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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Easy to deny Christ? | Matt 10:33 | charis | 31628 | ||
Dear Hank, Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus! My dear fellow in Christ, I will accept your 'random thoughts' anytime! Also, you can preach to the choir, as we all need to hear the Gospel, even 'after the fact' of salvation. :-) I do agree with you that the Holy Spirit places trust (in Him to our salvation) in our hearts, personally. And perhaps this trust extends to family, church fellows and even acquaintances attending other churches. However, I have noticed that we sometime do NOT have this same trust (in Him to salvation) concerning others outside our own sphere of familiarity. By this I mean that we do not hold very much hope for those with different doctrine or habits. If I may elaborate, it seems that we have decidedly more trust that God has saved someone we know than someone we don't, or someone we know but personally dislike. I am aware that 'human nature' could be cited as the cause for this discrepancy. :-) But is is sad, nonetheless. One example would be this particular topic. Those on 'my' side of enduring salvation of the elect (I'm already in trouble!) would look askance at the salvation of those on the 'other' side, as only someone 'not truly saved' would doubt that God's salvation is complete. In other words, we could be 'denying' them the salvation, even though they share faith in Christ Jesus with us. At the same time, one who believes that they 'decide' or 'choose' to know Christ consider it the height of arrogance to believe yourself 'chosen' by God, and they (might) think that this attitude makes you unworthy of Christ. I know this may be a bit 'philosophical,' but I have witnessed these exact situations here on this forum. Yet, I think that I can say that I trust that the great majority (virtually ALL) of the participants of this venue ARE saved by grace, even if they don't agree with ME! (or with the Scriptures :-)) Blessings to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
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2 | Easy to deny Christ? | Matt 10:33 | Hank | 31634 | ||
Good soldier of Christ, greetings again, friend Charis! You know, when I tip my toe into these deep waters of High Theology I soon find myself in way over my head! Two points (should be called little anecdotes, really) come to mind that were triggered by some of the observations you made in the post to which I am now responding. The first comes from the later Dr. Elton Trueblood, a Quaker and sometime professor of philosophy and religion at Earlham College in Gambier, Ohio. Said he, "The most convincing proof I've ever been able to find for the reality of Christ and Christianity is changed lives." He went on to say that in his long life he had seen any number of men and women who came face to face, as it were, with Christ and their lives were at that moment changed for all eternity. Another related story comes from Dr. William Barclay, a Scottish Presbyterian, perhaps best known for his "Daily Study Bible" series. He relates the story of a cranky old sour-puss in his congregation. One day someone remarked to Dr. Barclay, "Do you suppose that disagreeable woman is really a Christian? I've always thought that Christ came into a person's life and changed it." Dr. Barclay replied, "Oh, yes, I believe she is a Christian, and I believe that Christ has changed her life. You see, I knew that old gal BEFORE she became a Christian. You should have seen how she was then!" ..... So, Charis, you're right: God can (and does) save even those we may not find the most likeable of human beings on the face of His good earth! Soli Deo Gloria! --Hank | ||||||