I seem to come up with very differing ideas or examples than most, but here goes anyway.
I feel our walk with God is like a marriage. You loved your wife or husband, when you got married. If one of you get upset or angry with the other, does this mean you are no longer married? If one or the other commits adultry, does this mean you are no longer married? Of course in todays society many would just get a divorce. God does not divorce us.
Put this in a family setting, can a son or daughter ever not be a son or daughter? Jesus uses the story of the prodical son to emphasis this. Even when the son was sowing his wild oats he was still a son.
Once we become a child of God, we are always a child of God from that time forward. Hence Paul spends a great deal of time instructing us on the grace of God. Why then would he make the profound statement, "what shall we continue in sin that grace may abound, God forbid". Paul goes on to say in a later chapter "they that walk after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that walk after the spirit do mind the things of the spirit".
The fact is not anyone that is walking after the spirit can commit sin. It was a favorite expression my pastor used in my youth, " It is harder to live a life of sin than it is to live for God" I have found in my life that is a true saying. One does not just fall into sin or accidently sin when one is walking after the spirit. There is a detailed process, as James states " Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
This brings us the question, can one become lost after one is saved? This must be followed by the question, do we have the right to judge if one is saved or not? This is where we get ourselves in trouble, we have the tendancy to look on the outside, with our list of what we concider right and wrong. The fact is God knows the heart, he looks on the inside.
Lets take one example, church attendance, because we have one verse in the whole bible that says "forsake not the assmebling" we feel we have the right to say, If you miss church your sinning and on your way to hell. Many quote the next verse in
Heb. 10 "for if we sin willfuly" and reference the church attendance, but never go to the preceding verse that says, "that we are to provoke unto love and good works" This is what Paul is refering to when he says sin wilfuly, not church attendance.
Is it any wonder so many leave our churchs when all we do is harp on the non essencials as to how long a womens hair is to be or how long her dress should be. We think if we don't tell a women not to run around in a bikini she is going to go run around town in a bikini.
It seems to me we just don't think the Holy Ghost is as powerful as we think it is.
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