Chris' Christian Blog

January 18, 2022

"Prompt: Romans 5:17-21
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

We are often preaching to ourselves all day long, but is it words of hope or condemnation? How easy for us is it to give ourselves a break? What do you need to work on to give yourself more grace?"

Grace to myself is an area that I need a lot of work. I was raised by a mother who, bless her soul, had nine children. I always took anything she had to say as gospel truth. When I was baptized at the tender age of nine she told me that my commitment meant that I had to be "perfect as God in heaven is perfect."

She based that comment on the King James Version and a passage of Matthew 5. I took her at her word and for decades I thought being a Christian meant living a sin free life. Of course, I always fell short and then I would beat myself over the head for falling short and going to hell. This resulted in me repeatedly getting "saved", often on a daily basis. I finally gave up in frustration and became a hellion that Satan could have taken lessons from!

Then one day I joined a church. I went forward at invitation several times in a row. Finally, an elder of the church sat down with me and discussed it. I told him what I had been taught and how Matthew 5 says we are to be "perfect" as God is perfect. The elder wept for a few minutes and then explained to me that King James uses the word "perfect" differently than we do. To King James "perfect" did not mean "sinless". It meant "mature".

That was my last trip to the altar. Now when I sin, which I do constantly, I go to the throne of grace. I admit that I am a weak human being who is trapped in a body that can do nothing but sin. This body is doomed to damnation. It has been sentenced to death and Hebrews tells us the day of execution is appointed. The soul however stands in a state of forgiveness because it is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. God sees the soul as justified. I like to say "Just As If I'd--never done wrong."

Does that mean I can condone sin in my flesh? Absolutely not! I abhor sin in my flesh but my flesh will continue to commit it for it is a slave to sin and has no other choice. My soul however hates sin. My spirit, the third part of me (Trinity) makes the decision of whether to follow the flesh or the soul. The spirit, like the flesh, is fickle. The spirit is the part of me that straddles the fence. If I submit the spirit to the Holy Spirit who dwells within me, the Holy Spirit guides my spirit around the storms of sin in my life. The problem is that my spirit is easily led astray by the flesh, and I fall short.


"Roari ∞ writing about what night brings in

STATIC

Blue Light  (E) Magic seeps into the air #2251535 by Roari ∞

. What does night bring to you?"

It usually brings me nightmares related to PTSD from childhood trauma. However, I take a sleeping pill which causes me to sleep at a level that I do not recall the nightmares. As long as I take my pill night only brings peaceful sleep and relaxation. Of course, my prostate wakes me up once a night, but that's another story.