John Wesley’s definition of Entire Sanctification:
“being effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart from all inbred sin.” ….. “entire sanctification perfects the believer in love and empowers that person for effective service”
Born Again defined by God’s Word:
2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! NIV
1 John 3:9 - 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. NKJV
1 John 5:4 - For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. NKJV
1 John 5:18 - We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. NKJV
It is not a decision of ours to be born again – it is God’s decision on whether we are born of His Holy Spirit. Being born of God is of the Spirit and not of flesh.
John 3:5-7 - Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ’You must be born again’”. NIV
When we are born again, it is a baptizing action taken by the Holy Spirit to cleanse us and make us a new creation.
Titus 3:5 - He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit NIV
Acts 11:16 - Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit . NIV
So how does God determine when He will baptize us of the Holy Spirit?
Acts 5:32 - We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. NIV
So do you see any differences between being “born again” and “entire sanctification”?
Below is John Wesley’s answer to explaining the process of Sanctification:
Sanctification: Initial, Progressive, Entire
236. We believe that sanctification is that work of the Holy Spirit by which the child of God is separated from sin unto God and is enabled to love God with all the heart and to walk in all His holy commandments blameless. Sanctification is initiated at the moment of justification and regeneration. From that moment there is a gradual or progressive sanctification as the believer walks with God and daily grows in grace and in a more perfect obedience to God. This prepares for the crisis of entire sanctification which is wrought instantaneously when believers present themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, through faith in Jesus Christ, being effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart from all inbred sin. The crisis of entire sanctification perfects the believer in love and empowers that person for effective service. It is followed by lifelong growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The life of holiness continues through faith in the sanctifying blood of Christ and evidences itself by loving obedience to God's revealed will.
The above doctrine I agree with since it states that sanctification starts at the time of justification. “Sanctification is initiated at the moment of justification and regeneration.” Did you also notice that the Wesleyan doctrine put “Justification” and “Regeneration” together? We are sanctified through a process of regenerating our desires to match God’s desires – usually one desire at a time. By this regeneration of our desires – we end up growing more and more in love with God as we are sanctified by the power of His Grace. Sanctification/regeneration are initiated at the point of justification, but as the next sentences points out – regeneration continues to the point of the “crisis of entire sanctification”. “From that moment there is a gradual or progressive sanctification as the believer walks with God and daily grows in grace and in a more perfect obedience to God. This prepares for the crisis of entire sanctification It is at this crisis point that a person has to decide to make that big jump of faith and believe with a belief that brings forth an action of intense searching to loose self and find God. A person jumps by faith with both feet into God’s hands – instead of having one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom. Entire sanctification - which is wrought instantaneously when believers present themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, through faith in Jesus Christ”. So what is “wrought instantaneously when believers present themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, through faith in Jesus Christ” – the next part of the sentence explains what is wrought – “being effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart from all inbred sin.” It is at this point and only at this point that the Biblical definition of “being born again” is made true in a believer’s heart and soul. Like I have tried to emphasize – it is God’s agape love living in a born again believer that purifies and perfects the heart of the born again believer – “crisis of entire sanctification perfects the believer in love and empowers that person for effective service.” Did you notice that it is at this time and after that point that the born again believer is now empowered to go into effective service? After this filling of the Holy Spirit, a life of holiness continues because of the pure love that God has placed in the born again believer’s heart – “It is followed by lifelong growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The life of holiness continues through faith in the sanctifying blood of Christ and evidences itself by loving obedience to God's revealed will.”
So to conclude this comparison between the term “entire sanctification” and “born again”, we must conclude that they mean the same thing, but with different names.
God’s servant and yours,
Michael Reid
Showing posts with label sanctificaiton process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sanctificaiton process. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
What Does Works Have To Do With It
Up until this point, I have not mentioned much about the act of works in my writings. I didn’t want to give the subject of “works” more emphasis than it should have, since we aren’t saved by works, but by grace. In all of my previous writings I have tried to concentrate on God’s Holy Spirit working in and through us to accomplish all of God’s will that He requires and wants to perform in every individual life. In response to some of my writings, a few people have indicated that I am teaching a salvation based on works, when in reality I have continually communicated that all good works in a believer’s life is done by the Holy Spirit and only by His Spirit.
In this message I will share how we are not saved by works, but by grace alone. Although my goal of this letter is to talk on the subject of works, a person can’t teach on the subject of works fully without discussing grace also. Grace and works are tied together because good works comes out of God’s grace. So to look into this subject thoroughly, we must define what grace and works are, where grace and works originate from, and how grace and works interact with our heart, soul, and body.
Since we are saved by grace and not by works, we should first try to understand grace. Many people have a misunderstanding that God’s grace is limited only to what Jesus did for us on the cross. God’s grace is much more than what happened at the cross. God’s grace also continues its work today after the cross. Even though the grace God performed at the cross is so very important, I want to concentrate on the power of God’s grace that started at the point of Pentecost. Pentecost is when the power of God’s Spirit was opened up to anyone who would believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Anytime we talk of God’s grace, it is referencing some action that God has done or is currently doing, first of all for His glory and then secondly for our benefit. Grace is not just something God did in the past; it is also something He is continuing to do. When God’s Spirit softens a heart of stone to the point of being able to accept Jesus as Lord and savior, this is God’s grace in action. When God’s Spirit continues sanctifying a heart to bring it to a point of making it holy, this is God’s grace in action. When God’s Spirit baptizes a person’s heart and turns it into a heart totally devoted to Him and then puts that heart into service for Him, this is God’s grace in action. When God’s Spirit guides a person in a certain direction or to do something, even if that God directed action is to benefit someone else, it is God’s grace in action. Saving grace is any action on God’s part that He does in us or through us for HIS glory.
So how is God’s grace manifested in us and through us? God’s grace is manifested in us by the softening and perfecting of our heart into a new heart filled with His love. God’s grace is then manifested through us by God’s love flowing out of us in acts of love towards others. These acts of love are God’s grace being manifested in the form of good fruit and good works. These good works will then always glorify God. This love flows from the new heart He has given us. This love will always flow out of us back to God and to others, and is really God’s grace flowing through us to glorify God Himself. So any good works we perform is only by God’s grace and cannot come from our own humanness. Anytime God’s Spirit does any action through us, in us, or for us, it can only be called God’s grace.
Acts 4:33 NIV - With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
Acts 6:8 NIV - Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
Rom 12:6 NIV - We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
1 Cor 15:10 NIV - But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
2 Cor 8:7 NIV - But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
2 Cor 12:9 NIV - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Eph 3:7-8 NIV - I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.
Eph 4:7-8 NIV - But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men."
James 4:6 NIV - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
If we are a Christian living under the New Testament and not under the law, we are relying on all of God’s grace to be eternally saved. God’s grace consists of the grace given to us by the works of Jesus before the cross and on the cross and also the grace that transforms our heart.
There is a real danger with the teaching that all of God’s grace was provided for us with the work done on the cross. There are some who believe and teach that they have little or no responsibility to live holy to be eternally saved because Jesus’ grace on the cross covers all their sins so they don’t have to even try to conform to God’s will and commandments to live holy. If we believe this lie, then in essence this gives people a license to keep on sinning and still believe they are saved. This is a lie devised by the devil to keep us from the truth and a true relationship with God.
Jude 4 NIV - For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Now, that we defined grace, let’s try to define what works is. The definition of works can be said to be any action or bi-product that comes directly from the condition of the heart.
There are good and bad works, or to say it a different way, there is good and bad fruit.
Eccl 8:11 NKJV - Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.2 Tim 4:18 NKJV - And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.Col 1:10 NIV - And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work.
Some examples of what spiritual good and bad fruit can be taken right from scripture.
Gal 5:22-23 NIV - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Gal 5:19-21 NIV - The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
All good works or good fruit originate from God’s love that God’s Spirit has installed within our heart. This love can only produce the fruits of the Spirit (good works). It is impossible to produce bad fruit (bad works or sin) from God’s love. On the other hand, all bad works or bad fruit originate from a sinful nature. A sinful nature can only produce bad fruit (bad works or sin), because the sinful nature only has selfishness and pride within that nature. A heart that is filled with the sinful nature can only love itself or anything that sinful nature thinks benefits itself.
Matt 7:17-18 NIV - Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
So we must understand that good works or good fruit are only from God’s Spirit and bad fruit or bad works are only from the sinful nature. Even though our eternal salvation is not determined by our acts of sin or good works, our works do indicate what kind of heart we have.
Luke 6:45 NIV - The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart , and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.
So getting back to the subject of this message, what does works have to do with our salvation? Our works have nothing to do with God’s decision to accept us as sons and daughters or whether we inherit eternal life.
So what about the scriptures that indicate we must do God’s will to enter the kingdom of God?
Matt 7:21 NIV - Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
At first glance this scripture sounds like we must do good works to enter God’s kingdom, but you have to look deeper and understand that Jesus is really talking about a heart issue and is not talking about any works we need to perform out of our own humanness. Jesus is emphasizing that we will be doing God’s will if we are true Christians. Any works that we perform as Christians will be of God’s will since these good works are from God’s grace working within us. Jesus is saying that there will be good works, but not works of our own.
If we have good works (good fruit), we cannot claim these good works as our own since all good works are of God and not by our own accord. When ever we perform good works, it is really God’s Spirit working through us to glorify Himself. Since any good works are of God’s workings and not of ours, they have no value in determining whether we inherit eternal life or not. If we have bad works (sin or bad fruit), we have someone who has already paid the price for these sins if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But even though Jesus paid for all our sins, Jesus’ payment of sins alone doesn’t guarantee eternal life with Him. We also need God’s grace to transform our hearts from a selfish sinful nature into a selfless loving nature.
So how does God determine whether we inherit eternal life or not? It is by a thorough inspection of our heart. God can always see our entire heart and how pure it is. God’s Word indicates we need to be born again of God’s Spirit. When we are spiritually born again, we are given a new heart, totally purified and absent of any sinful nature.
Heb 10:22 NIV - let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
John 3:3 NIV - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
Acts 1:24 NIV - Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart.
Matt 5:8 NIV - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
2 Cor 5:17 NIV - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Rom 10:10 NIV - For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
John 3:5 NIV - Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
2 Tim 2:22-23 NIV - Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
What is your treasure? If your treasure is God and serving Him wholeheartedly, then your heart will be pure and totally devoted to Him.
Matt 6:21 NIV - For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Every action we do and every word we speak comes directly from the heart. Our heart represents the desires of our soul and these desires are the driving force of the soul. Out of an evil heart come all kinds of evil.
Matt 15:19 NIV - For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. But out of a pure heart comes love and righteousness.
1 Tim 1:5 NIV - The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
2 Tim 2:22 NIV - Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
For any person that will not humble themselves and repent, then it is that hardened heart that will send that person to an eternal hell. Everyone has the free choice to humble themselves before the Lord. If we choose Jesus as the Lord of our lives, then He will transform our hearts. But if our choice is to reject Him by rejecting His grace, then our hearts will not be transformed, but the Lord will have the last word. He owns every one of our souls, whether we accept this fact or not.
Rom 2:5 NIV - But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Heb 3:12-13 NIV - See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
So does the works we do have any value? Yes, even though works doesn’t have any value in God’s decision on whether we receive eternal life or not, works does have a purpose. First of all, works has great value in that all good works point back to God and glorifies Jesus and our heavenly Father. Secondly, our works are meant to show ourselves and others whether our heart is pure or not. The works that come out of us show the condition of our heart. Our works can be used as a purity gage to show us the purification status of our heart. God intends to bring all believers to the point of having a pure heart and be blameless before Him so we can inherit eternal life. The only thing that will hold us back from receiving a purified heart is our own pride. So we must all humble ourselves before our Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. Thirdly, works do make a difference in the amount of rewards or punishment we receive in our eternal destination. If we have a pure heart, then the more we give up or sacrifice for the Lord in this life, the more rewards we will have in heaven. If we don’t end up having a pure heart because we have rejected God’s grace in some way, then the works we do here will have an effect on the amount of punishment we will receive in hell. But I want to emphasize, no one has to go to hell as long as they are willing to totally humble themselves before Jesus and make Him their Lord and Savior.
May the power of God’s grace strengthen you!
Phil 4:23 NIV - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Living only by His grace - Michael Reid
In this message I will share how we are not saved by works, but by grace alone. Although my goal of this letter is to talk on the subject of works, a person can’t teach on the subject of works fully without discussing grace also. Grace and works are tied together because good works comes out of God’s grace. So to look into this subject thoroughly, we must define what grace and works are, where grace and works originate from, and how grace and works interact with our heart, soul, and body.
Since we are saved by grace and not by works, we should first try to understand grace. Many people have a misunderstanding that God’s grace is limited only to what Jesus did for us on the cross. God’s grace is much more than what happened at the cross. God’s grace also continues its work today after the cross. Even though the grace God performed at the cross is so very important, I want to concentrate on the power of God’s grace that started at the point of Pentecost. Pentecost is when the power of God’s Spirit was opened up to anyone who would believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Anytime we talk of God’s grace, it is referencing some action that God has done or is currently doing, first of all for His glory and then secondly for our benefit. Grace is not just something God did in the past; it is also something He is continuing to do. When God’s Spirit softens a heart of stone to the point of being able to accept Jesus as Lord and savior, this is God’s grace in action. When God’s Spirit continues sanctifying a heart to bring it to a point of making it holy, this is God’s grace in action. When God’s Spirit baptizes a person’s heart and turns it into a heart totally devoted to Him and then puts that heart into service for Him, this is God’s grace in action. When God’s Spirit guides a person in a certain direction or to do something, even if that God directed action is to benefit someone else, it is God’s grace in action. Saving grace is any action on God’s part that He does in us or through us for HIS glory.
So how is God’s grace manifested in us and through us? God’s grace is manifested in us by the softening and perfecting of our heart into a new heart filled with His love. God’s grace is then manifested through us by God’s love flowing out of us in acts of love towards others. These acts of love are God’s grace being manifested in the form of good fruit and good works. These good works will then always glorify God. This love flows from the new heart He has given us. This love will always flow out of us back to God and to others, and is really God’s grace flowing through us to glorify God Himself. So any good works we perform is only by God’s grace and cannot come from our own humanness. Anytime God’s Spirit does any action through us, in us, or for us, it can only be called God’s grace.
Acts 4:33 NIV - With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
Acts 6:8 NIV - Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
Rom 12:6 NIV - We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
1 Cor 15:10 NIV - But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
2 Cor 8:7 NIV - But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
2 Cor 12:9 NIV - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Eph 3:7-8 NIV - I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.
Eph 4:7-8 NIV - But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men."
James 4:6 NIV - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
If we are a Christian living under the New Testament and not under the law, we are relying on all of God’s grace to be eternally saved. God’s grace consists of the grace given to us by the works of Jesus before the cross and on the cross and also the grace that transforms our heart.
There is a real danger with the teaching that all of God’s grace was provided for us with the work done on the cross. There are some who believe and teach that they have little or no responsibility to live holy to be eternally saved because Jesus’ grace on the cross covers all their sins so they don’t have to even try to conform to God’s will and commandments to live holy. If we believe this lie, then in essence this gives people a license to keep on sinning and still believe they are saved. This is a lie devised by the devil to keep us from the truth and a true relationship with God.
Jude 4 NIV - For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Now, that we defined grace, let’s try to define what works is. The definition of works can be said to be any action or bi-product that comes directly from the condition of the heart.
There are good and bad works, or to say it a different way, there is good and bad fruit.
Eccl 8:11 NKJV - Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.2 Tim 4:18 NKJV - And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.Col 1:10 NIV - And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work.
Some examples of what spiritual good and bad fruit can be taken right from scripture.
Gal 5:22-23 NIV - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Gal 5:19-21 NIV - The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
All good works or good fruit originate from God’s love that God’s Spirit has installed within our heart. This love can only produce the fruits of the Spirit (good works). It is impossible to produce bad fruit (bad works or sin) from God’s love. On the other hand, all bad works or bad fruit originate from a sinful nature. A sinful nature can only produce bad fruit (bad works or sin), because the sinful nature only has selfishness and pride within that nature. A heart that is filled with the sinful nature can only love itself or anything that sinful nature thinks benefits itself.
Matt 7:17-18 NIV - Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
So we must understand that good works or good fruit are only from God’s Spirit and bad fruit or bad works are only from the sinful nature. Even though our eternal salvation is not determined by our acts of sin or good works, our works do indicate what kind of heart we have.
Luke 6:45 NIV - The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart , and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.
So getting back to the subject of this message, what does works have to do with our salvation? Our works have nothing to do with God’s decision to accept us as sons and daughters or whether we inherit eternal life.
So what about the scriptures that indicate we must do God’s will to enter the kingdom of God?
Matt 7:21 NIV - Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
At first glance this scripture sounds like we must do good works to enter God’s kingdom, but you have to look deeper and understand that Jesus is really talking about a heart issue and is not talking about any works we need to perform out of our own humanness. Jesus is emphasizing that we will be doing God’s will if we are true Christians. Any works that we perform as Christians will be of God’s will since these good works are from God’s grace working within us. Jesus is saying that there will be good works, but not works of our own.
If we have good works (good fruit), we cannot claim these good works as our own since all good works are of God and not by our own accord. When ever we perform good works, it is really God’s Spirit working through us to glorify Himself. Since any good works are of God’s workings and not of ours, they have no value in determining whether we inherit eternal life or not. If we have bad works (sin or bad fruit), we have someone who has already paid the price for these sins if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But even though Jesus paid for all our sins, Jesus’ payment of sins alone doesn’t guarantee eternal life with Him. We also need God’s grace to transform our hearts from a selfish sinful nature into a selfless loving nature.
So how does God determine whether we inherit eternal life or not? It is by a thorough inspection of our heart. God can always see our entire heart and how pure it is. God’s Word indicates we need to be born again of God’s Spirit. When we are spiritually born again, we are given a new heart, totally purified and absent of any sinful nature.
Heb 10:22 NIV - let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
John 3:3 NIV - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
Acts 1:24 NIV - Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart.
Matt 5:8 NIV - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
2 Cor 5:17 NIV - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Rom 10:10 NIV - For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
John 3:5 NIV - Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
2 Tim 2:22-23 NIV - Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
What is your treasure? If your treasure is God and serving Him wholeheartedly, then your heart will be pure and totally devoted to Him.
Matt 6:21 NIV - For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Every action we do and every word we speak comes directly from the heart. Our heart represents the desires of our soul and these desires are the driving force of the soul. Out of an evil heart come all kinds of evil.
Matt 15:19 NIV - For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. But out of a pure heart comes love and righteousness.
1 Tim 1:5 NIV - The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
2 Tim 2:22 NIV - Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
For any person that will not humble themselves and repent, then it is that hardened heart that will send that person to an eternal hell. Everyone has the free choice to humble themselves before the Lord. If we choose Jesus as the Lord of our lives, then He will transform our hearts. But if our choice is to reject Him by rejecting His grace, then our hearts will not be transformed, but the Lord will have the last word. He owns every one of our souls, whether we accept this fact or not.
Rom 2:5 NIV - But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Heb 3:12-13 NIV - See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
So does the works we do have any value? Yes, even though works doesn’t have any value in God’s decision on whether we receive eternal life or not, works does have a purpose. First of all, works has great value in that all good works point back to God and glorifies Jesus and our heavenly Father. Secondly, our works are meant to show ourselves and others whether our heart is pure or not. The works that come out of us show the condition of our heart. Our works can be used as a purity gage to show us the purification status of our heart. God intends to bring all believers to the point of having a pure heart and be blameless before Him so we can inherit eternal life. The only thing that will hold us back from receiving a purified heart is our own pride. So we must all humble ourselves before our Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. Thirdly, works do make a difference in the amount of rewards or punishment we receive in our eternal destination. If we have a pure heart, then the more we give up or sacrifice for the Lord in this life, the more rewards we will have in heaven. If we don’t end up having a pure heart because we have rejected God’s grace in some way, then the works we do here will have an effect on the amount of punishment we will receive in hell. But I want to emphasize, no one has to go to hell as long as they are willing to totally humble themselves before Jesus and make Him their Lord and Savior.
May the power of God’s grace strengthen you!
Phil 4:23 NIV - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Living only by His grace - Michael Reid
Sanctification - What Is It Really
When we first come to the Lord and He starts changing us from the inside out, some of us don’t really know how he does this miracle. We talk about this as the sanctification process. Most of us think God’s Spirit is sanctifying us by ridding us of our sins. It is true He needs us to become people totally living for Him and living a righteous life for Him and in site of others. But getting rid of the sins is really a byproduct of something else that is really happening within our hearts.
The sanctification process is really all about changing who we love. When we first come to Christ, most of us are still absorbed in loving ourselves and only thinking of our self preservation and needs. The sanctification process changes this process from loving self to loving Him. This is done by getting to know and trust in God with an ever increasing love and dependence on God. The sanctification process in not really about purifying us from our sins, it is all about a transformation of our heart, it is all about transferring our love from loving ourselves to loving God alone.
What determines whether we sin or not, depends only on who we love the most. If we love the sin more than God, we will be disobedient to God and perform the sin. If we love God more than the sin, we will abstain from that sin for the glory of God. It is just like having a son who is obedient to his earthly father. If the son loves the father, he will try to please his father in everything he does, because the obedience is out of love for the father. But, if the son decides to be disobedient even though that son might have some love for the father, the love for himself over rules the love for the father and then the disobedience happens against the father.
It is all about who you love and who you are trying to please. Sin, disobedience, or righteousness is just the result of where your love lies.
God bless - Michael Reid
The sanctification process is really all about changing who we love. When we first come to Christ, most of us are still absorbed in loving ourselves and only thinking of our self preservation and needs. The sanctification process changes this process from loving self to loving Him. This is done by getting to know and trust in God with an ever increasing love and dependence on God. The sanctification process in not really about purifying us from our sins, it is all about a transformation of our heart, it is all about transferring our love from loving ourselves to loving God alone.
What determines whether we sin or not, depends only on who we love the most. If we love the sin more than God, we will be disobedient to God and perform the sin. If we love God more than the sin, we will abstain from that sin for the glory of God. It is just like having a son who is obedient to his earthly father. If the son loves the father, he will try to please his father in everything he does, because the obedience is out of love for the father. But, if the son decides to be disobedient even though that son might have some love for the father, the love for himself over rules the love for the father and then the disobedience happens against the father.
It is all about who you love and who you are trying to please. Sin, disobedience, or righteousness is just the result of where your love lies.
God bless - Michael Reid
Our goal is to be Christ like
The Bible says we need to become Christ like.
Rom 8:29 NIV - For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.
How can we become Christ like in every thing we do if we are all sinners. I will try to show you by God’s Word how this is possible through God’s grace filling up and working in your life. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
We can never be Christ because there is only one Christ. We will never be God, with all the infinite knowledge, wisdom, majestic power that God possesses, but from His Spirit we receive everything we need to live a perfected righteous life before God. We don’t need to be Christ to live a perfect Christian life. God sends just the right amount of grace we need to live the life God expects us to live. (This part of grace is the Holy Spirit working in and through us)
When someone has come to the point of being Christ like, it’s because God has filled that person with an extra filling of the His Spirit. It is this extra filling of the Sprit that enables them to ward off any temptation of sinning. This enables the Christian to live a sinless life before God and his fellow man as long as that person stays living by the Sprit. This perfection of our heart has been called “Entire Sanctification”, “Christian Perfection”, and “Victorious Living” depending on the denominational belief.
But, how can we still call ourselves sinners and live a life without sin? It’s because we realize we still live in this fleshly body which will continue to tempt us with selfish and prideful thoughts, but with the Holy Spirit’s empowerment in us we can stop any temptation before it manifests into a sin. You can think of this empowerment as the armor of God.
Eph 6:11 NIV - Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Living our life without sinning is not of man’s nature but only of God’s nature in us. Think about this hypothetical example: lets take a man living a sinless life by the power of the Spirit and then if God would decide to take His Spirit away from this righteous man, temptation would easily overtake him and that man would be totally lost and a slave to sin as much as any unbeliever. This is why we have to live by the Spirit and only by the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 NIV - The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
Our fleshly physical body will always be corrupted with the nature of sin and this corrupted body must end in physical death, but the body is only a temporary housing for our spiritual soul. If our spirit and soul has been totally cleansed and sanctified by God’s Spirit, we will have the power to take control over the body even though the body is spiritually dead in Christ.
Rom 8:10 NIV - But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
What enables a person to live a life without sin is a full filling of His Spirit and living continually by the Spirit to persevere to the end. To be truly born again and receive this extra filling of the Holy Spirit, a person must become a true Christian by dedicating all of themselves to God. This extra filling of the Spirit is not the Spirit that comes upon an individual when they first believe (justification); where God’s seed is planted and with the Spirit’s help it grows to a mature plant. This extra filling of the Spirit happens after a person has let God’s Spirit sanctify them into a mature holy plant ready to produce Godly fruit. (I will talk more about this in another message, which is “Becoming a true Christian is a process”.) The Bible says that a person that is still struggling with sin has not yet come to the point of being a total living sacrifice for God. Where that person is not yet willing to spill his/her blood for His Glory.
Heb 12:4-5 NIV - In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
1 Peter 4:1-2 NIV - Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
Most people have been taught and believe that living a life without sinning is not a possibility in this life. I want to crush that deception and have people’s faith become full so everyone will not be hindered anymore by this lie of the devil. If anyone continues to believe this lie, they might not ever mature to the point of true and total faith in God. Faith in God’s truth is what unlocks the Spirit’s power. When a person does not have enough faith to believe in this “Entire Sanctification” concept, they are really saying they don’t believe in God’s Word or the power of God. The Bible says when a person is truly born again, that person will not sin.
1 John 5:4 NIV - For everyone born of God overcomes the world.
1 John 5:18 NKJV - We know that whoever is born of God does not sin.
1 John 3:9 NKJV - 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.
When we are truly born again believers, we will not sin because we no longer will have the desire to sin. The Holy Spirit changes our desires of our heart so our desires are no longer selfish and of worldly intensions, but only desires to love God and others exist in our heart. Selfishness is gone. When the only thing that exists in our heart is God’s love, there is no room left for wanting anything sinful. Because of this total change of desires from evil to good, we are then no longer controlled or slaves to sin, but have become slaves to loving God and others.
Rom 8:9 NIV - You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
Rom 6:18 NIV - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Because we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness, we now have no choice but to live righteous lives. Just as before we were born again, we were slaves to sin, now after being born again we can’t help our selves but to do God’s good work he calls us to.
Rom 6:14 NIV - For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Luke 6:43 NIV - No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
When we are true Christians or born again, we are no longer bound to the old self/sinful nature. We are set free from the power of sin. This is the great news of the gospel. We are finally able to be free from the bondage of sin. By our willingness to be totally devoted in obedience to God by the power of His Spirit, He is then able to nail our old sinful nature to the cross.
John 8:36 NIV - So if the Son sets you free , you will be free indeed.
Rom 6:6-7 NIV - For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Rom 6:11 NIV - In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
There are many, many more scriptures encouraging us that living a perfected life is possible in Christ. This life we are currently living on earth is the place God has setup for us to make the choice to follow Him and be sanctified to the point of Christian perfection that He requires to be worthy of His eternal kingdom.
Matt 10:38 NIV - anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
1 Thess 2:11-12 NIV - For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
May God’s grace be with you – Michael Reid
Rom 8:29 NIV - For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.
How can we become Christ like in every thing we do if we are all sinners. I will try to show you by God’s Word how this is possible through God’s grace filling up and working in your life. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
We can never be Christ because there is only one Christ. We will never be God, with all the infinite knowledge, wisdom, majestic power that God possesses, but from His Spirit we receive everything we need to live a perfected righteous life before God. We don’t need to be Christ to live a perfect Christian life. God sends just the right amount of grace we need to live the life God expects us to live. (This part of grace is the Holy Spirit working in and through us)
When someone has come to the point of being Christ like, it’s because God has filled that person with an extra filling of the His Spirit. It is this extra filling of the Sprit that enables them to ward off any temptation of sinning. This enables the Christian to live a sinless life before God and his fellow man as long as that person stays living by the Sprit. This perfection of our heart has been called “Entire Sanctification”, “Christian Perfection”, and “Victorious Living” depending on the denominational belief.
But, how can we still call ourselves sinners and live a life without sin? It’s because we realize we still live in this fleshly body which will continue to tempt us with selfish and prideful thoughts, but with the Holy Spirit’s empowerment in us we can stop any temptation before it manifests into a sin. You can think of this empowerment as the armor of God.
Eph 6:11 NIV - Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Living our life without sinning is not of man’s nature but only of God’s nature in us. Think about this hypothetical example: lets take a man living a sinless life by the power of the Spirit and then if God would decide to take His Spirit away from this righteous man, temptation would easily overtake him and that man would be totally lost and a slave to sin as much as any unbeliever. This is why we have to live by the Spirit and only by the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 NIV - The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
Our fleshly physical body will always be corrupted with the nature of sin and this corrupted body must end in physical death, but the body is only a temporary housing for our spiritual soul. If our spirit and soul has been totally cleansed and sanctified by God’s Spirit, we will have the power to take control over the body even though the body is spiritually dead in Christ.
Rom 8:10 NIV - But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
What enables a person to live a life without sin is a full filling of His Spirit and living continually by the Spirit to persevere to the end. To be truly born again and receive this extra filling of the Holy Spirit, a person must become a true Christian by dedicating all of themselves to God. This extra filling of the Spirit is not the Spirit that comes upon an individual when they first believe (justification); where God’s seed is planted and with the Spirit’s help it grows to a mature plant. This extra filling of the Spirit happens after a person has let God’s Spirit sanctify them into a mature holy plant ready to produce Godly fruit. (I will talk more about this in another message, which is “Becoming a true Christian is a process”.) The Bible says that a person that is still struggling with sin has not yet come to the point of being a total living sacrifice for God. Where that person is not yet willing to spill his/her blood for His Glory.
Heb 12:4-5 NIV - In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
1 Peter 4:1-2 NIV - Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
Most people have been taught and believe that living a life without sinning is not a possibility in this life. I want to crush that deception and have people’s faith become full so everyone will not be hindered anymore by this lie of the devil. If anyone continues to believe this lie, they might not ever mature to the point of true and total faith in God. Faith in God’s truth is what unlocks the Spirit’s power. When a person does not have enough faith to believe in this “Entire Sanctification” concept, they are really saying they don’t believe in God’s Word or the power of God. The Bible says when a person is truly born again, that person will not sin.
1 John 5:4 NIV - For everyone born of God overcomes the world.
1 John 5:18 NKJV - We know that whoever is born of God does not sin.
1 John 3:9 NKJV - 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.
When we are truly born again believers, we will not sin because we no longer will have the desire to sin. The Holy Spirit changes our desires of our heart so our desires are no longer selfish and of worldly intensions, but only desires to love God and others exist in our heart. Selfishness is gone. When the only thing that exists in our heart is God’s love, there is no room left for wanting anything sinful. Because of this total change of desires from evil to good, we are then no longer controlled or slaves to sin, but have become slaves to loving God and others.
Rom 8:9 NIV - You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
Rom 6:18 NIV - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Because we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness, we now have no choice but to live righteous lives. Just as before we were born again, we were slaves to sin, now after being born again we can’t help our selves but to do God’s good work he calls us to.
Rom 6:14 NIV - For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Luke 6:43 NIV - No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
When we are true Christians or born again, we are no longer bound to the old self/sinful nature. We are set free from the power of sin. This is the great news of the gospel. We are finally able to be free from the bondage of sin. By our willingness to be totally devoted in obedience to God by the power of His Spirit, He is then able to nail our old sinful nature to the cross.
John 8:36 NIV - So if the Son sets you free , you will be free indeed.
Rom 6:6-7 NIV - For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Rom 6:11 NIV - In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
There are many, many more scriptures encouraging us that living a perfected life is possible in Christ. This life we are currently living on earth is the place God has setup for us to make the choice to follow Him and be sanctified to the point of Christian perfection that He requires to be worthy of His eternal kingdom.
Matt 10:38 NIV - anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
1 Thess 2:11-12 NIV - For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
May God’s grace be with you – Michael Reid
Is It Possible To Do Jesus’ First Commandment?
Through my studies and walk in the Holy Spirit I have learned that God fully intends to bring us to a full loving relationship with Him. God wants our heart to be totally devoted to Him. It is by totally loving Him that brings us to living holy in Him and living a righteous life through this Godly love that He has put inside us.
We must understand the sanctification process. Sanctification is not a process of ridding us from sins, it is a process of growing in love with God, and it is a process of transferring our love from our selfishness to loving God only. When we love our selfishness we will sin. When we love God we will not sin against Him. If anyone is still sinning, it is out of him/her loving themselves instead of God. When a person loves God with ALL their heart, soul, and mind, they will not sin. Sin cannot come from a heart that totally loves God. When we are given a new heart from God, it is only filled with His love and no sin can come out of a heart filled with His love. Almost all professing Christians say very fervently that born again Christians cannot live a day with out sinning let alone not sinning for a day, week, or year after being born again. So what most people are really saying is that no one can do the first commandment that Jesus gave, which is: Matt 22:37-39 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. What a defeating message these people are giving. If we can't do this first commandment through Jesus Christ living in us, we then can say that God sending the Holy Spirit to reside in us has no value. It is only after we are doing this first commandment that we can do Jesus’ second commandment. Matt 22:39-40 - And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Jesus came and sent His Holy Spirit to free us from the bondage of sin and supposedly born again Christians are telling everybody we will never be free from the bondage of sin.
Where is this logic coming from? Is this understanding that most believers have coming from God’s Word or is it coming from their experiences, or lack of experiences of these professing Christians. Are we “Christians” just fooling ourselves? I don’t see this defeating message in God’s Word of the New Testament. Christians today are living like the Jews in the Old Testament where they did not have the Spirit living inside them which enables us under the New Testament to do all of God’s commandments. The Jews in the Old Testament were not born again and could not live by the Holy Spirit, but Christians today are supposed to be born again and be living by the Holy Spirit which in turn allows us to do all of God’s commandments. As born again Christians we still might sin for awhile because of the renewing of our minds, but we need not keep on sinning. With Jesus’ Spirit living inside us we really have no reason to keep on sinning.
God says if we are His children, He will always give us a way out from our temptations. 1 Cor 10:13 - And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. So if God always gives us a way to not let our temptations turn into sin, is there any reason that we need to sin anymore at all?
God Bless – Mike Reid
We must understand the sanctification process. Sanctification is not a process of ridding us from sins, it is a process of growing in love with God, and it is a process of transferring our love from our selfishness to loving God only. When we love our selfishness we will sin. When we love God we will not sin against Him. If anyone is still sinning, it is out of him/her loving themselves instead of God. When a person loves God with ALL their heart, soul, and mind, they will not sin. Sin cannot come from a heart that totally loves God. When we are given a new heart from God, it is only filled with His love and no sin can come out of a heart filled with His love. Almost all professing Christians say very fervently that born again Christians cannot live a day with out sinning let alone not sinning for a day, week, or year after being born again. So what most people are really saying is that no one can do the first commandment that Jesus gave, which is: Matt 22:37-39 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. What a defeating message these people are giving. If we can't do this first commandment through Jesus Christ living in us, we then can say that God sending the Holy Spirit to reside in us has no value. It is only after we are doing this first commandment that we can do Jesus’ second commandment. Matt 22:39-40 - And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Jesus came and sent His Holy Spirit to free us from the bondage of sin and supposedly born again Christians are telling everybody we will never be free from the bondage of sin.
Where is this logic coming from? Is this understanding that most believers have coming from God’s Word or is it coming from their experiences, or lack of experiences of these professing Christians. Are we “Christians” just fooling ourselves? I don’t see this defeating message in God’s Word of the New Testament. Christians today are living like the Jews in the Old Testament where they did not have the Spirit living inside them which enables us under the New Testament to do all of God’s commandments. The Jews in the Old Testament were not born again and could not live by the Holy Spirit, but Christians today are supposed to be born again and be living by the Holy Spirit which in turn allows us to do all of God’s commandments. As born again Christians we still might sin for awhile because of the renewing of our minds, but we need not keep on sinning. With Jesus’ Spirit living inside us we really have no reason to keep on sinning.
God says if we are His children, He will always give us a way out from our temptations. 1 Cor 10:13 - And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. So if God always gives us a way to not let our temptations turn into sin, is there any reason that we need to sin anymore at all?
God Bless – Mike Reid
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