# Struggles with Sin



## WrittenFromUtopia (Oct 11, 2005)

How much can a true believer struggle with sin? If someone believes in all the promises of salvation, rests on Christ by faith alone, etc.... yet they still struggle a significant amount with sin and falling into temptation, etc., should they be assured of their salvation? If they constantly repent and ask for repentance, but never seem to 'overcome sin', should they question their salvation? Can someone desire to be God's, and serve Him with all their heart, but be denied?


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## Puddleglum (Oct 11, 2005)

" . . . and the one that comes to Me I will by no means cast out" - John 6:37

"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners . . . " - 1 Timothy 1:15


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## ReformedWretch (Oct 11, 2005)




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## Michael Butterfield (Oct 11, 2005)

> First then, let me try to show _what true practical holiness is"”what sort of persons are those whom God calls holy._
> 
> a)	Holiness is _the habit of being of one mind with God, _ according as we find His mid described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God´s judgment"”hating what He hates, loving what He loves"”and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His World. He who most entirely agrees with God, he is the most holy man.
> 
> ...


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 11, 2005)

But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew 9.12-13

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1.8-10


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## turmeric (Oct 11, 2005)

I'm having a dixcussion with someone on another thread about this and wixh someone else would get into the discussion before he gets discouraged and leaves which is not my intent. I'm having trouble sorting out what is Godly effort toward holiness and what is elf-righteous attempts at a state God has never promised us in this life. Apparently, I'm steering too far in one direction; believing the Gospel rather than laboring to avoid specific things. Help!


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## Michael Butterfield (Oct 11, 2005)

> Sanctification, again, is _a thing which does not prevent a man having a great deal of inward spiritual conflict_. By conflict I mean a struggling within the heart between the old nature and the new, the flesh and the spirit, which are to be found together in every believer (Gal. 5:17). A deep sense of that struggle, and a vast amount of mental discomfort from it, are no proof that a man is not sanctified. Nay, rather, I believe, they are healthy symptoms of our condition, and prove that we are not dead, but alive. A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscience, but war within. He may know by his warfare as well as by his peace. In saying this, I do not forget that I am contradicting the view of some well-meaning Christians, who hold the doctrine called "˜sinless perfection.´ I cannot help that. I believe that what I say is confirmed by the language of St. Paul in the seventh chapter of Romans. That chapter I commend to the careful study of all my readers. I am quite satisfied that it does not describe the experience of an unconverted man, or of a young unestablished Christian, but of an old experienced saint in close communion with God. None but such a man could say, "˜I delight in the law of God after the inward man´ (Rom. 7:22). I believe, furthermore, that what I say is proved by the experience of all the most eminent servant of Christ that have ever lived. The full proof is to be seen in their journals, their autobiographies, and their lives. Believing all this, I shall never hesitate to tell people that inward conflict is no proof that man is not holy, and they hey must not think they are not sanctified because they do not feel entirely free from inward struggle. Such freedom we shall doubtless have in heave; but we shall never enjoy it in this world. The heart of the best Christian, even at his best, is a field occupied by two rival camps, and the "˜company of two armies´ (Cant. 6:13)."
> p. 25
> 
> J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, 1879 (Moscow, ID: Charles Nolan Publishers, 2001).


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## turmeric (Oct 11, 2005)

Ryle is the man!


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