Jesus has redeemed my soul so I have a new nature. This is true. Justification by Jesus, by His grace, when I believed on Him. Keeping His commandments isn't linked to my eternal status. I strive to keep His commands, but can never do that perfectly. Hence the need for His justification and atonement, and not my efforts.
Assuming I am not born again is really off! You cannot know that. Just as I can't know that about you, particularly in this forum!
Being born again is a free gift, not by works, imputed righteousness. All a lost person does is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, a one time event, and they have eternal life. If they struggle in their faith after conversion.. they still have eternal life. They are born into a family without conditions on their behaviour. Good works in return to God, will give rewards.. but are not binding on eternal salvation. Otherwise we would all be doomed.
Wow. Keeping the commandments should not be having to "strive." And it has everything to do with salvation. But
HOW is the question. Either against your sin nature, or in line with your new nature. Against your nature is having to keep the
letter of the law with only your will power fighting against a sin nature like the OT Jews as illustrated in Romans 7:14-25 who were still in the flesh (carnal sin nature). But in line with your new nature is easy and natural as you walk in the Spirit, naturally hating what God hates and loving righteousness like Jesus does. That is what it means to not be UNDER the law. In the Spirit we walk in the power of God with no striving at all. The laws are not gone, they are now written on our hearts and are a natural part of true born again Christians.
Think of it this way. Justification is not "just as if I never sinned." It is "just as if ADAM never sinned." See the difference in potential? Because of the blood of Jesus all we need to do is do what comes naturally to your conscience/heart where the laws of God are written in the born again by the Holy Spirit.
1 John 3:21-22 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
"Striving" is difficult. Jesus has made His yoke easy. The doctrine you have been taught is the opposite of the gospel. The gospel is the power of God in you. Don't be fooled by doctrines of demons who want you to think keeping God's commandments is not necessary and are gone giving us a license to sin. There are whole denominations that do not teach anything about the Spirit of Christ. They are the ones with the lie that we will always sin until we die and our body is resurrected and changed. Sin has nothing to do with our body, and everything to do with a new inner nature that controls our bodies. Not everyone going to church and on these forums is actually born again. I know! I wasn't born again for the first 30 years of going to church, and not one of my prayers were ever answered! When I finally was, the difference was life changing and 100% of my prayers are answered. I no longer struggled to be righteous, I WAS righteous, 1 John 3:7 "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous." My mind was changed in an instant and my desire to sin was completely gone. You've only been taught imputed righteousness like Abraham who believed God's promise even though it seemed impossible and it was counted to him as righteousness. The same with King David. Neither one had a clean nature, but God overlooked their sins because of their blood sacrifices and their faith. Jesus made the way for actual righteousness by taking away the sin in our nature.
1 John 3:24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
Romans 7:5-6 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by (the old man/sin nature), so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not
in the oldness of the letter.
Galatians 5:19-21 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told
you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
