Posted on 10/20/2013 11:29:26 AM PDT by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
All -past and present- that have, profess and foster FAITH in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ have their names written in the book of life.
God, on the other hand, has the eraser.
Our salvation is determined by our faith, not by how we live. We do, however (imo), still have the free will to deny Christ after we have received Him and thus give up our salvation.
Our faith and how we live are intertwined
The faithful live very differently from the unfaithful
>>The chances are overwhelmingly high that one will choose the wrong god to believe in. Fortunately, only a few gods - like that of the Christian religion - casts non-believers into a lake of fire for making the wrong educated guess.
No, it doesn’t. They die and go to sleep. Read Revelation chapter 20 and you will see that they are given a chance.
Our salvation is determined by our faith, not by how we live. We do, however (imo), still have the free will to deny Christ after we have received Him and thus give up our salvation.
IMHO, faith has NO value without “Free Will”.
“Our salvation is determined by our faith, not by how we live. We do, however (imo), still have the free will to deny Christ after we have received Him and thus give up our salvation.”
It does not follow, since all those who are given by the Father to the Son, do come to the Son infallibly (John 6:37). Therefore if you once confessed Christ, and then leave as an apostate, in reality you were not given by the Father to the Son, but are, in fact, a reprobate who was “never of us,” and must leave to manifest that you were “not of us.”
1Jn_2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
It’s also worth noting that if you are GIVEN by the Father, that you should have faith in the Son, then your faith did not precede the giving, but was caused by the giving. Therefore, it is as the scripture says,
Joh_15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
The latter part of this verse also explains the necessity of good works, which do not earn salvation, but are the consequence of salvation.
“IMHO, faith has NO value without “Free Will””
It has no value when it comes to boasting about how you saved yourself, and persevered of yourself. The value is in confessing that you are utterly empty in and of yourself to save yourself, and thus, while you are valueless, yet God still loved you despite your works and faithlessness.
2Co_3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
Agreed. That’s why I prefer the term “perseverance of the saints” to “once saved, always saved.”
I will never try to fool God. Hopefully He knows that too.
Deuteronomy 4:19 & Malachi 1:11
Yep.
“Another way of looking at that is by thinking of ‘being saved’ as something that happens after we die.”
Well, not exactly. I think someone actually needs to be saved — become born again, accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, however you want to put it — BEFORE they die. Once you die, it’s too late to make a choice.
I will agree, however, that the manifestation our your decision (whether to accept Jesus or not) “happens” after we die.
So it’s cool if you don’t actually believe in God, well maybe you did once? So you live in obedience to God out of fear, but only to hedge a bet, believing the price small here on earth due to your personal nature. For somebody blessed with a placid personality it would be easy to avoid sin.
But what if you are blessed with a ribald and rebellious nature that wishes to push every envelope? If this person beats himself into submission, he pays a higher price than the placid person. Is this person more or less saved with greater struggle?
A person is born in Saudi Arabia. This man is possessed with a conformist personality. He hedges his bets, and diligently seeks not to offend his fellow man. Does his prayers, makes the haj on his 31st birthday. Obediently beats his wife when she deserves it. Is this person any more or less a sinner than the conformist born in Midland Texas to christian pig farmers who sit as a deacon in the local 1st Baptist church?
Suppose a man is born in the plains of Mongolia. His gods are thunder, lighting, horse. He can’t really be sure but he wants to tame thunder lighting and horse. Is this person any less a sinner?
And now we know what Arminians and Pelagians think that Monergists do every day.
Ephesians tells us we are sealed up by the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ as Savior. No where does it ever say we are unsealed either by Christ or anything we “do” that’s bad.
LOL from a fellow Monergist as my screen name suggests.
Two thoughts.
“Pride comes before the Fall”.
And
This song:
Please set aside the artists more recent shortcomings as it should not diminish the content.
I’ve exhausted every possible solution
I’ve tried every game there is to play
In this search for Christ-like perfection
I’m convinced, I’ve only left my God ashamed
I cry, I wonder can He hear my despair
Afraid to lift my hands, afraid He doesn’t care
And if He answers and I fall again
Can I still be His daughter?
Can I still depend on Him?
When I’m down, I search every mistake
I’m looking for new regrets
Sometimes, I forget, I forget
That His grace is sufficient for me
That it’s deeper and wider than I can conceive
His grace is sufficient for me
My convictions seem to fade with desperation
My hope declines with each and every tear
My sin an anchor and this grace just an illusion
The gavel’s heavy and justice is near
Up comes the light and finds the stains on my hands
Up comes my pride, I hide
I know He won’t understand
‘Cause it’s deeper than deep and it’s wider than wide
Why did I ever doubt? Now, I’m dying inside
His grace is sufficient for me
His grace, His grace is sufficient
Songwriters
KNAPP, JENNIFER LYNN
I don’t understand how those two thoughts are a reply to anything I said.
John 14:6. Jesus declares I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.
Entrance to Heaven is only throught Him and Him alone.
So the poor Mongolian is screwed. If i had been born on the plains 450 years ago, i would have done as taught, worshiped fire, lightning and horse. To bad for me I guess.
“So the poor Mongolian is screwed. If i had been born on the plains 450 years ago, i would have done as taught, worshiped fire, lightning and horse. To bad for me I guess.”
That might still be the case!
“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
(Rom 9:13-15)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.