reply to post by Dustytoad
The truth in the doctrine is this.
We are all born sinners; there is nothing we can do to change this. Because of this we will all fall, commit sin deserving of death. And indeed we do
die, spiritually. Most religious people agree that the innocence of youth is why children can often appear closer to God than adults. It is not
until a child becomes willfully disobedient to the law of love that they fall. And Jesus tells us we must become like the children to enter heaven.
We may, especially as children sin without realizing it, or because we reacted without thinking first. This sin is not counted against us the same
and does not necessarily lead to death. Adam and Eve may have done many things that we would consider sin but they only did one willfully disobedient
act. This is the act that leads to death.
We were made to eat from the tree of KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD & EVIL. When you sin you are typically hurting others and causing them pain that you can see.
It is when we understand this and continue to deliberately sin that we fall. I imagine the age for everyone is a little different, but I think
around 4-5 years old is when most children will begin their struggle with sin.
As we go through our adolescence we justify our sins. And how easy it is when literally everyone is doing it. At some point most if not all of us
begin to see the harm we have committed in this world and guilt and fear enter our lives. The bible says woe to the one who sins come through, funny
thing is that would be woe to all of us. But many people justify their sin and judge and condemn others, especially those who call themselves
Christians but do not follow Christ. We fear because we know that we deserve death. This is what we were born to do.
The fundamentalist who teach the law have basically nullified the effect that Christ can have in one's life. I love Mormon's they are some of the
nicest people I meet. But they live their lives by a set of rules trying to earn heaven on merit. The bible says that it is Grace alone that saves a
man. Since we know that we were born to fall and that only Grace can save a man we can see that it is impossible, by design, for us to earn heaven by
obeying rules.
The problem is most churches stop teaching at Grace. Thus sending its audience back into the real world in no better shape than they walked in the
door. Does this sound like what was happening in acts? Do you think the apostles asked the people in the crowd to raise their hand if they believe?
Or patted themselves on the back because they had a good number of hands raised?
The truth is although we were born to fall we were also born to be risen. We fall as physical bodies and rise as spiritual bodies. We cannot
overcome sin on our own. By design, without help from the Holy Spirit we will continue to be a slave, addict, to sin. This is why Paul says we are
not to judge those outside the church. It is not possible for them to live life without sin. The world is full of miserably depressed, violent
people. But they refuse to acknowledge the truth that God is judging them, TODAY.
One must truly repent, this means to be utterly disgusted with the sin they have committed in their lives and commit to living a life for Christ.
Christ left us basically one command, love your brother. This is where Christianity fails miserably in my opinion. The church is constantly using
the term brother to only relate to fellow believers. The parable of the Good Samaritan should be enough to dispel this myth.
Jesus says there is only ONE FATHER and we are all brothers. Jesus calls the Pharisees sons of the Devil not because they were not created by the
same God but simply because they have chosen to ignore his commands and follow the commands of Satan. You see Pharisees were blameless under the law
but they failed to love. Instead they believed they had obtained a certain righteousness thus condemning those who were law breakers. Sound like any
Christians you know?
I know for me conversion did not come at first when I repented. Instead I continued doing the things that I knew I shouldn't be doing. Sin was an
addiction that I could not get free from, but I kept reading in the bible that anyone born again does not sin. I believed God and wanted that for my
life. I even prayed that if it was impossible for me to stop sinning that I would rather be in hell because I was tired fighting against God. This
is when the conversion came.
You see I gave my whole life to God that day. I did not want to fight against him and knew that I was not strong enough on my own. This is when I
was born again; understand that I was incapable of eliminating sin from my life. This is what it means that you are saved by Grace and not acts. If
it was possible for me to become free from sin on my own, Christ died on the Cross for nothing and Grace has no value. But I wasn't, and this is
where Grace comes in. Being filled with the Holy Spirit brings life to my body and gives me the strength to overcome sin. I have been sealed with
the promise of eternal life and I have a helper that guides me to understand how to love.
Free will, sin, pain that we cause and receive as we learn, Grace, Salvation. The greatest Jigsaw puzzle ever created. We are all pieces in that
puzzle fit perfectly together so that our transgressions can be judged righteously and that we may all learn to love one another. This is my way of
understanding free will, election, the body of Christ. Concepts that are too spiritual to fully understand. God placed us in the exact right place
at the exact right time for us to experience exactly what we were supposed to. Yes we have free will but he knows what we will choose before we
choose. Thus he is capable of putting the puzzle together perfectly.
There are only 2 things that I think I have left for you but want to know if you're interested. First I can answer any questions you have about this
post. Second if you are willing to read Roman's I will give you a very basic study guide. With the help of my guide and the guidance of the Holy
Spirit I believe that what I am saying will make even more since to you.
edit on 6-12-2012 by sacgamer25 because: (no reason given)
