6727	Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Romans and the Flesh Monster.	on: January 26, 2008, 03:32:37 PM
Yes , we have the standard, but we also live in grace. And if we grow frustrated over not meeting the standards of the commands and laws, then we only show that we are in great need. And so, we always want to do good we just cant accomplish doing it according to His righteous standard. And if we grow frustrated, in our growing distant we show that we do not understand what was accomplished for us, which is a sin of not fully coming to trust in Christ complete work. I would rather mourn a thousand yrs, than get caught up in that semi pelagian paradigm. So we long to be rid of this body of death, not only because we have sin, but because we struggle with not wanting to come to Him and lay every thing out before Him. We on the one hand want to feel able to over come sin in our own power, and then living with a guilty disposition. But we should always leave His presence in prayer, with a deeper longing to experience forgiveness, and a sense of Him speaking peace to us in the matter at hand.  But even this paradigm can be self generated. Understanding His forgiveness is understanding Who He is by considering His attributes, as He is God. When we think about Him in His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience, then we will experience a forgiveness that was not from our doing anything. But it was His pleasure in Christ to pardon all of our sins at the cross , for His glory. We look to God who has all power to speak everything that transpires in our lives. Even when we face the greatest temptations, He still is the same, yesterday today and forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve. And He wants to be praised that for His unfailing love, His faithfulness, and His forgiveness. We should go from longing to be forgiven, to being overcome with joy, by His Spirit, who causes us to rejoice in Him with joy unspeakable and full of Glory.  We have access to a High Priest who was touched with our infirmities, yet He did not sin. So that He knows our deepest longings, and He cares about everything that we go through. He stoops to our level, so that He can speak to us through His word, and in the present circumstances, giving us a confidence that is not normal. God who cause all things to work for His glory will shine into our hearts the light of the eternal glory of Jesus Christ , so that we will be filled with such longings for heaven, that we will have no desire to have this earth as our home.  We should never grow weary of meditating on His goodness and faithfulness. At some point we will have our hearts enlarged by His grace. And then we will experience the fountain of the Holy Spirit flowing out of us. And when we have that grace, we begin to pant after God, the living God. We must get to the point where we have such longings for the living God, that we do not feel in need. We can experience a sense of peace that surpasses all understanding. So that we have an experience of eternity, knowing that God is near. All the holy angels are there praising God. His power is like dynamite. We get grace so that we can overcome our present circumstances. We need nothing else to get us out of the mire. We only need Him. If we do not have Him then we will grow anxious, and weary of living. If we experience His distance, then we would be mourning until He begins to enlarge our hearts, and our desires begin to overflow. We cant keep from speaking to Him, because we feel so overcome.