No Ifs, Ands, or Buts

We live in a society of non-responsible people that lack accountability.  I suppose it is the nature of the beast to blame everyone else for their station in life if they feel less than adequate where success is concerned.  Or they consider it God’s fault for their lack of not measuring up to the general self-sufficiency of others.

Responsibility, since Adam and Eve, is the hardest lesson to learn, because it is easier to play the blame game than submit to accountability, which takes effort and a dedicated mindset to accomplish something good in life.

In the beginning, God warned Adam to not eat the fruit that the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” produced in the Garden of Eden.  God was abundantly clear and concise as He instructed Adam that if he were to disobey Him, he would surely die.  It was a nonnegotiable commandment; no room for compromise.  God meant what He said—no ifs, ands, or buts.

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they dishonored themselves and God, causing their sin nature to extend to all humanity.  And because it was visited upon each individual, it is the base reason for deceitfulness to rule a person’s life.  People try to get by with things without being discovered; not wanting to pay the penalty for their actions.

I believe carnal (fleshly) Christians (fence riders between right and wrong) justify their lack of obedience to God, because of the scripture in (1 John 1:9).  They think it is an escape clause to excuse them from accountability in the present.  I also believe that they use it as an excuse to exempt themselves from towing the line regarding the 10 Commandments and obeying them.

(1 John 1:9), “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Every time a Christian sins, they are acting carnally.  Do I believe that true Christians remain in a carnal state?  No.  Until we are delivered from our sinful flesh either by way of the rapture (Christ’s second coming) or through death, there will be outbreaks of carnality.

Christians who become carnal in their behavior can expect God to lovingly discipline them, because He does not want anyone to perish in hell, but to come unto repentance and learn to abstain from sin.  It is a learning process of how to put off the old nature and take on the new character, temperament, and attributes of Christ.

Does God truly forgive sin, and should He forgive the violist of sinners?  Who am I to ask such questions?  I, like Paul in the Bible, was chief of sinners.  I was on a fast track to hell with a one-way ticket.  Were it not for God’s amazing grace, there go I, perhaps the violist of sinners. 

I was lost and without a Savior; sinking in the mire of sin, but God reached forth His hand of mercy.  Grasping my soiled hand He pulled me to safety, because of His great love for me.  He loves you with this same kind of love—Agape Love. 

Though lost, I am now found, because of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who set me free from the bondage of sin.  I was redeemed and cleansed from the filth of unrighteousness when I cried out to Him in desperation.  He forgave me of my sins and set me on a new path of righteousness. 

Does God forgive sin?  Does He truly forgive?  Yes, I trust God’s Word.  I know what my disposition was like before the transformation, compared to the joy that I now possess, because of the “born again” experience.  

Do I battle sin?  Yes.  But greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.  I have found the way.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

(Ephesians 2:8-10), “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” vs.9 “not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  vs.10 “For we are His workmanship; created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

God would rather a person be hot or cold and not lukewarm; otherwise, the Bible says that He will spew them out of His mouth.  I am convinced that when people sin, they have the idea that when they ask God to forgive them later, He will do so.  They believe that everything will be kosher and hunky-dory with the Lord at that time, because of all the other times they sinned and then repented. 

Personally, I believe that they are walking on thin ice with God.  Like Adam and Eve, people that willfully sin are being deceived and seduced by Satan; beguiled by the devil to commit sin.  Justifying their actions, after the fact, only leads to heartache and a hardening of the heart.

I truly believe that God forgives sin, but when a person knowingly sins, they will most likely have to reap what they sow.  No ifs, ands, or buts, means just that—sin is sin—there is no getting around it.  There are no in-between levels that give latitude to justify the act of willful sinning; having the idea of asking God to forgive them later after they have (tasted the fruit).

If I didn’t believe that God forgives sin, I might as well throw in the towel of defeat and go on my sinful way; surrendering to Satan, because all hope of eternal life in heaven would be missing in my soul.  But I do believe, because of grace! 

Humanity is in the dispensation of grace, not under Old Testament law that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.  Jesus paid the price for sin when He willingly died on the cross for you and me.  And because of His death, grace was born.

It is to our benefit that we not sin, both spiritually and physically, because of the dreadful things that lurk in the devils playground of wrongdoing.  If a man or woman slips and commits sin, God’s grace is sufficient to forgive them of their transgression and cleanse them from all unrighteousness; however, the domino effect of sinning may remain, perhaps infecting the body with irreversible diseases.

Premeditated sin with the opposite sex, whether an act of fornication or adultery, and then asking for forgiveness later will no doubt be forgiven, but individuals that practice this reprehensible behavior may have to endure the consequences of their actions.  They run the risk of contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which is a late stage of HIV.  Other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are also possibilities of immoral activities.

The consequences of getting hooked on pornography and other filth that is found on computer websites can ruin family relationships and lead to divorce.  Disobedience to God will take its toll one way or the other.

Committing crimes of passion, or yielding to a raging temper and then hurting someone because of it, can land a person in jail; the price they must pay for disregarding the law.  The reason God forgives sin is that the penalty for a person’s sinful actions was paid for, in full, at the cross where Jesus shed His blood for the sins of mankind.

Does God forgive sin?  Absolutely, but Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden after sinning and suffered the effects of breaking the rules of a (no ifs, ands, or buts) God that expects compliance to His rules.  Any person that thinks they can sidestep God and continue to sin, without facing repercussions, is only fooling themselves.

Children of God; true Believers and members of God’s family; reject sin in any form.  They strive to abide in truth.  And if they should fall, while serving God in their daily walk with Him, it is essential to immediately ask for forgiveness and pray for strength to overcome temptations the next time they come around.

Christians who lean on the Holy Spirit for strength to face trials of life, and allow Him to make them perfect in the sight of God, will walk victorious with their head held high, because they know all is well with their maker.

God sees the heart of each individual that serves Him and knows when that person is tiptoeing around sin or running from it; taking the escape route that God provides with every temptation.  He knows when we stumble and commit wrong doings in fits of anger, or when we have bouts with vanity and pride, or fail to forgive others of their trespasses against us.  And He sees our pettiness, yet forgives us when we ask Him to do so, because He is patient and long-suffering.

God desires that we abide in truth and not partake of unnecessary obsessions that harm the body; like alcoholism, which can cause cirrhosis of the liver; tobacco usage that has been proven to cause lung cancer and other types of cancer; and drug abuse that destroys brain cells.

When habits are overcome, and they can be with the help of the Holy Spirit, abstaining from such things enable abundant living to thrive.  When we give God a “no ifs, ands, or buts” kind of obedience, it provides the Father-son / Father-daughter relationship to flourish.  God opens the floodgates of heaven and pours out blessings that cannot be contained.

(Luke 6:38), “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

When we draw nigh to God, He draws nigh to us.  Our obedience to His commandments allows us to live in health, both physically and spiritually. 

Though our Heavenly Father is a “no ifs, ands, or buts” God, He loved us so much that He died a cruel death on the cross after being incarnated into Jesus as a babe in the manger.  There was no other way to restore son-ship with lost man except the death of His Son at the age of 33.  Jesus was God-Man; God in flesh.

Written by,

Papa Boyd