12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Cod chose Christians in Christ before they were born but His selection was based upon His foreknowledge, not according to some plan He had that did not involve the response of the sinner to the preaching of the Gospel. We have been chosen in Christ since the beginning if we are saved. If it were possible for Christians to lose their salvation it nevertheless remains impossible for God to have chosen them in Christ from the beginning.
Thank you brother S. Spencer. That is the general understanding of Replacement Teaching, even as GiGi has stated. One might force Scriptures into twists & turns to prove that Israel is no more in the Mind of God & rejected of Him for their unbelief & condemnation of Jesus, but how are they going to convince the Apostle Paul in what he vehemently declared in Romans chapter 11? In fact in verse 1 alone, I can hear the echo of today's Replacement teachers: "I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid...". Paul said, No, Israel has not been utterly cast off. Some others then & today say, Yes they were totally rejected (for such this chapter was written). Who should we believe? God's Word is Truth.
For pointing out the far-fetched hoops people begin to jump through to spiritualize erroneous scriptural ideas that are filled with false teachings and barely intelligible thought lines. Such make it difficult to have a truly Scriptural based conversation with such people. But we continue to pray for one another to come to the knowledge of God's truth in His Word.
They were actually a cast of Persian priests who were involved both as priests, as well as in the science field. They carried both aspects about them because they were involved in astrology and astronomy. In their priesthood in Persia, they relied on the stars, they relied on magic, and they relied on sorcery to gain their messages and to perform their function. They believed that when a great person was born upon the face of the earth that a cataclysmic event would happen in the stars which is kind of interesting.
Why would the event cause them to come to Jerusalem? Well, in the Mesopotamian area, back in the days of Balaam, in Numbers Chapter 24 Verse 17, Balaam prophesied and said a star would come out of Jerusalem. This was the same area that these priests came from. They had Balaam's prophesies.
That was also the area in which Daniel was at, and they had his prophesies as well. And so these casts of priests knew that the Jews were looking for and waiting for the Messiah to come. This means that they, The Magi, they knew from the end of Daniel Chapter 9 Verses 24 to 27 about the 70 weeks of Daniel.
And they would count out the days and those weeks added up to 173,880 days from the time the decree was made for the temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem till the time of the coming priest, 173,880 days.
That's why Jesus in the gospel of Luke, He is weeps over Jerusalem and He says, "And if you knew this your day of visitation, you would have received me." He was making reference to Daniel's prophecy, because on the very day, 173,880 days after the decree was made to rebuild Jerusalem, Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
The Jews should have known that to the exact day. But they didn't. And they rejected their Messiah. But the Magi knew. They knew that another great man was about to arrive on the scene and that if there was an event in the heavens, then this was probably the birth of the Messiah.
Matthew 24:13 says, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." It sounds like it's something we have to do to be saved in the end, that we have to endure until the end in order to be saved. It's not "if" we endure to the end. The literal translation from the Greek says, "But the one who HAS ENDURED, not the one who will, but the one who has endured unto the end, this one will be saved. Because it is an Aorist Participle in the Greek, it shows the proof of those who are saved, and it matches the rest of the teachings in the New Testament. The person who is saved WILL endure to the end.
We see this again in Mark 13:13 which says, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
What Jesus is doing for us is He is designating a characteristic of those people who are saved. They endure till the end. The reason why they endure to the end is because they belong to the Lord. It's God's Spirit that protects us. It is God's Spirit that takes us all the way to the end. It is not a challenge for us. It is a characteristic of a person that is saved! In 1 Peter 1:5, Peter says, "We are those who are being kept by the power of God until our salvation comes."
Erich did an excellent job using scripture to interpret scripture. However, you appear to just be saying you're right, but there's still no biblical support. You're saying that John 10:28 is absolute based on your rational, but, not grounded in scriptures. You're saying everyone just needs to believe John 10:28 is a OSAS verse, even though that is not even what Christ was intending. He was admonishing the Jewish leaders who refused to come to the light. Yet, you did not address the fact the John 10:27 is also ABSOLUTE and only the one following Jesus is safe in the hand of God.
Having to remain in the Son to remain in the Father for eternal life ( 1 John 2:24-25) doesn't negate the promise that all who are being saved are in the Father's hand. You said "We are ALL bought with a price, we are NOT our own...He paid for us with his own blood". If this is the case, why is not everyone just automatically saved? After all, Christ's atoning death was for the whole world. And if one genuinely accepts Christ & then renounces him, why would that person still have eternal life & the one who never accepted Christ lost? After all, they both ended up denying Jesus ( Matt. 10:32-33).
It seems like you're taking bible verses regarding Christ's one time sacrifice for the entire world and trying to apply that to individual believers. Yes, Christ shed his blood once for all, but, that does not mean the believer doesn't have an obligation to remain faithful. Rev. 2:10 says " be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." This is a conditional promise from Christ, so I must conclude that the one who is safe in the hand of God is the one who is remaining faithful to Christ. And the one faithful to the end will receive the end of their faith, eternal life ( Romans 6:22; 1 Peter 1:9)
Christians are assured of salvation & should take great joy in the promise of God to keep them in His hand! However, to inherit eternal life one must endure to the end.
The scripture at the end of Hebrews 6 and continuing into chapter seven is referencing the account in Genesis 14 where Melchisedec appears (with no reference to his origin) to bless Abraham. Melchisedec is a pattern for Christ's priesthood because he didn't come out of the tribe of Levi. The scripture says he is the priest of Salem. Salem eventually became know as Jerusalem. So Melchisedec is a good pattern for Christ being the High Priest of the heavenly Jerusalem (end of Hebrews 12). Take time to ponder Hebrews 7 and the comparisons that are made in it.
I had the feeling early on we had more we agree on than what we disagree on.
It's difficult to nail down replacement theology these days because they seem to keep evolving. Some say Israel rejected their Messiah so they blew it. One would say well what about the promises to restore Israel during and after the tribulation on into the Millennium. While noting many verses like Ezekiel 36:32-33.
In order to harmonize their theology they spiritualize everything they can't explain.
Some has went off the charts saying there is no hell, there is no Millennium, Everyone is going to be refined by fire and go to paradise.
You and I are going to be impregnated and have a little baby Jesus.
I use these absurd examples of what is literally recently being said to warn of the danger of using poor hermeneutics. It renders Gods promises and the work on the cross as worthless. The sacrifice of Christ was meaningless if there's nothing to be saved from. This deception is demonic!
Here's a precise article:
Replacement theology teaches that the church is the replacement for Israel and that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the Christian church, not in Israel. The prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are spiritualized or allegorized into promises of God's blessing for the church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been condemned by God and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2,000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1,900 years?
Whenever there is a difference of words between translations, we need to find out which translation is using the correct word. The KJV says in, but the correct word according to the original language (Greek) is the word EPI which translates to on. There is a different Greek word for in (EN). So, on would be correct regardless of which translation we are using.
I cannot describe how much I miss my parents and grandparents. Like you said, I had to decide to live in the NOW.
So when the Lord called me into evangelism, I went. I made mistakes, but my heart was pure. I didn't have time to think how people had treated me prior, before I was saved.
Jesus helped me be "one of those people" that you feel you've known many years. Good news carrier with feet lol.
I have happy expectation about heaven. To see family, friends, people I prayed with, and for. I'm still here, so I'm always looking at faces to see that one person who sees the Light of Jesus, on my face. Old age isn't happening. I've got all this hope to give away, before the "door is closed".
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
John 14:1
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 10:38
But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
John 5:47
But if ye believe not his writings, [Bible] how shall ye believe my words?
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (We are the sons of God right now)
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (All true believers will purify themselves. Fake believers will not.)
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (Jesus takes away all sins of true believers, past, present, and future.)
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. (Those who continue to abide in Jesus do not continue to live in sin.)
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (Sinners who live in sin are of the devil.)
8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (True Christians cannot sin because their Godly nature is miraculously united as one with the Spirit of God who cannot sin.)
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
I got saved in 1971 just before I joined the Army. I ended up in a church with one of my supervisors at Ft. Gragg and we became close friends for more than two years. But in 1974 my friend and I had a disagreement over a Bible teaching and he accused me of possibly having committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit for which I would never be forgiven. This bothered me a great deal so I began praying for God to show me what the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost was all about. After seeking the answer for several years I believe the Lord finally answered me. Here is what I believe:
God has promised to enlighten every sinner born into the world ( 1 John 1:9). The Holy Spirit seeks to save every sinner in the world ( 1 Tim 2:4.) The Holy Spirit draws all men to Christ ( John 12:32.) The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is committed by sinners who see the light, are pointed to Jesus by the Holy Spirit, and yet reject the light and speak evil of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or God. ( John 3:19.) The basis of condemnation to hell is rejecting the light clearly revealed to the unrepentant sinner by the Holy Ghost.
We see that in Romans 1 where sinners who clearly see and understand the light reject the light and are therefore condemned without excuse. The Pharisees who blasphemed the Holy Spirit in Mark 3 knew Jesus was God because Nicodemus said so in John 3:2. We know sinners who have not yet been shown the light by the Holy Spirit can be guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because of what Jesus said in John 15:22-24.
I agree with you and Mishael brings up a great point in that Judas was called the son of perdition. Son of perdition is a title, and in the Bible, that's only given to two people; Judas Iscariot and the antichrist that is yet to come. He's called the son of perdition, the son of destruction, which means this is who he was and has been his entire life.
Jesus said I have not lost one, except the son of perdition (Judas), and then the Greek text gives a (purpose clause/INA), in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. Jesus answered them, "have not I chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil," a demon.
Jesus didn't choose Judas to be a devil. He says one of you is already a devil. I'm choosing you as already being a devil. But it is interesting that Satan entered into him.
Now this whole concept of Judas Iscariot in God's plan helps us to understand how God works with people. Some people call it predestination.
Jesus did not predestine Judas to be evil. But Jesus had to choose an evil man to do the evil purpose which God planned. God already knows who is going to choose Christ and who is going to choose evil.
He already knows that. So if He is going to choose someone to be in amongst God's people to fulfill His Scripture in an evil way, He will pick out somebody who is already evil.
I don't believe Judas was ever saved. Judas was evil from the very beginning. Even though Judas was part of the fellowship for 3 years, he remained evil the entire time.
We know he was stealing money from the money bag. The Bible tells us that he was a thief. It would be hard for me to describe someone as evil as Judas as being a Christ follower. And yet, some choose to call him that, and some believe he was saved at one point.
To call Judas a Christ follower would be equivalent to saying that everyone who goes to church on a regular basis is a Christ follower and is saved. I wonder how many like Judas are in our fellowships today?
As I thought upon your post, I got thinking about 2 verses. The first is Romans 8:7 -
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
This is our condition before being born again. We are 'at war' with God; our sinful nature rebels against God, and the apostle tells us we, in that state, CANNOT obey God's law, and in honesty - we do not want to obey God's law! We want our own wills to be done!
This is why Jesus said we must be born again, we must be 'born from above', at which time we receive a new heart, a heart of flesh.
The next verse I thought of is:
Hebrews 8:10 -
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Once those laws are written within, we suddenly LOVE God's law and delight in both knowing it and doing it! .And we delight in it because we are no longer at enmity with God, but because we love Him!
You are so right, Michele, in observing that in obeying God's Word and making that the rule of our lives, we not only please God - we keep ourselves from being entangled in this fallen world!
I think like you, why do people want to know if those who have died can see our life and circumstances? I think the Bible gives warnings against wanting to communicate with those who have passed on. I am not saying that people who ask the above question want to do this, but I think that they still want to have some sort of connection between loved ones who have passed and themselves still living in this life. I am not like that. I do not wonder if my Dad is "watching over me" or even thinking of me. He is with the Lord, and I am happy he is! I will go to be with the Lord also, and most likely be able to know my Dad in this heavenly state as well. But I can wait because I just don't think that God wants us to know too much about the next life while we are still in this life. Our focus is on God, in His Son Jesus, who is our Savior and Lord, and we are enlivened by the indwelling Holy Spirit, who teaches us all that we is profitable to know.
But I do think that some people really miss their loved ones and feel a big void where that deceased person occupied in this life for the living person. Processing loss and grief differs from person to person. The degree of attachment a person has with another is most likely a big factor when someone we love dies. So, compassion is always appropriate towards others.
Question: Why does the KJV in Revelation 14:9 use the wording "in your forehead" and "in your hand"? Other translations say "on your forehead" and "on your hand"?
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
We have to read for our selves. The Holy Spirit helps us to understand man too often interprets the Word of God as he has been taught by church doctrine that may not be trueThe Lord our God is precious I Love Him and His mercy Grace.
I read your reply to MI google search "Replacement Theology".
In a nutshell: Replacement theology holds that the Israel has been cut off from God completely as His chosen people due to their rejection of Jesus and the nation of Israel has been replaced by the Christian church for all time. This teaches that Israel is irredeemable and therefore, the covenants, promises, and prophecies given to Israel are now only for the Church.
Thanks for the question. Giving it some thought, I defer to what Jesus said, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, as the unforgivable sin, but it is not clearly defined in His words. But I think that 1 Peter 2:1 speaks of this concerning those who are false teachers among the believers who bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. So, denying the Lord, which is apostasy, is this blasphemy against the testimony of the Holy Spirit concerning Jesus, His Person and work of saving atonement. I may be wrong on this. It may be helpful to read the whole chapter in 1 Peter.
It sounds like we're getting closer to the root of your belief. I noticed you used statements in the "If... then..." format to draw some assumptions. Here is an example:
You: "If we assume this passage speaks of Christians who get saved but then lose it again for violating the whole law of God then we must assume nobody will ever be saved in the end except those Christians who die immediately after receiving Christ."
The first part of your sentence is correct as James 1:1 says he's a Christian and he's writing to 12 tribes and is right away instructing them to not worry about temptations because their faith will build patience (verse 3). Most of Paul's books were to Christians churches too and it usually says this in the first verse of each. So, it's safe to say that yes, the book of James is for Christians.
While the first part of your sentence rings true, the last part is what sounded alarm bells. "we must assume nobody will ever be saved in the end except those Christians who die immediately after receiving Christ."
No, I don't know anyone who assumes that or where that idea comes from? Is it possible that you're engaging in black or white thinking and through that filter you aren't seeing a difference between an imperfect (normal) grace-covered Christ follower and a Christian who decides to denounce Christ and go in a different direction? One scenario is a normal person covered by grace while following the Lord, the other is someone who chooses to no longer follow the Lord- not covered.
Example:
Let's say you're driving down a freeway towards Seattle. You may encounter traffic, you may swerve to avoid obstacles on the road, you may even get lost and exit off and recollect yourself, you may even get a flat tire, but overall you're still following the path to your destination. However, if you at some point made a choice to turn around and go in the opposite direction, then you would no longer be going to Seattle. This is a metaphor for following Christ.
I suspect we will find out soon whether the mark will be applied "in" or "on" the forehead as the time of the end is at hand.
The Lord Jesus Himself speaks here in Joel 2:
12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Cod chose Christians in Christ before they were born but His selection was based upon His foreknowledge, not according to some plan He had that did not involve the response of the sinner to the preaching of the Gospel. We have been chosen in Christ since the beginning if we are saved. If it were possible for Christians to lose their salvation it nevertheless remains impossible for God to have chosen them in Christ from the beginning.
For pointing out the far-fetched hoops people begin to jump through to spiritualize erroneous scriptural ideas that are filled with false teachings and barely intelligible thought lines. Such make it difficult to have a truly Scriptural based conversation with such people. But we continue to pray for one another to come to the knowledge of God's truth in His Word.
Why would the event cause them to come to Jerusalem? Well, in the Mesopotamian area, back in the days of Balaam, in Numbers Chapter 24 Verse 17, Balaam prophesied and said a star would come out of Jerusalem. This was the same area that these priests came from. They had Balaam's prophesies.
That was also the area in which Daniel was at, and they had his prophesies as well. And so these casts of priests knew that the Jews were looking for and waiting for the Messiah to come. This means that they, The Magi, they knew from the end of Daniel Chapter 9 Verses 24 to 27 about the 70 weeks of Daniel.
And they would count out the days and those weeks added up to 173,880 days from the time the decree was made for the temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem till the time of the coming priest, 173,880 days.
That's why Jesus in the gospel of Luke, He is weeps over Jerusalem and He says, "And if you knew this your day of visitation, you would have received me." He was making reference to Daniel's prophecy, because on the very day, 173,880 days after the decree was made to rebuild Jerusalem, Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
The Jews should have known that to the exact day. But they didn't. And they rejected their Messiah. But the Magi knew. They knew that another great man was about to arrive on the scene and that if there was an event in the heavens, then this was probably the birth of the Messiah.
We see this again in Mark 13:13 which says, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
What Jesus is doing for us is He is designating a characteristic of those people who are saved. They endure till the end. The reason why they endure to the end is because they belong to the Lord. It's God's Spirit that protects us. It is God's Spirit that takes us all the way to the end. It is not a challenge for us. It is a characteristic of a person that is saved! In 1 Peter 1:5, Peter says, "We are those who are being kept by the power of God until our salvation comes."
We are kept by the power of God, period!
Having to remain in the Son to remain in the Father for eternal life ( 1 John 2:24-25) doesn't negate the promise that all who are being saved are in the Father's hand. You said "We are ALL bought with a price, we are NOT our own...He paid for us with his own blood". If this is the case, why is not everyone just automatically saved? After all, Christ's atoning death was for the whole world. And if one genuinely accepts Christ & then renounces him, why would that person still have eternal life & the one who never accepted Christ lost? After all, they both ended up denying Jesus ( Matt. 10:32-33).
It seems like you're taking bible verses regarding Christ's one time sacrifice for the entire world and trying to apply that to individual believers. Yes, Christ shed his blood once for all, but, that does not mean the believer doesn't have an obligation to remain faithful. Rev. 2:10 says " be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." This is a conditional promise from Christ, so I must conclude that the one who is safe in the hand of God is the one who is remaining faithful to Christ. And the one faithful to the end will receive the end of their faith, eternal life ( Romans 6:22; 1 Peter 1:9)
Christians are assured of salvation & should take great joy in the promise of God to keep them in His hand! However, to inherit eternal life one must endure to the end.
If we're both born again by the Spirit of God, The scripture already Identify us as Brothers. And the Spirit in is will CAUSE us to love one another.
God bless.
I had the feeling early on we had more we agree on than what we disagree on.
It's difficult to nail down replacement theology these days because they seem to keep evolving. Some say Israel rejected their Messiah so they blew it. One would say well what about the promises to restore Israel during and after the tribulation on into the Millennium. While noting many verses like Ezekiel 36:32-33.
In order to harmonize their theology they spiritualize everything they can't explain.
Some has went off the charts saying there is no hell, there is no Millennium, Everyone is going to be refined by fire and go to paradise.
You and I are going to be impregnated and have a little baby Jesus.
I use these absurd examples of what is literally recently being said to warn of the danger of using poor hermeneutics. It renders Gods promises and the work on the cross as worthless. The sacrifice of Christ was meaningless if there's nothing to be saved from. This deception is demonic!
Here's a precise article:
Replacement theology teaches that the church is the replacement for Israel and that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the Christian church, not in Israel. The prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are spiritualized or allegorized into promises of God's blessing for the church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been condemned by God and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2,000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1,900 years?
Galatians 1:8-9.
God bless.
Whenever there is a difference of words between translations, we need to find out which translation is using the correct word. The KJV says in, but the correct word according to the original language (Greek) is the word EPI which translates to on. There is a different Greek word for in (EN). So, on would be correct regardless of which translation we are using.
So when the Lord called me into evangelism, I went. I made mistakes, but my heart was pure. I didn't have time to think how people had treated me prior, before I was saved.
Jesus helped me be "one of those people" that you feel you've known many years. Good news carrier with feet lol.
I have happy expectation about heaven. To see family, friends, people I prayed with, and for. I'm still here, so I'm always looking at faces to see that one person who sees the Light of Jesus, on my face. Old age isn't happening. I've got all this hope to give away, before the "door is closed".
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
John 14:1
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 10:38
But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
John 5:47
But if ye believe not his writings, [Bible] how shall ye believe my words?
Love these little verses!!
1 John 3:9 tells us
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (We are the sons of God right now)
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (All true believers will purify themselves. Fake believers will not.)
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (Jesus takes away all sins of true believers, past, present, and future.)
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. (Those who continue to abide in Jesus do not continue to live in sin.)
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (Sinners who live in sin are of the devil.)
8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (True Christians cannot sin because their Godly nature is miraculously united as one with the Spirit of God who cannot sin.)
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
I got saved in 1971 just before I joined the Army. I ended up in a church with one of my supervisors at Ft. Gragg and we became close friends for more than two years. But in 1974 my friend and I had a disagreement over a Bible teaching and he accused me of possibly having committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit for which I would never be forgiven. This bothered me a great deal so I began praying for God to show me what the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost was all about. After seeking the answer for several years I believe the Lord finally answered me. Here is what I believe:
God has promised to enlighten every sinner born into the world ( 1 John 1:9). The Holy Spirit seeks to save every sinner in the world ( 1 Tim 2:4.) The Holy Spirit draws all men to Christ ( John 12:32.) The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is committed by sinners who see the light, are pointed to Jesus by the Holy Spirit, and yet reject the light and speak evil of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or God. ( John 3:19.) The basis of condemnation to hell is rejecting the light clearly revealed to the unrepentant sinner by the Holy Ghost.
We see that in Romans 1 where sinners who clearly see and understand the light reject the light and are therefore condemned without excuse. The Pharisees who blasphemed the Holy Spirit in Mark 3 knew Jesus was God because Nicodemus said so in John 3:2. We know sinners who have not yet been shown the light by the Holy Spirit can be guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because of what Jesus said in John 15:22-24.
I agree with you and Mishael brings up a great point in that Judas was called the son of perdition. Son of perdition is a title, and in the Bible, that's only given to two people; Judas Iscariot and the antichrist that is yet to come. He's called the son of perdition, the son of destruction, which means this is who he was and has been his entire life.
Jesus said I have not lost one, except the son of perdition (Judas), and then the Greek text gives a (purpose clause/INA), in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. Jesus answered them, "have not I chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil," a demon.
Jesus didn't choose Judas to be a devil. He says one of you is already a devil. I'm choosing you as already being a devil. But it is interesting that Satan entered into him.
Now this whole concept of Judas Iscariot in God's plan helps us to understand how God works with people. Some people call it predestination.
Jesus did not predestine Judas to be evil. But Jesus had to choose an evil man to do the evil purpose which God planned. God already knows who is going to choose Christ and who is going to choose evil.
He already knows that. So if He is going to choose someone to be in amongst God's people to fulfill His Scripture in an evil way, He will pick out somebody who is already evil.
I don't believe Judas was ever saved. Judas was evil from the very beginning. Even though Judas was part of the fellowship for 3 years, he remained evil the entire time.
We know he was stealing money from the money bag. The Bible tells us that he was a thief. It would be hard for me to describe someone as evil as Judas as being a Christ follower. And yet, some choose to call him that, and some believe he was saved at one point.
To call Judas a Christ follower would be equivalent to saying that everyone who goes to church on a regular basis is a Christ follower and is saved. I wonder how many like Judas are in our fellowships today?
As I thought upon your post, I got thinking about 2 verses. The first is Romans 8:7 -
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
This is our condition before being born again. We are 'at war' with God; our sinful nature rebels against God, and the apostle tells us we, in that state, CANNOT obey God's law, and in honesty - we do not want to obey God's law! We want our own wills to be done!
This is why Jesus said we must be born again, we must be 'born from above', at which time we receive a new heart, a heart of flesh.
The next verse I thought of is:
Hebrews 8:10 -
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Once those laws are written within, we suddenly LOVE God's law and delight in both knowing it and doing it! .And we delight in it because we are no longer at enmity with God, but because we love Him!
You are so right, Michele, in observing that in obeying God's Word and making that the rule of our lives, we not only please God - we keep ourselves from being entangled in this fallen world!
Blessings!
I think like you, why do people want to know if those who have died can see our life and circumstances? I think the Bible gives warnings against wanting to communicate with those who have passed on. I am not saying that people who ask the above question want to do this, but I think that they still want to have some sort of connection between loved ones who have passed and themselves still living in this life. I am not like that. I do not wonder if my Dad is "watching over me" or even thinking of me. He is with the Lord, and I am happy he is! I will go to be with the Lord also, and most likely be able to know my Dad in this heavenly state as well. But I can wait because I just don't think that God wants us to know too much about the next life while we are still in this life. Our focus is on God, in His Son Jesus, who is our Savior and Lord, and we are enlivened by the indwelling Holy Spirit, who teaches us all that we is profitable to know.
But I do think that some people really miss their loved ones and feel a big void where that deceased person occupied in this life for the living person. Processing loss and grief differs from person to person. The degree of attachment a person has with another is most likely a big factor when someone we love dies. So, compassion is always appropriate towards others.
Have a good evening, Mishael.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
I read your reply to MI google search "Replacement Theology".
In a nutshell: Replacement theology holds that the Israel has been cut off from God completely as His chosen people due to their rejection of Jesus and the nation of Israel has been replaced by the Christian church for all time. This teaches that Israel is irredeemable and therefore, the covenants, promises, and prophecies given to Israel are now only for the Church.
Thanks for the question. Giving it some thought, I defer to what Jesus said, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, as the unforgivable sin, but it is not clearly defined in His words. But I think that 1 Peter 2:1 speaks of this concerning those who are false teachers among the believers who bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. So, denying the Lord, which is apostasy, is this blasphemy against the testimony of the Holy Spirit concerning Jesus, His Person and work of saving atonement. I may be wrong on this. It may be helpful to read the whole chapter in 1 Peter.
It sounds like we're getting closer to the root of your belief. I noticed you used statements in the "If... then..." format to draw some assumptions. Here is an example:
You: "If we assume this passage speaks of Christians who get saved but then lose it again for violating the whole law of God then we must assume nobody will ever be saved in the end except those Christians who die immediately after receiving Christ."
The first part of your sentence is correct as James 1:1 says he's a Christian and he's writing to 12 tribes and is right away instructing them to not worry about temptations because their faith will build patience (verse 3). Most of Paul's books were to Christians churches too and it usually says this in the first verse of each. So, it's safe to say that yes, the book of James is for Christians.
While the first part of your sentence rings true, the last part is what sounded alarm bells. "we must assume nobody will ever be saved in the end except those Christians who die immediately after receiving Christ."
No, I don't know anyone who assumes that or where that idea comes from? Is it possible that you're engaging in black or white thinking and through that filter you aren't seeing a difference between an imperfect (normal) grace-covered Christ follower and a Christian who decides to denounce Christ and go in a different direction? One scenario is a normal person covered by grace while following the Lord, the other is someone who chooses to no longer follow the Lord- not covered.
Example:
Let's say you're driving down a freeway towards Seattle. You may encounter traffic, you may swerve to avoid obstacles on the road, you may even get lost and exit off and recollect yourself, you may even get a flat tire, but overall you're still following the path to your destination. However, if you at some point made a choice to turn around and go in the opposite direction, then you would no longer be going to Seattle. This is a metaphor for following Christ.