor man that received a gift of money from him could not have seen him as most artists want to picture him. No, I do not believe Judas was an evil or wicked man, just an occasional sinner who's weakness was getting money the easiest way available; of course intending most of the money for the best of uses of caring for the underprivileged.
A.W. Tozer is quoted as saying that "Judas Iscariot was not a greatly wicked person, just a common money-lover, and like most money-lovers, he did not understand Christ."
I would add, just an individual that did mostly good, but getting splashed with mud occasionally, when he carelessly walked through a mud puddle. I do not think that Judas was what most people today would call a sinner or evil person. Rather, I believe that he would have been honored for his walk with Jesus!
Judas was one of the 12 apostles that were trained and sent out by Jesus, but he had a little character flaw, by today's standards. He had a taste for money that encouraged him to lack the complete integrity he should have had with their communal funds.
Having yield to temptation at other times, regarding the funds that he was responsible for, it is possible that it made him a better, potential, tool for Satan, in a one time, bigger play, for easy money.
Could he get money from the Pharisees at their expense? The Pharisees were the bad guys anyhow, and he had seen Jesus walk away from a previous attempt of theirs, to kill Him. Why not make some money the next time that they tried to take Jesus.
Could Satan have planted the idea that he could lead the Pharisees to Jesus, collect the money, and that Jesus would walk away, from them, as He had on that other occasion? If so, he would have seen no problem when he greeted Jesus with the kiss of friendship as he betrayed Him. He could have seen Jesus as part of the plan to make money.
What a shock it was when Jesus did not walk away from the soldiers!! Judas had meant no harm, it was just a little scheme. Surely Jesus already knew about it! Why did he not slip out of their hands and walk away into the night as He was supposed to do? Was Judas convinced that he was really doing good? The money was for the good of everyone, it could be given to help the poor.
As Peter had operated under the influence of Satan, to discourage Jesus from going to the cross, why not Judas, under the influence of Satan, believe that there would be no way that Jesus would allow Himself to be captured, to be killed?
We know his remorse and devastation when he learned about his mistake and the truth of what was going to happen. Judas did everything that came to his mind to make restitution. Finding that this was not working he did the final selfish act; he ended his life, thinking that was the easiest way out, rather than repentance and facing Jesus and the others, as Peter did.
Once Satan can get you to believe a little lie, you are caught in a web that leads to death, unless you humble your self and come face to face with Truth in sincere repentance.
How does that apply to you, Charlie? We had communicated for some time under a forum that Kevin B had started. I came to realize that you had no desire to read, study the Bible or the Scriptures that I was sharing with you. It would take a miricale to revel truth to your heart.
I believe that like Judas you had no thought of what you were doing in commenting, here, in a forum that was about a Tozer devotional that talked about dealing with Truth and those that hate Truth.
I was being put to the test in reference to the devotional. According to popular opinion I would have failed that test, but no one picked up on that. They were to busy agreeing with your error and what I had to say about it. It is also possible that no one really understood or even read the devotional.
Here is what Tozer said, "Wherever and whenever truth gets itself incarnated in a man, that man is sure to become the target for every kind of opposition from the casual barbed insult of a professed friend to the carefully prepared campaign of the avowed enemy. The problem this creates for the man of truth is how to accept these attacks in the spirit of charity, how to keep cool and patient when all his old natural reflexes urge him to strike back with every weapon at his command."
I had not noticed this part of Tozer's devotional until the day I felt to write to you about Judas.
Was what I wrote to you a strike-back at your thoughtless, innocent comments regarding casual sinning? ...or... Was what I wrote a sober and serious warning from the Holy Spirit against the false ideas, on sin, that you are spreading to the world? I will personally leave that decision in the hands of the Judge.
If the scripture that was given to me by Godly people in the days following my post was any indication for being right or wrong; I would say what I wrote to you was a very sober and serious wake-up call. Those individuals had absolutely no idea what I was dealing with on the web or in my mind.
I know that the vast majority of the church world of today, believe and teach what you share and believe. The deception has been around for a very long time. It started in the garden of Eden. "Surely you wont die!"
What I wrote, previously, was mainly for those that support and applaud the belief that we can never be delivered from sin. It really has its roots in the spirit of anti-Christ. Being against the truth of who Jesus was and is, and His real intimate relationship to the Father. That He was and is our example to follow in order to live with Him for eternity.
I considered you a friend, from our private sharing, that needs to be warned along with the multitudes of other deceived believers.
The Truth is hidden in the Bible, if you are willing to dig it out and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you. (Jesus said that is why He spoke in parables.)
The choice of who or what you believe is up to each individual. The Bible says that those who gain the Kingdom must take it by force, that is to say, with a serious passion.
I hope that this gives you a better understanding of why I referred to Judas, in connection with what you did.
People that believe they must continue in sin, little or big, after accepting Christ as their deliverer, are fulfilling what Paul said to Timothy regarding the last days.
"For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God."
"They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these."
Repudiated (1. cast off 2. Refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid.) its power!
Power... (the word used here comes from G1410; meaning to be able or possible);Power means, force; specifically miraculous power.
What greater miraculous power could there be, but to be, set free from the power of sin, willfully choosing to become slaves of righteousness, as Paul taught.
Choose you this day who you will serve! You can not have or serve two masters!
You can not live in darkness and light at the same time! One condition or the other is true in every human being. The Holy Spirit is in absolute control or the flesh and selfishness is in control.
Tim