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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | once saved always saved | John 10:28 | John Reformed | 86997 | ||
Dear RM2, It boils down to whether or not man saves himself by something that he does. If one is saved by the excersize of one's unaided, then it opens the door to say that man may change his mind and "unsave" himself. Does God merely make salvation available? Does eternal life depend on a decision made by a spiritual corpse? I believe the answer is an emphatic... NO! Some christians consider "predestination to salvation" an abhorrent doctrine. They believe that when a man chooses to "accept Christ" (a particularly poor choice of words) he does so out of a desire that has awakened in his own unregenerate heart. The problem I have with such a theory is that it is contradicted by the Word of God. Gen 8:21 The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; Eccl 9:3 ...the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Jer 16:12 'You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. Matt 12:34 "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. Luke 6:45 "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. I would like to continue along this line if you are willing. Your thoughts? John Reformed |
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2 | once saved always saved | John 10:28 | Radioman2 | 87045 | ||
Part 1 WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT ELECTION? 'Election is the act of God whereby in eternity past He chose those who will be saved. Election is unconditional, because it does not depend on anything outside of God, such as good works or foreseen faith (Romans 9:16). This doctrine is repeatedly taught in the Bible, and is also demanded by our knowledge of God. To begin with, let's look at the biblical evidence. 'The Bible says prior to salvation, all people are dead in sin-- spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3). In this state of death, the sinner is utterly unable to respond to any spiritual stimulus and therefore unable to love God, obey Him, or please Him in any way. Scripture says the mind of every unbeliever "is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:7-8, emphasis added). That describes a state of total hopelessness: spiritual death. 'The effect of all this is that no sinner can ever make the first move in the salvation process. This is what Jesus meant in John 6:44, when He said, "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him." 'This is also why the Bible repeatedly stresses that salvation is wholly God's work. In Acts 13:48 we read, "And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." 'Acts 16 tells us that Lydia was saved when, " . . . the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul." 'Romans 8:29-30 states, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." 'Ephesians 1:4-5,11 reads, "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will . . . also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will." 'Ephesians 2:8 suggests that even our faith is a gift from God. 'In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the apostle Paul tells his readers, "God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation." 'Second Timothy 1:9 informs us that God "has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity."' ____________________ Article by John MacArthur at (www.gty.org) - listed in Issues and Answers archives). (To be continued.) |
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