THE REDEMPTIVE LIFE CYCLE OF A HUMAN BEING
CONCEPTION AND BIRTH
* We are conceived and born with a natural tendency toward selfishness, which is called the sinful nature, which we inherited from the father of the human race, Adam.
* We are not accountable to God for either our actions or our sinful disposition until we reach an age that God deems appropriate.
* Though we are born with an inner corruption, we are covered by the redeeming work of Christ on the cross.
DEVELOPMENT AS A SINNER
* We develop as children, with a personality and temperament that is peculiar to ourselves, but it is formed by both our nature and our nurture.
* We each disobey God's laws deliberately, in our own way.
* Disobedience to God's laws separates us from God.
* We either hear and heed the message of forgiveness and new beginning through Christ or we don't.
* If we hear the good news and trust Christ, we get a new start in life.
A NEW START
* At our new birth we are forgiven of every sin we have ever committed, up to that time.
* We are not forgiven of future sins, because we cannot repent of sin until we have committed sin, since repenting involves, "turning around."
* God empowers us to live a new life that is pleasing to Him.
* God imparts His Holy Spirit to us so that we will be led away from sin and we will resist sin and we will overcome temptation.
DEVELOPMENT AS A BELIEVER
* We submit to the Lordship of Christ.
* We fellowship and learn from other believers that have been following God.
* We learn God's word.
* We bring our lives and out thoughts into subjection to Christ.
* We sense an inward struggle of our sinful nature with the new nature, which is created in righteousness and true holiness.
* We love God, but not with a perfect love; we keep God's law, but we have an inner battle as we do.
* When (and if) we fail God, we then seek God and His mercy to forgive and restore us to a right relationship with God.
TOTAL SURRENDER
* We realize our inner tendency to rebel.
* We realize God's will and ability to purify our hearts COMPLETELY.
* We trust Christ alone for our entire cleanings and the endument of power from the Holy Spirit.
* We continue to walk in love, truth, light, obedience to God, and we continue to grow in grace an knowledge.
* If we fail, we repent and trust Christ and then we move on in the power of the Holy Spirit.
SOMETHING TO NOTICE
THE BEST YOU CAN DO before you get saved is not as good as
THE BEST YOU CAN DO after you get saved by the miraculous saving power of God;
which is not as good as
THE BEST YOU CAN DO when you are cleansed from the Old Man and filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
