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When we accept Christ as our Savior we become a child of God and a member of His household.
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Like a member of any household, there are standards and rules that we are held to; these are fixed and never change.
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God has written His Commandments on our hearts and in our conscience, and He has given us His word for instruction on daily living.
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God has given us His Holy Spirit to give us strength to keep his commands and to prick our conscience with guilt when we disobey.
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As children of God we are called upon to take up our Cross daily and follow Christ. This involves daily suffering as we put aside our own sinful desires and try to live up to His standards and rules.
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If we fail and don’t live up to the standard because of a specific sin, and pray for forgiveness with a sincere heart, Christ will forgive us.
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Christ knows our hearts and if we sin deliberately in a premeditated manner, and then pray for forgiveness with full intension of repeating the sin, we are being defiant and will not be forgiven; this is not genuine faith with sincere repentance.
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We will all stand before Christ in judgment for how well we’ve lived life by the standards set forth in the Commands and in the Word. To whom much has been given much will be expected; we have been given much.
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Everyone has free will and makes their own decision regarding following his own desires and pleasure vs. living in obedience to God.
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Since we have the Commands written in our hearts and conscience, God’s Word and the Holy Spirit to guide and remind us, if we do make a decision to follow our own will and give into our desires, we will have no excuse when we face judgment and must be prepared to accept the consequences for the choices we’ve made in this life. We all struggle with this internal conflict due to our sinful nature.
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As Christians we all share in the suffering brought about because of our internal struggles.
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We need to be constantly in prayer, the Word, in Church, and in fellowship with other Christians.
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“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also that you may endure it.”
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“Wake up, strengthen what remains and is about to die, for your deeds are not complete in the sight of my God. Remember therefore, what you have heard and received, obey and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come to you as a thief, and you will not know when I come to you. But he who keeps his clothes unsoiled (by sin) will walk with me in white.”
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Churches who teach false doctrine lead their members to lives with problems. Living by the true Gospel message and all contained in Scripture, will lead to satisfying lives that will glorify God.
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We need to thank God for all that we have because it is all from Him. We need to repent if we have emphasized or loved anything more than God. We need to pray for forgiveness and strength to enjoy but not make idols of our blessings. To not repent is to be trapped in satan’s snare; we need to pray this for others also.