Does your church preach and teach that all your sins can be conquered through the power of the Holy Spirit working in you, or does your church preach and teach that we will never be free from the bondage of our sins.
The message of life - When we are truly set free from our sinful nature and are given Jesus’ nature, we will no longer have a nature to sin and won’t. This is what being born again means – we are born again into Jesus’ nature and accepted into God’s eternal righteous kingdom. We are able to enter God’s kingdom because we are not just washed on the outside with Jesus’ righteousness, but when born again we are also cleansed spiritually and given a new heart filled with only God’s love, which is God’s nature. When born again we are given a pure heart and made righteous through and through by Jesus’ Spirit which lives inside us. This is what Jesus meant by having life. Anything short of this results in eternal death and separation from God in hell because only pure hearts and pure righteousness enter His eternal kingdom. Does your church teach this message of life?
The message of death - Many are teaching that we can never be free from our bondage of sin and will always sin as long as we live on this earth. If this is the case, why did Jesus even come? If we still have to stay in bondage to our sin, then we are no better off then the Jews before Jesus came and died on the cross. If there is no power in Jesus’ Spirit that comes into us when we are born again, why would God even bother to send the Holy Spirit if it had no power to conquer all sin in our life? Since we can’t enter God’s eternal heavenly kingdom unless we are spotless of any sinful nature, what is the sanctification by the Spirit all for if we will never be made spotless with out any sin? Some people believe we are made perfect after we die; there is nothing in the Bible that supports this. We are only given new spiritual shells for our soul to be in. If our soul is still sinful, even if we get a new spiritual body our sinful soul makes the whole spiritual soul and body unclean and sinful. The only reason this theology exists is because people want to believe it. It is not biblical and has been reasoned out by man to allow people to keep on sinning and also think they are saved unto eternal life. This theology is of the devil and the results are no re-born experience for who ever believes it. Anyone not born of God will not have eternal life. Does your church teach this message of death?
Michael Reid
Showing posts with label old nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label old nature. Show all posts
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Salvation Story Told From The Old Testament
The story of the exodus to the new Promised Land is a good representation of the salvation process that happens in the New Testament. It is amazing how much the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of the New Testament. It all goes to show that God is always the same.
We can see this story in two different ways. We could examine individuals in this exodus to the new Promised Land process, and we would see how only a few people that actually started the journey actually made it to the promise land, but I want to show you this journey in a different way. I want to take the whole nation of Israel and how Israel as a nation represents the salvation process that happens in us individually under the new covenant. All the things that the nation of Israel went through is what most of us as believers under the new covenant go through during our process of coming to faith in Jesus Christ in order to be born again of God. The start of the exodus of Israel from Egypt represents the start of our salvation process and Israel entering the promise land represents our salvation process being completed by being born again into God’s kingdom.
Let’s start out with the exodus story. Before the exodus started the nation of Israel were captive and slaves to the Egyptian Empire. This captivity of Israel represents our captivity and slavery to our own sinful nature. Just like the people of Israel could not escape from the pharaoh’s grip without God intervening, we also cannot escape the grip and slavery of our sinful nature without God intervening on our behalf.
It was at the point when God made Egypt let His people go that Israel was released from her bondage of slavery. God had saved them from this bondage of slavery and now they had a choice to leave the tyranny over them. Israel was now free to worship and serve God. Just like God saved Israel from her bondage, God has sent Jesus to free us from our bondage of our sinful nature. When we start believing in Jesus Christ, God sends His Spirit into us to free us from our bondage. He saves us from our own nature. Just like the nation of Israel, we too are now free to worship and serve God. Just like Israel was very happy to be free, it is also at this point we feel God’s Spirit working in us and lifting our sin and guilt from us. This releasing of the guilt of sin makes us feel alive again, but this good feeling usually only lasts until the pressure of sin starts grabbing at us again. So far in this process we are not yet saved onto eternal life. We are only free to make the choices to become born again at this point.
Fast forwarding a little bit, we see the nation of Israel trapped between the red sea and pharaoh’s army. With pharaoh’s army pressing in on them they start doubting God. Even after all the great signs He had already done, they were wanting to go back to slavery.
Ex 14:11-12 - They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
The nation of Israel already wanted to go back to their bondage instead being free. They were people that had no faith in their God. We too as new believers return back to our sinful ways because we don’t have enough faith in God. Well, even though Israel was not faithful, God was. He parted the sea and Israel traveled on dry ground to the other side and then God was glorified by drowning the pharaoh’s army.
After about one and a half months the people of Israel said: Ex 16:3 - If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.
Again Israel could only think out of their own selfishness, they were not interested in glorifying God, they only cared for themselves. Just like Israel, we as believers that have not been completed in God’s love, are still selfish, we are not yet relying just on God’s provisions, we are still trying to satisfy our selfish nature.
Moving forward in this process, we come to the point where Moses was taking a long time to come down from the mountain. When Moses finally comes down he sees that Israel had corrupted them selves by going back to their old ways they had learned in Egypt. They had made a golden calf as an idol that they could worship. This is a representation of a believer being pushed or tempted back into the ways of the world. The believer wants to give in to the pressure out of lack of knowledge of God and out of selfishness to return to what is known and comfortable.
Ex 32:35 - And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
The verse above represents God’s punishment and cleansing of sinful ways upon the Israel people. God also punishes us as believers out of love for us. When He does this punishment on us, it will either work out cleansing in our heart or harden our hearts away from God. Remember we are now saved from the bondage of sin; we now have a choice to continue with God or go our own way.
Let’s fast forward to Moses sending the spies into the promise land. The spies went into the promise land and verified it was a land of milk and honey. Just like the nation of Israel was able to have a glimpse of the promise land before they entered it, we too in our individual salvation walk will get glimpses of God’s kingdom through His Word and His Spirit. But just like the nation of Israel having many spies that saw the same things, there were only two that were willing to give of them selves fully to fight with God to acquire the promise of God. We too in our walk with God still have parts of us that are and aren’t willing to give in to total obedience of our whole self to God’s will. Often there are parts of our life we are willing to give over to God, just like the two faithful spies of Israel, but we usually also have many areas of our life we are not yet willing to give over to God.
After the spies came back from the land of milk and honey that God wanted to give to them, most of the spies convinced the people of Israel that it was to dangerous. This is what the people of Israel said:
Num 14:2-4 - If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" So they said to one another,” Let us select a leader and return to Egypt."
Again, even after all the great miracles that God did for them and within their sight, the people of Israel did not believe that God would do most of the work of conquering the land for them. Only Joshua and Caleb had faith in God.
Num 14:11-12 - Then the Lord said to Moses: "How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."
Since the rest of the Israel people did not have faith in God and were only reasoning out that they could not fight these giants on their own, God sent Israel back into the desert for 40 years until all the unbelieving people of Israel had been cleansed out (died off). After the 40 years of the purging of unbelief was done, God let Israel come into the promise land.
Num 14:30-32 - Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.
What happened to Israel is what happens spiritually to a believer under the new covenant. All unbelief must be cleansed out of a believer to come to full faith in Jesus Christ. When full faith in Jesus Christ has been attained by the working of God’s Spirit upon our soul, we are then born again of God which gives us access into His eternal kingdom.
The timing of how long this process takes depends on how open a person is to the changes that needs to take place by God. If a person will humble them selves, God will lift up that person. If a person wants to stay in control and be prideful, God will have to wait for that person to be humbled before He can work with that person. Again, Jesus has saved all believers from bondage so he/she can now make their choice to fully serve God or not. The people of Israel were not willing to give their life to take the promise land, but after the 40 years of roaming around in the desert they became willing. We must also come to the point in our belief that we are willing to give our life to receive His promises for us, which is being born again into God’s eternal kingdom.
From God – through me – to you,
Mike Reid
We can see this story in two different ways. We could examine individuals in this exodus to the new Promised Land process, and we would see how only a few people that actually started the journey actually made it to the promise land, but I want to show you this journey in a different way. I want to take the whole nation of Israel and how Israel as a nation represents the salvation process that happens in us individually under the new covenant. All the things that the nation of Israel went through is what most of us as believers under the new covenant go through during our process of coming to faith in Jesus Christ in order to be born again of God. The start of the exodus of Israel from Egypt represents the start of our salvation process and Israel entering the promise land represents our salvation process being completed by being born again into God’s kingdom.
Let’s start out with the exodus story. Before the exodus started the nation of Israel were captive and slaves to the Egyptian Empire. This captivity of Israel represents our captivity and slavery to our own sinful nature. Just like the people of Israel could not escape from the pharaoh’s grip without God intervening, we also cannot escape the grip and slavery of our sinful nature without God intervening on our behalf.
It was at the point when God made Egypt let His people go that Israel was released from her bondage of slavery. God had saved them from this bondage of slavery and now they had a choice to leave the tyranny over them. Israel was now free to worship and serve God. Just like God saved Israel from her bondage, God has sent Jesus to free us from our bondage of our sinful nature. When we start believing in Jesus Christ, God sends His Spirit into us to free us from our bondage. He saves us from our own nature. Just like the nation of Israel, we too are now free to worship and serve God. Just like Israel was very happy to be free, it is also at this point we feel God’s Spirit working in us and lifting our sin and guilt from us. This releasing of the guilt of sin makes us feel alive again, but this good feeling usually only lasts until the pressure of sin starts grabbing at us again. So far in this process we are not yet saved onto eternal life. We are only free to make the choices to become born again at this point.
Fast forwarding a little bit, we see the nation of Israel trapped between the red sea and pharaoh’s army. With pharaoh’s army pressing in on them they start doubting God. Even after all the great signs He had already done, they were wanting to go back to slavery.
Ex 14:11-12 - They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
The nation of Israel already wanted to go back to their bondage instead being free. They were people that had no faith in their God. We too as new believers return back to our sinful ways because we don’t have enough faith in God. Well, even though Israel was not faithful, God was. He parted the sea and Israel traveled on dry ground to the other side and then God was glorified by drowning the pharaoh’s army.
After about one and a half months the people of Israel said: Ex 16:3 - If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.
Again Israel could only think out of their own selfishness, they were not interested in glorifying God, they only cared for themselves. Just like Israel, we as believers that have not been completed in God’s love, are still selfish, we are not yet relying just on God’s provisions, we are still trying to satisfy our selfish nature.
Moving forward in this process, we come to the point where Moses was taking a long time to come down from the mountain. When Moses finally comes down he sees that Israel had corrupted them selves by going back to their old ways they had learned in Egypt. They had made a golden calf as an idol that they could worship. This is a representation of a believer being pushed or tempted back into the ways of the world. The believer wants to give in to the pressure out of lack of knowledge of God and out of selfishness to return to what is known and comfortable.
Ex 32:35 - And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
The verse above represents God’s punishment and cleansing of sinful ways upon the Israel people. God also punishes us as believers out of love for us. When He does this punishment on us, it will either work out cleansing in our heart or harden our hearts away from God. Remember we are now saved from the bondage of sin; we now have a choice to continue with God or go our own way.
Let’s fast forward to Moses sending the spies into the promise land. The spies went into the promise land and verified it was a land of milk and honey. Just like the nation of Israel was able to have a glimpse of the promise land before they entered it, we too in our individual salvation walk will get glimpses of God’s kingdom through His Word and His Spirit. But just like the nation of Israel having many spies that saw the same things, there were only two that were willing to give of them selves fully to fight with God to acquire the promise of God. We too in our walk with God still have parts of us that are and aren’t willing to give in to total obedience of our whole self to God’s will. Often there are parts of our life we are willing to give over to God, just like the two faithful spies of Israel, but we usually also have many areas of our life we are not yet willing to give over to God.
After the spies came back from the land of milk and honey that God wanted to give to them, most of the spies convinced the people of Israel that it was to dangerous. This is what the people of Israel said:
Num 14:2-4 - If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" So they said to one another,” Let us select a leader and return to Egypt."
Again, even after all the great miracles that God did for them and within their sight, the people of Israel did not believe that God would do most of the work of conquering the land for them. Only Joshua and Caleb had faith in God.
Num 14:11-12 - Then the Lord said to Moses: "How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."
Since the rest of the Israel people did not have faith in God and were only reasoning out that they could not fight these giants on their own, God sent Israel back into the desert for 40 years until all the unbelieving people of Israel had been cleansed out (died off). After the 40 years of the purging of unbelief was done, God let Israel come into the promise land.
Num 14:30-32 - Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.
What happened to Israel is what happens spiritually to a believer under the new covenant. All unbelief must be cleansed out of a believer to come to full faith in Jesus Christ. When full faith in Jesus Christ has been attained by the working of God’s Spirit upon our soul, we are then born again of God which gives us access into His eternal kingdom.
The timing of how long this process takes depends on how open a person is to the changes that needs to take place by God. If a person will humble them selves, God will lift up that person. If a person wants to stay in control and be prideful, God will have to wait for that person to be humbled before He can work with that person. Again, Jesus has saved all believers from bondage so he/she can now make their choice to fully serve God or not. The people of Israel were not willing to give their life to take the promise land, but after the 40 years of roaming around in the desert they became willing. We must also come to the point in our belief that we are willing to give our life to receive His promises for us, which is being born again into God’s eternal kingdom.
From God – through me – to you,
Mike Reid
Romans 7 – So misunderstood
I was not planning on writing a message on the interpretation of Romans 7 until I realized that the misunderstanding of this passage was deceiving many away from God's truth. This scripture is so misunderstood by most churches.
There is an epidemic of misunderstanding of what a true Christian is and everybody with this misunderstanding seems to keep pointing to Romans 7 for their justification for this misunderstanding.
The misunderstanding originates from Romans 7:14-20.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
Most have misunderstood this verse because Apostle Paul seems to be writing this about himself. Since Paul is a born again Christian at the time he wrote this, people assume this is what a Christian is like.
If people fully understand the rest of the New Testament, they would quickly see these verses could not even be remotely considered to be representing what a true Christian is. To say a born again Christian is still controlled by his sinful nature is an oxy-moron. The phrases “born again Christian” and “controlled by sinful nature” cannot exist in the same person. Either you are still controlled in part or in full by your sinful nature or you are a born again Christian where the sinful nature has no control over you.
To start understanding this scripture we must understand whether this person Paul is talking about is born again or not. One of the key verses that indicates this is not a Christian is in Romans 7:14.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin..
When we are a Christian we are filled with God’s Spirit which has transformed our heart into a heart of love. Romans 7:14-20 is indicating a person’s life without the Holy Spirit in it. Without the Spirit in us, we have no hope of conquering sin on our own and we are still a slave to sin.
Apostle Paul is actually talking theoretically about any person, including himself, and how we are powerless with just our own human capabilities to get rid of sin. We learned throughout the Old Testament that we cannot obey God’s commandments on our own without the Holy Spirit’s power in us. This is what Paul is stressing in his letter. He is helping them understand what all of Israel already new before Christ came to die on the cross for us. The Jews knew the law was good but they were not capable of fulfilling the law.
Ever since the time when Adam ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, we have had the knowledge of good and evil in us. Remember it was the knowledge of good and evil, not just evil. The big problem ever since the original sin is not that we can’t know what is good, it is that we could not do any of the good we had knowledge of without the power of God in us. This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 7:15-16.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
Paul goes on to say that it is the sin, or evil, living in this person doing the sin since this person is still under the law. It is evident that this person does not have the Holy Spirit living in him. Paul concludes in Romans 7:17-18 that the only thing living in this person is the sinful nature.
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.
Now to keep this passage in context, let’s go back to the passages before Romans 7:14-20 to Romans 7:1.
Do you not know, brothers — for I am speaking to men who know the law — that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?
We see here that Paul is addressing people that know the Jewish law and emphasize that all men are under the control of the law until they die. Another words, we have to die to be free from the law. To illustrate his point Paul uses marriage as an example in Romans 7:2-3.
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
So what Paul is emphasizing here is that we have to die to the law before we can be bound to another, which is Jesus Christ. We die to the law by believing in the perfect body of Jesus Christ dieing on the cross for us. In Romans 7:4-6 Paul explains this for us.
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
If we believe Jesus Christ died for us, then we believe through the cross we also died and are no longer bound to the law and are now under God’s grace and no longer under the control of the sinful nature. We are given a new heart from God which does not have any selfishness or sin in it, but only love for God and love for all of God’s creation. True love cannot contain any selfishness or sin of any kind. Because this new heart that is from God has only love, it cannot willfully sin. Through this new heart we now have control of the body instead of the sinful nature in the body controlling us. Only God can do this and everything is possible with God.
Matthew 19:26 - Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Today Romans 7 is falsely preached from many pulpits with the idea that Christians can’t keep from sinning. This has been another deception from the devil that a lot of people have believed because it supports people believing they are born again when they truly haven’t had a total heart transformation yet. Don’t let yourself be fooled by this lie of the devil. The truth is, when your born again you can, through God’s Spirit’s power in you, conquer all the sins that His word or His Spirit convicts you of.
Remember God’s grace is His Spirit working in and through you – Michael Reid
There is an epidemic of misunderstanding of what a true Christian is and everybody with this misunderstanding seems to keep pointing to Romans 7 for their justification for this misunderstanding.
The misunderstanding originates from Romans 7:14-20.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
Most have misunderstood this verse because Apostle Paul seems to be writing this about himself. Since Paul is a born again Christian at the time he wrote this, people assume this is what a Christian is like.
If people fully understand the rest of the New Testament, they would quickly see these verses could not even be remotely considered to be representing what a true Christian is. To say a born again Christian is still controlled by his sinful nature is an oxy-moron. The phrases “born again Christian” and “controlled by sinful nature” cannot exist in the same person. Either you are still controlled in part or in full by your sinful nature or you are a born again Christian where the sinful nature has no control over you.
To start understanding this scripture we must understand whether this person Paul is talking about is born again or not. One of the key verses that indicates this is not a Christian is in Romans 7:14.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin..
When we are a Christian we are filled with God’s Spirit which has transformed our heart into a heart of love. Romans 7:14-20 is indicating a person’s life without the Holy Spirit in it. Without the Spirit in us, we have no hope of conquering sin on our own and we are still a slave to sin.
Apostle Paul is actually talking theoretically about any person, including himself, and how we are powerless with just our own human capabilities to get rid of sin. We learned throughout the Old Testament that we cannot obey God’s commandments on our own without the Holy Spirit’s power in us. This is what Paul is stressing in his letter. He is helping them understand what all of Israel already new before Christ came to die on the cross for us. The Jews knew the law was good but they were not capable of fulfilling the law.
Ever since the time when Adam ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, we have had the knowledge of good and evil in us. Remember it was the knowledge of good and evil, not just evil. The big problem ever since the original sin is not that we can’t know what is good, it is that we could not do any of the good we had knowledge of without the power of God in us. This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 7:15-16.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
Paul goes on to say that it is the sin, or evil, living in this person doing the sin since this person is still under the law. It is evident that this person does not have the Holy Spirit living in him. Paul concludes in Romans 7:17-18 that the only thing living in this person is the sinful nature.
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.
Now to keep this passage in context, let’s go back to the passages before Romans 7:14-20 to Romans 7:1.
Do you not know, brothers — for I am speaking to men who know the law — that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?
We see here that Paul is addressing people that know the Jewish law and emphasize that all men are under the control of the law until they die. Another words, we have to die to be free from the law. To illustrate his point Paul uses marriage as an example in Romans 7:2-3.
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
So what Paul is emphasizing here is that we have to die to the law before we can be bound to another, which is Jesus Christ. We die to the law by believing in the perfect body of Jesus Christ dieing on the cross for us. In Romans 7:4-6 Paul explains this for us.
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
If we believe Jesus Christ died for us, then we believe through the cross we also died and are no longer bound to the law and are now under God’s grace and no longer under the control of the sinful nature. We are given a new heart from God which does not have any selfishness or sin in it, but only love for God and love for all of God’s creation. True love cannot contain any selfishness or sin of any kind. Because this new heart that is from God has only love, it cannot willfully sin. Through this new heart we now have control of the body instead of the sinful nature in the body controlling us. Only God can do this and everything is possible with God.
Matthew 19:26 - Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Today Romans 7 is falsely preached from many pulpits with the idea that Christians can’t keep from sinning. This has been another deception from the devil that a lot of people have believed because it supports people believing they are born again when they truly haven’t had a total heart transformation yet. Don’t let yourself be fooled by this lie of the devil. The truth is, when your born again you can, through God’s Spirit’s power in you, conquer all the sins that His word or His Spirit convicts you of.
Remember God’s grace is His Spirit working in and through you – 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
Only Souls With Pure Hearts Will Enter Heaven
God has promised that when we are born again we are given a new heart.
Ezek 36:25-26 - I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.
God says all of our sinful nature is gone and we are a new creation in Him.
2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation ; the old has gone, the new has come!
When we are truly born again we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to His righteousness.
Rom 6:18 - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Jesus says he has set us totally free from the bondage of the sinful nature.
John 8:36 - So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
We must understand that for most of us that call ourselves Christians, we are not really born again yet. Most of us are in the pregnancy stage and we are getting ready to be born again. When God’s grace has purged all of the sinful nature out of our heart and soul, He will give us a new heart filled with only His love and all of our sinful nature will be gone. Then we will truly be able to love God and others like He commands us to.
To be born again, we have to humble ourselves by letting go of all of our pride and selfishness and give every bit of our soul to Him. Only then can anyone come to Him with the faith as a child to be reborn.
God is patient and gives us our whole life to let Him transform us into a pure spiritual being. Only after our heart is made pure, holy, and righteous by God are we acceptable for the gift of eternal life with Him. How long do you think you have left? Remember this is a process for most of us and usually takes some time.
For anyone that has been taught and believes that this total regeneration is not possible, please understand you have been deceived, for the Bible clearly indicates this entire sanctification is possible through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not only possible; it is required for anyone to have eternal life with God. Our soul must be purged of any sinful nature because God will not allow any unholy thing into His eternal kingdom.
John 3:3 - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
I tell you this even though it might be hard to hear, because a lot of us have stopped searching for God’s real truth. We have become complacent with our walk with God because we think we are eternally saved already. We have to stop listening to preachers that are telling us what we want to hear and search for the real truth. God says if we will search, we will find. So I sincerely ask you to search God’s Holy Word. Don’t go to books other than the Bible. Most books other than the Bible will mislead you in some way. The whole truth is in God’s Word. Let God talk to you through His scriptures.
God Bless,
Mike Reid
Ezek 36:25-26 - I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.
God says all of our sinful nature is gone and we are a new creation in Him.
2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation ; the old has gone, the new has come!
When we are truly born again we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to His righteousness.
Rom 6:18 - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Jesus says he has set us totally free from the bondage of the sinful nature.
John 8:36 - So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
We must understand that for most of us that call ourselves Christians, we are not really born again yet. Most of us are in the pregnancy stage and we are getting ready to be born again. When God’s grace has purged all of the sinful nature out of our heart and soul, He will give us a new heart filled with only His love and all of our sinful nature will be gone. Then we will truly be able to love God and others like He commands us to.
To be born again, we have to humble ourselves by letting go of all of our pride and selfishness and give every bit of our soul to Him. Only then can anyone come to Him with the faith as a child to be reborn.
God is patient and gives us our whole life to let Him transform us into a pure spiritual being. Only after our heart is made pure, holy, and righteous by God are we acceptable for the gift of eternal life with Him. How long do you think you have left? Remember this is a process for most of us and usually takes some time.
For anyone that has been taught and believes that this total regeneration is not possible, please understand you have been deceived, for the Bible clearly indicates this entire sanctification is possible through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not only possible; it is required for anyone to have eternal life with God. Our soul must be purged of any sinful nature because God will not allow any unholy thing into His eternal kingdom.
John 3:3 - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
I tell you this even though it might be hard to hear, because a lot of us have stopped searching for God’s real truth. We have become complacent with our walk with God because we think we are eternally saved already. We have to stop listening to preachers that are telling us what we want to hear and search for the real truth. God says if we will search, we will find. So I sincerely ask you to search God’s Holy Word. Don’t go to books other than the Bible. Most books other than the Bible will mislead you in some way. The whole truth is in God’s Word. Let God talk to you through His scriptures.
God Bless,
Mike Reid
Is Your Nature The Same As Jesus’ Nature
When Jesus was walking on this earth proclaiming the kingdom is at hand, He also proclaimed that He and the Father were one. He could say this because the Father and Jesus were of one Spirit. He indicated that His Father in heaven and He had the same nature, so if you saw one of them, you saw both of them.
John 14:9-10 - Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
In other scripture Jesus said He could only do His Father’s will because His Father’s nature and His own were the same. He could only do His Father’s will because Jesus could not go against His own nature since it was the same as His Father’s.
Now where does our nature fit into this? If we are a believer that has been born of God, we will have the same nature as Jesus.
John 14:12 - I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Rom 2:14-15 - Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts
2 Peter 1:4 - Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
When we are truly born again, we will have received Jesus’ Holy Spirit. When we are filled with His Spirit, we will be imparted with Jesus’ very nature. Since we are imparted with Jesus’ nature when born again, we can then say to others – “If you have seen me, you have seen Jesus”. We can say this because Jesus is in us and we are in Jesus.
John 15:4 - Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
Rev 3:20-22 - Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
In the following scripture, Peter stood up at the time of Pentecost and preached that what had just happened was what was prophesied – that God’s Spirit would be poured out to His people.
Acts 2:17 - In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
When we are born again all of our old nature is gone and we are imparted with Jesus’ nature. As long as we stay in Christ’s nature, we can only do Jesus’ will since we have the same nature as Jesus. We no longer have any desires to sin and since all desires to sin are gone from us, we don’t willfully sin. We can’t willfully sin because it now goes against our very nature which is the same as Jesus’ nature. The only way a born again believer can willfully sin is if that believer rejects Jesus’ nature, but how could anyone born again want to go back to the sinful nature after they have experienced the very loving nature of Jesus.
When we are born again and Jesus’ nature has become our own nature we will be “Christ like”.
2 Cor 3:18 - And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
We are truly brothers with Christ and a son of our heavenly Father because we are of one in Spirit.
If your soul cannot attest to the above words in this message, then I want to encourage you to truly come to the Lord and give your whole heart, soul, and mind to the Lord as a living sacrifice, only then can God impart His Son’s Holy Spirit (His nature) into you. This is the mystery of the gospel, all things become new and understood when Jesus Christ is in you.
2 Cor 3:14-16 - But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
God Bless,
Michael Reid
John 14:9-10 - Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
In other scripture Jesus said He could only do His Father’s will because His Father’s nature and His own were the same. He could only do His Father’s will because Jesus could not go against His own nature since it was the same as His Father’s.
Now where does our nature fit into this? If we are a believer that has been born of God, we will have the same nature as Jesus.
John 14:12 - I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Rom 2:14-15 - Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts
2 Peter 1:4 - Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
When we are truly born again, we will have received Jesus’ Holy Spirit. When we are filled with His Spirit, we will be imparted with Jesus’ very nature. Since we are imparted with Jesus’ nature when born again, we can then say to others – “If you have seen me, you have seen Jesus”. We can say this because Jesus is in us and we are in Jesus.
John 15:4 - Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
Rev 3:20-22 - Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
In the following scripture, Peter stood up at the time of Pentecost and preached that what had just happened was what was prophesied – that God’s Spirit would be poured out to His people.
Acts 2:17 - In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
When we are born again all of our old nature is gone and we are imparted with Jesus’ nature. As long as we stay in Christ’s nature, we can only do Jesus’ will since we have the same nature as Jesus. We no longer have any desires to sin and since all desires to sin are gone from us, we don’t willfully sin. We can’t willfully sin because it now goes against our very nature which is the same as Jesus’ nature. The only way a born again believer can willfully sin is if that believer rejects Jesus’ nature, but how could anyone born again want to go back to the sinful nature after they have experienced the very loving nature of Jesus.
When we are born again and Jesus’ nature has become our own nature we will be “Christ like”.
2 Cor 3:18 - And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
We are truly brothers with Christ and a son of our heavenly Father because we are of one in Spirit.
If your soul cannot attest to the above words in this message, then I want to encourage you to truly come to the Lord and give your whole heart, soul, and mind to the Lord as a living sacrifice, only then can God impart His Son’s Holy Spirit (His nature) into you. This is the mystery of the gospel, all things become new and understood when Jesus Christ is in you.
2 Cor 3:14-16 - But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
God Bless,
Michael Reid
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