Gino,
The
key is in the surrendering of the will part and the good that is done
in us is by Him through us. This is where many Christians get off track.
They want to make a claim on the last parts of your post:
I'm saved by Jesus.
I'm kept by Jesus.
I'll be taken by Jesus.
It's all him.
yet
they, like Howard Pittman, also want to be in control of their own
lives and think that by doing things for Jesus, it gives them the right
to expect things from Him, including salvation itself. They do not
understand that apart from Him they can
do NOTHING and that surrender to Him is absolutely required for Him to
do for them what He does. He gives beauty for ashes but we must give Him
our ashes and recognize them as dung as Paul called it. Paul also said
that this is not a one time thing but rather "I die daily". Many of them
also believe that they can read the scriptures and arrive at their
intended meaning apart from the Holy Spirit interpreting it for them. So
they will decide for themselves what a passage means, like the one "Go
and sin no more..." also being discussed currently by another Dove and
you here:
You [Gino] said:
The
moment she heard the word of God (Jesus is God), she was
supernaturally empowered by faith, in order to keep the commandment.
I’m
sorry, but I don’t believe that. Why would Jesus tell her to go and
SIN NO MORE…if He already knew she was supernaturally empowered, as you
say, to keep the commandment.
says
she does not believe what you said in blue. You and I do both believe
this and this is the difference between us and these other types. Patty
seems to have missed where you said "The MOMENT she heard... Meaning
that just prior to this moment, she did NOT have this supernatural power
over sin but Jesus was giving it to her right then just as He also
could give the gift of supernatural healing to a blind man by speaking
the words to him, Receive thy sight, or to a lame man, Rise up, take up
your bed and walk. In the moment Jesus spoke these words to this lame
man He gave the supernatural gift of healed legs. So likewise Jesus
speaking to a sinful woman, Go, and sin no more, can give her the
supernatural gift of power over sin from that point on. He gives us His
righteousness as we acknowledge and surrender our imperfections and we
receive that gift of new righteous life by faith just as a blind man
receives the gift of sight by faith or a lame man receives the gift of
healed legs by faith. When we receive this gift of righteousness we are
as changed in fact as the blind or the lame are. It is not just an idea
or wonderful wish while we remain unchanged in fact. Whom the Son sets
free is free INDEED meaning it really happens, not just a wishful,
wouldn't it be nice, if only, or someday it will be so, kind of thing.
The blind man saw indeed, the lame walked, leaped and praised God indeed
and the sinful woman WENT AND SINNED NO MORE indeed! And so do you and I
if we will receive this gift by faith. It
really works. The old man is still with us but we are to reckon him
dead as a door nail and give no place for his lusts until we receive our
new bodies that will have no sin, because God only looks on our new man
and deals with us according to that spiritual new man.
But
there are many Christians living like Howard Pittman was doing as
described in his book "Placebo" where they believe in Jesus as to who He
is but do not surrender their lives to Him in fact and are not being
set free by Him and are therefore not experiencing the new victorious
life in Him that is available and therefore they do not comprehend those
of us who do. They probably will not understand why they have been left
behind at the rapture and will cry to Jesus to be included but He will
say to them depart from me I do not know you or where you are from, you
that work iniquity. Why does He say this? They have not allowed Him into
their lives by grace
through faith to actually talk with them and reason together and though
their sin were as scarlet make them white as snow. They rather skipped
all that and just claimed those statements quoted above, "I'm saved by
Jesus... etc," without letting Him actually do it! That is why they do
not understand what being forgiven and cleansed means and they argue
over it.