Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Can you loose your salvation? | NT general Archive 1 | Rowdy | 123052 | ||
I can only imagine you're probably thinking you've been flooded, maybe even saturated with so many different opinions and scriptures to back them up. Thus I'm motivated to make this my last post on this thread and strive to keep it brief. Just a few more examples from God Word and I'll try to summarize. First from Apostle Paul 1 Cor 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. So we even see the Apostle Paul, probably the greatest, most devoted disciple of Christ who has to exercise self-discipline in order to prevent losing the prize. What else could he possibly be referring to in this context? We have in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira, christians who were also greedy. They wanted the same fame and glory as Barnabas in selling their land but they wanted to keep back a portion of the money and tried to deceive the Holy Spirit. Thus they not only lost their souls but immediately lost their lives as well. My last example would be that of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8. He too was a christian but greedy for the miraculous powers as exhibited by Peter. He even tried to purchase these powers. Of course Peter told him he had to repent to prevent the horrors of God's rejection. There are others but again I want to be brief. My main point of this post is to acknowledge that God's Word is not always ideally clear on some topics, including this concept of the "eternal security" or "once saved, always saved." I'll readily agree that some scriptures as cited by some of these other posts does give one reason to wonder about the possibility of contradiction but we all know that God WOULD NOT contradict Himself in His Word. So what are we to do? This is my last point and then I'll hush. I would refer you to the words of Jesus Himself from Matt 5:29 "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 "If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell. Does Jesus actually expect us as His disciples to literally eliminate a body part if we have a problem with it? I don't think so as we don't have any history of this kind of practice in these past two thousand years. But on the other hand, IF a person came to the conclusion that these were his only two choices: go to Heaven minus a body part or go to Hell with a whole body, I'm sure most would make the right choice and go to Heaven. What am I saying: this is Jesus' way of saying "better safe than sorry" or "err on the side of caution." So in a similar manner, if a person draws a conclusion of two choices on a particular subject: Assume once you're a christian, there's nothing more for you to worry about OR assume the scriptures referred above are true and that we're all guilty of sin every day (Rom 3:23 and Ja 4:17) which needs to be resolved before God. Thus we must see ourselves in need of God's Mercy and Grace every day of our lives. We all should be in a pentitent attitude all our lives and realize our need to repent every day. If we don't do this, I'm very much afraid we take a terrible chance of facing Judgment Day unprepared. I hope this helps and God bless. --Rowdy |
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2 | Can you loose your salvation? | NT general Archive 1 | BradK | 123056 | ||
Rowdy, In reference to 1 Cor. 9:25ff, you say "What else could he possibly be referring to in this context?" I think the context is dealing with Paul's rights as a minister and his limiting those rights- not salvation! Where in the context would you ascertain that he's speaking to or dealing with salvation? As to being disqualified (rejected), this refers to one who fails the test, is refused and disqualified. Paul's main point in this verse is to stir believers up to emulate him in self-discipline and use their bodies for the preaching of the Gospel. In regards to Acts 5, it would in my mind be an ASSUMPTION that Ananias and Sapphira were "christians who were also greedy." The text does not specifically say so. Verse 4:32 tells us that "the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul...", yet in 5:1 it says "But a certain man named Ananias..." Now, are they the same? I don't think so, but that may be debatable:-) What it boils down to with your "better safe than sorry" approach is: Motivation. You seem to be motivated to live godly by the fear "of facing Judgment Day unprepared" while I (speaking for myself) am motivated by the grace of God ( Titus 2:11-12). I think there's a HUGE difference in confidence and assurance between us:-) Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |
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3 | Can you loose your salvation? | NT general Archive 1 | Hank | 123068 | ||
Brad, a fitting remonstrance to the unscriptural doctrines of works-based soteriology that are being promulgated on this Forum. One of the salient differences between orthodox Christianity and spurious doctrine has always been the difference between the doctrines of salvation by God's grace and salvation by man's works. The tension between these two beliefs, coincidentally, has always been one of the chasms that separate orthodox Christianity from pagan religions. Orthodox Christianity holds that salvation is God's gift of grace, whereas paganism holds that it is earned by the works of man. --Hank | ||||||