Invisible sin! (believe, Christ, salvation, faith)

[cg81]

There is a very important aspect of our relationship to God that often appears misunderstood, trampled upon, or ignored. I don’t claim to even scratch the surface in comprehending it in its fullness, but…

What can save this sinner?

We hear about God’s great love… how He wants each one to be saved. Are we saved by His love? No…. No matter how much He loves us, His great love cannot save us! It’s impossible. God is so holy, so righteous, that He cannot accept sin.



How then can we be saved?

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8)

...By being covered by the blanket of grace, thereby being righteous in God’s eyes, making our "sinfulness" invisible to Him. And it’s nothing we can earn by being “good”. It is a gift, accepted through faith, made available by the death of His Son, our sacrifice.

(That’s why the statement “God loves everyone so much, that no one will be lost” is faulty thinking. His love cannot save us. This is a statement born of pride… saying “I’m good enough.. I don’t need to accept this “blanket” which covers my sins.”)

Some would teach that once you have accepted God’s grace, it is strong enough that you can never leave it, or come out from beneath this covering… I disagree with this, rather believing that God’s grace is stronger than this! It is strong enough, abundant enough, and available enough to keep us from sin, in this sinful world! However, one thing I believe we would both agree on is the following most important point:

We can only produce good fruit by God’s grace, so the evidence of being under God’s grace will be the fruit we are producing. Likewise, a lack of good fruit will show a lack of grace.

Am I covered?

[Alpha8207]

In Christ and Christ alone....

and yes, I think you are covered....

[Padgett2]

..."We hear about God’s great love… how He wants each one to be saved. Are we saved by His love? No…. No matter how much He loves us, His great love cannot save us! It’s impossible. God is so holy, so righteous, that He cannot accept sin...."

When someone makes a statement such as this, "His great love cannont save us. It's Impossible." I think it's laying down rules and regulations for God. He can do whatever he wants to. If He wants to save anyone, He can. We can't put Him in a box and say for sure what He will and will not do.

"He cannot accept sin." Really??? no matter what the sin is?

Maybe one day when I get very, very wise, I will also be able to say what God will do. However, for now, I will just say that I don't really know.

[cg81]

Originally Posted by Padgett2

"He cannot accept sin." Really??? no matter what the sin is?

If not covered by grace, no.

Hab 1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:

[Tricky D]

Originally Posted by cg81

We can only produce “fruit” by God’s grace, so the evidence of being under God’s grace will be the fruit we are producing. Likewise, a lack of fruit will show a lack of grace.

I think you got it wrong here: We all produce fruit, the fruit of our labour.
The question is how will these fruits taste?
They will taste good if you are good and they will taste evil when you are evil. Simply because a good man cannot produce evil and an evil man cannot produce good.
This is how God judges us.
Even God is known by his fruit.

[cg81]

Originally Posted by Tricky D

I think you got it wrong here: We all produce fruit, the fruit of our labour.
The question is how will these fruits taste?
They will taste good if you are good and they will taste evil when you are evil. Simply because a good man cannot produce evil and an evil man cannot produce good.
This is how God judges us.
Even God is known by his fruit.

Good point! (edited my OP) I meant "good fruit". Our fruit will show what we are. The reason I just said "fruit" is that fruit produced under grace is the only valid fruit in God's eyes. All our works done "on our own steam" will count as nothing.

[arguy1973]

all this talk of fruit makes me hungry

[cg81]

Originally Posted by arguy1973

all this talk of fruit makes me hungry

It should!

When I'm hungry for the Living Water, my good fruit will grow. Hunger is a good sign!

[arguy1973]

Originally Posted by cg81

It should!

When I'm hungry for the Living Water, my good fruit will grow. Hunger is a good sign!

glad you caught my meaning

[Tricky D]

Hunger is also the beginning of choice.
When we eat as much as we want, we sin.
Only when we eat as much as we need do we not sin.
It is my experience that knowing the difference between want and need is the first step to salvation.