Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Unanswered Bible Questions Author: jaccal2000 Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | When is a sinner counted "not guilty"? | Rom 5:9 | jaccal2000 | 79202 | ||
Does justification by faith change God or does it change the believing sinner? or What happens when a sinner truly believes? John MacArthur (and most evangelical Christians I've read) in his commentary to the Romans p.208 says, "Dikaioo (justified) means to declare the rightness of something or someone. Justification is God's declaration that all the demands of the law are fulfilled on behalf of the believing sinner through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Justification is a wholly forensic, or legal, transaction, God imputes the perfect righteousness of Christ to the believer's account, then declares the redeemed on fully righteous. Justification must be distinguished from sanctification, in which God actually imparts Christ's righteousness to the sinner. While the two must be distinguised, justification and sanctification can never be separated. God does not justify who He does not sanctify." If justification (God's act of declaring one righteous) comes (and only begins) when I believe, does this mean that God changes his whole view of me just because of something I did (to believe)? Does it mean that God has a totally different way of seeing me while in unbelief and then changes his way of seeing me now that I believe? Such concept seem to suggest that by believing I am able to cause God to see me differently. How does this makes sense to you? If by Christ's death He legally justified all men (Romans 5:18) and does not impute the world's sins against them (2 Cor. 5:19), doesn't this mean whether you're a believer or unbeliever, God counts you as one who never sinned, because all your sins were counted against Christ and legally cancelled even before you were born, before you even knew God, repented of your sins, believed and obeyed? Is it possible that justification by faith isn't primarily about God's act of declaring a believing sinner righteous or "not guilty" (which seems to imply that God changes his whole view of the sinner when he believes) since the verdict of a legal, forensic, objective justification is already true for all men, once and for all BUT INSTEAD primarily about the believing sinner's actual and personal salvific experience upon discovery of God's justified and forgiven view of him (because of Christ's finished work for all, including unbelievers) even before he exercised the gift of faith, while in the state of unbelief? Again, is justification by faith about God changing his view of the believing sinner or more about the believing sinner having a salvation experience (not because God changed his view of him, for all the while, God sees him as his forgiven, justified child even while still in unbelief) but because genuine trust allowed the sinner to be connected to the God whom to know is Life Eternal. In other words, does justification by faith change God, or does it change us? or am I missing something? Up until now it never made sense to me how a forever loving God would change his whole view of me just because I did something, like believing. Please understand I do not subscribe to Universalism. I believe many people will still be eternally lost but the reason, so far as I understand, is not that they were not forgiven by God or counted like they never sinned at all (justified) but because they tragically chose to willfully reject a loving God who has already forgiven them. I would truly appreciate your feedback and comments. Blessings, Jaccal2000 |
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2 | Is forgiveness conditional? | Acts 13:38 | jaccal2000 | 79036 | ||
I want to enrich my understanding with regards to God's forgiveness because it's the platform from which I want to live out my faith. I prayerfully consider what you have to share and I choose to be open minded. Is God's forgiveness conditional or unconditional? I would like to know your thoughts. My findings are as follows. God choosing to forgive us, signing for our pardon, not counting our sins against us, and legally justifying us is unconditional. While we were yet ignorant, disobedient, and unrepentant sinners, He already has cried out, "It is finished!" Objectively, legally, as far God's heart is concerned, God has forgiven the human race. But experiencing God's pardon, the healing of His forgiveness, the joy of His reconciliation, and the peace of justification is conditional. We have to believe, repent of our sins, and come home to God to have a saving experience of what Christ obtained for us at the cross. Subjectively, experientially, every individual needs a faith response not in order for God to forgive but to experience God's forgiveness. I've read in 2 Cor. 5:19 that God was in Christ reconciling the world (seems all people to me) to himself not counting their sins against them (I understand because all sins were counted against Christ) and realizing that Christ paid in full the penalty for all sins by all people for all time, I've been thinking along the following lines: a. We do not come home in order that God may forgive and justify us but He has forgiven so that we can run back home Him and experience His salvation. Isaiah 44:22 “I have swept away your sins like the morning mists. I have scattered your offenses like the clouds. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.” b. God revealed His unconditional love by signing for our pardon and accomplished our reconciliation and justification even before we knew about Him, repented of our sins and believed in Him. Rom 5:8 "But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us... 10...while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son... c. Our acts of faith, repentance, or confession, do not cause God to forgive or justify us. These acts change us, not God. Coming home to Him simply allows us to experience who He already is: eternally loving and unconditionally forgiving! I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God doesn't become faithful and just when we confess. He is and always was. Confession seems to be for our sake as in James 1:5, "Confess your sins...that you may be healed." d. Every person born into this world is born fully forgiven and legally justified. The question isn’t whether people are forgiven or not but whether they’ve come home to God or stayed away. Romans 5:18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brought condemnation upon everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness makes all people right in God’s sight and gives them life. e. Many people will still be eternally lost and it is not because they were not forgiven by God but because they chose to reject a loving God who has already forgiven them. John 3:18 “There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.” In sharing the Good News then, I don't see myself as a believer as one who is forgiven (while the nonbeliever is not forgiven) who then shares the Good News to the nonbeliever and if he/she believes and repents, God will forgive. Instead, I see the nonbeliever also as one who is forgiven and justified (positionally not experientially) because of the cross. I reach out to the nonbeliever and lead her to discover that God's has already forgiven her, doesn't count her sins against her (for they've been legally cancelled at the cross), signed for her pardon, sees her as His child (prodigal son). It's Good News! Then she can choose to run home (not just walk) and finally experience and celebrate God's gift of eternal life and all the blessings of salvation. I've seen people get really excited with God when I share the gospel in this manner. But what do you think? I would appreciate your comments or feedback. blessings, jaccal2000 |
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3 | When does God forgive me? | Rom 3:1 | jaccal2000 | 79013 | ||
When does God forgive my sins? Some perspectives I've heard on forgiveness: a. Obey God, do good to others, live a moral life, then God signs for our pardon; b. Simply repent, confess, believe, come home to God, then He signs for our pardon; c. At the cross Christ already signed for our pardon with His blood while we were yet unpenitent sinners. He invites us to repent and return to Him not in order to be forgiven (for He already has) but in order to personally experience and benefit from what He has legally accomplished for all people through His death. Does God change from unforgiving to forgiving when we repent? or has He forgiven us even prior to our repentance? Do acts of repentance, confession and faith change God? or do they change us? I usually hear and read about perspectives A and B. But I feel drawn with perspective C. It seems to be in harmony with the spirit of Isaiah 44:22 where it says, "I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you." What are your thoughts? |
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