2nd Corinthians 5:17 and 1st John 3:9, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ... Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
I heard an excellent YouTube sermon today by Pastor Steve Anderson, which was a blessing! In the sermon, Pastor Anderson does a great job Biblically exposing the heresy that a believer who continues living in sin is not saved. Brother Anderson also exposes the false teaching that if a person is really saved, they should at least have a desire not to commit sin. I hope you'll listen to the life-changing sermon, titled . . .
“The New Man Verses The Old Man”
I want to make a few comments and then teach a few things concerning The New Man Verses The Old Man.
One of my favorite preachers to listen to is Pastor Steven L. Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. That may surprise some of you, since I am probably Brother Anderson's biggest opponent on his denial of a Pretribulation Rapture. One thing that I've learned in my Christian life is that a person doesn't have to be correct or perfect on everything to be considered my friend (that is, me a friend to them). The doctrine of the timing of the Rapture is important to one's overall Biblical perspective concerning prophetic events. Albeit, it is not a fundamental matter affecting one's salvation. In sharp contrast, Dr. John MacArthur denies that Jesus' blood is applied to the Mercy Seat in Heaven, which is a fundamental doctrine and DOES affect one's salvation. You cannot deny the saving power of Christ's blood and be saved (Hebrews 10:29). Likewise, you cannot deny Christ's virgin birth, sinless life or deity and be saved. That's not to say that you have to believe these things to be saved, but if you are saved you won't deny these doctrines if and when they are taught to you. I didn't learn that Jesus was God until after I was saved for 5-years, but the Holy Spirit in me beared witness that it was true when I heard it taught.
I have been listening to radio host Alex Jones (Infowars.com) regularly since 2002. I certainly don't agree with Alex's use of heavy-metal music on his radio show, nor his religious humanism teachings (which in fairness to Alex, I haven't heard him teach over the past year). I have learned so much about the New World Order from Alex, and I love the guy as a fighter! I have written articles exposing Alex when I disagree with him, but it's a ministry matter, not a personal matter. I am loyal to the truth, not to people. If you proclaim the truth, I am your friend. If you teach heresy and lies, I will kindly refute your teachings, but still love you in the Lord. I will not count you as an enemy, but a rival concerning the truth. Nobody agrees on everything!
Thus, I support
Brother Anderson's ministry, just as I do Alex Jones work. As far as I have
determined, I agree with Pastor Anderson on everything except his denial of a
Pretribulation Rapture.
Jesus Christ is the New Man!
When you get saved, nothing changes about you! It is the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, specifically the Godhead, Who comes to indwell you that is the new change. Your salvation does not change you one bit! You are still you! When the Bible says that “all things are become new” (2nd Corinthians 5:17), it refers to the spiritual enlightenment that only a born-again believer has. 1st Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” Without the presence of the Author (God's indwelling Spirit), no one can understand the Holy Bible.
One of our text
Bible verses teaches that a man who is in Christ is a NEW CREATURE! That “new
creature” is the indwelling Holy Spirit, which Romans 8:9 calls the “Spirit of
Christ.” Literally, when you get saved, the Godhead (Trinity) comes to live
inside your body. That doesn't mean that we are God; but rather, our body
becomes “the temple” of the Holy Spirit, Who is God in us (1st Corinthians
3:16-17; John 14:23). If you have been born-again, you have God the Father and
God the Son indwelling your body (1st Corinthians 3:16-17) as God the Holy
Spirit. 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in
him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit
which he hath given us.” The evidence that we are saved is the
presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, not turning away from sin. The world's
churches are filled with unsaved religious people who have turned away from
immoral living, who will perish into the fire of Hell in their false security
of religion.
Beware of the Satanic Modern Bible Versions!
My friend, I cannot warn you enough about the modernized corrupt Bible versions. Satan is behind every modern Bible version, which were all translated from an entirely different Hebrew and Greek source than the King James Bible.
I feel sorry for people in the average evangelical church today, who when they read the Bible consult 5 or 6 different Bible versions to decide which rendering they like the best. That is so awful! Friend, God only wrote ONE BOOK, and it's not open for personal preference! Apostate religious groups hate and reject the King James Bible because it is AUTHORITATIVE! All of the new Bible versions read like comic books, or a daily newspaper, instead of like God's authoritative Words!
Please consider carefully the following horrible and corrupt translation in the so-called “Easy-To-Read Version” (ERV) . . .
KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) — 1st John 3:9, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” [emphasis added]
EASY-TO-READ VERSION (ERV) — 1st John 3:9, “Those who are God’s children do not continue to sin, because the new life God gave them.” [emphasis added]
Do you see how the Devil has butchered the meaning of God's Word? The King James Bible accurately teaches that the new man (Who is Jesus Christ in us) CANNOT SIN. When we sin, we are walking in the flesh, and it is the Old Man who is sinning. The PERverted ERV changes the Word of God to instead teach that if you're really saved, you won't continue in sin. This is another prime example of how the new satanic Bible versions have completely changed God's simple plan of salvation; from one of resting completely in Christ (as the accurate KJB teaches - Hebrews 4:10-11), to one of requiring the human effort of turning away from sinful behavior to be saved. These are two drastically different plans of salvation, and only one is correct!
Every Christian
continues in sin!
It is Jesus in Us Who Cannot Sin, Not the Imperfect Believer!
The Holy Spirit cannot sin! If we obey Jesus in us, then we will not sin. Of course, we are sinners by nature and by choice, so we are not always going to choose to walk in the Spirit. 1st John 3:9 in the correct KJB says the new man CANNOT SIN. Well, the Holy Bible teaches that we all have sin, even the best of Christians, like the apostle Paul (Romans 7:14-25). The Word of God is filled with classic examples of true believers who lived in sin. Samson lived a shameful lifestyle of sin, as did king Solomon and Lot. In the New Testament, Demas forsake Paul, having loved this present world, but the Bible never says that Demas wasn't saved. Noah went from being the captain of his ship to a drunken sailor!
David commit adultery with Bath-Sheba and then conspired to get her husband drunk, deceiving and eventually having Uriah murdered! The Bible calls David the “man after God's own heart”! The Lord fully knew the sins that David would one day commit before God chose him to be the king of Israel. In fact, God knew before Adam was created, because the Word of God is forever settled in Heaven (Psalms 119:89). The last word of Revelation existed in Heaven before the first word of Genesis was ever given to Moses!
The Holy Bible
commands us as born-again believers to “WALK IN THE SPIRIT” (i.e., the Holy
Spirit Who indwells us as God's child). Galatians 5:16, “This I say then,
Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Galatians
5:25, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Notice
in Galatians 5:25 that those who “live” in the Spirit (meaning believers who
are saved), ought to also “walk” in the Holy Spirit. Galatians 2:20, “I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Admitting One's Sinnership and Believing the Gospel is Enough to Be Saved
Listen to what Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1951) correctly states about repentance in chapter 16 of his book, EXCEPT YE REPENT . . .
“In all that I have written I have failed completely to express what was surging up in my soul if I have given anyone the impression that I think of repentance as something meritorious which must be produced in man by self-effort ere he is fit to come to God for salvation.”
SOURCE: Dr. Harry Ironside, a quote from chapter 16, THE PREACHING THAT PRODUCES REPENTANCE, from his timeless classic book, EXCEPT YE REPENT.
Most of our evangelical churches today have bought into the lie that it's not enough to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be saved. The Gospel is that Jesus Christ DIED, was BURIED and RESURRECTED from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). If you receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, and believe He bodily raised up from the dead, you are saved!
But don't I have to repent? Yes, of course! Biblical repentance is “a change of mind” that causes a person to believe the Gospel. Repentance is NOT a desire to stop sinning. Repentance is realizing that you are a SINNER for breaking a holy God's commandments. And so if we believe the Gospel, we are immediately and forever saved. Repentance is changing your mind about whatever was previously hindering you from completely resting in Christ for salvation.
Pastor Bob Gray Sr. at the Longview Baptist Temple church in Texas correctly preaches . . .
“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for Hell tonight.” —Pastor Bob Gray Sr., a quote from the awesome MP3 sermon, Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church
Will Jesus Christ Say to You in Eternity, “I Never Knew You!”?
In his excellent book, I NEVER KNEW YOU, Michael Patrick Bowen states . . .
You can live for Christ, you can love Christ, you can serve Him with all your might, time, talent and wealth. You can pray to Him, read your Bible, get water-baptized, join a church, witness to people, and do every wonderful work contained within the realm of Christianity, but if you fail to trust Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, He will “dump” you.
SOURCE:
I NEVER KNEW YOU (.pdf), by Michael P. Bowen; by Barbour Books, © 2009; page 77.