|
|
Post by Cindy on May 13, 2024 9:50:50 GMT -5
Let's look at who God says will go to Hell. This does not apply to anyone who has been truly saved, even though we have been all of these things. The difference is that we no longer do these things because we have repented of our sins and have been forgiven and cleansed by the Lord. There are many lists of sins in the Bible that say those who live this way will not go to heaven but will go to hell, unless they repent and are saved. Those are the ones I'm going to quote, but only in part, but you can look them up and read the entire verses yourself. For the most part, I'm just listing the sins the verses contain that will send us to Hell.
sexual immorality, adultery, impurity, debauchery; idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 5:19–21)
“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination (telling the future by any means like tarot cards, astrology, etc.) or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, ..” (Deuteronomy 18:10–12)
medium or spiritist (like someone who channels a spirit) (Leviticus 20:27) sorcerers, perjurers,
those who defraud laborers of their wages,
those who oppress widows and the fatherless,
those deprive aliens of justice, (Malachi 3:5)
bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, every form of malice. (Ephesians 4:31)
impurity, greed, obscenity, foolish talk, coarse joking, (Ephesians 5:3–7)
sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, which is idolatry, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language, lies (Colossians 3:5–10) lawbreakers, rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; murderers, adulterers, perverts, slave traders, liars, perjurers—(1 Timothy 1:9–11)
boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:16–17)
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” (2 Timothy 3:1–5) deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” (1 Peter 2:1)
debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.” (1 Peter 4:3)
envy, selfish ambition, disorder and every evil practice.” (James 3:16)
“the wicked, the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers. male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers (1 Corinthians 6:9–11)
quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance, disorder, impurity, sexual sin, debauchery (2 Corinthians 12:20–21)
worshiping demons, and idols, murders, magic arts, sexual immorality, thefts. (Revelation 9:20–21)
the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars (Revelation 21:8) Hate (1 John 2:9–11) (1 John 4:19–20)
love of the world (1 John 2:15–16)
friendship with the world, (James 4:4)
“All wrongdoing is sin,” (1 John 5:17)
Also, in Matthew 23:13–33 Jesus tells off the religious Jews of his day who thought they were holy and going to heaven but who in reality were not saved, but only went through the motions of their religions so that others would think they were holy and important men. It goes to show that going through the motions of going to church on Sunday or twice a week, and doing all kinds of "religious" activity, is not going to get a person into heaven. I think one of the scariest verses in the Bible is this one where Jesus says: ““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. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21–23) By calling Him "Lord" this shows He is speaking to people who think they are saved, just like the religious leaders in His day did.
On top of all of that, in Matthew 5:21–28 and other places, we're told that if we think about doing these things, or day dream about doing them, it's no different than actually doing the sin. There's even more bad news: “everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23) “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) So the most loving thing an unbeliever does, even giving their life to save another, is still a sin because they aren't doing it in faith in the One true living God.
All that being said, please understand that every single person who has ever been truly saved, was and did the same sins that the unsaved do, because all of us were at one time unsaved and bound for Hell. But we told God that we knew we were sinners, horrible sinners! We told Him we knew Jesus had died to save us from our sins and from ourselves, and that we wanted to be saved. We asked Him to come and dwell within us and help us to live life the way He wanted us to. Miracle of Miracles, He did! Instantly, as soon as we asked! And instantly there was a very real transaction made in Heaven. Our names were entered into the Book of Life; He washed away our sin, guilt, and shame, and the Lord our God changed us on the inside which changed how we saw everything, and made it possible for us to change and live the way the Lord wants us to.
Oh sure, we still sin, but we don't keep doing the same sin constantly. As soon as we realize that we have sinned, we go to Him and confess it, and He washes us clean once again and helps us so we don't continue to sin. He doesn't promise that we will have an easy life here, but He does promise that He will make it worth in Heaven! Please, seek Him now if you aren't sure where you will go when you die. He loves you and is waiting and longing for you to come to Him! When you do, you need to get a Bible and make a habit of reading it every day because it's through His Word in the Bible that He speaks to us today, and He uses that to grow our faith, purify us, bless us, help us live in this world and get us ready for the next! You also need to find a church that still teaches the truth if you can, or at least another Christian that you can study and pray with.
|
|
|
|
Post by oliverwithatwist on May 13, 2024 14:17:59 GMT -5
For me, the physical sins are the "easy" ones to stop doing, but the mental ones are a whole different story. Evil thoughts creep in and I find myself asking for forgiveness and praying for the Holy Spirit to fill me with lovely, clean, and pure thoughts. And He does.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on May 16, 2024 10:57:01 GMT -5
For me, the physical sins are the "easy" ones to stop doing, but the mental ones are a whole different story. Evil thoughts creep in and I find myself asking for forgiveness and praying for the Holy Spirit to fill me with lovely, clean, and pure thoughts. And He does. |
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383 
|
Post by fearnot on Jun 14, 2024 16:04:59 GMT -5
Another one that is hard for me
is being a coward!
Fearing 'man' over God.
And having moments of doubt.....
not doubt like:
I don't believe in God,
but sometimes,
I have doubt,
that I am truly saved,
I 'know' I am not THE worst sinner
( well, I suppose I might be)
But sometimes when
I forget that Jesus already paid for my past sins.....
And
I start rehearsing them in my mind
yet..... once again.....
Not a good thing...
I start fearing, I don't have 'enough' Faith.....
And so on.
I do get thru those times,
but I sure would like them to go away forever!!!
But the coward is a biggie!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by oliverwithatwist on Jun 15, 2024 8:32:36 GMT -5
Cindy, I'm guilty of the old "murmuring" too. Guess I'll have some cheese with my "whine".
|
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Jun 15, 2024 9:15:11 GMT -5
Oliver!!!
Is cheese the cure? LOL
For the whine I mean.
Well then, what is the cure for a coward?
Oh wait...
Loving God above all else!
Even one's children.
In some ways, it is easier,
being rejected by a stranger
Than a child
( if you are talking about faith, Jesus, the Bible, salvation, Hell etc,
Especially if ....
they have explicitly demanded no such talk,
because they have their own thing!)
I wondered if some people have been
truly 'gifted' by God,
to not be cowardly...
What comes to mind is a lawyer,
they can go ahead head to head,
in heated arguments and debates..
and they seem to have an iron covering...
in that, they don't blink an eye
In fact,
it almost seems,
they 'relish' a fiery,
even, angry 'debate'.
That is something I absolutely hate.
|
|
|
|
Post by oliverwithatwist on Jun 15, 2024 14:03:44 GMT -5
Yesterday was a good example. I was doing some outdoor chores and started to complain about something and I stopped and repented. Seconds later I started complaining about something else, stopped repented again. Took a short break and then started to thank and praise Jesus that I am able to walk and bend up and down and do these chores.
Doing the same chores this morning (taking care of chickens, peafowl, horse, etc.) I prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit to keep me calm and peaceful. Things went much smoother. Stay focused on Jesus.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jun 17, 2024 10:24:44 GMT -5
Another one that is hard for me
is being a coward!
Fearing 'man' over God.
And having moments of doubt.....
not doubt like:
I don't believe in God,
but sometimes,
I have doubt,
that I am truly saved,
I 'know' I am not THE worst sinner
( well, I suppose I might be)
But sometimes when
I forget that Jesus already paid for my past sins.....
And
I start rehearsing them in my mind
yet..... once again.....
Not a good thing...
I start fearing, I don't have 'enough' Faith.....
And so on.
I do get thru those times,
but I sure would like them to go away forever!!!
But the coward is a biggie!!!
As far as your thoughts go, you know that you must take those thoughts captive and keep taking them captive every time they rear their ugly heads. Of course, once you've taken them captive you also must replace them with God's truth. Eventually you'll find that you have those thoughts less and less often when you handle them the way the Lord tells us to.
Oliver!!!
Is cheese the cure? LOL
For the whine I mean.
Well then, what is the cure for a coward?
Oh wait...
Loving God above all else!
Even one's children.
In some ways, it is easier,
being rejected by a stranger
Than a child
( if you are talking about faith, Jesus, the Bible, salvation, Hell etc,
Especially if ....
they have explicitly demanded no such talk,
because they have their own thing!)
I wondered if some people have been
truly 'gifted' by God,
to not be cowardly...
What comes to mind is a lawyer,
they can go ahead head to head,
in heated arguments and debates..
and they seem to have an iron covering...
in that, they don't blink an eye
In fact,
it almost seems,
they 'relish' a fiery,
even, angry 'debate'.
That is something I absolutely hate.
I've met people who love to argue and they start arguments all the time and then they sit back and watch the fun. (That was how they described themselves!) So yes, some people don't have any problem with confrontations. However, like you, I hate them. I used to avoid them like you do, but the Lord has gotten me to the point where I can handle them, to a point anyway. As far as children go, I guess I'm going to have to tell you my story, but I don't have time today as it's going to take awhile to write. Keep this in mind though. Just because a child rejects our faith, doesn't mean that the child reject us. It seems like that to us because we can't imagine separating ourselves from the Lord. He's part of us, quite literally too! But unbelievers don't know that or understand that. So to them, we are very separate from our faith and from the object of our faith. Yesterday was a good example. I was doing some outdoor chores and started to complain about something and I stopped and repented. Seconds later I started complaining about something else, stopped repented again. Took a short break and then started to thank and praise Jesus that I am able to walk and bend up and down and do these chores.
Doing the same chores this morning (taking care of chickens, peafowl, horse, etc.) I prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit to keep me calm and peaceful. Things went much smoother. Stay focused on Jesus.  |
|
fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,383
|
Post by fearnot on Jun 17, 2024 10:55:46 GMT -5
Well, I did write another email to Michael (our son).
They ( his wife and 7 year old son...
our 3rd grandchild we have never seen in person)
will be here the 29th
but will arrive too late at night,
sooooo
we will get together on Sunday the 30th.
and then they have to leave very early Monday to catch their plane.....
So, we have been talking about the 3 kittens,
Hossanah's cat had...
( after making it to be over a month old, and lively, playful etc.
2 died :( 
( Liam, Michael's son was looking forward to seeing them....
But one kitten is on the mend ( prayerfully will continue!!!)... 
Soooooo in continuing 'kitten' talk with Michael
I got to mention
( 'briefly'...well 'briefly' for me)
that the youth pastor at the Baptist church
we attended this Sunday
( next Sunday will be Calvary)
Anyway, the youth pastor,
in making a point about a verse,
asked 2 questions about
cats
How many of the congregation owned a cat?
it seemed like almost 2/3 did   
and then he asked
how many of us, think the cat
thinks
it owns us  LOL
Same number of folks agreed
we all thought so haha
I then mentioned he was making a point about a verse
having to do with do we treat others as we wish to be treated
But my email to him saying that
( and some other stuff about upcoming visit etc.)
was shorter
because I did not have to explain so much :)
Anyway...for me,
that WAS being less cowardly, 
and more brave!!! 
And it was not my usual
10,000 words!
And though my 'seed' drop
was really really tiny....
it's more than I have ever done,
since they said no God/Jesus talk allowed around them! |
|
|
|
Post by Cindy on Jun 19, 2024 10:42:41 GMT -5
Good for you Barbara! That's perfect! The seeds don't have to be big ones. Most often what brings people to Christ is how we act toward them, that we show them love no matter what, and secondly it's often some small thing that was said that sticks in their minds... perhaps reminding them of something. God can do amazing things with a small seed! In fact He can often do more with small seeds then big ones!
|
|
LOL
!!
