no respect of persons

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Permalink Reply by thewatchman on February 21, 2015 at 8:09pm

Jenny - Good question :)

It also says in Romans 2:11 that God is no respecter of persons.  We as Christians struggle with temptation to sin, but we have the Holy Spirit, prayer, and God's Word to guide us, and lead us into holiness.  Ephesians tells us how to equip ourselves for Spiritual Warfare...the Word is so important to know.  I think of how Jesus resisted the temptations of satan in the wilderness, He used the Word.

How does the Bible say God distinguishes between believers and non-believers?  I would start there, because He does, in fact, distinguish between believers and non-believers.  

When God says He is no respecter of persons, it means we all have the same plumb line and standard as everyone else, and that would be based upon the Word of God.  Nobody is exempt.  Sometimes even people that profess to be Christians, but continue to live in the flesh are, in fact, denying God, at enmity against God in their actions and behaviors, deceived into believing that they are saved.  

There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, but again, the Bible is consistent in describing those who are in Christ Jesus, abiding in Christ Jesus, and building upon a good foundation.

Matthew 7:24-27 [NASB]

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

The Gospel says that if we confess our sin - John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on February 21, 2015 at 8:33pm

Thanks for your reply Watchman. 

You said, "Sometimes even people that profess to be Christians, but continue to live in the flesh are, in fact, denying God, at enmity against God in their actions and behaviors, deceived into believing that they are saved. "

But even Christians continue to sin and the battle against the flesh will go on until the day we die or Jesus returns. I may have misunderstood what you're trying to say here, but this seems to imply that true Christians won't continue to sin once saved. This is impossible, making everything hopeless. 

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on February 21, 2015 at 8:36pm

Why is it that when I read in the bible about Jesus and His saving grace through His shed blood for the ungodly I feel like, "Ok, because of what Jesus has done for me, I am not under condemnation but under grace", but then there are some verses that make it all seem like we have to obey everything Jesus said and then I feel just hopeless. 

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Permalink Reply by thewatchman on February 21, 2015 at 9:07pm

Because Jesus has changed your heart, He's changed you from the inside out.  You don't have to obey Him, you want to obey Him out of the love and gratitude you have for His forgiveness and love for you.  You will not want to disobey Him for sure...

My husband recently died.  I often used him as an example of loving someone and being faithful to that person.  If I told him that I loved him over and over and over, but yet...became unfaithful, stayed out late, didn't seem the need to communicate with him, do you believe that I would be truly loving him?  I highly doubt it.  Dishes, laundry, house cleaning, cooking, did I do it out of a servile fear of him?  No, I did it because I loved him and cared for him.  

Jenny, there is nothing hopeless about serving the Lord.  If you find yourself having difficulty in an area, reach out to Jesus, ask Him for help.  He will help you, He knows every thought, every feeling, everything you feel in your heart, everything about you, nothing to hide from Him, just bring it to Him.  Don't feel hopeless, be hopeful!  

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on February 21, 2015 at 9:11pm

Salvation is a free gift, but once saved we are called to holiness. Though we will battle the fallen flesh the rest of our lives we are to aspire (strive, press on) to holiness. This is impossible in our own strength and growth toward holiness requires the Holy Spirit working in us and through us. One thing to try and stay away from is the oft taught concept that flows like this. "I know I will fail and thus failure is normal." Failure is never normal nor acceptable to God. He has provided healing for failure and that is repentance, for a child of God will experience conviction when they sin ... and that is a good thing. 

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on February 21, 2015 at 9:33pm

Well I have failed miserably at striving for holiness. If it's the Holy Spirit's power that makes us able to do this, why isn't He doing it for me? Could I be blocking Him somehow? 

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on February 22, 2015 at 5:34am

He will empower, but you have to choose to follow Jesus. He will convict, but we have to respond to that conviction through repentance and then obeying. He will not do it for us without us being willing to walk in holiness. So, yes, you can be blocking Him (so to speak), for He is willing to operate through those who seek after and hunger after holiness.

IMO one of the tragedies of this time period in the church is that often people are invited to receive Jesus as their Savior without understanding that He must also be our Lord. A question that is often  asked, "Why did He save us from sin?", is incomplete. The deeper why question is why did He save us unto Himself? It is true that we have been saved from hell, but more importantly we have been saved unto God. 

As Watchman pointed out, which I will rephrase, is that we need to understand our motivation for seeking to live a holy life. If we see it as a lists of dos and don'ts, instead of because we love Him and want to please Him, and try to stay within the lines because of fear of failing rather than seeking to please Him it becomes very difficult. A poor example is driving a car. When I was first learning to drive most of my attention was just beyond the hood of the car and struggling to keep the car in between the lines of my lane. Now with over 1.5 million miles of driving in my lifetime I drive looking much further down the road and staying in the lane is no struggle at all, but second nature. I believe that is true in our walk with Christ. Often we start out looking at all the lines struggling to stay within them, but over time we start looking further down the road and the daily walk becomes second nature with less struggle.

Now to take this a step further using the driving illustration once more. My driving style changes if a storm develops while on the road. My focus changes, the difficulty to stay in my lane changes with all the water on the road, the wind pushing the car and visibility limited. Again, the Christian life  will follow that pattern.When things are smooth the walk is easier, but let a storm crop up and the walk is more challenging, but still doable.

Again using the driving illustration.When we drive we recognize that there are all kinds of rules on the road. For emphasis let's enumerate a couple. 1) Traffic lights tell me red is stop and green is go. 2) Speed limit signs govern the speed I am legally allowed to travel. 3) My car must be registered and tagged. 4) There are rules for turning, braking, following and stopping. I do not drive every mile fearing which of these am I going to break and how soon the law will ticket me for failure to comply. I know the rules and drive abiding the rules and have the privilege to drive my car without fear of the law stopping me. Now I can choose to exceed the speed limit, run a traffic light, etc and if I do I have the reasonable expectation that I will eventually be given a ticket.

All that (which I hope helped instead of confused the issue) is to say that while it is true that the Holy Spirit empowers, convicts and guides us ... we have to choose to follow and obey. There is an old hymn entitled "Trust and Obey" which says 

Trust and Obey 

When we walk with the Lord

In the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way
While we do His good will

He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey

 

Trust and obey

For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and obey.

 

Not a shadow can rise

Not a cloud in the skies

But His smile quickly drives it away

Not a doubt nor a fear

A sigh nor a tear

Can abide while we trust and obey

 

Trust and obey

For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and obey.

 

But we never can prove

The delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay

For the favor He shows

And the joy He bestows

Are for them who will trust and obey

 

Trust and obey

For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and obey.

 

Then in fellowship sweet

We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do

Where He sends we will go
Never fear, only trust and obey

 

Trust and obey

for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and obey

(by John H, Sammis/Daniel B. Towner)

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on February 22, 2015 at 9:14am

yes I think this driving analogy is helpful. 

I'm looking just over the hood of the car, having a hard time staying in the lines, even clipping a few parked cars and running off the road. 

am I to conclude that I'm just not fit for driving and sell my car, or just keep trying and hope that eventually I'll learn to look far ahead like you did?

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on February 22, 2015 at 11:06am

Never give up!!! Salvation as described in Scripture has three phases that make up the whole of our salvation. There is the justification and regeneration phase that happens when we receive Jesus. There is the lifelong sanctification process. Lastly there is the glorification (when we go to be with Him or He returns, whichever happens first). The sanctification process once a person has been changed into a child of God (2 Cor. 5:17) is lifelong with many struggles and many victories. The Christian life is hard, but worth the living. For the struggles of this life pale in comparison to all of eternity and what awaits us in the presence of Jesus.

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on February 22, 2015 at 9:31pm

Loved the driving analogy

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on February 22, 2015 at 9:27pm

One thing to try and stay away from is the oft taught concept that flows like this. "I know I will fail and thus failure is normal." Amen

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Permalink Reply by thewatchman on February 21, 2015 at 8:58pm

 No, Christians won't continue in sin once saved.  That is true.  What impossibilities do you see when standing with God and where is the hopelessness coming from?

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