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Paul said this. Yes, he did...but what did he mean...?
What where "those things" that he wanted to do, but didn't?
Where they "spiritual things" that he wanted to do but chose not to...?... OR! were they "carnal things" that his flesh, his "carnal nature" wanted him to do...but he CHOSE not to...?
Many...too many (Universal Reconciliationists among many other deceived denominations as well), who do not rightly divide the COMPLETE! Word of God, correctly comparing spiritual things with spiritual things...line upon line...precept upon precept...want to "hike" and "camp out" here, on this "hill" or passage (Galatians 5) in a futile attempt to prove and/or to justify that the stronghold that sin has upon their lives, that they die in, will, in the end (when they stand before The King and Righteous Judge Jesus Christ), somehow "work out for them"...that somehow everything will be alright with God and they'll go on to abide with Him in His Kingdom for all eternity, because when they die in their sin, they think (wrongly) that they're going to somehow, some way (without having received the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ by being BORN AGAIN! CHANGED! INTO THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST! before their death), have another chance AFTER they die and suffer and burn for an aion<<<???>>>(however long that is)...(no-one knows for sure)...(could be 1000 years...maybe less...maybe more...), to get into right relationship with the Father...because, they conclude (supposedly), contrary to the Word of God, that we, like Paul, being born a sinner, are simply unable to live a life free from comitting willfull sin while living here on earth....even though God requires we do so....according to His very own Word.
So I ask you...why would God, our God...our Father, require something of us that He knew we could not do...?
...answer: He would not.
Would you, as a father (or mother) require something of your children that you knew they would never be able to perform successfully...?
...answer: You wouldn't if you were a good father or mother.
...go figure...?...I cannot, for the life of me, understand how...how in the world anyone...who can read...can come away from reading Scripture, believing the lie, that we are unable to live a life free from comitting willfull sin. God says, through the entire Bible...through every prophet and apostle and ancient father of old...those who walked with Him...knew Him...lived for Him...spoke for Him...died for Him........He said, through them all!...we can!!!...and we should!!!
...I have only one answer...they have not "read" Scripture.
...Oh...sure...they've "read" it, per-se...as in, their eyes have looked upon and have "seen" ALL the rest of Scripture that has been provided to them over and over again...time and time again...that proves their belief to be false...but they do not "see" it, they refuse to see it...they are blinded to the truth....
...why? Why are they blinded to the truth...? Because God knows their heart...and He sees and understands where their REBELLIOUSNESS resides...within their heart...that they choose to love their sin more than they love Him...and He sees and hears and is SO! ANGERED! at the lies they go around teaching others...BEFORE THEY EVEN KNOW THE TRUTH THEMSELVES!...so...He will not lift the veil of darkness from their eyes so that they can see the truth when they read it. He knows if this heart believes or if it rebells against the Truth, and do you know how we (believer's) know who walks in unbelief...?...we know because of their very own WORDS!...the plain-simple-fact that they do not come away from seeing with their own eyes, the Scripture offered...with the clear understanding that is offered in Scripture that explains what sin is!...how it effects us!...and the eternal consequences it has upon those who CHOOSE to remain living in it! They just do not see it...and the only explanation is, they have been blinded from knowing the truth, because of their own un-belief in truth when they read it...again...God knows the heart...and THAT! dear friends...is a choice. That! dear friends...is precisely the point where-in believer's and un-believer's are separated....and THAT! dear friend is precisely what will determine who will go to the left of Our Judge and King...and who will go to the right of Him. Do not be deceived!
...let us dispell this myth...together...with God...in the Spirit of His Son...in the Light of the Holy Spirit...in Truth...
...Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ...
Holy Father...bless the reading of your Word...in Jesus' Precious Name. Amen.
Galatians 5:
Live in the Freedom That the Messiah Provides
Paul moves the "brethren"...the "beloved of God"...the "chosen"...the "Church of believer's"...the Galatians, to stand in their liberty...
1 The Messiah has set us free so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. [Literally. Has set us free for freedom]. So keep on standing firm in it, and stop putting yourselves under the yoke of slavery again.
2 Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, the Messiah will be of no benefit to you.
...and not to observe circumcision...
3 Again, I insist [or, testify] that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised is obligated to obey the entire law.
4 Those of you who are trying to be justified by the law have been cut off from the Messiah. You have fallen away from grace.
5 Through the Spirit by faith we confidently await the fulfillment of our righteous hope,
6 for in union with the Messiah Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. What matters is faith [Literally. But faith] expressed through love.
7 You were running the race beautifully. Who cut in on you and stopped you from obeying the truth?
8 Such influence does not come from the one who calls you.
9 A little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough.
10 I am confident [literally. I am confident about you] in the Lord that you will take no other view of this. However, the one who is troubling you will suffer God's [the Greeks/Gentiles lack God's] judgment, whoever he is.
11 As for me, brothers, if I am still preaching the necessity of [the Greeks/Gentiles lack the necessity of] circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
12 I wish that those who are upsetting you would castrate themselves!
...but rather love, which is the sum of the Law...11
13 For you, brothers, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity to gratify your flesh, but through love make it your habit to serve one another.
14 For the whole law is summarized in a single statement: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will never fulfill the desires of the flesh.
17 For what the flesh wants is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, and so you do not do what you want to do.
18 But if you are being led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
...he establishes what the works of the flesh are...and in verse 21, tells us who WILL NOT inherit the Kingdom of God...
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity,
21 envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
...and he establishes what the fruits of the Spirit are...and tells us that those who are in Christ, no longer succumb to their fleshly, carnal desires...their sin...THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST NO LONGER DO THOSE THINGS THEY WANT TO DO!...
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
24 Now those who belong to the Messiah Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.
...and exhorts us each to walk in the Spirit of Christ...
25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also be guided by the Spirit.
26Let’s stop being arrogant, provoking one another and envying one another.
I, who reads Scripture with spiritual eyes wide open, comes away from this KNOWING for sure!...without a single, solitary doubt!...that a willfull sinner who dies in their sin WILL NOT! enter into the Kingdom of God...EVER!!!...not after anything!...they die in their sin!...they die and are dead!...and the only time they will be resurrected again, is when Jesus sits upon the Great White Throne of Judgement...and calls us ALL! forward...in front of Him...the dead IN! Christ to abide with Him forever...judged for their "works!" <<YES! their works!..while the dead in their sin, are judged for their life of unrighteousness and wickedness...to be declared DEAD...soul dead...forever...separated from Him FOREVER!
Anyone who says otherwise is already dead...they are not in Christ...they are not born again...they have no hope of inheriting God's Kingdom...EVER!...UNLESS!!! THEY! TURN! FROM! THEIR! SIN! BEFORE! THEY! DIE!
************************************************
So. Now. What was Paul truly saying when he said..."Those things that I want to do, I do not do..."...?
Answer: OBVIOUSLY!...since he loved God with all of His heart, mind, and soul...and OBVIOUSLY!...since we know that he sits as one of the TWELVE WITNESSES! up there with Christ our King in heaven...and OBVIOUSLY! because God's Word does NOT! contradict Himself!...and OBVIOUSLY! since we know that Paul died a terrible death for the Name of Jesus Christ!!!...that OBVIOUSLY!...he meant he did not CHOOSE! to do those "CARNAL!" things that his CARNAL NATURE! wanted him to do!
As a universalist, the message of Paul is clear. We are sinners and incapable of ourselves to be righteous. The only one that could overcome sin is Christ Jesus. That He has the copyright on all good works. So by Faith in Him, He is then in me, putting down my sins in my own flesh. This is how one is saved. I don't know of any universalists that believes that one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven along with their sins and sinful nature. After all, the ONLY way in which sin is eradicated is for Christ to put them down in ones flesh. There is no OTHER way found in scripture by which sin is eradicated. So since we know that God is Almight and does nothing in vain and there is none to turn him from His will for us (not even ourselves) then His mission will prevail towards the salvation of all.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
In this Paul says that the work that he performs is not his own (I allow not) and that the will he performs is not his own, and that which he himself hates is that which he does.
Paul is showing that another work he does, another's will he performs and it is a will and work contrary to his own. That is because Christ is in Him performing through him His own works (the works of Christ). Therefore, Paul is dead because his own works are no longer and his own will is no longer so long as Christ by Faith remains in Him to put down Paul's weak flesh.
trettep's post is spot on - Paul is describing the war between the natural and the Spirit of Christ within a believer. As he (Paul) said, "The law has dominion over a man so long as he lives", meaning that until the Lord has dealt with every layer of our being, we will manifest that old nature in various ways.
As a universalist, the message of Paul is clear. We are sinners and incapable of ourselves to be righteous. The only one that could overcome sin is Christ Jesus. That He has the copyright on all good works. So by Faith in Him, He is then in me, putting down my sins in my own flesh. This is how one is saved. I don't know of any universalists that believes that one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven along with their sins and sinful nature. After all, the ONLY way in which sin is eradicated is for Christ to put them down in ones flesh. There is no OTHER way found in scripture by which sin is eradicated. So since we know that God is Almight and does nothing in vain and there is none to turn him from His will for us (not even ourselves) then His mission will prevail towards the salvation of all.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
In this Paul says that the work that he performs is not his own (I allow not) and that the will he performs is not his own, and that which he himself hates is that which he does.
Paul is showing that another work he does, another's will he performs and it is a will and work contrary to his own. That is because Christ is in Him performing through him His own works (the works of Christ). Therefore, Paul is dead because his own works are no longer and his own will is no longer so long as Christ by Faith remains in Him to put down Paul's weak flesh.
As a non UR I must say I could not articulate the saving grace of Jesus better than you did.
It is so sad to see others spending so much time trying to take Jesus out of the salvation process and put it all on their good deeds.
Paul said this. Yes, he did...but what did he mean...?
What where "those things" that he wanted to do, but didn't?
Where they "spiritual things" that he wanted to do but chose not to...?... OR! were they "carnal things" that his flesh, his "carnal nature" wanted him to do...but he CHOSE not to...?
Many...too many (Universal Reconciliationists among many other deceived denominations as well), who do not rightly divide the COMPLETE! Word of God, correctly comparing spiritual things with spiritual things...line upon line...precept upon precept...want to "hike" and "camp out" here, on this "hill" or passage (Galatians 5) in a futile attempt to prove and/or to justify that the stronghold that sin has upon their lives, that they die in, will, in the end (when they stand before The King and Righteous Judge Jesus Christ), somehow "work out for them"...that somehow everything will be alright with God and they'll go on to abide with Him in His Kingdom for all eternity, because when they die in their sin, they think (wrongly) that they're going to somehow, some way (without having received the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ by being BORN AGAIN! CHANGED! INTO THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST! before their death), have another chance AFTER they die and suffer and burn for an aion<<<???>>>(however long that is)...(no-one knows for sure)...(could be 1000 years...maybe less...maybe more...), to get into right relationship with the Father...because, they conclude (supposedly), contrary to the Word of God, that we, like Paul, being born a sinner, are simply unable to live a life free from comitting willfull sin while living here on earth....even though God requires we do so....according to His very own Word.
So I ask you...why would God, our God...our Father, require something of us that He knew we could not do...?
...answer: He would not.
Would you, as a father (or mother) require something of your children that you knew they would never be able to perform successfully...?
...answer: You wouldn't if you were a good father or mother.
...go figure...?...I cannot, for the life of me, understand how...how in the world anyone...who can read...can come away from reading Scripture, believing the lie, that we are unable to live a life free from comitting willfull sin. God says, through the entire Bible...through every prophet and apostle and ancient father of old...those who walked with Him...knew Him...lived for Him...spoke for Him...died for Him........He said, through them all!...we can!!!...and we should!!!
...I have only one answer...they have not "read" Scripture.
...Oh...sure...they've "read" it, per-se...as in, their eyes have looked upon and have "seen" ALL the rest of Scripture that has been provided to them over and over again...time and time again...that proves their belief to be false...but they do not "see" it, they refuse to see it...they are blinded to the truth....
...why? Why are they blinded to the truth...? Because God knows their heart...and He sees and understands where their REBELLIOUSNESS resides...within their heart...that they choose to love their sin more than they love Him...and He sees and hears and is SO! ANGERED! at the lies they go around teaching others...BEFORE THEY EVEN KNOW THE TRUTH THEMSELVES!...so...He will not lift the veil of darkness from their eyes so that they can see the truth when they read it. He knows if this heart believes or if it rebells against the Truth, and do you know how we (believer's) know who walks in unbelief...?...we know because of their very own WORDS!...the plain-simple-fact that they do not come away from seeing with their own eyes, the Scripture offered...with the clear understanding that is offered in Scripture that explains what sin is!...how it effects us!...and the eternal consequences it has upon those who CHOOSE to remain living in it! They just do not see it...and the only explanation is, they have been blinded from knowing the truth, because of their own un-belief in truth when they read it...again...God knows the heart...and THAT! dear friends...is a choice. That! dear friends...is precisely the point where-in believer's and un-believer's are separated....and THAT! dear friend is precisely what will determine who will go to the left of Our Judge and King...and who will go to the right of Him. Do not be deceived!
....vs...The Words of Christ Himself....
Joh 15:16 Ye have...... NOTchosen me,..... but I have chosen you,...
The war that Paul was describing in Romans 7 was when he was under the law before he was saved by grace.
Don't agree, but we've discussed this before.
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