If God said "Sin shall not have dominion over us", why does it?

If God said that "with every temptation He will make a way of escape that we may be able to bear it", then why do we still succumb to it?

If God said we are "no longer in the flesh but in the spirit", then why is our flesh still active and lust still burn in our hearts?

If God said "Whatsoever you ask the Father in my name, that will I do that the Father might be glorified in the Son", why are we not seeing miracles in the church?

If God says that His joy will be in us and our joy will be full, why are there so few truly joyous Christians?

If God said that by the shield of faith, we can and will quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, then why are lives of thousands of Christians destroyed daily by Him, even ones that love His Son with everything they have?

If God promised to cause us to will and to do of His good pleasure and give us obedient natures that want to obey, why do we still struggle against our own nature, and succumb to sins big and small?

The fact is God did say these things and many many more that we simply do not find true in our present churches. God cannot lie. It is an impossibility. If we are finding things clearly promised by our father not tobe true in our walks, then the problem is not with Christianity, but our understanding of it.

This is not even the most disturbing thing about this truth. The more disturbing thing is the fact that so few question as to why this is, as if to question why is sacrelidge, or show "weak" faith.

It is time to ask why to the leaders among us, to explain why if christianity is the answer, it is not working. Is Jesus not the son of God? Of course he is. Does he not sit on the right hand of heaven, interceeding for the saints? He does indeed. Is it not His will that millions walk thru life in true joy and victory over the world theflesh and the devil, and yet instead we find them defeated and in despair, trying to bravely put on a happy face, when their prayer closets are dry and cold and their walks are barely hanging on. It is indeed His will that we walk above our old natures and not "try to be good" but produce spiritual fruits solely becasue we ARE good, or as Jesus said, we are "light in the Lord".


Jesus healed the sick on earth. Jesus raised the dead. Jesus fed 5000 with a few loaves and fishes. Yet there was one thing that reduced His power during his three years on earth. One thing that limited the God inside Him to do the will of God. What was this one evil that tied His hands, and made His will ineffective?

It was unbelief.

Unbelief is not a weakness, saints, It is evil. God knows we are bad in our flesh, We acknowledged that when we asked to be forgiven and cleansed. But unbelief calls His character into question, not ours. God warns each of us "lest there be found in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God."

It is not enough to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. The devils believe that as well. God asks for our faith to be stretched to the unbleivable and still remain in full faith and trust in him. He asks us to believe that we are not any longer in the flesh, that when He died, we did too...our old nature done away with as it deserved. He asks us to reckon our old man dead and reckon as well that God has given us new natures that can obey, can love the unlovely, can believe for miracles, can walk without fainting, can walk on the storms that satan and this world toss at us.

Here is a key though. if our hearts are still our own, we cannot stretch to believe that. It is too high, too hard. Bt is impossible.

But when a man or woman comes to the father and says in desperation...."I must be free, Lord, I must be closer to you, I must be victorious and I canoot do it as long as I live, I see that now...so I must die. I give you myself to do with as you will, not as I want.I repent of my rebellion that allowed me to run things the way I saw fit. I submit myself to you as the good master, one who takes care of His children, and who promises to cause me to walk in your statutes. I believe Lord...help thou my unbelief"...then that is the man or woman who is about to meet up with the God of all comfort, the God who will do exceedingly above and beyond all that we ask or think.

[Amadeus]

Originally Posted by BruceG

If God said "Sin shall not have dominion over us", why does it?

Because we have not killed the 'old man' today!

If God said that "with every temptation He will make a way of escape that we may be able to bear it", then why do we still succumb to it?

Because gave us our will and we follow it instead of His. Jesus, tempted in the garden of Gethsemene for the last time did not want to suffer and die. He pray three times for the "cup" to be removed, but each time he ended His prayer with "nevertheless not as I will , but as Thou wilt." Will we drink every cup that God has for us to drink or will we keep trying to go along our own pathway of comfort?

If God said we are "no longer in the flesh but in the spirit", then why is our flesh still active and lust still burn in our hearts?

Because we do not kill it daily! Jesus fought more than one battle, but the winner was always God, because Jesus always gave Him the reins. His old man kept wanting to push his head up too, but He always remembered the "not as I will, but as Thou wilt".

If God said "Whatsoever you ask the Father in my name, that will I do that the Father might be glorified in the Son", why are we not seeing miracles in the church?

Because of unbelief and failure to trust in God always!

If God says that His joy will be in us and our joy will be full, why are there so few truly joyous Christians?

A person cannot live for God once or twice a week or for only a short period of time each day. A person must live for God all of the time: 24/7

If God said that by the shield of faith, we can and will quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, then why are lives of thousands of Christians destroyed daily by Him, even ones that love His Son with everything they have?

"And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm." Matt 8:26

"And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt" Matt 14:31

If God promised to cause us to will and to do of His good pleasure and give us obedient natures that want to obey, why do we still struggle against our own nature, and succumb to sins big and small?

The daily death is missing!

The fact is God did say these things and many many more that we simply do not find true in our present churches. God cannot lie. It is an impossibility. If we are finding things clearly promised by our father not tobe true in our walks, then the problem is not with Christianity, but our understanding of it.

Or our failure to believe it. O we of little faith!

This is not even the most disturbing thing about this truth. The more disturbing thing is the fact that so few question as to why this is, as if to question why is sacrelidge, or show "weak" faith.

Too many leaders are blind and too followers are following blindly.

It is time to ask why to the leaders among us, to explain why if christianity is the answer, it is not working. Is Jesus not the son of God? Of course he is. Does he not sit on the right hand of heaven, interceeding for the saints? He does indeed. Is it not His will that millions walk thru life in true joy and victory over the world theflesh and the devil, and yet instead we find them defeated and in despair, trying to bravely put on a happy face, when their prayer closets are dry and cold and their walks are barely hanging on.

Indeed, it is not only the OSAS (Once saved always saved) people that assume that nothing else is needed who are following short. If we do not trust, if we do not believe, if we cannot die, then we cannot LIVE!

It is indeed His will that we walk above our old natures and not "try to be good" but produce spiritual fruits solely becasue we ARE good, or as Jesus said, we are "light in the Lord".

Try to be good as much as you want, but at the same believe that He is good and that He is in you!

Jesus healed the sick on earth. Jesus raised the dead. Jesus fed 5000 with a few loaves and fishes. Yet there was one thing that reduced His power during his three years on earth. One thing that limited the God inside Him to do the will of God. What was this one evil that tied His hands, and made His will ineffective?

It was unbelief.

Unbelief is not a weakness, saints, It is evil. God knows we are bad in our flesh, We acknowledged that when we asked to be forgiven and cleansed. But unbelief calls His character into question, not ours. God warns each of us "lest there be found in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God."

[/font]

It is not enough to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. The devils believe that as well. God asks for our faith to be stretched to the unbleivable and still remain in full faith and trust in him. He asks us to believe that we are not any longer in the flesh, that when He died, we did too...our old nature done away with as it deserved. He asks us to reckon our old man dead and reckon as well that God has given us new natures that can obey, can love the unlovely, can believe for miracles, can walk without fainting, can walk on the storms that satan and this world toss at us.

Amen!

Here is a key though. if our hearts are still our own, we cannot stretch to believe that. It is too high, too hard. But is impossible.

But when a man or woman comes to the father and says in desperation...."I must be free, Lord, I must be closer to you, I must be victorious and I canoot do it as long as I live, I see that now...so I must die. I give you myself to do with as you will, not as I want.I repent of my rebellion that allowed me to run things the way I saw fit. I submit myself to you as the good master, one who takes care of His children, and who promises to cause me to walk in your statutes. I believe Lord...help thou my unbelief"...then that is the man or woman who is about to meet up with the God of all comfort, the God who will do exceedingly above and beyond all that we ask or think.

Glory to His name!

He is in the praise too! If we really praise from the depths of our heart, then He will be there in the praises, which means in us. Praise all of the time!
[/size]

[SeraphimH]

Only in the depths of repentance and brokenness does one encounter the true magnitude of God's mercy and compassion. And the more ways one can find to deny his earthly self, the more room he makes in his heart for the divine Christ.

"But this understanding of things has dramatically faded in the world. Our vision has become clouded, blurred by rationalism and errant doctrines like sola scriptura. Under the influence of these, the admonition of the Apostle Paul that we "not be conformed to his world" (Romans 12:1) has been reinterpreted. Tragically, we have come to believe that 'good' doctrine and 'good' worship are measured by how well they fit with 'where we are personally'--or in other words, by how closely we conform to our own opinions, tastes, and desires.
St. Paul says that Jesus has 'raised us up together, and made us sit in the heavenly places' with Himself (Ephesians 2:6). If there is one obvious fact in the universe, it's that heaven is not like here. So if we are living heavenly lives to which Christ has called us, it stands to reason they should stand out in vivid contrast to the world around us. The way we think, eat, sleep, love, worship, work, play--absolutely every aspect of our lives should be markedly different from the practices of those in the world. A life that is just Christian words set to the same old worldly tune cannot pass as the 'transformed' life to which we are called (Romans 12:2)." --Matthew Gallatin

Originally Posted by Amadeus

Because we have not killed the 'old man' today!



Because gave us our will and we follow it instead of His. Jesus, tempted in the garden of Gethsemene for the last time did not want to suffer and die. He pray three times for the "cup" to be removed, but each time he ended His prayer with "nevertheless not as I will , but as Thou wilt." Will we drink every cup that God has for us to drink or will we keep trying to go along our own pathway of comfort?



Because we do not kill it daily! Jesus fought more than one battle, but the winner was always God, because Jesus always gave Him the reins. His old man kept wanting to push his head up too, but He always remembered the "not as I will, but as Thou wilt".



Because of unbelief and failure to trust in God always!



A person cannot live for God once or twice a week or for only a short period of time each day. A person must live for God all of the time: 24/7



"And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm." Matt 8:26

"And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt" Matt 14:31



The daily death is missing!



Or our failure to believe it. O we of little faith!



Too many leaders are blind and too followers are following blindly.



Indeed, it is not only the OSAS (Once saved always saved) people that assume that nothing else is needed who are following short. If we do not trust, if we do not believe, if we cannot die, then we cannot LIVE!



Try to be good as much as you want, but at the same believe that He is good and that He is in you!



Amen!



Glory to His name!

He is in the praise too! If we really praise from the depths of our heart, then He will be there in the praises, which means in us. Praise all of the time!

Excellent answers my friend. May I point you to one more promise that God has made to us...perhaps the promise of all the promises?

Under the old covenant, there was a weak link, our flesh....us. Try as we might, no matter how diligent we were, no matter how hard we tried, no matter how much we put a watch on our efforts to obey, the weakness of our flesh prevented us from becoming holy through outer obedience, obeying the commandments of God.

Listen to the lamentation of God in Jeremiah as He points to the need for a new covenant, not like the one He gave us on Sinai through the tablets of stone.

Jeremiah 31:31

Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that i will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband to them, saith the Lord.

A covenant is an agreement between two parties. The first covenant said this,

Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people.

Here was the weak link exposed.... God did His part but the God's people did not do theirs, try as they might.

But the new covenant is here and it is not like the old. The weak link...our flesh....has been eliminated!

In Ezekiel 36, God again talks through the prophet Ezekiel as to the new covnenat, that was not like the old. He says clearly that He would "cause us" to walk in his statutes....amazing.

No more would there be a weak link in the covenant. No more would God do His part and we fail at our own. Why have we failed in the past? Because we have failed to understand the enormous grace of our God. We have failed to see our inherant weakness, but far more importantly, we have failed to see our God high and lifted up, willing to give us hearts that would obey, willing by His grace to empower us in our weakness!

No more will we be on and off, up and down, hot and cold. No more will we praise God on Sundays and find ourselves dragged back into the mire by our fleshly natures by Tuesday. God is willing to do his part...and do our part as well!

"Blasphemy!", some will cry. "What about free will? Show me in the scriptures, anywhere in the scriptures, where God says our responsibility will be fullfilled by Him Himself. It is a lie. We MUST obey!"

But brother, it is true, We must remember that the old covenant was truly not the oldest one, but the temporary one, given to Moses only until Jesus appeared. The new, the original, was given 400 years before Moses and Sinai, and it was given to Abraham and to His descendants....we ourselves.....to us!

In those days, a covenant was "cut" between two parties and sacrifical animals were slain and laid out on the ground. The two parties would then "pass through" the pieces together, making the covenant a binding one. The sacrifical animals signified the seriousness and the binding nature of the covenant and and meant if either party failed in their part to fulfill it, they were to be killed just like the animals.

So here is the cutting of the covenant with God and Abrham in Genesis 15. God instructs him to kills the beasts and lay their parts in place, ready for their "passing through the pieces" together. This covenant was then a never ending binding covenant between the Lord and the descendands of Abraham, thru the lord Jesus Himself.

But something unusual happened in this covenant being "cut". God proceeded to put Abraham in a deep sleep and then passed through the pieces alone. Oh, praise God! Do you see? God not only confirmed His part in the covenant, He confirmed ours as well!

God said he who has begun a good work in us WILL perform it unto that day. Those who are true sheep WILL hear His voice and WILL follow Him. No more will our flesh allow us to be willing one day and then kick in and cause us to be reluctant the next. God is in control, willing to take full responsibility for Him and for us!.

So at the end of the beautiful chapter in Ezekiel 36, where God promises to cause us to walk in his statutes, even against the cries of "free will, free will!", He says this amazing statement.

"I shall yet be inquired of by the House of Israel to do it for them."

Thank you my God for inquiring hearts that want to obey and do not find the power. We are in covenant with you, a never-ending covenant, and our part is assured by our kinsman redeeemer..... Jesus Himself.

[winsome]

Originally Posted by SeraphimH

Only in the depths of repentance and brokenness does one encounter the true magnitude of God's mercy and compassion. And the more ways one can find to deny his earthly self, the more room he makes in his heart for the divine Christ.

"But this understanding of things has dramatically faded in the world. Our vision has become clouded, blurred by rationalism and errant doctrines like sola scriptura. Under the influence of these, the admonition of the Apostle Paul that we "not be conformed to his world" (Romans 12:1) has been reinterpreted. Tragically, we have come to believe that 'good' doctrine and 'good' worship are measured by how well they fit with 'where we are personally'--or in other words, by how closely we conform to our own opinions, tastes, and desires.
St. Paul says that Jesus has 'raised us up together, and made us sit in the heavenly places' with Himself (Ephesians 2:6). If there is one obvious fact in the universe, it's that heaven is not like here. So if we are living heavenly lives to which Christ has called us, it stands to reason they should stand out in vivid contrast to the world around us. The way we think, eat, sleep, love, worship, work, play--absolutely every aspect of our lives should be markedly different from the practices of those in the world. A life that is just Christian words set to the same old worldly tune cannot pass as the 'transformed' life to which we are called (Romans 12:2)." --Matthew Gallatin

Amen to that, especially
So if we are living heavenly lives to which Christ has called us, it stands to reason they should stand out in vivid contrast to the world around us. The way we think, eat, sleep, love, worship, work, play--absolutely every aspect of our lives should be markedly different from the practices of those in the world.

Originally Posted by winsome

Amen to that, especially
So if we are living heavenly lives to which Christ has called us, it stands to reason they should stand out in vivid contrast to the world around us. The way we think, eat, sleep, love, worship, work, play--absolutely every aspect of our lives should be markedly different from the practices of those in the world.

So we come full circle. All true statements...but HOW?

Yes we are to be strangers and pilgrims in the world, walking in it but not of it. But as to how we do that, show me in our church tenants in any denomination where first, that is clearly stated as a goal as to how we shouod walk out our faith and secondly, that is is clearly taught how to live that way, consistantly, eyes solely on the prize, uncompromising, undefeated, single eyed. As far as I know, there is none. Why do you think that is?

We are missing an ingredient in this walk we call Christianity. We can read the Bible inside out, memorize scriptures, wrestles with doctrines until we know exactly what God meant in every single verse, determine to walk as a radical sold out obedient-at-all-costs believer and yet, if we do not appropriate the truths presents as OURS...by faith, we might as well be discussing quadratic equations or nano-physics for all the good it will do us.

Why do we refuse to simply BELIEVE?

Hear God's word.

"You are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God"

Now, shall we simply dismiss it because it cannot possibly mean what it plainly says, or shall we embrace it as our possession, believe it for ourselves and put hell on a DEFCON-5 defense alert? Trust me, if you are in doubt as to the realities of a physical satan and his emissaries, just launch out and believe God. You will find out quickly how real they are.

The entire scriptures is a testament to faith in God.... believing His words. We build seplechres to the heroes of faith, but we refuse to be that hero God desires us to be ourselves. Why?

We know that without faith it is impossible to please Him, that he who cometh to God must believe that he is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Yet, we do anything and everything to explain away the exceeding great and precious promises of God. Why?

We know we are warned to beware, lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God, and yet, adamantly refuse to believe what God plainly tells us, that sin shall NOT have dominion over us. Why?

We know that all unbelievers shall have their part in the lake of fire and yet, our hearts do not even in the slightest convict us that he could mean us. Thus, unbleief is to us a weakness that God winks at, not an evil God will judge. Why?

WHY? Because satan will do anything to make sure you stay entrenched in your walk of works...just do not get out of the boat of religious niceness and walk on water. It upsets hell and it shines light into the darkness of others, threatening to set them free as well.

Saints, it takes only the little bit of original faith you have been given to believe His promises. Do not let satan rob you of your birthright any longer. Resisit the devil and he WILL flee you. Trust God, He will not fail. It is simply impossible.

Believe.

[SeraphimH]

Originally Posted by BruceG

So we come full circle. All true statements...but HOW?

Yes we are to be strangers and pilgrims in the world, walking in it but not of it. But as to how we do that, show me in our church tenants in any denomination where first, that is clearly stated as a goal as to how we shouod walk out our faith and secondly, that is is clearly taught how to live that way, consistantly, eyes solely on the prize, uncompromising, undefeated, single eyed. As far as I know, there is none. Why do you think that is?

We are missing an ingredient in this walk we call Christianity. We can read the Bible inside out, memorize scriptures, wrestles with doctrines until we know exactly what God meant in every single verse, determine to walk as a radical sold out obedient-at-all-costs believer and yet, if we do not appropriate the truths presents as OURS...by faith, we might as well be discussing quadratic equations or nano-physics for all the good it will do us.

Why do we refuse to simply BELIEVE?

Hear God's word.

"You are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God"

Now, shall we simply dismiss it because it cannot possibly mean what it plainly says, or shall we embrace it as our possession, believe it for ourselves and put hell on a DEFCON-5 defense alert? Trust me, if you are in doubt as to the realities of a physical satan and his emissaries, just launch out and believe God. You will find out quickly how real they are.

The entire scriptures is a testament to faith in God.... believing His words. We build seplechres to the heroes of faith, but we refuse to be that hero God desires us to be ourselves. Why?

We know that without faith it is impossible to please Him, that he who cometh to God must believe that he is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Yet, we do anything and everything to explain away the exceeding great and precious promises of God. Why?

We know we are warned to beware, lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God, and yet, adamantly refuse to believe what God plainly tells us, that sin shall NOT have dominion over us. Why?

We know that all unbelievers shall have their part in the lake of fire and yet, our hearts do not even in the slightest convict us that he could mean us. Thus, unbleief is to us a weakness that God winks at, not an evil God will judge. Why?

WHY? Because satan will do anything to make sure you stay entrenched in your walk of works...just do not get out of the boat of religious niceness and walk on water. It upsets hell and it shines light into the darkness of others, threatening to set them free as well.

Saints, it takes only the little bit of original faith you have been given to believe His promises. Do not let satan rob you of your birthright any longer. Resisit the devil and he WILL flee you. Trust God, He will not fail. It is simply impossible.

Believe.

Right practice makes right belief Bruce. The Orthodox have a strict daily cycle of services. I don't have to worry about what God's will is for me as an Orthodox Christian. It is spelled out for me every day of my life. Self denial is a matter of literal life and death for us. Roughly 40% of our year is spent in fasting. Formal prayer in the morning, at midday, and evenings, quiet prayer in the form of the Jesus prayer as long as I am awake during the day, prayer before and after every meal, self sacrifice in everything for everyone, scripture readings for everyday, feast days in celebration for every act in the Lord's earthly life and the lives of the saints. Seven services a day for monastics and those who can partake of them.

I have written before that our modern lives are lived in a manner that is almost indistinguishable from that of non-believers. A secular culture offers only nooks and crannies for the practice of religion – and is not troubled in the least so long as religion “stays in its place.”

The keeping of fasts and feasts, a daily rule of prayer, disciplined almsgiving, modesty of dress and modesty of action are frequently ignored or even unknown in the contemporary Christian world. “Why should we fast?” is a common question posed by catechumens in the Orthodox Church. The answer does not appear obvious within our culture. The short list I have mentioned is only a fraction of the practices normally expected of an Orthodox Christian. The cultivation of repentance as an attitude of heart – the constant remembrance of the name of God – the right honoring of the saints and the living experience of the communion of saints – are among the practices which properly permeate the Orthodox life.

Our practice bolsters our belief in our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Savior bolsters our practice of faith. You CANNOT have one without the other. Impossible.

[Amadeus]

Originally Posted by SeraphimH

Right practice makes right belief Bruce. The Orthodox have a strict daily cycle of services. I don't have to worry about what God's will is for me as an Orthodox Christian. It is spelled out for me every day of my life. Self denial is a matter of literal life and death for us. Roughly 40% of our year is spent in fasting. Formal prayer in the morning, at midday, and evenings, quiet prayer in the form of the Jesus prayer as long as I am awake during the day, prayer before and after every meal, self sacrifice in everything for everyone, scripture readings for everyday, feast days in celebration for every act in the Lord's earthly life and the lives of the saints. Seven services a day for monastics and those who can partake of them.

I have written before that our modern lives are lived in a manner that is almost indistinguishable from that of non-believers. A secular culture offers only nooks and crannies for the practice of religion – and is not troubled in the least so long as religion “stays in its place.”

The keeping of fasts and feasts, a daily rule of prayer, disciplined almsgiving, modesty of dress and modesty of action are frequently ignored or even unknown in the contemporary Christian world. “Why should we fast?” is a common question posed by catechumens in the Orthodox Church. The answer does not appear obvious within our culture. The short list I have mentioned is only a fraction of the practices normally expected of an Orthodox Christian. The cultivation of repentance as an attitude of heart – the constant remembrance of the name of God – the right honoring of the saints and the living experience of the communion of saints – are among the practices which properly permeate the Orthodox life.

Our practice bolsters our belief in our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Savior bolsters our practice of faith. You CANNOT have one without the other. Impossible.

We can all learn alot from the example you have pictured here for us, Seraphim!

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." Psalm 37:23

[Amadeus]

Originally Posted by BruceG

Excellent answers my friend. May I point you to one more promise that God has made to us...perhaps the promise of all the promises?

Under the old covenant, there was a weak link, our flesh....us. Try as we might, no matter how diligent we were, no matter how hard we tried, no matter how much we put a watch on our efforts to obey, the weakness of our flesh prevented us from becoming holy through outer obedience, obeying the commandments of God.

Listen to the lamentation of God in Jeremiah as He points to the need for a new covenant, not like the one He gave us on Sinai through the tablets of stone.

Jeremiah 31:31

Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that i will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband to them, saith the Lord.

A covenant is an agreement between two parties. The first covenant said this,

Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people.

Here was the weak link exposed.... God did His part but the God's people did not do theirs, try as they might.

But the new covenant is here and it is not like the old. The weak link...our flesh....has been eliminated!

In Ezekiel 36, God again talks through the prophet Ezekiel as to the new covnenat, that was not like the old. He says clearly that He would "cause us" to walk in his statutes....amazing.

No more would there be a weak link in the covenant. No more would God do His part and we fail at our own. Why have we failed in the past? Because we have failed to understand the enormous grace of our God. We have failed to see our inherant weakness, but far more importantly, we have failed to see our God high and lifted up, willing to give us hearts that would obey, willing by His grace to empower us in our weakness!

No more will we be on and off, up and down, hot and cold. No more will we praise God on Sundays and find ourselves dragged back into the mire by our fleshly natures by Tuesday. God is willing to do his part...and do our part as well!

"Blasphemy!", some will cry. "What about free will? Show me in the scriptures, anywhere in the scriptures, where God says our responsibility will be fullfilled by Him Himself. It is a lie. We MUST obey!"

But brother, it is true, We must remember that the old covenant was truly not the oldest one, but the temporary one, given to Moses only until Jesus appeared. The new, the original, was given 400 years before Moses and Sinai, and it was given to Abraham and to His descendants....we ourselves.....to us!

In those days, a covenant was "cut" between two parties and sacrifical animals were slain and laid out on the ground. The two parties would then "pass through" the pieces together, making the covenant a binding one. The sacrifical animals signified the seriousness and the binding nature of the covenant and and meant if either party failed in their part to fulfill it, they were to be killed just like the animals.

So here is the cutting of the covenant with God and Abrham in Genesis 15. God instructs him to kills the beasts and lay their parts in place, ready for their "passing through the pieces" together. This covenant was then a never ending binding covenant between the Lord and the descendands of Abraham, thru the lord Jesus Himself.

But something unusual happened in this covenant being "cut". God proceeded to put Abraham in a deep sleep and then passed through the pieces alone. Oh, praise God! Do you see? God not only confirmed His part in the covenant, He confirmed ours as well!

God said he who has begun a good work in us WILL perform it unto that day. Those who are true sheep WILL hear His voice and WILL follow Him. No more will our flesh allow us to be willing one day and then kick in and cause us to be reluctant the next. God is in control, willing to take full responsibility for Him and for us!.

So at the end of the beautiful chapter in Ezekiel 36, where God promises to cause us to walk in his statutes, even against the cries of "free will, free will!", He says this amazing statement.

"I shall yet be inquired of by the House of Israel to do it for them."

Thank you my God for inquiring hearts that want to obey and do not find the power. We are in covenant with you, a never-ending covenant, and our part is assured by our kinsman redeeemer..... Jesus Himself.

And yet with all of this, some things are simply given to us with no action toward God needed on our part. Examples are the rain that falls on everyone, and the air for everyone to breath and the natural life of our flesh. Even if we do nothing for God, He gives us much. These are free gifts to all of mankind... but as we have seen for ourselves, the distribution is far from equal! Still, if we choose to hate God, or simply to turn away from Him and go our way, He does not leave us with nothing, although without Him the end result is at best nothing.

Many go that route and receive for their reward whatever they can obtain from their labor without the additional blessings that are available from God. Do they not call down His curse on them? Perhaps, but still, the years they are given are theirs for better or for worse. For some, there may be a limited hope and a limited blessing within the bounds of years they have here, but there is really so much more for those who seek to please God... if only they would be able to see! This way of man without God is the way that Solomon called vanity... and yet in the end that is the way that Solomon, himself went...

Originally Posted by Amadeus

We can all learn alot from the example you have pictured here for us, Seraphim!

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." Psalm 37:23

I believe that right faith produces fruit, not visa versa. There is nothing...nothing we can do to deserve faith, or grace. It is only when we finally "get that" that we can finally begin to truly believe.

It is always add to your faith virtue, never visa versa. Reverse the order and man is in danger of feeling ascetism and self denial and not faith is the key to the walk of victory. Self denial is great as long as it stems from what we accept as truth to ourselves, that we are dead to self and thus we can deny it. But if we view self denial as a way to defeat self, we err greatly and walk a path leading back to the law.

Our righteousness is as filthy rags. These words are inscribed on the hallways leading to the walk of faith. Until we see that true faith is based 100% on His mercy to us....sinners...and that we must be His workmanship, not our own, no matter how holy it sounds to our natural minds, we cannot truly believe all in Him because deep down inside, we believe a bit in us, then the truth is we are not prepared to take the rdical leap of faith required to believe we are truly dead to sin and alive to Him. Fasting, prayer, as long as they are fruits of our faith relationship, are wonderfully powerful tools. But the minute we get the order reversed, we put ourselves in danger of having the cart before the horse and drifting back to a relationship based upon what we do for Him, and not visa versa.