This is my understanding of Christianity as I practice it.
Grace relates to Salvation and Justification, but not to ongoing sanctification.
Repentance and Confession are fundamental aspects of Christian life relating to Sanctification, ie a purifying work. The purifying is not to obtain Salvation, nor to be justified, but to grow and change and take on the nature of God.
What is God’s nature: the Law. The Law as an expression of love and not religion.
The Law did not cease with Christ, indeed He expanded the law with the lesser commandments.
He came to fulfil the Law requirements of sacrifice for sins, but not to abolish the law and its practice as relating to love.
You cannot be justified by the Law, you are sanctified by keeping the Law.
The Law cannot be understood as a religious act but only from the basis of love.
For example: God did not create the Sabbath as a religious ritual but because He understood that men would work 7 days a week till they dropped dead, that’s not good. God rested on the 7th day and rest is good. that day can be Saturday, sunday, Wednesday or any day. religion stuffs you up with ritual.
Tithing if you read Deut 14 was to be wholly consumed by YOU, not donated or given away until the third year. If you tithe 10% you are missing the point, as tithing is an act of thanks and love not religion.
And all the laws are about LOVE. LEARNING WHAT LOVE IS, HOW LOVE IS PRACTICED.
Stealing, murder, adultery, lying, etc are all to be understood as changes from the inside and not religious laws.
The Law as practiced as religion is dead if it is on the outside of you, you have not changed inside so you are dead.
The law must be written on your heart as a fundamental part of your nature and desire.
Repentance and confession are part of the correcting focus inside, but if they become purely a religious practice then they are worthless.
If we continue to sin without repentance and confession then we trample on the work of Christ on the cross. Christ has also broken the power of sin over us.
Can you overcome sin in your own efforts? Maybe some things and some things you have to surrender to the Holy Spirit and say : “ I give up, I give it to you, deal with it.” He will.
THE HOLY SPIRIT is a vital part of our Christian walk.
He is the guide, counsellor, helper and the power. Jesus had no power until He was baptised with the Holy Spirit.
If you do not have the Holy Spirit you are only practicing what? A religion equal with islam, Buddhism, Hinduism because they can all argue they are the truth,
Power endorses the truth of Jesus Christ.
1 john 8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.…
James….And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. 17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would
Psalm 32 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. 5I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. 6Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely
Numbers……..Speak to the sons of Israel, 'When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the LORD, and that person is guilty, 7then he shall confess his sins which he has committed, and he shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it one-fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged. 8But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the
Luke…And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things.…
I think most churches and Christians swing between two extremes,
1. Grace
2. Law.
Grace in its extreme allows anything, requires no repentance or confession as it says Jesus has done it all. Such grace leads to sin and tramples the work of Christ.
Law in its extreme replaces Christ as our Justification and leads to cults requiring all sorts of weird stuff.
When the Law is in your heart then it becomes grace.
Grace relates to Salvation and Justification, but not to ongoing sanctification.
Repentance and Confession are fundamental aspects of Christian life relating to Sanctification, ie a purifying work. The purifying is not to obtain Salvation, nor to be justified, but to grow and change and take on the nature of God.
What is God’s nature: the Law. The Law as an expression of love and not religion.
The Law did not cease with Christ, indeed He expanded the law with the lesser commandments.
He came to fulfil the Law requirements of sacrifice for sins, but not to abolish the law and its practice as relating to love.
You cannot be justified by the Law, you are sanctified by keeping the Law.
The Law cannot be understood as a religious act but only from the basis of love.
For example: God did not create the Sabbath as a religious ritual but because He understood that men would work 7 days a week till they dropped dead, that’s not good. God rested on the 7th day and rest is good. that day can be Saturday, sunday, Wednesday or any day. religion stuffs you up with ritual.
Tithing if you read Deut 14 was to be wholly consumed by YOU, not donated or given away until the third year. If you tithe 10% you are missing the point, as tithing is an act of thanks and love not religion.
And all the laws are about LOVE. LEARNING WHAT LOVE IS, HOW LOVE IS PRACTICED.
Stealing, murder, adultery, lying, etc are all to be understood as changes from the inside and not religious laws.
The Law as practiced as religion is dead if it is on the outside of you, you have not changed inside so you are dead.
The law must be written on your heart as a fundamental part of your nature and desire.
Repentance and confession are part of the correcting focus inside, but if they become purely a religious practice then they are worthless.
If we continue to sin without repentance and confession then we trample on the work of Christ on the cross. Christ has also broken the power of sin over us.
Can you overcome sin in your own efforts? Maybe some things and some things you have to surrender to the Holy Spirit and say : “ I give up, I give it to you, deal with it.” He will.
THE HOLY SPIRIT is a vital part of our Christian walk.
He is the guide, counsellor, helper and the power. Jesus had no power until He was baptised with the Holy Spirit.
If you do not have the Holy Spirit you are only practicing what? A religion equal with islam, Buddhism, Hinduism because they can all argue they are the truth,
Power endorses the truth of Jesus Christ.
1 john 8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.…
James….And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. 17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would
Psalm 32 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. 5I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. 6Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely
Numbers……..Speak to the sons of Israel, 'When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the LORD, and that person is guilty, 7then he shall confess his sins which he has committed, and he shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it one-fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged. 8But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the
Luke…And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things.…
I think most churches and Christians swing between two extremes,
1. Grace
2. Law.
Grace in its extreme allows anything, requires no repentance or confession as it says Jesus has done it all. Such grace leads to sin and tramples the work of Christ.
Law in its extreme replaces Christ as our Justification and leads to cults requiring all sorts of weird stuff.
When the Law is in your heart then it becomes grace.