Just believing God, God considers you righteous

[rosered]

When it comes to God , fear of the Lord is  what all need to realize    ,  GOD IS THE ONLY ONE who can do anything about our situation 

  Two things happen one or the other    ,  you begin  to seek God  , or you do not 
   When you seek God be careful what you wish for /desire  , lust after .....

God may give you  your hearts desire  and that will be the very thing that does destroy you ,,    here we see an excellent example    the children of the wilderness

   For me  only and this is just my opinion , acting outside of Gods will is dangerous  ,    the two that lied against the HOLY SPIRIT   excellent example


Even Jesus Christ   when facing death  asked for this cup to pass   from him , and yet God was silent ... in that hour ...

But Jesus   always did the right thing and said , not my will  but yours be Done ....   excellent  example   for us  when asking God for anything ..GOD KNOWS

that is total   commitment , trust and faith and   obedience   to the max , I mean death  is the ultimate   end in the mortal    concept of this life ... and  gave  up  His Spirit   as an offering     to God , to give to the world  as a gift of Himself ..  unto your power /hands I commit /commend  my Spirit ...  though he was doing the spiritual works  still being in the flesh and blood as an example of the Spirit   working of God in mankind ..
commend

to place beside or near or set before

food, i.e. food placed on a table

to set before (one) in teaching

to set forth (from one's self), to explain

to place down (from one's self or for one's self) with any one

to deposit

to intrust, commit to one's charge

Jesus is the most perfect example   we have   there is no error in Him , and so,, there is no excuse   ...

Like the children of the wilderness  had ignorance  //darkness

   What man does now is try to Quinch the Spirit    !  and put the fire and Light out   ,   because  lawlessness abounds the love of many   become  cold
 
  But Jesus said of the last DAY   Church   , I want you either  hot or cold   ,both  still workable and teachable     , the lukewarm   and puke warm     state is    a rejected   condition  of no use in Gods  will  they become complacent and satisfied with what they have ..


They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul" (Psalms 106:13-15).


"Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; and by His power He brought in the south wind. He also rained meat on them like the dust, feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; and He let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them their own desire.


They were not deprived of their craving; but while their food was still in their mouths, the wrath of God came against them, and slew the stoutest of them, and struck down the choice men of Israel. In spite of this they still sinned, and did not believe in His wondrous works" (Psalms 78:25-32).

[Seth]

Amen to both posts John an Rose, I think it's good that we have agreed that salvation is multi layered. For my part I understand that salvation from guilt for previous sins requires no works, because if you believe in Jesus, those past sins are forgiven by God, creating a clean slate to build upon. I need to take that into account when discussing salvation. When it comes to salvation from sin in action, I believe the NT heavily testifies that works are intrinsic and even common sense. Salvation is a many layered thing.

[rosered]

  I always remember   Seth  the parable of considering the costs     of building on the foundation   of Jesus Christ

  I agree Shelia sees the end    result of those    whom were fitted for destruction   will also have eternal life  and I agree with her ,  because of What Jesus done   




   But in the here and now  , it does make a difference in how we build   to follow Jesus
  For me this is the running the race Paul speaks of also       

The Cost of Being Jesus' Follower
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and said to them,


26 "If anyone comes to me but ·does not hate [or loves more than me;  Jesus is using hyperbole to emphasize his point] his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—or even ·life [life itself; or his own life]—he cannot be my ·follower [disciple].

27 Whoever ·is not willing to [ does not] carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my ·follower [disciple].


28 ·If you want [L For which of you who wants...?] to build a tower, you first sit down and ·decide [calculate; figure out] how much it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job.


29 If you don't, you might lay the foundation, but you would not be able to finish. Then all who would see it would ·make fun of [mock; ridicule] you, 30 saying, 'This person began to build but was not able to finish.'

31 "If a king is going to ·fight [meet in battle; wage war against] another king, first ·he will [L will he not...?] sit down and plan. He will decide if he and his ten thousand soldiers can ·defeat [L engage/meet in battle] the other king who has twenty thousand soldiers. 32 If he can't, then while the other king is still far away, he will send ·some people [an embassy; a messenger] to speak to him and ask for [terms of] peace.

33 In the same way, you must give up everything you have to be my ·follower [disciple].

  I believe the   ruling and reigning with Christ is now as from now on , no end in sight      , not in the  next age and believe this is also Sheila's point too

  and will all have the same  in Christ   , being the Lord of the dead and living      Romans 14

5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. 7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall give praise to God."
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

We will surrender to Christ  but yet give   praise and account to God     of what was given to you in the first place by His Holy Spirit , to me this says a lot   in a of itself     the WORD OF GOD judges us   all  , as idle words  spoken or  Word of truth       , this is our own accountability     before Him
   and to those whom  nothing  was given  they have no    accountability  before God   but do receive the free gift of  Life   by Jesus  Christ doings they will love and praise God    for this  ,  and those whom   so much was given   have much to be  responsible for     , Paul gives good reason to prove this   by His own confession

as the race   to finish  the work  even Jesus cried out it is finished on the cross  as to His work  , we  have a work  if elected to do so      , just as the prophets were called in the days of darkness   as a star or light  in the    ignorance of mankind     to Gods plan , Jesus being the LIGHT OF THE WORLD   is   how the Light would brighten  even brighter    and brighter     and never go out        ...



13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.

14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.


15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;

17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.


18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.


19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.


20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food.


All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.


21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.


22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God.

Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.


23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin./error in judgment or opinion


  and for me trying to conform   others to our judgment and opinion is what  puts that very stumbling block of offense in the way  ,    that does not make  for peace but divisions       
  being religion       and not in the same SPIRIT AND TRUTH the Father seeks those to worship Him in         which really is LOVE  and forgiveness on all   whom come to Christ ...
Just  my faith  here and  belief
  May God bless  everyone as He does  and has been all along by His amazing grace ...





 

[Seth]

I do agree to a point, but I do want to point out that Paul is talking about meat there, not child molestation. He wasn't saying that child molestation is clean, just not profitable. He was talking about things which are not inherently sinful. Sin is lawlessness, and under the new covenant we have two commandments, believe in Jesus and love eachother. By that we can discern what is clean and what is not. My opinion.

[Seth]

My quick thought on Romans 7:

Romans 7 = no salvation from the body of this death under the Law

Romans 8 = salvation from death by walking according to the Spirit

The Law is good but cannot save us from sin.

[sheila]

 personal expierence.  brother-in-law molested my little grand-daughter under the age of 5 and it was not

known. Seven years later had a family cookout and said brother-in-law attended.  ps brother-n-law

believed in Jesus..but was not strong..I had tried to share the salvation of all with him..and he didn't accept it


   he went online and got  preaching license.

   at the cookout..my daughter..who had recently come to know of the molestation..prayed to God..and asked

  Him if that was really what He wanted..for her and daughter to act like nothing happened and cover it over.

..she was struggling with her knowledge of what had occurred.  He had a heart attack that night at my

cookout and died the next day.

    I found out about the molestation 3 months later when my grand-daughter was hospitalized with mental

  problems and become severely ill.   I couldn't hardly be around my sister at that time. I had been asked to

keep it quiet by my grand-daughter. My sister kept coming over with pictures of her new grandbaby...

named after 'him' and just the mention of his name made me want to puke!  My sister doesn't know to this

day.

   It's been a rough road for my grand-daughter..she almost destroyed herself with drugs...and did not

believe God existed[atheist]

I had to forgive him..and I do...and I am glad God has made a new creature out of him......

   all are healing...all is forgiven...the suffering of this great evil is for eternal benefits..it is behind us all

[rosered]

I do agree to a point, but I do want to point out that Paul is talking about meat there, not child molestation. He wasn't saying that child molestation is clean, just not profitable. He was talking about things which are not inherently sinful. Sin is lawlessness, and under the new covenant we have two commandments, believe in Jesus and love eachother. By that we can discern what is clean and what is not. My opinion.

  I agree with you in that Seth!!   

  I know we can have eternal life now though Jesus Christ ..Gods son/HOLY SEED   ,

I also know that   having the Christ seed in you   , we are to pray for the sin   that is not unto death   in those    beliving      , but those  are of the false , [man of sin and lawlessness ]
but there is a sin unto death and we are NOT t pray for that   ,
death would be a good thing   , in the sense it has an end ...


not a literal death  , but the   Holy Spirit conviction that        proves the  error   that they are NOT OF CHRIST ....!!!!!! This is how we also will know ..




  9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater;

for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.

10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself;

the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.


11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12

He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

This Is Written That You May Know
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.


14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.


15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.

17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.

18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.



19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.


20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true;


and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

I honestly do not think   anyone  molesting a child in the spiritual sense or the literal sense of the Word has  Jesus Christ seed in them   ...   

  This to me is the measuring line        and the big division of the sheep and goats   , the wise and foolish   virgins and the     great separation between the TRUE and the false      and the evil and the good ....

  The evil one does not touch the HOLY SEED  /CHRIST      !!    ITS IS INCORRUPTIBLE   AND REMAINS    WITHIN THE TRUE  BELIEVER , Seen and heard by the other true believers           the voice of many waters       are all those in Christ   and the seed remains     and grows according to the  permitting of GODS GRACE     
THEY SHALL NEVER DIE    ,  the mortality is   only    a husk they shuck  in harvest time  '' reaping'' in Gods kingdom /barn storehouse for others     to share in   that come to Christ   ,  but the   ''fruit/Corn or some other grain  '' is   LIVING     from that point on ..

  Blessings from on High  :friendstu:

[rosered]

Wow , you were writing this Shelia when I posted   already...

  I agree the free gift is free ,,   because of Christ   work on the cross

  and He Alone is the   righteous Judge whom  is able to  save and destroy any of us in our sin

by the LAW   
   James 4 applies here   I believe 

11Do not speak against one another, brethren.


He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law;


but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.


12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

     

I am seeing finally     sin and error cause more sins and error      , like  your   girl , she may have not ever went down that path of self destruction if she would have  had  the  love  of God ,,,in she matters to God  !! and is loved and   could   love  her self  , and   forgiving is not a human attribute in  my opinion   
  it  is  natural to     hate   , despise and want revenge     ,   and those kind of thoughts are tormenting   to the one suffering within themselves  over being wronged




As the evil one  takes a hold of our weak flesh natures and desires to    destroy our flesh  with our own  judgments    against the law     :sigh:

I CAN   SEE  that those forgiven much will love much !!! 

  because much is forgiven    of GOD !!


THE END was always in GODS HANDS       and whatever way it ends GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED  in it    !!!!   :HeartThrob:

This place is very  temporary  and glad she is doing   so much better these days       as prayer does change things       to the ONLY ONE WHO CAN   CHANGE us all

in His time will and ways .......

[Aerex]

Can someone explain this verse

18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who as born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him

Does this mean that if you sin you are not born of God. What about that believer in the bible that was tested by Satan to destroy his flesh?

[rosered]

 

   I forgot to say , that I believe when we are under the most   pressure and     most horrible of circumstances  is when the CHRIST SEED IS PLANTED IN OUR HEARTS      , When the  earth our mortal bodies are undergoing  some real       painful tilling and fire is destroying     everything we though we knew     

and   beg for an end  , to make it stop !!       Than  we cry out to God in that pain and He is faithful and reviews us  , examines our hearts and knows  our pain and  mercy Comes   by HIM  ...

  now in order to repay  that debt    of being merciful to us     , we must also show mercy  on others whom are  experiencing the same    painful losses and   change

   always praying for the better       and not for the worse .....

[Seth]

Sheila, thank you for sharing that. It must be very painful and I am glad to see good coming from it. Metaphorically, God could snap his fingers and make everything perfect instantly, but I think he is taking time to reveal things about our nature.

We can take slivers of Romans 4 and other slivers and let them stand as whole doctrine. But, I think acknowledging the layers of salvation (from guilt, from sin in action, from the inner man to the outer man) helps tie the whole body of NT epistles together to get the whole view. I really think that is a great way to resolve some of the seeming conflicts between the epistles that the church has struggled with for many years.

Once hell gets involved, the whole thing goes sideways and that's how I think legalism gets introduced, when we tie together James 2 with smoking cigarettes rather than getting to the heart of what he was talking about, which is loving eachother, from the internal but also the external. I see it as salvation, not from hell and not through the Law of Moses, but salvation from being unloving through a spiritual injection of love.

[rosered]

Can someone explain this verse

18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who as born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him

Does this mean that if you sin you are not born of God. What about that believer in the bible that was tested by Satan to destroy his flesh?

  Hi  Aerex ,

Good question , 

   the SEED  within you is Christ it is totally indestructible,,,   it is the true treasure in your  heart ..

  but  we  do by nature     , being mortal still  continue to sin  , being weak  and still  think in the   carnal way which is death  , all puffy and prideful  , this is your man of sin you must contend with till Christ destroys him by the breath of His coming   

   , I wish we could stay in the SPIRIT OF CHRIST all   the time        ,   but if you confess it , bring it out on the open and to the light for all to see , you are forgiven   

JESUS CHRIST is our advocate [ between   us and God  that speaks on our behalf   , like  a lawyer  would for you in a court of a LAW       As the case is    brought before the Holy courts   system     

  I believe this is truth     

  You being born again    by the Spirit and seed    of Christ in you   is now really at warring within between the  two natures in my opinion     
  till the LORD TAKES this man of sin out of the ways for good ,,,,,  he gets fried   by the  coming of the Lord       and the holy one remains       

  I believe that   when Jesus said    you will not taste death TILL     the Son of man comes      is speaking directly to this man of sin in us all    but does not hear  what the Spirit is saying   nor anyone   who has the same testimony   of Jesus Christ in them ....


and the Spiritual man hears    HIS VOICE    AS  a voice of many waters      this being all them that are already gathered in Christ all ready   ,   If they be spiritual only or if they be spiritual and still in an earthly body    , till its use is done and over with on the earth


    Some are hidden in fleshly bodies  still  and SOME are not

But it is ONE SPIRIT ONE BODY ONE BAPTISM AND ONE FAITH     Being in Christ       already  in my opinion /judgement   
  wrong    or right      I will be judged by this    WORD  as idle or truth ...

and it is on me  to be judged accordingly  as error or truth .
  We all carry this      within  us ...     

By faith I have said it   and Gods WORD  will judge   .

[sheila]

Aerex...I think Paul explained it pretty well....I agree with the law[in my mind heart=spirit one with God]

  but in my flesh there is sin's law.....therefore it is no longer I that sin..but the sin dwelling in my flesh

....who will deliver me from this body[corrupt sinful flesh] that is undergoing this death?


  Jesus showed in the parable of the wheat sown in the field[=spirit child] and an enemy hath sown

tares in the night.  field=dust of our fleshly bodies sown with sin/evil.....do not eat of the tree of knowledge

of good AND EVIL....KNOW is to become one flesh with.  our flesh is weak..in that both positive[good]

and negative[evil] spirit may move it. when Adam/Eve partook of the tree in disobedience it opened

the door for sin to enter all flesh-the works of the devil/liar brought forth..causing death....

  so..the new spiritual creature born of God is bound up in a body of sin....and struggles and wrestles

  to gain dominion over it's own sin in it's flesh by the spirit..that it can be vessel for honourable use by

the Lord....I give you authority to trample serpents.  Sin is a demon that croucheth at the door..it desires

to rule over you..but you must master it.[Genesis 4;7]   

[rosered]

Sheila, thank you for sharing that. It must be very painful and I am glad to see good coming from it. Metaphorically, God could snap his fingers and make everything perfect instantly, but I think he is taking time to reveal things about our nature.

We can take slivers of Romans 4 and other slivers and let them stand as whole doctrine. But, I think acknowledging the layers of salvation (from guilt, from sin in action, from the inner man to the outer man) helps tie the whole body of NT epistles together to get the whole view. I really think that is a great way to resolve some of the seeming conflicts between the epistles that the church has struggled with for many years.

Once hell gets involved, the whole thing goes sideways and that's how I think legalism gets introduced, when we tie together James 2 with smoking cigarettes rather than getting to the heart of what he was talking about, which is loving eachother, from the internal but also the external. I see it as salvation, not from hell and not through the Law of Moses, but salvation from being unloving through a spiritual injection of love.

  Amen Seth !  and I know this was for Shelia       

  But have to agree the LORDS WORD IS BALANCED       , going to far     out there and saying anything  goes , is not without    merit , we reap what we sow , you sow discord    or to the flesh , you get that harvest       and its  yours to eat     ,,and death is on the menu     plate ..

  but than we can become to  legalistic and  are no better off than the PHARISEES      ,     lording the law over  others and  failing the test ourselves       

  Which love overcomes a multitude of sin  /error        1peter 4 

Living for God's Glory :HeartThrob:


...7The end of all things is near;

therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.


8Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.


9Be hospitable to one another without complaint....

[Seth]

Can someone explain this verse

18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who as born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him

Does this mean that if you sin you are not born of God. What about that believer in the bible that was tested by Satan to destroy his flesh?

In one 1 John 3:9 he uses the Greek word "poiei" in relation to sin. "Does not poiei sin." The word was translated as "does not commit sin" which implies a single act of sin. But the word means "practice" or "does not PRACTICE sin." You can see from other contexts this kind of implication of "continuance:"

In Matthew 7:17 the term is used in relation to a tree: "Every good tree bringeth forth (produces - poiei) good fruit but a corrupt tree bringeth forth (produces - poiei) bad fruit"

I think the implication, along with many other scriptures, is that one who is born of God does not continue producing bad fruit as a general rule, or as a continuing practice, not as a single incident.

[sheila]

 even the suffering of great evil is profitable..if it refines your faith heart love. Look at Job's expierence

perfection comes from obedience through suffering.  and the evil is what provides the suffering.

[Seth]

I agree. You would just want to avoid the evil coming from your own actions.

[rosered]

 
  Yes    JESUS EXPLAINS   ,Make the tree good and it  fruit good or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt ...     a tree is known  by its fruit 

How ?      Like Seth pointed out start practicing what you   hear  in the WORD OF GOD   in your life ..
 

[rosered]

Shelia

even the suffering of great evil is profitable..if it refines your faith heart love. Look at Job's expierence

perfection comes from obedience through suffering.  and the evil is what provides the suffering.

I agree. You would just want to avoid the evil coming from your own actions.

   GOD helped me big time when reading 1 Peter  3   

  It be better if God will you suffer for doing good and not evil    , and that is just keeping your conscience  clean   open , honest and real  ,  and not having those feeling of guilt all the time   LIKE    me and so many known   have  carried for along time within     , it awful to feel guilty all the time   and  God seems so approachable  to you   in that condition .. :sigh:


Suffering for Righteousness
...16and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered

those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.


17For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

18For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust,


so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;...

[Seth]

 :dsunny: :thumbsup:

[sheila]

 for those that recieve the Holy spirit in this realm....that token begins the seperating of the new creature in

Christ from the appearance of sin in it's flesh. Greater is He that is in you..than he that is in the world.

    the whole creation groans for the manifestation of the sons of God.

    for the creature was subjected to vanity,not of it's own will..but by Him who subjected it...that the

   whole creation be set free into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

   For Christ will appear again..seperate from sin.

[Aerex]

Can someone explain this verse

18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who as born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him

Does this mean that if you sin you are not born of God. What about that believer in the bible that was tested by Satan to destroy his flesh?

I think the implication, along with many other scriptures, is that one who is born of God does not continue producing bad fruit as a general rule, or as a continuing practice, not as a single incident.

Sorry I don't understand I never met a person claiming to be a child of God and never has continued to produce bad fruit. This is like saying that a person who is born of God can only lie once and if he or she makes a habit of it then that person is no longer born of God or was never born if God to begin with. However I don't think that is what you are saying.

[ed]

Can someone explain this verse

18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who as born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him

Does this mean that if you sin you are not born of God. What about that believer in the bible that was tested by Satan to destroy his flesh?

Hello Aerex,

It can not possible mean that if you sin you are not born of God.  The writer of 1 John also fell short of perfection...........in other words he sinned.

Take a walk through the whole book, it is a short read.

Chapter 1
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

To sin is to miss the mark of love, or it is to break the law.  We are not under the law, so we make laws for ourselves.  We don't even know the law, because we are not Jewish.  The laws we make for ourselves may be good and may be not so good.  We put ourselves under many doctrines that we will grow out of as we mature in Christ.  Our faith grows, our understand grows, we mature and start to understand how the Spirit of Christ works in us, though we sin.................we fall short.  We fall short in order for us to learn to trust Him who is trustworthy. 

Chapter 1
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We have all done a whole lot of confessing.  That is Christ working in you.  That is you working on the issues that you deem to be sin. 

Confessing our sins is a simple act of humbleness, that God respects and works with.  In this life the need for humility does not go away.  We are always looking to one who is greater then ourselves, for the purpose of becoming like the one who is greater then ourselves.  Christ is our helper in this endeavor, Christ is in us for that purpose.

There is part of us that is not subject to God, neither indeed can be.  I have been reading Romans.  It is an awesome portrayal of the struggle between the fresh and the Spirit

Romans 8
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

I love that verse.  The Spirit helps our infirmities........where we are frail and fall short, and the Spirit makes intercession for us.  God's Spirit is in you, working with you where you know you are week.  We can't hide it from God or His Spirit, and now comes the awesome part!

Romans 8
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Christ makes intercession for us!  Our faith is all about Him who is faithful, and set in the place of supreme authority at the right of God, not unreachable, but always present to help in our time of need. 

There are many things in the Bible that are hard to understand.  We don't have to understand them all right away.  There are things that we will never understand fully. 
There are many parts of the Bible that I don't get, but the thing that is important is our fellowship with the living God.

Chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians ends with this:
31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

The more excellent is where Paul gets into Love.

1 Corinthians 13
13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails.

God is love.  In all things God works with us in love.  God works with us to brings us the place of love.   

If you are willing to work on love, you will see Christ working in you, and have no worry of not being his...........you will know that you are his, because you desire to love.  You will fall short, but we have an intercessor who is always there for us to help us back on the path.

[Seth]

Can someone explain this verse

18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who as born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him

Does this mean that if you sin you are not born of God. What about that believer in the bible that was tested by Satan to destroy his flesh?

I think the implication, along with many other scriptures, is that one who is born of God does not continue producing bad fruit as a general rule, or as a continuing practice, not as a single incident.

Sorry I don't understand I never met a person claiming to be a child of God and never has continued to produce bad fruit. This is like saying that a person who is born of God can only lie once and if he or she makes a habit of it then that person is no longer born of God or was never born if God to begin with. However I don't think that is what you are saying.

There's a difference between claiming and being. I don't think struggling with something automatically means a person is or is not a child of God. I leave it to God to decide, but the Bible does contain some pretty clear teaching on it. According to Romans 8, nobody knows who they are, and Peter said to make our calling and election sure, I believe for that reason.

[Seth]

Paul said we are running a race. It's a bit early to be claiming crowns before the race is finished, imo.