Today, focus is upon divine love, mercy to the people of GOD, reconciliation, and repentance. Many believers continue to display the presence of the Holy Spirit in spite of their still making errors and committing sins. The salvation we speak of as mature Christian believers, in fact, is sovereign will expressed by immortal, incorruptible divinity whose sacred purposes are immutable, and unchanging. Sin may yet appear in the lives of believers, however, now there are conquering provisions from GOD that include adoption, atonement, forbearance, forgiveness, becoming joint-heirs with the Son of the Highest, rebirth, redemption, and sanctification. In addition to the guidance from divine law and the holy writings, believers (specially those enduring injustice, oppression, and poverty) trust they are encouraged and permitted to learn from their own mistakes, and gain from their own life experiences of discovery, practice, premeditated risk-taking, and eliminating failures through trial and error. A fighter at the site “Yahoo! Answers (India)” using the ID “Anonymous” (no profile information shared) posted the following:
Why is it that the Holy Spirit stays in someone who gravely sins?
I know someone who was baptized 5 weeks ago and had sex, lusted, showed hate for conservative Christians who discriminated against a group of gays and had pride. Yet when he admitted what he did to God he was full of love again. How can that be?
THE GOLDEN ARROW: And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father’s house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued. Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the LORD. (1st Chronicles 21: 16-19, King James Version, KJV)
THE DOUBLE DAGGER: The Practice of Forgiveness (07/03/2016); Forgiveness and The Cross (04/04/2016); Belief, Content And Works? (02/12/2016); Penance? (10/09/2015); Solomon Punished For Sins Of David? (08/28/2015); Mercy Not Sacrifice? (08/10/2015); Divine Mercy and Revelation? (08/03/2015)
“Anonymous”, GOD willingly makes commitment and promises to mankind that he then continues to acknowledge (as with Abraham) after their death and eternally. Christians are instructed from Scripture that all have sinned and come short of GOD’s intent. Thus, there are only 2 types of people in the world: those who are impenitent with no desire or plan of changing; and those who are penitent and willing to turn from sin to GOD. The divine process for salvation includes making permanent changes in the character, nature and substance of sinners such that they become born again and contain inseparable spirit matter from the makeup of GOD. Included are faith, holiness, hope, joy, longsuffering, meekness, wisdom, and wrath against sin. Even though they have responded to calling and election, all believers must “grow up again” and become mature (i.e., balanced, complete, consistent, stable) by meeting the same life challenges upon the earth that come against all others. For those, who are now the sons and daughters of GOD, growth and learning occur by degrees, so to speak, is gradual, and at first may not appear in attitudes, behavior, and conduct. We account it the patience and love of GOD toward his own dear children that believers are granted time to develop and become “ripe” for harvest at the coming of Jesus Christ (we say, Advent, the Rapture, the Second Coming). The children of GOD willingly submit themselves to divine judgment; and it is only as an aspect of what occurs through divine judgment that mercy is provided. The great example from the Bible to clarify this truth are the accounts of the shepherd boy David, who became king over all the covenant people of GOD, sinned repeatedly, yet, continued to seek GOD by prayer, repentance, and renewal. Consider again the following from the holy writings:
(1.) Isaiah 55: 3-4, King James Version (KJV): 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
(2.) Isaiah 55: 6-11, KJV: 6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
(3.) Jeremiah 31: 15-20, KJV: 15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. 16 Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border. 18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. 19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
There is far more to be said, properly shared, and spiritually understood. (For example, (4.) Acts 13: 32-35, KJV: 32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. 35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.) Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful. Be it unto you according to your faith.
THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC
Washington, DC
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