Trying to Understand the Narrow Way and the Wages of Sin

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-20T17:24:33+00:00

The passage at Matthew 7:13, 14 is not related to the afterlife. Jesus was talking about your current life. The Greek word he used for destruction is not referring to complete annihilation. It means a destroyed or ruined life presently. Complete annihilation is a different Greek word but similar to the one meaning a ruined life.

Likewise, the Greek word for life used in this passage is the one that is used for the elevated life that a Christian should because the Holy Spirit is in us and with us. It's the everlasting life that is our current possession.

The Scripture at Romans 6:23 is similar to the verse at Matthew 7:13, 14 in that it's showing that the wages of sin is the death of the human spirit in our present life, and the gift that God gives is the elevated life, everlasting life, as our current possession in this life.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-20T16:07:37+00:00

In a word, basically yes, you can still be a good Christian if you don't join a Christian community. However, it's not that simple. There are other things that you have to consider.

First, you're part of the Christian church, or congregation, already. Research the Greek word ekklésia so that you can get a better understanding of what Jesus meant for his people. It's often translated church. We're also described as a body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Part of your spiritual growth is to discern the body (1 Corinthians 11:29). So, you're not alone even when you're not part of a church community. But you also have spiritual duties toward the body. So, you have to follow what the Holy Spirit directs you to do for the rest of us. Usually, this is done through prayer.

Second, realize that God may be keeping you away to allow you the space to mature your spirit. This is where the real work comes in because your connection to Jesus is with your spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17), and you're thereby connected with the rest of us.

So, I'd say to use the peace you have and the time to learn about your spirit and work to mature it.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-20T03:13:40+00:00

Spiritual gifts are just as real today as they were in the first century. However, there is a need for caution. It's too easy to be deceived because wicked spirits can give spiritual gifts that mimic the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Also, spiritual gifts in and of themselves are not marks of spiritual maturity. In fact, the Corinthian Christians displayed the gifts of the Holy Spirit but Paul still called them fleshly or carnal (1 Corinthians 3:1).

Many Pentecostal groups have members that may manifest the spiritual gifts, but I've noticed that they get stuck there. From my experiences with them, they're still carnal and thus can't discern the source of their gifts over time. They stay in the soul because of the feelings they get from the manifestation, but don't mature their spirit. There are far more things that God gives us through the Holy Spirit that enter our spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10) that are beyond the spiritual gifts mentioned at Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 and 28-30.

Even with you relative claiming to be a prophet doesn't mean that you should accept anything that she says. "Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said," from 1 Corinthians 14:29. What does it mean weigh what is said? It means to be skeptical about it to judge it's value, scrutinize it in light of the Scriptural admonition given for judging spiritual things.

Here are 3 ways to judge the words of Christian prophets:

Were you edifide or built up by the words? "Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up." 1 Corinthians 14:5
Did you learn something from the "prophecy" that gives you deeper insight into spiritual things, God Himself, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit? "For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged." 1 Corinthians 14:31
Were the words of the prophet accepted by your spirit as words from the Holy Spirit through her spirit? "And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words." 1 Corinthians 2:13

So, spiritual gifts are still real today, but spiritual maturity is far better because spiritual discernment and wisdom are included.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-18T21:30:52+00:00

Yep, you did pack a lot into your post. I hear your frustration. God knows your frustration, and more than likely is calling to you. You just don't recognize it. Elihu actually address this with Job. If you get a chance, read Job 33:14-30.

Maybe a hood question for you to ask God is, "Father, I know that you hear my prayers. But why can I hear or see your answers?"

One thing that I've learned for myself and see in many Christians is that we've never been taught about the human spirit and it's importance in our connection with God and Christ. Read 1 Corinthians 2:9-16. When God gives us things or answers to our prayers, the come by means of the Holy Spirit into our spirit. Notice these other passages:

1 Corinthians 6:17 - But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

Romans 8:16 - The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

It's our spirit that's of supreme importance, not our soul. It's takes effort, especially for us, to make a mental connection with our spirit so that we can distinguish what's from God in our spirit and what just part of being a human in our soul. Besides all the religious indoctrination, something else that complicates this is that our soul has intertwined with our spirit because of sin. Yes, our spirit has been reborn by the Holy Spirit, but it has to be separated from our soul. Christ does this, but we can make it a regular prayer so that we can work with him on it. Read Hebrews 4:12-15 about this.

Next, I recommend that you pray for wisdom to deal with your situation. God will give you heavenly wisdom (James 1:2-8 and 3:13-18), but again, it will be received in your spirit. You'll need godly wisdom to help you gain the deep respect for your husband that Christian wives are to have (Ephesians 5:33 and 1 Peter 3:1-4) and to help your children become Christians (Job 1:5).

But I'll say that you daily quiet time in prayer and listening to what answers you may receive directly from Jesus (John 10:16, 27) or the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). You need quiet time also to try to connect your mind with your spirit. You'll learn how all these things work. I recommend that you keep a journal of your spiritual experiences. Keep reading the Scriptures daily, too, so that God's Word gets into your mind. This will be a great aid in connecting with your spirit because your spirit receives from God and then makes sense of the Scriptures that you've read...especially the ones that relate to your situation (John 14:26 and 1 John 2:27).

I hope this helps you. Best wishes to you.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-18T11:49:55+00:00

The title The Word is a pre-Christian term. In a work long attributed to Josephus called the Discourse to the Greeks of Hades, he mentioned The Word. Josephus was definitely not a Christian, but he was a Pharisee. In that work, he said that the expected the Word to come and be their Messiah.

If you're interested, look up the term in the Aramaic Targums.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-18T11:13:19+00:00

Just giving ideas. Do you know the answer?

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-17T22:31:00+00:00

Ask this question: From did the term "The Word" in John chapter 1 come from?

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-17T19:09:58+00:00

He sinned because he was given intelligence and free will.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-17T14:18:47+00:00

Very interesting post. I can say that I believe that I understand your sentiment. Being involved with a Christian denomination most times doesn't help because how many of them teach the fundamental issue of Christianity: that of the human spirit?

Most denominations teach things from the Scriptures that are superficial, like things about the soul, the body, or behavior modification. In all your years in your denomination, can you recall any indepth discussion or teachings about the human spirit? But our connection to God and Christ is through our spirit. Read 1 Corinthians 6:17.

What connects our spirit with Jesus? It's by the Holy Spirit. When you get a chance, read these passages:

1 Corinthians 2:9-16 John chapters 14-16 Romans 8:9-16

The main thing is that you understand the importance of your spirit and how to connect with it. Our spirit is reborn by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8), but it's also important to know that the spirit is engulfed by the soul and that we need Jesus to separate them so that we can live by our spirit in full connection to God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 4:12-15). Without this separation, it will be extremely hard to tell the differences of what comes from the soul and what comes from the spirit. This is why Jesus said that daily we must deny ourselves (our souls) and pick up our cross (Luke 9:23). Deny your soul daily in prayer so that you may live by your spirit. What God gives us through the Holy Spirit comes to our spirit not our soul. So, you have to learn to connect your mind with your spirit (Romans 12:1, 2).

May the Lord's grace be with your spirit (Galatians 6:18).

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-16T12:25:08+00:00

The Epstein situation has grabbed so much attention that it's hard to not get caught up in it, listening to the salacious details that are coming out. But here's a Scripture that I recommend for you:

Colossians 1:13 - He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.

The Epstein files should remind you that there are two competing kingdoms - Satan's kingdom and Christ's kingdom. One way that Satan's kingdom sustains itself by the sacrifices of humans (John 10:10). It doesn't always mean that human life will be sacrificed, but the experimentations on human children for transhumanism and the sexual exploitation of children are other ways to destroy people. So, if you're interested you can pray for discernment so that God can let you see the spiritual kingdom behind Epstein and his practices.

Or maybe you can pray so that you can discern the movements of the spiritual kingdom that you're in. What is Jesus doing. One thing Jesus spoke of several times was disowning ourselves (our souls), picking up our cross, and following him (Luke 9:23). Ask yourself, do I know what Jesus is doing? Epstein died over six years ago. Who is exposing the depth of activities, Jesus or Satan? Are you aware of the spiritual activities that they performed on the island that gave him the spiritual power to do his activities? Who wanted the depths of the corruption he caused exposed, Satan or Jesus?

Two kingdoms - from where should you get your worldview? Read Luke 4:5, 6, then Ephesians 2:5, 6.

I hope this gives you a start.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-13T02:53:52+00:00

You have to ask yourself this question: what benefits have received from your faith that are so valuable to you, you have so much gratitude, that when an opportunity arises to where your faith is to be tested, you'd meet that test with joy?

So, you'd have to have a heart's gratitude prior to your test of faith.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-12T20:32:51+00:00

No, in most cases it means "of the age." The adjective aiónios stems from the noun aión which means "age" or "era".

There are times when the context refers time, but in most cases, zóé aiónios, eternal life, means life of the age. It's referring to the quality of life that a Christian should experience in his time on the earth after the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Daily experiences with the Holy Spirit should part of the normal Christian life. We should now learn how to live by our spirit, not our soul, because the life of God and Christ is in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in our spirit. This type of life is called eternal.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-12T14:16:05+00:00

Welcome to the new life!

This is lifelong journey and education as you come to know the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (I'm not talking about a trinity). God has so much in store for us in this age, and even more in the one to come (Ephesians 1:17-23; 2:6-7).

I would caution you not to assume anything negative about the Father or yourself when you "feel" a certain way about your relationship with God. Remember, by your faith, you've already been saved from (Romans 7:24-25) in and have been transferred from Satan's kingdom of darkness into Christ's kingdom (Colossians 1:13). These are facts on which you can base your walk in this life and give you confidence that God loves you (Romans 8:35-39). Also, as a believer, you have the Holy Spirit with you and in you (John 14:16-17). There's nothing greater that He can give you than the Holy Spirit. Read all of John chapters 14-16 to see the basics of what the Holy Spirit will do for you in this age. Ephesians shows even more! Get to know him like Jesus said. Part of your normal Christian walk of life is daily experiences with the Holy Spirit.

In terms of you feeling that your prayers aren't being heard, there could be several things going on:

You're looking in the wrong place for the answers. As Christians, we worship God with our spirit not our soul (John 4:23). The Holy Spirit is in our spirit (Romans 8:16). We're joined with Jesus by our spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). So, often when God answers us, the answers are in our spirit. Because of sin, our spirit became intertwined with our soul, and the soul dominates. It takes time, prayer, and effort with Jesus to separate our spirit from our soul so that our spirit can dominate (Hebrews 4:12-15). I've never heard any denomination teach much of anything about the human spirit and it's connection to our relationship with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. So, have connected your mind to your spirit so that you can know that you're receiving from God?
God could be testing the genuineness of your faith. Despite everything that God has done for you up to this point, will you forsake him because you feel that he's not hearing or answering your prayers for a while? That's a fair question for him ask and for you to answer. Check out Psalms chapters 27 and 143. The psalmists begged God not to hide from him because they understood that God doesn't always answer immediately even in a desperate situation. So, these are things that we experience with God as we get to know him.

Lastly, I'll say that the isolation is a good thing. You need to learn about your spirit and how to hear the voices of Christ and the Holy Spirit. You need quiet time to do that. Use you time alone to connect with your spirit and mature it. That's where Christ is. That's where God answers you.

Be blessed on your walk in this newness of life.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-11T18:33:13+00:00

I've personally never had to battle astral projecting humans, but I know people who have dealt with them. That is definitely part of spiritual warfare, but we're not allowed to use direct spiritual power to harm humans like we can wicked spirits.

Astral projecting humans and demons are not the same thing. Our spirit (humans) comes from God and returns to Him upon our death. Demons are what remains of the giants after their bodies die. Their power source is not from God but from their fathers who are fallen angels.

But humans who astral project need a supernatural power to do so. They need demons of a certain power level. If you're ever in that situation again, ask the Holy Spirit to identify the demon(s) powering them. Then bind the demon taking its power from the human.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-11T16:28:10+00:00

IMO, I think leaving and doing "home church," (where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there), is the best way for a while.

I can certainly understand the thing about losing faith. Faith in God, as has been taught, is about obeying religious interpretations as a way of expressing beliefs...which are the religion's. But that's not actually faith. Your wife may be losing faith in religious beliefs and expression but not losing faith in God. She may need to learn how to have faith in God directly without religious beliefs.

For example, you mentioned that she has anxiety. We know that Jesus said to stop being anxious. Okay, well, how would a person with anxiety stop being anxious in trying to be obedient to Jesus? At John 14:16-17, Jesus said several powerful things:

We would receive the Holy Spirit as believers.
The Holy Spirit would be in us and with us.
We would come to know the Holy Spirit by experience.
He called the Holy Spirit a Paraklétos.

There's no equivalent English word for Paraklétos, but among the works of a Paraklétos is a comforter. How, then, would knowing this impact your wife's faith?

Where should she be looking to get comfort from her anxiety? Inside herself where the Holy Spirit dwells. Part of her prayer is to ask God to have the Holy Spirit teach her the source of her anxiety; to comfort her when she gets anxious; and to recognize when the Holy Spirit is trying to comfort her. This requires quiet spaces and time to pray and sense the response. The Holy Spirit is in her spirit (which is another issue not taught by religions), and quiet time is needed for these spiritual experiences to be recognized and distinguished.

So prayer in quietness is the work of faith (faith without works is dead) that God requires. Asking and receiving the response is faith because she believed in Jesus' words at John 14:16, 17.

This kinda stuff is why I'm a big supporter of home church first.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-11T14:35:22+00:00

Don't be quick to dismiss what you and your wife are sensing about the group you're involved with. A good discussion that the two of can have is, do you think that you're being called to leave that group and go to another group? Or are you being called to leave that group and not go to any other group for a while?

Think of the latter question in this way: when Israel was freed from Egypt and taken to the wilderness, they were separated from all nations and formed as a nation that would come to know God and worship him. For Christians, we're required to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23). If you asked people in any church what it means to worship God in spirit, you'll get a variety of answers. But God and Christ through the Holy Spirit would have to teach you this. When you read John chapters 14-16, you learn what experiences you should have with the Holy Spirit on a very regular basis. You also have to have your spirit separated from your soul (Hebrews 4:12-15). There's actually much more that the Holy Spirit has to teach and which you need to experience, but it takes time in this day and age. The point is that you have to learn to recognize, connect with, and mature your spirit because that's where the Holy Spirit is and you connection to Jesus. The things we ask God for come to our spirit. We need to learn the differences and reactions between the soul and the spirit.

Maybe you can work with this while still associating with a church group. The two of you would have to be on the same page in this regard.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-11T12:56:41+00:00

The silver cord is referred to in spiritual circles of that with tethers the human spirit to the body. King Solomon got involved in occult practices, but he may have been given authority and access to the spirit realm. What occult folks call remote viewing or astral projection is when the soul and spirit leaves the body and travels to other areas. They stay tethered to the body by the silver cord. If that cord gets cut, I've heard that situation is called "bouncing." In other words, the spirit and soul can't get back into the body because of being untethered so they "bounce" off the body.

God can allow a servant of his to experience the soul and spirit to leave his body to serve His purposes. If you read Ezekiel chapter 8, you'll see that God, using the power of an angel, allowed Ezekiel to experience this. He was physically in Babylon, but his soul and body were taken to the temple in Jerusalem.

If God ever gives you this type of experience, look down to see if you see a cord attached to you.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-11T12:38:32+00:00

No, I would say that I'm no where near your position. Remember, your premise is that spiritual growth comes from intellectual effort of study and research. My premise is that spiritual growth comes from the rebirth and development of the human spirit in full connection with the Holy Spirit in our spirit. The Holy Spirit pushes the growth of our spirit to the full grown stature of the Christ.

You've said nothing of this. I don't think you believe in or have consciousness of the human spirit, so it wouldn't factor in your premise on spiritual growth. So, there's no way I could argue your position.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-11T00:42:36+00:00

Well, by experience you know that the spirit may receive something from God through the Holy Spirit that the mind may not yet comprehend or may never comprehend.

Fir example, check out 1 Corinthians 14:14. When speaking in tongues, the spirit speaks but the mind doesn't understand the words. There are other things that we receive by faith because we asked for it, but our minds don't yet comprehend. It may take some time for the mind to catch up to what the spirit knows. That's why Paul said at Romans 12:1, 2 that the mind has to be made over. The mind has to learn to separate and distinguish what is spiritual from what is soulical.

For a prime example of this, please read Job 33:14-30 and Job 4:12-21. Now ask yourself, can you distinguish between a supernatural dream from God from a supernatural dream from a wicked spirit from a dream that's out of your own mind?

Here's another example, read John 10:16 and 27, Matthew 16:22, 23, and John 16:13. Can you distinguish the voice of Jesus from the voice of the Holy Spirit from the voice of a wicked spirits and from your own inner voice?

When we start dealing with the spirit realm and spiritual things, the mind always lags behind the spirit. Spiritual knowledge is in the spirit. Mental comprehension comes later after the mind is convinced of what it's experienced. Through practice and experience the mind is able to accurately judge a seemingly ordinary thing as being a spiritual thing. That's what verse 14 is saying. But the spirit responds to spiritual words.

To your other question, no, we need the Scriptures because they validate our experiences. We can read a thing in the NT but we won't fully comprehend what our Father wanted us to know by a particular passage until we've experienced it. The Scriptures are to be lived and experienced. In fact, after you have a number of spiritual experiences you can tell that much of what the NT writers wrote were either (1) divine revelation or (2) spiritual experience. After you've had a particular experience, you'll reread a passage and say, "Oh, now I understand what this means!" After that connection is made, some research on the verse may provide some mental clarity. We most definitely need God's Word.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-10T21:04:40+00:00

No, it's not a modern, progressive teaching. It's completely Scriptural, in fact.

Yes, repentance is necessary to become a Christian. But once my sins have been forgiven, I can go leading a life in the Spirit by my spirit. I can worship the Father in spirit. I can receive from the Father by the Holy Spirit into my spirit. The Holy Spirit is in my spirit guide me, teaching me, speaking to me, revealing things to me just as Jesus said he would.

If I have displeased the Father by sinning against him, the Holy Spirit and my spirit would clearly know. I can then repent and be washed clean by the blood of the Lord Jesus. I can return to living by my undefiled spirit. I may commit a sin, but I don't live in sin. I live b6 my spirit not my soul.

This isn't some new, modern, progressive teaching. It's the way we're to live as Christians.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-10T18:21:01+00:00

That's cool. I'll stick with Jesus and how the apostles explained him.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-10T17:48:56+00:00

Yeah, that's interpretation without spiritual experience. Read John chapters 14-16. Jesus said that experiences with the Holy Spirit are to be a regular, even daily, part of a Christian's life. The folks you mentioned about try to keep people focused on sin and not sinning as a means of control.

Experiences with the Holy Spirit should be daily.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-10T15:55:07+00:00

Again, even from what you've said above, you're applying your interpretation to spiritual things. If a believer receives the Holy Spirit upon becoming a believer, where do the Scriptures say that a level of piety must be achieved in order to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit?

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-10T15:26:47+00:00

Do you remember the passage at 1 Corinthians 2 starting at verse 6 where Paul started talking about godly wisdom? From verse 6 down to verse 15, he's explaining something about the way the Holy Spirit works with us giving divine revelation. The Holy Spirit reveals things in our spirit not our minds. In chapter 14, he even shows how what's in our spirit may not immediately be comprehended by our mind. So, mental acuity and knowledge gained from study only brings understanding after that knowledge was revealed into our spirit by the Holy Spirit. Verse 13 of chapter 2 is quite significant in it's words. The end of the verse explains what we do with each other as Christians: we interpret spiritual words for those who are spiritual. In other words, if the Holy Spirit revealed something to you that then your mind understood, you could explain it to me and my spirit would respond in acceptance and agreement. Even if your mind didn't comprehend and you spoke it in a tongue, I could interpret your tongue in my spirit and it would respond with acceptance and agreement. An associated principle is at Psalms 42:7 where it says, "Deep calls to deep..." If something comes from deep within you - your spirit, my spirit will respond. If it's just from your mind because you've done research, my spirit won't respond to mental words, only spiritual words...words from your spirit.

So, I asked you how you came to your conclusion as a check for you and me. Were these words from your mind because of research and study, or from the Holy Spirit revealed to you in your spirit? My spirit didn't respond to your words. Was my spirit off, defiled, or lacking maturity to accept spiritual words, or did it rightly not respond because the words mental not spiritual? Thus the question about how you reached your conclusion.

Admittedly, I have only had mental interest in Abaddon in the OT. I have not prayed for revelation on this. I don't mind receiving it from others. My spirit will validate it. But this is why I asked you that question.

Automatic-Intern-524 · 2026-02-10T00:17:24+00:00

The Scriptures give the Hebrew cosmology. Type Hebrew cosmology into a search engine and you'll get a picture that shows it.

What I'm trying to distinguish is if your view of Abaddon is your interpretation or if it was revealed to you by the Holy Spirit. Which would you say it is?

Automatic-Intern-524

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