A Conversation With My Bible

A Conversation With My Bible

Me: In plain text
Bible: In bold

I could cross a hundred t’s and dot a thousand i’s and it still wouldn’t be good enough. There is just no way to live this Christian life and be good enough. I have tried, I have tried really hard but I always fail. I don’t think that these other Christians are living it either, tell me they are not having evil thoughts and doing bad things when no one is looking. Heck, I have seen them do some pretty bad things when everyone was looking.

1John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Now wait a minute, if that is true how can anyone go to heaven, they don’t allow sinners up there you know.

Romans 3:28
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Sure I know that you have got to believe in God and all, but there are a lot of people that believe in God and if some of them are going to heaven then it won’t be a very nice place. I read in the paper just the other day that this fella believed in God so much that he carved up his family trying to get the devil out of them. It would have made less of a mess if he could have just started with himself.

Romans 10:17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Yeah well, that doesn’t seem to work either. They say that the guy I was telling you about, you know the one that carved up his family, well it seems that he used to listen to some wild-eyed Preacher screaming about hell all of the time.

Matthew 13:15-18
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Okay so they hear it, but they don’t hear it. And they see it but they don’t see it. But I hear it and I see it yet like them I don’t understand it. What’s up with that?

James 1:22
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Now we are back to where we started. We already know that I have heard the Word but what I don’t understand how I can live it.

James 4:1-9
1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Romans 10:9-10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

I have confessed with my mouth and I do believe in my heart that Jesus was raised from the dead. But what about all of these sins, I still find it hard to live without sinning.

2 Corinthians 12:9
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Romans 8:33
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Romans 8:38
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hey, I think that I get it now! This is that faith thing again isn’t it? I not only have to believe in Jesus and that He rose from the grave but also that what He did was sufficient for me. When I put my trust in Him then He applies His blood to the altar in heaven to once and for all cleans me of sin and justifies me so that I can stand before a Holy God. That is great news, I am really excited now and I need to go tell my friends about this.

One question though. Does this mean that I can go ahead and sin because I have already been justified?

Romans 6
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I see, I see it now! I don’t have to sin, I strive not to sin, I am no longer a slave to sin. But if I do sin then God’s grace is sufficient! Oh, thank you for this good talk that we have had. I hope that we can do this again soon.

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