@cspivey: "Do You Have Peace?
Can you say with the apostle Paul, "Having been jus�tified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"? (Romans 5:1). If you can't
say this with confidence, and you don't know how to take the first steps of
faith in Jesus, then entering the path of peace is both easy and difficult.
The easy part is to realize that Jesus Christ has mediated peace with God
for us. He died to pay the penalty for our sins, and He rose from the dead
to show that God had accepted His sacrifice on our behalf. Salvation is
given to us when we trust what Jesus has done for us. It is rooted in simply
accepting the good news that all who place their faith in Jesus have
everlasting life (John 5:24; Acts 16:31).
The difficult part is to admit how terribly sinful we are and how our
acceptance of God's gift of salva�tion makes us indebted to Him for His
mercy and love. We can't accept the liberating truth of the gospel without
recognizing that in our thoughts and actions we have been slaves of sin.
You do not have to understand right now all the ways Jesus will transform
you. It is a truth too wonderful to grasp paul30@example.com. But you need to know
that the act of faith by which the free gift is received is an act that will
result in a changed life from the inside out.
You can have peace with God. It comes through the intervention and mediation
of the same One who said to a brokenhearted sinner, "Your faith has saved
you. Go in peace" (Luke 7:50).
Read: Paul's Gospel
<url>"
    @hajicek: "     You can have peace with God. It comes through the
     intervention and mediation of the same One who said to a
     brokenhearted sinner, "Your faith has saved you. Go in
     peace" (Luke 7:50).
Jesus ALSO warned people who he had saved that they must STOP sinning:
     John 5:14
      14 ... Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a
     worse thing come unto thee.
     John 8:11
      11 ... go, and sin no more.
Jesus and all of the disciples did NOT go around preaching, "Keep
sinning until you receive free grace."  Their message was "repent",
"sin no more", and so forth:
     Matthew 3:1-2
      1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the
     wilderness of Judaea,
      2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at
     hand.
     Matthew 5:48
      48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
     heaven is perfect.
     Mark 6:12
      12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
     Luke 13:3
      3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all
     likewise perish.
     Acts 2:38,40
      38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, ...
      ...
      40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort,
     saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
     Acts 3:19
      19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins
     may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come
     from the presence of the Lord;
     Acts 8:22
      22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God,
     if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
     Acts 26:19-20
      19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto
     the heavenly vision:
      20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at
     Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then
     to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God,
     and do works meet for repentance.
     2 Timothy 2:19
      19 ... Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart
     from iniquity.
This is very clear.  The first principle of the Gospel is repentance.
-
The devil will flee from those who RESIST the devil:
     James 4:7-8
      7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and
     he will flee from you.
      8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse
     your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double
     minded.
But those who, after being saved, continue to sin become worse then
they were before:
     2 Peter 2:20-22
      20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the
     world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus
     Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the
     latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
      21 For it had been better for them not to have known the
     way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to
     turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
      22 But it is happened unto them according to the true
     proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the
     sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
-
Those who, after being saved, will REPENT and OBEY God, will be filled
with the Holy Spirit:
     Acts 2:38
      38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every
     one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
     sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
     Acts 5:32
      32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also
     the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
But those who, after being saved, do NOT repent, will be reinfected
with evil spirits:
     Matthew 12:43-45
      43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh
     through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
      44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I
     came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept,
     and garnished.
      45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other
     spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and
     dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than
     the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked
     generation.
-
Those who, after being saved, cannot CEASE from sinning are good for
nothing but to be destroyed:
     2 Peter 2:12,14
      12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and
     destroyed, ...
      ...
      14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from
     sin; beguiling unstable souls: ...
- James"
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