2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
For the past few days, we have been discussing a destructive false doctrine that has permeated the Church today. It is a continuation of the “once saved, always saved” false teaching. These heretics teach that because a person believes in Jesus and has at one time prayed the sinner's prayer, there is never a need for them to repent again. They also teach that it doesn’t matter what a believer does because they are saved. This is an extremely dangerous teaching and anyone who reads the Bible for themselves will easily come to the conclusion that it is false.
The entire Word of God is instructions on how to live our lives pleasing to God. All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in Righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
While it is true that truly born-again believers do not lose their Salvation every time they sin, the Word of God calls us to a lifestyle of repentance. We live this way because we love God and we want to please Him. The Holy Spirit, Who dwells within us, constantly convicts us of our wrongdoing. We know when we sin because the Spirit within us convicts us of it. At that very moment, we are to repent. This is what it means to submit yourself unto God.
The Holy Spirit is God and it is His job to keep us on the right track. If it didn’t matter what we did, we wouldn’t need the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us through this life. We wouldn’t need Him to warn us of what lies ahead because it wouldn’t make any difference if we sinned or not.
Holy Conviction is not condemnation. Conviction is the Voice of the Holy Spirit telling us we have done something wrong and we need to repent which is to sincerely apologize to God and to turn from that sin. This has been the Word of God to His people for centuries. If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14) In this Passage, God is speaking to HIS PEOPLE! He is calling them to be humble, pray, seek His Face, and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS! This is repentance! Without repentance, there is no Forgiveness, Healing, or Deliverance.
Every true born-again believer in Christ wants to please God. We are not to use the Grace of God as a way to live any way we want to. The Letters in the New Testament that Paul wrote were written to saved believers in the various churches. He did not write to the lost people. He wrote to the Churches and he addressed their sins. In his Letter to the Galatians, he wrote For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)
Faith in Christ brings freedom and liberty but this freedom is not to be used as a license to sin. On the contrary, this freedom in Christ will draw us closer and closer to God and cause us to live not a lifestyle of sin but a lifestyle of repentance as we seek to please Him more and more every day.
If you are sitting under this false teaching, I strongly suggest that you get out from under it because it will eventually destroy your faith. Remember, The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. (John 10:10) Seek the conviction of the Holy Spirit because it will keep you on the narrow road.
The conviction of the Holy Spirit will……….turn the tide
Thank you Lord, Doreen
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