Hello Stacy, Carol Lee and all Doves,
 
Well said Stacy!  I really appreciate your post (link below).  I think what you’ve said regarding the work that God does within us is on target.   I believe that when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their savior then they become a changed being.  We are told that we will know these people by their fruits.  People who fall into this category will have obvious areas where they have repented, and other areas, like the apostle Paul wrote abut, where they continue to struggle with issues.  The point is that those that are written into the Lambs Book of Life will still struggle with sin, for, as Paul said, sin lives in us, but it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we become dead to sin and rejoice in the hope of one day being redeemed and cleansed into a sinless body.  So many people talk about having to walk a blameless life, free from spot and blemish.  Yes, we are to walk in righteousness, but we will make mistakes.  Jesus knows this, and that’s why we have the leading of the Holy Spirit, through whom good fruits are made.  Someone who is saved will repent, no question, as repentance is the proper response to faith...but they will still have sin-nature problems to deal with, and no one has the right to tell them that they are going to hell because of this.  People tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater on this subject.  I also think that, in essence, many of us are saying the same thing, but the message is getting confused or intentionally obfuscated in an effort to cause confusion and disagreements among the saints.  Yes, we are saved by faith alone, and yes, repentance will naturally follow.  If the second doesn’t happen then the first probably didn’t either.  We are to be of like mind, and recognize when disagreements are causing unnecessary discord.  Faith and repentance go hand in hand, and it ALL comes from God, lest any man should boast.  That’s it.  No matter how hard I try while here on earth, I’m never going to get it all right, or be perfect.  God’s sanctifying grace is at work within me, and this process takes time.  We don’t go from being babes in the Word to awesome adult spiritual warriors overnight.
 
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/feb2012/stacyr218.htm
 
Your Brother in Jesus,
 
Eric