The limitations of God- part two
Posted 08-08-2013 at 04:13 PM by Joint heir with jesus
4. HE CANNOT SAVE MEN OR WOMEN WHO CONTINUE TO FAIL TO MEET HIS CONDITIONS OR TERMS OF SALVATION.
Dozens and dozens of examples in scripture show that sin separates from God, and not just man. Long before man was created, Lucifer, God's annointed cherub, sinned against him. He let his beauty, power and authority go to his head. He became selfish and covetous. He wanted to rule the universe and replace God on His throne. He lead a rebellion of angels against God in an attempted coup. As a result of this sin God threw him out of heaven (Ezek 28:17). The angels, now fallen from grace were also cast out away from God (Rev. 12:34, Isa. 14:12-15). Later the first man and woman sinned against God's law and were expelled from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:22-24).
SIN AND INIQUITY:
At its simplest, sin can be defined as breaking any of God's laws. The Webster's dictionary defines iniquity as: wickedness; gross injustice. The gross injustice, I believe, could either be in God's eyes or toward other humans; both seem to apply here. Although we can attach a simple defination to sin, it can be a little more complicated that this. In the Old Testament, sinful Israel no doubt dreaded their future. Great numbers of deaths occurred as a direct result of sin. God had to make it clear that there was a big difference between sins of ignorance and presumptous sins. A sin of ignorance is an act of breaking the law without knowing that the law is being violated. A good example to show this brings the human age of accountablility into the picture. This is the age at which a human being becomes accountable for his/her sins in God's eyes. This age is different for each and every human being. As children we sin almost from the time we can talk and walk. Coveting toys then stealing them from other kids in the sandbox, fighting, lying to and disobeying our parents etc... These are all examples of sins of ignorance. At this young age children don't know this is wrong in their hearts. Parents begin to teach them right from wrong, acceptable social behavior, how to share and much more. God does not hold the child accountable for these sins because they don't know right from wrong, good from evil. (Side note: this behavior is a great example showing the selfish, sinful nature of man [albeit in children], on display at a very, very early age. It is a sub-conscious behavior and the child is not even aware of it!). God's mercy is on full display here, not holding the child accountable for these sins yet! God is working in the lives of humanity L-O-N-G before most of us realize it! This includes the non-believer also. However, at a certain point the child is mentally and emotionally mature and knowledgable of good and evil, right and wrong. At this point they are held accountable for their sins. It is the first and then every subsequent INTENTIONAL AND WILLING sin after this point that brings the penalty for sin upon us. These are presumptous sins committed wilfully, knowingly, and openly in defiance of the law. God's Word tells us that His laws were put into our hearts and written in our minds (Heb. 10:16). A fully aware and functioning person at some point knows that they are doing evil and WILLINGLY CHOOSING IT over good. We are choosing disobedience over obedience. According to the Dake Bible, the penalty for presumptuous sins was death, but there was mercy and forgiveness through atonement for sins of ignorance (Numbers 15:22-31). These sins were "covered" by the blood of an animal sacrifice, first called to our attention when God made clothing out of the skins of animals in Genesis to cover the naked bodies of Adam and Eve. Since it is unthinkable to speculate that God would skin these animals alive, we must come to the conclusion that He had to put them to death first, then remove the outer layer to provide for Adam and Eve. This was the first example of the need for a blood sacrifice for sin and set the stage for the need for a Messiah to come in the future; a Messiah who's blood sacrifice on the cross would not just cover sin, but forgive it completely.
Iniquity on the other hand means PERVERSENESS; to be bent or crooked; to be wrung, out of course. It comes from the Hebrew word, AVON. It signifies not merely that which is wrong, but the tendency to do wrong. This inclination lies in the desposition of and nature and not merely in an act of transgression of the law. It is nothing more or less than the spirit of and nature of the devil working in the children of disobedience. We can see by this a that at one time WE ALL WERE OR STILL ARE children of disobedience. This shows the need for repentance and salvation for all men everywhere.
God placed His laws within our hearts and a conscience within us to tell us when we sin; when we break God's laws. Additionally, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. God provided not one, not two, but three different ways for us to know, recognize and accept that we are all sinners. Everyone who ever lived has been provided this advantage because God cannot allow a sinful man to stand before Him on judgment day and legally claim, "I didn't know!" For these reasons God tells man that he is "without excuse" as to his sin nature, willingness to embrace, take pleasure in and commit sin and thus incur the penalties that sin and iniquity brings upon him. Again, sin separates the sinner from the creator. It has since the angels sinned, sinned the first man and woman sinned and continues today. It has not changed nor has the penalty for it.
We can see from scripture that having a sin nature is a problem with man. This is why God tells us to try to "be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). Now we know that this is next to impossible, but it can be done. The mature Christian who has total control over his/her mind, heart, flesh and deeds can live a sin free life. It is the goal we should all be striving for. Unfortunately, most of us will not attain this extremely lofty level. We must wait until we get our spiritual bodies and are free from sin and death. Take heart- that day is rapidly approaching brothers and sisters!! Until then we must take advantage of God's grace and mercy and use the plan of forgivness and salvation His has offered and provided. We see therefore that it is the act of sin which is the real problem. Committing sin causes God to literally "turn His face" away from us. Isaiah 59:1-2 tells us: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: V2- But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear." Biblically, turning ones's face from another is a symbol of rejection. God turning His face from sinful man implies a total shutting off of God toward His creation, man. He can't see us or the things we do. He can't hear us or the prayers we pray. HE CAN'T ACKNOWLEDGE US IN ANY AWAY!! This happens because of God's very Holy nature: God cannot abide sin (1 John 3:6). Logically it follows that if God cannot see or hear us He cannot answer us when we pray or ask for miracles because HE DID NOT HEAR US! All our prayers and begging and pleading go unheard because in the knowledge of God THEY DID NOT HAPPEN. ***EVERY HUMAN BEING ALIVE NEEDS TO KNOW AND ACCEPT THIS!*** Verse one makes it clear that otherwise, outside of sin, God saves (His hand is not shortened, that it cannot save) and hears us (neither is His ear heavy, that is cannot hear:...)
Much of humanity truly fails to understand just how severe sin is and how dire the effects and penalties of it are to man. Sin is spiritual death to you!
John 3:3- "Except a man be born-again he cannot see the kingdom of God." God yearns above ALL else that His creation man might be saved and blessed. God is in the saving business but it takes two to tango! He cannot save you unless you meet the conditions of salvation set forth by Him. The condition of salvation is Jesus Christ, histories only sinless man. God has given you all the information you need, but you must do the rest. You cannot be a by-stander in the salvation process- you must be an active participant! You must:
a. realize that you are a sinner
b. believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross to save you
c. repent of your sinful ways
d. accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior
It's not rocket science. God has made it as simple as it possibly can be! The rest is up to you. There is no salvation in just believing in God or attending church. If you are ready to trust your eternal soul to God right now, pray this prayer outloud:
"Jesus- I am a sinner. I need you to save me and wash me clean. Give me another chance in life Jesus. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. I turn away from my sinful life (repent). Come into my heart and save me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank-you for saving me! I am now born-again. In Jesus name, Amen!"
If you prayed that prayer and want to, email me:
hedyd4u@cox.net
For the Christian, all communication is restored when we are obedienct once again and call upon His grace and mercy. We do this by confessing our sins (specifially, not just saying I confess my sins God) and asking God to forgiven them. We are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and made righteous in Him once again. For the non-believer, non-saved, agnostic, atheist or member of a false religion, COMMUNICATION AND THE MAN/GOD RELATIONSHIP IS NEVER RESTORED. Period. As stated in the opening page, this is the number one reason people fail to believe God exists. They do not understand and don't take the time or make the effort to truly find out why. Many challenge Him over and over again, shake their fists in the air at Him, challenge Him to talk to them or defy Him to show Himself to them to prove He exists. It is their own continued sin and iniquity that prevents this from happening and limits God from responding to them. Consequently, they confirm to themselves that He does not exist or love or care about them or their lives.
5. HE CANNOT TURN YOU DOWN IF YOU COME TO HIM WHILE MEETING HIS CONDITIONS OR TERMS.
If you were the most vicious, most cruel, most cold hearted, worst human being on who ever lived on the face of the earth God could not reject your choice of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ as long as it was not a false repentance or belief. How many people dropped to therir knees and asked God for salvation just before they passed away, not truly believing or meaning it from their heart? Waiting until the last possible second out of desperation? The old saying is: there are no atheists in fox holes. God has made salvation one of the easiest things in the world to receive since the eternal destination of man's soul is at stake. He will never stamp "request denied" (Jn. 6:37) on the petition of the one who has truly repented and invited Jesus into his heart and life. Likewise, if you come to Him in unwaivering faith not praying amiss, He has no choice but to answer your prayers. No matter what the situation is, if you stay in a position where God can bless you and answer your prayers, He cannot turn you down under any circumstances! This is a great limitation of God for our benefit!
6. HE CANNOT FAIL TO ANSWER PRAYER WHEN IT IS PRAYED WITH UNWAIVERING FAITH.
Again faith appears in the condition, this time to answered prayer. The original Greek word appearing in the Bible for faith is "PISTIS", which means "CONFIDENCE, faithfulness, TRUST. It can and is translated BELIEF and also ASSURANCE. It is absolute confidence that God will answer your prayer! Since the creation of man, he has lived IN faith or OUTSIDE OF faith in God. In the Old Testament, examples of mankind using faith are attributed to: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Amram and Jochebed, Moses, Joshua, Rahab and on and on and on. Even God is spoken of as having AND USING faith (to create the "things which are seen"- Heb. 11:3 "from things which do not appear"). This means God used His faith to created every atom, molecule and substance which makes up the universe from His own faith imagination and mind. Before this, these physical elements did not exist.
John 14:12-15 tells us that if unwaivering faith is applied the Christian "shall do greater works" than those that Jesus did! These are the gifts of the Spirit as spoken of in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. It is believed that Jesus was endued with all the gifts of the Spirit together at once. When one prays in absolute unwaivering faith, God is compelled to answer this prayer, as long as it is in His will and does not contradict a spiritual law. The child of God is able to receive not only what he needs but also want he wants when prayer is offered with unwaivering faith under these circumstances! In Matthew 17:20, Jesus says, "...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you." This same example is also given in Mark and John for emphasis. Heb. 11:6- "...He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (in prayer)." James 1:5-8: "If any of you lack wisdom (in a given situation), let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth (scold, reproach, reprove severely) not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed (about)."For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord (praying in wavering faith). A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." It's God's deep desire to answer your prayers. In fact, He lives for this kind of thing! It's His good pleasure to give you the desires of your heart as long as they are prayed with unwaivering faith and are not prayed amiss. Answered pray by God glorifies God in showing humbleness and obedience on man's part.
7. HE CANNOT KEEP ONE SAVED WHO CONTINUES TO LIVE IN SIN.
This limitation puts to rest the "once a saved always saved" false doctrine. This is the law of sowing and reaping and is not flexible at this time in this age. Until after the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on earth, man is at risk of losing his salvation when he or she wilfully and intentionally reverts back into a LIFESTYLE of sin. This is called backsliding and is indeed Biblical! Once all sin and rebellion is driven from man, he will not be in jeopardy of losing his salvation. Romans 8:12-13 says, "Therefore, BRETHEREN, (Christian brothers) we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." V13- "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall DIE (spiritually); but if ye through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the (evil; sinful) deeds of the body, ye shall live." Pretty straighforward and clear what this means. Please don't be one of those who lie to themselves and believe you can live like hell and still go to heaven. It ain't gonna happen brothers and sisters! Galatians 5:19-21 verifies this with: "Now the works of the flesh are mainfest, which are these: Adultry, fornication, uncleaness, lasciviousness," V20- "Idolatry, witchraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies." V21- "Envyings, murders, drunkeness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you time past, that they which do such things SHAll NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD." These are sins which will damn the soul. Galatians goes on in chapter 6 and verses 7-8 to say, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." V8- "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the (Holy) Spirit reap life everlasting." This is a promise and a command of God to each of us, saved or not! Salvation is man's choice and his alone. We are also free not to choose it if that is what we truly desire. God will never interfere in our free-will or total freedom of choice.
8. HE CANNOT CANCEL THE PENALTY FOR SIN APART FROM ONE BEING IN AND STAYING IN JESUS CHRIST.
The unsaved person is not in Christ; nor is Christ in him or her at that time. For one to be in Christ and Christ in him, one must be born again through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Likewise, when a Christian backslides, he/she LEAVES God and goes back to their former master, Satan. Hand in hand with this, is Christ leaving them. Once again, they open themselves up to the penalty for sin. The wages of sin is (spiritual) death (Rom. 6:23). The only way to avoid this is to stay "in" Christ. Only those in Christ can hope to avoid hell. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to who ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" V17 "But God be thanked, that ye WERE the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered (to) you." V18 "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants to righteousness." The Bible tells us here that changes in obedience show changes in masters. Paul speaks of Christians who formerly WERE in bondage to sin, but who now are not. Verses 19-20 show that the master to whom we serve is an indicator of the nature of our obedience. V19- "I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servant to uncleaness and to iniquity into iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness." V20- "For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness (not in righteousness). V21- "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death." V22-" But now being made free from sin, ... and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." These verses show that the fruit that we produce is an indicator of our spiritual state and eternal destiny (Rom. 6:16-23). These verses show a good example of the "law of opposites" in effect. God's grace and mercy does multiple and glorious things for us but they have limitations. ***Backsliders live and operate outside of God's grace and mercy. The cancelation of the spiritual death penalty is conditional upon the Christian staying in Jesus Christ.***
9. HE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT ANY MAN OR WOMAN WILL CONTINUE TO BE IN JESUS CHRIST.
This limitation works in conjunction with the spiritual law of total freedom of choice in every area of your life, all your life. You may choose to revert back once again into the sinful state that you were in before your salvation (backslide). For the non-believer, unsaved, agnostic, atheist or member of a false religion, you are already in this state until you obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. John. 15:1-7: "I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." V2- '"Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more friut." Here we see the 2 kinds of branches of those in Christ. Verses 4-5 state the condition of fruit bearing: "Abide IN ME, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I AM the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." V6: "IF A MAN ABIDE NOT IN ME, HE IS CAST FORTH AS A (DEAD) BRANCH, AND IS WHITHERED; AND MEN GATHER THEM, AND CAST THEM INTO THE FIRE, AND THEY ARE BURNED. Dead, dried up wood is only useful as firewood. This also shows the condition of answered prayer (number 6, above)- that you continue to be in Christ. V7- "If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (or for) you."
10. HE CANNOT ELIMINATE WHAT IS REAPED FOR WHAT IS SOWN.
This is one of the most basic spiritual laws. In fact, it is the reason each and every human being needs forgiveness and salvation. This concept is universally accepted by nearly every religion on the face of the earth. Eastern philosophy calls it Karma. Romans 8:13 tells us "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die (spiritually): but if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Galatians 6:7-8 verify and confirm this also. On the flip side, when one reaps for the good one receives blessings for that reaping. This spiritual law and limitation is like a coin: it has two sides. You cannot hide forever from the justice of a life of sowing to evil. Sooner or later it will catch up and be administered back to you. If it does not happen in this life in the physical realm, it will in the next, in the spiritual realm. This can be good or bad news depending upon your relationship (or lack of one) to God. All will receive the wages and rewards they have coming to them; there is no escape from this spiritual law and God will not violate it, bend it, tweek it or make special exceptions for anyone. You receive what you give according to the law of sowing and reaping. This is an eternal law- it will never end or change. This was an indirect reference to the Old Testament "an eye for an eye." The Lord was giving us a "heads up" about the law of sowing and reaping...even thousands of years ago! What you receive within the law of sowing and reaping is a direct result of your own actions. Your actions are determined largely by your motives and the condition of your heart.
Dozens and dozens of examples in scripture show that sin separates from God, and not just man. Long before man was created, Lucifer, God's annointed cherub, sinned against him. He let his beauty, power and authority go to his head. He became selfish and covetous. He wanted to rule the universe and replace God on His throne. He lead a rebellion of angels against God in an attempted coup. As a result of this sin God threw him out of heaven (Ezek 28:17). The angels, now fallen from grace were also cast out away from God (Rev. 12:34, Isa. 14:12-15). Later the first man and woman sinned against God's law and were expelled from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:22-24).
SIN AND INIQUITY:
At its simplest, sin can be defined as breaking any of God's laws. The Webster's dictionary defines iniquity as: wickedness; gross injustice. The gross injustice, I believe, could either be in God's eyes or toward other humans; both seem to apply here. Although we can attach a simple defination to sin, it can be a little more complicated that this. In the Old Testament, sinful Israel no doubt dreaded their future. Great numbers of deaths occurred as a direct result of sin. God had to make it clear that there was a big difference between sins of ignorance and presumptous sins. A sin of ignorance is an act of breaking the law without knowing that the law is being violated. A good example to show this brings the human age of accountablility into the picture. This is the age at which a human being becomes accountable for his/her sins in God's eyes. This age is different for each and every human being. As children we sin almost from the time we can talk and walk. Coveting toys then stealing them from other kids in the sandbox, fighting, lying to and disobeying our parents etc... These are all examples of sins of ignorance. At this young age children don't know this is wrong in their hearts. Parents begin to teach them right from wrong, acceptable social behavior, how to share and much more. God does not hold the child accountable for these sins because they don't know right from wrong, good from evil. (Side note: this behavior is a great example showing the selfish, sinful nature of man [albeit in children], on display at a very, very early age. It is a sub-conscious behavior and the child is not even aware of it!). God's mercy is on full display here, not holding the child accountable for these sins yet! God is working in the lives of humanity L-O-N-G before most of us realize it! This includes the non-believer also. However, at a certain point the child is mentally and emotionally mature and knowledgable of good and evil, right and wrong. At this point they are held accountable for their sins. It is the first and then every subsequent INTENTIONAL AND WILLING sin after this point that brings the penalty for sin upon us. These are presumptous sins committed wilfully, knowingly, and openly in defiance of the law. God's Word tells us that His laws were put into our hearts and written in our minds (Heb. 10:16). A fully aware and functioning person at some point knows that they are doing evil and WILLINGLY CHOOSING IT over good. We are choosing disobedience over obedience. According to the Dake Bible, the penalty for presumptuous sins was death, but there was mercy and forgiveness through atonement for sins of ignorance (Numbers 15:22-31). These sins were "covered" by the blood of an animal sacrifice, first called to our attention when God made clothing out of the skins of animals in Genesis to cover the naked bodies of Adam and Eve. Since it is unthinkable to speculate that God would skin these animals alive, we must come to the conclusion that He had to put them to death first, then remove the outer layer to provide for Adam and Eve. This was the first example of the need for a blood sacrifice for sin and set the stage for the need for a Messiah to come in the future; a Messiah who's blood sacrifice on the cross would not just cover sin, but forgive it completely.
Iniquity on the other hand means PERVERSENESS; to be bent or crooked; to be wrung, out of course. It comes from the Hebrew word, AVON. It signifies not merely that which is wrong, but the tendency to do wrong. This inclination lies in the desposition of and nature and not merely in an act of transgression of the law. It is nothing more or less than the spirit of and nature of the devil working in the children of disobedience. We can see by this a that at one time WE ALL WERE OR STILL ARE children of disobedience. This shows the need for repentance and salvation for all men everywhere.
God placed His laws within our hearts and a conscience within us to tell us when we sin; when we break God's laws. Additionally, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. God provided not one, not two, but three different ways for us to know, recognize and accept that we are all sinners. Everyone who ever lived has been provided this advantage because God cannot allow a sinful man to stand before Him on judgment day and legally claim, "I didn't know!" For these reasons God tells man that he is "without excuse" as to his sin nature, willingness to embrace, take pleasure in and commit sin and thus incur the penalties that sin and iniquity brings upon him. Again, sin separates the sinner from the creator. It has since the angels sinned, sinned the first man and woman sinned and continues today. It has not changed nor has the penalty for it.
We can see from scripture that having a sin nature is a problem with man. This is why God tells us to try to "be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). Now we know that this is next to impossible, but it can be done. The mature Christian who has total control over his/her mind, heart, flesh and deeds can live a sin free life. It is the goal we should all be striving for. Unfortunately, most of us will not attain this extremely lofty level. We must wait until we get our spiritual bodies and are free from sin and death. Take heart- that day is rapidly approaching brothers and sisters!! Until then we must take advantage of God's grace and mercy and use the plan of forgivness and salvation His has offered and provided. We see therefore that it is the act of sin which is the real problem. Committing sin causes God to literally "turn His face" away from us. Isaiah 59:1-2 tells us: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: V2- But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear." Biblically, turning ones's face from another is a symbol of rejection. God turning His face from sinful man implies a total shutting off of God toward His creation, man. He can't see us or the things we do. He can't hear us or the prayers we pray. HE CAN'T ACKNOWLEDGE US IN ANY AWAY!! This happens because of God's very Holy nature: God cannot abide sin (1 John 3:6). Logically it follows that if God cannot see or hear us He cannot answer us when we pray or ask for miracles because HE DID NOT HEAR US! All our prayers and begging and pleading go unheard because in the knowledge of God THEY DID NOT HAPPEN. ***EVERY HUMAN BEING ALIVE NEEDS TO KNOW AND ACCEPT THIS!*** Verse one makes it clear that otherwise, outside of sin, God saves (His hand is not shortened, that it cannot save) and hears us (neither is His ear heavy, that is cannot hear:...)
Much of humanity truly fails to understand just how severe sin is and how dire the effects and penalties of it are to man. Sin is spiritual death to you!
John 3:3- "Except a man be born-again he cannot see the kingdom of God." God yearns above ALL else that His creation man might be saved and blessed. God is in the saving business but it takes two to tango! He cannot save you unless you meet the conditions of salvation set forth by Him. The condition of salvation is Jesus Christ, histories only sinless man. God has given you all the information you need, but you must do the rest. You cannot be a by-stander in the salvation process- you must be an active participant! You must:
a. realize that you are a sinner
b. believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross to save you
c. repent of your sinful ways
d. accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior
It's not rocket science. God has made it as simple as it possibly can be! The rest is up to you. There is no salvation in just believing in God or attending church. If you are ready to trust your eternal soul to God right now, pray this prayer outloud:
"Jesus- I am a sinner. I need you to save me and wash me clean. Give me another chance in life Jesus. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. I turn away from my sinful life (repent). Come into my heart and save me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank-you for saving me! I am now born-again. In Jesus name, Amen!"
If you prayed that prayer and want to, email me:
hedyd4u@cox.net
For the Christian, all communication is restored when we are obedienct once again and call upon His grace and mercy. We do this by confessing our sins (specifially, not just saying I confess my sins God) and asking God to forgiven them. We are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and made righteous in Him once again. For the non-believer, non-saved, agnostic, atheist or member of a false religion, COMMUNICATION AND THE MAN/GOD RELATIONSHIP IS NEVER RESTORED. Period. As stated in the opening page, this is the number one reason people fail to believe God exists. They do not understand and don't take the time or make the effort to truly find out why. Many challenge Him over and over again, shake their fists in the air at Him, challenge Him to talk to them or defy Him to show Himself to them to prove He exists. It is their own continued sin and iniquity that prevents this from happening and limits God from responding to them. Consequently, they confirm to themselves that He does not exist or love or care about them or their lives.
5. HE CANNOT TURN YOU DOWN IF YOU COME TO HIM WHILE MEETING HIS CONDITIONS OR TERMS.
If you were the most vicious, most cruel, most cold hearted, worst human being on who ever lived on the face of the earth God could not reject your choice of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ as long as it was not a false repentance or belief. How many people dropped to therir knees and asked God for salvation just before they passed away, not truly believing or meaning it from their heart? Waiting until the last possible second out of desperation? The old saying is: there are no atheists in fox holes. God has made salvation one of the easiest things in the world to receive since the eternal destination of man's soul is at stake. He will never stamp "request denied" (Jn. 6:37) on the petition of the one who has truly repented and invited Jesus into his heart and life. Likewise, if you come to Him in unwaivering faith not praying amiss, He has no choice but to answer your prayers. No matter what the situation is, if you stay in a position where God can bless you and answer your prayers, He cannot turn you down under any circumstances! This is a great limitation of God for our benefit!
6. HE CANNOT FAIL TO ANSWER PRAYER WHEN IT IS PRAYED WITH UNWAIVERING FAITH.
Again faith appears in the condition, this time to answered prayer. The original Greek word appearing in the Bible for faith is "PISTIS", which means "CONFIDENCE, faithfulness, TRUST. It can and is translated BELIEF and also ASSURANCE. It is absolute confidence that God will answer your prayer! Since the creation of man, he has lived IN faith or OUTSIDE OF faith in God. In the Old Testament, examples of mankind using faith are attributed to: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Amram and Jochebed, Moses, Joshua, Rahab and on and on and on. Even God is spoken of as having AND USING faith (to create the "things which are seen"- Heb. 11:3 "from things which do not appear"). This means God used His faith to created every atom, molecule and substance which makes up the universe from His own faith imagination and mind. Before this, these physical elements did not exist.
John 14:12-15 tells us that if unwaivering faith is applied the Christian "shall do greater works" than those that Jesus did! These are the gifts of the Spirit as spoken of in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. It is believed that Jesus was endued with all the gifts of the Spirit together at once. When one prays in absolute unwaivering faith, God is compelled to answer this prayer, as long as it is in His will and does not contradict a spiritual law. The child of God is able to receive not only what he needs but also want he wants when prayer is offered with unwaivering faith under these circumstances! In Matthew 17:20, Jesus says, "...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you." This same example is also given in Mark and John for emphasis. Heb. 11:6- "...He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (in prayer)." James 1:5-8: "If any of you lack wisdom (in a given situation), let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth (scold, reproach, reprove severely) not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed (about)."For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord (praying in wavering faith). A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." It's God's deep desire to answer your prayers. In fact, He lives for this kind of thing! It's His good pleasure to give you the desires of your heart as long as they are prayed with unwaivering faith and are not prayed amiss. Answered pray by God glorifies God in showing humbleness and obedience on man's part.
7. HE CANNOT KEEP ONE SAVED WHO CONTINUES TO LIVE IN SIN.
This limitation puts to rest the "once a saved always saved" false doctrine. This is the law of sowing and reaping and is not flexible at this time in this age. Until after the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on earth, man is at risk of losing his salvation when he or she wilfully and intentionally reverts back into a LIFESTYLE of sin. This is called backsliding and is indeed Biblical! Once all sin and rebellion is driven from man, he will not be in jeopardy of losing his salvation. Romans 8:12-13 says, "Therefore, BRETHEREN, (Christian brothers) we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." V13- "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall DIE (spiritually); but if ye through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the (evil; sinful) deeds of the body, ye shall live." Pretty straighforward and clear what this means. Please don't be one of those who lie to themselves and believe you can live like hell and still go to heaven. It ain't gonna happen brothers and sisters! Galatians 5:19-21 verifies this with: "Now the works of the flesh are mainfest, which are these: Adultry, fornication, uncleaness, lasciviousness," V20- "Idolatry, witchraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies." V21- "Envyings, murders, drunkeness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you time past, that they which do such things SHAll NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD." These are sins which will damn the soul. Galatians goes on in chapter 6 and verses 7-8 to say, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." V8- "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the (Holy) Spirit reap life everlasting." This is a promise and a command of God to each of us, saved or not! Salvation is man's choice and his alone. We are also free not to choose it if that is what we truly desire. God will never interfere in our free-will or total freedom of choice.
8. HE CANNOT CANCEL THE PENALTY FOR SIN APART FROM ONE BEING IN AND STAYING IN JESUS CHRIST.
The unsaved person is not in Christ; nor is Christ in him or her at that time. For one to be in Christ and Christ in him, one must be born again through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Likewise, when a Christian backslides, he/she LEAVES God and goes back to their former master, Satan. Hand in hand with this, is Christ leaving them. Once again, they open themselves up to the penalty for sin. The wages of sin is (spiritual) death (Rom. 6:23). The only way to avoid this is to stay "in" Christ. Only those in Christ can hope to avoid hell. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to who ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" V17 "But God be thanked, that ye WERE the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered (to) you." V18 "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants to righteousness." The Bible tells us here that changes in obedience show changes in masters. Paul speaks of Christians who formerly WERE in bondage to sin, but who now are not. Verses 19-20 show that the master to whom we serve is an indicator of the nature of our obedience. V19- "I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servant to uncleaness and to iniquity into iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness." V20- "For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness (not in righteousness). V21- "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death." V22-" But now being made free from sin, ... and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." These verses show that the fruit that we produce is an indicator of our spiritual state and eternal destiny (Rom. 6:16-23). These verses show a good example of the "law of opposites" in effect. God's grace and mercy does multiple and glorious things for us but they have limitations. ***Backsliders live and operate outside of God's grace and mercy. The cancelation of the spiritual death penalty is conditional upon the Christian staying in Jesus Christ.***
9. HE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT ANY MAN OR WOMAN WILL CONTINUE TO BE IN JESUS CHRIST.
This limitation works in conjunction with the spiritual law of total freedom of choice in every area of your life, all your life. You may choose to revert back once again into the sinful state that you were in before your salvation (backslide). For the non-believer, unsaved, agnostic, atheist or member of a false religion, you are already in this state until you obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. John. 15:1-7: "I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." V2- '"Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more friut." Here we see the 2 kinds of branches of those in Christ. Verses 4-5 state the condition of fruit bearing: "Abide IN ME, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I AM the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." V6: "IF A MAN ABIDE NOT IN ME, HE IS CAST FORTH AS A (DEAD) BRANCH, AND IS WHITHERED; AND MEN GATHER THEM, AND CAST THEM INTO THE FIRE, AND THEY ARE BURNED. Dead, dried up wood is only useful as firewood. This also shows the condition of answered prayer (number 6, above)- that you continue to be in Christ. V7- "If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (or for) you."
10. HE CANNOT ELIMINATE WHAT IS REAPED FOR WHAT IS SOWN.
This is one of the most basic spiritual laws. In fact, it is the reason each and every human being needs forgiveness and salvation. This concept is universally accepted by nearly every religion on the face of the earth. Eastern philosophy calls it Karma. Romans 8:13 tells us "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die (spiritually): but if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Galatians 6:7-8 verify and confirm this also. On the flip side, when one reaps for the good one receives blessings for that reaping. This spiritual law and limitation is like a coin: it has two sides. You cannot hide forever from the justice of a life of sowing to evil. Sooner or later it will catch up and be administered back to you. If it does not happen in this life in the physical realm, it will in the next, in the spiritual realm. This can be good or bad news depending upon your relationship (or lack of one) to God. All will receive the wages and rewards they have coming to them; there is no escape from this spiritual law and God will not violate it, bend it, tweek it or make special exceptions for anyone. You receive what you give according to the law of sowing and reaping. This is an eternal law- it will never end or change. This was an indirect reference to the Old Testament "an eye for an eye." The Lord was giving us a "heads up" about the law of sowing and reaping...even thousands of years ago! What you receive within the law of sowing and reaping is a direct result of your own actions. Your actions are determined largely by your motives and the condition of your heart.
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