tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934218315464674587.post3311629546848907731..comments2023-12-01T07:00:17.135-08:00Comments on The Scrupe Blog: Honest to GodRobert Elart Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18182251436190781481noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934218315464674587.post-74490897130897260792020-03-25T10:01:56.241-07:002020-03-25T10:01:56.241-07:00The door is never closed in this life to anyone wh...The door is never closed in this life to anyone who wants to walk through it.Robert Elart Watershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18182251436190781481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934218315464674587.post-9402854835537535952018-05-06T11:24:57.785-07:002018-05-06T11:24:57.785-07:00Thank you for this post ! No more need to be caugh...Thank you for this post ! No more need to be caught up in myself and whether or not I’m doing enough— all that matters is that Jesus has forgiven us for all sins we have committed are committing and will commit— and because of that, we can get away from ourselves— we can stop focusing on our sins- and instead focus on His gift of forgiveness ! BaileyDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16859185972228760653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934218315464674587.post-30376693410846195172017-11-11T15:11:53.844-08:002017-11-11T15:11:53.844-08:00It's not a matter of "oops, I sinned!&quo...It's not a matter of "oops, I sinned!" Nor is all sin in any sense willful. Most sins we commit we're not even aware of.<br /><br />But all sins a believer commits are a matter of weakness. Assuming that we are aware of them, we're tempted, and we yield to temptation. The Old Self temporarily gets the upper hand. Such sins happen many times every day, and are not what I mean by "willful sins."<br /><br />When you throw yourself into sin, as you put it, you come back to yourself, do you not ? You regret that, and want fellowship with God again. That lacks only one thing of being repentance- faith that for Jesus' sake, you are forgiven. That this happens is the work of the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />The whole problem is that when we push Him away (perhaps "sins of defiance" would be a better term than "willful sins;" you're not the first person in history to be confused by that term), we cease to be believers. We return to faith when we drop our defiance and once again desire His fellowship and believe that, for Jesus' sake, we have it. If we persist in rebellion and unbelief, or make a habit of it for two long, we can lapse into permanent unbelief. But as long as the New Self once again gains the upper hand and brings you back again, that hasn't happened. <br /><br />The fact is that the normal Christian life is a daily struggle between the Old Self and the New, and as I said, the Old Self gets the upper hand many times every day. So every day we put the Old Self to death in repentance, drowning him in our baptism (if only he weren't such a good swimmer!) so that the New Self can rise again. That's the way the Christian life normally works, and as long as that process continues- as long as the New Self continues to struggle with the Old Self- all is well.<br /><br />The problem only comes when the New Self stops struggling. Eventually he disappears. So defying God is never a good idea. But as long as we can drop our defiance and reclaim the forgiveness that is always ours in Christ- as long as the struggle continues- we can't finally lose it.Robert Elart Watershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18182251436190781481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5934218315464674587.post-89754458084316142432017-11-11T01:18:10.577-08:002017-11-11T01:18:10.577-08:00This post started out hopeful, but the part about ...This post started out hopeful, but the part about willful sin leaves me in despair. All my sin is willful; there is never an instance where I say, "oops, I sinned!" I often feel such despair about my life, hopeless (because it is) and I just throw myself into sin. And I'll do it again. I think when you get to a certain age life stops teasing you with hope and begins to just slap you around maliciously.NightFlighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04353837222817533315noreply@blogger.com