Expert: L E Burns Apostle of Jesus - 11/29/2011

Question
Good evening,

Hope all is well. My name is Dan. I wanted to first thank you for your helpful article.

Initially, I joined a baptist church, and believed to accept Jesus in 7th grade and was baptized. For a couple years I was really involved. But then I fell away. I prayed at times and felt I could live in a Worldly fashion, money, lust, etc, and ask for forgiveness and be safe. I grew in anger and hostility to religion. I really fell away.

I am now 29. Recently, all of a sudden I have had this burning and overwhelming desire to read the Bible and search for meaning.  I have become hardened over time, and I do struggle with temptations and wrongful thoughts. But now the Gospel is hitting me and I know I have erred. 

I am deeply troubled however by Hebrews 6 4-6 and 2 Peter 2:20-22, Hebrews 10:26. Is it not possible for someone to return to repentance after having denied God earlier? Can a person who goes through the motions, then goes his own way, come to repentance? Or have I crossed a point of no return, that is impossible as these verses seem to indicate by saying fall away. Or is falling away a consistent state that can be broken? 1 Timothy 1:13 is troubling as well. What if one willfully sins after having knowledge? I am really struggling with these sorts of chapters dealing with apostasy. I just feel like i am lost. Please help!

Thank you.

Answer
Hi Dan. glad to hear from you! Dan I don't like long explanations to deal with the basic question. So I will cut to the quick....
When one believes the Gospel a conception takes place. Just like Mary. When she heard the angels words, she believed them, even though she wouldn;t  have fully understood what was involved. And a conception took place in her.  
And in and with any pregnancy there are certain factors that take place in the mother, and with the mothers life style compared to her life before a pregnancy..

Romans 10:9, 10 says if you believe and confess your saved/setapart, born again, born from above born of the Father...Containing His parentage in seed form.

Now just as Jesus was conceived and born of Mary, He had not as yet received the Spirit, not till near 30 years later after His water baptisim in the river Jordan, by John the Baptist.

Too many christians today, have been born again, sanctified, justified, cleansed,and made ready to receive the holy Spirit, but never do. They think they did,or have, but there is never any evidence of that manifestation. 1 Cor. 12. Without the power of  the Spirit, a christlike life can not be achieved through the efforts of the flesh. Roman 8 explains why this is so.

Do you not think that the Lord understands that we do things, that we don't understand when we are very young?
1 Cor 13.... when I was a child, I thought as a child, and did as a child......"

when I was a young lad and heard the gospel and believed as a child, Jesus became my saviour, but He wasn't my Lord. I continued to be lord of my life, and I lived that way for 40 years. Still believing in Him and the bible although I didn't understand much at all.
Sept 26 1982, Jesus tapped me on the shoulder of my heart and said..." My Son, you have believed in Me ever since you were a young boy, but you have never invited Me to come into your Life to become your Lord!" I said, "I never heard that you needed to be invited into my life!" He said.." It is the only way I COME! Will you invite me into your life, to become your Lord?" Of course I did. And a living, intimate relationship started with Him.  { Notice that he called me son, from the time I believed?}
Shortly thereafter I realized that I had received the spirit of Christ [holy spirit], for He was teaching me the meaning of His words in the bible, and all the gifts of 1 Cor 12 came to manifest at the need of the moment in my walk with Him....

Christians struggle with many things because they  haven't received the Spirit. They have been born again by the Spirit. Made ready as clean habitations for the Spirit, but never ask to be filled with Him. And then learn how to hear His voice, and follow His leads..

Get off those verses speaking to someone much more down the road than  you, for it is only the evil one playing with your emotions. You don't condemn a child when they are just learning to walk, and keep falling down, do you? No! You realize they are trying to walk and it will take awhile before they get the hang of it!So I encourage you to keep in touch. Keep asking, and I will point you in the right direction, until you catch on, and find that rest in following Jesus..

A flower doesn't struggle to become or fulfill its' destiny, does it? No! It just receives the rain, and sun, and air, keeping alert for the pests and diseases, and it grows, fulfilling its predetermined, predestined, destiny...

You will too. Getting the Spirit of the letter, rather than the literal letter.....

A child of God, may sin, but it doesn't make them a sinner, just a disobediant son. The sinner was dealt with in Christ and His cross. You are a new creation. The sinner that was you died. Now you learn to live a new life.

Okay?

Keep in Touch.
Sincerely In Christ.
Mr Burns.
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