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NASB | Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 22:37 And Jesus replied to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' [Deut 6:5] |
Subject: "ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED"!!! |
Bible Note: Dear Ftima, You asked: If God's plan only includes a select "elect" what purpose does Jesus serve? Ans: "Unconditional Election is the doctrine which states that God chose those whom he was pleased to bring to a knowledge of himself, not based upon any merit shown by the object of his grace and not based upon his looking forward to discover who would "accept" the offer of the gospel. God has elected, based solely upon the counsel of his own will, some for glory and others for damnation (Romans 9:15,21). He has done this act before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4-8)." "This doctrine does not rule out, however, man's responsibility to believe in the redeeming work of God the Son (John 3:16-18). Scripture presents a tension between God's sovereignty in salvation, and man's responsibility to believe which it does not try to resolve. Both are true -- to deny man's responsibility is to affirm an unbiblical hyper-calvinism; to deny God's sovereignty is to affirm an unbiblical Arminianism." You asked: "If it has already been predetermined by God who will and who will not be saved why the entire book of books? God could have written this plan in one sentence!" Ans: It pleased God to provide mankind with His written Word. God does not operate in a vacumn, but rather utilizes means by which His eternal decree is fulfiled. The Bible is one of God's means. We know His plan is perfect as it is, so I see no reason to speculate about how(or why) He could have accomplished His plan differently. You asked: How does one know if he/she belongs to the elect...(?) Ans: By faith. My assurance comes from the evidence of the Holy Spirit in my life; good works, my desire stemming from love, to please Jesus, my hatred of sin etc. Your question goes on to ask: "and if this knowledge is possible why obey the gospel of Christ if no matter what you do you cannot change your destiny?" Love for Christ and repentence from sin are part of the new nature we recieve in salvation. And why would I want to change my destiny anyway? If I am truly born again (which I firmly believe I am) my destiny is Heaven! Calvinism (as you have charecterized it) just DOES NOT make sense in the grand scheme of things. But as I have come to realize, calvinism is just a nickname for Biblical Christianity. It shows a sovereign God reigning over His creation and it believes that all He has done is just and holy. If you are interested in what "calvinism" truly teaches, I suggest you visit the website listed below. The 2nd and 3rd paragraphs were copied from www.reformed.org. God Bless You, John |