Greetings Jerry;

? You are telling me that you can guarantee it wasn't God I was hearing from in my spirit? Wow!!! I would never make that judgment call.

Dear sir, you are not God and you need to stop acting like you are. You do not know everything. (your words: My comments were correcting what I believed you were saying)........you cannot go around correcting what you "believe people are saying" all the time, because you are not always right. For instance you are still insisting, by your own admission, (your words: so to expect that no true Christian will ever be carnal or backslide is not Biblical)..... I never said it was not Biblical.

However, Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

In character: in this life we cannot be flawless, but we can aspire to be as much like Christ as possible. In holiness: we are to separate ourselves from the world's sinful values. We are to be devouted to God's desires rather than our own, and carry his love and mercy into the world. In maturity: we can't achieve Chritlike charater and holy living all at once, but we MUST grow toward maturity and wholeness. In love: we can seek to love others as completely as God loves us.

We can be perfect if our behavior is appropriate for our maturity level~perfect, yet with much room to grow. Our tendency to sin must never deter us from striving to be more like Christ. Christ calls all of his disciples to excel, to rise above mediocrity, and to mature in every area, becoming like him. Those who strive to become perfect will one day be perfect, even as Christ is perfect (1 John 3:2, 3)

1 John 3:2, 3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3: And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

The Christian life is a process of becoming more and more like Christ (Romans 8:29). This process will not be complete until we see Christ face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12; Philippians 3:21), but knowing that it is our ultimate destiny should motivate us to purify ourselves. To purify means to keep morally straight, free from the corruption of sin. God also purifies us, but there is action we must take to remain morally fit (1 Timothy 5:22; James 4:8; 1 Peter 1:22).

God's ultimate goal for us is to make us like Christ (1 John 3:2). How can we be conformed to Christ's likeness? By reading and heeding the Word, by studying his life on earth through the Gospels, by being filled with his spirit, and by doing his work in the world.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. (double minded: undecided).

How can we purify our hearts when we are watching trash on T.V.? We cannot!

How can we come near to God? James gives five ways:

1. Submit to God (4:7). Yield to his authority and will , commit your life to him and his control, and be willing to follow him.
2. Resist the devil (4:7). Don't allow Satan to entice and tempt you.
3. Wash your hands...and purify your hearts (that is, lead a pure life) (4:8). Be cleansed from sin, replacing your desire to sin with your desire to experience God's purity.
4. Grieve and mourn and wail in sincere sorrow for your sins (4:9). Don't be afraid to express deep heartfelt sorrow for what you have done. 5. Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up (4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).

If one wants to know the rules for holy living, rules for Christian households and further instruction.... Colossians 3 and 4 is all about what Christians should do. I recommend it highly! 3:6 states that because of the earthly nature (and it lists those sins), the wrath of God is coming on the children of disobedience! Eeek! That makes me want to perfect my walk with the Lord!

1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. HOLINESS. Did we read that? HOLINESS. This is talking about abstaining from fornication. God requires all believers to live by the high standards of purity and sanctification with regard to sexual matters.

Romans 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. 7: because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. (died: spiritual death).

The power and penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross. Our "old self," our sinful nature, died once and for all, so we are freed from its power. The "body of sin" is not the human body, but our rebellious sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. Though our body willingly cooperates with our sinful nature, we must not regard the body as evil. It is the sin in us that is evil. And it is this power of sin at work in our body that is defeated. Paul has already stated that through faith in Christ we stand acquitted, "not guilty" before God. Here Paul emphasizes that we need no longer live under sin's power. God does not take us out of the world or make us robots~we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we were saved we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ (Galatians 2:20).

The Biblical/Scriptural list goes on for showing us how to live pure. I could type all day and tomorrow and never get every single scripture on this page. You are very knowledgable about the Bible Jerry, no doubt because you study it well. Praise God!

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Do what the Word says and we will be blessed. It is important to listen to what God's Word says, but it is much more important to obey it, to do what it says. We can measure the effectiveness of our Bible study time by the effect it has on our behavior and attitudes. Do you put into action what you have studied? (I don't mean you in particular, as a whole).

Jerry, I think we are on the same page, you misunderstand me, that's all. We must use every tool God gives us to perfect this walk. We need to stop nit-picking and critisicing other's~not all of us are perfect. We are to uplift our Brothers and Sisters in Christ, not tear them down.

Neither you, nor I, should become overly righteous or wise in our own eyes! Yes, that is pride!

All of us must be very careful not to backslide, because backsliding can send one right to hell. Backsliding starts with one small sin.

The essence of sin is selfishness; the essence of God's way of life is selflessness. We must seek Christ's help to live God's way.

(some notes taken from my Bible).

God bless you,
DarlovesJesus