What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning...

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning...

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning... (Roman 6:1- 4)

This week I was watching a podcast ( http://www.realfusion.com ) that was discussing obedience. 2 Timothy 2:22 says "Flee the evil desires of youth." That is the part I always remember. They pointed out that it goes on to say "and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

If we are to put away old things and take on a new life in Christ, should we be running or moving toward a better goal with determination?

What are the 'evil desires of youth'?

Some thoughts...
Ron
 
Yes

I have been studying this very subject for many hours, im sure this is heading to a debate with all the calvinists out there but I will give a SUMMARY of what I feel the scriptures are saying. I feel that Jesus told us many times in a round about way that MAKING AN EFFORT to "put away the old deeds", "repenting", "keep the commandments" are directly tied into whether or not you truly believe and love him. It will begin as a concious effort on your part to begin to start "turning away" from these things. It will ONLY be by the power of the Holy Spirit that you will begin to start finding that you are starting to overcome some of these things at least to a point where you can begin to say that you are "turning away". That is why they say this is a lifelong process, and you must "take up your cross daily" because you will more than likely find yourself fighting with your "old nature" for the rest of your life. It is always there, waiting to creep up on you when you least expect it. That's also why it is important to stay in the word and prayer and fellowship with other believers as much as possible. I believe it is possible to believe and fall away, and not just to a point where you say "they were never truly a believer", as the calvinists will tell you. And im not just basing that conclusion on Hebrew 6:4-6 either, there is PLENTY of scripture to support this. Did anyone ever stop and think that maybe there are 2 different situations that the Bible is talking about? The possibility that there will be those who "fall away" and never really believed, and those that did believe but for some reason or another they turned their back on the Lord? Look at Revelation 3:5 where it clearly states "I will never blot out his name", your name would have to be in there in order to be blotted out, right?? We are not born with our name in the Book of Life, are we? And notice in that scripture, that it refers to "enduring to the end", not making one proclamation of faith that you were "elected" to do before the begining of the Earth, right? To close, I would like to say that yes we should make an effort to put away our old nature, ask the Lord to help us through his holy spirit and do the best we can to live for him, you cant go wrong by doing that.
 
I am glad you brought this up, Ron.

Sin is a inevitable part of our lives - at least, that's how it is in the status quo.

But that's not how it has to be in the future.

That is why it is my belief that we should make all sin a criminal offense, punishable by fines and imprisonment.

As long as society allows the "evil desires of youth to exist," they will. Social engineering is necessary to implement Jesus' vision of a Heaven On Earth that will free all of us from sin and desire.
 
Who do you think should the judge in determining what sin is? Man or God?

Man. Specifically, a Christian Ethics Police Force under the jurisdiction of Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Hasn't God already engineered such implementation?

No. Jesus gave us life when he sacrificed himself on the cross, but it was not His intention for us to sit idly by when sin presents itself. If we view sin as inescapable, then we will sin. Only by state enforcement of God's law can we truly suppress the forces of greed and violence.
 
Um...are we talking about establishing a theocrisy in the U.S.? It's fine to say let's make a country run by a Christian government, but what if another religion did the same. Wait, other religions HAVE done the same, even Christianity has done it. Didn't work well in Jesus' time, didn't work well during the crusades. Corrupt people always seek power, and choosing leaders that know how to play the game and then relegating divine judgement to them is a very dangerous game.
 
Who do you think should the judge in determining what sin is? Man or God?

In keeping with scripture... YHVH gave us His Holy Law, and this was to be enforced through the judges and elders. Paul speaks on this a few times in his Letters though. In such he says to be right mindedly, "judges" who are able to discern sin, and rebuke when needed.

Question is, do we see this in the Brit Chadasha (New Testament) or not? We certainly see an example of the Apostles judging the Jews, and we see ourselves judging angels and whatnot.

It's all a shallow concept though, if no one is willing to accept judgement here on earth. *shrug*

But yes, the Apostles continually tell us to conform our ways, and to seek out the righteous path. Key word: "Seek", not "Let it come to you".


Shalom
 
God moves kings and rulers to his will this is evidenced all thru the scriptures. It is unfortunate but Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars. It is a terrible thing to have to go to war but it is sometimes necessary. It is a well known fact that Hitler could have been stopped easily when he invaded Poland - that could have saved tens of millions of lives. I don't like seeing our young people going overseas but it is a sad fact that radical muslims are killing people on every part of the globe. It is also a fact that they have been attacking the US for years blowing up embassies, attacking ships and blowing up the World Trade Center twice.It is a fact that more people are being martyred for Christ now then ever in history and that mostly by Muslims. These people are bent on world domination and I don't want to live in a country dominated by these vicious thugs and I don't think you would like it either. Do I like it- no, do I think it has to be done yes. We are dealing with very dangerous people who have no aparent respect for thier own loves or the lives of others. Proud of all of this no it grieves my spirit but it does seem like it has to be done.
 
It's all a shallow concept though, if no one is willing to accept judgement here on earth.

I accept righteous judgement, I have no problem with that.
It makes you grow in your Christian life. Some people don't, that's where pride takes over.

Many pastors are under authority of others and are judged righteously by others to see if they perform well in their ministry based on scripture. That's how the church operates.

People not accepting righteous judgement are in for problems. We are all in this together with one master: Jesus Christ. And He is the final judge.

The Bible has a lot to say about "pride" and the word "fall" is connected to it.

I hope this helps, and correct me if I'm wrong.:)
 
God moves kings and rulers to his will this is evidenced all thru the scriptures. It is unfortunate but Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars. It is a terrible thing to have to go to war but it is sometimes necessary. It is a well known fact that Hitler could have been stopped easily when he invaded Poland - that could have saved tens of millions of lives. I don't like seeing our young people going overseas but it is a sad fact that radical muslims are killing people on every part of the globe. It is also a fact that they have been attacking the US for years blowing up embassies, attacking ships and blowing up the World Trade Center twice.It is a fact that more people are being martyred for Christ now then ever in history and that mostly by Muslims. These people are bent on world domination and I don't want to live in a country dominated by these vicious thugs and I don't think you would like it either. Do I like it- no, do I think it has to be done yes. We are dealing with very dangerous people who have no aparent respect for thier own loves or the lives of others. Proud of all of this no it grieves my spirit but it does seem like it has to be done.

Amen, brother.
I'm with you.
 
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