From my Facebook comments….
I wrote a post called “Fish-oil Salesmen” on this blog/website that came from a study on repentance. bottom line, a Christian can sin, but there will be a clear change, and the true Christian is a new creature who no longer can enjoy his sin. someone for example, who is homosexual, gets drawn to God like someone wooing their bride. this person that is saved says “I DO” in essence to the God of the Universe, and basically divorces himself from the gods of the world and his sinful lifestyle.
love makes obedience easy, as GOD is drawing them and the person is responding to the light God is shining. Eventually the man is forced into the valley of decision — he knows his sin has to go, and he must make a leap of faith, but he also knows that God will catch him and he knows it is a small leap. when he leaps, he finds Jesus and gets a burning desire to know God more and more, and God brings people into his path and starts working on what he begun. This doesn’t mean that in times of great stress, the man might have a moment he makes bad decisions or at times in his mind goes back to think he never was changed. however, God pulls him out of that season, whether it is a month or a day or whatever. the man doesn’t stay down if he is truly saved is what i think is the truth.
I am big on the plowing and planting phase, and i think that is what we miss today. i think we instead microwave things and put the emphasis on salvation being a PRAYER instead of A PERSON (HE that hath the SON HATH LIFE) so people PRAY TO BE SAVED IN THEIR SIN — instead of FROM their sin. They don’t flee from the wrath to come because they are told you only have to believe and pray a prayer. This shallow evangelism does not produce the new creature that no longer can enjoy sin.
Kirk Cameron said, “Most backsliders never slid forward to begin with”. I am maybe over-explaining, but to put it simply, heaven is spent forever worshipping God.
If you received Christ, but have no problems going right back to your first loves, you in all likelihood never met him.
No matter what the church evangelist just promised. Or fish oil salesmen.