What could be a scary thought for some? How bout' this--The thought that as a Christian you can do whatever you want......scary?
Consider this Bible verse:
"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify." 1 Corinthians 10:23
All things are lawful for me? That flies in the face of traditional thinking about Christian morals, rights and wrongs--Doesn't it?
You see as Christians we are no longer slaves to the law. In amazing mercy, Jesus was the sacrifice that allowed us to be forgiven of our sins by no work of our own. So that we were no longer subject to trying to live up to God's perfect standards (the laws) And we were given the Christ's life in exchange for our own by the grace of God.
So we are truly free to do whatever we want, because the law no longer applies to us. Woo hoo! Now that's freedom! It's so sad to see so many people that see the Christian life as a life that is summed up by a comment such as:
"If you're a good Christian, everything is a sin"
This is the definitely one of the most incorrect yet universally accepted doctrines of the secular, and sadly, Christian world. I guess this verse was skimmed over.
Before you get crazy and start to plan your debaucherous plight through every forbidden pleasure imaginable, pay attention to the rest of the verse. When you read the rest you start to get a handle on why this isn't so scary after all. "but not all things are helpful...but not all things edify."
You have the freedom to do whatever you want. But what will keep you from doing the things that aren't "helpful" and don't "edify"? Well, remember when I said that you received the life of Christ in exchange for your own at salvation?
Christ's life is the key. You won't have to worry about what is right or wrong. You don't need laws to tell you. Your identity is a righteous one, so your natural nature is to glorify God and to do the things that please him!
You have a little thing called a conscience that lets you know when you're messing up. And God is able to keep you from stumbling. A personal relationship with God will keep you from sin.
Galatians 5:16 says, "Walk in the Spirit and [then] you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Don't get it twisted and try to Not fulfill the lust of the flesh to walk in the spirit.
For some reason, probably due to their engrained behavior orientated nature, most people read this verse as "if you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh then you'll be walking in the spirit." or at least that's how most people put it to use.
Most Christians see their Christian walk as one where they try to reach the righteousness of God by trying to make their behavior fall in line first. Relying on our power to bring us to the spiritual place we want to be at is a mistake and most often leads to failure.
Tis' a shame I say. If this were a math equation you would have an order of operations that must be followed to get to the correct answer. The order of operations isn't behaving like a Christian to walk in the spirit. It is walking in the spirit, then you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Your behavior will fall in line when you are "walking in the spirit." Because the object of your concern will be your righteous father. You are allowing him to express his life through you and he knows no other way than to do it righteously and avoiding "the lusts of the flesh" or sin.
That's one of the keys to being successful in most anything in life. Your Focus. Look around for my other article, "your Focus determines your reality", to find out more about how your focus is Crucial to the success of any endeavor.
I hope this article has challenged you to look at the object of your faith Jesus and opened up communication with him over this "scary thought", I look forward to hearing from you!
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Who Else Wants to Experience The Abundant, Care-free Life of Being a Better Christian Day In and Day Out and Experiencing the Guiltless Joy of Living Life Without Limits or Having to Worry About Following a Bunch of Uptight Rules?" Click Here> http://www.ChristThroughMe.com/CTMbook.html p>
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Malice is a great enemy to mankind. It is evil... Read More
Ephesians 4:4-6 indicates that Christians ought to practice one single... Read More
Picture this state of existence in your mind by closing... Read More
Green Principles: SoulBestABeing aware here now My path is progressive.... Read More
The greatest frustration in a Christian's life is not being... Read More
Do you have a servant's heart? Has God blessed you... Read More
Is it not true that only after gaining Enlightenment (Self-Realization)... Read More
By invoking an external God to whom we look for... Read More
I am not enlightened, and yet,... Read More
We've all heard the saying, "You have to forgive, but... Read More
You know that the Bible tells us a lot about... Read More
Life, no matter how we choose to look at it,... Read More
In life, sooner or later, we come to the midnight... Read More
For the past several years I have struggled with getting... Read More
No, I have never seen a fairy, an angel, nor... Read More
Believe it or not most astral Attacks are not caused... Read More
When we feel that something has gone wrong and are... Read More
The fastest way to raise your frequency is to do... Read More
On one side there is a dark cloud. It is... Read More
Over the past number of years, while going through my... Read More
I honestly am not sure why this hit me so... Read More
Not a Failure!Those of you who are unemployed, or desire... Read More
At the start of your dream journey, one of the... Read More
Stress & Spirituality ? How Spirituality Affects Stress LevelsTake a... Read More
There is no such thing as a coincidence. Albert Einstein... Read More
One important factor in how we go through life is... Read More
What does it mean to be comfortable in your own... Read More
The gate of every year is the begining of that... Read More
I would like to share my experience, working with the... Read More
How many Christian people do you know who are bearing... Read More
Many people are awakening today to the idea that the... Read More
Until recently, miracles were usually credited to a supernatural power.... Read More
Celebrities and common people all over the world are known... Read More
Did you ever get a feeling or gain notion of... Read More
Welcome to the GOD 1.0 Tech Support Page. GOD 1.0... Read More
The famous prayer of Jabez, where Jabez prayed for prosperity,... Read More
There is a chronology of events from creation to the... Read More
It seems to me that our moment to moment relationship... Read More
There are moments in the believer's life when the Spirit... Read More
I have been counseling people on weight loss, exercise efficiency... Read More
Who is the more spiritual person? The woman out on... Read More
As I listen with pastors and preachers in the body... Read More
Attachment... Bondage... Moha... state as we may but the meaning... Read More
In the last 2 weeks or so, I have been... Read More
Remember me! It's me! Joseph here in touch with you... Read More
Let us face reality squarely in the face by acknowledging... Read More
ADDICTION: - There are numerous obsessions and addictions which prevent... Read More
Some may ask why in a disaster some people are... Read More
Heaven is a place of abundance and earth is a... Read More
As soon as he saw me I saw him. It... Read More
What type of person grabs your attention and motivates you?... Read More
For the last 35 years, I have been working with... Read More
What could be a scary thought for some? How bout'... Read More
On reading Susan Cato's Time Magazine Canada piece titled, "In... Read More
Have you ever wondered how much faith you really have?... Read More
I would like to share my experience, working with the... Read More
The fastest way to raise your frequency is to do... Read More
Several years ago after I presented a workshop entitled "Spirituality... Read More
I thought I would draw this article up as a... Read More
AN ARISTOCRATIC UPBRINGING:There are many people who write about sex... Read More
Each of us has far more potential to serve the... Read More
Echo was a flea-bitten gray horse, with brown speckles everywhere,... Read More
It was in the middle of the night and the... Read More
The essence of the Christian faith is the good news... Read More
Don't be confused that a saint is a religious leader... Read More
One of the first issues people on the spiritual path... Read More
Spirituality |