We are no longer under the law, Ae i lalo o le alofa tunoa, is used by many Christians to exculpate themselves from their duty and responsibilities to keep the commandments of Jesus and fulfill the great commission and walk as sons of God (e faatatau lenei mea i alii ma tamaitai) after the Spirit in holiness in God’s will. As soon as you confront a person with something that opposes the Word and will of God, e mafai ona e fa'amoemoe i ai, that the person will use, faatasi ai ma isi, Roma 6:14 to make sinning all right and approve what is evil. E toatele Kerisiano, who turn evil into good and keep sinning under grace. But what does the Bible say about being under grace? Mafai ai ona e aulia le agasala i lalo o le alofa tunoa?
O le a le uiga, you are not under the law but under grace?
Mo le agasala o le a le maua le pule ia te oe: for you are not under the law, Ae i lalo o le alofa tunoa (Roma 6:14)
There are also many preachers, who use Romans 6:14 to approve, tolerate and accept all behavior, lifestyles, and all things that oppose God’s Word and His will. They use it, so that no one has to change and can stay the way they are and live like the world.
E tusa ai ma i latou, it doesn’t matter how you live and what you do, because you are under grace. O lea la, the time of laws, poloaiga, tulafono, and regulations is over. Now you can live the way you want to live. Because Jesus has dealt with the sin problem. He took all the sins of the world away, so that you can no longer walk in sin. Sin doesn’t exist anymore, ia i latou, who believe in Him and are transferred from the darkness into the Kingdom of God.
Jesus hasn’t only dealt with all the sins of your former life, but also with the sins, you keep doing in your new life. O lea la, you won’t have to confess your sins all the time, because that will only cause feelings of guilt and according to them, that’s not the will of God.
There is already enough misery and judgment in churches and the world and that’s why Christians may live in ‘freedom’, in the love and grace of God, doing what they want to do without submitting to what is written in the Bible, because that belongs to religion and legalism and is old-fashioned and obsolete. (Faitau foi: What is the difference between religion and relation?).
By preaching this message, whereby the truth of God is mixed with the lies of people, they please the people, and receive honor and praise from the people, and protect themselves from the resistance and persecution of the world.
But where do we read in the Bible all these things that they say? O fea o tusia ai, lena:
- There is no more sin and that a person can no longer habitually sin?
- You won’t have to change?
- E le afaina pe o le a le mea e te ola ai?
- The new creation is allowed to live in sin?
- God tolerates and approves sin?
If it doesn’t matter to God how you live, and that God approves that His children live in sin, then why did Jesus have to come to the earth to deal with the sinful nature of (pa'u) tamaloa? Why weren’t the sacrifices of animals good enough to (le tumau) reconcile the sins of people, since they would keep falling back in sin and keep sinning?
A call to holiness and the removal of sins
But as discussed in previous blog posts, e tusa ai ma le Upu, it does matter how you live in the New Covenant, which is sealed with the precious blood of Jesus. We read in the Bible, that Jesus and the apostles called the believers; the saints unto holiness. They commanded them to remove the sins from their lives. (Faitau foi: ‘Leiloa i le sami o le alofa tunoa'', ‘What is grace?'ma'O le a le eseesega i le va o le tulafono ma le alofa tunoa?'')
Because what happened in the spiritual realm, namely that they had become in Jesus Christ a foafoaga fou and that they were redeemed from their flesh, o i ai le natura agasala, had to become visible in the natural realm, e tuu ese le toeaina (tino) ma fa'aofuina le tagata fou (agaga).
O i latou, who use, faatasi ai ma isi, Roma 6:14 to approve, tolerate and accept all behavior and all things, that go against God’s will and to keep living after the flesh, often forget to read and study scriptures in the right context. They are unspiritual and have created their own ideas, sailiiliga, ma manatu, that is mainly formed by the knowledge and wisdom of the world. In order to empower and confirm their ideas, Manatu, ma mea na maua, they pick and choose scriptures and take them out of their context. That also applies to Romans 6:14, because the verses that are written before and after verse 14, are never discussed. O lea la, let’s have a look in what context Romans 6:14 is written and what else is written in the Bible about the grace of God, and if it’s allowed to habitually keep living in sin after a person is born again.
Death unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
O le a le mea tatou te fai atu ai? E tatau ona tatou faaauau pea i le agasala, o lena alofa tunoa e ono tele? Malo. Faʻafefea foʻi ona tatou, ua oti i le agasala, Ola i se isi lava? Le Iloa Oe, i matou na o matou papatiso ia Iesu Keriso na papatiso i lona maliu? O lea ua tanumia ai i tatou i le papatisoga i le oti: Pei ona o le a le toe faʻatuina mai o Keriso mai le oti e le mamalu o le Tama, E faapena foi ona tatou savavali i le fou o le olaga.
Auā ‘āfai ‘ua fa‘atasia i tatou i le fa‘atusa o lona maliu, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Iloaina lenei, na faasatauroina le matou toeaina ma ia, o le tino o le agasala e ono faatafunaina, o le taimi nei tatou te le tatau ai i le agasala. Aua o le ua maliu e faasaolotoina mai le agasala. O lenei, afai ua tatou oti faatasi ma Keriso, matou te talitonu o le a tatou ola foi faatasi ma ia: ‘Ua iloa fo‘i ‘ua toetū mai Keriso nai ē ‘ua oti, e lē toe maliu lava o ia; e le toe pule le oti ia te ia. Auā o lea na maliu ai o ia, na oti o ia i le agasala e tasi: a o le mea o loo soifua ai o ia, e ola o ia mo le Atua. ‘Ia fa‘apea fo‘i ‘ona ‘outou manatu o ‘outou ‘ua oti i le agasala, a ‘ua ola mo le Atua ‘iā Iesu Keriso lo tatou Ali‘i.
Aua le avea le agasala o le a nofoleia i lou tino faitino, e tatau ona outou usitaia le luko lo oi ai. Le Fōia Oe Outou Tam ¯ o Faipule le Agalelei ia Aʻu: ae ia epa ia te Oe Lava i le Atua, O i latou e ola mai le oti, ma ou te auai i mea faigaluega o le amiotonu i le Atua. Mo le agasala o le a le maua le pule ia te oe: aua ua le o sau i lalo o le tulafono, Ae i lalo o le alofa tunoa. (Roma 6:1-14)
Jesus has shown us, o le a agasala does with a person’s life: o le agasala e tau atu i le oti. Through His perfect work of redemption, Jesus died once and for all unto sin, ua toetu mai le oti, and is forever seated at the right hand of God. By His work and His blood, Jesus brought redemption to those, O ai e talitonu ia te ia, salamo, tuuina atu o latou lava ola ma mulimuli ia te Ia.
Tau toefaamaumau, you are baptized in Christ into His death and that’s why, o oe, e pei lava o Ia, mo le tasi ma le taimi uma, died unto sin.
O Le Agasala, that reigned and ruled as king in your flesh; the sinful nature of the old carnal man, who is bound to the law, no longer exists after you become born again. Because the old man (tino), in whom sin and death have dominion and for whom the law of sin and death was intended, is crucified and has died in Christ.
If your flesh is dead, you can no longer walk after the desire of the flesh and habitually live in sin and keep sinning. Only when your flesh has died, only then are you dead to sin and its power.
When you were baptized in Christ, you were not only a partaker of His death, but you were also a partaker of His resurrection. E ala i le mana o le Agaga Paia, your spirit is raised from the dead and is made alive to God. Ua avea oe ma se foafoaga fou; a son of God and have been granted access to the Kingdom of God and are reconciled with Him.
Since God is righteous, and you are born of Him (E ala i le toe fafagaina) you shall obey Him and walk in righteousness after the spirit. A o e nofo pea ia Iesu Keriso; the Word and live after Iesu’ poloaiga, which are also God’s commandments, and keep walking after the spirit, you shall walk in righteousness and bear the fruit of the Spirit (1 Ioane 2:28-29, 1 Ioane 3:1-7, 9).
Servants of sin or servants of righteousness?
O le a la? E tatau ona tatou agasala, Aua tatou te le o i lalo o le tulafono, Ae i lalo o le alofa tunoa? Malo. Le Iloa Oe, o le mea lena ia tou te tuuina ai outou, ana auauna ou te i ai tou te usitai i ai; Pe o le agasala e oti, po o le usitai i le Amiotonu? Ae na faafetai le Atua, o ia o outou o auauna agasala, ae ua e usitaia loʻu loto o loʻo faia ai le aʻoaʻoga na tuʻuina atu ia te oe. Ona faasaolotoina lea mai le agasala, na avea oe ma auauna a le amiotonu. Ou te talanoa i le amio a tagata ona o le le atoatoa o lou aano: Au ¯ a 'ua' outou gaʻo atu 'auʻauna a lau tasi i amioletonu ma amioletonu i amioletonu; e oʻo lava ia te ia, i lenei taimi, a tagata auauna auauna i le amiotonu.
Aua o le taimi lava o 'outou o auauna a agasala, Sa ou saoloto mai le amiotonu. O le a le fualaau na ou i ai i na mea o loo i ai nei ua maasiasi? Mo le iuga o na mea o le oti. Ae o lenei ua faia fua mai le agasala, Ma Avea Ma Auaunaga i le Atua, ua ia te oe lau fua i le paia, ma le iuga faavavau. Aua o le totogi o le agasala o le oti lea; A o le Meaalofa a le Atua O le ola lea e faʻavavau e ala ia Iesu Keriso lo tatou Alii (Roma 6:15-23)
If a person claims to be born again, but keep walking after the flesh in obedience to the desires of the flesh and fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and therefore keep living in sin and is not willing to remove them, then this proves that the flesh of the person is not crucified in Christ, but is alive and kicking.
As long as the flesh is alive and kicking, the flesh isn’t dead and therefore the person is not redeemed from the flesh and is still a sinner. Because a tagata agasala, e savali i la le tino, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, ma agasala pea.
As long as a person stays carnal and walks after the flesh and persevere in sin, then the person is still bound to O le Tulafono o le Agasala ma le Oti. The works of the person; agasala, prove that the person is a sinner; a son of the devil and belongs to the kingdom of darkness (1 Ioane 3:7-8). Because the sin, which comes forth out of the sinful nature of the flesh, o loo pule ai le agasala ma le oti, still has dominion over the person and still reigns as king in the life of the person.
Talu ai o le fua o le oti o le agasala, and the person is not redeemed from sin, the person is also not redeemed from death.
Using the grace of God to fulfill the carnal lusts and desires
Auā o lo‘o i ai nisi tagata ‘ua tolotolo fa‘alētonu, o ē na fa‘au‘uina muamua i lenei fa‘asalaga, tagata amioletonu, liliu le alofa tunoa o lo tatou Atua i le mataitu, ma faafitia le Alii le Atua e toatasi, ma lo tatou Alii o Iesu Keriso (Iuta 1:4)
It’s not about what preachers and leaders of the church preach and teach, and what kind of spiritual revelations, faaaliga, miti, prophecies or messages by angels they receive, but it’s all about what the Word of God says, because the Word is the truth and is faatuatuaina and shall eventually judge every person, e tusa ma a latou galuega (Ioane 12:48, Faaaliga 20:12-13).
Faifeau, aposetolo, evangegelists, faiaoga, and prophets can say, that it’s all grace and that you won’t have to change because it doesn’t matter how you live and what you do.
They can use the grace to keep living after the flesh, fulfilling the lusts and desires of the flesh and therefore turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. Ae, by preaching this message they deny our Lord Jesus Christ and prove, that they don’t know Him experientially. Because the Word of God says something else.
Ae paga lea, because of the fact that many believers don’t read and study the Word of God by themselves and don’t have a personal relationship with the Word; Jesus Christ and therefore have a lack of knowledge of God’s Word, they believe the words of these leaders.
Ae o le upu fai mai, that as long as a person keeps living in sin and persevere in sin, then the person is not saved and not redeemed of the flesh. Because as long as a person keeps living in sin, lea e nofo i le tino, then from what has the person been redeemed and saved from? If they are saved from death, then they wouldn’t produce the fruit unto death anymore (i.e. Roma 6, Roma 7:4-6, Roma 8, Kalatia 5:24, Efeso 2:1-6).
As long as a person persevere in sin and therefore bear fruit unto death, the person has not repented, is not born again, and has not become a son of God, but is still a pologa a le tiapolo ma le aano, o loo pule ai le agasala ma le oti (1 Ioane 3:7-10)
How do you discern the sons of God from the sons of the devil?
Because a person is a slave, to whom the person belongs to and to whom the person listens to and obeys. A person lives after the flesh in the kingdom of darkness under the dominion and rulership of the devil and is, o lea, a slave of sin unto death, or the person lives after the spirit in the Kingdom of God under the dominion and rulership of Jesus Christ and is a slave of righteousness unto life. Aua o le upu fai mai, na na, who do righteousness, are righteous, as He is righteous.
Tamaiti laiti, ‘aua ne‘i fa‘asesēina ‘outou e se tasi: na te faia le amiotonu e amiotonu, Tusa lava pe o ia amiotonu. O le na te faia le agasala lea o le tiapolo; aua ua agasala le tiapolo talu le amataga. Mo lenei faamoemoe, na faaalia le Alo o le Atua, ina ia mafai ona ia faʻaumatia galuega a le tiapolo. O i latou uma ua fanau mai i le Atua, e le faia e ia le agasala; Mo ana fatu o loo i ai ia te ia: ma e le mafai ona agasala o ia, auā ‘ua fānau mai o ia i la le Atua. I lenei Tama o le Atua o loo manatu, ma le fanau a le tiapolo: Po o ai lava na Le Fai le Amiotonu e le Atua, E le alofa foi o ia i lona uso (this last part regarding loving your brother, doesn’t mean accepting the sins of your brother. Faitau foi 'Walking in love’ ma ‘O le a le alofa sese?’ (1 Ioane 3:7-10))
I lenei olaga i le lalolagi, there are two options: you can either be a son of God or son of the devil. You can’t be both. Your actions and works prove, whose son you are and to whom you belong.
E mafai ona e fai atu, that you believe and that you are a son of God, but if you keep sinning and willfully keep doing those things, e alu faasaga i le finagalo o le Atua, and are not willing to submit yourself to the Word, but want to stay a friend of the world and approve his evil works, then you are not a son of God, even if you say you are.
Aua o le upu fai mai, that you are a son of the devil, who walks after the will of the devil and does and approves the works of the devil, o le agasala.
Because sin is the opposite of righteousness and those, who don’t do righteousness are not of God. Tagata uma, who stays in Christ doesn’t habitually sin. Fai mai le Upu, o tagata uma, who habitually sin, has not seen Jesus, neither has known Him experientially.
O lē na te faia le agasala, ‘ua soli fo‘i e ia le tulafono: auā o le agasala o le soliga lea o le tulafono. Ma ua e iloa na finauina e aveese a matou agasala; e leai foi se agasala ia te Ia. Soo se tasi e tumau ia te ia e le agasala: o se agasala ua le vaai ia te ia, e lei iloa foi o Ia. (1 Ioane 3:4-6)
Living as the old man
E tele tagata talitonu, who think and say that they are born again and are spiritual, because they walk in the supernatural, but keep living as the old carnal man in sin. But you don’t have to be born again to walk in the supernatural, and receive visions, faaaliga, prophecies and do signs and wonders (Faitau foi: ‘Two ways to enter the spiritual realm’)
Mea tonu lava lena, Jesus warned His followers, that at the end of times, tele Keriso pepelo (UA O IESU O IESU) ma perofeta pepelo shall come, who perform great supernatural signs and wonders (i.e. Mataio 24:11, 24-28). But even if someone performs many miracles and receive many supernatural revelations and prophecies, then these things don’t prove if that person is a son of God and belongs to Christ. Only by the works, that a person does, and the fruit the person bears (this doesn’t mean charity works, which the world does as well, but the works of righteousness and the fua o le Agaga), you can tell whether the person belongs to Jesus or the devil.
Faaliliuina mai le pouliuli i le malamalama
If you have been transferred from the darkness into the light, from death unto life, then your spiritual eyes will be opened and you shall see the evil of sin and the power of death and don’t want to be a partaker of them anymore. But as long as you keep walking in darkness, and stay bound by death, by walking after the flesh, you shall remain spiritually blind and not be aware of the evil of sin and the power of death. Therefore you shall keep living in sin and approve and tolerate sin.
As long as the church doesn’t consider sin as evil and as something bad, but considers sin as normal and as something that’s just part of life, then this proves that there is something wrong with the church, O Le Faatuatua, and the gospel that is preached. Because the gospel, that they preach is not the gospel of Jesus Christ, lea Tatala le Tagata ia Salamo and brings deliverance and produces life, but is a gospel of man, that causes bondage to sin and produces death.
What happens if you willfully keep sinning?
Auā ‘āfai tatou te agasala ma le loto i ai, ‘ina ‘ua maua e i tatou le malamalama o le ‘upu moni, e le toe i ai se taulaga mo agasala, Ae o se faatalitali mataʻutia i le faamasinoga ma le toʻasā aasa, e fa‘aumatia ai ē ita mai (Eperu 10:26-27)
You cannot use the alofa tunoa o le Atua to keep living after the flesh, Faʻataunuʻuina o tuʻinanau ma manaʻoga o lou tino. O le alofa tunoa o le Atua e le o se faatagaga e faaauau ai ona agasala. Fai mai le Upu, that after you have received the knowledge of the truth, but willfully keep sinning, ina ia leai se toe taulaga mo agasala, but a fearful expectation of judgment
Who reigns as king in your life?
E le gata i lea tulafono ulufale, e ono tupu le solitulafono. Ae o le mea e tele ai le agasala, O le alofa tunoa tele tele tele: E pei ona tupu le agasala i le oti, Tusa lava Ia, o le a le alofa tunoa o le Tamaoaiga e ala i le amiotonu mo le ola e faavavau e Iesu Keriso lo tatou Alii (Roma 5:20-21)
Jesus came to this earth to deal, mo le tasi ma le taimi uma, with the sinful nature of fallen man. Na faaumatia e Iesu galuega a le Tiapolo, ina ia tagata uma, o le e talitonu ia te ia, salamo, and becomes born again, will no longer be a slave of the flesh, in which the devil reigns through sin and death. The new man is redeemed and bought by the blood of Jesus and doesn’t belong to the devil anymore and therefore the person will no longer do the works of the flesh and bear the fruit unto death by living in sin (Roma 7:5-6), but shall do the works of righteousness and bear the fruit for God unto life.
O le new man has received all authority and all power in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, to know Le Finagalo o le Atua and resist the temptations of the devil and the desires of the flesh. Afai e te tumau ia te Ia ma savali pea i le Agaga, o le a mafai ona e tetee atu i faaosoosoga uma a le tiapolo ma o lea e mafai ai ona e manumalo i le agasala ma le oti. E le o lou lava malosi ma lou malosi, o lona uiga e le o le mana ma le malosi o le tino e ala i le faaaogaina o ituaiga uma o faiga ma metotia faaletagata, a o le mana o le Upu ma le Agaga Paia.
Fai mai le Upu, pe afai ua outou i lalo o le alofa tunoa, e lē mafai ona e agasala pea, auā tou te faia galuega o le amiotonu. Afai e te agasala pea, ona le i ai lea o outou i lalo o le alofa tunoa. Aua ua pule le agasala o se tupu i lou olaga, nai lo le amiotonu ua pule o se tupu.
Afai e te faia galuega o le amiotonu, ona pule ai lea o le alofa tunoa i lou olaga ma pule ai o se tupu, ma o le a outou i lalo o le alofa tunoa.
‘Ia fai ma masima o le lalolagi’
