Darksword2 also wrote;
“Well, scripture does say that "he who says he is without sin is a liar", and the apostle Paul said "I find no good thing in me"
To address the scripture in 1John1:
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The apostle John was dealing with a sect of Gnostics who believe they had never sinned from birth and they were holy already. He instructs them that confession of sin must be made before he can forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Paul found no good thing in him before he was ‘born again’- he found himself to be a great sinner, just as I had in my life.
Darksword2 continues;
“The author of this book seems to be arguing that unless we are ALREADY sinless and stay that way, Christ cannot dwell in us.”
This statement is a misconception of what I wrote. A sinner must clean their heart by confession, repentance and forsaking their life of sin before Christ will indwell them-Christ will not come and sit on a rubbish heap of un-confessed sin!
I have never said that I had never sinned from birth in my own life. On the contrary, I was an enormous sinner who committed many and numerous sins- I found myself to be utterly wicked before the Holy Lord. I was instructed (40 years ago), at a church service, that I needed to;
1. repent of ALL my sins, forsake my friends if they were going to continue in a sinful lifestyle and give my life completely unto the Lord, forever and not just for the summer to see if this ‘Christian’ thing really worked.
2. I was told that if I wasn’t sure I was going to repent of all my sin and turn from them and give all my heart unto the Lord, NOT to come forward during the alter call. Wow this made a huge impression upon me because the minister made it a HUGE decision not just some casual ‘come forward and accept Jesus’ to cover your bases-as not go to hell.
3. He also said that if I didn’t repent I would perish in Hell and be away from the Loving Christ forever. Wow again this truth stunned my heart. I didn’t want to be separated from the Lord forever. I already believed that He was good and loving and kind and I didn’t want be away from Him forever!
I didn’t go forward at the alter that night because I had to think about this decision-it was a huge decision, the biggest decision of my young life (then 16yrs old). For the next 2 weeks I was under tremendous conviction about my sins- my drinking, drugs, lies, stealing, etc. but was I going to repent and give this all up, including my friends, to have Jesus?
Well, I finally made the decision to repent of all my sin and forsake my friends and my life as I knew it, in order to have Christ forever. This was on a Wed. and on Sunday night I drove the 30 mile to this same church and went forward at the alter call. For 2 plus hours I was in the corner of the prayer room- all by myself before the Lord- repenting of all my sin- one at a time- and weeping and snot blowing. The Lord Himself came unto me and forgave me and washed me and cleansed me -and He has never left me!
I was totally ‘changed’, made new, made whole, forgiven, no longer condemned. I was in Love with the Lord in a deeply profound way because He is so loving and merciful! Since that night I have never desired to return to my sinful life or to add any new sins or to continue on in my own self-rule(considering the big mess-up I was before He came unto me I had no desire to return running my own life)-now He was in control, my guide, my friend, and the love of my life! Liberated from my own old life made anew in Him!
America needs this type of through instruction on how to be ‘born again’! We have preached a half-instruction, a half-truth, which has resulted in many partial births- or a false, incomplete conversion because a false and incomplete repentance(if any repentance is even required) has been preached. I’m only trying to correct this error and preach the true entrance instructions so others will repent and ‘know’ the Lord in this manner and be liberated fro the bondage of sin!
