StriperAddict
Senior Member
A handy eyes on the prize memo from Mr. Custer, by permission.
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Focusing on sin and not sinning seems to be what the religious message teaches. Its appears they want us focus on morality and they place our human effort at center stage to obtain it.
The apostle Paul talked very plainly about where our focus should be in Colossians 3:2, "set your minds on things above and not on things of this world", and again in Romans 8:6 "the mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace".
Trying to overcome sin by focusing on it or focusing on not sinning has the exact opposite effect on us. It actually gives power to sin and keeps us in bondage to sin. As Paul said focus on things of the Father and focus on things of the spirit. Focus on Jesus Christ and his finished work of the cross. Focus on the baptism that our Father has included us in, the baptism into the death, burial and resurrection with Christ. Focus on the new creation that we are, that is completely 100% clean and will remain that way for eternity. Focus on the marriage union that our Father has joined together with us by placing himself in us and making us one spirit with Him for eternity. Focus on the faithfulness of our Father to never leave us nor forsake us. Focus on the promise from our Father that even when we are faithless He is faithful and because He has joined Himself to us for eternity that He will never ever deny Himself. Focus on our life being hidden in the eternal life of Jesus Christ and guarded by Him forever. Focus on the spirit of Grace (Jesus Christ) teaching to say no to the fleshly desires. Focus on the fact that our Father keeps absolutely, positively NO RECORD of our wrongs, He has thrown our sin as far as east is to west and He remembers our sin NO MORE. Focus on the the finished work of the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ that brought us all complete, absolute, 100% full forgiveness apart from any asking. This includes yesterday, today and tomorrow. It is finished. It worked and we are positively forgiven people.
Now that we are focusing on these truths of what has been done for us and to us and Christ is living in us and through us we can forget all about sin. We can forget all about not sinning. We can forget all about focusing on our human effort for morality, sin management or behavior modification that will only keep us in a constant struggle with a human self propelled fight that we will surely lose. Once we see that we are dead to sin we will stop focusing on it and we will put our focus on Jesus Christ and sin will no longer master us.
,
- JimBob Custer
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,”
Titus 2:11-12
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
Romans 6:1-7
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Focusing on sin and not sinning seems to be what the religious message teaches. Its appears they want us focus on morality and they place our human effort at center stage to obtain it.
The apostle Paul talked very plainly about where our focus should be in Colossians 3:2, "set your minds on things above and not on things of this world", and again in Romans 8:6 "the mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace".
Trying to overcome sin by focusing on it or focusing on not sinning has the exact opposite effect on us. It actually gives power to sin and keeps us in bondage to sin. As Paul said focus on things of the Father and focus on things of the spirit. Focus on Jesus Christ and his finished work of the cross. Focus on the baptism that our Father has included us in, the baptism into the death, burial and resurrection with Christ. Focus on the new creation that we are, that is completely 100% clean and will remain that way for eternity. Focus on the marriage union that our Father has joined together with us by placing himself in us and making us one spirit with Him for eternity. Focus on the faithfulness of our Father to never leave us nor forsake us. Focus on the promise from our Father that even when we are faithless He is faithful and because He has joined Himself to us for eternity that He will never ever deny Himself. Focus on our life being hidden in the eternal life of Jesus Christ and guarded by Him forever. Focus on the spirit of Grace (Jesus Christ) teaching to say no to the fleshly desires. Focus on the fact that our Father keeps absolutely, positively NO RECORD of our wrongs, He has thrown our sin as far as east is to west and He remembers our sin NO MORE. Focus on the the finished work of the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ that brought us all complete, absolute, 100% full forgiveness apart from any asking. This includes yesterday, today and tomorrow. It is finished. It worked and we are positively forgiven people.
Now that we are focusing on these truths of what has been done for us and to us and Christ is living in us and through us we can forget all about sin. We can forget all about not sinning. We can forget all about focusing on our human effort for morality, sin management or behavior modification that will only keep us in a constant struggle with a human self propelled fight that we will surely lose. Once we see that we are dead to sin we will stop focusing on it and we will put our focus on Jesus Christ and sin will no longer master us.
,- JimBob Custer
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,”
Titus 2:11-12
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
Romans 6:1-7
