FreeAtLast
comments that Jesus' sacrifice on the
cross has set us free from all the sins we
have committed in the past, and all the
sins we will commit in the future.
Sin has no power over a saved person,
death has lost its sting, you are free
from guilt, even moments after
sinning. This is not easy to
understand, but read Romans
5:12-21 and Romans 6:1-23. Email
me and I will ask FreeAtLast to
respond.
If you have unconfessed sin in
your life then there could be a question
of your salvation. This is because
you know when you are sinning, and if you
have really accepted Jesus, those
sins are forgiven. So there should
never be unconfessed sin in your
life. The article is excellent in focusing
your attention on what areas in your life
you have not given to God. Again FreeAtLast
states that if there are areas that are
not God's then there is a problem, because
it is an all or nothing commitment.
This is taken from a book, Lectures On Revival, by Charles G. Finney (Bethany
House Publishers, 1988).
Breaking up fallow ground
"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in
mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he
come & rain righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12)
Do you feel a distance in your relationship with the Lord? Do you feel you
are not where you should be with Him? Do you have difficulty praying? I
would suggest you sit down & take a careful, prayerful look at your life. If
you are in this condition, chances are you have sin in your life that you need
to confess.
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, & the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful
& just to forgive us our sins, & to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness." (1 John1:8-9)
"My little children, these things write I unto you
that ye sin not. & if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1)
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of keeping short accounts with
God. Do NOT allow unconfessed sin to build up in your life. Nothing
destroys your relationship with the Lord faster than unconfessed sin.
What does it mean to "break up fallow ground?" Fallow ground
is hard ground that has not been plowed for several years. The hard ground
must be plowed up & broken down into softer dirt so that plants can grow in
it. As we allow unconfessed sin to build up in our lives, our hearts
become hardened toward the Lord.
"Self examination consists of looking at your life, considering your
actions, remembering the past & learning its true character. Look back
over your past. Examine your sins one by one. Don't just glance over
your life, see that it has been full of sin, & then go to God & make a
sort of general confession. That isn't the way.
You must examine your sins one by one. Take a pen & paper & write
them down as they occur to you. Go over them as carefully as an accountant
goes over his books, & whenever you remember a sin, add it to the
list. General confessions of sin will never do. Your sins were committed
one by one, & as best as you can they should be reviewed & repented of
one at a time. "Lectures on Revival, by Charles Finney, p. 30-31.
The TEN COMMandMENTS (Exodus 20:3-17, references
to every commandment can be found in the new testament)
Back
to Chris' testimony
- You shall have no other gods before Me (Matthew
4:10; 22:37-38)
- You shall not make for yourself a carved image (Romans
1:22-23, 1 John 5:21, Revelation 14:9-11)
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in
vain (Matthew 5:33-37, James 5:12)
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Mark
2:27-28)
- Honour your father & you mother (Matthew
15:4-9; 19:19, Ephesians 6:1-3, Colossians 3:20)
- You shall not murder (Matthew
5:21-22, Romans 13:9)
- You shall not commit
adultery (Matthew 5:27-28, Romans 13:9,
James 2:11) (back
to Chris's Testimony)
Read this GDW aswell.
- You shall not steal (Matthew
19:18, Romans 13:9, Ephesians
4:28)
- You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbour. (Matthew 19:18, Romans 13:9)
- You shall not covet (covet=wanting what others
have) (Luke 12:15, Romans 7:7,
Ephesians 5:3and5,
Hebrews 13:5)
There two categories of sins, sins we do & good things we don't do.
Sins we do:
- Material Possessions. What is your attitude
towards your earthly possessions? Do you put them before God & others?
Do you think you can do with them what YOU want? Are you willing to lose
EVERYTHING for the Lord? If you are not, then you need to confess this as
SIN.
- Pride. How many times have you been vain
about how you look? How many times have you been hurt because others
did not pay attention to you? How many times did you do something to
become the center of attention? Do you look down on others as being
less than yourself? This is sin.
- Envy. How many times have you envied others,
their looks, possessions, or even their position & function within the
body of Christ? How many times have you talked about or dwelt on other
people's short-comings to make yourself look better? Write down these
instances of sin.
- Criticalness. Being critical of others allows
a root of bitterness & then hatred to spring up within you. Bitterness
& hatred WILL destroy you. Take a hard look at you daily conversations
& thoughts. Are you critical of others? This is sin
- Slander. Have you ever passed on gossip? The
Lord HATES slander! How many times have you spoken behind people's backs
about their faults -real or imagined - unnecessarily or without good reason?
If you pass on such "information", you are sinning!
- Lack of appropriate seriousness. How many
times have you treated God lightly or spoken about God lightly? Scripture
admonishes us that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom." Do you lack proper respect for this awesome God of ours? If
so, that is sin!
- Lying. Lying is ANY DELIBERATE DECEPTION.
Examine your daily life, how often do you lie, passing it off as "just
a little white lie?" ALL lies are sin.
- Cheating. Have you gone through the line at a
grocery store & not said anything when the clerk mistakenly rang up less
than the amount you owed? If so, you have cheated. Cheating is any time you
have done to someone something you wouldn't want done to you. Write down the
instances where you have done this.
- Hypocrisy. How many times have you confessed
sins you really didn't intend to quit? How many times have you pretended to
be something you were not?
- Robbing God. List all the times God wanted
you to help someone or share the gospel with someone & you did not do
it. Are you wasting time on "recreation" or other pursuits when
God wants to send you out into the harvest to bring souls to Jesus.
- Bad temper. Scripture tells us to "be
angry & sin not." We, as Christians, must discipline ourselves. If
we are bad tempered, then we are sinning. We can choose not to take offense
at what someone else does.
- Keeping others from being useful. Have you
weakened someone by criticizing him so that he is afraid to step out in
faith & function as God wants? Are you a complainer? Do you waste other
people's time by complaining about your own problems. Are you wasting your
pastor's time by demanding endless counseling sessions with him? All this is
sin.
"Here are six things God hates,
& one more that he loathes with a passion:
eyes that are arrogant.
A tongue that lies,
Hands that murder the innocent.,
A heart that hatches evil plots,
Feet that race down a wicked track,
A mouth that lies under oath,
Troublemaker in the family."
(Proverbs 6:16)
"He that overcometh shall inherit all things:
& I will be his God, & he shall be my son. But the fearful, &
unbelieving, & the abominable, & murderers, & whoremongers &
sorcerers, & idolaters, & all liars, shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire & brimstone: which is the second death." (Rev.
21:7-8)
From these two verses comes the following list of sins:
- Lying
- Pride
- Shedding innocent blood
- False witness
- Sowing discord amongst the brethren (fellow Christians)
- Murdering
- Involvement in the occult
- Sexual immorality
- Unbelief
- Fearfulness
- Idolatry
Have you done any of these? Write them down in your list of sins to confess.
Then see the next category of sins.
Things we should be doing but don't always do:
- Ingratitude. How many times has God helped
you & you have never thanked Him? The clothes on you back, the food on
your table, your health, your family, your job, everything is given to you
by the Lord. How often do you thank Him for these blessings? Do you eat
without first stopping to sincerely thank God for His provision for you - if
so, you are sinning. Do you travel to work & back without an accident?
You should thank God for His protection. Write down every instance you can
think of when you have not thanked God for His provisions for you. "Be
joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this
is God's will for you in Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
- Lack of love to God. If you love someone, you
talk to him & spend time with him. Have you neglected to love God? This
is sin. "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God
with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your mind. This
is the first & greatest commandment.'" (Matthew 22:37-38)
- Neglect of the Bible. Put down the spans of
time when, for days, even weeks or months, you disdained God's Word. When
you do read God's word, do you do it in a manner that is pleasing to Him? We
MUST read the Bible with the attitude that we will immediately obey every
commandment we find there!
- Unbelief. How many times have you virtually
charged God with lying? Do you believe His word? If not, this is sin. "Jesus
said, It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word
the comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4, originally Deuteronomy
8:3) also "Do not merely listen to the
word, & so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who
listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at
his face in a mirror &, after looking at himself, goes away &
immediately forgets what he looks like." (James 1:22-25)
- Neglecting prayer. How many times have you
skipped personal &/or family prayer? We greatly offend God by not
praying. "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable
to show them that they should always pray & not give up."
(Luke18:1; parable is Luke 8:2-9)
- Neglecting the means of grace. We are
commanded to fellowship with others. If you are not doing this, you are
sinning. "& let us consider how we may spur
one another on toward love & good deeds. Let us not give up
meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, all the more as you see
the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25) (Back to testimony)
- The way you perform duties. Do you do
everything unto the Lord? Or are you lazy & slipshod in your work &
everyday life? This is sin. Do you do ONLY those things at work your
boss demands? You are required by Jesus to "go the extra mile."
Are you lazy in doing the Lord's work? How many times have you known things
you should do & have not done them? "If
someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." (Matthew
6:41)
How many times have you known you should do something like take out
the trash or do the dishes & you have not done it? Write down
these instances & confess them as sin. "Therefore
to him that knoweth to do good, & doeth it not, to him it is sin."
( James 4:17)
- Lack of love for you neighbours souls. It is
YOUR responsibility to share the good news of Jesus Christ to everyone
around you. How many people do you know & associate with that you have
NOT shared the gospel with? Write them down. It is sin.
Every Christian is commanded by God to share the gospel with others.
If you are not doing this, you are sinning. "Then
Jesus came to them & said, 'All authority in heaven & on earth has
been given to me. Therefore go & make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy
Spirit, & teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" (Matthew
28:18-20)
"It benefits nothing to examine yourself unless you resolve to change
every single wrong you find in attitude or conduct…Focus your attention on
your sin. You can't look at your sin very long or very thoroughly & see how
bad they are without being deeply moved…You won't ever have the Spirit of God
dwelling in you until you unravel your whole history of sin & spread it out
in front of God." Finney, p. 36
FreeAtLast says Amen to the
above quote from Mr Finney
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