"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" Amos 3:3
Most crucial is how this verse applies to we who believe in Jesus (are under Grace) today. We often think of Amos 3:3 in terms of our personal/business relationships with our fellow human beings or in terms of spousal relationships. Not so in the context in which it is used in the Book of Amos. See Amos 3:1-3-
"Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: 2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” 3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"
See the Living Bible Translation: "Listen! This is your doom! It is spoken by the Lord against both Israel and Judah—against the entire family I brought from Egypt: 2“Of all the peoples of the earth, I have chosen you alone. That is why I must punish you the more for all your sins. 3 For how can we walk together with your sins between us?"
It is all about man's relationship with God. Recall that the events of the Old Testament are types and pictures of Christ and believers' walk in Him today? "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" is crucial for all who believe in Jesus Christ.
So how is it that a person who says he is a Christian could possibly disagree with God and how does one get back in line behind His Word if indeed he has been disagreeing with God? Let's see how. See God's word in Romans 10:9-10-
"that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
The word "confess" in the original Greek text of the New Testament is "omologōmen" which means "to speak the same, to agree." It's where we get the English word "homologous" meaning "having the same relative position, value, or structure..."
Omologomen - "to speak the same, to agree" is the same root word for "confess" as used in 1 John 1:9-
"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
To "confess" in both 1 John 1:9 and Romans 10:9-10 above is "to speak the same, to agree" with what God says; to "omologōmen." It does not mean catching every sin and literally “confessing” each one or else no forgiveness and hell beckons. Check it out in any bible lexicon. Many are twisting 1 John 1:9 to, whether intentionally or otherwise, keep people under condemnation by making them feel that unless they catch and tell God or a priest about each act of sin one by one and perform some kind of cleansing activity to rectify themselves, those sins remain unforgiven. This interpretation is not in agreement with God's word and all who follow it cannot walk with God.
I discuss my sins and imperfections with the Lord God, but not in order to be forgiven. For all who believe, Christ wiped away our entire lifetime of sins with His "one sacrifice for sins, good for all time" (Hebrews 10) as we will see in the coming paragraphs of this piece. Christ paid it all and finished the work already according to 1 John 2:12 which is written to believers-
"I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake."
Notice "have been forgiven you for His name’s sake" and not "will be forgiven you when you confess particular sins and do restitution (like Judas.)" See the Amplified version of 1 John 2:12-
"I am writing to you, little children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake [you have been pardoned and released from spiritual debt through His name because you have confessed His name, believing in Him as Savior]."
In Christ, our sins are forgiven not because we religiously catch and “confess” each sin or try to return ill-gotten silver like Judas. Christ Himself takes care of our restoration. Peter could have died like Judas if he had tried to restore himself and get back into God's good books after he denied Jesus by rushing back to confess to his accusers that he was a follower of Christ afterall. The arm of flesh wil fail.
In Christ, our sins are forgiven because we confess ("omologōmen" which means "to speak the same, to agree") His word and believe in Jesus as Saviour from sin and death. See Acts 13:43-
“All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
Never through the world's definition of "confession"- that misleading definition which says you will go to hell if you don't do things to clear your sin record with God. As believers in Christ, we tell the Lord about our sins because by His Grace, we know that we are 100% forgiven and because He is the one who saves us from our sins and causes us to live right. See Titus 2:14-
"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."
Many misinterpret the word "confess" to mean "catch every sin that you commit and tell God how sorry you are about it, or else God will not forgive you and you will fall out of fellowship with Him." But this way, salvation is still contingent on what one must do and not what Christ has done. This speaks of salvation by merit and not by grace, and thus, is not salvation. This teaching is not of Christ.
Believer, by all means we must talk with our Lord God about our sins but not in order to be forgiven. In Christ, we have already been forgiven. He knows all of our sins- past, present and future. He took care of our entire lifetime of sins when He sacrificed Himself for us. Because of Him, our sins are no longer imputed to us. By His “one sacrifice for sins,” He took our sins away forever and “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:11–14.)
Against this backdrop, the Holy Spirit testifies to us in verse 17 of the same Hebrews 10:
17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Now see verse 18- “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
To "confess our sins" in the context of God's word is to be in agreement with God's word which says:
"There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:10.
Bear in mind that the one who says that he is/can lead a sin-free life by himself neither agrees with God nor has the word of God in Him. Also, the one who tries to redefine what God's word describes as sin because he was "born that way" does not agree with Him.
To "confess our sins" is to bee in agreement with God's word which says that without Christ as our righteousness, all of our human striving at obedience (law-keeping) is useless; without Christ as our righteousness, we are dead in sin and there is no forgiveness. Here's Paul confessing his sins (in agreement with and saying the same thing as God’s word) in 1 Timothy 1:15-16-
“15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.”
Notice “I am the worst,” not “I was…” This does not mean that Paul was living a reckless and sinful life. He was simply confessing/acknowledging his sins, in line with and agreeing with God's word “all have sinned.” We all need God's saving Grace.
To "confess" our sins in 1 John 1:9 is to be in agreement with God concerning what His word says is sin. It is to agree with God's word which says that “all have sinned,” hence the very next verse (verse 10:) “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
Romans 5:19 says - "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."
Christ overpaid our sin debt at the cross, making us forever righteous in God's sight. But many churchgoers disagree with God by thinking that their sins that Christ died to take away are still hanging unpaid somewhere and that they are not righteous until they do something to clear themselves before God. Due to wrong teaching, many try to remit their sins like Judas and think that obeying the law is the way to get or remain right with God. This too is not in agreement with God's word in Galatians 5:4-
"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the Law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's Grace." Galatians 5:4.
Back to Romans 10:9 - "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Salvation in Christ and consequently walking with the Lord is contingent on believing/being wholly in agreement with the above verse, and this we do by God's undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour (Grace) alone. It is very critical for every believer to know and agree with what God's word says is the reason for His raising Jesus from the dead.
God raising the Lord Jesus from the dead was not just because He could. Christ's resurrection is the divine receipt showing that we who believe (confess the Lord Jesus) have been forgiven of all of our sins and made righteous by His one sacrifice for sins. See what God's word says about why Christ was crucified and why God raised Him from the dead in Romans 4:25 —
"who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous."
See the TPT- "Jesus was handed over to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised back to life to prove that He had made us right with God!"
God raised Jesus from the dead because we have been declared righteous. All of our entire lifetime of sins forgiven and every demand of the Law fulfilled for all who believe in Christ Jesus. Hebrews 9 says:
"27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many...."
The wages of sin is death. One death for our lifetime of sins. Christ was offered ONCE to bear the burden of all our sins. Jesus is not going to come and die again for the sins that we might commit tomorrow and because of His sacrifice, God's wrath will never fall on us (believers) for our sins- Romans 5:9-
"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."
This is God's written word but many, even churchgoers, disagree with God, preach that believers' sins that Christ was crucified for are still hanging unpaid somewhere, that a believer's sin - the same sins that Christ came to save us from- can make him lose God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ and that God will not forgive until we do certain things like restitution/remission and make sacrifices in order to be forgiven. Some even preach that God's wrath can fall on a Christian when His word says "never."
Believer, by God's Grace, let's be in agreement with what our Abba Father says about our claim to His gift of righteousness that brings eternal life in Christ, freedom from wrath and every blessing in His word. This is the only Way to walk together with Him - to know that we have all of these and much more FREELY with Christ. His word says the arm of flesh (human effort) will fail. Don't be deceived into trusting in what you can do to be godly aka "be like God." Christ has done it all. Isaiah prophesied of His suffering for us in Isaiah 53. See the result of His death which He accomplished at Jerusalem in Isaiah 53:11-
"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."
Beloved of God, Christ finished the work of our salvation when He cried "Finished" at the cross. Christ Himself has said that in Him, we "shall not perish but we have everlasting life," not because of what we did but because God so loved us that He gave up His only begotten Son for us. Everyone who confesses (to speak the same, to agree) Christ as Lord (agrees with what God says) and believes that God raised Him from the dead (because we have been declared righteous) has forgiveness of sins, is godly/righteous in God's sight and will never experience God's wrath, no matter what. Whatever sins we are dealing with, Christ saves us from them all- this is why He came. In Him, our past, present and future sins that separated us from God and made us unworthy of walking with Him have been overpaid with His single sacrifice for sins forever (Hebrews 10.) In Him, our path only gets brighter and brighter.To believe these things that God's word say is to agree with God. Recall Amos 3:3 says-
"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"
See the Living Bible Translation: "For how can we walk together with your sins between us?"
How can one who claims to be Christ's walk together with the Lord God if he disagrees with God by believing that his sins are still hanging unpaid somewhere and that God will punish him for the same sins that Christ has been punished for? What then is the role of Christ in his life? Believer, watch what you are hearing in your local church.
False doctrine peddlers disagree with God's truth for all who believe in Jesus Christ who is Grace-personified. The spirit of the antichrist is not anti-God. It is anti-Christ, just as it was with the very religious but antichrist Pharisees who made a big show of being pro-God. Recall that Satan did not tempt Eve to steal or commit fornication with him. He tempted Eve to try to be godly (be like God) by her own will-power. Afterall, what is bad in trying to be godly? This suggestion seemed good to Eve, as it seems right to many churchgoers today who hinge their salvation on their own ability or will-power to be godly- but this seemingly right way leads to death:
"There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Proverbs 14:12
Beloved of God, this is the height of spiritual wickedness- Satan appealing to pride in man to get him to start striving for godliness (be like God) by his own useless will-power (arm of flesh) when Christ suffered and died to make us godly - like God (Isaiah 53:11.) Recall that God made Adam and Eve in His likeness. They were already like God. Satan's ministers right inside the church are still trying to get churchgoers to follow the same example of Adam and Eve. See tree of the knowledge of good and evil as a picture of the Law that many churchgoers are trying to obey in order to be godly in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG.)
These seemingly godly wolves in sheep's clothing who are neither in agreement with God nor His word concerning salvation in Christ are manning pulpits and preaching dependence on the arm of flesh (human effort at attaining godliness and salvation) that God's word says will fail. This is to reject the finished work of Christ in making all who believe godly/righteous in God's sight (Romans 5:9.) The false doctrine usually goes along the lines of:
"God will not come down from heaven to do everything for you. Now that you are born-again, you have to “at least” play your part by not sinning, spending time in the Word, keeping the law and doing your best to live a godly life and remain righteous so that God can bless you and so that you will not miss heaven. And so that God's wrath will not fall on you."
Beloved of God, know that whatever "good" or "obedience" you seem to be able to do by your own will-power only exists because God did not allow you to get tempted beyond what you can bear, so humble yourself under His mighty hand or be humbled like Peter who boasted that he would never deny Christ! We see by Grace that of ourselves, our will-power to live a godly life is utterly useless and that there is no good whatsoever in us as was Paul's experience in Romans 7:18-
“For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."
God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail says:
"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin by my will-power. Faith without works is dead so I must and I can do works to prove that I have faith. Since I can do it, others must too. They are just lazy and love to sin.”
As it was with Peter who ended up denying Christ three times after knowing 100% that he could not, God's mercy is the skeleton that keeps many self-righteous churchgoers from crumpling into the useless and helpless heap of flesh that man is of himself.
Beloved of God, our sins are not the issue here. Christ came to free us from them - "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21.
The issue is agreeing with God Whose word says the arm of flesh (human effort) at obedience will fail. The issue is stopping our silly attempts to save ourselves and wholeheartedly following our Lord God's counsel for us to trust and depend wholly on Christ as our sole Source of Righteousness, Strength and Salvation (even from sins)-
"God, the Master, The Holy of Israel, has this solemn counsel: “Your salvation requires you to turn back to Me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on Me—" Isaiah 30:15.
Believers, by Grace, let's keep on believing/agreeing with what our Abba Father in Christ says in His word concerning our salvation in Christ, even when our circumstances, what people say and what we see tell us differently. When the believing in Christ is right, right living will follow. None of self. All of Christ
"Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: 2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” 3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"
See the Living Bible Translation: "Listen! This is your doom! It is spoken by the Lord against both Israel and Judah—against the entire family I brought from Egypt: 2“Of all the peoples of the earth, I have chosen you alone. That is why I must punish you the more for all your sins. 3 For how can we walk together with your sins between us?"
It is all about man's relationship with God. Recall that the events of the Old Testament are types and pictures of Christ and believers' walk in Him today? "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" is crucial for all who believe in Jesus Christ.
So how is it that a person who says he is a Christian could possibly disagree with God and how does one get back in line behind His Word if indeed he has been disagreeing with God? Let's see how. See God's word in Romans 10:9-10-
"that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
The word "confess" in the original Greek text of the New Testament is "omologōmen" which means "to speak the same, to agree." It's where we get the English word "homologous" meaning "having the same relative position, value, or structure..."
Omologomen - "to speak the same, to agree" is the same root word for "confess" as used in 1 John 1:9-
"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
To "confess" in both 1 John 1:9 and Romans 10:9-10 above is "to speak the same, to agree" with what God says; to "omologōmen." It does not mean catching every sin and literally “confessing” each one or else no forgiveness and hell beckons. Check it out in any bible lexicon. Many are twisting 1 John 1:9 to, whether intentionally or otherwise, keep people under condemnation by making them feel that unless they catch and tell God or a priest about each act of sin one by one and perform some kind of cleansing activity to rectify themselves, those sins remain unforgiven. This interpretation is not in agreement with God's word and all who follow it cannot walk with God.
I discuss my sins and imperfections with the Lord God, but not in order to be forgiven. For all who believe, Christ wiped away our entire lifetime of sins with His "one sacrifice for sins, good for all time" (Hebrews 10) as we will see in the coming paragraphs of this piece. Christ paid it all and finished the work already according to 1 John 2:12 which is written to believers-
"I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake."
Notice "have been forgiven you for His name’s sake" and not "will be forgiven you when you confess particular sins and do restitution (like Judas.)" See the Amplified version of 1 John 2:12-
"I am writing to you, little children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake [you have been pardoned and released from spiritual debt through His name because you have confessed His name, believing in Him as Savior]."
In Christ, our sins are forgiven not because we religiously catch and “confess” each sin or try to return ill-gotten silver like Judas. Christ Himself takes care of our restoration. Peter could have died like Judas if he had tried to restore himself and get back into God's good books after he denied Jesus by rushing back to confess to his accusers that he was a follower of Christ afterall. The arm of flesh wil fail.
In Christ, our sins are forgiven because we confess ("omologōmen" which means "to speak the same, to agree") His word and believe in Jesus as Saviour from sin and death. See Acts 13:43-
“All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
Never through the world's definition of "confession"- that misleading definition which says you will go to hell if you don't do things to clear your sin record with God. As believers in Christ, we tell the Lord about our sins because by His Grace, we know that we are 100% forgiven and because He is the one who saves us from our sins and causes us to live right. See Titus 2:14-
"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."
Many misinterpret the word "confess" to mean "catch every sin that you commit and tell God how sorry you are about it, or else God will not forgive you and you will fall out of fellowship with Him." But this way, salvation is still contingent on what one must do and not what Christ has done. This speaks of salvation by merit and not by grace, and thus, is not salvation. This teaching is not of Christ.
Believer, by all means we must talk with our Lord God about our sins but not in order to be forgiven. In Christ, we have already been forgiven. He knows all of our sins- past, present and future. He took care of our entire lifetime of sins when He sacrificed Himself for us. Because of Him, our sins are no longer imputed to us. By His “one sacrifice for sins,” He took our sins away forever and “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:11–14.)
Against this backdrop, the Holy Spirit testifies to us in verse 17 of the same Hebrews 10:
17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Now see verse 18- “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
To "confess our sins" in the context of God's word is to be in agreement with God's word which says:
"There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:10.
Bear in mind that the one who says that he is/can lead a sin-free life by himself neither agrees with God nor has the word of God in Him. Also, the one who tries to redefine what God's word describes as sin because he was "born that way" does not agree with Him.
To "confess our sins" is to bee in agreement with God's word which says that without Christ as our righteousness, all of our human striving at obedience (law-keeping) is useless; without Christ as our righteousness, we are dead in sin and there is no forgiveness. Here's Paul confessing his sins (in agreement with and saying the same thing as God’s word) in 1 Timothy 1:15-16-
“15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.”
Notice “I am the worst,” not “I was…” This does not mean that Paul was living a reckless and sinful life. He was simply confessing/acknowledging his sins, in line with and agreeing with God's word “all have sinned.” We all need God's saving Grace.
To "confess" our sins in 1 John 1:9 is to be in agreement with God concerning what His word says is sin. It is to agree with God's word which says that “all have sinned,” hence the very next verse (verse 10:) “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
Romans 5:19 says - "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."
Christ overpaid our sin debt at the cross, making us forever righteous in God's sight. But many churchgoers disagree with God by thinking that their sins that Christ died to take away are still hanging unpaid somewhere and that they are not righteous until they do something to clear themselves before God. Due to wrong teaching, many try to remit their sins like Judas and think that obeying the law is the way to get or remain right with God. This too is not in agreement with God's word in Galatians 5:4-
"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the Law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's Grace." Galatians 5:4.
Back to Romans 10:9 - "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Salvation in Christ and consequently walking with the Lord is contingent on believing/being wholly in agreement with the above verse, and this we do by God's undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour (Grace) alone. It is very critical for every believer to know and agree with what God's word says is the reason for His raising Jesus from the dead.
God raising the Lord Jesus from the dead was not just because He could. Christ's resurrection is the divine receipt showing that we who believe (confess the Lord Jesus) have been forgiven of all of our sins and made righteous by His one sacrifice for sins. See what God's word says about why Christ was crucified and why God raised Him from the dead in Romans 4:25 —
"who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous."
See the TPT- "Jesus was handed over to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised back to life to prove that He had made us right with God!"
God raised Jesus from the dead because we have been declared righteous. All of our entire lifetime of sins forgiven and every demand of the Law fulfilled for all who believe in Christ Jesus. Hebrews 9 says:
"27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many...."
The wages of sin is death. One death for our lifetime of sins. Christ was offered ONCE to bear the burden of all our sins. Jesus is not going to come and die again for the sins that we might commit tomorrow and because of His sacrifice, God's wrath will never fall on us (believers) for our sins- Romans 5:9-
"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."
This is God's written word but many, even churchgoers, disagree with God, preach that believers' sins that Christ was crucified for are still hanging unpaid somewhere, that a believer's sin - the same sins that Christ came to save us from- can make him lose God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ and that God will not forgive until we do certain things like restitution/remission and make sacrifices in order to be forgiven. Some even preach that God's wrath can fall on a Christian when His word says "never."
Believer, by God's Grace, let's be in agreement with what our Abba Father says about our claim to His gift of righteousness that brings eternal life in Christ, freedom from wrath and every blessing in His word. This is the only Way to walk together with Him - to know that we have all of these and much more FREELY with Christ. His word says the arm of flesh (human effort) will fail. Don't be deceived into trusting in what you can do to be godly aka "be like God." Christ has done it all. Isaiah prophesied of His suffering for us in Isaiah 53. See the result of His death which He accomplished at Jerusalem in Isaiah 53:11-
"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."
Beloved of God, Christ finished the work of our salvation when He cried "Finished" at the cross. Christ Himself has said that in Him, we "shall not perish but we have everlasting life," not because of what we did but because God so loved us that He gave up His only begotten Son for us. Everyone who confesses (to speak the same, to agree) Christ as Lord (agrees with what God says) and believes that God raised Him from the dead (because we have been declared righteous) has forgiveness of sins, is godly/righteous in God's sight and will never experience God's wrath, no matter what. Whatever sins we are dealing with, Christ saves us from them all- this is why He came. In Him, our past, present and future sins that separated us from God and made us unworthy of walking with Him have been overpaid with His single sacrifice for sins forever (Hebrews 10.) In Him, our path only gets brighter and brighter.To believe these things that God's word say is to agree with God. Recall Amos 3:3 says-
"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"
See the Living Bible Translation: "For how can we walk together with your sins between us?"
How can one who claims to be Christ's walk together with the Lord God if he disagrees with God by believing that his sins are still hanging unpaid somewhere and that God will punish him for the same sins that Christ has been punished for? What then is the role of Christ in his life? Believer, watch what you are hearing in your local church.
False doctrine peddlers disagree with God's truth for all who believe in Jesus Christ who is Grace-personified. The spirit of the antichrist is not anti-God. It is anti-Christ, just as it was with the very religious but antichrist Pharisees who made a big show of being pro-God. Recall that Satan did not tempt Eve to steal or commit fornication with him. He tempted Eve to try to be godly (be like God) by her own will-power. Afterall, what is bad in trying to be godly? This suggestion seemed good to Eve, as it seems right to many churchgoers today who hinge their salvation on their own ability or will-power to be godly- but this seemingly right way leads to death:
"There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Proverbs 14:12
Beloved of God, this is the height of spiritual wickedness- Satan appealing to pride in man to get him to start striving for godliness (be like God) by his own useless will-power (arm of flesh) when Christ suffered and died to make us godly - like God (Isaiah 53:11.) Recall that God made Adam and Eve in His likeness. They were already like God. Satan's ministers right inside the church are still trying to get churchgoers to follow the same example of Adam and Eve. See tree of the knowledge of good and evil as a picture of the Law that many churchgoers are trying to obey in order to be godly in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG.)
These seemingly godly wolves in sheep's clothing who are neither in agreement with God nor His word concerning salvation in Christ are manning pulpits and preaching dependence on the arm of flesh (human effort at attaining godliness and salvation) that God's word says will fail. This is to reject the finished work of Christ in making all who believe godly/righteous in God's sight (Romans 5:9.) The false doctrine usually goes along the lines of:
"God will not come down from heaven to do everything for you. Now that you are born-again, you have to “at least” play your part by not sinning, spending time in the Word, keeping the law and doing your best to live a godly life and remain righteous so that God can bless you and so that you will not miss heaven. And so that God's wrath will not fall on you."
Beloved of God, know that whatever "good" or "obedience" you seem to be able to do by your own will-power only exists because God did not allow you to get tempted beyond what you can bear, so humble yourself under His mighty hand or be humbled like Peter who boasted that he would never deny Christ! We see by Grace that of ourselves, our will-power to live a godly life is utterly useless and that there is no good whatsoever in us as was Paul's experience in Romans 7:18-
“For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."
God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience) that will fail says:
"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin by my will-power. Faith without works is dead so I must and I can do works to prove that I have faith. Since I can do it, others must too. They are just lazy and love to sin.”
As it was with Peter who ended up denying Christ three times after knowing 100% that he could not, God's mercy is the skeleton that keeps many self-righteous churchgoers from crumpling into the useless and helpless heap of flesh that man is of himself.
Beloved of God, our sins are not the issue here. Christ came to free us from them - "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21.
The issue is agreeing with God Whose word says the arm of flesh (human effort) at obedience will fail. The issue is stopping our silly attempts to save ourselves and wholeheartedly following our Lord God's counsel for us to trust and depend wholly on Christ as our sole Source of Righteousness, Strength and Salvation (even from sins)-
"God, the Master, The Holy of Israel, has this solemn counsel: “Your salvation requires you to turn back to Me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on Me—" Isaiah 30:15.
Believers, by Grace, let's keep on believing/agreeing with what our Abba Father in Christ says in His word concerning our salvation in Christ, even when our circumstances, what people say and what we see tell us differently. When the believing in Christ is right, right living will follow. None of self. All of Christ
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