Call sin, a sin, that's the first thing. Call sin, a sin, you can't afford not to do it, because there is a cure for sin and a remedy for it. You only have to pretend if there is no remedy. You will never be cured from sin as long you cover it up or hide from it. You must call sin, a sin, that's the first thing. Be real about the things in your life that are sin. Now if there was no remedy for sin, then the whole gospel is just a big joke and is totally worthless.

The second thing you must do, is see that sin cannot be justified. You can never justify sin. You must always call sin, sin. You must stop looking at things that you do wrong, or feelings that you have that are wrong and then excuse them as shortcomings, or as little weakness in your humanity, or as little characteristics that occur because of your background, stop that. Stop saying Oh! Well I am real sweet person you know, I maybe just a bit incommunicative, not unloving, just incommunicative, stop saying that. Stop saying I just have a tendency toward a fiery kind of temperament you know, I maybe a little a fiery at times, but I am not really angry. You might say, well no one is perfect you know and basically I am a good person deep down, sure I may mess up a little here and there, but I am no criminal. Stop that and call your sin, as sin, say "I am angry, that's sin". Say "I have unlovingness, and that's sin."

Never think that anger is okay, or you can't really help it. Never think of any gossip, slander, jealously or any other sin as just human. Never accept any sin as normal human feelings. Don't ever think that you can't help sin, or that sin is just normal part of being human. and you will always have sin until the day you die. Do not excuse anger, gossip, or sarcasm or jealously, because when you do, you gradually reduce the whole life in Christ and it becomes less and less to you.

Never justify sin! Don't call it by any other name, always keep calling it sin. The reason for this is because the door to full consecration is continual repentance. If you are living in known sin and your attitude is well, I know I need a miracle for God to set me free from this sin, so I will wait for the miracle. NO, NO, that is not the way into the miracle. The way into the place of full consecration where the Holy Spirit can cleanse your heart by faith, is by continual honest repentance day, by day, by day.

If you are unwilling to call sin, sin then you can become Impenitent. Impenitence, that is lack of penitence, impenitence, un-repentance, impenitence is more than just repeated sinning. You may think that because you are sinning all the time, that there is no hope for you. This is NOT true. Impenitence is the growing tolerance of that sinning as a necessity. Its not just that you are sinning repeatedly, but impenitence is the time when your conscience becomes seared, and when you get to the point where you can no longer come to the place of full consecration. Impenitence happens when you regard your sinning as a necessity in your life, and you begin to tolerate it. Impenitence is the acceptance of the idea that you can't stop sinning, You are in great danger when you regard your sin as normal rather than abnormal, or as natural rather than alien.

However often you may sin, you must set your heart against it, with all your being, and regard it as something that you must get rid of completely. God is more than willing to forgive you but He will also lead you to ask the all important question, which is the key to deliverance, why can't I stop sinning? There is no point, you know by crying out and saying, there is no hope for me, because I have sinned. It isn't just the sinning, its not just the falling, that is the real problem but it's the refusal to get up and go every time you fall and to believe that there comes the time when you do not need to fall. That is what true repentance is. The reason why many of you are sinning is because you have unclean heart. With an unclean heart, repentance is not, never sinning at this point in your life, but it is a refusal to accept sinning as normal in your life. It is a refusal to accept the word of God for freedom from sin. It is a constant belief that the normal Christian life is one that is free from unclean hearts, and free from unclean life, and that is the way into the place of full consecration.

It is the desperate crying out to God. It isn't the crying out to man, why, why can I not stop sinning? While you are crying out to man, while maybe having little achievements and accomplishments, while you are reading the books, while you are talking to other people, saying why can't I stop sinning, even though I am a Christian? While you are doing that, you are just pretending. While you are trying to justify your situation, you are not even serious, but when you are desperate enough to cry out to the Holy Spirit, "Holy Spirit, why can I not stop this, why?" Then you are coming into the place of full consecration, where the dear Holy Spirit Himself can begin to deal with you, and can explain to you in what ways your heart is not clean for Him to dwell. He will explain it to you all this, because He wants to dwell in your heart, your heart was made for His indwelling, that's why your heart is there. You were made for the Holy Spirit of the God to stay and dwell and live within you day after day, night after night, moment by moment, and the Holy Spirit's dearest desire is to come there, and make that His home.

Thank you for you post. This is a most critical subject, one that is the source of much confusion among christians today.
In my humble understanding of the New Testiment, we cannot by our own will and deterination overcome the dominion of sin. It takes the power of God. Sin as you said cannot be justified. However we are justified by the blood of Jesus. That same blood shed for our justification set's us free from the dominion of sin.
There is no such thing as sinless perfection. But sin shall not have dominion over us. 1 Cor. 1:18 says that the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God. The power of God for what? Victory in Jesus. Victory over sin. Does that mean we will never fall short again. No. But sin shall not dominate our lives.
As believers, we are either walking after the flesh, or walking after the spirit. To walk after the flesh is to walk in obedience to our old fallen nature. To walk after the Spirit is to walk in obedience to His leading moment by moment. In the Spirit we walk in the righteousness imputed to us on Calvary.

Only God can change the desires of the heart. He does it when we respond correctly to His grace by faith in the finished work of the cross. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

God bless you.

We can be blameless, but we cannot be faultless.

Jam 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

We can always do what is good through the mighty Holy Ghost, therefore we do not have to sin!! I don't belive that we will ever get to the point while still in this flesh where we will not have something about us that we need to work on. It seems to me the closer as I get to God the more I feel I need to do, but the less time I have to do it. I always need more dicipline, more prayer, more word, more intimacy, and just an over all deepness of an eternal mind.

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Josh Parsley

Well, amen Preach,
Paul had a "thorn in the flesh". Some say it was an infirmity. You don't need grace for an infirmity. You need healing. 3 times Paul asked God to remove it. God chose not too. As you stated in your post, He told Paul that His unmerited favor was sufficient.
If grace is not sufficient, we are all sunk. If grace is not needed, we would swell up into the sin of pride and down we go again. Had God removed the "thorn", the message of grace would have died on the vine and the blood of Jesus would be trampled under foot.

Thank you for your post and God bless you real good.

Wow, this thread provoked me to write an article. [url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=5215&post_id=37554&order=0&viewmode=thread&pid=0&forum=35#37554]Here is the thread.[/url]

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Josh Parsley

I am not sure where you get that idea.

2 Cor. 12:7 "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure."

I think the thorn was given to prevent the sin of pride.

I do not know about you but I have not received the abundance of revelations that Paul had to have a thorn.

What is the purpose of grace? Why do we need it? Grace = unmerited favor. You don't need grace for temptation. You dont' need it for healing. You don't need it for a miracle. You need it for what?

Everybody has their own particular weakness. To one it may be gambling, to another, gossip. One is prone to covet while another is weak in lying. It's usually that one thing that pops up at the most inopportune time. Everyone has at least one. I do, I believe you do too.

We do need to repent, no doubt, and on going. But we are not justified by our repentance. The just shall live by faith, and that faith must be in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The cross provided justification and concecration. If you are hoping to find favor with God by the filthy rags of your own righteousness, your house is built on sand.

When a person repents, places his/her faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we always see a "changed life". Is this because a person is given a long list of do's and don'ts???? That' law, beloved. The person changes because God moves in and cleans the house.

We have to cooperate with His manifold grace and help keep the house clean. But we cannot clean ourselves any more than a swine can.

Religion and religious practice strongly appeals to the flesh. But christianity is not built on religion. It is built on faith, faith in the victory over sin at calvary. The bible does not teach us how to have victory, but the victory is already ours. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. We too often look at our flesh and think that is who we are. Wrong. What we see in the mirror is dead in Christ Jesus. God sees it as dead, along with all it's works. Turn your eyes upon Jesus oh Saint. Begin to see yourself as God sees you.....JESUS! You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. The flesh is dead, leave it in the grace. Walk in the newness of life. Follow after the Spirit.
Pray? Of course. Read your bible? Absolutely. Life must be maintained. But the life does not come from maintainance. It comes from God. Only He can make us born again. He will, if only you turn from yourself, and place all your eternal hope in Him and His Holy Provision for sin, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. To God be the glory, now and forever amen.

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Mike Balog

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Ron Halverson