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 Family / Re: Can I Legally Have Two Middle Names by NewsOnline: 7:09pm On Aug 08, 2023 |
This is so me right now. My SSCE (school candidate) result has my first name in short form, no middle name. My GCE (private candidate) result has it in long form with a middle name in tow. My marriage certificate has my first name in full with a different middle name than the one on my GCE result. Now I need to upload my results on WAEC portal for a programme. I’m combining two results with different names and my current name which is my martiage name has a different middle name and surname… even I am confused. I hope you were able to fix the mess. If you did, how? !!!!!!!! |
| Education / Re: Share The Nostalgic Moments Of Ur Time In Oau by NewsOnline: 12:30am On Feb 08, 2021 |
tsupilot: The name of the chicken place could be Flavours- closest to Rotunda. Or A1 close to New Buka carpark owned by one quarters boy. Forgotten his name. Then there's C4 by Dapo Ako. A la Carte when funds were getting low. I remember how club boys could not be caught dead eating there or at Forks & Fingers. The old lady at B8 that sold only alcohol. That Economics cafeteria rice and dodo made a lot of sense sha. Sox & Box and their Valentine runs  Always scared when Rockshock was about to be published because I was everywhere, even though Segun the editor was an acquaintance My mother's hard-earned money was spent on Fortunate and TSP-- the more popular photographers. Moremi toilets were so terrible (for me at least) that I would go all the way to Conference Centre sometimes if I had to go That Gmiga business centre guy in town that looks like Sebastian from Little Mermaid. Sorry Gmiga but I can't help making the comparison. How on earth is it that of all the lecturers in Accounting it was relatively meek Akindele that became a scapegoat? They were just building the ETF hostel when I left. You must have been in OAU circa 1997- 2001. You have the same experiences that I did. Was an undergraduate staying at B Block in PG Hall when the Africa wahala happened. Heard the gunshots loud and clear. May their souls rest in peace. |
| Education / Re: Share The Nostalgic Moments Of Ur Time In Oau by NewsOnline: 10:01pm On Sep 15, 2020 |
Dapo4u: Wow. All of this happened while I was there. Thanks for the memories |
| Religion / Re: Never Trust Yourself. Trust In Christ - Olamide Obire by NewsOnline: 2:11am On Jul 11, 2020 |
DaddyNimo: That’s akin to saying that some people smoke heavily but live until they are 90. You ignore the millions that are suffering from cancer because of their smoking. Look around you. There is disaster happening all over the world. But God preserves His children. This is one thing that even some churchgoers are yet to understand: The difference between the righteous and the wicked is not how many sins they commit. The difference between the righteous and the wicked is HOW they believe that they are made righteous in God’s sight: is it by the blood of Jesus (the righteous) or is it by human effort aka arm of flesh that will fail (the wicked.) The difference is unlike the wicked, the path of all who have Christ as our sole Source of righteousness and the Reason why we are blessed shine brighter and brighter. Don’t be deceived. Many churchgoers are not born-again. Whatever side of the divide one is on, God’s mercy falls on both the righteous and the wicked. Among the wicked are churchgoers who spend their entire life inside church, doing their best to keep the Ten Commandments, fasting for 70 days and sowing seed in order to be godly and to get God to bless. These ones are still “the wicked” because their righteousness is not from Christ. All their works are useless because they have the mentality that they can keep even a jot of the law and do things to ginger God to bless by their own power. These ones might attend church like ten times a week but they are not saved. They reject Christ’s finished work and depend on their works to get God to bless. Christianity is not about clenching your teeth in a bid to curb sins. Christ came to save us from our sins because we cannot save ourselves. Whether you are born-again or not, the only reason why you are not wallowing in sins right now is because Time and Chance has not handed you a weight that you cannot carry. Sins or the inability to live a holy life is not the issue. God sees that kind of “I can be good by myself” mentality as Pride. His word says the arm of flesh (human effort at doing right) will fail. But like Peter before his denials, with their useless attempts at keeping the law in order to be godly and their 70 days fast and stuff done to get God to bless, many churchgoers are saying “God is wrong. I can obey.” God knows that human effort at being moral is useless. The arm of flesh will fail. There is nothing like “I can never do that” in the dictionary of anybody. All it takes is the right amount of weight and pressure by occasioned by adverse issues of life which do not give notice like landlord before knocking on somebody’s door. There are atheists and animists whose level of morality will put even the holiest church daddy to shame. There are other atheists who are quite immoral. Likewise, there are Christians who still struggle with sin and others that are doing okay. God’s blessing of the believer is not dependent on how many sins you did or did not commit. That is akin to a doctor treating his sick child only if the sick child makes himself well. Sin is the disease. Christ is the Physician. He did not come to tell us to heal ourselves. He came to save us from our sins. For anyone outside the umbrella of Christ’s blood-bought righteousness, whether churchgoer or not, whether rich or poor, they are the wicked. But God’s mercy still endures so that His goodness might lead them to trust utterly in Christ for salvation. |
| Properties / Re: 24hour Repairs And Servicing Of All Domestic Appliances In The Lagos Nigeria. by NewsOnline: 5:31pm On Oct 02, 2019 |
Oh my! I almost called this guy. Thanks Nairalanders for helping me dodge a potential bullet. 2 Likes |
| Religion / Re: What Does It Mean To Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ? - Olamide Obire by NewsOnline: 12:56pm On Sep 21, 2019 |
God bless you Jigazz. Believers, let's take our blessed brains to church. Antichrists respond to God's saving Grace with false and horrid arguments such as: "So you are saying once we are saved, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue in sin?” Antichrists preach that warped and false message that equates believing in Jesus with committing sins with reckless abandon. Titus 2:14 tells us why Christ came to die: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.” He came to free us from even those sins in Revelation 21:8 for which some “men of God” threaten the flock with hell fire: "8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Christ came to save us from perishing both here on earth and in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; that we might “not perish but have eternal life.” Sometimes, when we hear Revelation 21:8 quoted in many places of worship, it is usually in the context of “You’d better stop... (fill in the blank with any of the sins above) and come to Christ or else God will punish you and you will burn in hell.” Those who are already trying hard to overcome their sins and addictions get weighed down and depressed as they can see no hope of Salvation, even from the sins that hold them captive. Beloved of God, beware of preachers of such doctrine of demons. Matthew 1:21 tells us what Christ came to do: "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” This is Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. See what Romans 5:9 says of how God sees all who believe in Jesus: "And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." A common refrain of even some churchgoers to this truth of Grace is: "So you are saying once we are saved, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue in sin?” Beloved of God, beware of preachers of this doctrine of demons that equates righteousness in Christ with lawlessness and committing sins with reckless abandon. Matthew 1:21 tells us what Christ came to do: "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Christ Himself tells us in (John 6:43-46) what He is doing in the life of every believer: “Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do My work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."” Beloved of God, how can these two things - being saved from sins/put together by Christ and continuing to live in sin - how can they co-exist? How can the blind receive sight from Christ and continue to be blind? Believers, run from any pastor or churchgoer that posits this kind of horrid antichrist argument that says that righteousness in Christ is licence to commit sin. What a horrid antichrist doctrine it is. Let's take our blessed brains to church: Titus 2:14 tells us what Christ came to do: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Also see Matthew 1:21-"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” See the Amplified Classic version: "She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior], for He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God]." How then can these two things - being saved from sins by Christ and continuing to live in sin - how can they co-exist? How can you who have Christ who saves from sins (Matt. 1:21) as your Saviour continue to live in sin? Those who push this argument of “Christians continuing to wallow in blatant or covert sin after being joined to Christ who saves from sins" that is so lacking in God's Wisdom (Christ Himself) imply that Christ cannot accomplish His work as Saviour from sins in the life of the sinner who utterly depends on Him for salvation, even salvation from sins (Matt. 1:21.) They are NOT believers in Christ who is Saviour from sin and death. They are mere churchgoers. They were never saved, even saved from sins by Christ to begin with, even though they are calling Christ "Lord, Lord." They are their own saviour from sins. Christ never knew them. Hence thi You will find that it is this same "so you are saying that we can sin anyhow because of Grace" promoters that preach that believers whom Christ came to save from sins can lose their salvation. These ones were never saved to begin with. Their human effort at obedience (arm of flesh that will fail) is their saviour from sins. This is why they believe that they can lose a salvation that they never had to begin with. They do not see Christ as Saviour from sins. They are their own saviour. Unfortunately, their best efforts at abstinence from sins and living a godly life are like a menstrual rag in God's sight (Isaiah 64:6) and can never make anyone righteous in God's sight (Romans 3:19-20.) This false argument of "So you are saying once we are saved, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue in sin?” belies the fact that its promoters trust in their strength to make them godly (be like God) as Eve was deceived into doing. Such see themselves as their own saviour from sins and ungodliness. This is the very definition of unbelief in Jesus Christ. Beloved of God, let's not be found here. If you hold this wrong belief, you're reading this because our heavenly Father wants you to stop your silly efforts to save yourself and know and believe His Love and saving Grace- Christ Himself. Churchgoing hypocrites and antichrists are the ones that always bring up this kind of oxymoronic and horrid "So you are saying once we are saved, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue in sin?" argument. Such act like they are the only ones that loathe sin/desire godliness and that everybody except them is just itching to commit sins. To think that all sinners enjoy their sins and don't want to give them up is akin to thinking that Peter enjoyed denying Jesus and could not wait for another opportunity to deny Jesus. Or that Judas was gleefully looking forward to another opportunity to betray Christ. What do we think is the major cause of depression and suicide even among non-believers? It is guilt for sins, fear, anxiety, hopelessness and sorrow in the heart for sins aka not measuring up to particular standards - no different from what happened to the depressed and suicidal Judas who was full of remorse, blamed himself for his sin and looked to himself for salvation through his futile attempt at making things right. The word "sin" is translated from the Greek word Hamartia- literally "miss the mark." All of mankind have sinned. Many are like Peter- beginning with good intentions, self-confident in their sin-loathing, never thinking that they could do what they did, falling flat on their faces (because the arm of flesh will fail) and afterwards, feeling great remorse. Others are like Judas whom "Satan entered." See Luke 22- “3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.” To all the beloved of God who are always positing this baseless argument of "So you are saying once we are saved, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue in sin?" and think that everybody but them wants to go on sinning sprees: you are not the only one that hates sin. As they say in my country, “it is condition that bent crayfish” for many: the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to get tempted beyond what we can bear ()There is no good in man of himself. Man's will-power to withstand temptation (after boasting that “I can never do that" as Peter did) is utterly useless. See this in . We all need God's saving Grace who saves from sins. Like Peter, we will all fall flat on our faces if it was up to us and our useless human strength (arm of flesh) to remain standing if Satan came to sift like wheat. But like Peter before he denied Christ, many boast in their strength to overcome sin and do the right thing because God's restraining hand has not allowed them to get tempted beyond what they can bear (1 Corinthians 10:11-13) The arm of flesh (human strength/effort at being godly aka be like God) will fail. If it were not for God's mercy, all of mankind would crumple into the sins-ridden mass of flesh that man is of himself when Satan comes a-sifting. When the scales of Satan's grip falls from the eyes of many, they realise their sin and are remorseful. No matter how it got to go astray, whether like Peter who thought he would never do something like that or like Judas whom Satan entered, what the lost sheep who are living in sin/under the accusation and the guilt of sins need is not more rules and regulations about abstinence from sins and being godly by human strength aka keeping the letter (law) that kills. What the helpless sinner needs is super(hyper)-abounding Grace: Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd and Saviour who saves from sins. God sent Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. But like Eve who tried to be godly (be like God) by using her human strength, some people deceive themselves by believing that they can do the right thing (keep the law and be sinless in order to be good like God) by their human strength (arm of flesh.) Also like Peter who boasted and knew 100% that he would not deny Christ but fell flat on his face three times, some think that some sins are beneath them. Believer, let's not be found here. Many have no idea that the reason why we are not mass murderers is because God did not allow Satan to load us with a trial that we cannot handle. We all need God's saving Grace 100% in every facet of life. Being in Christ without living in triumph over sin and death is much more impossible than being submerged under water naked without getting wet. Godliness, every fruit of the Spirit and right living is the "wet." In Christ, we are not under Law but under Grace- "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:14. This verse is the message of the cross; Christ's message. But many preach it backwards and say that sin will have dominion over you if you follow Grace or that Grace children just want to wallow in sin. There is a reason for this foolish and antichrist talk as we see in 1 Corinthians 1:18- "For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God." The message of the cross is all about salvation by God's Grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour,) including salvation from sins and every curse. Beloved of God, God's Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him: "God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone." Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." How can one continue to live in sin when he has Christ (God's Grace) who came to free us from every kind of sin, no matter how vile, as his Saviour? Only antichrists preach that Grace (Christ Himself!) will cause people to sin. How can God who sent His own beloved Son to save us from our sins sanction living in sin? This is as ridiculous as going to a hospital treat cancer and then the Physician in charge of your well-being (who happens to be your Father that would give his life for you in a heartbeat) allows you to ingest and wallow in more carcinogens (sin) so that the penalty of your wallowing (death) can follow. Let's take our blessed brains to church. Not every gathering in God's name is the “assembly of the brethren.” Christ is Saviour. He saves from the cancer of sin and the death that follows. For all who believe in Jesus Christ, God the Righteous Judge sees us as righteous, "even though we are guilty of many sins"- Romans 5:16- "And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.” It is because of those sins that He came to die- to save us from them all. So how on earth can a believer continue to wallow in sin? Any churchgoer with this false reasoning simply does not believe in Jesus Christ - that He saves from sins. Beloved of God, beware of “spiritual wickedness in high places” pastors whose trade is describing the truth of Grace (God's word!) as “blasphemy”/“license to sin.” Such point out sin and ungodliness in man and then promote the attainment of righteousness/godliness (be like God) by human effort aka the arm of flesh. This is the same seemingly good but deathly false doctrine that Satan used to deceive Eve in Eden. It is the way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death. It is the broad road that leads to destruction. We often forget that people on the broad road want to enter the realm of heaven's kingdom. They're not people who do not care about God or where they will spend eternity. Just like the people that Christ was addressing as He taught the Sermon on the Mount where the reference is from, they go to church to hear the Word. They're just on the wrong path- they look to their own strength and will-power (arm of flesh) to obey the law in order to be sin-free, right with God and have eternal life and thus have been cut off from Christ (Galatians 5:4.) Peddlers of this false doctrine that equates righteousness in Christ with license to sin never point you to Jesus Christ the Tree of Life who gave His life to make us godly/righteous in God's sight (Romans 5:9) and to free us from every kind of sin (Titus 2:14) They preach that God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ are license to sin. But God's word says differently. His word says receiving His abundance of Grace and His gift of Righteousness to us in Christ is the Way to live in triumph over sin and death: "And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16-17. 1 Like 1 Share |
| Religion / Re: What Does It Mean To Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ? - Olamide Obire by NewsOnline: 12:07pm On Sep 21, 2019 |
God bless you Jigazz. I pray that you experience more of God's saving Grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) as you continue to not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Paul who wrote that he was not ashamed of the gospel and whose writing many commentators are twisting here as they are twisting yours was also falsely accused of preaching that it is okay to sin because of Grace. Be happy. You are in good company. Blessed are you when you are persecuted for Christ's sake. Many people interpret not being ashamed of the gospel of Christ as being bold enough to preach inside bus but even Satan can preach inside bus as he is doing with your accusers here and even behind church pulpits. Satan's doctrine is no different from the one with which he used to deceive Eve in Eden: that you can be godly (be like God) by human striving at doing something (keeping the law which gives the knowledge of good and evil.) If you look carefully, this is the same doctrine that those who claim to be for Christ but are opposing the truth that you posted are believing. They think that they can achieve a smidgen of good (godliness) by their human effort (arm of flesh) at obeying the letter that kills! They are like Peter who implied that Christ was wrong when Christ told him about his then upcoming denials, so confident in their ability to keep the law and live a godly life (be like God.)They look at some sins and like Peter did, think along the lines of "I can never do that." They pride themselves in their ability to obey the law that God's word says condemns all who try! Like Peter did before his eyes were opened to his utter need for God's saving Grace, they imply that God's word must be wrong when He says the arm of flesh will fail. They are yet to see how lacking in humility they are with their pride in the arm of flesh to obey the law and cannot see their utter need for Christ's salvation from sin and death! Believer, let's not be found trusting in the arm of flesh to make us righteous like God when Christ died for this same purpose. A common refrain of even some churchgoers to the truth of God's Grace is: "So you are saying once we are saved, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue in sin?” Beloved of God, beware of preachers of this doctrine of demons that equates righteousness in Christ with lawlessness and committing sins with reckless abandon. Matthew 1:21 tells us what Christ came to do: "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Christ Himself tells us in (John 6:43-46) what He is doing in the life of every believer: “Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do My work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."” Beloved of God, how can these two things - being saved from sins/put together by Christ and continuing to live in sin - how can they co-exist? How can the blind receive sight from Christ and continue to be blind? Believers, run from any pastor that posits this kind of horrid antichrist argument that says that righteousness in Christ is licence to commit sin. What a horrid antichrist doctrine it is. Let's take our blessed brains to church: Titus 2:14 tells us what Christ came to do: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Also see Matthew 1:21-"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Being in Christ without living in triumph over sin and death is much more impossible than being submerged under water naked without getting wet. Godliness, every fruit of the Spirit and right living is the "wet." In Christ, we are not under Law but under Grace- "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:14. This verse is the message of the cross; Christ's message. But many preach it backwards and say that sin will have dominion over you if you follow Grace or that Grace children just want to wallow in sin. There is a reason for this foolish and antichrist talk as we see in 1 Corinthians 1:18- "For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God." The message of the cross is all about salvation by God's Grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour,) including salvation from sins and every curse. Beloved of God, God's Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him: "God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone." Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." How can one continue to live in sin when he has Christ (God's Grace) who came to free us from every kind of sin, no matter how vile, as his Saviour? Only antichrists preach that Grace (Christ Himself!) will cause people to sin. How can God who sent His own beloved Son to save us from our sins sanction living in sin? This is as ridiculous as going to a hospital treat cancer and then the Physician in charge of your well-being (who happens to be your Father that would give his life for you in a heartbeat) allows you to ingest and wallow in more carcinogens (sin) so that the penalty of your wallowing (death) can follow. Let's take our blessed brains to church. Not every gathering in God's name is the “assembly of the brethren.” Christ is Saviour. He saves from the cancer of sin and the death that follows. For all who believe in Jesus Christ, God the Righteous Judge sees us as righteous, "even though we are guilty of many sins"- Romans 5:16- "And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.” It is because of those sins that He came to die- to save us from them all. So how on earth can a believer continue to wallow in sin? Any churchgoer with this false reasoning simply does not believe in Jesus Christ - that He saves from sins. Beloved of God, beware of “spiritual wickedness in high places” pastors whose trade is describing the truth of Grace (God's word!) as “blasphemy”/“license to sin.” Such point out sin and ungodliness in man and then promote the attainment of righteousness/godliness (be like God) by human effort aka the arm of flesh. This is the same seemingly good but deathly false doctrine that Satan used to deceive Eve in Eden. It is the way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death. It is the broad road that leads to destruction. We often forget that people on the broad road want to enter the realm of heaven's kingdom. They're not people who do not care about God or where they will spend eternity. Just like the people that Christ was addressing as He taught the Sermon on the Mount where the reference is from, they go to church to hear the Word. They're just on the wrong path- they look to their own strength and will-power (arm of flesh) to obey the law in order to be sin-free, right with God and have eternal life and thus have been cut off from Christ (Galatians 5:4.) Peddlers of this false doctrine that equates righteousness in Christ with license to sin never point you to Jesus Christ the Tree of Life who gave His life to make us godly/righteous in God's sight (Romans 5:9) and to free us from every kind of sin (Titus 2:14) They preach that God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ are license to sin. But God's word says differently. His word says receiving His abundance of Grace and His gift of Righteousness to us in Christ is the Way to live in triumph over sin and death: "And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16-17. Believe Right and you will Live Right. |
| Religion / Re: Never Trust Yourself. Trust In Christ - Olamide Obire by NewsOnline: 12:21pm On Sep 01, 2019 |
DaddyNimo: the answer to your question on why the Christless seem to prosper is in Psalm 73. 1 Like |
| Religion / Re: Will You Be Ready When The Lord Shall Come? - Olamide Obire by NewsOnline: 1:28am On Aug 28, 2019 |
PrincewithGod: No, Mr. PrincewithGod. The writer is not "saying" this horrid and twisted antichrist reasoning that equates Christ's salvation with license to sin. Beware of people who peddle this kind of reasoning. It is the same one that religious people used to slander Paul and the early apostles whom they accused of preaching that it is okay to sin because of Grace. See this in Romans 3:17. Christ says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that WHOSOEVER believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16. Beware of antichrist pastors and their followers who like to add "obey the Ten Commandments so that you should not perish but have everlasting life" to Christ's message and always equate God's Grace with license to sin. This is what Christ came to do according to Matthew 1:21- "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Also see what Christ is doing in the life of every true believer in Titus 2:14- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." How do these two things - being saved from sins by Christ and continuing to live in sin - how do they even relate? Believers, run from any pastor that posits this kind of horrid antichrist argument that says that righteousness in Christ is licence to commit sin. What a horrid antichrist doctrine it is. Let's take our blessed brains to church: Matthew 1:21 tells us what Christ came to do: "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” See the Amplified Classic version: "She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior], for He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from [a]failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God]." How do these two things - being saved from sins and continuing to live in sin - how do they even relate? How can you who have Christ who saves from sins as your Saviour continue to live in sin? THOSE WHO SAY THIS IMPLY THAT CHRIST CANNOT ACCOMPLISH HIS WORK AS SAVIOUR FROM SINS IN THE LIFE OF THE SINNER WHO DEPENDS ON HIM FOR SALVATION. Churchgoing hypocrites and antichrists are the ones that always bringing up this kind of false "So you are saying once we are saved, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue in sin?" argument. Such act like they are the only ones that loathe sin and that everybody except them is just itching to commit sins. So like Satan did with Eve who depended on what she could to be godly (like God) by her useless human strength, they push the flock into trying to do things in order to be godly (be like God.) To think that all sinners enjoy their sins and don't want to give them up is akin to thinking that Peter enjoyed denying Jesus and could not wait for another opportunity to deny Jesus. What do we think is the major cause of depression and suicide even among unbelievers? It is guilt for sins, fear, anxiety, hopelessness and sorrow in the heart for sins aka not measuring up to particular standards - no different from what happened to Judas who was full of remorse and blamed himself for his sin. All of mankind have sinned. Many are like Peter- beginning with good intentions, never thinking that they could do what they did and afterwards, feeling great remorse. Others are like Judas whom "Satan entered." See Luke 22- “3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.” Mr. PrincewithGod, you are not the only one that hates sin. It is condition that bent crayfish for many as it did with Peter who thought he was good until Satan sifted him and he saw what the Word of God (Christ Himself) is still telling everyone today: "There is none good but God" and "The arm of flesh (human effort at being godly) will fail." We all need God's saving Grace who saves from sins to the same degree. But like Peter who thought Christ was wrong about his then upcoming denials, many churchgoers still trust in themselves to do right. This attitude/mindset only opens the door for Satan to sift man like wheat for that good that he claims to have when God's word says "There is none good but God." Like Peter, all will fall flat on their face if it was up to them and the useless human strength (arm of flesh) to remain standing when Satan comes to sift like wheat. But like Peter before he denied Christ, many churchgoers boast in their strength to overcome sin and do the right thing because God's restraining hand has not allowed them to be tempted beyond what they can bear and crumple into the sins-ridden mass of flesh that man is of himself. When the scales of Satan's grip falls from the eyes of many, they realise their sin and are remorseful. No matter how it got to go astray, what the lost sheep who are living under accusation and the guilt of sins need is not more Law or rules and regulations about sin that kills but super(hyper)-abounding Grace: Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd who saves from sins. God sent Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. But like Eve who tried to be godly (be like God) by using her human strength, some people deceive themselves that they can do the right thing (keep the law in order to be good like God) by their human strength (arm of flesh.) Also like Peter who boasted and knew 100% that he would not deny Christ but fell flat on his face three times. so you think some sins are beneath you? You have no idea that the reason why you are not a mass murderer is because God did not allow Satan to load you with a trial that you cannot handle. We all need God's saving Grace 100% in every facet of life. Being in Christ without living in triumph over sin and death is much more impossible than being submerged naked under water without getting wet. Godliness and every fruit of the Spirit is the "wet." In Christ, we are not under law but under Grace- "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:14. This verse is the message of the cross; Christ's message. But many preach it backwards and say that sin will have dominion over you if you follow Grace or that Grace children just want to wallow in sin. There is a reason for this foolish and antichrist talk as we see in 1 Corinthians 1:18- "For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God." The message of the cross is ALL about salvation BY GOD'S GRACE (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour,) including salvation from every curse. Beloved of God, God's Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him: "God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone." Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." How can you continue to live in sin when you have Christ who came to free us from every kind of sin, no matter how vile, as your Saviour? Only antichrists preach that GRACE (Christ Himself!) will cause people to sin. How can Christ who saves from sins sanction living in sin? This is as ridiculous as going to a hospital treat cancer and then the doctor that is in charge of your well- being who just happens to be your Dad allows you to ingest more carcinogens. Christ is Saviour. He saves from the cancer of sin, symptoms and the death that follows. For all who believe in Jesus Christ, God the Righteous Judge sees us as righteous, "even though we are guilty of many sins"- Romans 5:16- "And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.” Beloved of God, beware of “spiritual wickedness in high places” pastors whose trade is describing this truth of Grace (God's word!) as “blasphemy”/“license to sin.” Such point out sin and ungodliness in man and then promote the attainment of righteousness/godliness (be like God) by human effort aka the arm of flesh. This is the same seemingly good but deathly false doctrine that Satan used to deceive Eve in Eden. Peddlers of this false doctrine never point you to Jesus Christ the Tree of Life who gave His life to make us godly/righteous in God's sight (Romans 5:9) and to free us from every kind of sin (Titus 2:14) They preach that Grace is license to sin. But God's word says differently. His word says receiving His abundance of Grace and His gift of Righteousness to us in Christ is the Way to live in triumph over sin and death: "And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16-17. |
| Religion / Re: Will You Be Ready When The Lord Shall Come? - Olamide Obire by NewsOnline: 2:58pm On Feb 12, 2019 |
PrincewithGod: Not so. Receiving God's abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ is not a license to continue in sin. God's word says this is the Way to live in triumph over sin and death: Romans 5- 16 “And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.” The vilest offender who believes gets to be transformed to live right by the power of the Holy Spirit. But antichrist pastors follow the example of the religious Pharisees who rejected Christ by preaching dependence on human effort (the arm of flesh that will fail) in the bid to attain righteousness and salvation. We often forget that the Pharisees were not people who could not wait for their synagogue service to finish so that they could rush out to fornicate and break the Law. They were very strict with their observance of the Law, just like many churchgoers today, but Christ called them "brood of vipers." They could not enjoy Christ's salvation. What happened to them is still happening to religious people who think they can keep and attempt to keep the Law that kills in order to be right with God today: "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace." Galatians 5:4. This does not make sense to the logical mind because the message of Christ is "foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). It is foolishness to people who think their puny efforts at keeping the Law counts one jot towards their right-standing with God. Paul and the early Christians were also accused of preaching that it is okay to sin because of Grace as you are doing - see this in Romans 3:7-8- 7 "But," someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights His truthfulness and brings Him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned." See the TPT: "7 So, if my lie brings into sharp contrast the brightness of God’s truth, and if my lie accentuates His glory, then why should I be condemned as a sinner? 8 Is it proper for us to sin, just so we can be forgiven? May it never be! Yet there are some who slander us and claim that is what we teach. They deserve to be condemned for even saying it!" Paul goes on to say of God in verse 26-28 of the same chapter- "26...for He himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law." Like many religious churchgoers today, the religious people of Paul's time heard this and could not understand how a person could be righteous before God without obeying the law. So they falsely accused Paul of preaching that it is okay to be sinning anyhow because of Grace- just as you are doing! Salvation in Christ entails believing that Christ was crucified for our sins and He was raised from the dead. But what is the purpose of Christ's crucifixion and His ressurection? See this in Romans 4:25- "who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous." See the TPT- "Jesus was handed over to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised back to life to prove that He had made us right with God!" Christ was crucified because of our sins. God raised Him from the dead TO PROVE THAT we have been declared righteous. To believe that one's sins are still hanging unpaid somewhere or that one still has to do certain things like keep the Ten Commandments by human effort in order to be righteous before God is to deny the death and resurrection of Christ. This is to deny Christ! Antichrist. This is even very foolish - for a human being to think he can keep a jot of God's Law by using the arm of flesh (human effort) that will fail when God says he cannot: Paul said it well in Romans 7:18- “"For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it." God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail says: "No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin.” Reminds one of Peter telling Jesus that He was wrong when He told him of his upcoming denials Like Peter, what we have of our own human effort are good intentions. One popular song says "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Remember Peter seemed to be making good on his promise to not deny Jesus at first — he slashed off someone's ear when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane, ready to defend Christ. Then his circumstances changed and he sang a different tune…three times. Many among us don't yet realise that the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to get tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas of our "strength." See 1 Corinthians 10:12-13: "12 So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously." If God lifted His restraining hand that restrains us from sins, we would all be wallowing in heinous sins by now. Our success at doing the right thing has got nothing to do with our strong moral resolve or non-existent prowess at keeping the Ten Commandments for the purpose of morality after we got saved. Paul addressed this in Romans 1 where a group who “suppress the truth” of righteousness by faith (verses 16-19) devolved into sin after “God lifted off His restraining hand…” — “24 This is why God lifted off His restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires…” This is why Christ came: to save us from our sins. Believer, God our heavenly Father is fully satisfied with the payment that Christ made for our sins. Romans 5:9 says of how He sees we who believe: "And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." By seeing ourselves as our heavenly Father sees us in Christ, we are being transformed. As we continue to see ourselves through the mirror of God's Word (Christ Himself: Grace-personified) and not through the Law (which Romans 3:20 says was given to show us how sinful we are,) we are being transformed by His Spirit: 2 Corinthians 3:18- "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." Only imperfect people need transformation. The one who can transform himself to "be like God" by will-power and human striving (arm of flesh) at obeying the Law does not need the Spirit of the Lord to transform him. With Christ as our righteousness, we are 100% righteous in the sight of God our Father (Romans 5:9) and "so lovely" to Jesus Christ our Shepherd-King (Song of Songs 1:5) - EVEN THOUGH WE ARE GUILTY OF MANY SINS. SEE THIS IN THE VERSE BELOW. In Christ, we have God's super-abounding Grace and His gift of righteousness by which we get to live in triumph over sin and death through Jesus Christ: Romans 5:16-17: 16 “And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.” GOD'S GRACE (JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF) IS NOT A LICENSE TO SIN. HE IS THE WAY TO LIVE IN TRIUMPH OVER SIN AND DEATH. WITHOUT HIM, WE WOULD ALL DEVOLVE INTO SIN AND DEATH. All earthly ills are "death begun." But many put the cart before the horse and think they are not sinning because they have some good in their fallen humanity. The spirit of the antichrist is not anti-God. In fact, it can be very religious, preaching strongly against sin from behind the pulpit and shouting the need for churchgoers to bear the fruit of godliness from the rooftops - like the Pharisees. This spirit focuses on the importance of striving for godliness/salvation from sin by human effort at keeping the Law and it knows just what it is doing- trying to cut believers off from Christ: "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace." Galatians 5:4. But this is what Christ came to do: Titus 2:14- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." How can Christ who came to free us from every kind of sin use the same sins that he came to free us from as an excuse for not saving us from them? This is akin to an oncologist dad refusing to heal his own beloved child who has cancer...because the child has cancer. Only by receiving God's abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to live in triumph over sin and death and only through Jesus Christ. |
| Religion / Re: So Hard To Keep New Year Resolution. How Is Yours? by NewsOnline: 10:23am On Jan 28, 2019 |
NewsOnline: |
| Religion / Re: So Hard To Keep New Year Resolution. How Is Yours? by NewsOnline: 10:18am On Jan 28, 2019 |
This reply is directed at believers in Christ so narrow-minded, clueless and bigoted "atheists" that give open-minded and civil atheists a bad name with crass, uncouth and uncivilized comments can pass on reading. It is not for such. New Year Resolutions are things that people determine to do using the arm of flesh (human striving) that will fail. Believer, see what God's word says of man, a truth that Paul experienced: Romans 7:18- "For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it." God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But antichrist "pastors" in many churches appeal to the non-existent good in man and Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail to make churchgoers say: "No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the Law and resist temptation to commit sin by my will-power and sheer determination. I can do what I said I will do.” Reminds one of Peter telling Jesus that He was wrong when Jesus told him of his upcoming denials On the way to Gethsemane (Matthew 24:31-35), Jesus told His disciples that they would desert Him that night. Peter boasted that He would never deny Jesus, even if everyone else did. Peter said this in the presence of the other disciples! They heard him say he was better than they were! How confident in his ability to fulfill his resolution he must have been!When our Lord Jesus Christ replied that Peter would deny that he even knew Him three times that very night, Peter replied “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” See any similarities yet? I’m sure Peter meant what he said with all his heart, like you and I have done at some point. He knew that he would die for Jesus, no matter what! Peter seemed to be making good on his promise to die with our Lord during His betrayal and arrest by cutting off someone's ear in Jesus' defence– John 18:10 “Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave.” But we all know what happened after Jesus was taken away by the Temple guards. Peter, who had boasted that he would die with Jesus, denied that He even knew Jesus – three times - with swearing and cursing! This is why most people start off keeping their resolutions for some time but end up failing at some point. If Satan should come to sift like wheat, anyone who depends on his on effort to stand will fail. The reason why we are not committing particular sins and why we are seemingly making progress with some resolutions is because God did not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas - see 1 Corinthians 10:12-13. "Time and Chance" do not conduct SWOT analysis or give notification before throwing weights at anybody, so what do you do if you can only carry 10kg and life and you get blindsided with a 100 ton weight? THere is nothing like "I can never do that" in the natural dictionary of any human being. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that they can keep the law/keep resolutions/overcome sins/etc. Like pre-denial Peter, what we have of our own human effort are good intentions, the undertaking of which are subject to life's circumstances. One popular song says "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Christ said to the rich, young ruler who thought he was doing a good job of keeping the Law: "There is none good but God." In God's sight, every form of righteousness that proceeds from human striving at earning salvation is like a menstrual rag: Isaiah 64:6- "We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight." Christ says in Luke 6: 43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Of our human nature and striving, there is no good in any one of us. So how can man produce good fruit from a place of no good? You know it is human striving if you can boast about what you did as why you got something from God who gives us all things FREELY with Christ (Romans 8:32) e.g. "God gave me a jet because I sowed my car." "I got delivered from generational curse because I fasted for 70 days." Notice no Christ doing anything in these equations of salvation in these anti-Christ confessions? Believer in Christ, this "trade by barter" arrangement does not represent our heavenly Father who gives us all things FREELY with Christ: Romans 8:32- "He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" In Christ, having Him as our Righteousness and Strength, God fills us to overflowing with His goodness and mercy so much that what is spilling over we can't help but be a blessing to those around us and achieve what others see as impossible. We get to love and live a life of moral excellence that exceeds that which the law demands. We get to give beyond the lawful regulation of the tithe, yet not us but Christ in us, so we cannot boast in the flesh (human effort) at keeping resolutions. This is why we sing: "Tis no longer I that liveth but Christ that liveth in me." But Satan, through his ministers in many churches, appeals to the non-existent ability to produce good or be good (be like God) in man. The man that falls for his deceit is able to boast about how his efforts at keeping the Law and doing good things is what got God to bless him. Notice no Christ freely saving/delivering/healing/providing in this false equation of salvation? This is the preaching of the antichrist spirit: it is seemingly holy, godly and thoroughly against sin but very subtly, it tries to reduce, remove or replace the finished work of Christ in freely saving/healing/providing for/making righteous the sinner who believes with human striving. Satan tries to get man striving to achieve godliness by human effort aka law-keeping. Same strategy was used to deceive Adam and Eve. Satan knows this is how to get one cut off from Jesus Christ the Tree of Life: "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace." Galatians 5:4. Smack where Satan wants the church to be. Believer, by Grace, let's not be found here. Law-keeping in order to get right with God is the broad road that leads to destruction and many Christians are suffering on this road due wrong beliefs about God. Believer, God is not a "trade by barter" taskmaster who is just waiting in the wings to catch you in your sins so that He can punish you or let the devil have a go at you. He is Abba Father who gave His own Son to die for us that we might live free from sin and death. Thought to add that there is nothing like generational or other curse in the life of believers in Christ as "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law..." Galatians 3:13. Believer, by Grace, let's receive the same revelation-knowledge that Paul did - "that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity." No sin is beneath anybody. The reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them or that they can obey the Law and overcome trials and tests by human striving aka the arm of flesh. By Grace, stop trying to save keep resolutions or save yourself from your sins by your own will-power (arm of flesh) that will fail. Trust in Christ of whom it is written in Matthew 1:21- "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus did not come to tell bad people to try to be good or to "try and change" by will-power and sheer determination. With man this is impossible. He came to raise the dead (in sin) to life (in HIS righteousness - we have none of ours) and that we might have life more abundantly. SALVATION in Christ is not behaviour modification by human effort at suppressing sinful urges by human effort at keeping the Law or resolutions. The arm of flesh (human effort at keeping the Law and resolutions) will fail and when it does, those suppressed sinful passions will explode in a volcanic eruption of sins that lead to death (Romans 7:5.) SALVATION in Christ is call about hearts transformation by the Holy Spirit. In Christ, God sees us as 100% righteous, despite our many flaws and imperfections. Romans 5:9 says of Him: "And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." Believer, this is how our heavenly Father in Christ sees us. And His Word concerning us here isn't something that we believe just for the sake of it. By seeing ourselves as He sees us, we are being transformed. As we continue to see ourselves through the mirror of God's Word (Christ Himself: Grace-personified) and not through the Law (which kills and which Romans 3:20 says was given to show us how sinful we are,) we are being transformed by His Spirit: 2 Corinthians 3:18- "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." Only imperfect people need transformation. The one who can transform himself to "be like God" by will-power and human striving (arm of flesh) at obeying the Law does not need the Spirit of the Lord to transform him. With Christ as our righteousness, we are 100% righteous and "so lovely" in the sight of our Shepherd-King through whom we have God's super-abounding Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ that causes us to live in triumph over sin and death through Jesus Christ: Romans 5:16-17: 16 “And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.” Good works are EVIDENCES of our salvation in Christ, not CONDITIONS |
| Religion / Re: Is The Gospel In The Old Testament? by NewsOnline: 11:47pm On Nov 22, 2018 |
Christ taught His disciples the Gospel from the Old Testament on the same day of His resurrection. See what He did as He walked with the two despondent disciples (Cleopas and his companion) on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:27 — “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." The Old Testament is filled with faith pictures that have as their substance our Saviour Jesus Christ and our life in Him. Check out the result of Christ's OT teaching on Cleopas and his companion in verse 32: "And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts greatly moved and burning within us while He was talking with us on the road and as He opened and explained to us [the sense of] the Scriptures?"” Their depression was lifted! That same evening, Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem (the same Luke 24  check out what He did in verse 45 (MSG)- “He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.”The New Testament hadn't been written at this time. Paul who wrote a huge chunk of the NT was not saved yet. By God’s grace, when we study the Old Testament, we get to see these faith pictures; we get to see Christ — our love story with our Saviour and how our salvation is entirely by Grace through faith; from the design of God's Tabernacle, the materials used in its construction and its contents (the Ark is a picture of Christ) to the story of David and Goliath. Here's one OT story starring David as a picture of our Saviour Jesus Christ, beginning from Goliath's rant in 1 Samuel 17: 8 "He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10 Again the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid." Goliath here is a picture of Satan the accuser, taunting and driving fearful Israel to condemnation for their weaknesses and shortcomings. Ministers in many places of worship are doing the accuser’s work for him today. Just as Goliath stood in his own strength, many stand proudly in their bubbles of self-righteousness and human effort at keeping the law (all filthy rags according to Isaiah) and tell the sheep to do same in order to be victorious. But like the discouraged Israelite army in the face of Goliath and the Philistines, the helpless and fallen sheep can do nothing without Christ. Of ourselves, nothing good is in any of us. But there is something about the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that wants to be relevant in the story of our salvation. That something is Pride. God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot: Romans 7:18- "For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it." But just as Goliath did, mouthpieces of Satan the accuser on many pulpits tell you: “No, you can and you must fight to save yourself by keeping the Law using your will-power. You must overcome your Goliath -Satan and your Philistines of porn/drug addiction, selfishness, sickness, lack and everything that bothers you by your will-power.” Such accuse and condemn you for your sins and shortcomings and tell you to save yourself from them by redoubling your non-existent efforts at keeping the Law, contradicting God's word in Romans 8:3-4 (MSG)- “…The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.” Pointing out the sheep’s weaknesses and shortcomings and demanding obedience from pedestals of self-righteousness (righteousness from obeying the law) cannot save anybody. Like the Israelites, many sinners are fully aware of their weaknesses and are trying hard to conquer their own Philistines (acts of sin, addictions, poverty, depression, generational curses, sickness, fear, everything that one is trying to gain victory over but they keep on failing because “the arm of flesh will fail.” Their hearts long for “the Root and Offspring of David” to save them from their sins; the One of whom it is written in Matt. 1:21“And she will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” But these Satan's "ministers of righteousness" preach straight from the pulpit that the battle is yours and not the Lord's and that you should be your own champion in the battle against sin. They block people from seeing Christ, our own “Goliath Slayer” today. Instead, they point sinners to their own strength: various fasts, tithes, good works and obedience to the Ten Commandments that cannot save anybody (Romans 3:20.) But as it was with the Israelites, no one can come out to fight; not even their tallest, Saul. Only Jesus saves. Just two chapters before Goliath’s rant is the account of what led to God rejecting Saul as king of Israel (1 Samuel 15.) Saul here is a picture of Adam who disobeyed God. He disobeyed God’s command for him to utterly destroy the Amalekite nation “for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt.” Saul was meant to completely destroy them - their men, women, children, babies and animals but he and his men let Agag the Amalekite king live and kept the best of the livestock that appealed to them. Remember the story of Esther? How ironic is it that the villain in the story, Haman, was a descendant of king Agag - the only Amalekite whose life was spared by Saul. See Esther 9:24 “For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them.” Because of his sin, God rejected Saul as king of Israel. His army was powerless against the Philistines. His disobedience also had far-reaching consequences as seen in Esther. It affected even Jews whose grandparents had not been born at the time of his reign. This is a picture of how all who are descended from Adam became sinners because of Adam's disobedience, as it is written in Romans 5:19- “For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” Remember that Goliath stood and taunted Israel thus: “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! 9 If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! 10 I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” Notice that the battle was between one champion from each camp. The Philistines had chosen Goliath as their “one man” to give them victory over Israel but Israel was yet to recognize its own “one man,” — David, a picture of Christ! This is a picture of how we gain victory over sin and death: “For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19. Believers, we are saved from the taunts and accusations of the accuser and everything that we seek victory over by our one Man, Jesus Christ. He is our Champion in this battle. We are made righteous and have victory over sin and death because we believe that our Saviour Jesus Christ has won the battle on our behalf. The battle is not ours. The battle is the Lord’s. Check out what happened after David felled Goliath and chopped off his head in 1 Samuel 17: 51”...When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp.” When you believe that it is the obedience of the “one Man” Jesus Christ that makes us righteous and gives us dominion over the Philistines of life that cause us to be weak, dismayed and afraid, these enemies will by themselves flee from you and you will pursue and utterly destroy them. In Christ, under grace and with His gift of righteousness, we get to live in triumph over sin and death. See Romans 5:17- “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.” This “death” includes every “Philistine” and their actions that trouble mankind as a result of Adam’s disobedience: guilt, fear of judgment, condemnation and death begun in the form of stress, silly mistakes, sickness, lack, unfortunate events, fast-tracked ageing and then physical death followed by the second death. Christ our Champion fought our battle and won, giving all who believe in Him salvation and everlasting victory. But many who profess Christ do not believe that in Him we are made righteous apart from works. Many are still trying to obey the law and do good things in order to be righteous and win the fight over the Goliath that is Satan and the Philistines of life. Believers, Christ is our Champion. He has won it all! Believe Right and you will Live Right. |
| Religion / Re: 1st Corinthians 5. by NewsOnline: 11:41pm On Nov 19, 2018 |
Ubenedictus: The bible is very clear about how a Christian can fall from grace and it is not by committing sin. See Galatians 5:4- "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace." Please run away from that church that is telling you that your sins are what make you fall from grace! Matthew 1:21 says of Christ: “And she will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Titus 2:14 too- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Christ came to save us from our sins. How can our Saviour who came to save us from our sins use those very sins that He came to save us from as an excuse for not saving us and even punish us with death for them? This is akin to an oncologist dad refusing to treat his own beloved child who has cancer and even punishing his child....because his child has cancer. In Christ, we are children of God. He fills us with His Spirit, the only sin "chemo" that transforms us to "the image of His glory...." as it is written in 2 Corinthians 3:18- "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." Titus 2:14 too- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Our Saviour's eyes burn at and destroy the cancer that is sin but radiates perfect love for the sinner who trusts in Him. Romans 5:19 says- "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." The verse above is very clear: committing acts of sin is not what makes a person a sinner. The sin (old nature) inherited from Adam made all of his descendants sinners. Sinners have the sin nature and thus will produce sin. Likewise, our righteous acts cannot make any righteous in God's sight. Christ's obedience did for all who believe, so we get to bear fruit to righteousness in Christ. Romans 5:9 says of God: "And there is still much more to say of his unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." The one with the old nature inherited from Adam is not a new creation in Christ. He does not believe that Christ's blood is enough. He tries to keep the law in order to be godly or for whatever reason. He feels he can still experience the wrath of God when God says NEVER for we who are in Christ. He thinks he falls from grace when he sins. This is the story of many churchgoers today. The sin nature, when activated by the law that many are trying to keep in order to be godly, causes sin to multiply: Romans 7:5- "When we were controlled by our old nature,[a] sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death." Only when we receive God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to live in triumph over sin and death: Romans 5:17- "For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." The one who is in Christ CANNOT continue to wallow in sins because CHRIST SAVES FROM SINS. How can the blind lead the blind? The fact that a church is trying to "enforce discipline" in order to keep believers from "falling from grace" shows that the church is hearing what Paul described as "doctrines of demons." God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot as we see in Romans 7:18: Paul who knew and kept the law more than anyone among us today realised how powerless he was against sin "For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it." But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail makes some say: "No, I can. God's word must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law and do good by myself.” This is not a good place to be for anybody because it gives Satan the opportunity to "sift you like wheat" as he did with Peter after Peter boasted that he would not deny Christ. You can be sure that God cannot lie. All who trust in their human effort to do right (the arm of flesh) will utterly fail when temptation comes, just like Peter. But there is something about the arm of flesh that wants to be relevant in the story of our salvation. That something is Pride. The earlier we all see that of ourselves, there is no good in any of us, the better. The reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them and that they can obey the law...until like Peter, a temptation that is beyond them happens. We all need God's saving Grace who saves from sin and death. We are earthen vessels. Christ is the good in us. We who believe were dead branches. God grafted us to Christ the Tree of Life. It is His power that flows in us and causes us to bear "much fruit.:, so we who believe cannot boast in our own strength. We have none. The Lord is our Righteousness and our Strength. |
| Religion / Re: 1st Corinthians 5. by NewsOnline: 11:08pm On Nov 19, 2018 |
Gggg102: The key to understanding is in verse 1-2: "A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?" The key is also in verse 11 - "But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people." Paul says two things here: 1. These people are proud and see nothing wrong with this kind of behaviour 2. These people committing sexual immorality "CLAIM" to be in Christ. They are not in Christ, even though they profess to be. Being under Grace and not living in triumph over sin and bearing the fruit of the Spirit is as impossible as jumping into the sea naked without getting wet. Paul was absolutely confident that these people only claimed to be in Christ because CHRIST SAYS WE BEAR MUCH FRUIT WHEN WE ARE IN HIM. See John 15:5- 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." So is Christ lying when He says this? Certainly not!!!! Christ said if you are in Him you will bear "much fruit." What fruit? See the fruit of being in Christ in Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." These people who are committing sexual immorality and so on are not in Christ, even though they profess to be, or else they would bear much fruit. Christ said so. But these immoral ones do not have the supply of the Spirit and so cannot bear the fruit of the Spirit. The supply of the Spirit is required for us to bear fruit. So HOW does God supply us with His Spirit? See this in Galatians 3:5- "Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—" See the Good News Translation: "Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do what the Law requires or because you hear the gospel and believe it?" WHEN A PERSON IS UNDER THE HEARING OF FAITH, GOD SUPPLIES HIM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SO HE GETS TO BEAR THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. The hearing of FAITH is what Paul talked about in Romans 1- "For I am not ashamed of this Good News (gospel) about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” And how does God make us right In His sight? See Romans 3- "26...for He Himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law." THE LAW IS NOT OF FAITH. TRYING TO KEEP THE LAW - whether in order to get right with God or as a guiding principle for morality or in order to escape God's wrath or just for whatever- IS BEING FAITHLESS. Thinking that your sins are not forgiven until you do certain things or that God's wrath can still fall on you for whatever reason or that you can perish and not have everlasting life IF YOU SIN while claiming to be in Christ is to deceive yourself. Let’s take our blessed brains to church. Matthew 1:21 says: “And she will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Titus 2:14 too- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Christ came to save us from our sins. How can our Saviour who came to save us from our sins use those very sins that He came to save us from as an excuse for not saving us and even punish us with death for them? This is akin to an oncologist dad refusing to treat his own beloved child who has cancer and even punishing his child....because his child has cancer. The one who is in Christ CANNOT continue to wallow in sins because CHRIST SAVES FROM SINS. But many are trying to save themselves from their sins using the arm of flesh (human effort) that will fail. THIS IS NOT THE GOSPEL. THIS IS NOT CHRISTIANITY. The hearing of faith is the GOSPEL OF CHRIST which is captured in Romans 5:9 - "And there is still much more to say of his unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." The gospel is NOT that horrid mixture that says "Now that you are born-again, you have to do your best to keep the Law and live a righteous life so that God can bless you and so you can go to heaven." This horrid mixture that is neither Law nor Grace is the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ speaks of in Revelation 3. The law is not of faith. But this is what many "Christians" are practicing- calling on Jesus yet depending on human effort at keeping the Law for salvation. SIN HAS DOMINION HERE; according to Romans 6:14- "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Those immoral people who Paul talked about in the bible passage that you quoted and their counterparts today are under the dominion of sin as they are trying to keep the law in order to be godly. They CLAIM to be in Christ but they are not. Remember Paul said in the passage you quoted: "But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people." They claim to be a part of us but they are not because what they believe is not the gospel. THIS IS THE GOSPEL- Romans 10:9-10 says: "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ” In order to be saved, one must confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus and believe that God has raised Him from the dead. But why was Christ raised from the dead? What did He accomplish for us in His resurrection? God raising the Lord Jesus from the dead was not just because He could. His resurrection is the divine receipt showing that we who believe have been forgiven of all of our sins and made righteous by His "single sacrifice for sins, good for all time" (Hebrews 10:12.) This according to Romans 4:25- “Who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous." See the TPT: “Jesus was handed over to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised back to life to prove that He had made us right with God!” Christ would not have risen from the dead if our lifetime of sins had not been forgiven and we had not been declared righteous by God. His resurrection is akin to seeing someone who went to serve a death sentence in an impregnable prison for the crimes of another walking free. As believers, we know that the wages of our lifetime of sins (death) have been fully paid and we have everlasting righteousness because Christ is risen. To think that God is still hanging some sin over our heads until we do something or that we can miss the Rapture BECAUSE OF THE SAME SINS THAT CHRIST GAVE HIS LIFE TO FREE US FROM IS UNBELIEF. SIN HAS DOMINION OVER SUCH WHO BELIEVE THIS WAY, "FOR SIN SHALL NOT HAVE DOMINION OVER YOU FOR YOU ARE NOT UNDER LAW BUT UNDER GRACE." Remember Romans 10:10 "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Only when we believe that we have been made righteous in Christ and apart from works, believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth that He is "The Lord our Righteousness" are we saved, even salvation from sins. THOUGHT TO ADD: Many people think that not being ashamed of the gospel of Christ is being able to preach inside bus. Even Satan can preach inside bus. But Satan's minister's preaching focuses on what YOU must do by HUMAN EFFORT to be righteous/godly (be like God) and not what CHRIST has done. Same strategy Satan used on Eve whom God made to be like Himself. The result of believing that horrid mixture of Law and Grace is sin has dominion and death reigns, just as it was with Adam and Eve. Hence immorality among those who profess Christ and are trying to be godly (be like God) through human effort aka using their knowledge of good and evil, just as Eve did with the tree of the same name. The Spirit of the antichrist is not anti-God. In fact, it preaches STRONGLY about living a godly life but its own way of being godly (be like God) is through human effort aka the arm of flesh. Adam and Eve fell for this demonic doctrine. But Christ suffered to make us "be like God." Isaiah prophesied the suffering of Jesus in Isaiah 53. See the result of the work that He accomplished for us in Isaiah 53:11- "After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins." Christ died to make us godly aka "be like God." But Satan, through his seemingly holy ministers, tries to deceive believers whom Christ has made godly into keeping the Law that kills (a picture of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) as the means of attaining godliness/righteousness. Same way he deceived Eve. Believer, eat FREELY of the TREE OF LIFE and LIVE FOREVER. HIS NAME IS JESUS CHRIST! 1 Like |
| Religion / Re: Many Sinners Want To Stop Sinning But The Ten Commandments Cannot Save by NewsOnline: 10:48am On Nov 13, 2018 |
petra1: This demonic doctrine of using the Law as a reference for morality while claiming salvation by Grace is exactly where Satan wants the church to be: neither cold nor hot - a horrid mixture that is neither Law nor Grace. Part human-effort and part-Jesus. Law and Grace don't mix. Christ does it all. But there is something about the arm of flesh (dependence on human effort at obedience) that wants to be relevant in the story of our salvation. That something is Pride. So you think you can keep even an inch of the law by your own power and good sense when God's word says the arm of flesh (human effort) will fail? You that you have NO GOOD in you? God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail and cannot: Romans 7:18- "For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it." But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort) that will fail says[i]: "[/i]No, I can. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law. " Just like Peter who thought He could keep the Law "You shall not bear false witness" when the going was good. He ended up denying Jesus 3 times. Now that people's eyes are being opened to the Truth of Righteousness by faith through Christ, some "men of God" who used to teach "keeping the law" as the means of attaining godliness/righteousness before God are trying to make their false doctrine more attractive by dressing the Law up as something that we keep on the side as a guide to living a morally upright life after we are justified by faith. Such say: "Yes we are justified/righteous by faith and not by the Law, but we still have to keep Law, not for justification before God but as a guiding principle for morality." Believer, flee from this evil doctrine. God's word is very clear on this demonic doctrine that advocates having any kind of relationship with the Law after we have been justified by faith in Christ who is Grace-personified. Grace is enough. See this in Romans 7:1–6: "1 Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries. 4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.” What does this mean? Before we became born-again, we were married to Mr. Law who condemns the best of any who has business with Him. We had the old nature. With Mr. Law, our fate was death because “all have sinned.” Nothing we did could ever amount to anything with Mr. Law. The more one tries to do His bidding, the more that one's faults and failures become evident- “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” Romans 3:20. Under Mr. Law, we were destined for death: Hebrews 9— “27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” Then Christ found us. He died for us and as us and with His one death, paid in full the wages of sin that Mr. Law demanded for our imperfection. As believers in Christ, we are DEAD to Mr. Law and are now MARRIED to Mr. Grace. Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him: “God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone.” Remember in Christ we are not under Law but under Grace: "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Romans 6:14. Many have this verse backwards. Romans 7:1–6 above tells us that getting back under our ex-husband (Mr. Law) for anything at all while claiming marriage to Grace is ADULTERY. It does not matter whether one is using the Law as "guiding principles for morality" or for "moral excellence" or "as a reference point for good and evil" like the tree of same name or for whatever: it is adultery to sustain ANY kind of relationship with Mr. Law while claiming marriage to Christ- Mr. Grace. Verse 1 above says: "Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living?" But satanic ministers say we who have died to the power of the Law and are now the bride of Christ should continue a marriage relationship with our ex-husband and use him to get the same moral excellence and everything else that we need to live a life of godliness which Christ has lavished on us in abundance? 1 Peter 2:3 tells us of our Husband Jesus Christ: "By His divine power the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the One who called us by His own honor and glory.” Believer, we don't have to "cheat on Grace" with the Law in order to get good morals. Everything we need to live a life of moral excellence is added to us freely under Grace - like a poor and immoral woman that marries a rich and powerful Man who has the power to transform her to be like Himself (2 Corinthians 3:18) and literally died for her because He loves her so. But many are yet to see how immoral we all are of ourselves; how poor we are in righteousness of ourselves. The Bible says of ourselves, we have none! Romans 3:10. Notice verse 5: “When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.” The one with the old nature is not a new creation in Christ. He does not believe Romans 5:9— “And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." The one with the old nature is still seeking some righteousness from Mr. Law and feels that God's wrath will fall on him for whatever reason. But the very law that he is trying to keep in order to be moral or get the benefits of being in Christ arouses evil desires in him that causes sin to have dominion over him, “For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace.” Romans 6:14. Even worse, those who hold the belief that we who are the bride of Christ have to maintain any kind of relationship with the Law in order to live a morally upright life imply that our Bridegroom Jesus Christ, Grace-personified, does not have any morals and so cannot impart morality to us! Such are saying that Grace cannot teach His bride how to live a morally upright life. Why would I go to another man (who will kill me at the slightest error) to teach me how to race-drive and for my life too, if my husband was Louis Hamilton's personal trainer who loves me and wanted to be my personal trainer/see me perform well and win so much that He gave His life for these reasons? Would you really allow another man (who will kill your wife at the slightest fault!) to help you impregnate your wife so that she can bear the fruit of morality (live a life of moral excellence) when YOU are the very definition of moral excellence? But these false doctrine people who push for believers to look to the Law as a guiding principle for morality imply that Grace-personified, Jesus Christ, cannot save you from your sins and will cause you to live a life of immorality! The same Grace of Whom it is said in Titus 2:14— “He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Verse 6 of the same Romans 7 says: "Now, however, we are free from the Law, because we died to that which once held us prisoners." Mr. Law makes no concessions for anybody. He will condemn, adjudge you guilty and imprison you as soon as you start a relationship with him for whatever reason, even if you are just using him as guiding principles in order to bear the fruit of morality. This doctrine is as abominable to God as a woman cheating on her husband in order to bear a child called Morality because she wrongly thinks her husband is sterile. Believer, Christ our Bridegroom is moral excellence -personified! He cannot share us with anyone. Remember Galatians 5:4- “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace.” Law and Grace don't mix. This horrid mixture that is neither Law nor Grace that false teachers are advocating is the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ spoke of in Revelation 3. The one here will lose both the wine and wineskin. Believer, these false doctrine peddlers who try to get you to commit adultery with Mr. Law are not of Christ, even though they always act like they just finished having lunch with God. They can only be successful in deceiving people who think that they can "at least try to keep the Law." Dependence on human effort is death. Never trust yourself. Beware of those who mix some Law with Grace for whatever purpose. Their behaviour and false doctrines should not make pastors and leaders try to “help" Jesus Christ aka Mr. Grace by introducing Mr. Law to keep New Covenant believers in check regarding morality. Such are saying that we need to go under our ex-husband the Law to get morality and to be able to live a life of moral excellence since Christ (Grace-personified) has none to give us! No friend! Never! Beware of Satanic ministers who preach this horrid adultery. Christ Himself IS moral excellence-personified! Everything we need for a life of moral excellence we have under Grace. Beware of those who try to redefine God's Grace as the reason why they can continue to wallow in sins too. Jude spoke of these “scoundrels" in Jude 1. Such are not under Grace but under Satan's control. Grace did not come to accommodate our sins. Grace came to save us from our sins. Believer, we don't need to go and be having an illicit relationship with Mr. Law in order to get guiding principles for life and godliness when we are married to the Author and Giver of moral excellence! Law and Grace cannot mix. See Paul's typology of Hagar and Sarah as the two covenants of Law and Grace in Galatians 4. Sarah (Grace) did not need Hagar (Law) to raise Isaac (the church.) Grace is enough! “Cast out the bondwoman and her son”! By Grace, we reject any attempt by Satanic ministers to make Hagar (Law) our mother, nanny or helper in whatever form. Only punishment awaits here because the Law condemns everyone who tries to keep it in a bid to earn God's goodwill. Believer, don't be deceived by these seemingly godly people who try to take you back under the slavery of the Law that Christ has saved us from. The spirit of the antichrist is not anti-God. It is one that preaches strongly on the need for believers to live a godly life, but its own method of attaining or maintaining godliness (after we have been made godly by Christ's suffering) is through human effort at keeping the Law. See Paul's typology of the forbidden fruit as a picture of the law that many are trying to keep in order to be godly in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG version.) This demonic doctrine is the same strategy that Satan used to deceive Eve when he told her that that she would be godly (be like God) if she did something by human effort. But God had already made she and Adam to be like Himself (Genesis 1:26-27.) Law-keeping for whatever purpose, whether for justification before God or "just as a guiding principle for morality" by those who claim to be married to Jesus (making themselves adulterers) brings condemnation. Many think that we preach Grace because we want to sin and are saying that it is okay for people to continue to sin anyhow because of grace! Never! There are some people who teach this or even live their lives this way. Jude speaks of such who try to redefine God's saving Grace in Jude 1: “Some godless people have sneaked in among us and are saying, “God treats us much better than we deserve, and so it is all right to be immoral.” They even deny that we must obey Jesus Christ as our only Master and Lord. But long ago the Scriptures warned that these godless people were doomed.” God knows about such people who pretend to be under Grace or try to redefine Grace and deals with them. Their rejection of Christ should not make any of us try to “help" Grace by introducing the Law to keep believers in check regarding the issue of sins. Grace is enough. Paul too was misunderstood and accused of preaching that it is okay to commit sin because of grace by religious Jews who used the Law as a guide for morality (Romans 3:7-  . The law condemns the best of us but being under True Grace without reigning over sin is as impossible as jumping into the sea naked without getting wet.Can you imagine feeling great guilt and condemnation and expecting punishment for the sin of responding with 12 o' clock when the time was really 12.02 after someone asked for the time... and by mistake! That is how much we grace children wanted to sin before God opened our eyes to His Grace- the message of Christ Like our heavenly Father, we hate sin and by Grace, we get to "live in triumph over sin and death" (Romans 5:17) through Jesus Christ- Grace-personified. When the love of God, expressed in His undeserved, unmerited favour (Grace - our Saviour Jesus Christ) towards us, is unveiled from the pulpit, the people will live right. We love because He first loved us. Under Grace, we have all the moral excellence we need to live a life of morality. Starting a relationship with our ex-husband (Mr. Law) in order to get moral excellence, bear fruit to God or become whatever while married to Grace is adultery. By Grace, let's keep believing that "By His divine power the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the One who called us by His own honor and glory.” By grace, let’s believe Galatians 5:1- “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” Right believing always produces right living. 1 Like 1 Share |
| Religion / Re: Many Sinners Want To Stop Sinning But The Ten Commandments Cannot Save by NewsOnline: 4:52am On Sep 23, 2018 |
petra1: The letter kills, whatever the purpose it is used to achieve. Moral excellence is a godly character. A believer seeking his moral excellence from the law is in essence, aspiring to attain godliness (be like God) through the law, after we have been made perfect and complete in Christ (Hebrews 10) by faith. Perfect. See Paul's typology of the forbidden fruit as a picture of the law that many are trying to keep for moral excellence (to be like God) in Romans 7. The MSG version brings it out well: "8-12 Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me." The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a picture of the law. No matter what part of the law one eats of, no matter the purpose for which one eats- whether it is used as a guiding principle or as a reference for good and bad or for justification before God or as a means of hanging on to morality- the one that feeds on the law for whatever purpose will die. The letter kills, even if one is trying to keep it for moral justification. You quoted Romans 7:8,12 out of context, making it look as if Paul is saying we who believe have to keep the law for whatever reason. The law is good, but it is not for us to keep in order to attain a life of moral excellence after we are saved. We are completely free from it, and not so that we should go on sinning sprees. See the bible verse in its context: Romans 7:6-13: "6 Now, however, we are free from the Law, because we died to that which once held us prisoners. No longer do we serve in the old way of a written law, but in the new way of the Spirit. 7 Shall we say, then, that the Law itself is sinful? Of course not! But it was the Law that made me know what sin is. If the Law had not said, “Do not desire what belongs to someone else,” I would not have known such a desire. 8 But by means of that commandment sin found its chance to stir up all kinds of selfish desires in me. Apart from law, sin is a dead thing. 9 I myself was once alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life, 10 and I died. And the commandment which was meant to bring life, in my case brought death. 11 Sin found its chance, and by means of the commandment it deceived me and killed me. 12 So then, the Law itself is holy, and the commandment is holy, right, and good. 13 But does this mean that what is good caused my death? By no means! It was sin that did it; by using what is good, sin brought death to me, in order that its true nature as sin might be revealed. And so, by means of the commandment sin is shown to be even more terribly sinful." The letter kills, whether it is used to attain justification before God or for attaining to living a life of moral excellence Verse 6 above says: "Now, however, we are free from the Law, because we died to that which once held us prisoners." Going back to the Law for whatever reason after one is saved is saying what Christ did to make us perfect before God and the power of the Holy Spirit to transform even the vilest offender who believes to live a morally upright life is not enough. Paul was so passionate about this false doctrine that he called the Galatians "foolish" and "bewitched" for falling for it: Galatians 3: "Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? 5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." This was written to people who received the Good News of justification by faith. They were deceived into believing that they still had business with the law after they got saved, whether moral justification or whatever. No friend, in Christ, we are DEAD to the Law. Wherever the dead Sani Abacha is now, the law of the land cannot reach or help him. If he should somehow return and subject himself to the law of the land for whatever reason, in a perfect world, he will go to prison, no matter how well he tries to use the law to be moral. Being justified by faith in Christ without having works of faith to show for it/living a life of moral excellence is as impossible as jumping into the sea naked without getting wet. Good works are evidences of our salvation, not conditions. God works His salvation in us and these good works come about “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” Philippians 2:13. Hebrews 10;14 says: "And by His one perfect sacrifice He made us perfectly holy and complete for all time!" For all time. By His one perfect sacrifice. In Christ, we who believe have been made perfect and complete in God's eyes. Our righteousness is not in question, even though we don't have it all together. In the same way, our morality is not in question, even though we don't have it all together; we have the same standing as Christ in EVERY way: "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." 1 John 4:17. How can righteousness exist without morality? Have you ever seen an immoral but righteous man? Many religious people think that we "True Grace" children just want an excuse to wallow in sins after we got saved; that we don't want to live right. But can you imagine feeling great guilt and condemnation because you said "she spilled water all over the floor" when the water didn't really cover the entire floor? Can you imagine being fearful of God's judgment because you responded with "12 o'clock" when it was really 12.02 after someone asked you for the time? Let's not even begin to talk of "big sins" like telling your mom that you are almost at her place when you are just leaving your house That is how much many of us "want to sin." For we who are in Christ, we don't need to go back to the Law in order to live a life of moral excellence. The letter kills, whether it is used for justification before God or for "morality." This is how we get to live a life of moral excellence, yet not us but Christ in us: Romans 5:17. "For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ." But try to keep the law (forbidden fruit) for whatever reason, even as a guide for moral excellence which is a godly character, and death is the result. It still bores down to trying to be like God (attaining moral excellence) by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that kills, which brings us to the futility of the venture itself: (Re: using "the law as a guide and reference for good and bad." Churchgoers who say this presume that they have the power to choose right over wrong when faced with temptation. They presume they have some strength in them to live a life of moral excellence! Some churchgoers believe that they can "never" commit adultery or steal by their own power and human restraint and that they can "at least try to obey the law for moral purposes." I recall someone named Peter who once boasted and even knew 100% that he would never deny Jesus and that he would follow Him to prison and to death. Peter wasn't looking for justification before God here. It was an issue of morality. He knew he must not bear false witness but he didnt think his not-denying Jesus would justify him before God. His circumstances changed and he sang a different tune…three times. Proverbs 16:18 counsels us: “Your boast becomes a prophecy of a future failure. The higher you lift up yourself in pride, the harder you’ll fall in disgrace." Never trust yourself. Believer, this is why you and I in Christ are not held captive by sins and addictions; this is why we are not wallowing in heinous sins right now; this is why we have not thrown morality away: 1 Corinthians 10:12-13- "12 So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously." This is written to believers, not heathens. If God left you to your own devices and let you rely on your human effort at "not throwing morality away," like Peter, you will do the very thing you swore not to do because the arm of flesh will fail. This boasting in the ability to do what is moral by human effort that will fail is what gives Satan the chance to sift a person like wheat. We could not keep the law in order to be godly before we became born-again. Now we presume to be able to do same by human effort after we got saved? The reason why we are not committing particular sins is because we have not been tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that they can keep the law for whatever purpose and desist from throwing morality away and use the law as guiding principles. But we tend to think that we did good all by ourselves when we are able to desist from commiting some sins. Not so. It is because we have not been tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas. If God lifted His hand that restrains us from committing sin, even the one that is like unbreakable Titanium will be crushed into powder if the right amounts of weight and pressure are applied. If God was not filtering and screening the temptations that come our way, we'd all be wallowing in heinous sins. But we often think we did good all by ourselves. To the person who thinks that he is “good” and can overcome temptation by himself: you think you can never be gay or steal or murder or marry your daughter because of moral principles- you who don't know what will happen within the hour? Peter too thought he would never deny Jesus, until his circumstances changed and he was burdened with a weight that he could not carry. After his boast in the arm of flesh (human effort at not denying Jesus,) Satan asked for him to sift him like wheat, and he lied profusely. Never trust yourself. Anyone, especially the believer, who is boasting or depending on his own ability to avoid doing the unthinkable or be moral is making himself into a target to be sifted like wheat by Satan, just like Peter after he boasted in his own strength. Failure is always the result. Only when we receive God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to "live in triumph over sin and death through the One, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17. [b]Law-keeping, for whatever reason, whether moral justification or justification before God or to make ourselves "better people" is a pointer to dependence on the arm of flesh (human effort) that will fail in a bid to be what God wants us to be. It all points to trying to be right with God by human effort. [/b]Christ is no longer in this equation, "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace." Galatians 5:4. Neither Abraham nor Joseph were under law for whatever purpose. The law cindemns all who try to keep it to be godly or moral or whatever. It speaks of human effort at doing right and always, the arm of flesh will fail. Regarding Abraham and Joseph being under law: not so. The law of Moses wasn't given until hundreds of years after they died. What they had was a conscience, which everyone has. Please give a bible verse to support what you say here. Abraham was righteous in the sight of God; no one under law is righteous in His sight, whether for the purpose of moral justification or otherwise. All who are trying to keep the law in order to attain the godly character of moral excellence in the sight of God are cursed. All such efforts point to trying to be godly. Such here are trying to be like God by human effort, like Adam and Eve did. This an effort in futility that leads to death. For we who are in Christ, the life of moral excellence that we live is not by the law but a product of "It is no longer I that live but Christ lives in me." Sorry. Pretty long. 3 Likes 1 Share |
| Religion / Re: Many Sinners Want To Stop Sinning But The Ten Commandments Cannot Save by NewsOnline: 8:34pm On Sep 22, 2018 |
petra1: This is not true. Abraham did not have the Law yet he was made righteous in the sight of God. Why? Because he believed God. And today is looked upon as "the father of faith." Joseph did not have the Law yet He knew that commiting adultery with Potiphar's wife is great wickedness. The law is not of faith. Trying to keep the law in order to be righteous before God (after God gave His own Son to make us righteous!) is being FAITHLESS. There is no salvation here as "We are saved by Grace through faith..." Try to obey the law in order to get right with God and be cut off from Christ: "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace." Galatians 5:4 The law was given that the offense might abound- that sin should increase! Let's stop preaching this horrid message of attaining godliness by human effort at doing. This is the same strategy that Satan used on Eve in the garden of Eden when he told her that she would be godly (be like God) if she did something by human effort. The result is sin having dominion and death reigning- "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Romans 6:14. The Law cannot get rid of lawlessnessin the life of anybody. It can only point out what is wrong and commands all who are under it to obey. Because the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) will fail, all who are depending on the law to make them godly stand cursed- Galatians 3:10. "Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the scripture says, “Whoever does not always obey everything that is written in the book of the Law is under God's curse!” Contrary to your statement, trying to keep the Law in order to be godly is what breeds lawlessness! The law was not given for us to be godly by. It was given to show up the default nature of man: SINFUL AND WICKED.It was given so that sin will increase and so we will see our need for God's saving grace: Romans 5:20- "The Law was introduced in order to increase wrongdoing; but where sin increased, God's grace increased much more." See the TLB- "The Ten Commandments were given so that all could see the extent of their failure to obey God’s laws. But the more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace forgiving us." But Satan's ministers behind many pulpits are actively preaching human effort at keeping the law as the means by which a person can be godly aka be like God.This is the same strategy that Satan used on Eve in the garden of Eden when he told her that she would be godly (be like God) if she did something by human effort. This is the only way to escape death and lawlessness- Titus 2:14- "He gave Himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people who are truly his, who are eager to do good." One is either under law or under Grace. Either righteous by works of the law or righteous by faith in Christ. No mixture aka "neither cold nor hot". And righteousness by keeping the law is impossible- "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:20. Some people are deceiving themselves that they can obey even an inch of the Law and be good by using human effort aka the arm of flesh that will fail. Such have no idea that the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because we have not been tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them (like Peter did before he denied Christ) and that they can obey the law in order to be godly by human effort. This is the height of pride and foolishness- to trust in the arm of flesh that God's Word says will fail. Never trust yourself. Trust God to restrain you from being tempted beyond what you can bear. 1 Corinthians 10;13. This is the Word of the Lord concerning we who are in Christ- no longer trying to keep the law in order to be righteous in God's sight: "And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." Those who are trying to keep the law in order to be righteous in God's sight will face His full wrath. Why be here? God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ is not so that we should go on sinning sprees. This is what stumps many religious Pharisee-types. We who believe hate sin, just like God our Father. But He has opened our eyes to see that all human striving at obedience will fail. We no longer depend on our own human effort at doing right like Peter who knew 100% that he would not deny Jesus and even boasted in his own power to not sin but ended up sinning profusely. By grace, we see that only Christ can save from sins and cause us to live right. Only when we receive God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to live in triumph over sin and death through Jesus Christ - Romans 5:17- "For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." 1 Like |
| Religion / Re: Grace Is Not Enough by NewsOnline: 11:12am On Sep 21, 2018 |
This post contradicts God's Word. God's Grace is enough for the believer in Christ! His Word tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9- CJB: "but he told me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is brought to perfection in weakness.” Therefore, I am very happy to boast about my weaknesses, in order that the Messiah’s power will rest upon me." GNT: "But his answer was: “My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me." TLB: "Each time he said, “No. But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.” Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities." NKJV: "And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." NLV: "He answered me, “I am all you need. I give you My loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.” I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me." NLT: "Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." NMB: "And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect through weakness. Very gladly therefore will I rest in my weakness, so that the strength of Christ may dwell in me." No matter the version of the Bible you are reading, it says Christ's strength is made perfect in weakness. He saves us from our sins and imperfections- all weaknesses. If you believe that you are strong enough to keep even the tiniest bit of the law and so add something to Grace to make it "enough", you are saying His grace is not sufficient. Such don't need Jesus. For such, there is no salvation. Believer, the law is not of faith! By Grace, let's not be found following such "teachings of demons" that try to make believers abandon their (righteousness by) faith through Christ for that self-righteousness that comes from keeping the law. See 1 Timothy 4:1- "The Spirit says clearly that some people will abandon the faith in later times; they will obey lying spirits and follow the teachings of demons." This is the crux of the gospel of Christ: RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH. Doctrines of demons teach that you should abandon God's gift of righteousness (by faith) to us in Christ and seek to be righteous by puny efforts at keeping the law. Only when we receive God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to "live in triumph over sin and death through the One, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17.) But try to obey the law in order to be godly or get right with God and sin will have dominion: "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Romans 6:14. Sin strengthens its grip over those who say God's grace is not enough and so are trying to be godly/righteous by human effort at keeping the law. This is a doctrine of demons. This is smack where Satan wants everyone to be. Believer, by Grace, let's not be found here. |
| Religion / Re: Grace Is Not Enough by NewsOnline: 1:44am On Sep 21, 2018 |
OBAGADAFFI: Don't let fake pastors misinterpet the gospel for you o! See the Hebrews 6:6 that you wrongly interpreted in its context: "4 It is impossible to restore an apostate. For once a person has come into God’s light, and tasted the gifts of the heavenly realm, and has received the Holy Spirit, 5 and feasted on the good Word of God, and has entered into the power of the age that is breaking in, 6 if he abandons his faith, there is no use even trying to lead him to repentance. By their sin of apostasy they re-crucify the Son of God, and have publicly repudiated Him." The law is not of faith. "Abandons his faith" is rejecting the gospel of Christ which is "Righteousness by faith." These ones stopped believing that they are righteous by faith and go back to trying to obey the law to get right with God. This is an effort in futility, "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands..." Romans 3:20. This is also the way to get cut off from Christ, smack where Satan wants everyone to be: For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace." Galatians 5:4. Those who fall away or abandon the faith are Jews or anyone who, after believing Jesus, go back to being under the Law of Moses. Such reject Christ in whom is Salvation as their righteousness so it goes that there is no repentance for such. The only sin that the Holy Spirit convicts of is the sin of unbelief. Christ came to save us from our sins and transform us into His own people who are eager to do what He wants for us. Titus 2:14 says of Him: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Let's take our blessed brains to church: How can a Saviour who came to save us from our sins use those very sins that He came to save us from as an excuse for not saving us and even punish us for the sins that He came to save us from? This is akin to an oncologist dad refusing to treat his own beloved child who has cancer and even punishing his child for exhibiting symptoms of the disease. Christ came to save us from the cancer that is sin. In many places of worship, many beloved of God that Christ died forwho are held captive by sins are told to redouble their efforts to stop sinning and obey the law "better" in order to be accepted by God, usually by those who think they have some good in them and think that they can obey the law/transform sinners with the law. This is as useless as a person with HIV expecting to be cured by putting plaster on a festering sore that is as a result of a sickness caused by the virus within. See this in Romans 8:3-4 (MSG) "...The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us." With the Spirit of the Lord, it is neither by might nor by power. If you can save yourself from your sins, you don't need Jesus. Without Jesus, there is no salvation. In Him, we get to do not works of the law that are done by human effort in order to be godly and are like "a menstrual rag" in God's sight according to Isaiah 64:6 BUT works of faith done by Christ in us, through us and for us. God gets all the glory. Re: "Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound?" that you have misinterpreted: Paul said of God and His saving grace in Romans 3: “26 ...for He Himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.” Again in Galatians 3:10- “But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under His curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”” No one can. All have sinned. This was too hard for people who thought they could obey the law in order to be godly to swallow. Same thing is happening today. Paul that you quote- "shall we continue to sin that grace may abound" - preached this gospel of grace ("So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.”) He preached so boldly and unashamedly that religious people of his time who wanted to be under law falsely accused him of preaching that it is okay to sin because of grace (Romans .3:7- the same way many people who deceive themselves that they can obey the law do to Grace preachers today. Hence Paul’s question: “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” Paul was saying that we who are under Grace can never continue to live in sin, and not by human effort but because we are now "slaves of righteousness." God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ.By that rhetorical question (which Paul answered by himself in the same Romans 6), Paul was asking: do all these things that I said in my letters- that we are made right through faith and not by obeying the law - do they mean that we can just go and be sinning anyhow? But people who have not bothered to read and understand the Word bandy the verse about as meaning Paul said we have to obey the law in order to become righteous. He said no such thing! In fact, he called the Galatian Christians "foolish" and "bewitched" for trying to get God to bless them by doing works of the law in Galatians 3.- "Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? 5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." Many think all we grace children want to do is commit sin. Like our Heavenly Father, we hate sin. Can you imagine feeling great guilt and condemnation and expecting punishment because you responded with 12 o’clock when the time was really 12.01? Not to talk of big sins like not picking your phone because you don’t want to talk to someone. That is how much we want to sin. By grace, we put no confidence in human effort. We know that this is how we are able to live in triumph over sin and death as we do: Romans 5:17- "For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. Eternal life is a gift. No way anyone can earn it by keeping the law. This might interest you: “So you are saying that it is okay for a pastor that is fornicating to continue to fornicate because of Grace?” See the link here for why this can NEVER be under grace: http://rightbelieving101..com/2018/09/so-you-are-saying-that-it-is-okay-for_18.html?m=1 |
| Religion / Re: Grace Is Not Enough by NewsOnline: 1:39am On Sep 21, 2018 |
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| Religion / Re: Grace Is Not Enough by NewsOnline: 12:04am On Sep 21, 2018 |
Grace is not enough? So you have to keep the law in order to be righteous? Please stop with the propagation of this evil thing that Paul calls “doctrines of demons” in 1 Timothy 4:1. The law is not of faith. Doctrines of demons try to remove the focus of believers from the truth which is righteousness by faith in Christ and tries to get people struggling to attain the same righteousness that Christ died that we might have by keeping the law. These are people who misinterpret "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" This is the result of those who are trying to get right with God by keeping the law: “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.” Galatians 5:4. God’s grace is sufficient for the believer for every good work. The arm of flesh will fail, but many trust themselves and depend on their own human effort. Being under grace and not living right is as impossible as jumping into the sea naked without getting wet. The Holy Spirit transforms even the vilest offender who believes to live right. But peddlers of false doctrines tell you to depend on the arm of flesh (human effort at law.-keeping) that will fail in order to be godly and reject the power of the Holy Spirit to transform even the vilest offender who believes. Saying things like “Yes we are saved by grace but we still have to keep the law in order to be godly and bear fruit to God” is akin to saying to Sarah: “Sarah, God’s grace is not enough to give you a child. You have to go to Hagar to get a child to fulfill God’s promise in your life.” See Paul's typology of Hagar and Sarah as the two covenants of Law and Grace respectively. Sarah (Grace) did not need Hagar (Law) to raise Isaac the church. Grace is enough. Saying things like: ”so it okay for a pastor that is fornicating to continue to fornicate because of Grace” is akin to believing that Peter remained a liar and Christ-denier after he was restored by Grace himself. We see "Where sin abounds, Grace abounds much more" in the life of Peter. He sinned against God with His mouth, was restored by Grace and ended up preaching a public sermon where three thousand people got saved, in the presence of the law-keeping religious people that made him lie and were still out to kill Jesus' followers. Grace abounding much more where sin abounds is like quenching a lit matchstick (sin) with 1.,000 gallons of water (Grace.) Sin doesn't stand a chance under Grace. And it has got nothing to do with human effort aka self-righteousness. Grace is the power of God to salvation, even salvation from sins. Without Grace, Sarah would be barren forever; Peter would remain in his sin; the woman caught in adultery that proponents of the law wanted to stone to death would have got the death that she deserved; no amount of promises to obey the law and promises to live right from now on could have saved her from the judgment of the law that she deserved. Yet here is your post telling people to go and do things to redeem themselves from the judgment of the law in order to live! It is impossible. Only the blood of Jesus will suffice as payment for us to escape the judgment that we all deserved; add law-keeping to it (neither cold nor hot; neither under law under grace) and get cut off from Christ to face the full wrath of God- "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.” Galatians 5:4. Only when we receive God’s abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to “live in triumph over sin and death through the one, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17.) Paul said of God and His saving grace in Romans 3: “26 ...for He Himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.” Again in Galatians 3:10- “But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under His curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”” No one can. All have sinned. Paul preached this gospel of grace so unashamedly that religious people of his time who wanted to be under law falsely accused him of preaching that it is okay to sin because of grace (Romans .3:7- Hence Paul’s question: “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” Paul was asking: do all these things that I said in my letters- that we are made right through faith and not by obeying the law - do they mean that we can just go and be sinning anyhow? But people who have not bothered to read and understand the Word bandy the verse about as meaning we have to obey the law in order to be righteous; as if all we grace children want to do is commit sin. Like our Heavenly Father, we hate sin. Can you imagine feeling great guilt and condemnation and expecting punishment because you responded with 12 o’clock when the time was really 12.01? Not to talk of big sins like not picking your phone because you don’t want to talk to someone. That is how much we want to sin. The truth is, for many of us who are under grace, we had been trying our best to obey the law so much that it brought us to the end of our tethers. No matter how hard we tried, we could not. There was always “ one thing you lack..” as Christ said to the rich young ruler who thought he was quite good at keeping the law. Those who think they can obey in order to score points with God have no idea about its severity. We grace childen got so exhausted trying to obey the law that the purpose of the law that many are trying to keep in order to be godly was fulfilled in us. See the purpose of the law in Galatians 3:19 and Romans 3:19-“19 Why then was the law given? It was meant to be an intermediary agreement added after God gave the promise of the coming One! It was given to show men how guilty they are, and it remained in force until the Seed was born to fulfill the promises given to Abraham....” Galatians 3:19 “19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” Romans 3:19-20. Like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, trying to keep the law in order to be godly (be like God) will only expose your unclothedness (unrighteousness) and cause sin and death to have dominion, just as it was with Adam and Eve. See Paul’s typology of the tree as a picture of the law that many are trying to keep in order to be godly (be like God) in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG) “Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me....” Satan, through his ministers that try to add law to grace and say things like “grace is not enough” is still trying to seduce people into trying to be godly (be like God) by human effort at keeping the law, but sin has dominion here, “ For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace.” Romans 6:14. Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:14 says of Him: “He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.” But what this OP is saying is that you have to transform yourself by the arm of flesh (human effort) that will fail. Those who can do this do not need Jesus and have been cut off from Christ. You misinterpret what it means to walk in the Spirit. With the Spirit of the Lord, it is “not by might, not by power.” No human effort- like Sarah giving birth to Isaac. Remember Ishmael was born according to the flesh (by human effort) and Isaac "according to the Spirit (purely by God's power.) So you think you can obey the law and do right by your own effort? This is the height of foolishness and pride- to trust in the arm of flesh that will fail. Peter thought so too, until he was tempted beyond what he could bear. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favorable circumstances can make some people boast in their non-existent ability to obey the law and not commit particular sins. These are the ones who say "but we still have to keep the law to be right with God," contradicting God's word!- "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:20. So you think you can never commit adultery, be gay or murder someone- you who have no control over what will happen to you within the hour? The reason why we are not committing particular sins is because we have not been tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas! For those who think they can “at least try” to obey the law and do good things in order to be godly, this is why you are not wallowing in sins right now- 1 Corinthians 2: “12 So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.” If it were not for God’s restraining Hand, we would all be wallowing in heinous sins by now, so let’s not boast in our non-existent ability to keep the law. The law is not of faith. No way to bear fruit to God or do anything that is pleasing to God for that matter when one is trying to keep the law and thus is separated from Christ. God does not recognise Ishmael who is a picture of the product of works of the law. Abide in Christ. Keep on believing Him and you will bear much fruit. Christ said so- John 15:5- “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing." See the TPT: “I am the Sprouting Vine and You’re My branches. As you live in union with Me as your Source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from Me you are powerless." Effortlessly and no human effort involved, like Sarah giving birth to Isaac. Rest in Christ is not inactivity. Rest in Christ is Holy Spirit-directed activity. And with the Spirit of the Lord, it is not by might nor by power. Human striving is not involved. His strength is made perfect in weakness, not in those who deceive themselves by thinking that they still have some strength to obey the law and live above weaknesses, including acts of sin, by their own power, for 9 "Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." 2 Corinthians 12:9. Christ died to make us godly. By grace, let's let go of our puny attempts at keeping the law and doing its works in order to get God to bless or be godly and rest in the finished work of Christ in making the sinner who believes righteous. Right living will follow. God gives us ALL things FREELY with Christ. Right believing always produces right living For those who would like to know more about God’s saving Grace, even salvation from sins and addictions: http://rightbelieving101..com/2018/09/about-much-misinterpreted-but-be-doers.html http://rightbelieving101..com/2018/09/so-you-are-saying-that-it-is-okay-for_18.html http://rightbelieving101..com/2018/09/god-recognizes-only-one-son-of-abraham.html |
| Phones / Re: Why You Should NOT Subscribe To Ntel Internet Service by NewsOnline: 9:23pm On Sep 02, 2018 |
Update- I finally got through to Ntel (yesterday) after three days of trying. The girl I spoke with was very curt and unapologetic with her "call back in the morning..." No sign of concern about the hassle the network put one through. Anyway, I just got through again and the new customer care person I spoke with told me that their activation platform has been undergoing maintenance hence the 3-day delay in activation that led to me to request that activation of my subscription be suspended last month. I think subscribers should have been notified of this maintenance and how long it would take instead of being told the usual "it will be activated soon" so that we can better manage our options. Keeping my fingers crossed for better service from this network this month. Some networks have terrible customer service but NTel's service combines terrible and almost non-existent. I only stick with them because their unlimited data plan has no data cap. 1 Like |
| Phones / Re: Why You Should NOT Subscribe To Ntel Internet Service by NewsOnline: 4:19am On Sep 02, 2018 |
I wish I read this post five months ago before subscribing to Ntel. It started well but after the first few weeks, service would disappear for half of the day. I'd been managing their 3k weekly unlimited data plan but it was wahala to renew after my subscription expired- you'd pay and it would take them the whole day to activate your plan. So last month, I decided to do the 17.5k monthly plan so I wouldn't have to renew every week. Three whole days passed with time/money spent on calling customer care but the data plan was still not activated despite their incessant "it will be activated soon." I have to use data to work so I dusted another ISP's modem and shelled out another 18k for another subscription. Ntel told me they will suspend the activation of my subscription until I call in to request it. I have been calling and e-mailing to request activation for the past three days now. Their site has been down since. Their phones are unreachable and my e-mails are bouncing back from their mailbox. The only way to reach them now is to go and write a comment on their Facebook posts as you cannot even post directly to their timeline- this approach seems useless as my complaint is buried among over 600 other complaints in their FB post comments. I'm tired of it all. I'll probably have to go to their office next week. 1 Like 1 Share |
| Nairaland / General / Re: List 2 Popular Secondary Schools In Lagos That Are Living In Past Glory by NewsOnline: 11:21am On Jan 18, 2018 |
Please can you post the contents of the links? The web pages have been removed. My kids go to one of these two schools. |
| Technology Market / Re: Mall For Africa Or Frustration For Africa? by NewsOnline: 2:48pm On Jan 06, 2018 |
I use MFA often. I've noticed that items that are purchased from UK stores arrive faster than those purchased from the US. Also noticed that orders get to their warehouse faster when you buy directly from the seller's site and not re-retailers like Amazon and Ebay. I think the time of delivery to end users has to do with how soon the seller can ship goods to MFA's warehouse. I usually receive my goods within 2-3 says of receiving their "your order has been shipped" email. |
| Fashion / Re: My Skin Looks Dirty by NewsOnline: 9:10pm On Jun 24, 2017 |
You could stop using soap when you shower and when you use shampoo on your hair in the shower, don't wash your body with the suds. Use Sebamed cleansing bar instead, if possible the one made for babies. Moisturize with any good baby oil (mixed with water so it doesn't get all heavy and greasy on you.) I used Johnson's on my kids when they were little so i think it's good. Always take off your make-up before you go to sleep via the same process. |
| Health / Re: Is President Buhari Dead? by NewsOnline: 8:37pm On Jan 22, 2017 |
Read the OP's query before you start blasting him for wishing the president dead. He said he's asking for confirmation and that he heard the news from an unconfirmed source |
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