Self-Abasement or Asceticism

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Originally Posted by everstill

Although the Bible does not encourage us to pray for others who have sinned this mortal sin, God will forgive us if we judge ourselves and genuinely repent. The man in 2 Corinthians 2.6-7 is believed by many to be that very one who had lived with his father’s wife. In 1 Corinthians 11.30-32 we also are reminded that even though we may have committed the sin unto death, we can nevertheless escape death if we judge ourselves truly. Therefore never permit any sin to reign in your body lest it become your mortal sin. Our flesh can be weakened, yet we must never lose the heart of self-judgment. We must judge our sin without mercy. It is true that we can never attain to sinless perfection in this life, but frequent confession and trust in God’s grace are indispensable. God will yet forgive us. Those who seek victory over death need to remember this.

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The Lord has shown me that the act of "judging ourselves" is in fact chastising ourselves. For us to escape the righteous judgement of the Lord--and the concomitant chastisement or punishment--we must chastise ourselves after we judge ourselves. Chastisement is part and parcel with judgement, if the sin is bad enough. Seek the Lord in prayer about whether or not you should chastise yourself if you are doubtful. The key is pain. Subject yourself to pain; the more intense it is, the less time you will have to endure it. For example, I chastise myself with sprints on the side of the road. Not the safest of alternatives, but it gets the job done. I haven't been chastised by the Lord in over a year that has been rife with sin and rebellion; but I have chastised myself by going on runs and doing sprints many times. The point to remember: if we're going to escape His judgement, we need not only to judge ourselves but to carry out the sentence of that judgement. If we have sinned, it's not enough to simply repent to escape judgement, we must also judge ourselves and execute self-punishment.

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Originally Posted by jordandelp

The Lord has shown me that the act of "judging ourselves" is in fact chastising ourselves. For us to escape the righteous judgement of the Lord--and the concomitant chastisement or punishment--we must chastise ourselves after we judge ourselves. Chastisement is part and parcel with judgement, if the sin is bad enough. Seek the Lord in prayer about whether or not you should chastise yourself if you are doubtful. The key is pain. Subject yourself to pain; the more intense it is, the less time you will have to endure it. For example, I chastise myself with sprints on the side of the road. Not the safest of alternatives, but it gets the job done. I haven't been chastised by the Lord in over a year that has been rife with sin and rebellion; but I have chastised myself by going on runs and doing sprints many times. The point to remember: if we're going to escape His judgement, we need not only to judge ourselves but to carry out the sentence of that judgement. If we have sinned, it's not enough to simply repent to escape judgement, we must also judge ourselves and execute self-punishment.

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The Bible never teaches self-abuse or self-abasement. Rather judge oneself, repent and turn from sin and act accordingly. Asceticism, likewise, also is not taught in Scripture. Because you believe in salvation by works and not by faith alone, naturally you are self-abusive. Since you are not a Christian, naturally you teach what many religions of the world teach. But this is not Christianity.