Stopping the Sin

The Great Dilemma in the Present Day Church is at WHAT Point does the sin have to Stop in order for real Salvation to take place. Must it Stop Before Pardon can be granted or after, or does it NEVER Stop? Unanimously the Church Preaches that God ‘Saves you in your sins and Cleans you up later.’ BUT the actual Stopping of sin remains in question. If the Person Cannot of his own power stop sinning when he comes to God, WHY is he STILL unable to Stop After Salvation has supposedly taken place? Since Everyone will agree that NO ONE EVER Stops sinning.

Any Suggestion that the Person can indeed Stop the evil of his doings BEFORE Pardon can be granted is Automatically equivalent to ‘Saving yourself’ and no longer Needing Jesus. Therefore Repentance is a Confession that you are a sinner, unable to prepare yourself and call upon God and you merely come to Him DOING NOTHING but Seeking His forgiveness and Mercy as the Remedy for your sin. The reason for this is that you are Born a Sinner, morally depraved by nature, unable within yourself to do anything leading to your salvation. Until God by His Grace liberates your free will in order for you to Repent and Believe. Therefore Christ doesn’t have anything to do necessarily with you Stopping any particular sin at initial conversion, only Providing His Remedy for your ‘Sinfulness’ in order for you to be forgiven and have your moral imperfections Covered by His Blood.

Here is the Doctrinal Statement of Wesleyan Theology:

We believe that man's creation in Godlikeness included ability to choose
between right and wrong, and that thus he was made morally responsible; that
through the fall of Adam he became depraved so that he cannot now turn and
prepare himself by his own natural strength and works to faith and calling
upon God. But we also believe that the grace of God through Jesus Christ is
freely bestowed upon all men, enabling all who will to turn from sin to
righteousness, believe on Jesus Christ for pardon and cleansing from sin,
and follow good works pleasing and acceptable in His sight. We believe that
man, though in the possession of the experience of regeneration and entire
sanctification, may fall from grace and apostatize and, unless he repent of
his sin, be hopelessly and eternally lost.

The Major Problem with all of this, is that it is IN REVERSE of the SCRIPTURE! In the Bible Repentance CEARLY means a STOPPING of sin BEFORE Pardon can be Granted. Note the following:

Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. Isa55:7

Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; then the

LORD will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. Jer26:13

A CLEARING of the Wrong Doing MUST take Place BEFORE God can abundantly pardon or relent from His Wrath. This follows throughout Scripture without exception. The Message of the Bible ASSUMES that man is FULLY CAPABLE of Obeying God and DOING what God has said to Do, namely Repent, STOP what your doing, and SEEK My Mercy! All the Prophets Preached in this Manner as did the Apostles in the Book of Acts. Again, Let’s See what the Bible has to Say:

Jonah 3:5-10

So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying,  Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.  Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”

Here is a Clear Cut Case of the Preaching of Repentance and the Manner in which the Mercy of God is Dispensed on the people. NO ONE assumed that their Stopping meant anything more than the POSSIBILITY of God sparing them from destruction. They DID NOT Need some Special Grace or even the Holy Spirit to Come in and reveal to them the evil of their Doings. They Knew ALREADY they were in the wrong by the VERY Fact Jonah came preaching to them to Repent. The Prophet told them the Consequences of their actions and gave them the way of escape through repentance.

This should settle all the arguments anyone may have about Repentance, but the church ignores it and CONTINUES to Preach COME IN YOUR SINS! They Insist that you Must have the Holy Spirit’s Presence to reveal the error of your ways, bestowed through some Special Operation of Grace BEFORE you can turn to God and Believe. And if you were able to STOP Sinning (as the people of Nineveh did) you would NOT Need Jesus because you could Save yourself. They just Can’t seem to Connect the Dots.

The Entire Fallacy of Coming in your sins is Based on being Born a Sinner. Therefore man is not responsible for his sin, but only Receiving Jesus as the remedy for it. Then as the Holy Spirit liberates his free will and reveals wrong doings to him he becomes responsible to forsake those things as a Christian. That’s why NO ONE Preaches against or about sin or sinful behavior in the church because it’s the Holy Spirits Job to clean the people up, not the preachers responsibility to point anything out. This Mission of the church is to compel people to ‘Receive’ Jesus, not Seek a Clearing of Wrong Doing. So Real Repentance NEVER takes place.

Why is sin Committed in the dark or covered by lies? The Bible Says that men love darkness rather than light because their Deeds are evil. (Jh3:20-21) They Know adultery is wrong, if they didn’t why lie to cover their tracts? The Holy Spirit doesn’t have to indwell them BEFORE they are aware these things are evil in the sight of God and must be abandon. That’s why the ONLY Way Real Conversion has any Possibility of taking place is through the preaching of Repentance and faith PROVEN BY DEEDS! Man ALREADY Knows he is Responsible for his sins, his own conscience either accuses or excuses him.

The PROBLEM is when the Church gets into the Mix and Convinces them they can be SAVED in spite of what they DO! Once a person buys into the Big Lie of being born a sinner they can no longer be conceived of the Possibility of stopping sinning. It is simply a foregone conclusion of the Message that you Come to God in your sins, therefore He cannot possibly hold you accountable for continuing in them since they were  NEVER your fault to begin with! Man’s Accountability begins and ends with ‘Receiving Jesus’ as his Remedy.  NO ONE is able to Say that the Sin has to STOP because they hold firmly to the Doctrine of Man Born into sin. No Matter how good they can make it sound or how much they can back it up with Scripture, the Bottom Line remains. You CANNOT Stop (or even have the possibility of stopping) UNTIL He saves you, fills you with His Spirit and Works the sin out of you by process.

Here’s a Perfect example of what I mean, Written by a Holiness Preacher who believes you can lose your salvation by sinning:

“He takes a work of salvation in the soul to cease from sin. God gives us that power when we are saved. Prior to getting saved, one is under conviction and will bring forth fruits meet (or fit) for repentance, meaning they will be trying to stop some things as much as they can, and discontinue going to places they know are wrong.”

Notice that is has an element of Truth to it and speaks of the Power of God, Conviction and Fruits. All Scriptural terms. It seems to fit into the Common Salvation experience people are having in the churches. But he is extremely Careful to point out and ‘strongly suggest’ that the person CANNOT STOP doing what is wrong until God comes in and helps him. (this is the common type answer from pastors)

Now using your own sense of reason and understanding, DOES THIS Match what happened in Nineveh? Were the People UNABLE to Stop the evil of their doings until God Saved them or Did they Do it BEFORE anything happened?

Did anyone in Nineveh ASSUME that their Stopping of sin meant they no longer needed God’s Mercy extended to them? Or Did they Obey the Command to Repent, Come before God, PRESUMING NOTHING, and Seeking His Mercy! Unless you’re Blind, the answer is obvious.

WHY then Does EVERYONE THINK it happens in REVERSE? It HAS TO BE because of the Presupposition that Man is Born a Sinner and CAN’T Stop Sinning! So back to our question:

“When Does the Sin have to Stop?”

Answer: “NEVER!”  

What This Means:

You asked: “If a person is a child molester does he have to stop molesting children in order to receive Jesus?”

My answer:  Absolutely not. A person does not need to stop anything, start anything, or do anything at all to have God or Jesus in their life.  It is just the opposite.  Rather than stopping molesting in order to receive Jesus, it is receiving Jesus in order to stop molesting.

To answer your question...  I think you can ask Jesus into your heart while still engaging in behavior that does not honor the love of Christ.

"Do we have to stop sinning to be loved by God?"  I think not.  I am always going to be sinning. 

So the answer is yes, a child molester can be forgiven without doing anything

The truth is, a person does not have to stop his sin

Being saved does not depend on a person stopping all willful sin. 

God does not expect us to stop sinning first, and then seek salvation

Second, God does expect us to stop sinning after we are saved. 

These Pastors were Honest about what they believe. Most try to conceal it behind a lot of fluff and make sound as though they are not in favor of sin. But there are no Exceptions. NONE of them will Say outright and plainly the Sin has to Stop. At best they may say you must be ‘Willing’ to stop, have a ‘Desire’ to stop, even ‘Hate’ the sin, but NEVER ACTUALLY Stop!

Think about it:
The Man Committing Adultery on his wife Seeks her forgiveness while still attached to the other woman!

The Thief is Granted forgiveness for his crime WITHOUT returning what he has Stolen!

The Liar is Granted Pardon for his lies Without telling the Truth!

And the Fornicator is Spirit Filled and Forgiven BEFORE he Returns to Chastity.

All this Because of the Fallacy that Man is Born a Sinner and the Delusion is so Strong that it’s inconceivable for Anyone in the Church System to Think Otherwise! They ALL Believe God has SAVED them IN THEIR SINS and that NO ONE EVER Stops Sinning. (including as you see, flagrant sins of the flesh) But the Real Human Tragedy of this entire Mess is that These People REALLY DO THINK they are going to heaven when they Die! And NOTHING you can Say to them or Show them in the Bible Can persuade them otherwise.

“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” Rev22:11

When Does the SIn Stop?

Is there any sin you must stop doing to be Saved? ALL the Pastors say an emphatic NO! ONLY the Sin of ‘Unbelief’ will exclude you from the Kingdom of Heaven. Basically what is being taught today as Salvation according to the Gospel of Christ is you get Saved as a poor helpless sinner, filled with the Holy Spirit and then God will magically empower you to ‘begin’ overcoming your vile habits over a period of time. Consequently you get ‘saved in your sins’ and then you repent. That’s how the process supposedly works.

However this method has some Serious flaws. First of all, the Sin NEVER Stops. The so-called ‘Saved’ Person continues to Struggle with all the same sins he allegedly repented of at the start. He is still ‘WAITING’ on God to change his desires and take away the vile habits. The Pastors keep telling him he is Saved and filled with the Spirit

and that God will soon ‘empower’ him to overcome the sin. He should remain in his focus group and not worry about the things he has no ability to control. The Problem: His bondage keeps getting worse!

In his Study group he is told that according to the Bible he was born a wretched sinner, guilty of Adams transgression and is hopelessly in bondage to an ‘inbred’ Nature of Depravity. At best all he can expect to be in this World is the Chief of Sinners fully Wretched to the core. Although the Power of God is hypothetically Working to deliver him from his sin. Soon he will begin to Blame God for his constant faults and the lack of success in overcoming them. Since he has been told also that continuously admitting he is poor wretched sinner keeps him humble, he has no Clue that he is growing more and more callus in his Rebellion.

The Message is very Confusing and Contradictory. On one hand the Pastors are saying that a Saved person cannot be living in continual sin. But on the other they assure you that ‘some’ deeply engrained sins are difficult to root out. Although you certainly Remained Saved in the meantime, even if such a sin is as vile as Molestation. The Logical Conclusion: The Commission of sin (any sin) is between the Person and God and Clean up is on God’s timetable. The final outcome of Salvation is Secure in Christ so the person must continue to Trust that God is faithful no matter what happens in his flesh.

What is so Perplexing about their Message is Some of them teach that Repentance is a Fruit of Salvation. You Get Saved and then repent. But others (many others!) don’t even mention Repentance. It’s not even a Mandate for Salvation! Therefore the Biblical Process of Godly Sorrow working Repentance UNTO Salvation is null and void.

They either have it in Reverse or Not at all. Nonetheless EVERYONE teaches that its God’s Responsibility to Clean you up according to His schedule, hence the Professing Masses are Wallowing in their sin while they wait for some Divine guidance to miraculously straighten them out. Although it NEVER happens.

Why is God so limited in His Power that all He can do is Cover man’s sin and Pretend He can only see the Perfection of His Son? The Bible says that He has given us all things that Pertain to Life and Godliness and that we are Partakers of His Divine Nature in order to escape the Corruption that is in the world through lust! (2Pet1:3-4) It also States that we can do ALL THINGS through Christ who Strengthens us. (Phil4:13) And the Same Power that Raised Christ from the Dead is at Work in us! (Eph1:19-20) So What’s the Problem? WHY (under their message) do people remain wretched sinners forever in bondage to lust? Would God intentionally limit Himself in dealing with man? If it’s His Job to Clean man up, Why doesn’t it ever seem to happen?

The answer is very simple. It’s NOT His Job to change man’s Desires from evil to good! In Repentance you Cease to do Evil and Learn to do Good. (Isa1:16) You Forsake your evil ways and unrighteous thoughts. (Isa55:7) You lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted Word that is able to Save your soul! (Js1:21) The Clearing of Wrong Doing is your Part. Granting forgiveness is God’s. (2Cor7:10-11) Unless man gets Clear of his sin in Repentance, it will NEVER Stop. Think about it! People Stop their vile habits all the time. They break free of alcohol, drugs, various addictions. (Without God!) Man is perfectly capable of Doing what is Right. It may not be easy, but NO one can deny that it has been done.

But you MUST Understand, Stopping your sin (or addiction) DOES NOT automatically restore you to favor with anyone. It only PROVES that you are making a sincere & Diligent effort to Change. As in the case of Adultery. Abandoning the adulterous relationship will not automatically reconcile the broken marriage relationship. It only Proves your remorse and sorrow for causing the separation. The offended party must be motivated by the effort made to Freely Grant forgiveness and restore the relationship.

God has Granted Man the Grace of Repentance PROVEN by DEEDS, to Forgive his sins and Restore him to a Right and Clean Relationship, Washed & Purged by the Blood of Christ. Man is Free to Choose, which makes him responsible to Obey. (Josh24:15) We are Workers Together with God in the Process of Redemption. (2Cor6:1) The Pastors have fallen prey to a Deadly Error by insisting man must be Saved in his sins. Flee them if you Can!

Have all Sinned?

‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ Rom3:23

This is the Stronghold of the Born in Sin Doctrine. All mankind at birth are guilty of Adam’s sin and stand condemned before God. BUT is this what the Writer intended to convey? Massive evidence reveals clearly that no one in early times believed in any kind of ‘Original Sin’ doctrine or that man could inherit the guilt of another. They believed that Sin is a Choice people make of their own free will. So why have ‘all sinned’?

First the entire Bible no where states that Adams sin has been passed down to all mankind. In fact it states the VERY opposite: Ezk18:20,’The son Shall NOT bare the guilt of the father’ But some have injected a fallacy into Rom5:12 and insist that ‘all sinned in Adam’. By this logic we must then conclude further that ‘in Christ’ ALL are made Righteous. (Rom5:17-18) If Adam made everyone a sinner, then Christ has made everyone Righteous!

Certainly no one would agree with such a notion, therefore to prevent this Universal Salvation of all mankind they invented the Doctrine of Election. Therefore ‘all’ means only the Elect. So in this instance all doesn’t mean all.

The Same holds true of such passages as 1Tim2:4 & 2Pet3:9, ‘God is not willing nay perish but that ALL come to repentance and be saved’. But again, not all are saved, only the elect. You begin to see how this fallacy works. Rom3:23 encompasses ALL mankind, not because they have sinned (Rom5:12) BUT because Adam sinned. Therefore none are righteous. They must be Saved in their sins, declared Right and Covered by Grace. The Package in a Nut Shell. Confess, Believe and Trust…..and DON’T ask any more questions.

In Reality Romans 3, like Jeremiah 17 is speaking about rebellious people who have rejected God, NOT Desperately wicked Believers or even ALL of mankind! The Writer is saying that all these wicked people are sinners and their only hope is to Repent and turn to God. He is referring to ‘all who have sinned’, NOT everyone on earth. Rom5:12.

Romans 3:10-18 is taken from several Old Testament passages. The ‘None’ Righteous is speaking of the folly of Godless people rejecting truth. Read the Passages! Psalm 14 & 53 Begins: “The FOOL has said in his heart there is no God!’ Declaring there is no Just man on earth who does good, Ecc7:20 is contrasted with the Just Righteous man! Ecc7:15. ECC Chapter 7 concludes that God made man UPRIGHT, but he has sought out many schemes!

Psalm 5 is again contrasting the Righteous with the Wicked. Ps40, ‘The Poison of asps’ is NOT speaking about all of mankind! But Wicked men who pursue the Righteous. Ps10 is much the same, speaking of Triumph over evil. The mouth full of curing and deceit is the wicked man boasting against God. Ps36 ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes’ is describing Wicked men who despise God. And the Isaiah 59 reference is CLEARLY the Prophets warning against the overwhelming iniquity of people wallowing in their sins.

NONE of these Passages is inclusive of ALL Mankind! Man is NOT Born guilty of Adams sin. Righteous people exist and have existed on Earth and the Bible PROVES it! Certainly they are among the very FEW, but we cannot deny the fact that Scripture declares them Right. The Parents of John the Baptist, Zacharias and Elizabeth, Lk1:6, are said to be: ‘Both Righteous before God, Walking in all the Commandments & Ordinances, Blameless!’ Can we still call them ‘Sinners saved by Grace?’ If so, where is their transgression recorded?  Simeon and Anna also, Lk2:25-38, were in Service to God and spoke by the Holy Spirit. CLEAN Vessels fit for the Master’s use! (2Tim2:20-21) Noah, Daniel and Job were delivered from Judgment by their own Righteousness! Ezk14:14.

Enoch Walked with God and the Lord took him, Gen5:24. Noah is declared PERFECT in his generation. Gen6:9

There is no record of Joseph sinning or Samuel and many other Prophets. Even Abel obtained witness from God that he was Righteous in his obedience.

In order to Receive this Truth you MUST reject your Reformed Theology that implies by Conjecture that all these people were poor helpless sinners who found Grace in the eyes of God and ‘declared’ righteous in their sins. However you would be opposing the Master Himself who Declared in Luke15:7, ‘that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents that over ninety nine JUST persons WHO NEED NO REPENTANCE!’ WHY would our Lord say this if Such people DID Not exit? Surly in the Mind of God He would know all those who DO What is Right! 1John3:7. We know that the God Does not hear Sinners, John9:31. Therefore we find even a Gentile in Right Standing, diligently seeking after God and said to be JUST, Acts10:2, 22. The Condition stands firm (if you will accept it) ‘Every Nation whoever fears Him and WORKS Righteousness is Accepted by Him!’ Acts10:35.

WHY is this True? BECAUSE he who DOES what is Right is Righteous! (1Jh3:7) Man is Created by God FREE with Ability to Obey or Disobey. If he chooses to Sin he receives the Penalty of spiritual death (separation from God) Physical Death all Mankind has inherited from Adam, but Sin is a Personal CHOICE and once committed demands a Wage, Rom6:23. You Cannot be Reconciled in your sin by merely returning to Obedience. You must be Ransomed from the Bondage you have sold yourself into and ONLY the Blood of Christ can perform that task! Heb9:14. Restored you can Now Walk Upright with the Just Doing what is Right.

How Will they Hear!

“How shall they hear without a Preacher!?” Rom10:14

The Message of Repentance and Faith Proven by Deeds is all but lost to our Present Generation. Even the few who still mention the need for repentance do so amid a minutia of fallacies and mixed Doctrine. So for the most part the Genuine message goes unheard. Therefore the Spirit Cannot Convict and Convince the World of Sin, Righteousness and Judgment to Come. Rather the spirit of error rules the day, and the Eyes of the Understanding remain Closed to the truth.

Among the Professing System true Spiritual Discernment Does NOT exist! The spirit of error can then lead them on every wild goose chase under the Sun and they THINK its God showing them special signs and wonders. They go from Delusion to More Delusion. Reasoning from the Word of Truth is foolishness to them and their understanding of good vs evil is off skew. Consequently the Light in them is Darkness and they will not Yield to the Truth. The Strongholds remain, arguments are not cast down and vain thoughts are paramount.

When the Wall is Empty, or only sparely occupied, the enemy can infiltrate the camp. If the Supposed Watchmen are off chasing the Winds of Doctrine WHO will Warn the people? The Savage Wolves come in undetected and more false teachers rise up from among yourselves to draw away disciples after their vain imaginations. The Pastors and Teachers have no Sense of Urgency or spiritual Discipline to keep the Message on track. They WILL NOT offend or make anyone feel uncomfortable in their sins. It’s Peace, Peace when there is no Peace! The people trust in their lying words and are confident that all is well with God.

There’s Over Ten Million Ministries, Churches, Sub-Ministries, Bible Schools, publishing houses, Missionary outreaches, and other Christian related organizations on the World Wide Web preaching the ‘Saved in Sin’ Message! Combine that with a Church on every corner in every town in America, spreading the soft-sell Message across the seas to the far corners of the Earth, and you have an innumerable amount of people bewitched under Satan’s magnificent illusion. Envision if you can how FEW have actually ever heard the real Message of Repentance. Most of the Planet is ignorant of this Truth! So what is the Likelihood of them Repenting according to the Scriptures? (Zero!) 

Those who have actually heard the word ‘Repent’ in their religious jargon, are in the Repeat after me crowd and imagine themselves Saved in sin. Their Christianity is expressed as the ‘Chief’ of Sinners and ‘Wretched man’ plagued with a vile dual nature that causes them from birth to continue in their wrong doings. Many others are continually told that Repentance is never a mandate for Salvation. That its ‘Faith alone’ that saves them and as long as they are ‘Trusting’ in Jesus as their full Provision and Substitution they are forever secure in the arms of God. It’s an atmosphere of celebration and festivity where everyone is enjoying the ride while they feast on their abundance oblivious to the approaching whirlwind coming to take them away.

WHO, Claiming to be awake, can Standby in the face of this onslaught and Do NOTHING to expose it? HOW can you be lead by the Spirit of Truth and Cast dispersions on those in the Fight? Don’t you realize that your lack of urgency is an offense to God? Our efforts are like a drop of water in a bucket while you stand aloof of the False Prophets of Doom spreading their lies. Is it enough in your mind to write this off as fanaticism and just ‘love them’; Or will you at last Swallow your Pride and advance toward the sound of the guns?  Its time to stop being concerned about what you might lose in the way of worldly endeavors by joining the fight and start counting the cost of your failure to get involved. Is it really of no consequence on your part to remain cold and complacent, lacking any real diligence toward these things? What would it take to motivate you OUT of that slough of despond?

Without a Preacher of Truth MOST of the world is Doomed. Satan already has his Army of false teachers in place and is adding to it daily. The people are memorized by the pomp and circumstance of the hirelings with their great swelling worlds of emptiness that promise liberty in sin. Our Weapons are mighty in God, yes, But we can only do so much. The battle needs to be joined, an offensive launched! If you Love the Truth then FIGHT to keep it Pure! The last thing we need at this point is more dissension in the ranks. It’s not obnoxious to Contend for the Faith. By everyone speaking the Same thing it will have a greater impact. But you MUST be Mature in the Faith, not a child!

The Truths Concerning Repentance and Faith are at the core of the Gospel Message. True Salvation Cannot take place unless man is first Convicted of Sin, Righteousness and Judgment and then gets himself Clear of his wrong doings. It’s Godly Sorrow that leads to Repentance UNTO Salvation! The ‘Church’ World has this in Reverse or not at all. Our entire society is in Crisis Mode and time is running out. Can you afford to keep a low profile while the dam is bursting and the flood waters approach? We ALL Stand before His Judgment Seat to give an account. What will your excuse be then?

Those who Endure!

He who Endures to the End shall be saved! Matt10:22

Why do so Few endure fighting the Good fight of Faith? Aside from those who are supposedly saved inside the System and remain in bondage to their sin and disobedient to God. The Real question is focused on those WHO came into Christ through Genuine Repentance and Faith Proven by Deeds; and then grow complacent toward the things of God.

Truly they have been Partakers of the Holy Spirit and Tasted the Good Word of God and the Powers of the age to come.

So why do they grow weary in well doing and lose heart?

The Word had indeed taken Root in them and produced a crop. The evidence is clear in most cases. But somewhere along the line their perception of spiritual matters went askew. They become indifferent to the Word and no longer Dig Deep into the treasure trough of Truth. As a result their perception of Good and Evil is off center. Compromise is inevitable. Soon they are no longer Standing fast in One Spirit, with one Mind, Striving together for the faith of the Gospel. (Phil1:27) Instead they are Striving about words, methods and objectives. Accord is broken as their hearts refuse to yield to the Word of God.

Sin may or may not be the issue involved here. Many get themselves wrapped up in the world by degree and fail to recognize the damage it is doing to their Spiritual well-being. The enemy is ‘Rationalization’. They convince themselves that by showing love or patience to everyone, minus the contention, it will strike a balance more acceptable to the Nature of God. But lacking real discernment is the critical matter. Surly people have gone to extremes on both sides of this dilemma. We’ve all seen the over zealous miss-guided people flying in the face of everyone with stinging rebukes and mean spirited insults. And at the same time we are all aware of the common presentation of the ‘Love Gospel’, Repeat after me crowd who run around with John3:16 banners. But BOTH sides are wrong and surly NOT in the Spirit. Yet we Cannot ignore the Commands of Scripture to favor our own opinions in all this.

Contending earnestly for the Faith (Jude4) is equally as important as Faith Working by Love! We may not all be exactly the same in our approach to this, but unless we are Striving together with that One Mind in the faith we are Certainly NOT going to be on the same page in any of our endeavors. Further, complacency will make you resentful toward those who are Striving, You will see their admonishments for Unity as a demand instead of a Challenge to get back on track. Because of this flawed perception your heart will wax cold toward fellow brethren. The deeper you descend into spiritual insensitivity the more these matters will stir your ire and the closer you will be to giving up entirely.

What leads to this state of affairs? Simply LACK of Diligent Study and focus on the things of God. But the process is very subtle and you will hardly notice it unless you’re in a fervent Spiritual environment. Most easily fall prey to that ‘form of godliness with no power’ when they neglect the weighty matters of life. Study may indeed continue, but it’s shallow, only touching the surface issues. Pulling Down Strongholds and casting down arguments is out of the question because your own obedience is NOT fulfilled! (2Cor10:4-5) As a result any admonishments against complacency irritate you like someone dragging their finger nails across a chalk board. You begin to form a mental image in your mind of more ‘committed’ brethren as harsh and intolerant. Rather than their devotion to God calling you to a deeper commitment it fosters further aversion toward imitating their enthusiasm.

It’s easy to criticize someone in the arena taking the arrows and making an effort to get the Truth out. Zeal is often misconstrued as too extreme. Christ and His Disciples were habitually misunderstood because they were too Narrow for the religious System. But the naysayers are always in the majority and they incessantly have a better way of doing things in their minds. (although they are NEVER actually doing it!) They will be quick to tell you what you’re doing wrong. Perhaps this stems from an over estimation of their own spirituality. The Shallow inevitably compare themselves among themselves due to their lack of discernment. If they ever realized how far off the Path they are it could very well open their eyes again to the Truth.

This goes far beyond a weakness of faith or infirmity toward temptations. You Can’t drink Milk forever! There comes a time to Grow up. The Race is set before you. It’s your personal responsibility to Work out your Salvation and Make your calling Sure. God can’t do it for you. If you are lead by the Spirit then WALK in the Spirit! Your lack of diligence is an offense to God. Your with Him or against Him, there’s no halfway point. You fail to endure, grounded, steadfast and immovable, you lose it all. The

Narrow Way

is a difficult and solitary Walk. Truth will Never be in fashion. The Worldly will hate you, especially the religious systems. Try to win their approval with passive submission and you may as well join them. They relish acts of charity but they despise contention.  The worst thing you can do is convince yourself that their ‘good works’ have some kind of merit in God’s Kingdom. If you’re not willing to stand aloof of their Systems and endure the displeasure of family and friends, you’ll Never understand those who ARE Doing it, and you will learn to resent the Truth! Remember: ‘The Wisdom from Above is WILLING to YIELD’, will you?