Results 1 - 6 of 6
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | satan allowed to blind minds? | Mark 4:15 | Love Fountain | 35111 | ||
In Mark 4:15 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. KJV Is there a similarity between Mark 4:15 and 2Cor 4:4, where satan is called the god of this world, and is being described as the one who is blinding the minds of people? 2 Cor 4:4 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. KJV So knowing that satan has the power to blind the minds of people of this world and take away the truth that one may have heard, how can anyone judge whether or not an unbeliever has salvation, if the unbeliever is being allowed to be deceived? Is there also a lesson of mercy, through forgiveness of unbelief? Bless you for your thoughts, Love Fountain |
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2 | satan allowed to blind minds? | Mark 4:15 | believer57 | 35135 | ||
Love Fountain, I believe that you are asking if salvation is available to unbelievers. It is not...Romans 10:9;,"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved". Further, it appears that you are asking if unbelievers are "allowed" to be deceived. 2 Cor. 4:4 that "..the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not...." What you are asking is answered in this scripture.They allow themselves to be deceived..To those that CHOOSE not to accept the Gospel, "blindness" is their recompense. They choose NOT to believe, therefore they are subject to the lies and deception of satan. Belief is a matter of choice. We may, or may not, choose to believe that Jesus Christ was sent to die as an atonement for our sins. If we choose not to believe in Him, then we "choose" to "believe" in satan, the "father of lies". Without the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are prone to the "blinding" of our minds by lies and deception. The Holy Spirit ministers to Believers in a number of ways, one is to "guide you into all truth.", (John 16:13). With the Holy Spirit in your life, He will show you the difference between a lie and the blessed truth. Jesus Christ said, "I am the truth..". The unbelievers will be judged. There names will not be written in the book of life and they will be eternally separated from God. Does God have mercy on unbelievers? Is there forgiveness of unbelief? Absolutely! By believing!"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness;, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.", (2 Peter 3:9). I hoped this helped..If not, holler at me...God Bless You....believer57 | ||||||
3 | satan allowed to blind minds? | Mark 4:15 | Love Fountain | 35198 | ||
Dear believer57, Thanks for your response. You said,"Belief is a matter of choice." How can that be if satan is allowed to blind minds? I agree with many of your points, however I do not agree with you when you say salvation is not available to unbelievers. Why are they unbelievers, is the first point that I was trying to make with reference to Mark 4:15. An unbeliever or a believer for that matter may hear the truth, but as soon as either one hears the truth, satan comes and takes the truth from out of their minds. Just because I am a believer does not mean I know or have the truth, does it? In 2Cor 4:4 satan is without a doubt called the god of this world and is stated as being able to blind the minds of them which believe not. It does not differentiate whether the referrence is to unbelievers or believers, just those that believe not. And keep in mind when they have heard the truth as stated in Mark 4:15 that satan comes and takes away the word that is sowed in them. An example would be a recent debate I was in regarding Gen 6 and whether the sons of God are angels or men. Both sides in the debate are believers, yet the truth of whether the sons of God are angels or men is being held in darkness by satan according to Mark 4:15(the truth is taken away) and 2Cor 4:4( the god of this world has blinded their eyes from the truth). One side has the truth and one side believes a lie, and yes there is a possibility that both are wrong, yet both sides are believers and yet it is obvious the truth has been taken away or blinded from their understanding. One of the sides debating the sons of God as angels or men is in unbelief of what the other believes, is it not satan, with 2Cor 4:4 and Mark 4:15 in mind, that is causing the unbelief? Another example can be about a believer who went to church all the time and then something terrible happens to them. The terrible thing that happens to them is caused by satan and causes them to no longer maintain their belief. If what you have said, unbelievers have no salvation, is true, then God would not allow this unbeliever who was blinded by satan to have salvation because the unbeliever who was once a believer was blinded by satan and therefore lost his or her salvation. Is this what you are stating when you say unbelievers have no salvation? How are you sure of the source of a persons unbelief? With all this in mind, my question is, how can we judge whether an unbeliever has salvation if the unbeliever is allowed to be deceived? I am interested in your thoughts. Bless you, Love Fountain |
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4 | satan allowed to blind minds? | Mark 4:15 | believer57 | 35205 | ||
Love Fountain, I'll try to clarify. Hebrews 11:6, another one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible. "But, without faith, it is impossible to please him;, for he that cometh to God MUST BELIEVE that he IS, and that he is a rewarder of them that DILIGENTLY seek him". It sounds as if there is someone you are refering to that is battling unbelief, and there exists a question of their salvation. If they died today, there is no salvation available to them. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Satan does not have the power to steal salvation. Satan, as I said earlier, is the "father of lies". He is a defeated, prideful, coward! Do not fear him, my sister! He was defeated at Calvary! When Christ arose, he was defeated for ever! He has no power over any saint, if that saint will cling to our Lord and Saviour! He is a liar! God allows him to lie, in order to strengthen our relationship with Him. God will not allow satan to harm one of his, if we are walking with Him! He is a "roaring lion, that walketh about, seeking whom he may devour", (2 Peter 5:8). Many people use this scripture to promote fear of satan. This is another lie. Why does a lion roar? To scare its prey FROM A DISTANCE. Do not give him credit for anything else but being a liar! God will allow unbelievers to be deceived by satan. God blessed us with free wills. He wants us to love and worship Him of our own choice. If we choose Him, we choose eternal life. If we have doubts, unbelief, little faith, then satan will gladly step in and devour you. We all know what happens to things after they are devoured. They become non-existent. The source of a persons non-belief is THEMSELVES. They have made a choice to not believe that God is real and He loves them. Returning to our parable, that is why Jesus taught that they received it with gladness, (many new believers do, ("wow, that sounds great!"). Shortly thereafter, unbelief creeps in. Doubts. How? Their faith is not fed.( "desire ye the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may GROW thereby;"..1 Peter 2:2). Familiar, but powerful scripture..."So then, faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God", (Romans 10:17). Faith comes by RECEIVING the Word of God, not just reading it with doubts and questions. RECEIVE it as a part of your being. It is the divinely inspired Word of God. God told Adam, in his first commandment, when He placed him in the garden to ..."dress it and keep it.."; (Gen. 2:15). What was the Garden of Eden? The presence of God in our lives. We are to "dress and keep" the presence of God in our lives. How? Daily Bible study, (not just reading, STUDY). Prayer. Church attendance. Being with like minded believers, (..cast not your pearls amongst the swine, LEST they trample them under, and then turn on you.."; (paraphrasing Matt.7:6). This is how we "dress and keep" the "garden". What happens when you dress and keep a garden? It bears fruit! I hope this helped.. Try not to get tangled up in fruitless debates, and strivings... Let the "theologs" do that...Diligently seek Him, He will reward you....If I further confused, holler back..We'll keep going 'til we get it right!! God Bless You, my sister....believer57 | ||||||
5 | satan allowed to blind minds? | Mark 4:15 | Love Fountain | 35218 | ||
Dear believer57, Thank you for your love! I do study, in depth and read the Bible almost everyday. You have taken this to many places in Scripture that I also find much hope and love within too. I agree satan was defeated at Calvary, but I do not believe we are done with him just yet because of all the hate and filth that we are surrounded by in this day in time. Every single day is yet filled by more tests that I am needing to overcome. Scripture says that God does not tempt so that leaves satan who is the daily tempter. One reason I have asked this question is because I think people in general totally underestimate the enemy we are up against. In Matt4 satan offered Jesus all the nations of this world, as if they are his to give. In 2Cor 4:4 satan is called the god of this world able to blind minds, as if he controls this world. He is also called the prince of the power of the air, air which is what you and I breathe. I do not believe satan is one to be feared, but one to be challenged with love, a love that he has forgotten, the love that allows even him to exist also. I always try to remember God is love and anything that is not love is not God. Knowing that God is love and anything that is not love is not God, has led me to a feeling of sickness within my heart and soul when I hear that unbelievers are going to hell. Scripture clearly states that satan has blinded minds and caused their unbelief(2Cor 4:4). Since God is love, please tell me where love is found in condemnation of an unbeliever, through the judgement of a believer towards anothers salvation. In other words, who are we to judge? Do we not spread fear and in turn push people away from the Church when we condemn others for their unbelief, instead of searching for the understanding of why they are allowed to have unbelief? Then you also have the true God that has blinded people in the following, Rom 11:7-11 7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompence unto them: 10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. KJV What do you think? Bless you, Love Fountain |
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6 | satan allowed to blind minds? | Mark 4:15 | believer57 | 35295 | ||
Hey Love Fountain, You raise some interesting points, I'll see if I can at least get you pointed in the right direction. 1. Satan does tempt us with lies and distortion of scripture. With Jesus, he attempted to distort scripture to get Jesus to sin. In the garden, he distorted the word of God, and Eve disobeyed, (sinned). 1 John 2:16 outlines the 3 areas of sin that satan beguiles us with his lies. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world". Each sin that we commit, can be placed in one of these categories. How do we resist? Jesus taught us in the desert. "It is written". 2. We do not condemn our brothers and sisters for their unbelief. It is they that condemn themselves. Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.." As you probably know, we are not to judge either. 3. Romans 10. This is a teaching of Paul regarding the Jews. I can say more, but I have to run now...Holler back....God Bless...believer57 |
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