Originally Posted by jta
I'm reluctant to try to answer questions like "who else is innocent of the charges for which I (jta) admit myself to be guilty." Because I see only the actions of others, not their inward attitudes and thoughts and inner depravities that may not be outwardly expressed. Yet, I do see those in myself, and they are heinous sin, seemingly at least as wicked, but probably far more so, than my outward actions. I cannot reconcile them with the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and I therefore conclude, though with the sincere hope I am wrong, that He is not there, either because I have grieved Him, or because He was never there and therefore (Rom. 8:9) I was never His.
Your negativity not measured with faith (assumed this would be your personal assessment) does not find any Scriptural support, unfortunately. The apostle Paul was much harder on himself than you appear to be, e.g., compare 1Tim 1:15 and Rom. 7:14-25. BUT, Paul did not end his lament with v. 25. No, no... he continued in the entire 8th chapter. So, what is lacking here between your lament concerning your sorry, sinful state and that of Paul's description of himself? scratchchin What is lacking in your professed situation is that Paul repented of his sins and believed savingly upon Christ. In Rom 7:1-13, we see a similar situation, but by the work of the Spirit revealing to him how wretched of an individual he was, there was no less hope in Christ. Thus, Paul being smitten with guilt and condemnation before God REPENTED and BELIEVED.

Years ago I had a similar experience with an elderly woman who was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. She too lamented that she was so sinful and confessed that she needed Christ. [Linked Image] she then said that she had prayed daily for over 50 years that God would give her a new heart so that she could repent and believe. Aha!! Does that sound familiar to you? There is no skirting around what she was doing. She put her not repenting and believing squarely upon the sovereign determination of God. I asked her that when she stands before God and facing the charge of being a wicked person, will her reply be that she really wanted to believe, but God didn't allow her to do so??? The silence was deafening. She was shown that the fault lies squarely upon her. It wasn't that God didn't make her able, but that she willed not to repent and believe. [Linked Image]

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simul iustus et peccator

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