Fast from wrong thinking day 22

[Prudent1]

Revolution Day 22: "If I can just stop sinning, I'll be holy and pleasing to God."

Today we’re fasting from the thought that says, “If I can just stop sinning, I’ll be holy and pleasing to God.” While it’s better not to sin (amen!), the thinking that holiness is obtained by our sinlessness, is wrong thinking.

Let’s Change It Today.

1. Re-define the correct meaning of ‘holiness’. Holy doesn’t mean ‘detaching’ from all that is bad. It means ‘attaching’ to the LOVE of GOD. ​

2. Remember Adam & Eve. As long as they fellowshipped with God in the garden, they didn’t ‘sin’. It was only when they separated themselves that temptation had its power. (Genesis 3:1-8)

3. Expect to taste God’s goodness. (Psalm 34:8) Once you drink from the cup of His goodness, you’ll no longer hold your cup up to the bitter fancies of sin.

4. Reverse this thinking. When you are pleasing to God, sin loses its power. And God is pleased by your faith. (Hebrews 11:6)

5. BeBELIEVING! The sin that leads to other sins is the sin of ‘not believing what God says or what God has done’. (John 16:9) When you believe Him, you please Him, even with your flaws.

6. Accept the gift of righteousness. When you awake to it, that produces power over sin. (1 Corinthians 15:34)​

Think It & Say It:
I attach myself to the love of God, and therefore I am walking in true holiness. Attachment to Him repels sin and temptation from me. I expect to taste God’s goodness, and lose my appetite for sin. I believe what God has done and what He says, and that is holy & pleasing to Him. I am the righteousness of God through the blood of Jesus!​

 

[Poohbear]

I have been struggling with this thought for quite some time. I have seen, heard, read, and studied so much going back and forth with these two ideas:

1. Christians can never stop sinning, whether it's daily, every now and then, the same sin over and over, etc. They must continuously confess and repent of sins by asking for God's forgiveness.

2. True Christians no longer commit sin. They have completely repented from all sins, died to sin, resist the flesh, and alive in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

I still do not know. I feel like suffering for Christ means resisting the temptation to sin, which is what our flesh desires. It's a constant battle and if we are completely abiding in Christ, wouldn't we choose not to sin?

And I cannot get around this verse in the Bible:

1 John 3:9-10 says "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."

 

[sidney]

I have been struggling with this thought for quite some time. I have seen, heard, read, and studied so much going back and forth with these two ideas:

1. Christians can never stop sinning, whether it's daily, every now and then, the same sin over and over, etc. They must continuously confess and repent of sins by asking for God's forgiveness.

2. True Christians no longer commit sin. They have completely repented from all sins, died to sin, resist the flesh, and alive in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

I still do not know. I feel like suffering for Christ means resisting the temptation to sin, which is what our flesh desires. It's a constant battle and if we are completely abiding in Christ, wouldn't we choose not to sin?

And I cannot get around this verse in the Bible:

1 John 3:9-10 says "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."

Hi Pooh! Here's another translation.
1 John 3:9 (New International Version)

9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.


The life of a christian is not marked by a pattern of CONTINUAL sin. If you are truly converted, you will be uncomfortable in your sin and eventually changes will be made because the holy spirit will convict you. This is not to include the small lie you told yesterday. Now we may become dulled to sin when we continue to expose ourselves to it and deceive ourselves, but if you are truly converted God won't allow this to go on indefinintely because his word says that "he who began a good work in you will complete it." Phillipians 1:6.

 

[sidney]

^^^Above I'm talking about telling a lie, once in a while, versus lying everyday and even planning to do so. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Poohbear]

But if you really look at it, what's the true difference in telling a lie once a year versus lying everyday?

What's difference between "does not sin" and "will not continue to sin"? Same for "cannot sin" vs. "cannot go on sinning"? It's all sin no matter how frequent and no matter what sin it is.

Let's take a fornicator (someone who has sex outside of marriage). The person know it's wrong and even feels bad, remorseful, and sorry when he or she does this sin, but continues to do this sin after asking God to forgive them and help to stop fornicating. Maybe not fornicate everyday, but maybe every other day or weekly, or monthly. Are they truly abiding in Christ even if they read their Bible, pray, and do typical "Christ-like" activities? Are they truly converted and saved?