If You are Living According to the flesh, you will Die. Romans 8:12-13
At first glance this sounds like a threat, but it comes directly from the bible. "Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." Romans 8:12-13 | NIV We all live in a physical body, but this is not what this verse means. What it means is that when we die we will be judged by the things we did in our flesh, or our body. Those who have never received new spiritual life in God, are said to be in the flesh, rather than being in the spirit. When we live a spiritual life, part of our responsibility is putting off the deeds of the flesh. What that means is knowing what is sinful and what is not. If you don't believe there is something called sin, you are in the flesh (probably) and if you die that way you will be lost.
The problem is that you first need to see the reason why you need to be saved. If you have no understanding of heaven and hell, you will have no motivation to change. If you think this life is all there is, and there is no reward or punishment in the next life, you will fail to see the reason why you need to be forgiven. Understanding you are a sinner is the first condition to salvation. When you live in a world that denies any reality of sin, it's going to be very hard to repent and have faith. If everybody is telling you to do whatever you want, and there are no consequences for doing evil, you will stay lost.
The bible tells us why we are in the predicament we are in, and it shows us how to get out. If you desire to be free, the bible tells us that truth sets us free not sin. In fact sin creates bondage and eventually destroys our souls. God won't let you go on sinning forever! In fact, the bible tells of a Judgement Day. When we die in our sins, we are lost forever, and the only way to avoid being lost forever is not living in our sins now. You might be saying that you want to change, but you don't know how? You might be thinking that there is some truth to what I am saying! That is great, no one wants to live in misery forever, and that's what sin does. It creates a miserable existence, and the first step is the desire to change.
I have good and bad news, the bad news is that you can't change on your own but the good news is that God in the person of the Holy Spirit can change you! In fact our desire to change allows the Holy Spirit to change us. When we ask God for help in overcoming our fallen nature, He only ask us to have faith in what Jesus already did for us, by overcoming sin, and dying to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross. Our response is faith and repentance. Repentance means agreement with God that what I did was a sin, because the bible says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26 | NIV
That's it folks, we need to make a choice, it's just as simple as saying "Jesus I trust you to save me and forgive me." You will know that you repented when you feel a godly sorrow for your sin. I like to say that everything becomes easier afterwards but that is not true. You might have setbacks now, but the difference is that now God will see you through your troubles and He might even answer your prayers for deliverance. He might help you to see that you need to start living by faith, and not by doubt. Life could become more joyful despite your hardships and then one day they (your hardships) will all be over. This is Mike.
At first glance this sounds like a threat, but it comes directly from the bible. "Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." Romans 8:12-13 | NIV We all live in a physical body, but this is not what this verse means. What it means is that when we die we will be judged by the things we did in our flesh, or our body. Those who have never received new spiritual life in God, are said to be in the flesh, rather than being in the spirit. When we live a spiritual life, part of our responsibility is putting off the deeds of the flesh. What that means is knowing what is sinful and what is not. If you don't believe there is something called sin, you are in the flesh (probably) and if you die that way you will be lost.
The problem is that you first need to see the reason why you need to be saved. If you have no understanding of heaven and hell, you will have no motivation to change. If you think this life is all there is, and there is no reward or punishment in the next life, you will fail to see the reason why you need to be forgiven. Understanding you are a sinner is the first condition to salvation. When you live in a world that denies any reality of sin, it's going to be very hard to repent and have faith. If everybody is telling you to do whatever you want, and there are no consequences for doing evil, you will stay lost.
The bible tells us why we are in the predicament we are in, and it shows us how to get out. If you desire to be free, the bible tells us that truth sets us free not sin. In fact sin creates bondage and eventually destroys our souls. God won't let you go on sinning forever! In fact, the bible tells of a Judgement Day. When we die in our sins, we are lost forever, and the only way to avoid being lost forever is not living in our sins now. You might be saying that you want to change, but you don't know how? You might be thinking that there is some truth to what I am saying! That is great, no one wants to live in misery forever, and that's what sin does. It creates a miserable existence, and the first step is the desire to change.
I have good and bad news, the bad news is that you can't change on your own but the good news is that God in the person of the Holy Spirit can change you! In fact our desire to change allows the Holy Spirit to change us. When we ask God for help in overcoming our fallen nature, He only ask us to have faith in what Jesus already did for us, by overcoming sin, and dying to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross. Our response is faith and repentance. Repentance means agreement with God that what I did was a sin, because the bible says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26 | NIV
That's it folks, we need to make a choice, it's just as simple as saying "Jesus I trust you to save me and forgive me." You will know that you repented when you feel a godly sorrow for your sin. I like to say that everything becomes easier afterwards but that is not true. You might have setbacks now, but the difference is that now God will see you through your troubles and He might even answer your prayers for deliverance. He might help you to see that you need to start living by faith, and not by doubt. Life could become more joyful despite your hardships and then one day they (your hardships) will all be over. This is Mike.
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